In the winter of the fifth year of the Taiping Xingguo era, the Song army’s northern campaign ended in defeat. Emperor Taizong Zhao Guangyi flew into a rage, determined to purge the court and restore the nation’s prestige. The northwestern frontier fiefdoms rose in revolt one after another, while the Li family of Xiazhou declared itself sovereign. Meanwhile, an organization called “Candle Shadows Swaying Red” slowly emerged from the shadows. They met again, white-haired, after the wars had ended, their youth long gone amid the turmoil. Who could they turn to and sigh, as heroes grew gray and beauties grew old?
