The story opens with a flashback to a time before the Second Coming of the Mings. It is the first day of autumn, and a poison has been discovered in a river in the city of Taihang. The master of the city has been waiting for the discovery of the poison for four years, and now he is the one who has been responsible for the death of his servant. The servant begs the master to take his body with him after he kills him, and destroy it. He also begs that the master tell his master that he knew who killed him and that he already expected the day to come. He tells the master that after the execution of his order, he will take his own life. When the master asks him what he is doing, the servant tells him that he has to stay alive, and he says that he will write a letter explaining everything to the night troops