In the fifth year of the Song Dynasty’s Zhenghe era, amid the turbulent winds and rains of the Northern Lands, the Mohe tribal clans rose in the Northern Regions.
Wanyan Aguda founded a nation, naming it “Great Jin.”
The Wanyan clan, once vassals of Great Liao, unified the areas along the Hun River after establishing their country, subduing various clans large and small. They formed the Maritime Alliance with Great Song and jointly attacked Liao Kingdom.
In the fifth year of Xuande, Shangjing fell to Great Jin.
Emperor Tianzuo Yelu Yanxi fled in panic, and the imperial clan scattered. Great Liao, established by the Khitan People with tempered iron, enjoyed two hundred and seven years of national fortune before reaching its end.
In the sixth year of Xuande, Yanyun Sixteen Prefectures, Ying County:
A biting cold wind blew as migratory birds headed south. The grasses and trees beneath Yanmen Pass had turned yellow and withered.
Ten days earlier, an army of over twenty thousand troops had assembled in Shuozhou. They rampaged through like an unopposed force, plundering everywhere they went, leaving black smoke billowing and charred corpses strewn across the land.
This army was led by Great Jin’s Great General Wanyan Zonghan. They firmly guarded the key routes between cities, establishing a solid defensive line from Buddha Palace Temple to Fanshi County, searching everywhere for so-called “Liao remnants.”
Only Great General Wanyan Zonghan knew in his heart that this expedition carried a mission vital to Great Jin’s national fortune.
Buddha Palace Temple housed a wooden pagoda surrounded by flocks of birds chirping and circling it in the thousands, forming a spectacular sight.
“Got him! Got him!” the Jin Troops roughly shouted.
Chaos erupted in the camp: “The spy is here!”
Wanyan Zonghan had been discussing matters with his confidants in the temple’s main hall when he heard the commotion. He walked out of the temple gates.
He saw his personal guards escorting a tall, thin youth to the open space before the temple. They struck the youth’s knees with sticks, forcing him to kneel, and barked, “Kneel!”
The youth’s eyes were covered with a black cloth. He wore dark red martial robes with a golden tassel hanging from his waist. The long sword strapped to his back had been confiscated and placed on a tray alongside a wooden waist badge, held by another personal guard.
When Wanyan Zonghan appeared, the personal guard presented the waist badge.
Wanyan Zonghan took it and rubbed it with his thumb. It was engraved with the character “Xiang” in relief, and a small golden bell hung from its bottom.
“This spy has a seal too!” the personal guard said, holding up a small tray. “He’s a Song person! This morning, we spotted him at the back of the camp using demon magic, conjuring thick mist with water as a mirror. When the troops arrived to investigate, they found him. This bastard had been mingling in our army for some time, wearing our uniforms and moving with us…”
The personal guard then presented the Jin Troops uniform the spy had worn, showing it to Wanyan Zonghan.
Wanyan Zonghan examined the man’s seal carefully.
“Great Song Exorcism Envoy, Xiang Xian.” Wanyan Zonghan said slowly, his tone full of doubt. “Exorcism Division?” He glanced at his confidants, who were all baffled—they had never heard of such an official position.
Though the young man called Xiang Xian had his eyes covered, a faint smile appeared on his lips. “Never heard of it?”
“Remove his blindfold,” Wanyan Zonghan ordered.
The cloth fell away, and Xiang Xian looked up, meeting Wanyan Zonghan’s gaze. Great Jin’s Great General and his confidants were all visibly moved. The youth was remarkably handsome, with thick brows, bright eyes, and an air of vigorous heroism.
Even facing the Great General who commanded hundreds of thousands of Great Jin troops, Xiang Xian showed no fear. His eyes held three parts seriousness and seven parts amusement as he sized up Wanyan Zonghan from head to toe, as if the general were the captive.
Wanyan Zonghan, past his prime and wielding immense power in Great Jin for years, felt a faint unease under this scrutiny.
Wanyan Zonghan: “Who sent you?”
Xiang Xian: “Your nation dispatched a massive army to surround Buddha Palace Temple and went to great lengths searching everywhere. What exactly are you looking for?”
Wanyan Zonghan’s face darkened. “Weak Song’s intelligence is sharp. The one who ambushed our army in Fanshi County a few days ago must have been your accomplice.”
Xiang Xian’s expression shifted slightly, puzzled. “Accomplice?”
Wanyan Zonghan sneered. “Weak Song refuses to advance, got their asses kicked by Liao Kingdom, and now they’re raising you demons to wreak havoc—bringing about their own destruction!”
Xiang Xian laughed. “I suppose General Wanyan came here on the guidance of a ‘demon’ as well?”
Wanyan Zonghan’s mind raced, and he frowned slightly, murmuring, “What do you know?”
“Buddha Palace Temple was said to have been personally overseen by Empress Dowager Xiao Chuo a century ago,” Xiang Xian said. “In the underground palace beneath the temple, there’s an important artifact closely tied to the Central Plains’ fortunes. Legend has it that whoever obtains it holds the power to decide Shenzhou’s fate. Is that right?”
Wanyan Zonghan’s expression changed. This enigmatic youth knew his objective so clearly!
“Great General,” Xiang Xian said politely, though still kneeling on one knee, “if I may be so bold, have you found that thing yet?”
Wanyan Zonghan fell silent and signaled his confidants with a glance. This man had said too much; the surrounding personal guards had all heard. News would spread like wildfire, and upon returning home, he would face endless accusations if it became a rumor in the court.
He needed to interrogate the spy privately.
Xiang Xian then said seriously, “From your face, I see you haven’t. But even if you didn’t find it, you can’t torture the temple’s monks. What wrong have those out-of-world ascetics committed?”
Wanyan Zonghan ignored him and turned to leave.
Xiang Xian: “We’re not done talking, and you’re walking away? How rude for a Great General of a nation.”
Everyone angrily shouted, “Insolent!”
Xiang Xian’s tone was like scolding a child. Wanyan Zonghan, naturally unshaken, glanced back at him and was about to order his eyes gouged out as a lesson when—
Xiang Xian moved slightly.
Wanyan Zonghan suddenly realized his folly.
As Xiang Xian stood, the oxhide ropes binding him burst into flames, burning to ash and scattering. Yet the fire on his body did not harm his clothes at all.
“Grab the assassin!” Wanyan Zonghan visibly panicked.
Xiang Xian straightened his robe sleeves.
The personal guards surged forward with weapons. A burst of firelight spread, and they all flew back with a boom!
“You’re not just lacking manners; you lack curiosity too,” Xiang Xian said. He raised his hand and grasped the air. His confiscated weapons, sword and sheath together, flew back to his back.
Wanyan Zonghan retreated again and again, his face ashen. He had never seen such sorcery since birth and nearly cried out in terror. But years of battlefield instincts drove him to fight rather than flee in fear, even against a demon. Personal guards rushed from the temple to shield him. The commotion alerted the main army outside; thousands charged to Buddha Palace Temple’s front, archers on high ground nocking arrows aimed at Xiang Xian in the field, while axe-wielders spread out like a tide, encircling him.
