"General Ye has promoted you! You're now General Ye's personal guard, a confidant!"
"Going to General Ye's command tent is like a toad hopping into a warbler's nest!"
"Flag Captain, don't forget about us brothers!"
As soon as General Ye left, the brothers from the flag eagerly surrounded Gu Ya to congratulate him.
Gu Ya waved his hand. "No need to celebrate yet, brothers! The battle just ended, we deserve at least a month of rest. I'll go stand guard outside General Ye's tent first to get the lay of the land, then I'll be back to drink with you all."
After sending off his brothers, Gu Ya pulled his younger brother aside and instructed him, "Before the troop starts marching, I'll ask General Ye to give you leave to go home, report your safety, and escort your sister-in-law back. I'm not comfortable with a woman accompanying the army."
Seeing his younger brother, only sixteen but already built like a bull, hesitate, Gu Ya, still worried, added, "Once we capture Yanzhou Prefecture, brother will find you a good wife, no worse than your sister-in-law."
"Brother, you mean it!"
"Of course I do! When have I ever lied to you!"
Only when his brother's eyes lit up did Gu Ya feel at ease. He straightened himself, grabbed his weapons, and mounted his horse, heading for General Ye's grand tent.
Arriving at the tent, General Ye had not yet returned from inspecting the camp.
Gu Ya handed over his horse, reported at the barracks, and then happily took his place at the very end of the line outside the grand tent.
The personal guards were neatly arranged to his right. The one closest to the tent must be General Ye's most loyal personal guard.
Gu Ya envisioned his future, vowing to work hard and strive to reach the front of the tent, becoming General Ye's most trusted subordinate.
When one's spirits are high due to good fortune, even the late hours seem bright. It wasn't until the night shift personal guards arrived to relieve him that Gu Ya excitedly ran back to his original tent.
As soon as he entered, without even bothering to change, he eagerly embraced the woman named Ye Ying.
"Tonight, I'll fulfill our desires!" he said, moving to undress Ye Ying.
Gu Ya, battling hazy and peculiar memories, completed a less-than-smooth intimate ritual with Ye Ying.
Looking at the weak, sobbing Ye Ying in his arms, and the smear of red on the bedsheet, the faint scent of blood brought Gu Ya a sense of peace. He tilted his head and fell into a deep sleep.
He had barely slept until the fourth watch when torchlight suddenly erupted outside the tent!
The sounds of fighting erupted from all directions instantly!
Gu Ya had no time to hide Ye Ying. He put on his armor, grabbed his weapons, mounted his horse, and rushed towards General Ye's grand tent.
Outside the tent, chaos reigned. Rebel and defending forces clashed, with casualties, injuries, and retreats on all sides.
He had no idea how many rebels he had cut down along the way before finally reaching General Ye's grand tent, sucking in a sharp breath.
The rebel forces, three layers deep, had completely surrounded the tent. Arrows were already embedded in the tent canvas, and hundreds of soldiers armed with long sabers were fiercely attacking the tent.
General Ye and his personal guards were trapped within, unable to break through. Several of them had already been killed before they retreated to the front of the tent.
Gu Ya roared, "Kill—!!!" With all his might and battle spirit, he charged forward with his halberd. A dozen soldiers followed behind, charging into the fray with Gu Ya.
But the rebels were too numerous! These dozen men were quickly surrounded by the rebels, forming another encirclement.
As the enemy was about to break into General Ye's grand tent, Gu Ya spurred his horse forward. The warhorse leaped into the enemy formation, enduring countless saber attacks. He slashed left and right, carving a bloody path.
His warhorse's forelegs were severed. Gu Ya dismounted, drew his saber from his waist, and engaged the rebels.
With Gu Ya's breakthrough, the dozen soldiers behind him also fought their way forward, and everyone gradually closed in on the grand tent.
Just then, amidst the chaos, a hand from somewhere unknown grabbed Gu Ya by the back of his collar and, with an irresistible force, pulled him into the rebel formation.
As Gu Ya prepared to strike down the assailant, the person voluntarily removed their helmet, revealing a familiar face.
Gu Ya was instantly stunned, shouting, "Gu Ya!?"
This person looked exactly like him!
What's more, the people surrounding Gu Ya all stopped their actions, removing their helmets one by one to reveal faces identical to Gu Ya's!
"Nonsense! Demons, don't try to confuse my mind!" Gu Ya roared, brandishing his saber, but the group of "Gu Yas" disarmed him.
One of the "Gu Yas" opened his mouth to speak. Although the clamor of battle raged around them, his voice transmitted directly into Gu Ya's mind: "No time to explain. Help us kill General Ye, and you'll understand!"
Gu Ya stood frozen, his body trembling uncontrollably. He turned to look at the rebels again.
Regardless of which one, their body proportions were almost identical!
Although they all wore helmets, Gu Ya could sense that beneath those iron caps were a group of identical faces!
"What in the world is going on?" Gu Ya asked blankly.
"Think hard about where you came from?"
This rhetorical question instantly brought back a flood of absurd memories. A giant mecha appeared before him, and he himself was sitting in a completely unfamiliar room, his hands gripping two control sticks, operating rapidly.
The "Gu Yas" around him, without further ado, pushed Gu Ya into the grand tent.
The scene inside the grand tent plunged Gu Ya into confusion once more.
General Ye, his younger brother, Ye Ying, and the brothers who had followed him were all present.
They were gathered closely around General Ye, forming the last line of defense, standing their ground and quietly watching the "Gu Yas" charge into the tent.
The shouts and killing from outside abruptly ceased. The scene became eerily quiet.
A "Gu Ya" walked up from behind, handed Gu Ya a long saber, and said calmly, "Kill them, and you'll understand everything!"
"No!" Gu Ya instinctively resisted. "How could I kill them! General Ye is my lifelong dream, my brother and I are inseparable, Ye Ying is the woman I just gained, and my brothers have fought alongside me through thick and thin for years!"
"Are these things real? Do they truly belong to you in this world? Do you want to continue living in a daze, or do you want to return to your original world?"
Gu Ya frowned, staring ahead. Strange memories resurfaced one after another. This time, he could better understand the utterly bizarre sensations, realizing they were his past self.
"Do you choose to be assimilated by this world, or to kill these illusions? Don't forget, your world is waiting for you to return and save it!"
More and more memories surfaced in his mind, and reality itself became increasingly blurred.
Gu Ya couldn't recall any past or childhood in this world; it was as if he had dreamt it, arriving here all at once.
"So, all of this is fake?" Gu Ya asked himself.
"Yes, it's all fake!"
"Then what about you? Aren't you all fake too?" Gu Ya asked, turning to look behind him, only to find no one there.
Inside the entire grand tent, he was alone, holding a blood-dripping saber tip, facing those "familiar faces."
"Gu Ya! Put down your saber, and I'll grant you lifelong wealth and glory!" General Ye said coldly.
His younger brother knelt before Gu Ya, crying, "Brother! Mother is still waiting for us back home!"
Ye Ying sobbed sadly, covering her face, and murmured, "Husband, do you truly intend to kill me?"
His brothers also knelt before Gu Ya, shouting for mercy.
"I can't tell! I can't tell!!!" Gu Ya, overwhelmed by the confusion in his heart, roared and raised his saber to his own throat.
But as the saber lay against his neck, Gu Ya glanced sideways and saw that those "familiar faces" were all watching him with cold indifference.
Their gazes were like thousands of icy daggers, piercing Gu Ya's heart, and as if they were waiting for Gu Ya to kill himself quickly.
Gu Ya hardened his resolve, shifted the blade, and brought the heavy edge down. His younger brother's head was severed from his neck, and blood sprayed all over Gu Ya.
When he looked at the others again, they still regarded him with cold, silent eyes.
"Since that's the case!" Gu Ya's murderous intent intensified, and he raised his saber, slashing down at his former brothers.
Strangely, with each person he killed, Gu Ya's confusion lessened, and his joy grew even greater!
"Hahaha! Hahaha! Hahahahahaha!"
Gu Ya laughed maniacally, savoring the thrill of slaughter and the joy of breaking through the mist. With each swing of his saber, he cut down those who obstructed him.
Finally, only Ye Ying remained, slumped on the ground, blood flowing like a river, staining her white clothes and slender legs.
Ye Ying looked at Gu Ya with coldness and said, "If you put down the killing, we can start anew."
Gu Ya smiled, and with a flash of cold light, Ye Ying's body was cleaved in two.
As the last trace of confusion vanished, Gu Ya's memories returned completely.
He dropped the saber and looked up. The canopy of the grand tent had transformed into a boundless, dark sky, covering the land.
Gu Ya pointed a finger at the sky and shouted, "Damn Black Star! How could I possibly be defeated by you! Hahahahahaha!"
The immensely dark sky gradually blurred into a mass, like a giant bowl of black sesame paste overturned onto the heavens.
Suddenly, a sliver of light appeared in the dark sky.
Seeing hope, Gu Ya continued to curse, "Let me out! I will kill every last one of you!!!"
The moment Gu Ya uttered these words, light instantly replaced the darkness.