Taiping Duke, Li Wanli.
During the time between twenty and ten years ago, he was one of the bravest young Divine Generals in the world.
When Siming heard this name, his face initially showed a moved expression which then turned into a sigh. The old man looked at the youth before him, with a trace of pity in his eyes. Siming reached out and gently touched Li Guanyi’s hair and simply said:
"You child...these years, they must have been very hard on you."
The elder sighed, "But why, why did you come back?"
"Why not fly away high like the birds?"
And yet you return to this vortex.
Siming did not continue asking. Gone were the former jests and angry curses from the old man’s face, leaving only a calm and peaceful demeanor wrought by the passage of years. He asked, "Your aunt?"
"Taiping Duke’s parents died early, and he had no siblings."
"The aunt you speak of must be of the compound surname Murong."
Li Guanyi thought of what his aunt had said, that the White Jade Pendant his uncle gave was probably from his own mother. Indeed, what man would give a Guanyin figure as a token of love? The young man sighed and said:
"Aunt said that beautiful women are deceivers, that I should be cautious."
Therefore, Siming burst into laughter.
Laughing so hard it hurt, he said, "It seems she is not your aunt, after all. Her grandfather was your mother’s maternal grandfather. They grew up together and were very close. Your maternal grandparents... your grandparents died in a strange case in the Martial World."
"Thus, your mother was raised by her maternal grandfather. The Murong Family controlled both the literary and martial worlds. Your mother’s Martial Arts were not strong, but in the realms of calligraphy and painting, she was unmatched. She and your father were acquainted from childhood."
Li Guanyi asked, "Old sir, how do you know all this?"
The elder was silent for a moment, then said, "It’s not that I know everything."
"Rather, everything about Taiping Duke, Li Wanli, will be unearthed by those with intent, hoping to find within it the possibility to bring down such a Divine General."
"Such a general, commanding on the battlefield with lofty disregard for others. The tumultuous experiences of the past three hundred years have taught the kings of various countries that what truly brings down such a general is only the arrow shot from the shadows."
Siming said, "It’s a pity, such a pity. Your maternal great-grandfather was that renowned genius who had been famous for a hundred years, the unparalleled prodigy who brought the Murong Family to its zenith, the foremost among the top ten Grandmasters of the Martial World. Unfortunately, he couldn’t come here, couldn’t take you and your aunt away."
Li Guanyi asked, "Why not?"
Siming explained, "Because he committed an act that shocked the world."
"The battle for the Jiangnan Eighteen States twelve years ago, where Murong Longtu of the Murong Family stopped the charge of the Armored Cavalry, became world-renowned, and was acknowledged as the leading Grandmaster. From then until ten years ago, when the Capital City caught fire, your ’aunt’ took you and went into hiding."
"She hid so well, too well, which is both good and bad."
"Because three days later,"
"Murong Longtu went sword in hand into the Emperor’s palace."
"Alone, he battled against many experts from the Chen Kingdom Royal Family and the royal family."
"He did not believe in the royal family’s reasons, nor the Imperial Physician’s firm conviction. He stubbornly believed that since his granddaughter and his granddaughter’s husband were killed at the hands of the Chen Kingdom’s royal family, there must be something wrong with Emperor Chen."
"He claimed his granddaughter, his granddaughter’s daughter, and his granddaughter’s son-in-law were all dead."
"He was an old man with not many years left, indifferent to the bigger picture or any reasoning."
"He wanted the Emperor to accompany them in death, he wanted the world in mourning."
"In front of his granddaughter’s tombstone, he broke off a willow branch to use as a sword and stormed in."
"Marching straight inside."
"The broken edges of mystical weapons carpeted the Imperial Path."
"The battle raged for a day and a night, unfortunately, in the end, he couldn’t breach a nation’s defenses alone. The willow branch shattered into dust, Murong Longtu just laughed and cried, then with a shout about the Heavenly Mandate, he let out a long howl and left."
"That day, after he left, the Jiangnan Eighteen States..."
The old man paused and then said softly, "Broke away from Chen Kingdom."
Li Guanyi looked up at Siming.
The white-haired elder smiled, "Don’t underestimate the old fellows from the previous generations."
"They too were once as youthful as you, full of vigor and ambition."
"Your heroism and bravery are but the roar of young tigers."
"Murong Longtu once told me, he still feels like a youth, that such a long time has merely been spent pretending to be a mature Family Head, he still has the spirit and vigor to be roused to anger for a cause, he can still hold a sword and remembers the instinct to fight."
"Now, the Jiangnan Eighteen States belong to the Murong Family’s cities, not to the Chen or Ying countries. If the cavalry from either side enters the territory, they will be slaughtered by Murong Longtu, who as a singular Martial Artist, has found footing amidst the nations, controlling ninety-seven mystical weapons and manoeuvring with ease."
"Some in the Martial World think he’s foolish to take on two countries alone, for it will inevitably lead to defeat. Murong Longtu has fought his whole life, suffering many hidden injuries. They say once he dies, the Murong Family will be like ants in front of a rock, doomed to be crushed; yet others in the Martial World feel that such boldness and arrogance are befitting of the top Grandmaster in the world."
"Full of passion and loyalty, beyond all laws and heaven, Murong Longtu’s ambition rivals the sky itself."
"Both Chen Kingdom and Ying Country have blood debts with the Murong Family, and the Murong Family, being unyielding, asserts that failing to kill Emperor Chen was due to his old age, not bringing his ninety-seven mystical weapons."
"It’s not that Emperor Chen gave up the eighteenth state of Chen Kingdom, but that they abandoned Chen Kingdom."
"As a lone Martial Artist, he achieved what only armies and warlords could do."
"He seized the strategic midpoint between two powerful nations."