The border wars have temporarily subsided, but corruption in the officialdom continues. The people have always suffered oppression. I despise the state of society, but there is nothing I can do. I am alone and powerless, unable to change anything. So I chose to leave. I had planned to spend my days in quiet despair in a coastal town, but just as autumn came and the flowers withered, I met a woman who had also fled here. She was lively and innocent, seemingly the exact opposite of me. As we grew closer, my withered heart gradually blossomed. She gave me the courage to face the sordid truth and reality. She came like a summer flower in all its splendor, and left like an autumn leaf in serene beauty. Holding her farewell letter, I was beside myself. Everything returned to how it had been, as if we'd never met. After six years of dejection, having witnessed the joys and sorrows of life and seen through the warmth and coldness of human nature, I could no longer endure a life like this. A new law was promulgated, and those who stood to benefit from the old order obstructed reform. Meanwhile, war flared once more beyond the frontier. This muddled dream had to end. For her and her purest wish, my inner anguish finally turned into the courage to draw my sword. The iron blade gleamed coldly, sweeping away the foul miasma. With weapons and cavalry, I would trample the desert and Gobi. A brief blaze of glory often becomes an eternal legend...
