Prologue

In the dead of night, a bright moon hung high in the sky, surrounded by a canopy of twinkling stars. A small meteor, trailing a long tail of fire, streaked across the dark curtain of the heavens and plummeted into the silent, uninhabited mountains…

Three days later.

The marketplace buzzed with energy. Vendors hawked fruits, pork, ducks, fish, daily necessities, and little toys, all mingling amid the surging crowds.

This was a remote town in the countryside, and most of the people were local farmers who tilled the fields for a living. They had come to the town market to stock up on goods.

A young man who appeared refined and scholarly stood out amid the rustic surroundings. He held the hand of a cute little boy with clear eyes and delicate features as they navigated the lively market.

The man looked to be in his mid-twenties, with a gentle, bookish demeanor. He wore a blue suit jacket over a white dress shirt and sported a pair of black-framed glasses, giving him the air of a man of letters.

The little boy, who shared about seventy or eighty percent resemblance with the young man, was probably six or seven years old. Clutching his daddy’s hand, he peered around with his big, round eyes full of curiosity.

“Daddy, where’s Grandpa and Grandma’s house? Are we there yet?”

The boy gazed about curiously as he asked the man beside him.

“We’re almost there. Grandpa and Grandma’s house is in the village at the foot of the town.”

“Haoran, you stand right here and don’t move. Daddy’s going to buy some fruit. Wait for me to get back.”

Spotting a fruit stall ahead, the young man patted the boy’s head and gave him the instruction before heading forward.

The fruit stall was under a shaded awning, just seven or eight meters away.

The little boy watched his daddy chatting with the fruit vendor. His bright little eyes darted slyly around. Taking advantage of his daddy’s distraction, he darted off like a puff of smoke into the crowd and vanished.

The mischievous boy scampered excitedly through the market, stopping here and there. Sometimes he paused to gawk at a vendor’s wares, other times he zigzagged playfully about, having the time of his life.

“Hey, hey, hey… little handsome, wanna buy something?”

A shifty-eyed street vendor noticed the boy. Seeing his fine clothes and bulging pockets, the vendor’s heart stirred. He quickly called out to him.

Hearing this, the boy curiously approached the stall. It was cluttered with all sorts of odd and bizarre items, most of them looking worn and old. Among them, a pitch-black ring-like object caught his eye.

Coming from a well-off family, the boy didn’t lack for toys. But he had a fascination for strange and unusual trinkets.

The ring’s surface dipped slightly in the middle, etched with mysterious symbols he couldn’t understand. This piqued his interest.

For some inexplicable reason, the boy picked it up for a closer look. The ring was entirely black, dusted with grime, and felt cool and metallic in his hand. But upon closer inspection, he felt a twinge of disappointment—the ring wasn’t intact; there was a crack at the base.

Seeing the boy set down the black ring and turn to leave, the scheming vendor panicked and hurriedly called out.

“Hey, hey… little handsome, don’t go!”

“That thing you just had in your hand is called the Heavenly Dragon Ring. It’s a family heirloom passed down from my ancestors. My great-grandpa said it was worn by an ancient emperor.”

“Worn by an emperor?”

The naive boy perked up at the words and pressed eagerly.

“Real or fake? You’d sell a family treasure? Don’t think you can fool me just ’cause I’m a kid!”

The vendor saw the doubt in the boy’s words, but his eyes sparkled as they fixed on the black ring. Grinning inwardly, the vendor kept up the pitch.

“Heh… don’t doubt it. If I wasn’t desperate for cash to get married, I’d never part with it, not for anything.”

“What’s a wife?”

The boy asked, puzzled.

“Uh… a wife is… well…” The vendor faltered awkwardly, then laughed it off. “You’ll understand when you’re older.”

“You want it? I’ll let it go cheap, even if it pains me.”

“How much?”

“How much you got?”

Unsure how much the boy was carrying, the vendor probed.

The boy reached into his pocket and pulled out a thick wad of crisp hundred-yuan bills.

The vendor’s eyes bulged at the sight of all that red money. His heart pounded, his breathing quickened.

He figured it was at least two or three thousand yuan—a fortune in those days.

He hadn’t been wrong; this was a fat lamb!

“Five thousand!”

Without hesitation, the vendor quoted a sky-high price.

“That much?”

The boy frowned. Even at his age, he knew that was a big number.

“Heh… something worn by an emperor—how could it be cheap?”

The vendor stated it like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Thinking it over, the boy figured it made sense. His frown eased as he picked up the money and began counting: one bill, two, three… In the end, there were thirty-one bills.

Three thousand one hundred yuan—still a good ways short of five thousand.

The boy’s brows knitted again.

“But I don’t have enough.”

He felt a bit embarrassed.

“How much you got there?” the vendor pressed.

“Three thousand one.”

The boy counted again to confirm.

“Sigh~”

The vendor sighed dramatically. “Three thousand one it is, then. I’m in a rush to get married and need the cash. Seeing how much you want it, little handsome, I’ll make the deal.”

Hearing this, the boy—who hadn’t held out much hope—lit up with joy and nodded vigorously.

“Okay, okay, okay! I’ll take it. Here’s the money.”

With that, he handed over the cash, snatched up the black ring, and tried to slip it on his finger. But he was too young; it didn’t fit.

So he stuffed it into his pocket instead and vanished into the crowd, beaming with delight.

Once the boy was out of sight, the petty vendor flipped up the stall cloth, bundled all his wares together, slung the package over his shoulder, and hurried away from the market.

It had been a bumper day for him. That broken ring he’d picked up on the mountain on a whim had fetched a king’s ransom.

…

The young, innocent boy had no idea yet that this so-called “Emperor’s Ring” would unleash a massive storm in his future life.

The story begins ten years later!