Chapter 1
It was one spring sunset.
Under the western gate of Tang Dynasty's capital, Luoyang, there was a young man blankly looking up at the sky.
His name was Tu Tze-chun, and he was the son of a rich man.
But now he had trouble even with day-to-day life.
He was in such a wretched state because he had spent all of his wealth.
At that time, Luoyang was a prosperous city with no equal in the world.
People and cars were still coming and going incessantly.
An old man's thin silk hat, a Turkish woman's gold earrings, and a white horse's colorful reins.
They were flowing constantly in the sunset light like an oil at the gate.
It was picturesque.
However, Tu Tze-chun was still leaning against the gate wall, just looking up at the sky blankly.
In the sky, a thin moon was already floating in the haze, faintly white, as if it were a claw mark.
"The sun is setting, I'm hungry, and I don't think I'll be able to find a place to stay anywhere else.
――I'd rather throw myself into a river and die than live in the wretched state."
Tu Tze-chun was alone in his thoughts for a while, thinking about things like this.
Then all of a sudden, an old man with a strabismus in one eye stopped in front of him from wherever he came from.
The old man was bathed in the light of the setting sun and his large shadow was reflected in the gate.
Then, looking at Tu Tze-chun's face, he said arrogantly.
"What are you thinking about?"
"It's me? I don't have a place to sleep tonight, so I'm trying to figure out what to do."
The old man's question was so abrupt that Tu Tze-chun lowered his eyes and answered honestly without thinking.
"I see. That's pitiful."
The old man seemed to be thinking about something for a while, and then, pointing to the light of the setting sun on the street, he said.
"Then I'll tell you a good thing. Stand in this sunset and see your shadow on the ground.
Then dig up the spot of the head of your shadow on the ground in the middle of the night. You'll find enough gold to fill a car."
"Really?"
Tu Tze-chun was surprised and lifted his eyes.
But what was even stranger was that the old man was nowhere to be found, no more shadows or shapes to be found in the area.
Instead, the color of the moon in the sky was even whiter than before.
A couple of hasty bats were already flying above the incessant traffic.
- To return to table of contents of Tu Tze-chun
Under the western gate of Tang Dynasty's capital, Luoyang, there was a young man blankly looking up at the sky.
His name was Tu Tze-chun, and he was the son of a rich man.
But now he had trouble even with day-to-day life.
He was in such a wretched state because he had spent all of his wealth.
At that time, Luoyang was a prosperous city with no equal in the world.
People and cars were still coming and going incessantly.
An old man's thin silk hat, a Turkish woman's gold earrings, and a white horse's colorful reins.
They were flowing constantly in the sunset light like an oil at the gate.
It was picturesque.
However, Tu Tze-chun was still leaning against the gate wall, just looking up at the sky blankly.
In the sky, a thin moon was already floating in the haze, faintly white, as if it were a claw mark.
"The sun is setting, I'm hungry, and I don't think I'll be able to find a place to stay anywhere else.
――I'd rather throw myself into a river and die than live in the wretched state."
Tu Tze-chun was alone in his thoughts for a while, thinking about things like this.
Then all of a sudden, an old man with a strabismus in one eye stopped in front of him from wherever he came from.
The old man was bathed in the light of the setting sun and his large shadow was reflected in the gate.
Then, looking at Tu Tze-chun's face, he said arrogantly.
"What are you thinking about?"
"It's me? I don't have a place to sleep tonight, so I'm trying to figure out what to do."
The old man's question was so abrupt that Tu Tze-chun lowered his eyes and answered honestly without thinking.
"I see. That's pitiful."
The old man seemed to be thinking about something for a while, and then, pointing to the light of the setting sun on the street, he said.
"Then I'll tell you a good thing. Stand in this sunset and see your shadow on the ground.
Then dig up the spot of the head of your shadow on the ground in the middle of the night. You'll find enough gold to fill a car."
"Really?"
Tu Tze-chun was surprised and lifted his eyes.
But what was even stranger was that the old man was nowhere to be found, no more shadows or shapes to be found in the area.
Instead, the color of the moon in the sky was even whiter than before.
A couple of hasty bats were already flying above the incessant traffic.
- To return to table of contents of Tu Tze-chun