I. A Deer's Shadow Vanishes into the Millet Fields
Hooves shattered the thin frost of late autumn as Duke Huan of Qi's hunting party pursued a white deer across the wilds of Qi for nearly half an hour. The deer was so nimble, its silvery-white coat flashing between the withered millet stalks, drawing the whole party along like grass swept up by the wind toward Maiqiu.
By the time Duke Huan reined in his horse, he was already panting. He pulled back the hood of his sable cloak. Sweat beaded at his temples, dotted with grass, but his eyes still followed the flickering silver-white shape, until the deer leaped over a field ridge and vanished into the cooking smoke rising from the villages of Maiqiu.
"Never mind." He waved a hand, and those behind him
