The land was locked in a great struggle, with heroes rising on every side.
Warlords, great and small, fought one another to a standstill.
Unnoticed by everyone, a new army quietly emerged. Its lord was of the Ji Sun Clan, though his origins were unknown. He befriended heroes from all corners and raised his banner beside the Miao River. When word spread that he had taken up arms, many friends came to his aid. In just two short years, he had built his power into an impressive force. The warlords around him had initially paid him no mind, until so many commoners under their rule abandoned their homes and fled to join him that they realized this man could not be allowed to live. They gathered allies, intent on snuffing him out before he could grow, and sent out numerous scouts.
The Ji Sun Clan lord ordered his men to step up their patrols.
That day, they really did catch a suspicious-looking fellow.
"Interrogate the man if you can. If you can't get anything out of him, chop him up and feed him to the dogs." Qin You had heard they'd caught a strange spy, and they'd dragged him out of bed in the middle of the night to make a decision. He was so angry he was still grouchy from being woken up. "Do you really need to come to me over every little thing?"
"General Qin, this spy looks unusual."
"What's so unusual? Does he have three eyes or four breasts?"
Cursing under his breath, Qin You was led to meet the spy. The moment he saw him, he froze, wondering if the patrolmen were blind and had mistaken their lord, who'd sneaked out, for a spy. But when he looked closer, he noticed a few subtle differences.