Chapter 1: The Man at the Horizon

[originally translated by metwin1 and edited by Chowbeng and RWX]

The sun was setting in the west.

Fu Hongxue stood alone under the setting sun. It was as though he were the only person in the whole wide world.

It was cold and barren for a thousand miles around; it seemed that even the setting sun had changed colour because of its loneliness, changed into a greyish white that was mournful and desolate.

He felt the same.

His hand clenched a sabre; a pale white fist with a pitch black sabre!

Pale white and pitch black were colours close to Death! And Death was the limit of voidness and loneliness!

His eyes were lonely and empty; they could almost see death!

Could it be death was just in front of his eyes?

He was walking. He walked very slowly, but he never stopped. Even if Death was waiting for him in front, he would never stop.

His walking posture was strange and unique; the left foot would take a quick step forward, and the right foot would follow slowly. He appeared to walk with considerable difficulty. Nevertheless, he had walked countless of miles, made innumerable journeys; and he walked that entire road by himself, step by step.

When could he stop walking like this? When could he even stop walking?

He didn’t know. In fact, he had never considered it!

Now that he had got here, what lay beyond? Was Death really in front? Definitely! His eyes contained Death, his hand also gripped Death; in fact his sabre represented Death!

It was a pitch black blade with a pitch black handle and a pitch black sheath.

His sabre may represent Death, but it was his whole life!

The sky had become even darker, but still he could make out the presence of a small town in the far distance.

He knew that was Phoenix Settlement, one of the more populous towns in the remote area. Of course he knew, because that was where the death he was searching for was to be found.

Little did he know that Phoenix Settlement was already dead!

...

The street was not very long or very wide, but there were still numerous stores, stalls and houses along the streets.

There were countless such towns in the world, and every one of them was the same; streets with many stores, stalls and houses; and these stalls had dilapidated store fronts, cheap goods and honest merchants. In the houses lived kind and friendly people. However, Phoenix Settlement was different from these other towns. While the stores and the stalls and the houses were still present, there was nobody around.

Nobody, not a single person was around.

There were doors and windows that lined both sides of the street. Some were shut, but all were broken, smashed. Thick stacks of dust covered the streets, inside and outside the houses and stores. The roofs and beams were full of spider webs. A black cat was startled by the footsteps and leaped out, but it had already lost its alertness and agility. It was panting and limping as it crawled across the street; it did not even look like a cat anymore.

Wasn’t it a well known fact that starvation could change everything?

Could it be that the cat was the sole surviving creature in this little town?

Fu Hongxue’s heart turned cold, even colder than the blade in his hand.

He was presently standing on this street, and seeing everything with his own eyes. But he could not believe, dared not believe, and would not believe.

What disaster had befallen this place?

How did this tragedy occur?

At the side of the street, an old signboard was squeaking in the wind. He could still make out the words beneath all that dust “Chen Family Tavern, Best Vintage In Town!”

This was originally one of the nicer looking signboards in the district, but it was now tattered and broken, just like teeth of elderly people.

But the condition of the tavern was much worse than the signboard.

Fu Hongxue stood silently, observing and waiting. As the wind died down, he strolled over to the tavern and pushed open the door. It was as though he walked into a grave that had been exhumed.

He had been here before!

Though the wine was not even good, much less vintage, at least it wasn’t vinegar. And the place had looked far from a grave.

Exactly a year ago, this place was still a busy establishment. Travellers from all over who past through Phoenix Settlement would be attracted by the signboard outside, and stopped for a drink here.

Once wine entered empty stomachs, people became chatty. Hence, the tavern was always noisy. Noisy taverns attracted people.

The tavern was not very small, but it was always crowded. The owner of the tavern was very friendly, and a smile was always seen on his face.

But the smile had disappeared, clean tables had become table tops filled with dust; the ground was littered with broken wine bottles, the aromatic smell of wine had turned into a putrid odour which was vomit-inducing.