At night, with the constant sound of groundwater flowing downstream, Yongzheng couldn't fall asleep. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw the image of the innocent little Xie Diwei looking at him—a dream he hadn't had in months. Dong Shun had named him as Diwei and starkly reminded him of the old feud between the Rao and Cao families that needed resolution. Hearing the name "Diwei" alone was enough to reawaken the inner demon he had buried for the longest time.
He leaned his head on the cave wall, staring at the three people who slept silently in the cave. He wondered what dreams they were having, because for him, sleep offered no escape. If he were to dream, it would only be of the different faces of the people he had killed in the past.
For many years, he had refused to pick up his sword and return to the martial arts world. Now, Dong Shun insisted he must, demanding he kill Cao Fengge to avenge his parents. Dong Shun's words were tearing down the walls he had built, forcing him back to the days he desperately wanted to erase.
To those who didn't know his past, he appeared to be a holy young Taoist, someone they saw as their savior. But everyone who had fought him knew the truth: he was no holy Taoist. He was a bloodthirsty demon in human skin.
Since he could remember, he had received harsh training. He killed his first prey at the age of four. The road to becoming Number One was brutal. He fought against the most dangerous and powerful opponents, and with every kill, he climbed one step closer to becoming the strongest person in his organization. In fact, he was a cold-blooded person who killed without hesitation—until he met Xie Diwei.
He still remembers the day he met the innocent sister and brother playing happily, not realizing that the grand reaper had appeared to claim their lives. He, too, was killing without realizing that their deaths would be something that would torment him for the rest of his life. He sighed, closed his eyes, and the laughter of the brother and sister rang clearly back in his ears.
Xie Diwei slightly carried the long rope and ran along the back mountain. He shouted excitedly, "Jiejie, let go of the kite!"
Xie Chyou smiled, "Okay." She released the kite.
Xie Diwei let out more string, and the kite flew higher into the sky. He excitedly said, "Jiejie, it's higher now!"
Xie Diwei and Xie Chyou stepped back, looking up at the flying kite. Suddenly, Xie Diwei retreated slightly, bumping into Yongzheng who was standing silently behind them. Xie Diwei quickly turned around and ran to hide behind Xie Chyou.
Xie Chyou, the older sister, looked at Yongzheng and asked, "What can I do for you?"
Yongzheng, here on a deadly mission, asked, "Do you know where the Xie Manor is?"
Xie Chyou pointed down toward a small manor nestled below. Yongzheng picked up the spool of kite string, which had fallen, and handed it to Xie Chyou. The shy, fifteen-year-old Xie Chyou took the spool from Yongzheng.
Xie Diwei poked his head out from behind Xie Chyou's back and offered, "Shushu, we can take you down."
Yongzheng gave a slight nod to the boy. Xie Chyou and Xie Diwei then led Yongzheng down to the Xie Manor. The manor stood at the end of a street. As soon as the three arrived, a greeter came out to welcome Xie Chyou and Xie Diwei.
Yongzheng looked at the two young youth and asked, "You two live here?"
Xie Chyou said, "Yes."
Yongzheng asked, "You two have the Xie surname, are you related to Xie Changpu?"
Xie Diwei smiled brightly and innocently grabbed Yongzheng's left hand. "He is my father. Shushu, come, I will take you to see father. Since you know my father's name, you must be his friend."
Xie Diwei led Yongzheng into the backyard. Yongzheng stood watching Xie Diwei run into Xie Changpu's arms. Xie Changpu picked up Xie Diwei, tossed him up in the air twice, and then gently placed him on the ground.
Xie Diwei pointed at Yongzheng. "Father…father…that shushu is here to see you?"
Xie Changpu walked up to Yongzheng and asked him to sit inside the pavilion in the backyard. Yongzheng sat opposite Xie Changpu and Madame. Xie. Xie Chyou put the teapot set on the table and stood quietly behind Xie Changpu and Madame Xie.
Xie Diwei looked at the storybook on the table. "Father, after your meeting with this shushu, could we continue the story?"
Xie Changpu smiled and said, "Yes."
Yongzheng looked at Xie Diwei. "This shushu has a very interesting story. Does xiao didi want to hear it?"
Xie Diwei said, "Yes."
Yongzheng began his cold, cryptic tale. "There used to be a hunter with a thousand faces. He had twelve very good dogs. These dogs always obeyed their master, but one day, the hunter asked dog number five to go to the market and bring some chicken heads for dinner. Dog number five obeyed his master's instructions and went to the market. When Dog number five saw how much the market could provide him, he decided to stay in the market instead of getting chicken heads. He knew that if his master found him and looked into his eyes, his master will definitely kill him. In order to protect himself, he turned himself into a swan, so that his master will never find him."
Xie Changpu's face had turned dark, and his lips trembled slightly.
Xie Diwei, unaware of the danger, asked, "What happened next? Did dog number five's master find him?"
Yongzheng's eyes were fixed on the master of the house. "Of course. After dog number five turned into a beautiful white swan, he still smelled like a dog. So, one day, the Faceless Master decided to walk into the market and let dog number five see the true face of his master." Yongzheng looked straight at Xie Changpu.
Xie Changpu understood the threat. "Ying'er, enough for today. Don't bother this shushu anymore." He turned to Madame Xie. "Furen, take the children and go cook dinner."
After Madame Xie, Xie Diwei, and Xie Chyou had left, a tense silence fell. Xie Changpu broke it with a single, terrified question. "Are you Number One?"
Yongzheng got up from his chair and looked at Xie Changpu with coldness and despair. "Number Five, you know the rules of the organization."
Xie Changpu pleaded, accepting his fate but fighting for his family. "Number One, I know that the person who sees your face will undoubtedly die, but I beg you to spare the lives of my family and the workers who live here."
Yongzheng looked up at the sun's position. "There is still an hour left before sunset." He stood up and walked away, his final words hanging heavy in the air. "Number Five, you can run, but you can't hide."
As soon as the sun went down, the Xie family was ready to flee their home. Xie Changpu quickly took his family into a hidden tunnel. When they were approaching the tunnel's entrance, a sudden wave of crossbow arrows flew toward them. Xie Changpu had no choice but to take his family back to the Xie Manor. As the Xie family walked out of their hidden space in the backyard, they were met by a devastating sight: blood was everywhere, and the servants lay dead on the ground across the entire manor.
Xie Changpu desperately led his family to the front door, where a man dressed in black stood waiting, his sword bright under the full moon.
"Number One, after so many years, can you let me go?" Xie Changpu pleaded.
Yongzheng was cold and resolute. "When you joined the organization, you knew the consequences of betraying the organization." Yongzheng rushed directly toward Xie Changpu.
Xie Changpu drew his own sword out of its sheath and quickly commanded, "Furen, take them and run away!"
Madame Xie grabbed Xie Chyou and Xie Diwei's hands and ran back toward the backyard.
Yongzheng's lightning-fast sword collided with Xie Changpu's. Yongzheng swung his sword relentlessly from all directions, hitting Xie Changpu with every strike. After being stabbed with ten wounds, Xie Changpu finally fell to his knees.
With his own blood staining his face, Xie Changpu made a final, desperate plea. "Chief, please let my daughter and son go."
Yongzheng's voice was devoid of emotion. "I can't do that. We were paid to kill all of the Yao." He looked at Xie Changpu coldly, revealing the true target of the mission. "You should have killed her in the first place. Making her the mother of your children is indeed your second mistake as an assassin." Yongzheng's sword pierced directly at Xie Changpu's neck, ending his life.
Yongzheng heard someone rushing from behind him. Without thinking, he hurriedly swung his sword backward, and the blade instantly cut the throat of the person behind him. He heard a soft moan from a young girl. As soon as he turned around, he saw Xie Chyou's body slowly falling to the ground.
He continued his cold-blooded task and walked to the backyard, where he found Xie Diwei hiding behind a stone statue. He grabbed Xie Diwei's back collar, and the boy began to run away from Yongzheng. Yongzheng swung his sword toward Xie Diwei's back. Xie Diwei fell to the ground and bled heavily.
Yongzheng walked to him and looked down at the injured boy. When Yongzheng was about to deliver the final, killing stab, Xie Diwei choked on his own blood and forcefully grabbed Yongzheng's left ankle. Xie Diwei spoke vaguely, his voice mixing with his painful coughs, "Shushu, why do you kill my family? If you bully me, aren't you afraid, your mother will scold at you?"
Yongzheng's body began to tremble violently. He heard Xie Diwei's voice suddenly grow louder in his mind, repeating the question: "Shushu, why do you kill my family? If you bully me, aren't you afraid, your mother will scold at you?"
Yongzheng covered his ears, screaming against the memory. "I don't have a mother!"
The phantom voice of Xie Diwei shouted louder and louder, repeating the same sentence over and over again.
In the cold, dark cave, Xue Horan discovered that Yongzheng was moving violently and crying out while frantically covering his ears. Xue Horan knew Yongzheng was caught in a severe nightmare. He quickly squatted beside him and tried to wake him.
Xue Horan shook Yongzheng. "Yongzheng, wake up. Yongzheng, wake up."
Yongzheng's eyes snapped open abruptly, bloodshot and filled with the cold fury of his nightmare persona. He immediately and tightly grasped Xue Horan by the throat. His voice was a cold, deadly rasp. "I told you... I don't have a mother."
Xue Horan tried to pull Yongzheng's hand away, but the more he struggled, the tighter Yongzheng's grasp became, squeezing hard around Xue Horan's neck. Xue Horan's vision began to dim. Choking, he forced out the words: "Yongzheng...it's me...Horan..."