The Path Through the Azure Clouds

I, too, have drifted for years. For ten years, I repaid kindness with betrayal, and lost teachers and friends to life and death.

I have a gourd of wine to console me through the dust and turmoil.

I wield a sword that can slay a thousand men in a hundred paces.

I ride alone for ten thousand miles through a desolate land.

I hold a loyal heart that can wash away the world's sorrows.

Though born as an ant, one should aspire to soar like a swan: establish the heart of Heaven and Earth, secure the fate of the people, carry on the lost teachings of the sages of old, and bring peace to all generations.

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