One was a refined and graceful young master, as gentle as jade and renowned throughout the land. The other was a free-spirited young bandit-hero, riding fine horses in bright clothes and wandering the jianghu with a sword at his side.
One had been powerless to choose since childhood, raised to become exactly what his family needed. His clan's prosperity seemed to be the sole reason for his existence. The other lived burdened by hatred. Though he seemed carefree, he woke from nightmares night after night, and revenge was his only reason to live.
Their lives seemed destined from the moment they were born.
They met amid the deepest worldly entanglements, becoming the one and only exception in each other's lives.
Through the rise and fall of a troubled age, years later, as he looked back, he heard a voice drifting hazily from the depths of time, so faint it was almost a whisper.
Was that him...
He heard the voice softly ask, "If I were willing to cast away all this splendor for you, would you leave everything behind and roam the world with me?"
"I would..." He answered without thinking, reaching to hold on to that elusive figure, only to jolt awake in an instant...
The air froze. A sudden, desolate chill came over him. So it turned out...
The one who had once been by his side was long gone.
