Jia Shidao had a dream.
It was a very, very long dream.
He dreamed that he had returned to the past. He had been freed from years of confinement, and had gone north to join the army with his father's permission and his family's expectations.
He met his cousin whom he hadn't seen for a long time. The last time they had met was a long time ago.
At that time, they were all children, and now they didn't remember each other. Too much time had passed, and now they had grown up. His brother, who was born in the Ningguo Mansion, had become a famous general in the six armies.
At that time, he had very complicated feelings about his cousin. There was curiosity, dissatisfaction, and a little admiration.
He had heard about his cousin's deeds, and knew that he had been a troublemaker for the Rongguo Mansion a few years ago. He didn't expect that in just a few years, he had been reborn and had become so successful.
He was dissatisfied with the other party's running away from home a few years ago. This daring action made the Ningguo Mansion become a frightened bird. When the city gate caught fire, the fish in the moat would suffer. In order to prevent him from imitating, the mansion imposed the strictest confinement on him. All of this was thanks to his cousin. He didn't know how many times he had scolded his cousin in the past few years.
But in addition to curiosity and dissatisfaction, he really admired his cousin. No matter what, since he had made meritorious contributions on the battlefield and become famous in the army, there must be something extraordinary about him.
But admiration didn't mean that he had to grovel and flatter his brother. He, Jia Shidao, didn't go north to join the army to take advantage of his relatives.
Since the troublemaker of the Rongguo Mansion could make a great career on the battlefield, then the troublemaker of the Ningguo Mansion could also … At that time, he had been holding his breath.
Although his cousin was indifferent to him and didn't have the enthusiasm of a brother in the family, and didn't take care of his future in the army, he still did his duty as an elder brother.
He had learned a lot from his cousin, whether it was the skills of battle formations or strategizing … After all, there was a distance of blood and fire between the military books and the battlefield.
Time passed quickly, and the fledgling on the battlefield had fully grown wings. He finally stood out, made a brilliant contribution, and spread his name.
His relationship with his brother had also improved a lot. The two of them were no longer as awkward and distant as when they first met. Instead, they slowly became closer. They first became good friends, then real brothers. During this process, he gradually became convinced by his brother's charisma, respected him, and admired him.
He felt that his brother was a very powerful person. His brother seemed to have a unique quality, and he firmly believed that it was the quality of a great person.
Obviously, his brother was a rare genius, a hero born in the chaotic world of Tianyuan. The Sky Demon's disaster in the Divine Land would inevitably end in his hands, and the new era would continue under his feet into the future … Jia Shidao thought so, and so did the people around his brother.
He dreamed that one day, everyone would completely defeat the Sky Demon under his brother's leadership. The imperial court would reward his brother according to his merits, and his brother would enter the imperial court to worship him. He would assist his brother as usual. The brothers were of one mind, and their strength could cut through gold. The new battlefield became the imperial court, and the two brothers worked together to sweep away the accumulated abuses and clutter of the empire. As his brother said, after the war, it was time to establish order for the people and establish eternal peace.
He was looking forward to all this, and he was also looking forward to the beautiful golden age that his brother had described. But that day did not come. A sudden news crushed everything.
After the news of the battle in the Great Barren Mountain came, the whole empire was excited and the world was shocked. The chaos of the Sky Demon, which had lasted for decades and burned the world with the flames of war, had finally ended. The terrible enemy had finally died in the hands of the empire. What an honor, what an outstanding achievement. Such joy should be shared by all the people of the empire.
But Jia Shidao was not happy at all.
Because his brother did not come back.
He could not feel joy, joy, or relief.
Living until the end of the war was the best wish for every soldier. The end of the Tianyuan War was like a dream. It meant that everyone could finally end the years of bloodshed on the battlefield, return home, and reunite with their families. It meant that the imperial court would reward them according to their merits, and everyone would receive enough rewards. But Jia Shidao was not happy at all, not at all.
Without his brother, everything was meaningless.
After being muddle-headed for two days, he forced himself to pull himself together. He was his brother's only family in the army, and he had to fulfill his duty as a blood relative. But at that time, he found a huge contradiction.
He could not bring back his brother's bones, because the imperial court said that the Great Barren Mountain was destroyed by a huge explosion, and nothing was left. In other words, his brother's bones were gone.
He was unwilling to give up and wanted to ask about the details of the battle in the Great Barren Mountain, but the special envoy of the imperial court said that it was a top secret of the empire, and could not be revealed to anyone for the time being.
Everything seemed to be shrouded in a huge and mysterious mystery, and all his questions could not be answered. Unwilling to give up, he secretly investigated, but he was surprised to find that all the clues were covered up by an invisible black hand layer by layer, sinking everything related to the Great Desolate Mountain into endless darkness.
He wanted to go deeper into the darkness, but the envoy of the imperial court came again. The envoy not only brought a letter from his father, but also a vague and dangerous message. The envoy quoted a sentence from his cousin when he was alive, "Sometimes ignorance is the greatest happiness."
This implied threat could not shake his determination, but he could not continue investigating. It was like diving. The deeper you dive, the darker your surroundings become, and the greater the pressure from the darkness. The force squeezed you and pushed you up. If you insisted on continuing, the force would only grow stronger until you were injured or even crushed into a meat patty. The deeper you dive, the darker your surroundings become, and the greater the resistance.
But the darkness and the pressure in the darkness had already explained many things.
His brother's death was not that simple.
To him, this was like a bolt from the blue.
He had read many history books. There were too many examples of capable ministers dying miserably, and the emperor killing people with evil intentions … There were too many examples of similar things in history books.
But no one had expected the emperor to do it in such a hurry.
Moreover, it was done so seamlessly.
His emotions rose and fell, from sadness to doubt, from doubt to shock, from shock to anger, and from anger to hatred. He guessed the truth, but there was nothing he could do. Anger filled his chest, but there was nothing he could do. The murderer was the emperor, and half of the imperial court was covering for him.
This kind of world, this kind of country, this kind of court, and this kind of ruler.
Then, he pretended to be disheartened, hung up his seal, and resigned to return to his hometown.
The so-called suffering humiliation and looking for a good opportunity were not valid. He would not have any opportunities in the imperial court because he was that person's younger brother. The so-called scheming of an emperor was first suspicion and jealousy.
He had to stay away from the imperial court, carry an unforgettable hatred, restrain his claws and teeth, and even become a monk. He had to hide in the depths of the mountains, silently planning and preparing for some things.
He was not afraid. He was still young, and he could still wait for a long, long time.
Thus, he became a monk and became a Taoist priest. He pretended to be indifferent to the mortal world and devoted himself to the mountains and rivers, but he never relaxed. He desperately recalled everything related to his brother, his brother's teachings, the words his brother said to him in his free time, his brother's thoughts … he gathered all these things together, searching for the power to overturn the country. He firmly believed that he could find it, because his brother had mentioned something similar before.
He believed that, sooner or later, there would be a day when he would seek justice for his brother.
But, something terrible happened.
One day, a person covered in blood stumbled into the Taoist temple. It was his father's trusted aide. He suddenly had a bad premonition. After opening the letter, he was completely stunned.
The messenger had died because of his heavy injuries. His father's handwriting was very messy. His father told him to quickly escape to the imperial capital, kowtow in front of the Emperor, and ask for help from the imperial court. Because …
The matter in the letter was so absurd that he could not believe it at all.
He rushed back home in the middle of the night. The once magnificent and imposing Ning Guo Mansion had turned into ruins. He saw the corpses of his parents, his uncles, and the maids and servants. Ning Guo Mansion was completely gone. There was not a single survivor.
On one of the collapsed walls, it was shockingly written that the murderer was Sun Lang, the Sky Demon of the Extraterritorial Domain.
His heart was filled with hatred. His eyes were bleeding, and he let out a beast-like roar. But the name Sun Lang was inexplicably familiar to him, making him feel extremely uneasy. For some reason, he made an extremely inexplicable and terrifying association. As a result, he once again set off towards the Rongguo residence.
He traveled day and night without sleep or rest. Everything around him was grotesque and variegated. The passersby looked at him as he galloped on his horse. Some people showed sympathy, while others sneered. It was as if overnight, everyone knew what had happened to him. Everyone recognized him. Their expressions constantly changed, like the faces of ghosts from hell. Whether it was sympathy or mockery, everything eventually turned into crazy laughter.
More and more people appeared along the way. They even formed two rows of human walls. The heads were densely packed, and they were all looking at him. The numb faces mechanically changed their expressions. At first, it was sympathy, then it was mockery, and then it was sighing. They seemed to have seen through everything, as if they already knew the result.
So they were all laughing.
More and more people gathered. They formed two human walls, blocking both sides. They watched, watched, and laughed softly. The two human walls opened up a path, and he ran on this path.
But he turned a blind eye to all of this. He only wanted a result, an answer.
At the end of the path, he found it.
He saw the raging fire in Rongguo Manor. He saw the people wailing in the flames. He had seen those familiar faces not long ago.
After his elder brother died, he came to the manor. He saw Old Madam Shi, who was suppressing her grief and commanding calmly. He saw the women crying in a group. Everyone's faces were filled with extreme shock, panic, and sadness. It was as if the sky had collapsed … Because there were no more men in Rongguo Manor.
At that time, he felt that Rongguo Manor would not be able to hold on for much longer. Because the only hope had dissipated and the only pillar had collapsed. The house that was forcefully supported could only sway in the wind and rain. Perhaps in the next moment, it would collapse.
Now, it had indeed collapsed.
He saw the flames devouring the fragile bodies. Innocent people were struggling and pleading in the flames. He saw the flames burning and spreading everywhere, but he was shocked to find that what made the flames burn was blood.
He ran in the flames. He shouted loudly and cursed angrily. Because he knew that the murderer had not gone far. That person was called Sun Lang. He shouted and cursed, wanting the murderer to come out.
As he wished.
The murderer really appeared.
The fiercely burning flames automatically dispersed. The grand buildings and exquisite houses turned into ashes.
When he saw the scene behind the flames, his entire body froze.
Because he saw the most terrifying, nightmarish scene.
He saw Old Madam Shi's head. That kind face, that gray hair. The head of the Jia family's ancestor was held in someone's hand. The expression of the Old Madam before she died was frozen on her face. Shock, fear, and despair.
He knew why the Old Madam had such an expression.
Because such emotions were also what he was feeling at this moment.
Because the person holding the Old Madam's head was his cousin.
It was his cousin who had died long ago.
The Old Madam's head was held in the hand of her most beloved grandson.
His cousin held the head of his most beloved and closest grandmother in his hand.
His cousin was smiling, but that smile was incomparably unfamiliar. It was like the darkest abyss, swallowing and spitting out endless darkness. His voice was so familiar, but also incomparably unfamiliar.
His cousin said to him, "You've come."
He madly rushed forward, biting, attacking, and roaring. Everything was useless, but he tirelessly repeated it. He questioned, he cried, he could not understand why such a thing had happened. He could not understand why his cousin who had come back from the dead would do such a vicious thing to his family.
Then this demon, with a cold smile, told him a story.
He told her his story, a story of a freak combination of factors. He was not her cousin. His name was Sun Lang. He came from another world. He was originally an ordinary person who was carefree and carefree.
But he was forcibly summoned to this world and suffered an unbearable fate. His life was destroyed, his fate was rewritten, and everything about him was changed.
He told many, many stories. He told him about the pain he had endured and the changes in his state of mind. He once accepted his fate and decided to start anew in this world, preparing to live as a new person.
He was robbed of his hope again. Everything he had for six years was denied and trampled on. He lost everything again six years later. His hope was robbed and trampled on by the same group of people for the second time.
So he decided to take revenge.
Not only the Empire, not only the Tensei Province.
There was also the Rongguo Residence, the Jia family, and this world.
— — The avenger in front of him was roaring, hating, and laughing wildly.
Like an avenger who had crawled out of hell, he let the flames on his body burn the whole world.
Along with the declaration of vengeance, everything in the surroundings suddenly changed. The sky became dark, and the earth cracked open. The peaceful Empire was ignited with an inextinguishable flame. Countless terrifying demons rushed out of the lead-colored vortex in the sky, and the evil spirits of hell also crawled out of the cracked earth. Magnificent cities fell one after another, and large batches of innocent people died tragically. The destruction continued without end.
He looked at this hellish scene and let out a cry of despair. He was powerless to stop all of this. He could only cry in vain. He looked at his former elder brother and called out his name, crying for him to stop.
He begged and pleaded, but he did not get any response. He rushed to his elder brother and begged him to stop, but his elder brother only sneered and pressed down on his face. He flailed his arms and legs, struggling constantly. He felt suffocated, like he was drowning. His consciousness became heavier and heavier, heavier and heavier …
— — Then, he suddenly opened his eyes.
The sun was bright, and his body was warm. The hellish scene was no longer there.
The murderous demon in his dream was close at hand. He sat by the bed and took his hand back as if nothing had happened. Obviously, this was the culprit who had suffocated him before.
Jia Shidao stared at the person in front of him in a daze. For a moment, he had mixed feelings and couldn't say anything.
Sun Lang said coldly, "How old are you? You're still talking in your sleep."
Jia Shidao thought of the terrible nightmare from before. Feeling guilty, he couldn't help but shrink his head. He then realized that it was a dream, and the sun was bright outside. He must have slept all night.
He didn't dare to look at the person in front of him because he felt guilty. He whispered, "What … What did I say?"
Sun Lang said lightly, "Your face is flushed, your breathing is accelerated, your hands and feet are dancing, and your waist is exerting force as if you want to force your legs apart. You're making excited sleep talk, saying something about exerting force, exerting force, and that it's no problem even if you use both of your legs together. Then you're forcefully opening your mouth as if you're making some kind of terrible suggestion, as if you want to eat something. I didn't expect you to have this kind of interest after not seeing you for two years."
At first, Jia Shidao was listening in fear. Later, he felt more and more that something was wrong. In such a serious situation, he was saying such crazy things, just like before.
So he subconsciously said angrily, "Brother, we're talking about serious business!"
After saying that, he felt that something was wrong.
Because this person … … wasn't his brother.
He wasn't qualified to call him brother … … And as a younger brother, he was too incompetent.
He didn't dare to look at Sun Lang. Like a child who had been bullied, he sat on the bed dejectedly. Looking at the sheets, he whispered, "… I'm sorry."
The sarcasm or indifference he expected didn't happen.
"… Disgusting."
Jia Shidao looked up in surprise. "Huh?"
The man in front of him looked disgusted. "Do you have a split personality?
Have you been possessed?
How did you become a submissive after sleeping for one night?
Did you awaken in that terrible dream of yours? "
Jia Shidao shook his head in a daze. "… No."
"Then get up quickly!
F * ck, give me some air, it's disgusting. "
Sun Lang stood up and kicked the bed leg hard. "The Bai family is in a mess now. Since you're here, then get to work!"
Jia Shidao shivered and hurriedly got up. As usual, he was in a mess, and his brother was scolding, but this time was a little different from the past.
His brother seemed to be the same brother as before, but he didn't dare to be as casual as before.
A heavy stone pressed down on his heart.
He felt very uncomfortable.
When he followed his elder brother out of the door, he asked in a low voice, "Can I still call you elder brother?"
The figure walking in front, who had already opened the door, stopped. In the morning light, the person in his memory turned around, looking like a fierce hooligan. He said in a rough voice, "Huh?
What did you say? "
Jia Shidao shrank his head and whispered, "Nothing …"
"F * ck, two hundred and fifty."
The person in front swaggered forward. "Follow me!"
Jia Shidao said, "Oh," and hurriedly followed.
For some reason, he felt a little better.