Chronicles of Immortal Love and Chivalry

History is shrouded in fog, its true face difficult to discern. Stories conceal moral principles and instruct the masses, yet their methods are complicated and their levels divided, making the disparity even greater. People reason over things without reaching clarity; those above and below grow estranged, unable to tell right from wrong. As ideas are passed down and strategies take winding paths, in the end, success and failure determine who is called a hero, while appearances decide what is beautiful or ugly. The more there is to deal with, the more exhausted body and mind become. Was that what the sages of old intended when they taught the people, to make them suffer and toil? We are all human, made of flesh and blood and born of yellow earth. How can there be distinctions of rank?

The Way lies in thought, in debate, in proof, and in practice.

People have their own private affections, and there is nothing wrong with that. They distinguish between the close and the distant, and protect their own, even at the expense of moral principles, until it becomes the rule. Thus the virtuous die for what is right, while evildoers flourish through violence. The very concept of human nature is an illusion. Follow the rules, and body and mind grow weary; sever the lineage, and it endures through the ages as one unbroken thread. Those who pursue it never cease, harming others for their own gain. The timid cannot let go of the past, and even heroes have their attachments. To prove oneself in this world through other people, is that not a contradiction?

This novel and its characters are entirely fictional. Any resemblance to actual people or events is purely coincidental. Do not imitate.