Why Must It Be Me
"This... This is..." Li Qingshan stood in place like a statue.
He knew why this banner would be so large... Because only a banner this big could hold these hundreds of signatures, allowing each one to clearly leave a trace on the Oath, allowing everyone in future generations to clearly see them.
These words seemed to contain some kind of power, striking Li Qingshan's soul. He didn't know who wrote these, nor did he know what these meant,
But at this moment, Li Qingshan was shocked.
Grandmother leaned on her Walking Stick and slowly moved out of the house bit by bit. She stopped beside the banner, used the tip of the Walking Stick to point at the very center of the "Pioneers' Declaration", the wildest and gloomiest signature, and spoke tremblingly:
"Good grandson... This, is your ancestor."
Li Qingshan's gaze followed Grandmother's guidance, and a name leaped into his vision:
——Li Chengwei.
"Our ancestor... is a hero! A long time ago... he took a large group of people to build a railway and never returned. These words were all written by him..."
As she spoke, Grandmother took out another extremely old Diary from the very bottom of the box and handed it to Li Qingshan.
Li Qingshan subconsciously opened it.
Judging from the first few pages, the timeline of this diary was after the Great Cataclysm occurred. The owner of the diary, Li Chengwei, took his family into the Red Dust base for refuge. Most of the entries were trivial matters about the environment of the base, how they settled down, and the psychological counseling he gave his wife and children...
But when Li Qingshan turned to the middle, the situation took a sharp turn for the worse.
[...June 23rd]
[I saw a flaming meteor falling from the sky;]
[Everything happened too suddenly... When I came back to my senses, we had all been transferred to an unfamiliar place. They said this was a small world created by the Lord of the Red Dust, and said the base was currently encountering a nuclear strike, the situation is very bad.]
[I'm a bit dazed. Didn't they say the human civil war ended long ago? How can someone still launch nuclear bombs? Also, hasn't the Lord of the Red Dust already fallen asleep?]
[I asked a few friends beside me, and they also didn't know what was going on. The base staff had also been busy all along, with absolutely no time to answer my confusions... I am very uneasy.]
[...]
[June 24th]
[Overnight, everyone seems to have become a different person... Some of them said there was a nuclear strike outside, and food and water were about to run out. Many people went crazy snatching supplies. It was useless for the staff to maintain order, it's messy everywhere. Two lunatics even wanted to come and search our bodies for things, scaring A-Zhen and A-Yi into crying all night.]
[But I don't understand. If supplies run out, everyone will eventually starve to death here sooner or later. What meaning is there for them to snatch that little bit of food now? In the face of disaster, has their rationality been eaten by dogs?]
[It wasn't until that young man named Yao Qing took action that the chaotic situation settled down.]
[This Yao Qing is very impressive, he has methods, has strength, and knows how to appease people's hearts. I heard he's also the younger brother of the Lord of the Red Dust? However, it seems they aren't blood-related... Mm, I feel his eyes weren't quite right when he mentioned the Lord of the Red Dust, I smelled the scent of Eight Trigrams... I'll ask around when I have time.]
[...]
[June 25th]
[One piece of good news, one piece of bad news.]
[The good news is, the supplies weren't completely destroyed, they are still enough for us people to use for a period of time; the bad news is, the originally laid Realm train tracks were blown to pieces, supplies from other domains can't come in, and there also seems to be a problem with the communication tower... If this continues, us starving to death is only a matter of time.]
[The Red Dust base seems to be looking for volunteers to repair the railway tracks, but there's Nuclear Radiation everywhere there. They said if you go, it's basically impossible to return...]
[So, are they looking for people to volunteer to die?]
[...]
[June 26th]
[I have insomnia.]
[It isn't cold in the small world, and there was no one making noise tonight. Even Fourth Brother next door, who normally snores continuously, quieted down rarely... Are they like me, thinking about that matter mentioned during the day?]
[I'm afraid of death, I'm afraid of pain. Asking me to brave the radiation to repair the railway tracks, I am ten thousand times unwilling... But my son and daughter, they are truly very cute.]
[If no one goes to repair the road, then everyone can only wait for death together here. In the worst-case scenario, I even suspect they will eventually eat each other. Isn't Human Nature just like this?]
[I don't want my son and daughter to become food for others, or to eat others... Since that's the case, someone has to step forward eventually, don't they?]
[...]
[June 27th]
[I've spoken with that young man named Yao Qing. He promised me that he would do his utmost to ensure my children live a happy life.]
[I thought about it all night yesterday. If our sacrifice can exchange for the peace and happiness of our descendants, giving them a homeland they can rely on, then isn't my life actually quite worth it?]
[Alright, I admit I'm still afraid, my legs are still trembling... But we seem to have no way out. At least in front of the children, I have to act like a tough guy once, right?! I have to let them know that their dad is a hero, a pioneer who saved the Red Dust Domain!]
[Yes, I've thought it through!]
[We all have parents, we all have lovers, we all have children; our bloodlines and wills all have someone to continue them, and we can protect the people we care about well. Since that's the case...]
[Why must the one who lives on be me?]
The diary came to a screeching halt.
Li Qingshan looked at the final sentence, unable to calm down for a long time.
He had grown up in Willow Town since childhood and didn't understand the history of the Red Dust Domain, let alone the Red Dust base... It wasn't until this moment that he realized that everything they enjoyed now was bought with the blood and lives of their ancestors.
He was the descendant of a pioneer.
"Good grandson, it brings honor!" Grandmother grinned. "In the future, you must know... Our ancestor is a hero who protected the home and defended the country! Just like the Generals of the Yang Family in the Songbook! Extremely majestic!"
Li Qingshan fell silent.
Withered leaves swirled in the gentle breeze. That bloodstained cyan-clothed figure quietly gazed at the banner on the ground that pierced through the years, motionless as a statue.
He looked at those wild and firm three characters "Li Chengwei," and the densely packed hundreds of signatures extending outwards around them. In a daze, figures holding the banner high and stepping into the Nuclear Ruins without turning back appeared before Li Qingshan's eyes...
Because of their sacrifice, the Red Dust Domain was able to exist.
Li Qingshan didn't actually like the Red Dust that much. During these few years of singing opera in Willow Town, he had seen too much darkness and unwritten rules. He saw endless desires in this city, but here, was his home... It was the shelter their ancestors traded their lives for them!
Whether it was the Nuclear Ruins or the fake Red Dust, where could they, the people living here, go if they left here?
The Wuji Domain was very strong, the Red Dust Domain's chances of winning were slim, and the vast majority of people could only hide to save their lives... But,
Someone always has to step forward, don't they?
Boom——
Beneath the distant firmament, raging flames suddenly ignited, like a sea of red dragons connecting to the sky. The scorching heat and bright red dyed the distant clouds red.
Rolling thick smoke was rising, countless living beings were wailing.
That was the direction of the Red Dust Main City.
"Old sirs..."
Li Qingshan's fists subconsciously clenched tightly, he muttered to himself,
"Their flames of war have burned over again."
...