In the seventeenth year of the Shenwu era, the land enjoyed peace and prosperity, and bloody violence was rare in the martial world. Yu Qiulian, a lone-wolf constable of the Six Doors, had become famous.
Yu Qiulian was the disciple of Qing Mo, known as "Qingkong Yu." His lightness skills were so extraordinary that he seemed like a ghost appearing in broad daylight. He was also a remarkably skilled martial artist, though no one knew which school he belonged to. People had wondered why the Six Doors employed someone with such an obscure background. But after Yu Qiulian single-handedly captured two notorious robbers, "Heavenly Ghost" and "Earthly Fiend," their suspicions turned to praise and adulation. In peaceful times, theft and robbery were especially despised, while being a constable had become a noble profession.
In the third month of the seventeenth year, the winds stirred and the grass grew. Yu Qiulian was ordered to capture Lou Lingxuan, the "Thousand-Handed Crow." This thief had been a constant headache for local governments everywhere. He always dressed in black when committing a crime. One might have said it was to hide himself at night, but he wore black even in broad daylight. He always appeared like an announcement of a death, earning himself the nickname "Bird of Ill Omen." With such an obvious mark, he still committed his crimes with outstanding skill and audacious fearlessness. Constables had taken turns pursuing him, but he had led them in circles, and they had made no progress for days. Only then did the imperial court order Yu Qiulian, a man of equally formidable skill, to catch him.
Within a few days, the news spread throughout the martial world: this was the showdown between the greatest constable and the most troublesome thief. After successfully stealing a jade disk from the wealthy Su family in Hangzhou, Lou Lingxuan carved the words "I'm honored by your kind regard" into it and left it in the local government office's main hall. His act was undoubtedly seen as a taunt and a challenge to Yu Qiulian.
And so the story of Yu Qiulian and Lou Lingxuan began in earnest
