Chapter 1, The Wind of Romantic Elegance

Wind, flowing, light and agile, free, unrestrained

The guards simultaneously let out a cheer, and an endless hope arose within their hearts as they took heavy steps to chase after the man

The man moved his feet rapidly, his figure rising gracefully like a wisp of green smoke, akin to the gentlest spring breeze on a spring night. He soared to a height of over ten zhang, gliding past towering trees and lofty pavilions, leaving behind countless arrows and spears hurled by elite guards, and lightly floated down to the riverbank

At the moment when the attention of the guards slightly relaxed, a twisted shadow, like a ghost, surged up from the flower bushes outside the hall and silently swept into the grand hall

A group of elite guards and crossbowmen were left in a daze. Flying through the air for dozens of zhang, this was legendary. The heavily armored guards had already given up on pursuing this man, as it was impossible for them to catch up with him

The man in black let out a mocking chuckle, his body seemingly weightless as he leaped three feet into the air. With a delicate touch of his toes on the nearest spear tip, he glided forward smoothly for thirty zhang, already beyond the warning line of the guards.

A man, entirely enveloped in a soft black leather bodysuit with only his two faintly glowing eyes visible, swiftly dashed out of the grand hall wielding a short sword measuring no more than two feet.

When the hurricane overturns the sea, a gentle breeze caresses the face

A few eunuchs cautiously approached the entrance of the main hall. Upon hearing the man's shouts from within, they gently stepped inside. Before long, they carried two bloody corpses wrapped in a blanket out of the hall. At that moment, all the guards couldn't help but glance in that direction. A few strands of shiny long hair hung down from the rolled-up blanket, and streams of blood left very noticeable traces on the ground, following the long hair.

Heavy gasps and the screams of a woman echoed from within the palace, the cries carrying far into the silent night sky

The man soared like a wisp of breeze, gracefully weaving through the rain of arrows, effortlessly escaping the net of arrows. When he landed again, he was over a hundred zhang further away from the great hall.

The man let out a light laugh, then turned and shouted loudly at the guards: "The foolish monarch is tyrannical; you, the high-ranking officials in the court, have hired me, Fengmen Fengqi, with ten thousand pounds of gold to assassinate the foolish monarch! Fengmen has always acted without the need for concealment or subterfuge."

Large splatters of blood, wrapped in cat fur and fragments of flesh and bone, scattered everywhere. A heavily armored guard leaped over, holding a large piece of leather. As he spread the leather, it formed a pouch, leaving no trace of the black cat's blood or flesh, all of which he carefully carried away from the great hall.

The dying scream tore through the night sky, and the guards simultaneously recognized that it was the anguished cry of the emperor they were sworn to protect

In the final years of Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty, the imperial palace in Jiangdu.

It is unknown where over a thousand crossbowmen emerged from, as a rain of arrows descended like locusts, filling the sky with the eerie sound of arrows piercing through the air.

Suddenly, a man's frenzied roar echoed through the palace: "The four seas unite, the world is unified. I am the emperor of the world; do you dare to defy me?" As the sound of the sword slicing through the wind rang out, the woman let out her final, tragic scream.

Thirty spears fell to the ground, and the imperial guards who had just rushed into the hall burst out again from the entrance. The leading guard shouted sternly: "The Emperor has been attacked, archers, shoot him!"

The Wind Gate of the Four Great Secret Doors of Wind, Flower, Snow, and Moon—an extraordinary technique of lightness, known to the wise of the world as the Art of Divine Movement

The two hundred guards closest to the main hall gasped in surprise, shattering the walls surrounding the hall and rushing inside.

Deep within the Forbidden Palace, near the great river, sounds of a man's wild laughter and a woman's sobs can be heard intermittently. The palace is heavily guarded, with elite warriors in pairs, clad in dark heavy armor, moving silently like cats around the exterior of the hall. These elite warriors of the Forbidden Palace number over a thousand, each with prominent temples and eyes that gleam like lightning, selected by the Sui Emperor from across the vast expanse of the realm.

When its power is strong, it can shake mountains and overturn the peaks of the *Tushuo*.

After a long laugh, Feng Qi leaped onto the river surface, using the tips of his toes to push off from the floating duckweed, effortlessly gliding across the wide river that spanned several miles.

When its power is weak, it remains hidden and does not raise dust

A black cat hidden among the flowers was startled into jumping up by a sudden scream. It had barely run three inches when several piercing beams of sword light descended from the nearby rocks, springs, and treetops, silently tearing the cat to shreds.

The night is deep and dark, the night sky as black as ink. Within and outside the palace, only a few flickering lights can be seen, illuminating the weary patrols of the imperial guards moving about below.

A faint sound of wind cutting through the air was heard, as more than a dozen guards, rushing in through the palace doors, flew backward out of the grand hall, clutching their throats, which were gushing blood

Thirty spears whistled out from the palace gate, simultaneously aiming at the man's back.

The nature of the wind is changeable and unpredictable