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The following is the Book 5 summary from my forthcoming series of graphic novels, Swords Of The Assassins (working title). - JF Koh
Nie Zheng (聂政) was an assassin in ancient China whose name almost became unknown. The story of Nie Zheng is recorded in the chapter "Biographies Of The Assassins" of the Shi Ji, the famous book by Sima Qian, an imperial historian who lived more than 2000 years ago during the Han Dynasty of ancient China.
Nie Zheng was a refugee in the Qi state, working as a butcher as a way to hide from his enemies. He was befriended by Yan Zhong Zi, a nobleman from the Han state, who likewise was escaping from a certain powerful enemy -- Prime Minister Xia Lei of Han.
(I've left out some important details here about Nie Zheng's mom, which I'll add in when I have the time.)
On behalf of Yan Zhong Zi, Nie Zheng boldly walked into Xie Lie's house and assassinated the fellow. After that, Nie Zheng wanted to prevent his elder sister, Nie Rong, from being implicated, so he disfigured his face and then killed himself. As a result, no one in Han knew who the assassin was, or who sent him.
The king of Han displayed Nie Zheng's corpse in public, and put up a huge reward for anyone who knew the assassin's identity.
Nie Rong heard about the assassination and suspected it was her brother who pulled it off. She journeyed to Han to verify the truth. When she saw the corpse, she knew that it was her brother.
Nie Rong knew that Nie Zheng had always wanted to make a name for himself. When Nie Zheng wiped out his own identity, she knew he had made a big sacrifice for her sake. Casting aside her own safety, she stepped forward and proclaimed Nie Zheng's identity as the assassin. After helping Nie Zheng make his name, she had to die.
People admired the integrity of the brother and sister, and their story circulated throughout the feudal states.
Over 220 years later, the assassin Jing Ke (荆轲) surfaced in the state of Qin.
© 2007 Koh Chuen Ferng