He closed his eyes, but instead of darkness, a towering blaze shot to the sky. A grand city with red walls and green tiles suddenly appeared before his eyes, magnificent and resplendent. It was the most esteemed place in the mortal realm, situated in the largest and mightiest city under the heavens, the imperial city of the Great Liang Dynasty.
However, at this moment, the imperial city was ablaze, flames soaring into the sky, thick smoke billowing.
The entire imperial city was on fire. If not controlled soon, it would undoubtedly turn the entire imperial city into a sea of flames.
Countless palace attendants rushed about, shouting things like "fetch water" and the like.
The esteemed great hall was already engulfed in flames. The young emperor sat before the great hall, looking at the attendants scurrying around, their faces filled with panic. It was unclear what he was thinking as he sat motionless. Despite the flames raging behind him, he remained unmoved.
The young emperor was not considered handsome, but he possessed an air of regality between his brows. It was the spirit of the royal family, an innate nobility. However, upon closer inspection, one could discern some similarities between this young emperor and Chen Chao.
Suddenly, an elderly eunuch approached him, his aged voice tinged with urgency and concern. "Your Majesty, the rebel army has arrived outside the city and is about to enter the city! Take advantage of the chaos in the palace now and leave, Your Majesty!"
The elderly eunuch knelt before the young emperor, his face filled with worry. "This old slave owes a great debt to the deceased Crown Prince. I'm willing to escort Your Majesty out of the palace."
Upon hearing the words 'deceased Crown Prince,' the young emperor furrowed his brows slightly. Then, he shook his head.
The elderly eunuch wore a troubled expression and was about to speak again when the young emperor asked, "Who do you think started this massive fire?"
The elderly eunuch was stunned. He had already suspected that the cause of this great fire was this young emperor himself. However, now that he was asked, he became puzzled.
The young emperor smiled and said, "Naturally, it was We who set it."
The old eunuch remained silent but glanced at the billowing smoke before his eyes, feeling a chill in his heart. The rebel army had already arrived outside the city. Starting such a massive fire to cause chaos, then killing a palace guard who resembled himself, dressing the corpse in emperor robes, and tossing him into the inferno might indeed be a clever ruse to deceive that Prince Fan. However, why did His Majesty push the empress as well as the young prince into the sea of flames as well? Was it merely to make that Prince Fan believe it?
"Do you think that We are a heartless person?"
The young emperor seemed to laugh, but there was no smile.
"Your Majesty has always been benevolent, how could you be such?"
The old eunuch no longer had any idea what this young emperor in front of him was thinking at this moment.
"Grandfather had always been fond of Father back then, but Father died before Grandfather. Grandfather was grief-stricken, and that's why he bypassed Our uncles and passed the throne to Us. However, how many years have We sat on the throne of emperor?" "Our ancestors' legacy is lost, the kingdom that Grandfather gave Us is also lost. How can We have the face to drag out an ignorable existence? Back then, the founding emperor said that an emperor should die protecting his country. Although it's not a suitable saying at this moment, it doesn't matter, We have no face to live on in degradation. Our wife and child have passed on first, We will follow suit."
The young emperor's face was incredibly serene, devoid of any resentment. He looked at the old eunuch and suddenly asked, "Can you help Us pass a message to my fourth uncle?"
The Prince Fan who had rose in rebellion was the fourth son of Emperor Lingzong, he was naturally his fourth uncle too.
The old eunuch replied softly, "Please give your command, Your Majesty."
The young emperor smiled, slowly rising, and said, "Then please tell Fourth Uncle that he seized Our throne today, how can he be sure that someone won't come to seize his throne someday?"
……
……
The young emperor rose and walked toward the sea of flames. The old eunuch turned and left, carrying the young emperor's final decree.
The young emperor walked toward the inferno step by step, his pace unhurried. After walking some distance, he felt the heat enveloping his entire body. He turned his head slowly, looking at a woman in the crowd who was carrying a child. After a brief silence, he said, "Take him away."
"Just a bastard child, does he need to die?"
His words were calm, and it was unclear what he was thinking.
The young emperor shook his head and said nothing more. He just continued walking silently into the sea of flames.
Soon, he stepped into the blaze, and his emperor robe began to burn, casting a different kind of firelight.
The woman watched this scene, her mind in a daze. It took her a long time before she lowered her head to look at the child in her arms, her eyes full of tender love.
And also reluctance.
That child was Chen Chao.
At that time, he had no understanding of the emotions in his mother's eyes, but now he understood.
Ever since his mother married the deceased Crown Prince, who was also his father, she had considered herself a part of that household. Naturally, she regarded the young emperor as her son too. However, neither the young emperor, nor that deceased Crown Prince's principal wife, nor the current queen, had ever treated her and her son as part of the family.
So now, she was still willing to die as a member of the family, but she did not want her son to die with her too.
Looking at his mother, Chen Chao suddenly felt like crying. For many years afterward, he hardly remembered these events, all the way until that day.
He was forced to enter the white mist and stumbled upon a place he did not recognize, where he saw the crystal clear coffin.
And inside that coffin...
……
……
That was a scene he would frequently dream of during those past few years.
At the end of a path paved with white jade, there was a crystal clear coffin. The coffin's surroundings were engraved with cryptic characters, while inside the coffin lay a young girl.
In the dreams, Chen Chao had his own consciousness and could make many choices. However, no matter what he did, as soon as he attempted to look into the eyes of the girl, he would see an incredibly bright and scorching fireball.
Whenever this happened, he would definitely startle awake.
The first time, which was also the one and only time that he truly saw that fireball, Chen Chao felt like something deep within him had been unlocked. It was as if he suddenly remembered everything from his childhood, everything he had experienced, as if it had been kept a secret by someone. It was like a letter that was opened up by him.
He could remember the affection in the eyes of the kind-hearted man who used to watch over him when he was a child. He could also recall the indifference and disdain in the eyes of that older brother.
He asked his mother to take him away, not out of kindness, but because he felt that, as a bastard child, he did not have the qualifications.
The scenes in Chen Chao's mind continued to change. Eventually, he found himself in front of that coffin once more.
Looking at the crystal clear coffin, Chen Chao fell into a long silence. Then, he bent down to look at the girl inside the coffin.
The girl was indistinct inside the coffin, he could not see clearly at all.
Only when he looked into her eyes.
Chen Chao's gaze kept moving upward until it finally landed on the girl's face.
He still could not see her face clearly, but he did not want to look at that face either.
What he wanted to see was that pair of eyes.
Chen Chao looked down.
It appeared!
That incredibly bright and scorching fireball!
It appeared!
……
……
Chen Chao's eyes suddenly snapped open and he sat up.
He was drenched in sweat.
He looked somewhat blankly at the sheet of paper that had slid from his chest.
Reaching out to pick it up, he put it away again.
Chen Chao then lowered his head to look at the broken saber in his hand.
It felt like he had just had a very long dream.
But it was not a dream, it was something that had happened, he just remembered it.
Returning to his senses, Chen Chao slowly got to his feet and looked around him.
The skeletal army had completely vanished, leaving only bones and corpses scattered around. Many of the cultivators had died.
Further away, in the direction of the fissure, the tall stone monuments had collapsed into ruins.
The surviving cultivators had already left.
Chen Chao walked toward the distance. He still had a place to go.
The secrets he wanted to uncover remained unknown.
