Chapter 1

Peaks gather like a crowd, waves rage with fury, the road to Tongguan is surrounded by mountains and rivers. Looking west, I hesitate. The places I have traveled through, where Qin and Han once ruled, are now ruins. In prosperity, the people suffer; in decline, the people suffer. (Zhang Yanghao — "Shepo Yang: Reminiscences of Tongguan")

Eight massive stone pillars surround the towering Gu Palace.

On the vast black rock dome, countless stalactites of various sizes hang upside down. Several venomous hunting spiders dart nimbly between the stalactites, their sickly green eyes gleaming with a bloodthirsty madness, overlooking the vast Gu Valley below.

"Peaks gather like a crowd, waves rage with fury..."

"Sad are the places where Qin and Han once ruled..."

"Win, and the gold coins are not bitter..."

"Lose, and the gold coins are very bitter..."

Tightening the tattered hemp rags that barely covered his body, the rat-headed, emaciated, four-foot-tall Gold Coin muttered to himself, suddenly longing for his comfortable and warm ancestral leather armor.

Looking up at the "False Sun" in the center of the black dome, which was gradually dimming, the surrounding light rapidly faded. Listening to the hoarse roars of the hunting spiders, Gold Coin shivered and quickly followed a narrow path carved into the stone wall, nimbly running toward the nearest abandoned mine outside the Gu Valley.

After running several hundred meters, Gold Coin turned back with a sullen look, gazing at a stone house on the edge of the Gu Valley below.

That was the only tavern in the Gu Valley. Just a quarter of an hour ago, Gold Coin was still enjoying the attentive care of the barmaids inside, acting like a true big shot. Now, he was no different from a beggar.

"I really should have cut off these two hands..." As he ran lightly, Gold Coin cursed bitterly: "My gold coins, my money... my ancestral leather armor... damn it, they must have been cheating when they threw the dice..."

"Why can't I control these hands of mine?"

Gold Coin walked forward dejectedly, and the road ahead suddenly opened up. Hot winds blew in his face, and red light flickered on the distant stone walls. Faintly, the sound of "ding ding" hammering followed the hot wind.

Gold Coin suddenly stopped, turned around, and made a rude gesture toward the Gu Valley. He gritted his teeth and screamed: "Mr. Gold Coin will be back! You wait... Mr. Gold Coin will definitely come back! I will win all your gold coins!"

The ground shook violently, accompanied by a low rumble. Four tall, earth-yellow stone pillars rose from the ground with a "rumble," trapping Gold Coin in the center. Yellow light swirled around the stone pillars, and a massive pressure suddenly pressed down on Gold Coin's four-foot-tall, emaciated body.

Gold Coin let out a strange cry, his body suddenly shrinking, and black smoke burst from around him as he tried to burrow into the ground.

Under the immense pressure, the movements that Gold Coin could normally complete with a snap of his fingers suddenly slowed down several times.

A large hand suddenly emerged from behind one of the stone pillars, grabbing Gold Coin's shoulder.

A red light burst from the large hand, and a fierce, fiery energy surged outward, dispersing the black smoke. Gold Coin, now limp, was lifted into the air by the large hand.

A towering, powerful man, over ten feet tall, stepped out from behind the stone pillar. He shook Gold Coin vigorously and called out in a deep, thunderous voice: "The best information peddler in Gu Valley... Gold Coin?"

Gold Coin looked up, his face full of flattery, and bared a mouthful of sharp white teeth: "Sir... you must have the wrong person! Who is Gold Coin? I am an old resident of Gu Valley... I swear by my father's head, I have never heard of this name!"

With a "clank," a large handful of gold coins was suddenly scattered on the ground.

Gold Coin's eyes narrowed sharply, and he lifted his head, saying fearlessly: "Sir, that's right, I am Gold Coin! You... are these gold coins for me?"

The giant's voice became unusually low and weak: "Find Wu Tie and Wu Taiping, and I will give you ten times, a hundred times the gold coins!"

Pausing, the giant muttered heavily: "Alive, I want to see the person; dead, I want to see the body... no matter what, find him!"

Gold Coin's smile suddenly froze.