November 14, 2001.
A sudden earthquake struck the Kunlun Mountains, causing parts of the range to collapse.
On the side of a collapsed slope, a dark azure, scale-like unknown substance was exposed, quickly drawing the attention of high-level authorities.
Stationed troops were immediately deployed into the Kunlun Mountains!
An investigation team braved the piercing cold wind to survey this mysterious material.
On that day, there was heavy snow.
"Whew..."
A gust of wind blew past, sounding like a breath.
One person looked up at the stone wall, cautiously reaching out to place a hand against the dark azure material.
"Director Qin, did you hear something?" he asked in a low voice.
"A sound?"
Upon hearing this, Director Qin set down his instruments and listened intently.
The sound of breathing, mingled with the wind and snow, became increasingly distinct.
"It sounds like... breathing?"
The breath was very weak, nearly imperceptible.
It seemed to be coming from inside the mountain itself!
Director Qin slowly raised his hand and pressed it against the dark azure scales, a flicker of doubt crossing his eyes.
"It seems to be moving..."
Just then, another team member on the side raised a geological hammer.
He struck down between two of the scales!
The sound of metal clashing rang out. The dark azure scales that had covered the entire surface suddenly contracted, then began to roll and writhe like a snake!
The ground rumbled with a deafening roar as massive boulders tumbled down from the Kunlun peaks!
A colossal azure Jiao body emerged.
"It's... it's alive!"
"Director Qin! It's alive!!"
The team members shouted in terror, stumbling backward. The man who had struck the wall tripped over a toolbox behind him and fell.
He stared up in disbelief at the azure Jiao body appearing from within the mountain.
"Is that... a dragon?"
...
Zhao Ge.
The army of the Zhou crusade had already breached the city gates and was charging toward Lutai.
Di Xin, the King of Shang, held a torch in one hand and a sword in the other as he walked alone.
Blood dripped from the tip of his blade.
He appeared half-mad. In the long corridor behind him, the palace attendants of Lutai lay in pools of blood, long since silenced.
A girl in green sat upon the eaves, a gourd hanging from her waist, swinging her legs casually.
"The Zhou army has arrived. Zi Shou, are you still not going to run?"
Hearing this sudden voice, a flash of ruthlessness crossed Di Xin’s expression.
He turned, sword in hand.
"Presumptuous—"
But when he saw the girl in green sitting on the roof, the ferocity in his eyes vanished in an instant.
The rest of his angry curse was swallowed back down.
Only shock remained in his gaze.
After a long while, he calmed himself and let out a soft sigh.
"I was wondering who was so bold as to call me by my given name. So, it is Master."
Qingnu jumped down from the eaves, speaking as she walked. "The city of Zhao Ge is currently full of bold rebels shouting your name. One more from me makes no difference."
She circled Di Xin once, clicking her tongue and shaking her head.
"Zi Shou, you have grown old."
"Indeed, I am old. Yet Master is exactly as you were back then. Truly an immortal."
Di Xin looked at Qingnu with a complex gaze.
He had only met her once before, on the day of his enthronement.
At that time, he had learned of a secret known only to the generations of Shang kings.
A terror that had been passed down for over five hundred years!
Shaodian Qingnu!
An exiled immortal of unknown origin who had once helped Da Yi overthrow the Xia Dynasty.
Rumor had it she would take the heart-blood of the last Shang king; she was the person every generation of the royal family feared meeting most!
Successive kings had sought divinations from the heavens, asking for a way to break this fate, but they never received an answer. However, as centuries passed and Qingnü never appeared, later kings began to believe it was merely a legend meant to warn their descendants.
But on the day he ascended the throne, Qingnü came!
The last King of Shang?
Di Xin was not resigned to this! Why was it that the moment he took the throne, he was destined to be the last? Therefore, he worked tirelessly from dawn to dusk and launched military campaigns in all directions!
But the rebel flags rising across the land clearly told him one thing:
Heaven's mandate cannot be defied!
Yet Di Xin refused to accept this mandate!
"The power of Xiqi spreads like a prairie fire. Is Master helping them from the shadows?"
Qingnü shook her head.
"Shang Tang's overthrow of the Xia, King Wu's crusade against the Zhou—these are all history. I merely appeared at the right time and place to do the right thing."
"Yu of Xia, Tang of Shang, or Ji Fa... we simply took what we each needed."
Di Xin burst into laughter upon hearing this.
"I know nothing of what Master calls history. To me, Master is omnipotent—a true immortal!"
"Even if you flatter me, I won't show mercy, you know."
Qingnü bared her sharp teeth and brandished the dagger in her hand. "Will you do it yourself, or shall I?"
Di Xin shook his head slowly.
"There is no need for Master to act personally. I shall offer what Master requires myself. But before that, I have one more question!"
Qingnu checked the time and then nodded.
"Ask."
Di Xin asked, "How do I compare to Jie of Xia?"
It was a good question.
After a moment of thought, Qingnu replied, "You are smarter than him."
When the capital of Yu was breached years ago, Jie of Xia fled with his favorite concubine, Mo Xi. When Qingnu found him, he still refused to surrender his heart-blood, and as a result, he died a miserable death!
The thing Qingnu hated most was someone who broke their promise!
"Is that all?"
Di Xin’s expression grew somewhat lonely upon hearing her opinion of him. He let out a sigh.
"I thought I might have earned a bit more regard from Master."
The sounds of battle drew closer.
Di Xin tossed his torch to the ground and raised his sword, pointing it at his own heart.
At this moment, Qingnu began pulling items out of nowhere.
There were incense sticks, a small tripod, and other ritual objects.
"Master, what are you doing?"
Di Xin watched her actions with a look of confusion.
"End-of-life care!"
Qingnu arranged the incense tripod and snapped her fingers, using a spark from the torch to light the incense.
"Although this is a deal with your ancestors, I understand that I am just using my knowledge of history to take a shortcut. Since you are being so cooperative, I should naturally show some courtesy."
Watching Qingnu mutter to herself, Di Xin sighed with emotion.
"I did not expect that Master would be the one to see me off on my final journey..."
"In that case, I have one last wish. I hope Master will grant it!"
Hearing this, Qingnu looked up, her pupils narrowing into fierce vertical slits.
"You're not trying to back out of dying, are you?"
Di Xin shook his head, his gaze deep and profound. "I would like Master to set this Lutai ablaze... and sacrifice me!"
The Jiao-sacrifice was the grandest sacrificial ceremony of the Shang Dynasty!
And a King-sacrifice was the ultimate version of it!
"I, through this sacrifice of a king, curse the world of the Zhou Dynasty to be filled with unrest and turmoil, never to know a day of peace!"
As the words fell, Di Xin lunged forward!
The sword light pierced through flesh as the bronze blade drove through his heart.
Di Xin fell to one knee, his face turning pale almost instantly.
But even so, he remained upright, head held high!
Qingnu looked at the now-breathless Di Xin and sighed. Another famous figure from history had ended his life before her eyes.
Was Di Xin wrong?
Naturally, he was. But was he truly as debauched and tyrannical as history would claim?
That was a matter of perspective.
Daji?
Qingnu had met her.
That famous 'evil consort' of later generations was nothing more than a pitiful woman who had lost her country.
Qingnu walked behind Di Xin, took the heart-blood from the tip of the sword, and placed it into the gourd she carried.
There were only two drops of blood inside the gourd.
Aside from Di Xin's drop, the other belonged to Jie of Xia.
Qingnu picked up the torch and set Lutai on fire.
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