Su Ziji had already taken off his oilcloth raincoat. He wore ordinary clothes: a crimson gauze robe and a white gauze inner garment, seemingly untouched by even a speck of rainwater or mud.
He glanced at the dumbstruck Zhang Dai and asked, "What? Do you no longer recognize me?"
"Imperial Grandson!"
Only then did Zhang Dai suddenly come to his senses. He prostrated himself on the ground in salute. "This... this is far beyond what this subject expected..."
The Imperial Grandson had already sent an envoy to inform him that the popular uprising had begun. That alone showed how seriously the Imperial Grandson regarded it, and how dangerous he knew it was.
But since he knew the uprising was dangerous, why had he placed himself in peril?
Could it be for him, Zhang Dai?
No, impossible!
Moreover, as a ruler, as the Imperial Grandson, he could not act willfully.
Having merely knocked his head against the ground once, Zhang Dai had already recovered his clarity. Rising, he bowed. "Your Imperial Grandson, you cannot remain here."
"Perhaps you wonder why I came?"
Listen—the sounds of rain and clamor outside could already be faintly heard. Su Ziji watched as the commoners carrying torches crossed Central Mountain.
The commotion outside could now be vaguely heard.
He rose and looked out through the half-open window. He could vaguely make it out.
This Daoist temple was originally situated on the mountain, higher than the mountainside and not far below the summit.
From where Zhang Dai stood, he only needed to turn his head to see scattered points of firelight.
"Perhaps I could not let it go, and wanted to ask why you chose to stay?" Su Ziji said, watching the firelights draw ever closer.
When he had approached earlier, Zhang Dai had known death awaited