The thirty-second year of the Southern Tang calendar, spring.
In a dense forest on the border of Shu, a figure raced through the trees.
As if fate were playing a cruel joke, the clear sky turned dark with clouds. The gentle spring rain gave way to thunder and lightning and a torrential downpour.
The figure stopped by the river. Tied to his chest was a swaddled baby wrapped in cloth patterned with flowing clouds. The man’s hair was disheveled and soaked by the rain, plastered to his cheeks. He looked utterly wretched and desolate.
It was early spring, and the temperature was already low. With the storm raging and the river close by, the chill made the man shiver. He looked down at the baby in his arms. The child’s bluish face made his heart clench…
