The Shimmer of South is a legend that appeared in jianghu nearly a decade ago. In the third Guangshun Era, dur…
The Shimmer of South is a legend that appeared in jianghu nearly a decade ago.
In the third Guangshun Era, during a royal banquet in Jinling, a Khitan envoy suddenly rebelled, abducting the famed performer from Velvet Shade and fleeing north. But fate intervened at the border between Liao and Zhou, where they encountered a youth from a fallen dynasty. Enraged, he drew his blade and cut down the Khitan raiders. rescuing the lotus from the mire.
Later, at a courier station, the Shimmer of the South crossed paths with the pair. Moved by the young man's valor, he penned a stirring verse. elegant and resounding. Within weeks, the tale of the lone hero who slew the Khitan envoy spread far and wide, carried on the beauty's song and lute.
But the tale soon turned grim. The Khitan used the incident as a pretext for war, launching a full-scale invasion of Zhou. "The young hero" fell on the battlefield. The Shimmer of the South and the beauty vanished without a trace. What remained was rumor and doubt. Some said they were mere pawns in a deeper game; others believed they were linchpins in the tangled fates of court and jianghu alike.
No one ever finds the truth. Only the Shimmer's poems remain, drifting like mist across the rivers of Jiangnan, endlessly sung through the Nine Prefectures.