Chess Across the Rivers and Mountains

Some seek only to reach the pinnacle of the sword, heedless of life or death;

Some scheme tirelessly, bent on seizing power over all under heaven;

Some pursue immortality, hoping to ascend to the heavens one day.

Life is but a dream: how much joy can it hold?

As for him

He was merely a servant in the prince's manor, a nobody in humble clothes.

He wanted nothing, asking only for a peaceful life.

But one wrong step brought the swords of the jianghu down upon him and swept him into the storms of the imperial court.

Like duckweed on the water, he was carried forward by the torrents of a troubled age.

Though he weathered countless storms,

what he cherished deep down was still the simple warmth of everyday life.

All worldly splendor passes by like a traveler;

of all things, an ordinary life is the hardest to come by.