"Where are you from?" "Me? From the capital, naturally." "There are many capitals, which one?" "The capital is…
"Where are you from?"
"Me? From the capital, naturally."
"There are many capitals, which one?"
"The capital is the capital."
Gui Zhongyan was born in Chang'an at the end of the Tang Dynasty. He wasn't lying—he was indeed "from the capital." But life in Chang'an was harsh. From childhood, he wandered, scraping by one meal at a time. Having no home, Chang'an itself became his home.
His favorite haunt was the Three Bends Alley, a gritty district where fish and dragons mingled, perfect for his talents: cheating, scamming, and swindling. Everyone in the alley knew the sharp-eyed kid who ran its streets. But even scoundrels meet their match. Soon, he was hoodwinked by a master swindler into becoming his apprentice. Their relationship was far from "harmonious". Gui Zhongyan always felt he was the one getting played, and it grated on him. But even those turbulent days came to a brutal end.
In Zhengyue in the first year of the Tianyou Era, Zhu Wen destroyed Chang'an, forcing its residents to relocate at swordpoint. Homes were torn down, and the city wailed for weeks. Gui Zhongyan was among the refugees, but he didn't cry. He was numb. He had no home left, no family. His conman master had lied to him one final time. The old man had sworn he'd always stay, but he broke his vow. Gui Zhongyan tossed a pair of dice in his hand—his master had died for these cursed things.
A decade later, in Kaifeng, Gui Zhongyan cleaned out every gambling den in the city within three days, earning him the title "Gambler King". Life went on as usual for him, but not for others. His antics had drawn the attention of the authorities. To evade arrest, he slipped into Ghostlight Market and befriended its Dao Lord in a brawl, becoming a regular fixture there. For the first time in years, he felt he belonged somewhere.
He witnessed Khitan invasions, the Nine Mortal Ways' rise, the Later Zhou's overthrow of the Later Han, and the Yellow River's floods... Through it all, Gui Zhongyan saw it all and met countless souls. In the ever-changing capital, people came and went—some fled, some went mad, some died. But he remained unchanged: still the street-smart kid from Three Bends Alley, like an ancient tree weathering storms, accepting life's cycles of growth and decay. Except when he cursed: "Goddamn Wude Bureau! What 'Peerless Inn'? I'll...! I just want to go home!" Ah, no matter the dynasty, the authorities always had their eye on him.