Chapter 22: The Cruelty Behind

  Luotian Kingdom is adjacent to the north of Mobei, and there are often Qiangyi disturbances. Since I was ten years old, Luotian Kingdom has been plagued by floods every year, and with the war on the border, the national treasury was empty for a time, and the people were struggling to survive.

  Later, the Emperor had a trip out and came back with a Taoist who wandered in the mountains. He also appointed that Taoist as the State Master. Because that State Master had a method to eliminate disasters, but that method was always very secretive.

  That year, I was thirteen years old, and Swallow was eight years old.

  At that time, the swallow always followed me, calling "brother" non-stop. Most of the time, I was annoyed by her, my mind was only on martial arts and literature, and I was extremely arrogant, not willing to pay attention to her at all.

  I remember it was my birthday, I went out hunting with a few good friends and played around. Summer days often have heavy rain, at midnight suddenly a big rain poured down, everyone returned home reluctantly.

  Returning to the palace, every time I pass through a gate, the guards and maids on duty would give me a brocade pouch, saying that Yan'er had asked them to hand it over to me. After playing for a day, I was very tired, so I didn't think much of it and went back to the palace to sleep.

  That night, the wind and rain were heavy, with flashes of lightning and thunderclaps. I was startled awake in the middle of the night by a knock at the door. The nanny from Yanyu Palace came to say that Yanyu had disappeared, and they had searched the entire imperial palace without finding her. At this time, I saw a brocade pouch on the table.

  I opened the brocade bag, but found that there were instructions on it, indicating a location. I brought my guards and arrived at the indicated location, which was on a fake mountain in a garden at the most remote corner of the imperial palace.

  The swallow was drenched, she crouched on the fake mountain, carefully holding a bowl of ice jade red lotus porridge in her hands, which was my favorite porridge. She remained motionless there, but still smiled and said: "Brother, you're so silly, only finding me now."

  That time, Yaner was sick for a long time. I accompanied her every day, she was always afraid that I would leave, and always said some inexplicable words, she always said: "Brother, there is not much time left."

  She fell silent when I asked her again.

  Before long, it was Swallow's ninth birthday. I cleared my schedule for the whole day and took her hunting, to wherever she wanted to go, and bought her everything she wanted.

  In the evening, I sent Yan'er back to the palace. At that time, she looked at me and suddenly rushed into my arms, reluctant to leave for a long time. After a while, she said: "Brother, goodbye."

  Goodbye, why must we say goodbye? Not allowing me to ask, she turned and left. Since then, I have never seen Swallow again. Every time I asked about Swallow's whereabouts, Mother would sadly shed tears, but refused to say anything.

  I had a guess in my heart, but I couldn't understand. I suddenly remembered the strange words that Yan'er said, and I became more and more suspicious. However, later on, whenever I asked further questions, Father Emperor would get greatly angry, so I didn't dare to ask again.

  Starting from the night after Yan Er left, Father Emperor asked me to drink something every day. It tasted like blood, but when I asked him, he just said it was for nourishing my body, so I didn't think much of it.

  It's strange that after the swallow disappeared, there were no more floods in Luotian. The national teacher received a great reward, but what method was used became a mystery, one that I think may be related to the swallow.

  I began secretly investigating the whereabouts of Yan'er and the relationship between Yan'er's disappearance and Guoshi. Later, from my father's personal maid, I learned the truth about all this.

  The national teacher said that I and Yan Er were originally one body, because the number was scattered, which led to the disaster in Luo Tian all year round. I don't understand why Father Emperor deeply believes in such an absurd statement, but the method proposed by the national teacher to eliminate the disaster is to let me and Yan Er drink each other's blood at a fixed time, so as to protect Luo Tian.

  The Emperor is faced with a choice: me or Yanzhi. Only one can stay.

  This answer seems to be without any suspense, I am the only son of the emperor, I am the crown prince of Luo Tian, and I will inherit the throne.

  He told the matter to Yan'er, who was only eight years old at that time. However, Yan'er said she wanted to live a few more days because her brothers had never looked at her properly, and she feared that after she left, her brothers would forget about her.

  The emperor agreed, and waited another year. So during those days, Swallow was with me every day, every hour, every minute, never wanting to leave my side for a moment, always looking at me, always clinging to me, always trying to get me to notice her.

  Always wanting me to remember her, always saying no time when I'm about to do something else. Then when I finally devoted myself to loving her, she said goodbye to me.

  Then, it really never appeared again.

  I... drink her blood every day. I actually drink her blood every day.

  After learning of this, I immediately rushed to the residence of Guoshi and killed him with one sword. In the basement of Guoshi's mansion, Yan'er was on her last breath, with fresh blood flowing from her wrist, she had lost consciousness, but still had a faint breath left.

  At that time, I was heartbroken as if I were about to die. It was unfair; everything was too unfair for Yan'er. In the choice between life and death, she wasn't even included in the scope of options.

  In such indifference, she just wanted me to remember her, as long as I still remembered her, it was enough.

  From that day on, I made up my mind to protect Swallow well and never let her get hurt even a little bit. I want her to be the happiest person in this world, even if it means sacrificing my own life.

  After the death of Guoshi, the country fell into another disaster. The Emperor sought help from the allied nation of Sheng Jin, which readily agreed to provide assistance and sent a large amount of financial and human aid.

  After that, the two countries got along very well until one day, the eldest son of Sheng Jin country, Dugu Lie, came to Luo Tian with a betrothal gift. He wanted to marry Yan Er, but at that time, Yan Er was only twelve years old.

  The Emperor rejected Dugu Lie on the grounds that Yan'er was still young. Dugu Lie harbored resentment in his heart from then on.

  One day, I took Yan Er out hunting, when we suddenly encountered a group of Jinyi. They surrounded us tightly, and Dugu Lie rode out from among the Jinyi on horseback.

  I knew he wanted revenge, but I didn't expect him to be so ruthless and venomous.

  I shielded Yan'er behind me, but those twenty elite armored men grasped their long spears tightly, pinning me to the spot. I couldn't move, and could only watch as that beast dragged Yan'er away.

  He spoke lightly, saying some filthy words to insult her, insulting Luo Tian. He said that Luo Tian was just a dog of his Holy Gold, and the woman of Luo Tian, he wanted whoever he wanted, whoever he wanted to humiliate... would be humiliated.

  Yan'er was only twelve years old, her body was originally weak and powerless to resist. That beast tore off Yan'er's clothes in front of those Jingjia people, in front of me.

  The swallow struggled, helplessly looking at me, but I was frozen in place. The desperation in her eyes gradually turned to despair. I begged him to let the swallow go; it was my first time begging someone.

  He said it was okay, as long as I knelt down and kowtowed to him a hundred times. So I knelt down and started kowtowing. As long as he could spare Yaner, I could do anything. What pride, what self-respect, I could all give up. But I was too naive.

  Those refined and elegant men looked at me with their heads bowed in apology, bursting into loud laughter. Dugu Lie became disgusted, he suddenly grabbed Yan'er's clothes and tore them to shreds, Yan'er cried out as she was pressed to the ground by him.

  I stared at him in horror as he molested Yan'er, I was so furious that I wanted to rush up, but the long guns surrounding me tore my skin, yet it couldn't compare to half of my heartache.

  It's the first time I feel so powerless, after all, I still can't protect her. I watched helplessly as she cried out under that beast's body...

  At that moment, I was left with nothing but hatred for this world.

  At that time, I vowed that I must seize the world, I must make the entire world mine, I want to take all their women and humiliate them to death, I want them to pay the price!

  After the Emperor's passing, I ascended to the throne as the ruler of Luotian Country. At that time, all countries were stirring with ambition. Among the thirteen countries, Luotian Country was still a small and insignificant nation.

  I, as the Lord of Luotian, have served as a horse boy for the Lord of Chuyuan State and as an attendant for the crown prince of another state. I endured humiliation and hardship, no matter how people in the world criticized me or looked down on me, I just thought that I must wait.

  During my travels to various countries, I met many unknown but skilled people. My incompetence made those national leaders look down on me and trust me instead.

  Finally, my chance has arrived, and the thirteen states have begun to wage war against each other. The able men I befriended during my travels in other countries became my trusted generals, and the rulers of those countries all trusted me with their troops and horses.

  I took them with me, fighting all over the place. I've lost count of how many times I was on the verge of death, but every time I died, it seemed like the swallow would appear beside me and say, "You can't die, you don't have the right to die."

  Then I came back to life again and again.

  For five years, the war raged on for five years, and my army grew stronger. We fought all the way to the gates of the Holy Golden Kingdom, where I had Du Gu Lie's body torn into five pieces, and hung the corpses of the Du family from the city gate until they rotted away.

  I established the Luotian dynasty, and those princesses of the Shengjin country, I brought them all into the harem. Outside rumors say that I am a tyrannical king, and that Yan'er is a spoiled and cruel princess who has been corrupted by me.

  Hmph, cruel and ruthless? Many things were never what we wanted. And the women in the harem, they are my playthings that I took for Yan'er, she has the right to play with them as she pleases.

  I want my swallow to live freely as she wishes. Whatever she wants, I can give her whatever she wants. Whatever she doesn't want, she can do nothing.

  The world has never been shouldered by people like me, because in my heart, apart from hatred for this world, there is only love for Yan'er. As an emperor, being supreme and having nothing at the same time is inevitable.

  But I can't be without Swallow.