Chapter Two: The Living Sacrifice of Gu Qiuci
A hundred years ago, the world was divided among five kingdoms.
In the beginning, the Northern Bamboo Kingdom was the most powerful; the Eastern Ling, Southern Sheng, and Western Ze Kingdoms followed, with the Hundred Brooks Kingdom ranking last. Yet, due to some unknown force, the five kingdoms each held their own territories in peace. Beyond trading goods, they even shared a single era name: the Refulgent Moon.
In the forty-second year of Refulgent Moon, the Empress of Hundred Brooks bore her firstborn son, named Gu Qiuzi. That year, the weather was favorable, and rainbows filled the sky.
From the moment he was born, he could speak and recognize words. At three, he entered the archives and read the classics of all schools. At five, he joined court, assisting his father the king. At eight, he reorganized the military and trained the soldiers. At ten, he studied the art of commerce and gathered treasures from across the land.
He was a man of unmatched grace and beauty; his features were like a painting, his eyes shone like stars, surpassing even banished immortals. Because of his extraordinary talents, his name spread across all the kingdoms.
By the fifty-fifth year of Refulgent Moon, Hundred Brooks surpassed the other four kingdoms in every aspect of strength.
In the fifty-sixth year, a great drought struck. Countless people starved to death in every country. He devised a plan and saved tens of thousands.
In the fifty-seventh year, the Empress of Hundred Brooks died of illness.
In the fifty-eighth year, a plague broke out, sparing no kingdom. The physicians of all lands were helpless. From kings and ministers to common folk, everyone lived in terror.
The epidemic swept in with frightening speed—one infected ten, ten infected a hundred, and in just a few days, over ten thousand perished.
The five kings fasted and bathed, then journeyed together to Spirit Mountain.
On Spirit Mountain lived the Grand Shaman, who was said to commune with the divine and know all the affairs of the world.
“Under heaven, only one person can spare the people from the plague,” the Grand Shaman intoned after a moment’s thought. “He is extraordinary by birth, unmatched in beauty and talent.”
The kings’ faces changed abruptly. Glancing at one another, they all knew in their hearts who was meant.
The king of the Northern Bamboo Kingdom broke the silence first. “Though our five kingdoms are rich in talent, only the Crown Prince of Hundred Brooks, Gu Qiuzi, can truly be called peerless in beauty and wisdom.”
“My son may have the talent to govern a nation, but he cannot cure illness or save lives. What is he to do?”
“A living sacrifice to the gods of Spirit Mountain,” the Grand Shaman replied, “and the plague will withdraw.”
News of this journey spread quickly. People from the four kingdoms gathered en masse in the capital of Hundred Brooks.
The people of Hundred Brooks took the lead, kneeling to plead for their illustrious crown prince to be offered as a living sacrifice.
The four kingdoms followed suit, kneeling in rows and wailing for salvation.
Such was the scene outside the palace walls—and within as well.
His revered father, after three days, finally spoke to him. “Since the Grand Shaman says a living sacrifice to the gods can save the people, then let it be so.”
Gu Qiuzi looked at his father, who hesitated to finish his words. His expression was calm as he spoke slowly.
He had wished first to offer incense at his mother's tomb before going to Spirit Mountain, but the people he had protected with his life would not allow him a moment’s delay.
Who else but Gu Qiuzi could be sent to Spirit Mountain, escorted by the masses with such “honor”?
Those ignorant of the truth envied his glory; those who knew wiped their tears in public, but inwardly rejoiced.
Exchanging one life for ten thousand—is it not a bargain? Why should they hesitate?
Only when they saw the last drop of his blood drained did the multitude finally disperse at ease.
By then, they had long forgotten all that Gu Qiuzi had done for them in life.
His kin could not bear to witness his death and refused to go to Spirit Mountain. Thus, after he died, no one was even present to collect his body.
Wind, sun, and rain battered his remains; even the crows pecking at his body went unnoticed.
When his father later wished to see him, he searched all of Spirit Mountain but found no grave—only a bare altar with a pile of white bones.
In the fifty-ninth year of Refulgent Moon, the mountains collapsed and the earth split. In desperation, the people thought again of Gu Qiuzi.
“If only the Crown Prince were still alive, would we be so helpless now?”
Yet even if he truly lived, as long as the Grand Shaman uttered that a living sacrifice could save the people, his subjects would, without hesitation, beg him to die once more.