The Poem of Red Gold

My father died in the battle in the North, and his body was missing for eight years. The emperor adopted me as his adopted son and gave me the taboo power of "taotie" - the ability to devour the lives and power of others. Everyone says it's a gift, but I know it's a test. A test to see if I could be the "perfect vessel." For eight years, I guarded the border not for military merit, but for an answer—why my father abandoned me and embarked on that fatal expedition. Now that I have recovered his remains, I have touched the edge of the truth. The emperor said that this was just the beginning. He said the empire was rotting and I was the sharpest knife in his hand. He said that my father's choice was to sacrifice, but my destiny was to inherit. But they were both wrong. I am no one's knife. I am Jiang Qiu. I will find the truth and end this era myself.