Life, First Sight

Three streets away from the main gate of Warm Jade Pavilion, on the top floor of a tower nearly half a mile high, a tableful of food and wine had barely been touched.

A handsome young man dressed in a black brocade robe, with a crimson-threaded embroidery of an evil dragon churning the river across his chest, sighed softly and flicked apart the water mirror before him, nearly a yard across. He glanced at the four towers of Warm Jade Pavilion in the distance and slowly shook his head.

"Tell me, this good-for-nothing was merely a bit more useless than most, but now that he has money in his hands, that is no good thing!"

"The master said that even the most pathetic man, once he has money in hand, can accomplish things that many geniuses cannot. So we must cut off his source of wealth! But can anyone tell me why nine Heaven-rank dead soldiers failed to kill a single barbarian?"

The young man's voice was soft and feminine, cold as a slick, clammy venomous snake, making people shudder despite themselves. The top floor of the tower was an enormous hall. More than a dozen eunuchs in black python robes standing along its walls dropped to their knees at once, not one daring to make a sound.

"Was that barbarian Lin Qi too strong, or were the men you sent out too incompetent? The master spends heaps and heaps of gold and silver raising you every year—is it just for you to squander it for nothing?" Casting a majestic glance over the eunuchs, the young man sighed softly. "I'll give you one more chance. Within three days, kill him with a single blow. Lin Qi must die!"

The eunuchs shouted in unison, "This servant obeys!"

The young man gave