Amid armor and warhorses, I staked my life.
Among ranks of blades and spears, I made my home.
Beside the graveyard mounds, I laid out wine.
Killing was my livelihood.
Every ten steps, I killed a man.
For a thousand miles, I left no trace.
How did I leave no trace?
I tossed them in to feed the lake god!
...Guan Pingchao. Round
For the events behind these poems, see chapters sixteen and seventeen of volume one.
These two poems were not entirely my own creations. The first was something I had read somewhere-I could no longer remember where. Its imposing spirit struck me, and I ended up memorizing it without meaning to. I could not quite recall the third line, though, so I wrote one myself to fill the gap.
Several readers pointed out that the original poem came from "The Oil Seller Wins the Flower Queen" in Three Words and Two Beats: "Amid armor and warhorses, I staked my life; among ranks of blades and spears, I made my home. Slaughter was mere sport; plunder was my livelihood."
As for the second poem, its first two lines were far too famous, though the original wording was "left no tracks." I changed it to "left no trace" to suit the plot; the last two lines were also my own additions, written to suit the plot.