Heroine, Don't Leave

In the Great Wei Dynasty, within the city of Cloudsafe.

The early summer rain was like a flower-snatching rogue sneaking into a lady’s chamber at night—arriving in a furious rush and leaving in a hurried dash. All it left behind were muddy puddles in the ruts and a pear tree adorned with rain-kissed blossoms.

As the wind settled and the rain ceased, the streets of the capital gradually stirred to life. Commonfolk emerged from their homes, and peddlers hawked their wares along the lanes:

“Steamed buns—!”

“Coal for sale…”

…

Amid the bustling noise, a convoy slowly turned onto the street from the corner of Skywater Bridge.

Horse-drawn carriages followed at the rear, while thirteen armed escorts rode ahead. Cloaked in straw raincoats and bamboo hats, with blades strapped to their backs, they bore the dust and fatigue of a long journey.

In the heavily guarded capital, a convoy so thick with the aura of the martial world was a rare sight. Many passersby cast sidelong glances, their eyes drawn to the young man leading the group.

Beneath his straw cloak, he wore black robes. Perched on his shoulder was a large, snow-white bird. He stood tall and sturdy, with fair skin, dark eyes that held a bright gleam, and sharp sword-like eyebrows that added a fierce edge to his handsome face.

“Wow—Mom, look! That big brother is so dashing!”

“Hush! Don’t shout like that. Have you no shame?”

“That bird is so chubby~”

“Cheep?”

“Hey? It actually understands what we’re saying!”

…

The young man in black seemed oblivious to the praises from the young women and married ladies on the street. His gaze fixed ahead, he led his team to the end of the street, stopping outside the Zhenyuan Security Agency.

Every shop along Skywater Bridge displayed the Pei family emblem, and the security agency was no exception.

Any family capable of owning an entire street in the capital—where land was worth its weight in gold—was clearly no small fry. The agency’s imposing entrance, with its yellow-wood beams and blue-tiled roof, always had two guards stationed outside to maintain its prestigious image.

Noticing the unfamiliar convoy halting at their doorstep, one of the guards stepped forward, clasped his hands in a martial world salute, and asked:

“And you are…?”

“Ye Jingtang.”

The guard frowned in confusion, scanning the group of imposing martial artists.

“I’ve never heard of you. Are you here to hire our services, or…”

“To challenge.”

“…”

Silence fell over the street.

Pedestrians who had been idly strolling now crowded around. Even the wonton vendor by the roadside set down his ladle, wiped his hands on his apron, and stood on tiptoe to get a better look.

“What’s going on?”

“Someone’s here to challenge the agency. You don’t see this often in the capital.”

…

The two guards outside the agency, sensing the young man’s hostile intent, darkened their expressions. Had it been some reckless youth, they would’ve simply shouted him down. But the thirteen riders, all armed and looking as though they were there to wipe out the whole place, were not to be trifled with. So the guard replied with measured politeness:

“This is the capital. Private fights are strictly forbidden. Our employer is a legitimate business owner who follows the law. We can’t accept challenges. If you have a dispute with our employer, you can file a complaint. Let’s settle this at the magistrate’s office…”

The moment he said this, the onlookers erupted in jeers:

“Boo…”

“You call yourselves martial artists? Someone’s knocking on your door, and you tell them to go to the authorities? How pathetic!”

“Yeah…”

…

The young man in black untied the blade from his back and tossed it to one of his companions. Empty-handed, he declared:

“Bring out your lead guard. I’ll leave after a fight.”

Seeing the crowd gathering, the guard’s face soured. One of his companions darted toward the street, likely to report to the authorities.

But after just a few steps, he found his path blocked by a blade-wielding man from the young man’s group.

“Hey! You—”

Enraged, seven or eight men rushed out from behind the agency’s gates, armed with blades and spears.

From within the agency, a powerful voice boomed:

“Kid, a bit of youthful arrogance is fine, but you’d better know your place…”

Everyone turned to look. A man strode out from the main hall of the agency’s courtyard. Dressed in brocade robes, he was burly and tall, his right hand—calloused and tough—rolling two iron walnuts.

Crick, crack…

The guards outside immediately called out:

“Master Chen! This kid is causing trouble.”

The spectators buzzed with excitement, chattering among themselves:

“Chen Biao himself is here.”

“Is this handsome fellow going to get himself killed?”

“No one dares to kill in the capital. At most, he’ll cough up some blood.”

“Even spitting blood would be a pity for someone this handsome…”

Whoosh—

Before the crowd could say more, a light whistling sound cut through the air.

The guards and pedestrians blinked, and in that instant, the young man in black—who had been seated on his horse—shot into the air like an arrow. He cleared the agency’s ten-foot-high gate and landed squarely in the courtyard.

Chen Biao, who had just stepped out, shuddered in shock. Instinctively, he hurled the two iron walnuts, but the young man in black deflected them with a sweep of his sleeve. Then, like an eagle pouncing on a rabbit, he clamped a hand around Chen Biao’s throat.

Thump!

In the blink of an eye, the tall and burly Chen Biao was slammed against the doorframe behind him, the impact shaking loose several black tiles from the eaves.

Clatter—

The tiles shattered on the ground, startling the dozen or so guards in the courtyard into trembling, their faces filled with terror.

Chen Biao, pale with fear, made no move to resist. Instead, he cried out in panic:

“Hold on, young hero! I’m just a lead guard! If you have a grievance, take it up with the employer. Don’t take it out on me…”

The fact that he could still speak meant the young man hadn’t used lethal force.

The young man in black, gripping Chen Biao’s throat with one hand, gestured toward an old blade master outside the gate:

“He’s called Yang Chao. From now on, he’s the lead guard. You’re second-in-command. Understood?”

Chen Biao was baffled, but with a hand around his neck, he didn’t dare talk back. He could only spread his hands in resignation.

“Young Hero, we’re a legitimate business that pays taxes on time, not some martial arts stronghold. If the owner doesn’t agree, even if you beat me to death, I can’t make the call...”

“My father was Pei Yuanfeng, your employer’s younger brother. He asked me to bring the family business to you. From now on, these people are part of Zhenyuan Security Agency. If they’re mistreated in any way, I’ll hold you accountable.”

Chen Biao froze, his eyes scanning the young man in black with disbelief. “You’re Second Master’s son?! But... why is your surname Ye?”

Ye Jingtang didn’t answer. After speaking, he pulled out a stack of official banknotes, each worth a hundred taels, and slapped them against Chen Biao’s chest before turning to leave.

Outside, the neighbors were still in shock, whispering among themselves:

“What incredible skill...”

“Is that a young master of the Pei family?”

“Sounds like it... There used to be a second son in the Pei family, but that was twenty or thirty years ago...”

...

The twelve guards who had followed him wore complicated expressions. The leader, Chief Escort Yang, handed the blade back to Ye Jingtang as he stepped out and persuaded, “Young Master, was this really necessary? The old master always talked nonsense when he drank—you shouldn’t take it seriously. Leaving with nothing but the clothes on your back... where will you go?”

“The martial world.”

Ye Jingtang took the blade and fastened it back at his waist. His pet bird fluttered down to perch on his shoulder. He lifted his gaze to the rising sun in the distance and took a soft breath.

Outwardly, he seemed free and unburdened, but a flicker of uncertainty passed through his clear eyes—the kind that whispered, This world is vast, yet there’s no place I can truly call home.

It had been eighteen years since he arrived in this dynasty known as the Great Wei.

He’d started recovering memories from early childhood around two or three years old. Ye Jingtang grew up in a security agency in a small border town, an orphan picked up by the agency’s owner, Pei Yuanfeng, during a escort mission. Because he’d cried so loudly and fiercely as an infant, Pei Yuanfeng named him Ye Jingtang and took him in as an adopted son.

Pei Yuanfeng had been injured in a fight when he was young and never married or had children of his own. He’d been... extremely involvedin his adopted son’s upbringing—thrashing him three times a day, with extra servings on holidays—until he’d hammered the daydreams of “becoming famous by copying poems, brewing alcohol, and making soap” right out of Ye Jingtang, forging him into the agency’s top enforcer.

Just last month, Pei Yuanfeng’s heavy drinking finally caught up with him. After a particularly wild night, he died at the wine table.

While handling the funeral arrangements, Ye Jingtang found a letter among Pei Yuanfeng’s belongings.

It was written in advance, just in case. It only mentioned three things:

First: Pei Yuanfeng was no ordinary man. He had once been a renowned master in the martial world. He’d originally planned to wait until Ye Jingtang came of age and his character was clear before teaching him his “peerless blade techniques.” But if Ye Jingtang was reading the letter, it meant he’d missed his chance. Still, they’d been father and son in this life, so it was now up to Ye Jingtang to find his own way to master the blade and seek vengeance against the one who had injured Pei Yuanfeng all those years ago.

Pei Yuanfeng was gone now. Whether he’d truly been a master or not was irrelevant. A son avenging his father was a matter of course, and Ye Jingtang had no objection.

Perhaps worried that Ye Jingtang would have no way to learn advanced martial skills, Pei Yuanfeng also shared a secret—the second matter. When the previous dynasty fell, Pei Yuanfeng’s master had taken advantage of the chaos to sneak into the imperial palace and steal a fragment of the “Song of the Soaring Dragon.”

Legends said the “Song of the Soaring Dragon” was an unparalleled manual, recording nine esoteric arts. Mastering just one could make one superior to ordinary folk; learning all nine could grant immortality or even ascension to divinity.

But the chaos during the fall of the palace had been too intense. His master hadn’t managed to bring the fragment out. Instead, he’d buried it under a ginkgo tree in the Rear Palacegrounds. Pei Yuanfeng urged Ye Jingtang to retrieve it if he ever got the chance.

When Ye Jingtang read that part, he’d been utterly exasperated.

From the description, the “Song of the Soaring Dragon” sounded like the kind of “cheat” or “golden finger” he’d been hoping for for eighteen years.

Naturally, he wanted a unique treasure like that. But buried in the Rear Palaceof the imperial city? How was he, a grown man, supposed to get in there? By castrating himself and joining the eunuchs?

To learn this art, must I first part with a vital piece?

That part seemed practically useless. What affected Ye Jingtang most was the final matter:

Pei Yuanfeng had left home young and never returned before his death. Feeling he’d failed his parents, he wanted Ye Jingtang to sell the security agency and deliver the proceeds to the Pei family in the distant capital. The letter didn’t leave a single coin for Ye Jingtang himself.

If not for the letter, Ye Jingtang would never have known that his lonely, childless adoptive father had a brother.

After all their years as father and son—though Ye Jingtang felt he hadn’t fulfilled his filial duties enough, he’d still worked hard for the family all these years—to be cast out with nothing, the entire estate given to relatives... it really felt like he hadn’t been considered a true son.

An ordinary person might have ignored the letter. After all, no one else knew about it.

But Ye Jingtang was different. His previous life was long past. In this world, Pei Yuanfeng had been his only family. They shared no blood, yet the man had picked him up and raised him. That was kindness enough. Ye Jingtang hadn’t even had time to repay him or fulfill his filial duties properly.

In the end, Ye Jingtang chose to follow the will. He sold the agency in the small border town for a thousand taels of silver. Then, with the twelve guards who were willing to follow him and their families, he made the long journey to the capital of the Great Wei.

Ye Jingtang, a man standing seven feet tall, could never bring himself to live under someone else’s roof.

Now that he had settled the old guards who’d served under his father and handed over the family property to the Pei family, Ye Jingtang had completely severed ties with his past. He was now a rootless wanderer of the martial world, drifting wherever fate took him.

He didn’t know where he came from, and he had no idea where he was headed. All that remained was himself, a bird, and a single blade. He spoke of going into the “martial world,” but as he stood at the street corner, gazing blankly in all directions, he had to wonder—where exactly wasthis “martial world”?

Leading his black horse by the reins, Ye Jingtang moved through the bustling crowd. He walked along the street aimlessly, his mind adrift.

But he had taken only a few steps when a light clattering sound suddenly rang out beside him.

Clack, clack—

A window prop, dislodged from a second-floor window, tumbled down and rolled to a stop near his feet.

He lifted his gaze toward the window above. There, leaning against the windowsill, was an enchantingly beautiful and graceful figure that instantly captured his attention…