Case 02

In the eleventh year of the Purple Moon, the Northern Abyss Kingdom raised its troops to invade. The Second Prince, Murong Ce, led one hundred thousand iron cavalry to meet them in battle.

By the thirteenth year of the Purple Moon, the Northern Abyss Kingdom was defeated and retreated. Murong Ce pursued them northward but failed to catch up. As the harsh winter arrived, a sudden avalanche struck, causing hundreds of casualties, so he was forced to return by the original route.

In the fourteenth year of the Purple Moon, Murong Ce was suddenly struck by a strange illness and became bedridden. The Emperor issued an edict to the realm: “Whosoever can cure this ailment, I shall divide the Purple Moon’s land in half and share it with you.”

With the proclamation made, famed physicians from across the land flocked to answer the call. Yet, over the next three years, not one could claim half the kingdom.

In the seventeenth year of the Purple Moon, Murong Ce passed away. For three months, the mourning bells tolled without ceasing throughout the land. Just as his coffin was to be sealed and interred, he rose from death. The people said, “Heaven favors the Purple Moon Kingdom; Heaven favors the Second Prince.”

In the eighteenth year of the Purple Moon, Murong Ce was honored as Crown Prince and took Lady Nie as his wife. That same year, the Emperor died, and the Crown Prince ascended the throne. Thereafter, his temperament changed drastically—he became irritable, bloodthirsty, and superstitious.

In the nineteenth year of the Purple Moon, to appease spirits and gods, Murong Ce strangled one hundred young maidens and one hundred scholarly youths within three months. In April, he launched grand construction works, expanding the palaces. In May, he used living people as targets for the new soldiers to practice archery. In June, he deposed the Empress and subjected her to a lingering death by a thousand cuts; when senior ministers protested in vain, they dashed their heads against the pillars, splattering blood across the court. All lived in terror, none dared to speak.

In August, a plague swept through the city. The king decreed, “Strictly prevent the disease from spreading.” Thus, he ordered the burning of over a thousand citizens. Afterwards, he offered living people as sacrifices, praying for the plague's end.

By the twentieth year of the Purple Moon, farmers abandoned their fields, weavers left their looms, soldiers laid down their arms, and officials forsook their posts—all fleeing to other lands in search of survival.

In the twenty-first year of the Purple Moon, the army of the Northern Abyss Kingdom stood before the city gates. Murong Ce, dressed in plain white robes, leapt from the city wall. The Purple Moon Kingdom fell.

In the streets, it was rumored that after Murong Ce’s death, the emperor of the Northern Abyss, in admiration for the unparalleled hero he had been a decade before, buried him within the royal tombs of the Purple Moon Kingdom. Half a month later, someone tried to exhume his grave, intending to expose his body to the wilderness. Yet, the coffin was found empty.