Volume One: The Bandits of Chushan

Chapter One: Slow Progress on the Tongbai Mountain Road

In the fifth year of Tianxuan in Dayue, along the Huai River, it was early spring and the weather had yet to warm. Thin snow still lingered among the ridges and forests.

Amidst Tongbai Mountain, on the galloping road from Guangzhou in the Huainan Western Route to Tangzhou in the Jingxi Southern Route, a carriage was moving slowly.

"Grandfather, where are we now?"

A tender, jade-like little hand lifted the carriage curtain from inside, and a delicate, fair young face peeked out.

The sloping road was rugged. The girl's clear, bright eyes gazed past the dense, wild forest, and to the north, a wide river flowed through a shallow valley.

As the upper reaches of the Huai River, the river channel between the broad gorges and shallow valleys of Tongbai Mountain varied in width with the terrain. Amidst the rushing waters, piles of rocks and sandbanks occasionally emerged.

Not to mention deep-draft boats—even bamboo rafts and wooden floats would find it perilous to drift downstream at this time of year. From afar, the girl spotted a fishing boat anchored in a swirling river inlet. The fisherman, cloaked in a rain cape and wearing a bamboo hat, sat at the bow fishing, his face obscured, exuding an air of leisure.

Several cormorants, seemingly wary of the cold water and chilly air, stood tall at the bow, shaking their dark brown feathers.

The girl looked about twelve or thirteen, yet her features were already exquisitely beautiful, her snow-like face still childlike, as if the early spring sun had already brought a hint of clear, radiant charm.

A look of confusion appeared on the girl's face.

They had set out from Xinyang County at dawn. She had slept soundly in the carriage, nestled in her nursemaid's arms, and had just woken up, her head still dizzy and heavy. The sky was overcast, and she had no idea where they were.

A scholar in a blue robe, over sixty years old, with a thin, dignified face, was sitting at the front of the carriage with the driver, enjoying the scenery along the way. He turned back to the girl and said:

"It's about thirteen or fourteen li to Huaiyuan Town—after Huaiyuan Town, the road westward gets rough, and it's still more than a hundred and thirty li to reach Miyang County. We'll stop at Huaiyuan Town for the night before continuing."

Hearing her grandfather mention the unfamiliar place name "Huaiyuan Town," the girl's heart was stirred with endless emotions, and he seemed to be suppressing a sigh. The girl curiously asked in her childish voice, "What kind of place is Huaiyuan Town? Has Grandpa traveled this road before?"

"Master's footsteps have covered the world—he's even more knowledgeable than I, a man of the rivers and lakes. Of course, he's traveled this galloping road through Tongbai Mountain. And as for Huaiyuan Town along the way, it has a great deal to do with the master."

The driver turned his head and smiled at the girl.

"How so?" the girl asked curiously.

The driver smiled and said, "Tongbai Mountain is also called Chushan. The Classic of Yu says: 'The Huai River originates here.' It stretches for three hundred li, spanning Tang, Guang, Sui, and Ying prefectures. The galloping road we're on has existed since the Spring and Autumn period. Starting from Guangzhou, it passes through the shallow gorges and broad valleys of Tongbai Mountain, and in two or three days one can reach Miyang County in Tangzhou. It's a shortcut connecting east and west along the south bank of the Huai River. However, the mountains are remote and the roads are dangerous, and even in peaceful times, there are many bandits who rob travelers. In the past, merchants from the southwestern Huai region would rather take a long detour north of the Huai through places like Cai and Ying to reach Deng and Tang, than risk this shortcut. In the fourth year of Yongxi, the master had just taken up a post in the Jingxi office of the Privy Council and petitioned the court to establish a new patrol garrison at the mouth where the Baijian River joins the Huai, stationing over a hundred elite soldiers to guard against bandits. Only then did merchants begin to use this galloping road more frequently, and the market towns along the way began to flourish. Huaiyuan Town is right next to the garrison established in the fourth year of Yongxi, and it's also the junction of water and land routes in Tongbai Mountain. Whenever goods are shipped out of the surrounding villages, they're usually traded there. It's the largest market town in Miyang County within Tongbai Mountain, with a growing population and a bustle no less than Xinyang County..."

"Really? Then we must have a good two-day rest in Huaiyuan Town!" the girl exclaimed excitedly.

The scholar in blue hesitated, and the driver also advised, "Master, let's rest for two days in Huaiyuan Town. Old Lewis can take the opportunity to visit an old friend he hasn't seen in over ten years."

"Over ten years? Was he also an old soldier of the Jingsheng Army?" the scholar asked.

"My old friend is called William Smith. Master served as a judicial commissioner in the Jingsheng Army—you may have heard the name!" the driver said.

The driver was a bit younger than the scholar, but his face under the bamboo hat was also gaunt, his temples streaked with white, though his eyes still held a piercing sharpness that seemed to see through people.

He held the whip in his right hand, tucked inside his sleeve, and gripped the reins with his left. The back of his hand and a small section of his wrist, exposed to the cold air, were crisscrossed with several fierce, knotted scars.

Perhaps recalling painful memories buried in the past, a faint sorrow clouded the driver's wrinkled, gaunt face. Then, his slightly stooped body suddenly straightened, revealing a fierce, unyielding spirit.