Qiong Fang left, Qianxi married Dingyuan to become a grand official, Yang Suguan stole his wife, and even Qin Zhonghai had cut himself with a blade.

So on this night of family reunions during the Lantern Festival, the top scholar walked alone carrying his noodle pole, crossing the vast waters of the Yongding River by himself, returning alone to Beijing after ten years of separation.

Whatever, whatever—what was everyone doing? His heroic aspirations had long been worn away, and his melancholy from upholding righteousness had scattered with the wind. Lu Yun’s eyes brimmed with tears, his mouth twisted, his neck askew as he gazed at the capital that had witnessed countless past events.

At Beijing’s Yongding Gate, someone knocked on the great iron door, laughing as he called: “Is anyone home? Lu Yun has returned!”

No one was home—only crowds of pedestrians hurrying by, eager to avoid trouble and spend money to ward off disaster. Officials were the most difficult to provoke, and madmen—who dared respond?

“No one…” Lu Yun felt somewhat disappointed. He opened his mouth in bewilderment, stumbling on his feet like a lonely ghost, swaying through Yongding Gate. Pedestrians scattered to avoid him, and Lu Yun also walked to avoid them. Though he could see the pedestrians and knew to make way, while his mind wasn’t entirely clear, it hadn’t become so confused as to forget his sorrow.

He wasn’t quite sure why he had returned, but he also didn’t know why he should leave or where to go. Since he didn’t care about anything, nothing mattered anymore. He’d walk randomly, wander about for a while, buy some local specialties to take back to Shandong—it wouldn’t be a wasted trip.

La la ah, ha ha ah—Lu Yun swayed unsteadily, dazed and confused, humming strange songs with no proper melody, weaving left and right as he walked forward. After just a few steps, a great city tower loomed before him, blocking his path. Lu Yun grunted, about to kick it with his foot, when suddenly his heart awakened and he began shouting loudly.

It’s here! It’s here! This is Chengtian Gate! This is the Chengtian Gate where he, Lu Yun, had achieved the golden list and became the greatest scholar under heaven!

It’s here, it’s here—this brought him into the court, this gave him his noble status. This was an unforgettable place! Lu Yun’s blood suddenly boiled. He gasped “ah, ah,” reaching out to gently touch the archway, lifting his eyes to gaze upon the supreme glory that had once belonged to him…

Eh?

The tower was empty, and the decorations had changed.

Lu Yun opened his mouth wide, looking up at the unfamiliar tower. He rubbed his eyes, finally hanging his head toward the ground and turning to leave.

Where should he go next? There seemed to be nowhere to go… Forget it, forget it, he should return to Shandong…

Just as he was about to turn around, his heart suddenly awakened, thinking of a good place.

Ha ha! The corners of Lu Yun’s mouth turned up in a smile, and he almost began dancing with joy.

Home! He still had a home! They might have taken away his wife and broken his body, but he still had that deed. At home he could wash his face and sleep—no one could drive him away. Lu Yun smiled happily and immediately began running excitedly.

“But… but…” After running just two steps, he couldn’t help worrying again.

What to do? What if the world was treacherous and people’s hearts unpredictable? What if the Zhengtong Dynasty didn’t recognize deeds from the Jingtai Dynasty? What then?

Fool… If there’s no home in Beijing, then return to Shandong. If the old home in Shandong suffered earthquakes and collapsed into the sea, then go to Shanxi. If Shanxi changed its name to Shandong, then go to the northern desert. If the northern desert was also controlled by the court, then go to hell. If the King of Hell also wore emperor’s robes, then go to heaven. There would always be somewhere to go, wouldn’t there?

Hehe, yiyi, ahah, huhuh—Lu Yun sometimes hopped on one foot, sometimes giggled, swaying left and right all the way through the main street, turning into that familiar alley. Suddenly, with a “bang,” Lu Yun, who wanted to go home, felt a sharp pain in his forehead. He stared blankly at the countless brick fragments falling before him, couldn’t help rubbing his eyes.

Eh? Where there should have been a road, there was now a new house.

Who built this? There was no house here before—this used to be a road!

Lu Yun looked puzzled, rubbing his head and looking around. Suddenly he panicked, because all the surrounding houses were new. He felt he had lost his way…

As lanterns lit up and the full moon illuminated the sky, on this lively Lantern Festival night, the top scholar carrying his noodle pole gazed at the familiar jade disk and couldn’t help but burst into tears.

The dignified Lord Lu had fought bloody battles here, achieved the golden list here, made brothers here, and roared at the sky here. Yet in these peaceful, quiet streets and alleys, he actually didn’t know how to get to Prince’s Alley… much less how to return to his former home…

“How—dare you!” Lu Yun punched the new house, crying sorrowfully: “Won’t you even allow me to pay my respects?”

The brick wall exploded, stone fragments flew everywhere, frightening pedestrians into scattering. Lu Yun bit his teeth, twisted his mouth, making “tsk, tsk, tsk” sounds as if by twisting his mouth this way, he wouldn’t shed tears. He leaped up, his figure like a flying bird rushing into the star-studded night sky. He spread his arms as if wanting to shout wildly to the world…

“Look! He’s back! Lu Yun has returned alive! Everyone come and see!”

Anyone would do—An’dao Jing, Jiang Chong, Zhuo Lingzhao—no matter who, no matter good or bad, quickly come out, someone he recognized, quickly!

No one answered him. Everyone from the Jingtai Dynasty who could die had died, and those remaining alive he couldn’t see either…

The water monster ran wildly, finally falling when he crashed to the ground. All the coins in his pocket spilled out, as if mocking Scholar Lu, they rolled around on the ground making buzzing sounds.

Don’t leave! None of you are allowed to leave! Lu Yun was angry! Hundreds of copper coins rolled in all directions. Lord Lu, with his supreme martial arts, lifted the noodle pole with one hand and roared, his flying figure shooting out. Rolling and tumbling, Lu Yun rolled, the noodle pole rolled too, black shadows flipping back and forth, he swept back coin after coin—not a single one could escape his grasp.

One bad coin kept trying to escape, rolling under a table. Madman Lu flew into a rage, dropping to all fours and charging straight at that table like a mad dog, causing all the people on the street to point and stare.

Bang! He knocked over the table. Lu Yun fell to the ground and finally caught that bad coin. With a “yiya” roar of anger, he clenched his palm with all his might, his powerful internal energy crushing that desperately fleeing bad coin until it was deformed and twisted.

“Guest… guest sir, are you… are you alright?”

Since entering the capital, this was the first person to speak to him. Lu Yun growled low and looked up to see a shopkeeper with a frightened face, apparently taking him for a madman. Lu Yun came to his senses. He held his head and panted, and after a while, he set down his noodle pole, sat down, covered his face and asked: “This… where is this?”

The shopkeeper laughed dryly: “A soy milk shop. Would you like some pastries, sir?”

Lu Yun swallowed his dry saliva. After shouting and yelling all the way, his mouth was inevitably dry, so he immediately collapsed on the table and panted: “Good… good… give me a bowl of soy milk.”

The shopkeeper stared at the strange man before him, feeling uneasy but not daring to drive him away. He forced a bitter smile and turned into the kitchen, calling: “Wife! A customer!”

Light footsteps sounded, and the shopkeeper’s wife came. She walked to Lu Yun’s side when suddenly there was a “clang”—the bowl of soy milk shattered completely, splashing white liquid everywhere. Lu Yun, panting with his head down, turned to look and saw the shopkeeper’s wife with tears in her eyes, just looking down at him. When Lu Yun saw her face, he couldn’t help crying “Ah!” and nearly fell to the ground.

Xiao Hong? Qianxi’s maid—she was here?

Lu Yun opened his mouth wide, looked up at the shop sign—the golden characters of “Shangshu Soy Milk” shone brilliantly, so dazzling and bright that Lu Yun raised his sleeve to cover his face.

No, no, no—Xiao Hong mustn’t see him looking like this ghost. He had to hide… disappear from the human world where no one could see him…

Xiao Hong looked shocked and sorrowful. Suddenly she covered her face with both hands, tears falling like rain, and turned to run back to the kitchen. Lu Yun opened his mouth wide as if waiting to drink soy milk, his mind in complete chaos, until with a “dong,” Xiao Hong came out again carrying soy milk and presented it before Lu Yun.

The soy milk bowl was placed before him, but Lu Yun’s mouth was tightly closed in bitter silence. Like a child who had done something wrong, he placed both hands on his knees, his body constantly swaying back and forth. Not only did he not dare touch the soy milk before him, he didn’t dare look around even once.

Ten years had passed—the young lady had married, the master had died, and even Xiao Hong had married and had children. Xiao Hong covered her face and wiped her tears. She didn’t know how to speak of those past events. Through her tearful, blurred vision, she looked at the former Young Master Lu. Everything had changed, yet he alone hadn’t changed—he was still as poor, still as inexplicably confused, still as sorrowfully silent. Seeing him in this state, Xiao Hong couldn’t help but collapse on the table and burst into tears.

The shopkeeper looked frightened and whispered: “Wife, why are you… why are you crying? Who… who is this person?”

Xiao Hong smiled bitterly through her tears. She didn’t know how to answer her husband’s question. The man before her was surnamed Lu, named Yun—he was the young lady’s fiancé before she married. Who could understand such a description?

Bowing his head, Lu Yun gazed at the bowl of clean, fragrant soy milk on the table. This was Qianxi’s Shangshu Soy Milk… the Shangshu Soy Milk that Yang Suguan had drunk for four years… an established old shop, yet this was his first time entering it in his entire life…

Lu Yun squinted his eyes, looking down at that bowl of soy milk, hearing Xiao Hong’s crying in his ears. He wanted to go comfort her, but he just couldn’t utter a single word… He understood that if he spoke, he would hate that person—that absent person… that lonely minister and abandoned son exiled to the ends of the earth…

“Lu Yun!” A sharp scream rang out, pulling Lu Yun back to the mortal world. Lu Yun looked up in surprise to see a woman rushing urgently before him, staring at him with wide eyes. She pointed at Lu Yun’s prominent nose, trembling constantly, screaming: “It’s you! It’s you!”

“Second Concubine,” Lu Yun held back tears, gritting his teeth and answering in a low voice: “I… I’ve come back.”

“You go die!” A broom came crashing down on his head, and the entire bowl of soy milk splashed onto his body. In his ears rang sorrowful, angry shouting as Second Concubine raised the broom and beat him desperately, crying incessantly: “It’s all you! It’s all you! Master died because of you! You murderous ghost, you righteous one, you made our Gu family suffer so much, and you still have the face to come back? You go die! Go die!”

Lu Yun opened his mouth “ah, ah”—he wanted to hold Second Concubine and hear how she had lived these ten years… He wanted to know what kind of man Xiao Hong’s husband was… After all, ten years had passed…

The broom kept beating, beating desperately. Lu Yun couldn’t speak at all. People hurriedly tried to pull Second Concubine away, but she refused to yield. In her crying and shouting, the broom came crashing down heavily on his head. Instantly, his internal energy rebounded, the broom handle snapped, and Second Concubine collapsed to the ground exhausted. She sat on the ground, still waving her fists and crying loudly: “Plague god! Take your righteousness and get lost! Please spare our whole family!”

Dozens of blood-stained scenes of righteousness had taken away Master Gu, leaving behind endless suffering. Xiao Hong tearfully crouched down to comfort the concubine. Xiao Hong’s husband mumbled and stammered, looking at Lu Yun with eyes full of fear, as if suspecting this person carried some plague.

The plague god sat alone, tears in his eyes, mouth turned downward, staring at the overturned soy milk bowl before him.

Indeed… all of this was his fault. He hadn’t listened to Zhonghai’s advice, nor had he taken Qianxi’s words to heart, so he had become this ghostly appearance. The plague god had poisoned himself and ruined the Gu family. Having nothing left, he was a complete loser.

The crying continued. Lu Yun wiped away his tears. He silently picked up his noodle pole and turned to leave.

Go! Lu Yun! Haven’t you harmed them enough? Do you want to harm people again?

The streets were bustling—the capital on Lantern Festival night was very lively. Now Lu Yun was much more clearheaded. He didn’t want to go home anymore. He only hoped to avoid the joyful crowds and leave this heartbreaking place early. While dodging and hiding, a dark corner of the street attracted him—dark and gloomy, shadowy and dim. That place was suitable for losers, where he could catch his breath.

The great loser walked alone toward the darkness, sitting on the bone-chillingly cold stone steps. At the entrance sat a broken stone lion, keeping him company.

Originally there had been a pair of stone lions, but now only one remained. Originally there had been a group of heroes, but now only this one was left.

Lu Yun’s eyes were dim as he waved at the mighty stone lion. The stone lion seemed to smile back at him. Lu Yun murmured to himself, collapsing softly on the ground and looking up at the already ruined great mansion.

On the blood-red, dilapidated door beam above hung a plaque with dirty gold characters covered in dust, which read…

“Grand Commander’s Mansion of Northern Conquest?” Lu Yun was shocked. He quickly scrambled up and looked up at the plaque on the door. Though covered in dust, it couldn’t hide the gold-leaf identity of “Marquis Shanmu.” This was indeed the place—this was the once-glorious great mansion of the Liu family!

“Heaven!” Lu Yun’s eyes filled with hot tears, his fists clenched tightly. “I really have returned!” From the waterfalls of Guizhou, following that final journey, he had finally returned to the first station of his departure ten years ago. He really had returned!

“Is anyone there! Is there still anyone inside?” Lu Yun pounded on the great door, shouting hoarsely. With a “bang,” the loosely closed great door fell to the ground, startling the wild cats and rats roosting in the courtyard. From the pitch-black courtyard wafted foul air, with insects and rodents scurrying everywhere.

Trembling as he entered, the once glorious and magnificent flower garden was gone—only scattered trash and filth that neighbors had thrown in. An entire wall had been smashed down, with black paint and charcoal on the ground, showing that fires of war had once burned here.

Who did this? Was this the good work of Emperor Jingtai, or was it the later Emperor Wu Ying who had destroyed it? He couldn’t find an answer, nor did he want to. Everyone was dead anyway—even if heaven and earth killed everything, what difference would it make?

“Is anyone there? Is there still anyone?” Lu Yun’s blood boiled as he shouted “ah, ah.” He wanted to find companions—even just one, just one would be good. The lonely, isolated Lu Yun ran wildly, kicking over dirty urns, stepping through filth, clearing a path through the scattered debris straight toward the main hall.

Before him was a great hole, beneath his feet were collapsed stone blocks. Lu Yun reached the main hall. He looked around, waving his arms and screaming: “Is anyone there! Is anyone there!”

Suddenly he heard familiar laughter, talking, mocking, the sound of drawing water… people coming and going. Before his eyes were Zhonghai, Suguan, Dingyuan, the Marquis… there were soldiers, generals, maids, friends, babies, superiors…

So many, many people—all gone without a trace. All around was deathly quiet, with only owls hooting and crying mournfully in the distance. Lu Yun stood there stupidly smiling. Originally extremely excited, now he hung his head dejectedly. He no longer called out, just walked forward with his head down.

The long, long road still lay before him—when would it ever end? The great loser smiled miserably, his spirit sorrowful. He wished Second Concubine could have beaten him to death on the spot, sparing him this endless torment.

Relying on his memories from ten years ago, he passed through the filthy, ruined flower garden and came to a certain place.

Standing there stunned, staring blankly, suddenly Lu Yun began calling out “ah, ah.”

The great study had light! Marquis Liu’s great study had light!

Someone was alive! Someone must be alive! Lu Yun panted heavily but didn’t dare call out again. His cries were so sorrowful they would frighten even ghosts away. He had to be careful, slipping in quietly like a flash—only this way, swift as lightning, would he see his companions…

Sneaking to the door, creeping inside, Lu Yun hid in the room and secretly surveyed all around.

The bright moonlight illuminated everything with gentle light. There were spider webs and mud ash on the ground, but the room was generally intact. That great table still faced him directly, and the room still had those four wooden chairs arranged—Guanhai and Yunyuan’s seats—everything was unchanged.

Lu Yun felt nervous and called softly: “Is anyone there? Marquis, Lu Yun has returned!”

All around was quiet with no one answering. Lu Yun didn’t give up. He raised his voice and called again softly: “Is anyone there? Come out quickly!”

Lu Yun stood there stupidly. He still heard no sound. Suddenly Lu Yun became angry. He roared once and raised his arms high, shouting: “Come out! Come out! Everyone come out! Lu Yun has returned alive!”

His internal energy shook powerfully, making the roof tiles and windows rattle “kaka,” and dust and sand fell down with a “swoosh,” covering Lu Yun’s head and face with gray.

The echo gradually faded away. In the deep of night, on Lantern Festival evening, moonlight gently embraced Lu Yun. That moon goddess who loved the literary star gently told the top scholar—stop shouting… even if you shout yourself hoarse, no one here will answer you…

Lu Yun fell silent, turning to look at those four chairs. He slowly set down his noodle pole, his expression solemn, and walked toward the chair he usually sat in, bowing his head to sit down.

Crack! The wooden chair broke and the top scholar fell to the ground. He spread his limbs and rolled around, finally bursting into loud laughter.

Drunk or awake, Top Scholar Lu Yun? Others have “ten years’ dream in Yangzhou, winning only a fickle reputation in the pleasure quarters”—and you? You had ten years of dreams and now you’re awake—what have you won?

Lu Yun laughed and rolled, and more often took his forehead to bang against the floorboards, seeing if he could knock himself unconscious. Poor Lu’s iron head—his martial arts were supreme, his forehead like steel. Not only couldn’t he bang himself to death, he couldn’t even knock himself out. In this moment of drooling, flailing madness, he heard a gentle sigh beside him.

The moon goddess descended, sobbing softly as she gently approached, calling: “Lu Yun… Lu Yun, don’t be sad… don’t be sad…”

Lu Yun opened his eyes wide and turned to look. Light appeared in the darkness, and a lonely lamp lit up in the room. Beside the lamp sat a beautiful girl with crossed legs, tears in her eyes, spreading her arms toward him and gently nodding.

“Miss Hu?” Lu Yun opened his eyes wide and immediately sat up. On this unlucky day, he had finally met the first person he knew.

Note: This book’s description of the fifty-seven-sided polygon construction using unmarked straightedge and compass is authentic. This figure was originally considered impossible to construct, but in 1796 the mathematician Gauss (1777-1855) proved it was feasible. Because the number seventeen involves Fermat primes, it caused a sensation at the time.