People are divided into nine classes: the first is supreme, the ninth is the lowest. Emotions are divided into three types: family ties that are hard to sever, and love that is hard to hold onto.
Life is as complicated as that. Don’t ask why—when you’re caught in it yourself, even these few simple words will be spoken with the same calmness and resignation.
Yet, in this vast and desolate desert, there is one person who has broken free from the small circle of fate.
He is both supreme and lowly; he has discarded family and knows no love.
Who is he?
The name "Danshu" is one that no one dares to speak aloud, murmured only with a sigh, and is known simply as "Ruo Wen"!
What is the essence of a bandit? They treat morality and culture like dirt, risking their lives solely to satisfy their own desires. If women are also part of those desires, then there’s no need for any so-called love; you simply take them, just as you would seize wine or jewels. Between two legs, it’s nothing more than a fleeting indulgence. Therefore, bandits don’t speak of love...
Ruo Wen—he’s a bandit, but cruel enough, ruthless enough, and extreme enough! That’s why no one can control him. Not Ge Xin Wei, the woman who shares his bed, not Huang Bei Shuang, the one he pursues. Not the King of Beijing, who disgraced him, nor King Zhan, who has nothing to do with him!
Blindfolding Ge Xin Wei, Ruo Wen could have ravaged her to death—she resembled her so much, almost indistinguishably so. Yet why wasn’t he satisfied? His heart didn’t race again; it felt like a block of ice, cold, indifferent, and hollow.
Lying in bed, he didn’t know how many days had passed. The room was filled with the heavy, almost unpleasant scent of past lovemaking. On the floor, Lan Fei had been unconscious for who knew how long. Staring at the disarray before him, his anger only grew. He quickly pulled on his pants, bare-chested, and stormed out without bothering to close the door, letting the women’s exposed bodies remain for anyone to see.
The sunlight was blinding, the air was cold. Ruo Wen stood in the courtyard, staring up at the sky for a long time.
“Your Majesty!” Ge Xin Wei was awakened by the sudden burst of light, and after dressing, she walked out to stand beside him, also looking up at the sky. “Your Majesty, are you feeling better?”
Ruo Wen chuckled at her words, mocking, “With a princess serving so diligently, how could I not feel better?”
Ge Xin Wei lowered her head, her exposed skin still bearing visible purple bruises. “Who in this world doesn’t work hard to survive? Whom are we trying so hard to please? I wanted to please you, Your Majesty—did I succeed?” At this, she let out a bitter smile. “Of course I did. It’s simple, really, as long as I blindfold myself.”
That day, her words hadn’t mattered to anyone. Wasn’t she just a substitute for someone else? It was nothing more than a desperate, self-deceiving struggle. As long as Ruo Wen believed she was, then she was.
“Ge Xin Wei, do you know? I don’t need to become a king!” Ruo Wen turned his head, speaking indifferently. He strode over to the well, hoisted up a bucket of water, and splashed it over his body. The water, mixed with fine yellow sand, ran down his strong muscles in muddy streams. In the cold winter air, he stood there like a ghostly flame.
Ge Xin Wei gazed at him in a trance. What she loved was this incomparable self-confidence of his—something no one else could achieve. After all, a person can’t follow their heart too much, or they’ll lose themselves. But a person who can’t follow their heart is pitiful. It’s a difficult balance, and no one has ever managed it, except Ruo Wen.
At this moment, his bronze skin seemed to emit a faint, visible glow. His tall, imposing figure had already consumed her entirely. Yet, he merely stood by the well, looking at her as if she were nothing more than an object. “I don’t need subjects, or a jade seal. I don’t need to rule a country, and I certainly don’t need you!” His voice was cold, devoid of attachment. “So, I’m leaving you here in Fen Tian.”
Ge Xin Wei’s heart tightened. “Your Majesty?”
Ruo Wen shook the water from his head, glancing at the frightened Ge Xin Wei with a sneer. “You hope I’ll attack Yunpei, don’t you? Hmph! Your wish is granted. Tomorrow, I’ll leave Fen Tian. As for the National Guard, the Southern Expedition Army—they’re all useless! I don’t want them. Remember this: I’m not attacking Yunpei because of that woman, but because I’m a bandit. The best things in the world are in Yunpei, so I want to make them mine! It’s as simple as that.”
Ge Xin Wei’s face went pale as paper. She didn’t understand his plans or how he measured success. No country? No power? Then what did he want?
Ruo Wen ran a hand through his hair, the wet black strands spiking up like a hedgehog. His violet eyes reflected pure malevolence. He walked up to Ge Xin Wei, roughly lifted her chin, and smirked. “If you dare cause any trouble in Fen Tian... I’ll come back and kill you! Remember that!” With that, he turned and left the cold, barren courtyard, as if he had never truly belonged there in the first place.
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