The Dragon Slayer: Revenge Is Best Served in Ten Years

This book continues the story of Yue Fei, the famed Southern Song general who fought against the Jin. Yue Fei was executed in the 11th year of the Shaoxing era under the Southern Song on trumped-up charges. The timeline and characters have been adjusted to suit the plot.

When I was five, my whole family was executed at the public execution grounds.

I escaped by hiding in a crock of pickled vegetables. As I lay there, I heard my enemies laughing: “If that Xiao kid is still alive, he’ll make a fine dog.”

Ten years later, I entered the capital under an assumed name to take the military examinations.

The essay question turned out to be “On the Training of Loyal Hounds.”

I swept my brush across the page: “Loyal hounds? The Xiao family was devoted to the throne to a man, and now the grass on their graves is taller than anyone!”

The chief examiner slapped the table and cried, “Well said! I detest sycophants more than anything!”

He had no idea that the man I was cursing was the emperor seated above us.

Nor did he know that his precious daughter was crouched on a roof beam, watching us in secret.