The Unsung Hero

This isn't really a synopsis. I'm just talking about how I came to write the book.

It all started many years ago. Back then, I suddenly remembered a story I'd heard once. It was about a scholar traveling to the capital to take the imperial exams, accompanied by a young servant. He passed and became the top-ranked candidate. The curious thing was that the two of them had set out with a single salted duck egg, and it still wasn't finished by the time they reached the capital, took the exam, and returned home.

I remember the old folks saying the story meant they were very poor. They spent three years on the road, buying rice to cook and staying in the wilderness. They made one salted duck egg last the whole round trip to save money, to teach children to study hard.

But whenever I thought about it, it never quite added up. If he could afford a servant, how much could one salted duck egg have cost? If he had traveled alone, he could have made it in a year. The money saved by not hiring a servant, plus the cost of feeding two people rice for two years, should have been enough to rent a carriage.

I'd heard so many stories as a child that whenever I remembered this one, I would just smile. And so this story came to be. Of course, a wuxia novel has to include Cheng Feng. I really like this person.

This novel and its characters are entirely fictional. Any resemblance is purely coincidental. Do not imitate.