Tian Ying

Tian Ying races toward Breeze Post, riding through night and day without rest. Three horses died beneath him, driven to exhaustion by his relentless pursuit. He never closes his eyes. All this is for a banquet. A banquet at Qingfeng Post, one he himself has set into motion. That spring in Jiangnan, the rain never ceases. It falls like a curtain drawn over the land, veiling all sound and sight, masking every step he leaves. It is the destined time for the assassin. Drenched and muddied, Tian Ying still feels joy. He has long since cast aside his own life. Now, he lives for one purpose and will die a thousand times if it means fulfilling it. His blade is honed to a whisper, longing to taste flesh and bone. The banquet has begun. At last, the moment arrives. Inside, a drunken messenger wheezes and staggers. Outside, Tian Ying stands with a dagger in hand. Life and death, victory and defeat, in that moment, are as brittle as the creaking wooden door. He pushes it open. The messenger's eyes widen in panic. The knife falls. Silence follows. He vanishes as quietly as he comes. Only one sentence is remembered in history: "At Breeze Post, during a banquet hosted by the Later Tang Government to honor the Khitan envoy, the envoy, in a drunken stupor, left to change his clothes and was gone for a long time. When he was finally found, he had been decapitated."

Long before this night, Tian Ying was a disciple at the Inkbound Order, famed for his brilliance. It was said he read every book in the Hall, yet in each, he read only three pages. Hence, the nickname 'Tian of Three Pages' began to spread, eventually reaching Elder Chang Le, the venerable master of the Hall. Whether out of admiration or disapproval, he ultimately summoned Tian Ying and asked why he read in such a mean way. Tian Ying replied, simply, "I do not seek knowledge. I seek the path in my heart." What path he searched for in those books, no one knew. Perhaps not even Tian Ying himself. He simply kept reading, page by page, diving into the vast sea of ink. Eventually, Tian Ying found what he was looking for; not in books, but in a man called Master Wei. He once said, "Kindness, righteousness, loyalty, and courage are nothing more than words found in the Spring and Autumn Annals." He burns like a torch, and anyone who encounters him will never forget, instead igniting their own flame. And so, Tian Ying follows him, leaving the Inkbound Order behind. For he has found his path at last.

That man once said to Tian Ying that there is a task so grave, it will condemn them beyond redemption. At the time, many used religion as a shield, hiding behind faith to escape taxes, wearing monks' robes while committing wicked deeds. To suppress these false monks and destroy their idols was to serve the greater good. To purge the evil and unmask the lies, that was the great task. To shatter a thousand golden Buddhas, that was the path to damnation. Can you do something so blasphemous, for the sake of righteousness? I will go. Tian Guang once slit his throat to spur Jing Ke on his mission. What would you give up for the cause? I too would slit my throat And so, Tian Ying vanished from the world. In his place, the monk Miaoshan was born. Though he had never truly believed in the Buddha. To feed himself to tigers, if that is what it takes, so be it. The man who sent him laughed, for Tian Ying already carry the heart of a Buddha.