It was the hour of the tiger.
The sky over Mount Taibai was already growing faintly light.
Dugu Yin had been sleeping on his side. When he opened his eyes, he saw his younger brother still fast asleep, and his mother sitting motionless.
"Mother..." Dugu Yin called softly.
His mother, Lady Xie, turned around. "Sleep a little longer. It's still early."
In the dim light, Dugu Yin saw his mother's gaunt, haggard face.
His father had not returned home for seven or eight months. He had no idea what business had taken him away.
"Mother, aren't you sleepy?"
"I'm not sleepy. There's just something on my mind. Perhaps your father will be back today."
Someone did indeed come to their home that day.
Unfortunately, it was not their father.
It was a strangely dressed middle-aged man.
He said:
Their father was dead.
The brothers Dugu Yin and Dugu Zhang had been born in these mountains.
This was Mount Taibai, in Minzhou of the Central Region.
The mountain had little renown in the Great Tang. It could not be called lofty, nor could it be called lovely or spiritually blessed.
Some rogue cultivators lived in the mountains, along with hunters and mortal herb gatherers.
The mountain paths were rugged, and mist shrouded them all year round.
Occasionally, a cultivator's escape light swept over the peaks. These mortals could do nothing but tremble, kneel, and kowtow.
It was here that Dugu Xing had married a mortal woman.
Her surname was Xie.
One year, while returning from a trip, Dugu Xing had heard someone calling for help as he passed a cliff.
Lady Xie had fallen off the cliff by accident. Though she had not died on the spot, she was gravely injured.
Dugu Xing rescued and treated her, and from that rescue,