The Life-and-Death Alliance

The title A Life-and-Death Pact refers to the deep bond between Nan Gong Jing and Gu Lang Xuan. When Nan Gong Jing's father, the Elder Nan Gong known as Master Purple Bamboo, was murdered, Gu Lang Xuan feared that his sworn younger brother, who was utterly devoted to his father, would be so overcome with grief that he would lose his reason and act rashly if he learned the terrible news. Not only would that make it harder to identify the killer, he might even fall into the villains' trap. So Gu Lang Xuan disguised himself as an old man, assumed the name Shang Guan Qi, and sought out Nan Gong Jing. He accompanied him to pay respects at his sworn brother's grave and, feigning the righteous indignation of an uninvolved outsider, investigated the Purple Bamboo murder and hunted down the killer who had slain his father, doing everything he could to help from the sidelines.