My girlfriend is a Miao demon.

Pushing open the blue security door, a scent mixed with turpentine, linseed oil, and burnt ochre powder fills the nostrils, carrying a touch of melancholy from bygone days, yet also the unique vibrancy of paint—the exclusive aroma of an oil painting studio.

The studio was converted from a dismantled train assembly plant. The ceiling was a full seven meters high, but only a two-story attic was built. Instead of regular glass windows, six old-fashioned wooden sliding windows were installed on the street side. The dark brown wooden frames had been bleached by the sun over the years, and dried blue-purple paint shavings were stuck in the gaps between the window frames.

One can imagine that during the summer and autumn when Zuo Sigong first arrived here, when each window was one-third open, the wind would rustle the leaves of the plane trees outside the building as it swept through the empty windows, and leave a kiss mark of sunlight on the suspended canvas.

"This would have been a good place. But let's talk about why the three of us are here first." Xiang Nanfeng walked around the atrium on the first floor, found a wall covered with linen wallpaper, and leaned against it. "Master Maoxi, I'm afraid we should talk first. Who wants to go first?"

Sawako put the suitcase back inside, and as she came out, she silently turned on the switch in the electrical panel by the door, instantly turning on the ambient spotlights in the room. Then, she went to the refrigerator, took out three bottles of mineral water, one for each of them, and kept the last bottle for herself.

"There were still many things left before I left, and it seems they all came in handy."

Mao west, the Gu Master, walked to a single sofa in the center of the hall and sat down. He ran his hand through his hair and then slowly said:

"Okay, okay, let's start with me, from the beginning."

He raised his head, looked around the entire hall, and then continued:

"The Decameron, that reminds me of Giovanni Boccaccio's Decameron, where ten young men and women, fleeing the Florentine plague, each tell a story a day in a villa outside the city, and they continue for ten days. Haha, I think today's story will probably be quite long too. Where to begin? You all know I'm Miao, and you've probably all heard about the origins of our Miao people, right?"

Xiang Nanfeng nodded and echoed, "Yes, you mentioned that the Miao people are divided into three branches—the Flower Miao, the Black Miao, and the White Miao."

"That's right. The original Sanmiao were not a unified state, but essentially a loose political and military alliance. About eight thousand years ago, the Sanmiao were born in the Yellow River Basin." When Mao Xi Gu Zhu said the words "Yellow River Basin," a complex emotion flashed in his eyes. "At that time, the Sanmiao revered the Hua Miao. Jiang Yang, the chieftain of the Hua Miao, was not only the chieftain of one branch of the Hua Miao, but also the common lord of the Sanmiao alliance. He was revered by the Miao people as the creator god."

"The Sanmiao people originated in the Yellow River basin, so wouldn't that mean they had some connection with Chinese civilization?"

"It's more than just overlap!" Mao Xigu Master sneered.

"The original Sanmiao Kingdom was a member of the Huaxia Alliance. Jiang Yang was a vassal of Huaxia. The Sanmiao revered Emperor Yan and Emperor Huang as the common rulers of the world. Until five thousand years ago, at the end of the reign of Emperor Yao, an unprecedented event occurred within the Tang Dynasty of the Huaxia people. Emperor Yao, the common ruler of the world at that time, was gradually sidelined by Shun, a powerful minister of the Dongyi forces, and was eventually imprisoned. Shun was extremely ambitious, but he pretended to be benevolent and righteous. He first pretended to recommend Danzhu, the legitimate successor chosen by Yao, to ascend the throne. Before Danzhu could settle in, Shun used 'filial impiety' as an excuse to depose him and took his place."

"Shun imprisoned Yao and then seized the throne? Wasn't that an abdication?"

Sawako, who had remained silent, pulled up a stool and sat in the center of the hall. Xiang Nanfeng had assumed Sawako wouldn't understand, but he had underestimated Professor Zuo's daughter once again.

"That's true. When I was in college, I listened to lectures on pre-Qin history, and some teachers did say that. The story of Yao, Shun, and Yu abdicating the throne was fabricated by Confucius to justify his reforms; it didn't exist in real history. Of course, that doesn't align with human nature either, don't you think?" Xiang Nanfeng said calmly. Although he was eager to know why Mao Xigu Master knew Zuo Hezi and wanted to know Zuo Sigong's secret, he still patiently explained it to him, and after explaining, he gestured for him to continue.

"Yes." Master Mao Xi sighed and continued:

"Later, all the changes in the Sanmiao people stemmed from this power grab during the reign of Emperor Yao. Since Fuxi, succession from father to son and from brother to brother had always been the natural order and the law of the land in China. Shun's actions were actually challenging the bottom line of the feudal lords, because if this practice spread, the emperor's ministers could usurp the emperor's power, and the feudal lords' ministers could do the same. Therefore, the feudal lords questioned the legitimacy of Shun's dynasty, but they feared Shun's power and dared not openly oppose him. This essentially tacitly approved of the so-called 'abdication.' However, the fact that most people dared not resist did not mean that everyone dared not."

"Initially, four major vassal states stepped forward. They rejected the enfeoffment offered by the Yu Shun dynasty and only recognized the original Tang dynasty, accepting the enfeoffment from Danzhu, the legitimate successor designated by Yao. These four vassal states were Huan Dou, Gong Gong, Gun, and our Sanmiao."

"Gonggong and Gun, I've heard of them. Gonggong angrily struck Buzhou Mountain, and Gun was the father of Yu the Great, who controlled the floods?" Xiang Nanfeng asked.

"That's right. Gonggong was Yao's water official, a high-ranking and loyal minister of the Tang Dynasty. Gun was Zhuanxu's son and Yao's uncle, so he was a member of the Tang Dynasty's imperial clan. Huandou was also a son of Zhuanxu and a brother of Gun, making him Yao's uncle as well. They were all members of the Tang Dynasty's imperial clan. These three families were either related to Yao and Danzhu, or they had received great favors from the Tang Dynasty. Even if they sided with Yu Shun, they would find it difficult to gain greater benefits. On the contrary, Shun's usurpation greatly harmed their interests."

"So they rose up against the Yu Dynasty. But my ancestor Jiang Yang was different. Jiang Yang rose up against Yu for the sake of the greater good of the world, the principle of 'rulers and ministers, fathers and sons.' There were four other tribes that followed the Sanmiao: Hundun, Qiongqi, Taowu, and Taotie."

"And then? Did you win or lose?" Zuo Hezi asked.

"We lost. The four servants of Sanmiao, the small kingdoms of Hundun, Qiongqi, Taowu, and Taotie, were wiped out. The four major kingdoms that led the attack were also crippled. Gonggong retreated to Youzhou, Huandou was exiled to Chongshan, and our Sanmiao were relocated to Sanwei. Gun's tribe suffered heavy losses, and Gun himself died at Yushan. This is what the Book of Documents says: 'Gonggong was exiled to Youzhou, Huandou was banished to Chongshan, Sanmiao were relocated to Sanwei, and Gun was executed at Yushan.'"

"So, it was around this time that the Sanmiao left the Yellow River basin? And left the mainstream civilization of the Central Plains?" Xiang Nanfeng asked.

"That's right. After that, the history of the Sanmiao became legend, with only fragmentary records remaining. What I want to say is that the real reason why the Sanmiao lost that righteous war of conquest was not external, but internal. It was because the Black Miao of the Sanmiao secretly colluded with Yu Shun and betrayed the Sanmiao at a crucial moment. And Panhu of the Black Miao then used Yu Shun to launch a horrific massacre against the Flower Miao that lasted for hundreds of years."

"It seems Jiang Yang's concerns are not unfounded; the ministers of the feudal lords do indeed follow Shun's example and rebel against their lords. Then... what about the Bai Miao? The Hua Miao were slaughtered by the Hei Miao, but what about the Bai Miao?"

"The Bai Miao were originally the weakest and least populous of the San Miao. When the San Miao were defeated and forced to migrate, the Bai Miao, as if they had foreseen the future, dispersed their people into smaller groups and fled into the primeval forest of Sanwei Mountain, which is shrouded in clouds and mist all year round and rarely visited by people. From then on, they were isolated from the world and did not intermarry or trade with the outside world."

"In particular, the chieftain of the Bai Miao tribe, the Holy Maiden Shuoyue, has completely disappeared without a trace. Even ordinary Bai Miao people do not know her whereabouts. All the news that the Holy Maiden Shuoyue sends to the outside world, whether to the San Miao or to the Bai Miao people, is transmitted through only one messenger. And this messenger is her personal servant clan—He Xiao clan."

"What?! He Xiaoshi!" Xiang Nanfeng stood up straight in shock. "You mean that old man He Xiao who sells dog meat? If we find him, we can find the White Miao Saintess Shuoyue?"