Section 003 I am Zhang Xueliang (3)

  Madam Shou's eyes gleamed with a strong and resolute light: "Please be at ease, General. We will naturally do our best to help Han Ying stabilize the situation." She immediately turned to the several women beside her and sternly ordered, "From now on, no one is allowed to cry anymore!" Her words and expression were quite majestic, and those women hastily stopped their sobbing. Apparently, the female members of the Zhang family's residence took Madam Shou as their leader.

  Zhang Zuoxiang anxiously said to Meng Xiang, "Han Ying, you just rushed back overnight and are deeply grieved. You must take care of your body and rest now! The outside matters will be temporarily handled by us. Also, Shou Furen, the children and relatives of the General in other places, we also need to keep them secret for the time being, and cannot let them return to Shenyang, so as not to arouse suspicion. Otherwise, the Japanese will definitely find out that the General is no longer here." He then turned to Huang Xiansheng, "The security work in Shenyang will be handed over to General Huang and Commander Qi (Qi Enming) of the Fengtian Garrison Brigade."

  "Huang Xiansheng stood upright and solemnly said: 'Please be at ease, Young Marshal and Assistant Marshal! I, Xiansheng, swear to complete the task with my life! I will definitely not let anything go wrong in Shenyang!'"

  "General Meng, you can rest assured! Zhang Zuoxiang and I have been through thick and thin for decades, we are sworn brothers who have gone through life and death together. No matter how turbulent the outside world is, no matter how cunning and sinister the various forces are, no matter how panicked the frontline troops and civilians are, I, Zhang Zuoxiang, will always be loyal to you!"

  Zangshi Yi, Huang Xiansheng, Tan Hai and Cui Chengyi also stood up straight and said in unison: "Commander, we swear to follow you to death!"

  Meng Xiang nodded reluctantly: "I... I'm really confused now, can you arrange a room for me? I want to calm down first."

  Madam Shou ordered Tan Hai: "Vice Officer Tan, take Han Ying back to her room quickly."

  Tan Hai nodded and said solemnly to Meng Xiang: "Commander, please follow me."

  Meng Xiang nervously followed Tan Hai out of the room and across the main hall, into a side room. Meng Xiang said to him, "You go out first! I want to calm down for a bit. Oh, bring me a few more packs of cigarettes." Tan Hai's face showed concern, wanting to speak but stopping himself, and left the room, later handing in several packs of Hardman cigarettes to Meng Xiang.

  Meng Xiang closed the door, and the room was suddenly plunged into darkness. Outside the window, a faint light of dawn seeped in, indicating that it was probably around 4 or 5 am. Meng Xiang sat on a chair, panting heavily, his earlier composure instantly evaporating. He lit a cigarette with trembling hands and smoked furiously to alleviate the turmoil of emotions swirling inside him - panic, confusion, fear, anxiety, helplessness, sorrow, shock, and incredulity. The room quickly became thick with smoke as he chain-smoked, shrouding everything in a haze.

  After smoking an entire pack of Hardmen cigarettes, Meng Xiang almost got nicotine poisoning before he barely regained some composure. He first slapped himself several times, hitting his face so hard that it hurt and his mouth was mumbling incoherently: "What the hell is this? Is this real or fake? Am I dreaming? Or am I having hallucinations? Or is someone playing a super-large-scale prank on me? Today is Christmas, not April Fool's Day! How can I possibly become Zhang Xueliang? Ah, it must be those bastards playing a joke on me! They're probably hiding somewhere laughing at me right now!" He suddenly remembered something and hastily turned on the light in the room, then rummaged through his boxes to find a mirror. Meng Xiang held up the mirror with trembling hands and slowly aimed it at his face. When he saw the person's face in the mirror, Meng Xiang's expression froze, he took a cold breath, and was shocked again.

  The face that appeared in the mirror was a strange yet familiar one, but it was absolutely not Meng Xiang's original face. It was a relatively young and handsome face, but it looked rather haggard and dispirited, unmistakably the famous "Non-Resistant General" Zhang Xueliang from history!

  Meng Xiang's hand holding the mirror shook violently, and then he suddenly threw the "demon-mirror" to one side, just like Zhu Bajie in "Journey to the West" when he saw his true self in the magic mirror. Meng Xiang felt as if there was thunder and lightning in his brain, and the sky was falling apart. He was stunned for a long time before he came back to his senses, tears of joy and sorrow streaming down his face: "Is this real? This is really happening! I've actually become Zhang Xueliang? I've actually traveled through time?" At this moment, Meng Xiang's heart could only be described as filled with "great joy and great sorrow".

  After the word "crossing" popped up in his mind, Meng Xiang's whole body was like being drained of energy and collapsed to the ground. He finally understood: he had crossed into Zhang Xueliang's body. But Meng Xiang couldn't figure it out, except for spitting on the ground and urinating randomly, he hadn't done anything bad, so which god or spirit did he offend that his consciousness would cross through time and space in such a clichéd way? He just drank a few more cups with friends and exchanged consciousness with Zhang Xueliang, who was sleeping off a hangover and grieving the death of his father. Although this was unbelievable, it was a fact. It can be imagined that in the vast river of time, two people from different eras exchanged consciousness, the probability of such an event occurring is extremely low, probably even lower than winning the lottery ten times in a row. Meng Xiang had won this unprecedented super grand prize.

  It should be said that Meng Xiang's psychological endurance was still not bad, and he was not knocked down by the "space-time displacement syndrome". After all, he did not go crazy or beat his chest and shout "I want to go home" because his three views were completely overturned in an instant. This is thanks to Meng Xiang's hobby, who often went to a website called "Iron Blood Military Network" to read about military novels, and spent hundreds of dollars on that website, which gave him a strong immunity to the "space-time displacement syndrome". As a result, within ten minutes, he quickly switched his identity from an ordinary young man in the 21st century to Zhang Xueliang, the eldest son of Zhang Zuolin, a warlord in Northeast China during the early Republic of China. However, at first, he was confused and said many revealing words, but Zhang Zuolin and others thought that "Zhang Xueliang" was speaking nonsense because he was overwhelmed with grief and his mind was not clear. They couldn't figure out that the person in front of them, although physically still the same, had a completely different consciousness (thoughts, spirit, memory, personality) after waking up. The exchange of Meng Xiang and Zhang Xueliang's consciousness was more thorough than "switching the crown prince".

  Meng Xiang had read about "consciousness possession" and "soul transference" in some science books and magazines before, which were supernatural phenomena that modern science couldn't explain. Some experts even claimed it was related to advanced theories like "wormholes" in physics. However, Meng Xiang had always been half-believing and half-doubting about these things. But after experiencing it himself today, he had no choice but to believe that such things truly existed, and they happened to him personally. As for whether this was a "wormhole" or God playing a boring joke on him because He was idle, it didn't matter. What mattered was that Meng Xiang could never return to his original time-space again. Thinking of this, Meng Xiang couldn't help but feel a pang in his heart. This meant he would never see his parents and friends again. It was as if he had been cut off from his original time-space with a pair of scissors, completely severing all ties, and then thrown into this unfamiliar time-space where everything was strange to him.

  Since the road back had been fundamentally negated, Meng Xiang could only admit that he was out of luck. After being disheartened for over an hour, Meng Xiang wiped away the tears that he couldn't hold back and tried to calm himself down. He lit another cigarette and puffed on it heavily, planning to start clearing his thoughts and thinking about the historical environment he was in at the moment, while also planning where he would go next.

  "Zhang Xueliang, Zhang Xueliang..." Meng Xiang muttered the name to himself, and his originally gloomy heart suddenly rose with a thread of joy. "I am now Zhang Xueliang, I am now Zhang Xueliang!" He suddenly burst into bloom, "I am actually Zhang Xueliang! Who is Zhang Xueliang? He is the illustrious Young Marshal Zhang! The son of the powerful warlord Zhang Zuolin of the Fengtian clique. Now that Zhang Zuolin has passed away, the entire Northeast region's foundation is completely in my hands... or rather, mine to inherit! Wow! This is a territory spanning several provinces, tens of millions of people, and hundreds of thousands of troops! In my previous life, I couldn't even dream of this! I was just an unknown, poor, and lonely nobody (no car, no house, no money, no girlfriend), but now I've become Zhang Xueliang! This is like a pie falling from the sky, no, it's like a ton of gold dropping from heaven! I've become Zhang Xueliang, and that means I can make clouds with one hand and rain with the other! Whatever I want, I have it! Hahaha..." Meng Xiang couldn't help but burst into loud laughter. He suddenly felt that his transmigration wasn't so bad after all, and was even wonderful, because he had instantly become a superior being.

  But Meng Xiang didn't smile for more than a few minutes before an unfamiliar and immense pain surged up his entire body like a tidal wave.

  This pain was something Meng Xiang had never experienced before, but it came on suddenly and was unstoppable. At first, Meng Xiang only felt a faint humming noise in his head, like the buzzing of flies, which grew louder and louder until it became a deafening roar that echoed back and forth in his mind; then, he felt as if something was expanding and squeezing out of his blood vessels, almost bursting his body. The sound around him slowly became muffled and distorted, like a layer of insulation, and his vision began to blur and distort. His skin started to feel cold, and some parts of his muscles twitched involuntarily, like a cat scratching with its claws, giving him goosebumps all over. This itching sensation then spread through his pores into his bones, making Meng Xiang want to scratch the intense, strange feeling that came with it. At the same time, waves of unexplained anxiety and panic rose up in his heart, and his body's pain grew stronger, as if his bones were crawling with ants and worms, and he felt like he was being bitten and stung all over, like a thousand needles piercing his skin. Meng Xiang's face turned deathly pale, his whole body shook, and his eyes lost focus. His hands clawed at his clothes until his fingernails were bloody. He didn't know what was happening, but he couldn't bear it anymore and let out a loud, anguished cry.

  Deputy officer Tan Hai and guard battalion commander Cui Chengyi, who were guarding the door, heard Meng Xiang's miserable cry and rushed in. The two saw Meng Xiang's painful appearance and panicked: "Commander!"

  "Meng Xiang cried out in terror: 'What's happening to me? Why is my whole body so itchy? Even my bones are itching! I'm suffering so much!'"

  Tan Hai said urgently: "Commander, you're having an opium relapse! Colonel Cui, quickly go get some opium."

  Meng Xiang was shocked and turned pale: "Opium addiction? I have opium addiction?" He suddenly realized that Zhang Xueliang had a habit of smoking opium, and had also taken heroin and morphine. Since this body was originally Zhang Xueliang's, it naturally inherited the opium addiction from the "previous owner" to Meng Xiang. Meng Xiang had never smoked before, so the pain of this opium withdrawal was extremely unfamiliar to him. Meng Xiang couldn't help but curse in his heart: "Zhang Xueliang, you son of a bitch! I thought you only left me good things, but it turns out you also left me with this opium addiction! What am I supposed to do now?"

  Choi Sung-yi saw the painful look of "Zhang Xueliang" at this time, and he didn't dare to slack off. He hurriedly ran to another room to fetch opium and a smoking gun, then sent them to Meng Xiang's face: "Commander! You'd better stop your craving for smoke!" Tan Hai was busy preparing to light it up.

  Meng Xiang looked at the opium and pipe in front of him with a mixture of horror and disgust, his eyes wide with fear as he shouted loudly: "I won't smoke! I won't smoke opium! I'd rather die than smoke!" As a young man who grew up in a society that emphasized the importance of moral integrity, Meng Xiang was deeply aware of the devastating harm that drugs could cause to one's physical and mental health. And at this critical moment, his mind was still clear. He knew that he wasn't really Zhang Xueliang, but rather the body he inhabited belonged to Zhang Xueliang, and therefore the opium addiction was a result of the body's cravings, not his own spirit. In other words, it was Zhang Xueliang's body that was dependent on opium, not Meng Xiang's spirit. Meng Xiang understood that if he were to start smoking opium as well, his spirit would also become dependent on it, and he would never be able to quit. With a loud shout, Meng Xiang slapped away the opium pipe that Tan Hai and Cui Chengyi had brought before him, his voice hoarse from shouting: "I refuse to smoke this stuff!" Although he still maintained his rational thinking, the intense pain caused by the opium withdrawal in his body made him almost unbearable. Meng Xiang wailed loudly, tearing at his hair and clothes, scratching himself frantically, and then banging his head against the wall, overcome with grief and anger. His face was twisted in agony as he cursed Zhang Xueliang: "You bastard! Why did you have to smoke that stuff?! Now I'm suffering like a dog! Zhang Xueliang, I curse your whole family!"

  Tan Hai and Cui Chengyi were both frightened by Meng Xiang's nearly frantic movements, and they hastily shouted: "Come quickly!"

  Mrs. Shou, Mrs. Lu, Mrs. Xu, Mrs. Ma, and several of Zhang Xueliang's younger brothers, as well as a large group of servants and maids from the Zhang household, rushed over in a hurry. Everyone saw Meng Xiang's frantic state and was at a loss for what to do. Cui Chengyi and two sturdy servants hastily restrained Meng Xiang's violently trembling body. Tan Hai flusteredly asked Mrs. Shou, "Fifth Lady, what can be done? The military commander's opium addiction has relapsed again, but he refuses to smoke anymore. What should we do?"

  "Quickly go and invite the doctor!"

  Meng Xiang had been tormented by opium addiction until his eyes rolled back and he spat out white foam. He called out unclearly: "Quickly, prepare a bucket of iced water for me! Quickly, I really can't hold on any longer!" He howled like a wounded beast.

  Madam Shou hastily ordered everyone: "Quickly prepare iced water for Han Ying! Hurry! Hurry!"

  People rushed to the bathroom, poured a large vat of cold water, and added a large bucket of crushed ice. The Zhang family's mansion had an underground cellar for storing ice blocks in winter, so they could have cool relief in summer. Meng Xiang pushed away the crowd, jumped up, and rushed into the bathroom, trying his best to control the palpitations and opium cravings that were rising up. He quickly took off his clothes and jumped directly into the vat of icy water. The feeling of being immersed in the cold water made him almost jump out again, freezing Meng Xiang's teeth chattering, almost screaming. He gritted his teeth, took a deep breath, and submerged himself underwater. This method was actually inspired by Meng Xiang watching Sun Honglei and Gu Tianle star in the movie "Drug War": people who take drugs for the first time can relieve or reduce their dependence on the drug by immediately soaking in ice water after taking it. Although this ice bath made Meng Xiang feel like he was going to die, it did shift his attention and alleviate the pain of opium withdrawal.