Tales of the Chongning Era

On the fifth day of the first month of the twenty-third year of Chongning, Xia Chongyuan died in Luoyang.

On his deathbed, he passed the wolf-head token and the Formation-Breaking Saber to his illegitimate son, Xia Yi, rather than his eldest legitimate son. “From now on, you’re in charge of the Xia family.” Nobody understood.

Less than a year later, five of Xia Yi’s brothers had fallen in battle. Xia Zheng fought fiercely in Hebei, his head displayed above the camp gate. Xia Yue, pierced by forty-three arrows, died on his feet. Xia Jun sat upright with his saber in hand as he burned in Anxi. Xia Song fought alone to the death and froze in an icy river. Xia Lan was shot in the back, a death Xia Yi witnessed from atop the city wall. His mother, Madam Liu, died amid the chaos of battle, clutching his bundle. His sister, Xia Li, was captured.

Of the seven Xia sons, five died in battle.

No one gave the nineteen-year-old illegitimate son a second glance. The eunuch Li Fuguo smiled as he approved imperial decrees, while the warlord An Zhongrong received honors and promotions. The Xia family stood in everyone’s way, so it was only right that they die.

Xia Yi wiped away his tears and broke south with eighty surviving soldiers. On the walls of Jiangzhou, the Azure Wolf Banner rose once more. Old comrades joined him, refugees rallied to him, and Murong Xi headed south with three thousand cavalry to seal an alliance through marriage. When Murong Chui asked what he wanted, he replied, “I want the Xia family to survive.”

The Xia saber style had eight forms, but he would have to discover the eighth himself.

Be ruthless to yourself, and you can survive. Be ruthless to fate, and you can rise again. Be ruthless to the times, and you can reshape the world. The final realm of the saber is to use hands stained with blood to protect what must not be broken.

Nineteen years later, the Liang Empire collapsed. The new dynasty’s banners rose above the walls of Luoyang, and its era name was Wuxing.

Murong Xi said, “I married you as a pawn, but you’ve made me want to take a blade for you.”

Xia Yi drew his saber, its edge reflecting six faces already blurred by time.

“Six of the seven Xia sons are dead,” he said. “But the Xia family is not gone.”