Chapter 1: The Illegitimate Prince

Trudging through the mountain paths beside the river at night, Li Nian Long stumbled repeatedly on the muddy path, yet he remained oblivious to it all. His hollow eyes brimmed with tears, his clothes torn, his strength waning with every step.

He fell, got up, and continued walking;

He fell again, unable to rise, and crawled forward.

As the rain gradually eased, Li Nian Long finally crawled to where Uncle Guan lay, who was resting peacefully with a faint smile on his lips.

Tears streaming down his face, Li Nian Long struggled to reach Uncle Guan's side. His mud-covered hands clasped Uncle Guan's bloody hand, the photograph in it blurred but recognizable to Li Nian Long—it was always with Uncle Guan, depicting his wife and daughter.

"Uncle Guan..." Li Nian Long choked on his words, tears rolling down his cheeks, washing away in the rain.

Boom—

A thunderclap sounded, and Uncle Guan's eyes suddenly snapped open.

"Young Master…" The weak voice sent shivers down Li Nian Long's spine.

"A ghost!" Instinctively, Li Nian Long tried to push Uncle Guan away, terrified by the dead coming back to life. But remembering his own inexplicable resurrection, fear turned to surprise. "Uncle Guan, you're alive too!?"

"Too?"

Confused, Li Nian Long didn't dwell on it. Uncle Guan clutched Li Nian Long's hand tightly, panting, "Young Master, I faked my death using the turtle-breath technique because there's something I must entrust to you... Huh...huh..."

Taking two deep breaths, Li Nian Long hastily said, "Uncle Guan, don't speak. I'll take you to the hospital right now…"

"Young Master…" Uncle Guan stopped Li Nian Long, shaking his head laboriously. "It's no use. My vitality is gone, only half a breath remains... Hiss...huh... Time is short, Young Master... The Long family is... royal, with immense power, do not... seek revenge. Fortu... fortunately, Long Zongheng doesn't know your background... Cough... In the future, marry...cough... have children...cough...cough..."

He coughed several times, spewing blood.

"Uncle Guan!" Li Nian Long frantically wiped the blood with his sleeve, tears streaming down his face. "Uncle Guan, don't talk... Don't say anymore, I'm taking you to the hospital, it'll be okay, you'll be fine..."

Uncle Guan coughed up more blood, his eyes losing focus as life faded.

"Young Master... Take... care..."

With those last words, Uncle Guan's eyes remained wide open, unseeing in death.

"U-Uncle Guan…" Tears flowed freely as Li Nian Long tremblingly closed Uncle Guan's eyes. Like a wounded beast, he howled to the sky, "Long Zongheng! I will make you pay with your blood! ——"

...

As dawn broke, Li Nian Long laid Uncle Guan's body in a shallow grave he'd dug with his bare hands. Gazing at Uncle Guan's pale yet serene face, Li Nian Long cried as he covered Uncle Guan with dirt. "Uncle Guan, bear with me... Soon, I'll bring your remains back home... One day, I'll use Long Zongheng's head to honor your spirit!"

Thump, thump, thump—

After three deep bows, Li Nian Long rose, mud-covered, and left the place, carrying an undying flame of hatred.

...

The rain subsided, and the river flow calmed. Li Nian Long stood on the riverbank, washing off the mud.

Staring at his smooth skin, his starry eyes filled with confusion, not only was there no wound where he'd been shot, even old scars had vanished.

"What happened?" Resurrection was too bizarre for Li Nian Long, a steadfast atheist who wouldn't believe in a divine intervention.

"The jade pendant!" Feeling nothing around his neck, Li Nian Long was startled. "Where is it?"

His anxiety was justified; that dragon-shaped jade pendant was a keepsake from his mother before she died—the token to recognize his birth father, although he never met him before being secretly harmed by his half-brother.

All because of his father's status.

Long Qingyun, head of the Long family and soon-to-be crowned king of China, was Li Nian Long's father.

Indeed, Li Nian Long was the rumored illegitimate prince. Twenty-five years ago, Li Nian Long's mother, Li Ying, sixteen at the time, met Long Qingyun, who was serving as an official abroad. The following year, Li Nian Long was born, but Long Qingyun, already in his forties with a family, returned to Dragon City when Li Nian Long was two, inheriting the leadership of the Long family.

Li Ying was only nineteen then. Though Long Qingyun sent her a monthly allowance, she couldn't remarry as his mistress. And to maintain family stability, plus the distance, Long Qingyun never saw Li Ying again. After twenty-two years, Li Ying passed away last month, aged just forty-one, in despair.

On her deathbed, Liu Ying revealed the secret she had kept for over two decades, handing over the dragon-shaped jade pendant—Long Qingyun's gift to her, for Li Nian Long to claim his identity. Her last words echoed in Li Nian Long's mind, "Nian Long, you've suffered for over twenty years, but from now on… no one will dare look down on you again, for you are Long Qingyun's son, a true royal descendant! This jade pendant is from your father. Take it, meet him. If he disowns you, I'll haunt him even in death!"

After saying this, Li Ying passed away with tears.

Heartbroken, Li Nian Long, with Uncle Guan's help, arranged the funeral and set off for Dragon City with the jade pendant to meet his father. But he never expected to be hunted down by his half-brother before reaching him.

The most heartbreaking loss was Uncle Guan. Found injured and near death by Li Ying and Li Nian Long eighteen years ago, Uncle Guan became a loyal servant to the Liu household, treated as family despite his status.

Now, with Uncle Guan tragically killed, Li Nian Long's hatred for Long Zongheng knew no bounds.

Unable to find the jade pendant, Li Nian Long quickly regained his composure, muttering, "Perhaps it's for the best. From now on, I have nothing to do with the Long family. Killing Long Zongheng won't weigh on my conscience."

After cleaning himself, as he prepared to leave the river, he noticed something white floating upstream. What could it be?

Curious, Li Nian Long looked closer. As the object neared, it became clear.

It wasn't just something; it was a person—a woman in a white dress, drifting with the current.

...

Two days later, Li Nian Long boarded a train to Tianfu with an ethereal girl.

Nineteen years old, with long, flowing hair, a face like a crescent moon, dressed in a white dress, pure and elegant, this was the girl Li Nian Long saved from the river during the stormy night.

Her name was as beautiful as she was—Nalan Ruyue.

Nalan was a Manchu surname, and Ruyue suited her perfectly, graceful and pure like the bright moon, a celestial maiden.

Unfortunately, Nalan Ruyue was mute, able to hear but unable to speak, born this way.

In two days, Li Nian Long learned only so much. Nalan Ruyue's origins and why she ended up in the river were mysteries she didn't reveal, and Li Nian Long didn't pry. When he mentioned returning home, Nalan Ruyue insisted on accompanying him.

Initially, Li Nian Long refused, but Nalan Ruyue opened the window of their fifth-story room and stepped out, her gaze determined—either take her along or watch her jump.

Li Nian Long took Nalan Ruyue with him.

The journey from Dragon City to Tianfu took a day and a night. Fortunately, Li Nian Long had booked a sleeper ticket. Flying would have been quicker, but Nalan Ruyue had no ID, so they chose the train for safety. It was summer, and the trip promised to be uncomfortable.

"Ice-cold." A chilled bottle of mineral water pressed against Nalan Ruyue's face made her flinch. She looked at Li Nian Long with her large, sparkling eyes, and using sign language, she accepted the water.

The gesture was 'thank you.' Li Nian Long had picked up some basic sign language from her in the past two days.

"You're welcome."

Under the clear sky, sunlight filtered through the train window onto his face as he held a novel to pass the time, though he found no interest in reading.

The events of these days were too much to bear or explain. The past twenty-five years of his life hadn't amounted to the danger and complexity he faced in just a few days. His mother's death, the assassination attempt by his half-brother, Uncle Guan's tragedy, his own resurrection after being shot, saving Nalan Ruyue from the river...

Each event, tightly woven like a thrilling movie.

[End of Chapter 1 translation]