Chapter 2: Sun Yu

  One moonlit night, the moon was still as bright as it was half a month ago. If you only looked at the moon, you might think that this world was still in its heyday, with everything thriving and the people living in peace and prosperity.

  Sun Yu lay alone in the broken temple, helplessly gazing at the moon. He thought to himself that only the moon was still shining brightly in this world. Whether it was a peaceful and prosperous era or a chaotic one on this vast land, the moon would never abandon them. The moon continued to shine as usual, illuminating the earth with its light, bringing a glimmer of hope, a hint of warmth, and a little comfort to people in the dark night...

  As he thought about it, Sun Yu couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness. Now his eyes had already seen some illusions, and the deceased parents and sister were smiling at him, perhaps he wouldn't live past today either, but maybe death was the best destination for a vagrant like him.

  He, who had not eaten for many days in a row, was now on the verge of death, lying motionless on the ground of a dilapidated temple. The surroundings were eerily quiet, devoid of any sound. At this moment, his heart was filled with countless emotions. Relying on his martial arts skills, he had originally thought that even in this chaotic world, he would at least be able to guarantee a warm and full life for himself. But now, the once proud and carefree him had fallen to such a state.

  Sun Yu was originally a teacher, and after his parents died, Sun Yu and his sister relied on each other for survival. However, because his sister was quite beautiful, she was taken in by a wealthy local man named Wang, who had ulterior motives. The Wang family took over their ancestral land and made Sun's sister a slave, despite her unwillingness. The Wang family was notorious for their evil deeds, including bullying men and women. In the end, Sun's sister hanged herself to preserve her chastity.

  Sun Yu was furious and reported the incident to the authorities, hoping to get justice. However, the Wang family bribed the county magistrate with a small amount of money, and instead of punishing them, they accused Sun Yu of owing them 100 taels of silver. The Wang family claimed that they had only taken in Sun's sister because she was going to be married off to pay off the debt.

  Sun Yu was outraged and scolded the county magistrate for being corrupt. As expected, he was punished, but managed to escape with his life thanks to his martial arts skills. He felt extremely angry and frustrated that he could not avenge his sister's death, and was forced to live in humiliation. He thought to himself, "What can I do? This is just the way of the world."

  At this time he lay in a ruined temple, having had nothing to eat for several days, and was utterly devoid of strength.

  However, at this moment, he saw a handsome man walking into the broken temple, coldly scanning him. Even after a long time, he still remembered the scene that night, because it was the first meeting between him and his big brother Ye Xuan.

  ……

  That handsome man holding a large sword stepped into the broken temple, he was very afraid, fearing that the person in front of him would eat him up, because in today's world, people eating people has become an extremely ordinary thing. Fortunately, the man with the big sword had no interest in him and just sat quietly on the other side.

  ……

  Ye Xuan was on the other side, alone and carefree, when he saw this young man. At first, Ye Xuan didn't pay much attention to him, although he had killed countless people before. Even if Ye Xuan had a kind heart, it wouldn't have occurred to him to come over, let alone that Ye Xuan himself was running low on dry rations and didn't know when he would next get to eat. However, when Ye Xuan took a closer look at the man in front of him, he was secretly shocked. This person had a strong physique, about seven feet tall, which was extremely rare in this chaotic world. Moreover, his hands were covered with calluses, clearly a practitioner. Looking into his eyes, Ye Xuan was even more astonished to discover that this person had a pair of resolute eyes, completely different from the refugees outside. At this moment, Ye Xuan's heart also became active, thinking: If I can use this person, he will definitely be a great help in restoring the glory of the Ye family army!

  He immediately took out the last pancake from his bag, tore it in half and handed one half to the robust man lying on the ground, saying: "Brother, it's not easy to be out on the road. In this disaster, every day is a struggle to survive. I don't have much food left either, just this last pancake. Don't refuse, let's share it." Sun Yu looked at the young man in front of him with surprise, he had already prepared himself for death by starvation, but unexpectedly, this person not only didn't kill him and eat him like those ordinary refugees outside, but also shared his last pancake with him, allowing him to survive. This was the first time he felt the warmth of humanity since he escaped.

  ……

  Then, Sun Yu leaned on this half-block of bread and walked back from the Ghost Gate, returning to the world of humans once again. He became Ye Xuan's first and most loyal adopted son in this world, blocking countless knives for Ye Xuan and becoming one of his most important generals in his conquest of the world. Later, when Sun Yu passed away, Ye Xuan also became extremely crazy and violent for a time, showing how deep their emotions were. However, that is a story for another time.

  ……

  Sun Yu was wolfing down the pastry that Ye Xuan had given him, while silently shedding tears. Sun Yu could be said to be a tough guy, his family was destroyed and he didn't cry, when Wang Caizhu wronged him he also didn't cry, when the government pursued and killed him he still didn't cry. For the sake of survival, he alone endured all these grievances in silence, bearing them in his heart. He originally thought that he had long forgotten how to cry, but when he received the pastry from Ye Xuan, facing Ye Xuan's kind and righteous smile, Sun Yu finally couldn't hold back, wailing loudly as he cried, while pouring out his tragic experiences...

  Ye Xuan didn't say a word, just sat quietly on one side, not uttering a single sentence, silently listening to Sun Yu's words. When Sun Yu finished speaking, Ye Xuan nodded slightly and only said one sentence: "Do you want revenge? If so, follow me from now on. At least following me, although we can't eat well or drink spicy food, but it won't be a life of starvation. Think about it." Sun Yu looked at Ye Xuan's resolute eyes, suddenly knelt down, knocked his head, and respectfully said to Ye Xuan: "Benefactor, from now on, no matter what, as long as you don't abandon me, I'm willing to follow you, I'll go with you all the way. After all, this life of mine was given by you, benefactor, use it however you want!"

  Ye Xuan hastily helped Sun Yu up from his knees and said slowly: "Alright, as long as you follow me, I'll treat you like my own brother, and I won't let you down. If you don't mind, call me big brother from now on, and we'll be family from now on." Upon hearing Ye Xuan's words, Sun Yu became excited and said: "Alright, big brother! Haha, Sun Yu has a brother again!"

  ……

  Tonight, Sun Yu thought a lot. In such a world, Ye Xuan was in a situation where he didn't even know if he could eat tomorrow or how long he could survive, and he completely ignored Sun Yu's plea for help as someone who was almost starving to death. However, he still shared half of the pancake with Sun Yu, allowing him to live again fortunately.

  From the moment Ye Xuan tore a piece of bread from his hand and gave it to him, Sun Yu was convinced that Ye Xuan must be a good person. Good people do things right, so following Ye Xuan should be doing good things! Although Sun Yu is slightly older than Ye Xuan, he still calls Ye Xuan "big brother". In his eyes, Ye Xuan has long been his master. The next day, after recovering some strength from eating something, Sun Yu followed Ye Xuan out of the broken temple where he was reborn and headed to Jiangwang Town in the south... And there, Ye Xuan met his good brother whom he hadn't seen for over 10 years, and finally had a troop of his own...