Jiang Yang traveled through the Hexi Corridor, crossed snowy mountains and plateaus, and traversed the desert, finally reaching the shores of the Mediterranean Sea.
Along the way, he rode alone, bringing a cartload of goods as he retraced the route he had taken after the Doomsday of the Fifth Epoch.
But by now, the living beings upon the land had long since undergone earth-shaking changes, and a loneliness born of heaven and earth changing while he remained unchanged lingered in his heart.
He passed through many cities, exchanging goods from East and West with people in every region along the way.
And because he traveled as a merchant alone, he attracted many greedy people along the road who sought to kill him and seize his wealth.
But Jiang Yang had martial prowess to spare, and he slew all who came!
He killed ill-intentioned bandits, defeated Arabian Horse Thieves roaming the wilderness, and even routed a fierce, three-hundred-strong unit of Turkic Cavalry in Western Asia, alone on horseback!
Neither the cities along his route nor the local warlords had ever seen such a formidable traveling merchant.
At last, he arrived in Jerusalem.
His pair of golden eyes shone brilliantly, making him far too distinctive, and he had earned a mighty reputation with his glorious victories.
His defeat of the Turks, in particular, won him the recognition of the Crusaders in Jerusalem.
His reputation reached Jerusalem before he did, and the Crusaders there called him the Golden-Eyed Knight from the mysterious East!
By the time he arrived, the First Crusaders War had already ended, the Franks had established their Kingdom here, and Baldwin I had been crowned King of the Kingdom of Jerusalem.
A succession of Western nobles had established noble domains along the shores of the Mediterranean Sea.
This land had