Breaking Ground
Sun Bumian subconsciously took a half step back so as not to be hit by that flying figure.
Only when the dust settled did Sun Bumian look down to see the person's appearance clearly. For some reason, a sense of familiarity slowly rose from the bottom of his heart...
"I told you to wash my feet, can't you even adjust the water temperature beforehand? When your dad served as a dog for our Yan Family, he had much more discerning eyes than you! Trash!"
A figure looking like a butler strode out from the doorway, scolding arrogantly.
The sorry figure at Sun Bumian's feet struggled to get up from the ground, then carefully and continuously apologized:
"I'm sorry... The water was very hot when I prepared it, but it's too cold lately, and you came a bit late, so it got cold..."
"Explain my ass!" The butler flew into a rage. "Your dad couldn't pay off his debts, so it was our Yan Family that took him in. A son pays his father's debts! If you can't even do this little thing right, don't even think about you father and son making a mark in this lifetime!"
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm really sorry..."
Seeing Sun Bumian behind him, the butler frowned,
"Who are you? What are you doing in front of our Yan Family's door?!"
Sun Bumian was taken aback, and he instinctively shook his head,
"Oh... I'm just passing by."
After speaking, he took another look at Little Jian who was continuously admitting his mistake, turned around and walked into the distance.
Sun Bumian didn't know why he was here, nor did he know who that person was, but his instinct to pursue good fortune and avoid disaster told him not to casually get involved in this kind of troublesome matter... Pretend not to see it, he doesn't court calamity, and calamity won't court him, just like in all the years past.
Little Jian's apologies and the butler's angry scolding gradually faded away. Sun Bumian continued forward along the street, leaving everything behind, no longer thinking about it.
Just as he was about to leave this street, a figure appeared in front of him.
It was a white-haired figure wrapped in bandages. He looked at Sun Bumian with his lips slightly pursed, his eyes full of complex emotions...
"Who are you?" Seeing him staring at himself, Sun Bumian couldn't help but ask.
"My name is Jiang Xiaohua."
"I don't know you."
"Oh... it doesn't matter." Jiang Xiaohua pointed to the Yan Family in the distance. "But you can't just leave like this..."
"Why?"
"Aren't you companions?"
"Companions?" Sun Bumian froze. "No, I don't know him at all..."
"You know him, you have to help him... Companions should help each other." Jiang Xiaohua answered earnestly. "Moreover... he is very pitiful, isn't he?"
Sun Bumian opened his mouth, not knowing what to say.
He was silent for a long time, then turned to look in the direction of the Yan Family again... The sound of Little Jian continuously lowering his head to admit his mistakes lingered in his ears, and that bright red handprint seemed to be branded in his heart, making him feel as uncomfortable as a lump in his throat.
Sun Bumian felt that he had indeed forgotten something, but this was a common occurrence for him. Every time he went through a Reincarnation Cycle, the things that happened in the past cycles would become somewhat blurred...
But this time's forgetting seemed somewhat different.
Sun Bumian hesitated for a moment, still heaved a long sigh, and turned back to walk towards the Yan Family's gates...
"Alright... then I'll trust you this once."
...
In the darkness,
Jian Changsheng's eyelashes trembled slightly.
After a long time, he finally opened his eyes, as if having been unconscious for a long time, his eyes full of blankness and dullness.
"My head hurts so much..."
Jian Changsheng scratched his head. Wait until the headache eased, only then did he slowly sit up from the darkness.
Clack clack clack clack——
Piercing spotlights lit up above his head. The sudden light made him instinctively cover his eyes, and his facial features twisted slightly...
After a few seconds passed, he finally adapted to the strong light, and opened a corner between his fingers.
Seeing the scene in front of him, he was first taken aback,
Then his pupils contracted violently!
"This... this is..."
...
The Great Crimson Theatrical Robe sat withered upon the barren land.
He was like an empty shell, sitting cross-legged on Sun Bumian's grave; time silently flowed past him, the sun rose, night fell, dead trees revived in spring, and the four seasons rotated...
Whether it was due to the master of this memory or not, Chen Ling's perception of time became sluggish and blurry. In a flash, more than half a year passed quietly.
Until one day, an army of unknown origin attacked this city.
They burned, killed, and looted, causing wails of anguish to fill the sky inside the city, and corpses littered the fields... Another army had also come to support, but after the great battle between the two sides, they still suffered a crushing defeat like a collapsing mountain.
Ultimately, this city was completely occupied. Uncountable numbers of commoners inside died or were injured. The corpses all over the ground bred a Plague, making the remaining survivors scramble to flee...
Coupled with climate changes and wind and sand erosion, this city, which was bustling with noise and excitement more than half a year ago, soon degenerated into a dead city, and even gradually disappeared from the map.
A year passed. There were no longer any noisy celebrations in the city, only endless loneliness and the whimpering of wind and sand.
Sun Bumian had not awakened either;
The second year, the third year...
In the fourth year, Chen Ling saw that Old Man return leaning on a Walking Stick. Looking at everything in front of him, he sighed helplessly... He coughed weakly, murmured something to the grave where Sun Bumian was, and turned to leave.
Chen Ling did not show himself in front of him, but before the Old Man left, he took a glance at the dead tree where Chen Ling was hiding, his gaze complex and profound.
The fifth year, the sixth year, the seventh year...
Ten years later.
A bridal sedan procession beating gongs and sounding drums slowly approached from afar.
This was a wedding procession from a neighboring city, traversing the Wilderness to escort the newlywed woman in the bridal sedan back to her husband's home... Perhaps due to their wealthy family background, this procession was grand and solemn. Even from far away, Chen Ling could hear the lively sounds of their Deafening Celebration.
Inside the bridal sedan, a woman covered with a red veil, carrying a trace of joy and anxiety for the future, silently clasped her hands together and prayed in her heart...
"Heaven bless... I don't ask for great wealth and honor in this life, I only ask that after marrying over, my husband and I will live in harmony, and enjoy the happiness of having children around our knees."
"And my parents at home, they must be safe and sound, enjoy a long life and happiness..."
Clang——!
A gong sound like thunder slashed across the barren earth.
The wedding procession gradually went away. Chen Ling, who had witnessed the entire process, seemed to have sensed something and looked down beneath him...
Surprise flashed in his eyes, and he stood up and took a few steps back... If one observed carefully, they could see that the solid and flat ground was gradually loosening, as if something was about to break out of the ground!
"Finally..." A sharp light flickered in Chen Ling's eyes.
Poof——
With a soft sound, a palm stretched out from the earth, like a prisoner who had been sealed away for a long time finally welcoming the sky of freedom...
Chen Ling hesitated for a moment, reached out to grab that palm extending from underground, and forcefully pulled it out!
The moment the two touched, a wave of memories began to gush out from Chen Ling's mind!