Wen Chan had absolute faith in Liang Yanbei. When Liang Yanbei said that the demon would die for sure, he felt that this Rakshasa illusion was about to end.
Although it could be said that before in the illusion, Liang Shuhong had protected him and Lou Muge had helped him, neither of them made him feel as at ease as having Liang Yanbei by his side.
Wen Chan believed that when Liang Yanbei stood in front of him with a sword, nothing in this world could hurt him.
After putting the cloak on Wen Chan, Liang Yanbei wrapped his cold hands with his palms, rubbed them gently, and kept muttering, “What’s the matter? Your Highness, what’s wrong with you? It’s so cold, but you’re wearing so thin clothes. Aren’t you afraid of the cold?”
Wen Chan made up a random excuse, “Just now I encountered something that was neither human nor demon, and I ran away in a hurry. So I left my cloak behind.”
So Liang Yanbei, who didn’t know the truth, was angry and distressed, “What the hell was it? I’ll cut it with one slash!”
“Let’s find a place to sit and rest for a while. I’m a little tired.” Wen Chan said. Although there was no real danger in these layers of illusions, he was still a little uneasy. Now that the demon was injured again, it would definitely take action.
Before the last layer of illusion comes, Wen Chan wanted to have a good rest and replenish his energy.
Liang Yanbei agreed, then led him down the hillside, walked along the lakeshore, and a road with bluestone and yellow tiles. Then, the pointed-roof house appeared in front of them again.
When Wen Chan saw it, he immediately wanted to take a detour, “Let’s go somewhere else, not to that house.”
The Buddha statue that could open its eyes had left him with some shadows in his heart.
“Strange, I’ve been here before.” Liang Yanbei said in confusion, “It was in the east, how come it’s here again?”
“Did you go in too? Was there a Buddha statue inside?” Wen Chan asked.
“Yes, there were also some corpses and strange people inside when I went in.” Liang Yanbei said, “But I killed them all.”
After hearing this, Wen Chan immediately checked the snow-white cloak he was wearing and found that there was no trace of blood on it. Just as he was wondering, he heard Liang Yanbei say, “The clothes were dirty at first, but they became clean after leaving through the door.”
“Maybe it’s because it was an illusion. But we had clearly walked through this illusion, how come it appeared again?” Wen Chan looked and guessed, “Maybe this is a real house?”
“Let’s go in and take a look.” Liang Yanbei said.
The two of them had the same idea and walked to the door together. When Wen Chan stood still, he almost immediately found the dark pattern on the door, which was lighter than before.
He just wanted to make a reminder, but was shocked to find that his voice could not be uttered. He missed the best time to stop it, and Liang Yanbei had already pushed the door open.
Unlike before, the scene after the door opened was blurry. This time, a huge suction force surged from inside, and the black fog rushed over, instantly enveloping the two.
Liang Yanbei reflexively backed away and reached out to grab Wen Chan beside him, but he grabbed an empty space. He realized a terrifying thing — — Wen Chan had disappeared.
He waved his arms and dispersed the black fog around him. Wen Chan was indeed gone, and the place he was in was not Yanxiang Temple.
Instead, he was in the court of the imperial palace. He stood in the center, and in front of him were neatly lined up civil and military officials, most of whom were unfamiliar faces.
Soon, Liang Yanbei found himself among them.
He was dressed in a dignified court uniform, with majestic beasts and birds on the fabric, and his handsome and unparalleled face was inexplicably a little awe-inspiring. He stood in the front and saluted with the court officials, “Long live my emperor, long live forever.”
The sound echoed in the wide hall, a little deafening.
Those people seemed to be unable to see him. Even though he was standing in such an lofty place, no one cast their eyes on him.
Then, he heard a familiar voice coming from above, “Everyone, you may rise.”
Liang Yanbei turned his head and was shocked by the bright yellow in front of him.
Wen Chan, wearing a bright yellow dragon robe, sat high on the golden dragon throne, wearing a crown that symbolized the noble status of an emperor. His originally gentle face was now stern and serious.
This was not the Wen Chan in his memory, not the one who loved to laugh and join in the fun. At this moment, he was a truly mature man, an emperor, with a dignity above all others.
Liang Yanbei was in a trance, and suddenly remembered the drunken Wen Chan on Wuyue island, who kept saying “I“. He said he was the emperor and he was the general. It seemed that it had come true.
Wen Chan was sitting upright, such a majestic appearance made Liang Yanbei feel him to be both familiar and unfamiliar. He stepped up the stairs and walked step by step to the dragon throne. He looked tense, as if he was listening carefully to the speech below, but his gaze always looked at Liang Yanbei from time to time, the general who was standing in the first place.
His eyes were very obscure, and it left quickly after a glance, as if he was looking at him casually. No one could notice it, but Liang Yanbei, who was standing next to Wen Chan, could see it clearly.
“I have a report.” The official at the top of the other row stepped forward and said, “Your Majesty, a few days ago, the son of General Liang had a big fight with others in the capital, damaging other people’s private property and injuring innocent people, causing a family to lose their business and their income. It was really abominable.”
Liang Yanbei took a closer look and found that this person looked familiar. He seemed to be Xie Zhaoxue’s cousin, Xie Yu.
Wen Chan finally had a legitimate reason to look at the General Liang Yanbei. He said, “I have heard about this before. It is said that Liang Shaojing and his playmates of the same age destroyed the stall by mistake. Afterwards, he also compensated them with silver.”
“Liang Shaojing has been doing evil things in the capital for a long time. He has done many things similar to this before. The people of the capital dare not speak out. I think this is because General Liang did not teach his son strictly. If this continues unchecked, I fear it will lead to a major disaster.” Xie Yu refused to give in.
Wen Chan frowned and became unhappy all of a sudden. “I have watched Liang Shaojing grow up. He has good character and a kind heart. How could he cause a disaster?”
His emotions were obvious, and Liang Yanbei could clearly feel that his hand on the back of the chair was balled into a fist.
General Liang Yanbei stepped forward and said, “Your Majesty, regarding the incident that happened in the city, I have already taught Shaojing a lesson after I got home. I have also compensated for the damage and apologized. From now on, I will strictly discipline Shaojing and will not let him make trouble again.”
“General Liang always says this.” Someone else said, “But everyone knows that you dote on your son and spoil him lawless. You would even pick the moon in the sky and give it to your son. In this case, how can you discipline him strictly?”
The general kept silent.
Soon, there was a quarrel over this matter in the court, from General Liang doting on his son to General Liang holding great power and having the ambitions of a wild wolf[footnote]rapacious designs[/footnote], and all kinds of speculations emerged one after another. The more Wen Chan listened, the tighter he clenched his fists, as if he was on the verge of exploding.
Liang Yanbei felt very uncomfortable when he saw it. He could understand the powerlessness of Emperor Wen Chan. He seemed to want to defend General Liang and want to punish all those who slandered him and accused him. But he couldn’t be so willful. Because he still wore a thousand-pound crown on his head.
He reached out, wanting to touch Wen Chan’s hand and loosen his fist, but he touched nothing. Here, in this court, he was just a non-existent projection. He could see, but could not touch.
Wen Chan, who was about to explode, still held back. He took a deep breath and said slowly, “I have recorded this matter. But I hope that what the ministers say in the court is for the people of Xi Liang, not these trivial matters.”
“If you have a petition, please report it. If you don’t, please leave the court.” He ended the verbal battle between the court officials with these words. It seemed to be a draw, but in fact, everyone knew that the emperor stood on the side of General Liang again.
Liang Yanbei glanced down. Standing at such a high position, one could see everyone clearly, but Wen Chan’s eyes never went far away, only moving back and forth in the space right in front of him.
Then the whole scene dispersed like dust, and like a layer of curtain was removed, the scene in front of Liang Yanbei changed from the court to the palace bedroom.
The palace was magnificent, and the bed was covered with bright yellow bed curtains. It was obvious whose bedroom it was.
Liang Yanbei walked out of the inner bedroom and saw Wen Chan wearing a casual dress, standing in front of the desk, writing something with a pen. No one was there to serve him in the hall.
When he got closer, he found that Wen Chan was painting. He ground the ink by himself and sketched the outline of a person with a few strokes on the drawing paper. He was very proficient in drawing it, and he seemed to have painted it thousands of times.
Liang Yanbei stood by his side and patiently watched him paint stroke by stroke. When the face on the painting was roughly formed, Liang Yanbei realized that Wen Chan was painting him.
His expression was extremely serious. Then after he finished painting his face, a very relaxed smile appeared on his whole face, which was completely different from the one in the court. He looked at the person in the painting, his eyes were full of light. And then he ground the ink again and started to paint other things.
Liang Yanbei was stunned. His eyes were full of Wen Chan’s serious expression and cautious movements. And an inexplicable emotion spread from the bottom of his heart and quickly covered his whole body.
Then, Wen Chan quickly finished the painting, with a lifelike Liang Yanbei seeming to leap from the paper. Wen Chan’s smile completely blossomed then. He put down the brush, picked up the painting, and turned it left and right. He was like a child, absolutely delighted with the drawing.
Later, Wen Chan grew tired of turning it, and saw a large stack of memorials on his desk. He sighed, his mood suddenly dropped, and he bent over and found a small brazier under the desk with his butt sticking out.
He looked at the painting reluctantly for several more times, then folded it into a small stack, burned it with candlelight, threw it into the brazier, and stared at it until the painting turned into ashes.
Liang Yanbei felt uncomfortable when he saw him like this. What did he see in this emperor? Loneliness, fragility, caution, and satisfaction that was easily obtained.
He wanted to go forward and hug Wen Chan who was like this to give him the warmest and most steadfast response, and let him feel at ease.
But he couldn’t even do this.
Liang Yanbei suddenly became very angry. He didn’t want to see such a Wen Chan. He wanted to destroy the scene in front of him and the entire illusion, so he slowly raised his sword.
On the other side, the real Wen Chan also fell into great panic.
He woke up from the bed with a start. As soon as he sat up, Ah Fu came up to him and asked worriedly, “Your Highness, did you have a nightmare? Do you want me to bring you some hot tea to calm you down?”
Wen Chan was shocked, “Ah Fu?”
With a glance, he found himself in Xiyang Palace. When did he come back?
He asked, “How did I come back? Where is Liang Yanbei?”
Ah Fu was confused for a moment before saying, “Your Highness had been in the palace all the time? The Liang Yanbei you mentioned refers to General Liang, right? General Liang is on his way back now. So Your Highness, don’t worry.”
After hearing this, Wen Chan immediately realized that something was wrong. With a very clear mind, he looked around again and found that this was indeed Xiyang Palace, but it was a little different. The decorations in some places were different.
Ah Fu in front of him seemed to be of the wrong age.
Still in the illusion. Wen Chan came to this conclusion. He threw off the quilt and got out of bed. First, he had to figure out what time it was, and then find the door to go out. “Prepare a chariot, I want to leave the palace.”
“Your Highness! Your Highness!” Ah Fu knelt at Wen Chan’s feet all of a sudden and hugged his legs tightly. “Your Highness, please don’t go out. The capital is in a tense situation now. It’s too dangerous for you to go out like this!”
Wen Chan’s heart tightened when he heard this and a bad premonition came to his mind. He asked stiffly, “What tense situation?”
“The soldiers of the Zhong family have arrived at the foot of the imperial city. Now the emperor has sealed the city gates and is trying his best to stop the Zhong family from entering the city! General Liang is still on his way back from Outer Mongolia. As long as we hold on until General Liang comes back, we will be fine!”
Wen Chan only felt a roaring in his ears, and his heart seemed to split open with a crack. An extreme fear surged from within, strangling his throat.
When the Zhong family’s rebels were at the gates of the city, Liang Yanbei was far away in Outer Mongolia. And when he rushed back, everything was over! The royal family of the Wen family no longer existed, and Wen Chan was the only one left.
This was the biggest knot in his heart in two lifetimes, and also the most terrifying nightmare.
At this time, Wen Chan was completely powerless. He couldn’t stop the soldiers of the Zhong family from entering the city, nor could he stop the people of the Shengui Clan from slaughtering. He watched the Wen family fall and watched his brothers and sisters die at the hands of Zhong Guoyi.
This desperate feeling reappeared in his heart, and Wen Chan felt suffocated instantly.
“I’m going out of the palace…… I’m going out of the palace!” Wen Chan picked up Ah Fu, “Go and prepare the carriage!”
Ah Fu cried and cried, but he still couldn’t persuade Wen Chan in the end. So he still prepared the carriage and the coachman. Wen Chan went out and saw that Qin Qi and Shu Hua was not there, and asked with a trembling voice, “Where are they? Where did they go?”
Ah Fu burst into tears all at once, “Your Highness! Qin Qi and Shu Hua were killed to protect Your Highness!”
Wen Chan’s memory surfaced. They were the first to discover that the Zhong family had rebelled.
In their previous lives, they and their group also went out to play in the palace, but they ran into the Zhong family who came with troops outside the city. Zhong Guoyi did not let him go easily when he saw Wen Chan. So he immediately sent someone to chase him. Wen Chan saw that there were so many people, so he had to flee first.
In order to cover the rear, Qin Qi and Shu Hua stayed to stop all the chasing soldiers. In the end, Zhong Guoyi hung up the bodies of the two and demonstrated it as a protest to the emperor.
No one could feel the grief that Wen Chan felt when he saw the bodies of Qin Qi and Shu Hua hanging high up. He was furious, but he could do nothing.
Wen Chan’s eyes were bloodshot, his hands were clenched tightly, and his heartache and fear swelled together, and breathing became extremely painful. Facing this kind of death once more was still an unbearable agony.
But Wen Chan soon calmed down. He advised himself that this was an illusion, not real.
After getting on the carriage, Wen Chan quickly began to think. Since this was an illusion, and the demon’s power was not particularly strong, and it had later been injured, then this illusion must not be flawless.
Then, Wen Chan discovered that there were many flaws in this illusion.
After he left the palace gate, he was shocked by the scene in front of him.
The Zhong family had already entered the city, bringing with them a group of demons from the Shengui Clan, who slaughtered people in the city mercilessly, regardless of gender or age.
The clouds in the sky seemed to be dyed red by the blood, showing a bloody color.
Wen Chan’s hands and feet began to tremble, and the fatal weakness and shuddering made his teeth chatter. As he looked at the scene in front of him, the blood flowing on the ground, and the anguished wailings that came one after another, intertwined together into a hellish Shura field.
Death and despair are most frightening when they appear together. And Wen Chan, who stood by watching with folded arms as he was powerless to do anything about it, could feel these emotions more directly.
The illusion seemed to expand the emotions in his heart. He could hardly stand and suddenly knelt on the bloody ground.
However, what made him come back to his senses quickly was that he could not get stained with the blood. He reached out and touched it. Yet his hands were clean and there was nothing on it. This made him feel better. He emphasized again in his heart to himself: This is an illusion.
No one except Ah Fu could see him among the people coming and going and he became an outsider in the whole situation.
Ah Fu’s expression and emotions showed a strange calmness, as if he had no feeling about the scene in front of him. His eyes also reflected blood, but his calm face indicated that he was a phantom created by demonic power.
Wen Chan supported himself, stood up, and walked towards the capital. The once prosperous streets and alleys were now filled with tragic shouts. The people of the Shengui Clan wore black robes and killed people with one slash without hesitation.
“Why……” Wen Chan murmured in a daze.
A woman ran past him. The fear on her face and the panicked steps made Wen Chan pause. Then a demon of the Shengui Clan caught up with her and scratched the woman’s throat with its sharp claws.
She fell to the ground, blood gushing out, and her body twitching constantly, causing Wen Chan to retreat again and again. The emotions that he had suppressed with great difficulty set off a terrifying wave again.
Fear, always fear. No matter how many times he comforted himself and encouraged himself, this darkest period of time had long been indelible in his heart. Just the slightest touch could turn his world upside down. It came from the deepest part of his heart and could not be removed.
Wen Chan was lost within it, still struggling against the negative emotions in his heart.
Just when they were in a stalement, a sound of horse hooves came from far away. Wen Chan turned his head and saw Zhong Guoyi riding a horse and leading a group of people to the gate of the palace.
He kept backing away, turned around and ran into the palace, shouting to the guards guarding the door, “Close the gate! Close the palace gate!”
However, the guards couldn’t see or hear him at all. After seeing Zhong Guoyi, they all knelt on the ground in a welcoming posture.
Wen Chan turned his head abruptly, and saw Wen Linglong standing by the door, looking at Zhong Wenting with a smile, and then walking up a few steps to greet him, “Father, you are finally here.”
Zhong Wenting flipped over and dismounted, and touched her head lovingly, “Qianye did a good job.”
Wen Chan was extremely angry and rushed forward to strangle Wen Linglong’s neck, but missed. He yelled hysterically, “What was wrong with Wen family’s treatment of you?! Yet you want to betray us!”
However, the two people in front of him still looked like a loving father and a filial daughter, and they could not hear Wen Chan’s questioning at all.
“Don’t waste your energy.” Zhong Guoyi’s voice came from the side. He walked in front of Wen Chan. In an instant, everything around him seemed to be cut-off; all sounds and movements froze.
Zhong Guoyi was dressed in military uniform, with a sneer of hatred on his face, “Wen Chan, failing to kill you in my previous life was my biggest mistake. Now God has given me a chance to start over again. I will never make the same mistake again.”
Wen Chan calmed down and sneered at him, “Zhong Guoyi, do you think I’m a fool? This is an illusion, not reality. Even if you pretend to usurp the throne again, how would it matter?”
He pointed at Zhong Wenting, “Your son will still be killed by Zhong Wenjin himself, and you will still fall from the throne. In the end, the one who becomes the emperor is still me, Wen Chan. After all, Xi Liang belongs to the Wen family, and has nothing to do with your Zhong family.”
Zhong Guoyi was enraged “You are about to die and you still don’t know it. When this illusion ends, your soul will be trapped forever. You will all be buried here. No one in Xi Liang can stop me!”
“You are dreaming!” Wen Chan said, “I can kill you once, and I can kill you a second time too. Don’t bluff here!”
“Look around!” Zhong Guoyi suddenly raised both his hands and spun in a half circle before saying, “This here is the scene you fear the most in your heart and the one you are most unwilling to face. You are afraid that I will force my way in with the troops. You are afraid of seeing the palace become a slaughterhouse again. Next, you will once again witness me killing the emperor and your brothers and sisters. Your soul will then be trapped in this palace, suffering despair over and over again.”
He laughed, “This kind of punishment for you will make me feel relieved.”
After Wen Chan heard this, the suppressed emotions in his heart tumbled again. He knew that it was the magic in the illusion that was at work. He took a deep breath and said, “Zhong Guoyi, do you think this is a scene that just I am afraid of? Don’t you think about what you experienced after you achieved the short-term success?”
“You were forced by Liang Yanbei to not dare to leave the palace. You used up all the soldiers in your hands and tried all the methods, but in the end you were still beheaded by your own son. Your failure is much more tragic than mine.” Wen Chan stepped forward step by step, his tone slow, like slowly slicing Zhong Guoyi, “Liang Yanbei will help me, and Zhong Wenjin will also help me. Just like me, you watched your wife and daughters die in their hands one by one. But you are different from me. You will eventually lose everything and die tragically, but I survived.”
“I am the emperor of Xi Liang, I have Liang Yanbei, and I also have the people of Xi Liang! I am the winner!” Wen Chan’s voice became louder and louder. He was not only controlling Zhong Guoyi’s emotions, but also cheering himself up in disguise. He told himself loudly, “The ending has been decided long ago!”
Even if the current scene was cruelly replaying his nightmare, he still knew clearly the ending of Zhong Guoyi.
With Liang Yanbei, nothing was to be feared.
Zhong Guoyi was really affected by Wen Chan’s words, his veins bulged, and he shouted, “Wen Chan! I am going kill you!”
As he said that, he drew his sword and wanted to strike. But Wen Chan had already prepared to dodge. Then Zhong Guoyi’s movement suddenly stopped, and the raised sword froze in the air.
Zhong Guoyi’s face twisted and trembled violently, with a hideous expression on his face, but he soon calmed down. He put away his sword and said calmly, “I almost let this stupid mortal ruin everything.”
“You occupied Zhong Guoyi’s body?” Wen Chan asked vigilantly. He could feel that Zhong Guoyi was now a completely different person from before.
Zhong Guoyi smiled strangely, “He gave his body to me himself. He paid a great price to get rid of you.”
He said, “Just enjoy this last illusion. I didn’t want your soul to linger here in fear, but time is running out.”
As he said, he led the horse forward, and then everyone around him started to move again, and they headed towards the palace.
Wen Chan knew everything that would happen next. They would massacre everyone in the palace, and he would change his clothes under Ah Fu’s pleading and hide in a cave that no one knew about, where Ah Fu usually hid silver.
He stayed with the silver, not daring to speak or make a sound, hiding in it timidly, listening to the three-day long killing outside. During this period, he did not drink a drop of water and was extremely weak.
How did Liang Yanbei find him in the end? Wen Chan did not know. He only knew that such a person, wearing a warm robe, moved the cover on the cave, reached his hand in along with the light, and said to Wen Chan, “Your Highness, I am here to save you.”
Translator’s corner
Thank you so much for reading the chapter. If you liked my translation and wanna support me, you can comment down your thoughts or send me a Kofi.
KO-FI
Don’t feel shy to let me know in the comment section or in the discord of Knoxt if you find any mistakes~
Oh my goodness…having to relive that nightmare…
Thank You for the new chapter (♡´艸`)