Human consciousness inherently yearns to play savior or victim - craving omnipotence while paradoxically desiring childlike refuge from life's cruelties. Such is mortal fragility veiled by tenacity.
Bai Changming had hollowed chair legs in the back rows, embedding combustible phosphorus stones. Cloaked in black, he waited until guests filed into Seaview Pavilion's lecture hall. When Minister of Revenue Zhang Hou ordered seats moved closer to the podium, the drug-laden chairs scraped crimson carpets unnoticed.
Xi Xuerong, having finished dinner, wandered into the commotion. Her gaze froze on a black-clad man crouching in shadows - collar raised to conceal half his face. The glint of a dagger flashed as he slashed his left forearm, blood cascading onto stone tiles.
Before she could react, thunderous explosions erupted. Thick smoke swallowed screams as wood splinters rained down. When haze cleared, the bleeding man had vanished.
"Watch the debris!" someone shouted.
Through dissipating smoke, Minister Zhang stood unharmed behind a dust-covered attendant whose left arm dripped crimson onto carpets. The protector's voice remained steady: "Explosion originated backstage. Fortunately, I was nearby."
Though suspicious, Zhang hurriedly departed after learning his savior's name: "Bai Changming, style name Ye Sha."
As Bai prepared to vanish triumphantly, he glimpsed Xuerong gripping balcony railings above. Her wide eyes absorbed every detail - the fresh wound, his calculated composure, the supernatural positioning shift.
The name "Ye Sha" echoed through Xuerong's mind like haunting melody long after fleeing the pavilion. Bai's enigmatic smile, those fox-like uplifted eyes, and the impossible mysteries surrounding him crystallized into obsession.
"Mother! That tattered blue book with the turtle cover - the ancient one with four characters!" Xuerong burst into the study.
"Turtle? Foolish girl, that's the sacred Xuanwu of Xia Dynasty!" Her mother produced an antique text from lacquer box.
Midnight oil burned as Xuerong laid the thin volume beside her pillow. Faded characters gleamed on its cover: *Hetu Luoshu*.