Eight years.
Eight years of time.
It could allow a newborn baby to begin to understand the world.
It could allow an ignorant child to become young and lively.
It could allow a naive youth to become mature.
It could allow a lonely youth to form a family and pass on their bloodline.
Eight years of time was a very long time. Every eight years of life was a turning point in one's fate. It could change many things. It could allow one to remember many people and also forget many people.
It could allow one to experience many things and erase many things.
After all, life was always like this. Time would dilute everything. Sometimes, those things that were once engraved in one's bones and heart, things that one would never forget, would eventually disappear in the trivialities of time and become dispensable memories. Some people, some things, would always gradually drift away from one's fate.
But for Sun Lang, the last eight years of his life were very different.
Or rather, it could be said that it was the most different.
His experience was unimaginable to humans. It was full of drama, full of sorrow, hope and despair, tears and smiles. It was impossible to define this period of life as pure sorrow or joy. But many people and many things were engraved in his heart and fused together with his life.
Like a scar, it would never fade away. Every day, when one stroked the uneven protrusion of the scar, all the stories related to this scar would appear in one's mind. No matter if it was sad or happy, it was worth being happy about, it would make one cry.
Perhaps it would fade away, but it would never be forgotten.
So Sun Lang would never forget.
Because of those six years of bloody battle, because of that sad ending, the battle of the Great Desolate Mountain had left a huge, ugly scar in his heart that would never disappear. Every time he touched it, he would involuntarily recall those people, those he hated, those he loved, and he did not know what to do with them.
Every person was very complicated. Every person had their own thoughts. Every person had different choices. Choices often meant fate, and fate would smile at you.
Whether it was a kind smile or a malicious sneer.
Sun Lang remembered these people.
Those who were already dead, those who were still alive, those who were like strangers, those who could not live under the same sky, those who were as close as they were in the past, those who had forgotten each other in the pugilistic world … There were many, many people that he remembered.
And the Golden Radiance Sword Saint Bai Yuwei occupied a very, very important place in his heart.
If Empress and Lu Shu-jen saw the beginning of Sun Lang's six-year journey to hell, then Bai Yuwei witnessed the end of this cruel and desperate journey.
Bai Yuwei shouldered the Emperor's great trust. He led the three hundred thousand elite soldiers that had been arranged in the Great Desolate Mountain through all kinds of dispatches, deception, misdirection, and secret schemes to attack the defenseless Sun Lang.
The so-called scheming of an emperor, the so-called loner, the emperor would never trust anyone. The so-called heart of a villain, the so-called measuring others by oneself. Many dark people who knew the truth also did not believe that Sun Lang would let go of his hatred. They did not feel sorry for Sun Lang. The so-called apology was just a joke in the face of power.
Therefore, it was very normal to strike first and gain the upper hand.
And they had to strike at the most impossible time, so that Sun Lang and the people close to him would not have the chance to react … After all, the Great War of Tianyuan had not ended yet. No one in their right mind would destroy the Great Wall at this time.
Therefore, this was the best opportunity.
And it was a plan to kill two birds with one stone … It was not to completely kill Sun Lang, but to imprison and restrain him, turning him into a puppet, using his martial arts and wisdom to serve the Empire forever.
His Majesty, the wise and farsighted king, had already made perfect plans and preparations.
Since they could forcibly summon an innocent boy from another world here, forcing him, who had never seen blood, to participate in an incomparably cruel bloody battle, it was not surprising that they would do such a shameless thing.
But Sun Lang would never have thought that the one who would strike was actually Bai Yuwei.
Just as he would never have thought that at that time, the person who stepped forward bravely and fought for him at the cost of his life was actually that person.
For a powerless, weak, and timid boy, this strange and cruel world was full of malice and alienation. He could not obtain warmth or comfort, so he yearned for light even more. He was born in a peaceful and friendly world, and he yearned to find the same things here.
Therefore, in that desperate situation, he would treat those who were willing to treat him even better. He was not stingy with kindness even to those who had nothing to do with him. He desperately searched for the value of survival, looking for sustenance that would not make his spirit collapse. Therefore, he tried his best to make friends, tried his best to be friendly to everyone. Because of this, he met many people, and he felt that they were a group of very good people.
Later on, he even tried to convince himself to understand the Empire's original actions.
After all, it was related to the survival of countless creatures.
After all, it was related to the rise and fall of the country.
The future of the race, the happiness of the world, and the sacrifice of countless heroes. No matter what price they had to pay, they had to defeat the Sky Demon. This was already the belief of the Empire's soldiers. They did not care about their own lives, and of course, they would not care about the life of an Earthling.
That was something that could not be helped — he tried to convince himself.
He also tried to give the same example. Even on Earth, in his own country, if faced with a similar predicament, he would definitely do the same thing.
Because the country's machinery was efficient, cold, and ruthless.
He also thought self-mockingly that if he, as the person involved, chose not to pursue this matter, there would be no problem — he thought. Actually, when he thought about it, it was not a big deal. Could it be that he wanted to take revenge?
Then what would Chao Po-tao and the others do?
Could it be that they did not die at the hands of the Sky Demon, but at the hands of their own people?
He did think this way.
Until the battle of the Great Desolate Mountain, until that incident happened.
His entire world was destroyed once again.
Why did it have to be Bai Yuwei?
This person who approached him with kindness, who treated him as a nephew and disciple, who did not hide anything from him, who taught him everything, whether it was martial arts or military tactics, who treated him as his successor, who spared no effort to boast about his reputation in public and in private … such a person.
He was like a father, and also like a master, a comrade-in-arms who trusted each other with life and death, and a friend who treated each other with sincerity.
So, why did it have to be him?
All of his memories and the past had been destroyed, tainted with despicable colors by betrayal. Everything had been denied, including the harmonious relationship and the beautiful memories.
So, the souls of the dead who had lost everything once again crazily waved their sharp blades and killed the iron-blooded soldiers who should have been active on the Tianyuan Battlefield one by one.
So, when the Sky Demon suddenly descended and surrounded and annihilated the human army who were caught off guard, he ignored everyone's pleas and hints and killed everyone in front of him indiscriminately.
So, after the Sky Demon was annihilated and the battle was finally won, he wandered around the battlefield, which was as bloody as an ocean of blood. He found all the surviving human soldiers and killed them one by one right in front of him.
Even though he was howling and desperate, as if his soul was about to be torn apart, he dropped all his dignity and glory and kowtowed his pale head in the mud of blood.
From that moment until now, it had been a full two years.
For the two of them, the War of the Heaven's Origin Sector was not over yet.
They were both souls of the dead in the War of the Heaven's Origin Sector. Their bodies were wounded on the Great Desolate Mountain. They were haunted and tortured every night. The sadness and desperation at that time would never disappear.
Until … their war finally came to an end.
Until now.
After two years, the two famous generals of the Heaven's Origin Sector, who had worked together seamlessly, still had the greatest tacit understanding. Sun Lang could infer all of Bai Yuwei's intentions with only one simple detail.
I'll meet you as long as you come. We still have things to do. Even if I'm in hell, I'll climb out. We still have one thing to do.
Sun Lang exerted force with his right hand.
The entangled soul was washed away by the torrent. The sword spirit of Gold Obsidian let out an unwilling roar.
There were some things that, once done once, would be easy to do a second time, let alone a third time.
The white radiance blazed. The crisscrossing Sword Qi instantly covered the entire world. The massive power that had lost control wildly dissipated.
Sun Lang let go of his hand, took two steps back, and looked at the old man in front of him.
Then, Bai Yuwei opened his eyes.
His temperament was obviously different from his former madness, but it was also different from the dignity and domineering aura that Rushou had just displayed. This was because he knew what it meant to see the light of day again.
It meant that he would see people he did not want to see and face things he did not want to face. It meant that he would return to his nightmare, the despair and choice between loyalty and righteousness.
But even so … he still wanted to come out. He still wanted to see that person.
He had already thought of this when he had set up this trap.
This was his answer.
He looked at the person in front of him.
The person who was familiar yet unfamiliar. The person who had once treated him with absolute sincerity, the person who had once shared life and death with him, and the person who had once entrusted the future of this country to … the only person he felt guilty towards.
Everything eventually turned into a smile of relief.
He said, "I know that when I open my eyes again, I will definitely see you."
Sun Lang said calmly, "Yes, your life can only end in my hands. It is not something that any Tom, Dick, or Harry can touch."
Bai Yuwei smiled faintly. He looked at everything around him. His pupils shrank and his expression became sorrowful. He said sadly, "This is the Bai Castle, right?"
He had already guessed what had happened … whatever had happened, it was natural and normal.
Sun Lang nodded and said, "Yes, there are thousands of martial artists outside waiting to rush in, burn, kill, and loot. Today, everyone in the Bai family will die. Your son did the same stupid thing you did, so he will not survive. Today, everyone with the surname Bai will die, starting with you."
Bai Yuwei heard these words.
He looked at Sun Lang in front of him. He looked at his indifferent eyes and saw his numbness towards life.
He did not show anger, nor did he plead.
The Golden Radiance Sword Saint looked at Sun Lang and slowly, two drops of tears flowed down.
The general had a sad place to cry.