Uncle's message came. Father is gone. To Chang'an.
For Liangzhou, for the Guiyi Army... for everyone, he has offered himself as a hostage.
"It was his own decision," Uncle said.
I don't know what the world looked like when he rode out of that pass.
I only know that the vast lands of Hexi are no longer my home.
Uncle talks of a "wide-open future" for me.
Is this the bargain struck between brothers? One's freedom for the other's fortune?
If my father is the price for that future, I reject the bargain.
A Liangzhou man's fortune is found on his horse and won with his blade.
Uncle himself taught me this. "The sword is nimble, the blade is resolute. The sword dances; the blade strikes true. The way of the blade is to see one path and never stray."
I will claim my own future.
Letter