Sixteen years ago, in the manor of the Official of Counsel in Chang'an, the beloved concubine gave birth to a tanned baby girl. The mistress of the manor determined that the child was of the devil. Not far away in a woodshed, Ning Que picked up a cleaver and began to kill.
In the faraway northern Wilderness, a black ditch appeared. Haotian Taoism youth Ye Su, young man Tang of the Devil's Doctrine, as well as the young monk – Qi Nian – all watched the ants move their home under a tree beyond the black line. They watched warily, for a long while, not daring to move forward. And, on the other side of that black line, a scholar was reading by the pond. He would rest when he was tired, and, during his break, he would take off the wooden dipper hung at his waist to get drinking water. His body was filthy, but he was peaceful and happy.