chapter 3

The infamous name Feng Ling was deliberately given to him by Xiao Zhe as an act of humiliation.

At Xiao Qi’s hundred-day banquet, an Immortal happened to pass by on his travels.
He said this child possessed the qualities of gold and jade, destined for greatness beyond words.
He even gave him a childhood name: Phoenix.

Xiao Qi’s life was supposed to be like this.
He was meant to be the proudest, brightest little Phoenix in Shangjing.

Until the year he turned seventeen.

His younger brother, together with his teacher and closest friend, broke his wings.
They schemed to have him deposed, then forged medical records of his death.
He was imprisoned outside the palace and subjected to humiliation.

That year, I was ten years old when I first met Feng Ling.

On New Year’s Eve, heavy snow fell, so much that even wild grass was gone.
Chunfeng Pavilion was ablaze with lanterns and decorations; I sat at the base of the wall, waiting to die.
The scent of food wafted out from inside, twisting my stomach into knots.

Just as I closed my eyes, something hard struck my head.

I was too hungry to curse.
I reached out and grabbed it, only to find it was half a cold steamed bun.
Afraid someone would snatch it away, I devoured it ravenously.

“Heavens, is there any more?”
I knelt on the ground, pressed my hands together, and bowed in earnest prayer.

“That’s all there is.”

Upstairs, a hoarse voice sounded.

I looked up, nearly stunned.

In the depths of winter, the boy wore thin clothes.
Calmly, he held the other half of the bun.

Then, that half bun landed on my head.

He was like a Bodhisattva trapped in a mire, unable to save himself, yet miraculously, he made sure my stomach had a whole bun.

What was I thinking at that moment?
-The little Bodhisattva looked like he was about to die.

But he saved me, who was on the verge of starving to death.
So, I ought to repay him somehow.

His arms were covered in bruises, as if he’d been bullied.

I’d been a wanderer since childhood, fiercer than a dog in a fight.
I thought, I could protect him.

And I did just that.

Light of Time turned, and ten years passed in a flash.

Now, everyone in the palace knows:

The New Emperor is mad.
And at his side, he keeps a mad dog.