"Chen Guangrui, you little Monster! You still dare come back!"
The roar shattered the peace of the seaside fishing village. A young man in an oversized robe came hurrying out of the village.
He was thin and plainly dressed, with a fair, handsome face. He looked frail, yet he moved astonishingly fast. One step carried him forward as though he had taken flight, and in a few strides he reached the beach.
As he ran, he called back, "I came with no other purpose! Today is my late teacher's death anniversary, and I came to pay my respects!"
"You bringer of disaster! Haven't you harmed my Qiao Clan enough?"
With another furious shout, a dozen burly men armed with clubs raced out of the village. The tall, bald man leading them continued his tirade. "Back then, you disguised yourself and slipped into Qiao Village to become my nephew's student! He taught you to read because he didn't know what you were. That was how he became tainted by a monster. Otherwise, he would never have died so young!"
Bitterness filled the handsome young man's face. He kept running, but turned his head to call back, "Elder Qiao! I truly did not harm my teacher! Someone else attacked him! I was born with extraordinary strength and hid it because I didn't want people talking. I never meant to deceive anyone, much less hurt my master!"
"Qiao Shen was bright from childhood. I could see he was a seed for scholarship, so I gave him a hand and introduced him to a scholar in the county town. He lived up to our hopes and learned a great deal. The Sui Dynasty had just been founded and was calling for talented people from All Under Heaven. Emperor Ming held examinations to select officials,