Xia Quan's steps were heavy, his legs seemed to be filled with lead, and it was the first time he felt that the passage in his cellar was so difficult to walk. When he finally saw the iron grid of the cell, the first thing that caught his eye was Gao Wucui. No, she's called Lotus Leaf now. A thirteen-year-old girl in an old cotton jacket with floral flowers heard the footsteps and stood in front of the iron grille, holding the iron railing tightly with both hands, and looking at the uninvited guest with a pair of big cold eyes. The handsome little girl looked like her mother, her lips were closed, and she didn't seem to be going to bother him. He remembered what she looked like seven years ago, when she was only six years old, sitting on Uncle Xia's lap, listening to Uncle Xia's stories, scraping his nose with her fingers, and then tilting her head to look at him and giggling. What a nostalgic image, but it's all in the past.

His best friend, Gao Wenmo, dressed in a gray thick robe of coarse kudzu cloth with patches and a shabby cotton coat on the outside, and the blackened wool on the inner lining was exposed at the cuffs, leaning against the wall on the side of the door, reading by the light of the torches, as if unaware of the arrival of someone. Xia Quan thought gloomily, even if Gao Wenmo noticed his arrival, he probably didn't plan to pay attention to it.

The firelight illuminated the dense text on the scroll in his best friend's hand, and also clearly showed the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes, the sideburns had been dyed silvery, his face was sallow due to lack of nutrition, and his cheekbones were high and protruding, and he knew that the other side of his face had been burned beyond recognition. The skin of the hands, which were exposed outside the coarse kudzu robes, had become dark and rough from the long labor. The man with a tall figure and extraordinary bearing in the past has completely disappeared, and from the outside, this person in front of him has become an out-and-out vulgar farmer. If he didn't look so closely, he could barely tell that it was the face he had been familiar with since he was a child.

The years were like an old witch who had climbed into his bed without permission, and came uninvited, with a musty and unpleasant smell all over her body, so ugly that it tossed him rudely, until the vitality of youth left him, leaving only a worn, decaying shell.

This is the trace of fate imprinted on him, it is real. Xia Quan couldn't help but feel a bitter taste creep up his tongue. This was his once best friend, and for as long as he can remember, this man has been with him for more than thirty years. They always talk together about the various dreams in life, the future of this country.

"You're too smart and hardworking, so the spirit dragon punishes you so that people who are much more stupid than you look worse than you. This is Gao Wenmo's evaluation of his collapsed nose, which once made them laugh out loud.

Now those cheerful years are over. His proud friend had lost his light and had become his prisoner. He's been pondering a question these days: Do I have a choice?

This is a new era. The old king is gone, and the new king is established. This is the era of Long Chengtian. This is a completely different man from Long Xingtian, he is ruthless, unmerciful, unscrupulous to achieve the end, he wants absolute control, and all restless factors will be eliminated by him harshly and ruthlessly.

So after Gao Wenmo came to visit with his daughter, he set the way for the future of his family, his family. He knew that his father would definitely stand up against the new king, and that Xia Lao would rather have his family fall than succumb to rebellion. However, the result of that was something he never wanted to see. The Xia family is an ancient family that has existed since the time of the city-state, and when the Holy King Yougu founded the country, the Xia family was a staunch supporter. He must not allow the fate of his family to end in his own hands, then he would be a sinner. How can a true man who should try to preserve his family and clan become history?

Does he really have any other choice? No, no.

"Wenmo. Xia Quan called his best friend's name in a low voice, like a person who had done something wrong, ready to apologize to his friend.

Gao Wenmo continued to read his book and ignored him.

He continued to call a few more times, each louder than the other, but Gao Wenmo still ignored him, just like no one existed outside the iron fence.

"My dad said he didn't recognize you and didn't want to see you again. Lotus Ye's childish voice responded to him. She tried to show her coldness, trying to add a little ice to her voice.

Xia Quan looked at her with a reluctant smile on his face, and his hand reached through the grid, trying to touch her hand. The lotus leaf quickly dodged backwards.

"Don't touch me!"

"Wenmo, you should understand me, I thought you would. He withdrew his hand, tucked it into his sleeve, let out a long sigh, and crouched down in front of the thumb-thick bar. "Look at my situation, what can I do? The Xia family has thirty-nine people in Julong, a total of two hundred and seventy-eight relatives in Chishan's hometown, and distant relatives living in various provinces, it is difficult to count. As you know, I can only choose to keep this family and not let it disappear from my hands. If you think I'm doing something wrong, what do you think I should do?"

Gao Wenmo turned a page and continued to read his book, there were about a dozen pages left in the book to be finished. Xia Quan's eyes swept to the shabby cover of the book, the title of the book was very vague, but he could still see that it was "The Battle of Xuanlong Mountain", a history book of the Dragon Worship Sect, with a total of three volumes, and the book in Gao Wenmo's hand could not be seen to be the first volume, and those words had faded. This book tells the story of the spirit dragon on the border of the Great Wasteland to fight against the goshawk and the nomadic tide, and finally the spirit dragon made a sacrifice, turning his body on the earth into the Vortex Dragon Mountain Range, and the dragon scales turned into a high wall, locking the barbarians in the Great Wasteland.

Gao Wenmo had already read this book, but he didn't seem to have read enough. The chapters and passages in the book that he knew well seemed far more interesting than the unwelcome visitor in front of him.

"In the end, my god chose to preserve. Xia Quan looked at Gao Wenmo's lowered eyes, hoping that they would leave the page and look at him. But what awaited him was a silence that boundless. Lotus Ye didn't look at him anymore, and the little girl sat down beside her father obediently, resting her head on her father's shoulder.

Terrible silence. Time is like frozen tar, blocking breathing. It wasn't until the last page of the book was turned and it was closed in Gao Wenmo's palm that the farmer spoke: "My god finally chose to sacrifice. ”

Lotus Leaf repeated: "Sacrifice, yes." The spirit dragon sacrificed his own body. ”

Xia Quan saw the hope of talking to his former best friend, reached out and grabbed the iron bar, and said loudly: "Sacrifice is for preservation!

The farmer stretched out his arm around his daughter, placed the book on a wooden table stacked with many books, then pulled out another and leaned back against the wall. So someone sacrificed his father to save his own life. He was afraid of death, he didn't understand that he was born sinful, that he was sin after sin. The voice was cold and low.

Xia Quan shouted excitedly: "I'm not afraid of death! You knew me when you were wearing open crotch pants! What kind of person am I, don't you know? I protect my family, not me alone!"

"The fact is that you survived, rose to the rank of high-ranking official, and became one of the most powerful people in the country, and your servants told me. And your father, become the staircase that you are thrown away after climbing the tall building. He could never have imagined that he was not called up by the dragon god, but died at the hands of his own son. ”

"I don't want to, I don't want this, Wenmo!" Xia Quan's hand trembled as he grabbed the grid, his whole body trembled. "I never wanted to do that!"

"Don't call me Wenmo. Gao Wenmo is dead, and the person in front of you is called Ashin. At last the farmer raised his head, half of his face was tired and old, the other half dark and terrifying, but his eyes were still sharp, like a sharp awl, and with the pride of his youth. "But you did, you killed your father!"

"I don't have a choice, I can't let so many people in the Xia family die like this!

"So you choose to be an eternal sinner for all boxers. Not only did you kill your father, but you also betrayed the oath of loyalty you made when you became a courtier of the Dragon Monarch, and you betrayed the previous king! Those who break the oath should go down to the realm! Everyone must bear the corresponding consequences for what they do, and you and I are no exception, so I have become like this, what about you?" Even if he was demoted to the rank of commoner, even if he was not favored by the previous king, he was still a courtier of the previous king. It turned out that he had endured pain for so many years, and he always remembered his oath and wanted to do his best.

"My god has long since left the king!"

"You made a vow!"

"I follow the teachings of my God. ”

"This kind of lie can deceive others, maybe you can deceive yourself, but it can't deceive me. On the morning of the day of the Dragon, my daughter saw His Royal Highness the Crown Prince being pushed down from the observation deck. How can you, as a vassal, pretend that you don't know all this? How can you sit comfortably in a high position and accept the rule of a traitor? Sooner or later, the usurper will pay for it, and neither will you!"

"If I were the kind of person you think I would hide you here? do you know that Wes is looking for you everywhere now? He knows about Wucui and the Prince. Wess was anxious to learn of the disappearance of the Red Wine Mill's employees, but he knew what Lord Sihu was worried about. But Wei Si didn't dare to say anything, the matter of Gao Wucui and the crown prince was still a secret, only a few people knew about it, and those maids and attendants were very tight-lipped, not to mention the Dragon Monarch guards.

A hint of pain flashed in the farmer's eyes, just for a moment. "That's the only reason I'm still willing to talk to you. I should have done what I didn't want to do for my daughter, but unlike you, I won't be a sinner for the boxers and the country, and I won't give up the oath of allegiance I made to the king that day!, even for her!" He hugged his daughter tightly and kissed her on the cheek. Lotus Ye hugged her father back and cried.

"I didn't want to hurt you!" Xia Quan felt tears wet his eyes and flow down his face. It was cold as ice.

"Like you just said, you didn't think about killing your father. What you do with us is your business. I wish I had never known you in my life. The farmer closed his eyes and said no more.

Xia Quan stood up and let the tears flow. He knew that he would never find peace in this life, just as he would never again be forgiven by his lifelong friend. All the good things in the past are like a broken glass mirror that can never be restored. The fragments were just the wind that swept past his ears as he galloped on his horse, and it came and then departed, falling far behind him, where he could no longer reach.

This is the era of the new king, and ruthlessness is an indispensable quality in this era. He had no choice but to wear this ruthless mask. Now that you have embarked on this path, there is no turning back.