CH 1

Another spring had arrived.

Murong Heng was strolling about in the garden of the royal palace. He didn’t revel in the vibrant spring colours that filled the garden. He couldn’t resist reaching out to caress the delicate, pretty petals. Only then did he have a sense that everything was real.

He’d truly been reborn…

He recalled that in his previous life, the flowers that bloomed in the palace were just as vibrant, but he hadn’t admired them much and had soon passed away. When the ignorance and daftness of his previous life came to mind, he was even more elated that the heavens had allowed him to start over again.

Murong Heng’s footsteps ceased just then. When he raised his head and caught sight of the gold-inlaid plaque hanging on the palace in the distance and the servants who were scurrying about, his mind abruptly became immersed in memories…

Time had been reverted to the winter of his thirty-fifth year. It was a winter day that had exceptionally heavy snowfall. Murong Heng was attending a small gathering in the palace with many of his brothers. He sat in an inconspicuous corner as he observed others smiling and chatting away enthusiastically.

“Third Younger Brother, Imperial Elder Brother toasts you!” At that moment, Crown Prince Murong Cheng’s laughing voice sounded right next to his ears. He glanced up and saw him holding the cup and looking directly at himself. Murong Heng gave a light cough, picked up the cup, and returned the toast.

The wine in the cup was somewhat spicy. There wasn’t much difference from the usual taste, but the instant he tilted his head upwards to down the drink—for the fleetest of moments—Murong Cheng’s mouth arched a little.

Two hours later, Murong Heng left the palace with a slightly unsteady gait. Upon arriving at the gates of his official residence, he supported himself on the carriage door while getting down. Before he could enter the house, he heard that someone from the palace was coming to deliver an imperial edict.

Shaking his head, Murong Heng walked into the courtyard, bent,and knelt down. As the shrill voice of the palace staff permeated his ears, the look in his eyes instantly changed, but his expression was uncertain.

These were foreign invaders, so why did Imperial Father dispatch him alone to fight against the enemy?

Filled with doubts, Murong Heng accepted the imperial edict. He returned to the house to put his things in order and set off for the frontier pass the next day. Once he entered the military base, he promptly initiated discussions with several of his trusted subordinates on how to battle the enemy.

When all their discussions had concluded, it was already midnight. Murong Heng hauled his exhausted body back to the tent and fell asleep the moment his head touched the pillow. As such, he didn’t catch sight of the peculiar smiles from some of his subordinates.

The enemy attacked again several days later. Murong Heng quickly convened the troops, donned his armour, walked to the battle horse and mounted it with one leap. He gave a loud shout as he looked straight at the waving flag before urging the horse forward.

When he was on the battlefield, Murong Heng exerted his full strength to slash and kill the enemy soldiers surrounding him, but slowly he realised something wasn’t right. His body’s strength started to dwindle, and the sword in his hand grew more and more heavy.

Just when he was in a daze, a sword slashed ferociously at him. He moved to evade, but he couldn’t dodge the next strike. In a flash, a gaping hole was slashed open on his arm, and blood spewed out.

There wasn’t time to bandage his injured arm. Murong Heng picked up his sword and continued to fight, but he gradually perceived that there were fewer and fewer enemy troops around him. His expression changed when he realised that he had fallen into the enemy’s trap.

“Hurry! Retreat!” Once he’d shouted, the ground started caving in, and fire shot up into the sky. Evidently, the enemy had buried land mines below the ground. Once they detonated, the force was terrifying. It was too late to retreat, and a great number of troops were blown to bits.

Murong Heng watched helplessly as many fellow soldiers were killed in the explosions. The rims of his eyes were so red that it seemed blood was about to seep out of them. He clenched his fists tightly and gritted his teeth as he helped a few people escape. When he looked back towards the battlefield, he saw thick smoke billowing. Human bodies were scattered all over the ground, and blood flowed like a river.

Tens of thousands of troops—practically the entire army were wiped out.…..

Just when he presumed that death was unavoidable, all of a sudden, he heard a booming voice. It turned out that the Crown Prince had come to the rescue with tens of thousands of soldiers. In an instant, a light flashed in his dark grey eyes. He brought the remaining soldiers together with the Crown Prince’s troops to completely wipe out the enemy forces.

The battle was ultimately victorious, but it was at the expense of tens of thousands of soldiers.

Casting down the sword in his hand, Murong Heng watched the Crown Prince approach him, step by step. Once he reached his side, he shoved Murong Heng to the ground. Murong Heng couldn’t move. He scowled and asked warily: “Imperial Eldest Brother, what is the meaning of this?”

Murong Cheng didn’t reply to his question immediately. Instead, he threw him a chilly look out of the corner of his eye and then said coldly, “Take him away!”

Murong Heng was escorted to the front. He kept looking back as he walked, wanting to speak with the crown prince. But the latter paid him no heed. Only when he was escorted into the palace and before his royal father did he discover that his imperial brother, Murong Cheng, had accused him of defecting to the enemy and betraying the country; causing the deaths of tens of thousands of fellow soldiers!

“Murong Heng, This Emperor is terribly disappointed in you! You’re just like your mother, a good-for-nothing!” The emperor glared, his beard shaking in rage. He raised his hand and ordered someone to drag him away to be imprisoned.

As he hunkered down to sit in the corner, Murong Heng recalled the events that had occurred prior. The more he pondered it, the more he felt that something was amiss. He was anxious to get out of there and interrogate the Crown Prince as to why he was accusing him for defecting to the enemy and treason.

Murong Heng slowly got to his feet and spent quite a bit of effort to break open the shackles on his hands and feet. Then, he took advantage when someone came to deliver the food by knocking the person unconscious with one punch and disguising himself as that person before discreetly escaping.

As he fled, Murong Heng paid heed to the people around him for fear being discovered. All of a sudden, he caught wind of some chattering voices and hastened to find a hiding place.

“It was Eldest Imperial Brother who did it for sure, but that Murong Heng is also dumb. He didn’t even know when he’d been poisoned.” This voice was very familiar to Murong Heng; it was Murong Chong, Fifth Younger Imperial Brother. His eyes widened as he held his breath and listened. A surge of anger had already emerged within him long ago.

It abruptly came to mind that when he was on the battlefield, his body had gradually been depleted of strength; so much so that he wasn’t even able to lift his sword. He’d assumed that he’d overexerted himself, but he never surmised that it was due to poison—not to mention by his brother!

But what they said next shocked him even more.

“It is fortunate that Your Royal Highness, Fifth Prince is clever and bribed his subordinates on the sly. If not, success wouldn’t have arrived so quickly.” This was obviously the voice of a palace official, but it laid bare the most brutal facts.

“As it appears, the so-called Iron Halberd Army is nothing more than that. Those paltry kills were insufficient for This Prince.” Murong Chong laughed out loud. But he wasn’t aware that there was someone staring at them in the darkness, his eyes wide open.

Even the Iron Halberd Army too…

Murong Heng clenched his fists tightly. When he recalled the bright, cheerful faces of those comrades, he felt even more enraged on the inside. His trusted subordinates, the brothers who he’d grown up with—they’d actually harmed him like this. Not just causing his comrades’ deaths but also causing him to be imprisoned, to be wronged by his Imperial Father, and to bear a great deal of dishonour.

Rage multiplied in layers within him. Murong Heng didn’t want to hear any more. He rushed out of his hiding place and bellowed: “Murong Chong! I treated you as a brother for naught! You are so malicious, hand over your life!”

Having spoken, he raised his sword-wielding hand and stabbed in Murong Chong’s direction. However, he noticed that there wasn’t the slightest hint of alarm in Murong Chong’s expression. There was an extremely leisurely smile at the corner of his mouth—as if he wasn’t the one being assassinated.

It wasn’t long before Murong Heng understood. At that moment, he still couldn’t use his body’s strength—similar to that day on the battlefield. He forcefully swung the blade in his hand, but before it could land on Murong Chong, he felt his legs go weak. He was then slammed heavily to the ground.

Several people were holding his body down. Murong Heng watched furiously as Murong Chong approached and crouched down before him. He gave him a chilly stare and released a cold snort.

“Murong Heng, do you think you’re qualified to kill me?” After being taciturn for some time, Murong Chong opened his mouth a little and sneered repeatedly. His gaze lacked any trace of warmth; it was as cold as ice.

As Murong Heng lay on the ground, he struggled with all his might but couldn’t move at all. He spat furiously and taunted: “I get it, you must be coveting the throne of the emperor, but have you forgotten? Aside from me, there is still Eldest Imperial Brother around. Why would he relinquish his position to you so easily?”

On the contrary, Murong Chong did not take offence upon hearing this. Instead, he stood up and gave a mighty laugh as he said: “You don’t need to concern yourself with this. The position of crown prince is only meant for me, Murong Chong. If there’s anyone who attempts to stand in the way, they shall also die!” After speaking, he turned around and walked away.

As Murong Heng lay on the ground, he heard Murong Chong utter a single word as cold as ice from a distance. Just then, several people approached him, lifted a sword, and violently stabbed him. There was a popping sound, then blood spurted out. His chest erupted with excruciating pain. But Murong Heng’s mouth was gagged and he couldn’t even groan out in agony.

Shortly after that, another sword was stabbed into his chest. Murong Heng’s entire body was dripping with blood and he gagged on the bloody foam in his mouth. He never expected that Murong Chong would have the audacity to end his life here!

He didn’t know how many sword stabs he’d suffered, as he could no longer sense any pain. Through his half-lidded eyes, Murong Heng saw another person approaching him, raising the sword in his hand. Soon after, his face was scored until it was raw and bloody, and the original form could no longer be discerned.

After coughing a few times, blood dribbled down from the corners of his mouth. Murong Heng blacked out. It was an unknown amount of time before he regained consciousness again. He struggled to turn his head and get a look at his surroundings, only to realise that he was lying in the midst of unmarked graves.

They must have assumed he was dead and tossed him here. No one would be able to identify him with his present visage. All of a sudden, there was a sound from not far away. Murong Heng swiftly closed his eyes and pretended to be dead.

“Hmph, good thing you’re dead. At least I can avoid having you contend with me.” Murong Heng could not have been more familiar with the voice that emerged. No doubt it was the ever-fawning and subservient Murong Yu, Fourth Younger Imperial Brother. However, his current tone was icy-cold. Murong Heng stealthily cracked open an eye and snuck a look. As expected , he caught sight of Murong Yu’s cruel expression. He panicked and quickly shut his eye. Only after Murong Yu had left did he open them again.

He hadn’t anticipated that Fourth Younger Imperial Brother was also involved… Murong Heng bemoaned inwardly over and over again. He remained lying on the spot for some time before struggling with all his might to get up. Then, with stumbling steps, he made his way towards some unknown location.

The sky gradually brightened, and Murong Heng became aware that he was in an alley. He could hear lively and bustling market sounds. Not being able to withstand any longer, he collapsed onto the ground.

As he squinted, he saw a few inches of sky from within the alley and felt hopelessly apathetic. Could it be possible that he was going to die here, looking on as their plot succeeded?

No, he didn’t want to die yet…

Right when he was pondering, it seemed that someone had walked past him and then stopped. Subsequently, he saw this person squat down, reach out to hold his wrist and locate his pulse before asking in a gentle voice, “This bro, are you still able to hold on? I’ll bring you to search for a doctor right away.” Upon hearing this, Murong Heng blinked a few times in an attempt to get a proper look at the man’s face, but only managed to see an indistinct side profile.

As soon as he’d spoken, the man called out to several people. Murong Heng’s body was lifted up, and he found himself in some medical clinic. In the midst of his befuddlement, Murong Heng seemed to have spotted a jade pendant hanging at the man’s waist, but he couldn’t clearly discern the words on in. He strove hard to widen his eyes to see, but his vision became increasingly blurry.

Once the man had brought him to the medical clinic, he hurriedly allowed the doctor to come and examine him. After learning that he couldn’t be saved, the man revealed a dejected expression, then walked over and sat down beside him. Only then was Murong Heng able to get a good look at the jade pendant at the man’s waist. Two characters were written on it: Wan Ting (晚亭)

Those were the words, right? The blurriness of Murong Heng’s eyesight increased. All in all, his demise ought to be drawing near. When this thought came to mind, he felt despair, but his heart was still deeply moved. In his present dire situation, having undergone his brothers’ schemes and his subordinates’ treachery, there was still someone who would treat him this way. How could he not sigh ruefully?!

Blurred shadows began to gradually turn into white light and Murong Heng could not see anything at all. He was lying there on the verge of death. The strength in his body was slowly draining away, as was the body’s temperature. He blinked, his eyelids becoming heavier and heavier until he could no longer open them.

His body abruptly trembled, and Murong Heng awoke from his memories. His entire body was drenched in cold sweat—even the hair at his temples was wet. He drew in a deep breath, his eyes dark.

He was fortunate that the heavens had permitted him to relive his life. There was still time to redeem the mistakes of the past. He would not allow the tragedy of his previous life to reoccur. As for the person who’d rescued him, he would do his utmost to find him and repay his goodwill. He would live this life for himself and to resolutely exact his revenge. Anyone who stands in the way must die!