"Taoist Priest, rest assured, I am but a mere common man whose worthless life should have ended alongside my comrades in that dreadful battle long ago. Even if you were to take my head, let alone this arm, what is there for me to fear?"
"A common man does not fear death; he merely fears a death without meaning."
The one-armed middle-aged man gave a carefree smile, set down his musical instrument, straightened his clothes with one hand, and with a flourish of his robe, he knelt before the Taoist with a thud, as if he were pushing a golden mountain or toppling a jade pillar.
"Taoist, three years ago, we faced defeat after defeat, retreating faster than the blizzard."
"With the power of Monsters and Demons unchecked, Corrupt Officials obscure the heavens, making every place a frontier."
"I still remember the last battle, the mountains and fields littered with dead and wounded comrades, among them children barely ten years old."
