Outside the royal capital of Shuangxue Country, snowflakes were flying everywhere. The tall and firm city wall did not look magnificent, at least in the eyes of the Zhenbei Army stationed outside the city.
It was just a small country.
The siege was underway with thousands of soldiers, the shine from swords and armor and the imposing manner all made people fearful.
The defenders on the city wall had struggled bitterly for two months, and this was on the premise that the elite troops of the Zhenbei Army did not participate in the siege. The morale of the defenders had already collapsed.
The city had run out of food and the people's hearts were in chaos.
This was also Wang Jue's goal.
As the number one general of Dawu Country after Bai ShiXuan, even though this was the capital city that Shuangxue Country had built up over a thousand years, he had long seen the flaws in its defenses. The northern land was frigid, the city walls were high but also covered in frost, and the weather was extremely harsh.
A frontal assault would indeed be difficult, but why did he have to attack head-on?
In this kind of environment, the key was logistics and supplies.
By besieging the city and attacking slowly, he could gradually wear down their morale and deplete their food reserves.
Disturb their hearts and take their city, extermination of their country!
This was Wang Jue’s ultimate goal.
Half a year ago, although he had won the battle against the allied forces of five countries, Song Yan had not left any handles. Other than to avoid the crime of looting food, if he did not use the cruelest means to take revenge on Shuangxue Country, which took the lead, then in the future, would it not be that anyone could come to this northern land and try to plot against him, Wang Jue?
Therefore, two months ago, after making preparations for military supplies, he led his troops out again. Like splitting bamboo, they went straight to lay siege under the capital city of Shuangxue Country.
...
...
"Wang Jue will definitely massacre the city," Baijun Marquis stated emotionlessly, telling the fact that would soon happen.
The other people in the palace had already retreated, some fleeing for their lives, some resigned to their fate. Now there were only Baijun Marquis and Yan Xiaodao left in the hall.
A middle-aged man and a teenager.
Under the throne, Yan Xiaodao was lying on the ground. No matter how hard he tried to get up, his body simply would not obey.
So he could only desperately raise his head and stare fixedly at Baijun Marquis.
Before leaving to arrange the escape of the royal family of Shuangxue Country, Bai Left Envoy had injected internal energy into Yan Xiaodao's body that would deprive him of independent mobility for several days.
Baijun Marquis looked at the pair of tender but anger-filled eyes and said, "I see in your eyes hatred and anger towards me."
"So what!" Yan Xiaodao gritted his teeth and said.
But Baijun Marquis asked, "But I don't understand why you hate me? Are the tens of thousands of troops besieging the city commanded by me now? Is the one who is about to massacre your hometown and destroy your country me, Baijun Marquis? Or do you think it was me who made your king abandon you?"
"Did you ever think that the kind of king who has 'I fear death' written on his face, when the city breaks, do you think he will do anything like defending the country with his life as a righteous monarch should?"
Yan Xiaodao fell silent for a moment.
The hatred in his eyes lessened slightly.
"Or maybe you hate me because I can't save your country?"
"But you should understand, the fate of this city has already been doomed. If it is because I cannot save your country that you hate me, don't you feel your hatred is unjustified?"
Because right now, no one in the whole world can save this city.
Blaming for not being able to save, isn't that tantamount to saying that you should hate everyone in the world?
Listening to the man's words, Yan Xiaodao found himself unable to refute what he said.
Because what Baijun Marquis said was the truth.
As Baijun Marquis said:
"Clearly, there is no hatred between you and me. Your enemy is not me either, but Wang Jue, or even Dawu Country, that central kingdom which has occupied your country's territory for years."
For a moment, the hatred in Yan Xiaodao's eyes gradually turned into confusion.
Did he hate the wrong person?
Baijun Marquis changed the subject and said, "Just now you said your father died for the country. Can I take it that you have great respect for your father?"
When he thought of his father, Yan Xiaodao said without hesitation: "My dad was the general of Shuangxue Country! He took his men to raid the grain routes of Dawu Country in order to win this war! He died, but he was a hero! A big hero!! Bigger hero than all of you!"
From Yan Xiaodao's excited tone and words, Baijun Marquis had already gotten the answer.
Baijun Marquis said, "In this point, you and I are alike."
What?
Yan Xiaodao looked puzzled.
Baijun Marquis had no expression on his face and spoke plainly, but with some sincerity:
"You didn't hear wrong. You and I are alike. I too have great respect for my father. He taught me that the so-called monarch does not necessarily have to sit on the throne, does not necessarily have to be fawned over by others, and does not necessarily wield much power."
"The so-called monarch is the one who builds momentum and controls momentum. Where there is momentum, there is the monarch!"
After speaking, Baijun Marquis looked at Yan Xiaodao again and asked, "The fate of this city, the fate of your hometown is doomed. Young man, if you can survive today, do you want to take revenge?"
In fact, given Wang Jue's cruel methods towards the cities he had attacked and plundered in the North over the years, not to mention that Wang Jue was also motivated by revenge and deterrence this time, anyone knew what would be the fate of the tens of thousands of citizens of Shuangxue Country in the city after it fell.
Yan Xiaodao wanted to clench his fists, or even hold a long knife to go out and fight with the Zhenbei Army about to rush into the city, but in the end he still could not control his body.
He could only let every word that came out of his throat in the next moment spread throughout the palace, so that everyone could hear...
"I...will...definitely...take...revenge!!"
Baijun Marquis said lightly, "It sounds like your determination is very firm."
"Of course!"
"But I don't think so."
"What do you mean?"
"Tell me, how old are you this year?"
"Fourteen."
Baijun Marquis nodded and said, "Only fourteen? Then let me tell you, even if you survive today, most likely in the future, you won't take revenge."
"You're insulting me!"
"I'm just stating facts."
Baijun Marquis said, "Corruption and tyranny by officials have plagued Dawu Country's jianghu for over twenty years. Perhaps those people are not in as dire straits as you who have had their country destroyed, but don't you know among them, how many have had their families searched and exterminated? In terms of tragedy, they are no less than you, but...did they all take revenge in the end?"
Baijun Marquis did not recognize the idea of abandoning hatred, but after observing the world for twenty years, he knew that there were countless people who had abandoned hatred under heaven.
Did they all take revenge in the end? Or rather, did they take revenge with their own hands?
Baijun Marquis said, "When a person truly escapes death and survives, perhaps in the days that follow, his heart is filled with hatred, so he thirsts for revenge. He will strive and struggle to make himself stronger. However, as time goes by..."
"Ten years, twenty years, in the sea of people, you will make new friends, or find new lovers, or experience all kinds of things and become a new person. Your hatred will be slowly erased by the magnificent passage of time. By then, regardless of whether you have the ability to take revenge, you may no longer want to take revenge..."
What Baijun Marquis said sounded very strange.
But the best example of this argument was...Zhang San.
Baijun Marquis did not know Zhang San, but like abandoning hatred, Zhang San was not an isolated case.
Baijun Marquis knew that in this world, some people, because of reasons like state of mind and family, regardless of whether their personal abilities reached the level needed for revenge in the end, they would give up that path.
If time could easily wipe out your life, could it not erase your feelings?
Be it love or hatred, it was the same.
Twenty years is not enough, then thirty years, fifty years...
If there is no undying love in this world, then there probably does not exist unforgettable hatred that has lasted a thousand years either.
The determined avenger today may not necessarily not say something foolish like "when will this cycles of revenge end" tomorrow, and when an avenger says such foolish words, I wonder...
Has he really become enlightened?
Or has he merely, in the erosion of time, forgotten the gnashing teeth and heart-wrenching pain from back then?
"A person's feelings of love, hatred, jealousy, admiration and so on are not as unchanging as you imagine, just like..."
Baijun Marquis gave an analogy: "Just like you, who not half an hour ago still believed that 'King' was noble and supreme."
uld barely embark on the path to immortality. Just as he was on the verge of death, his golden finger awakened. No matter whether it was poison, drained blood and vital energy, diminished lifespan, or any other physical debuff caused by paying a price—once midnight passed, everything would be refreshed. From then on, whenever someone asked what kind of person Chu Ran was, the answer was simple: Forbidden arts that other cultivators dared not learn? Chu Ran would learn them. Prices that even demonic cultivators dared not pay? Chu Ran would pay them. Lifespan that even righteous cultivators dared not burn? Chu Ran would burn it. All the blood essence in his body? Take it. Want both his hands and feet? He would cut them off and send them to you. You say he’s finished? He wasn’t built to sit idle. You think he’s gone mad? No—he was simply waiting for midnight. From that day onward, Chu Ran would respect neither Heaven nor Earth, bow to neither gods nor ghosts. He had only one wish: For midnight to arrive a little sooner.
ions, keeping it grounded and realistic】 After quitting his job, office worker Su Yang accidentally binds with the "Enjoy Life System." As the name suggests, simply by indulging in life's pleasures, he can earn random rewards from the system—no need to spend money on beautiful women or grovel before anyone. Just enjoy, and the money follows, making it all about effortless fun. The system comes with a scanning feature, allowing him to establish a favorability bond with women rated 85 points or above. Every 20-point increase in favorability unlocks additional rewards. After suffering through over twenty years of hardship, Su Yang trembles with excitement, his dull eyes suddenly gleaming with newfound hope. "Enjoy life? How hard could that be?"
end. Thus one must continue to cultivate, and become a saint or great emperor, in order to prolong one's life. Chen Xia, however, completely reversed this. Since his transmigration, he has gained immortality, and also a system that awards him with attribute points for every year he lives. Thus between the myriad worlds, the legend of an unparalleled senior appeared. "A gentleman takes revenge; it is never too late even after ten thousand years." "When you were at your peak I yielded, now in your old age I shall trample on you." - Chen Xia
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
