Wake up at 1:00
In the western sky, the sunset was like a bloody wound tightly pressed against the earth, the vast wilderness gradually dimmed, and in the twilight, it seemed even more desolate and bleak. The air also seemed to be frozen, filled with a pungent smell of smoke and a strong smell of blood.
A few well-fed, stout crows flew around a withered old tree twice and landed on the dry branches, using their sharp beaks stained with residual blood to casually preen their feathers, occasionally belching, as if mocking this land.
There is no smoke from the kitchen, no human voice, only house after house that has been smashed and set on fire, only flames and thick smoke that have not yet gone out, only corpses scattered all over the ground, they are human corpses.
Corpses lie scattered all over the fields, piled up like mountains.
Fresh blood had almost permeated every inch of the village's land, forming a large patch of nauseating dark red mud. Countless incomplete limbs and shattered skulls were scattered all over the dark red mud.
The sunset sank into the clouds, and the sky gradually darkened. Crows flapped their wings, circling above the village in a formation, as if they had won a victory, slowly flying away towards the darkening sky.
On the edge of the blood-colored swamp, a young man crawled out from under a pile of corpses, lying in a large character shape, his chest heaving up and down, indicating that he was still alive.
Under the flickering light, the boy's fingers moved slightly. The thick smoke smell mixed with a bloody smell rushed towards him, making him cough softly several times, and he gradually became conscious from his drowsy sleep. He moved his stiff and numb arm, trying to get up, but felt a sharp pain like needle pricks in both arms, he gritted his teeth, "ah" a soft cry, and sat up, opening his eyes at the same time.
He looked around and saw everything around him, his face immediately showed a look of horror, and he asked unconsciously: "Where is this place? How did I get here?"
He lowered his head, looked at his own body, and found that half of his body was covered in blood. He immediately got up from the ground. Seeing the corpses all around him, he trembled all over, took shaky steps backward, his face frozen, and his facial muscles twitched with fear.
He noticed that most of the people lying on the ground were wearing yellow scarves, and before he could think about where he was, he felt the ground beneath his feet tremble slightly, followed by the sound of horseshoes rolling in from a distance!
He turned around, but couldn't see clearly in the darkness how many people had come, or who they were. His only thought was to hide, to slip away to one side.
In his fear, he saw a low ditch not far away and jumped over it without hesitation, curling up his body under the ditch with only two terrified eyes staring at the darkness where the hoofbeats came from.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
His hand was placed on his own chest, feeling his heart beating faster and faster, even his breathing became more urgent, and the sound of horseshoes like thunder also got closer and closer.
In an instant, a team of cavalrymen rode into his line of sight. The knights wore iron helmets on their heads, iron armor on their bodies, and held long spears in their hands, with all the vital parts of their bodies wrapped in hard iron armor, and under the helmet, two eyes gleaming with cold light were exposed, one of the knights held a large flag in his hand, but he couldn't see the emblem on it in the dark.
"Halt!" The leading knight reined in his horse and raised his left hand, forming a ninety-degree angle, shouting loudly.
The knights all came to a halt and formed a line, their cold eyes scanning everything outside from within their helmets.
"Dismount and search all around to see if there's anything of value?" The leading knight jumped down from his horse and said loudly.
"Promise!"
The knights all dismounted one after another, holding the long spears in their hands, taking heavy steps forward, searching through the blood-soaked area ahead. With each step forward, a crisp metallic collision sound would be emitted from their bodies.
In the low ditch, he was silently watching this cavalry team of twenty people. In the reflection of the firelight, he saw clearly that large flag with an orange-red background and a golden "Han" character embroidered on it.
"Alas? Have I arrived in the Han Dynasty? Is it Western Han or Eastern Han?" His heart was filled with doubts, and he continued to look around, seeing those knights rummaging through the piles of corpses for money. He thought to himself, "They seem to be searching for money among the dead... Those who were killed all wore yellow turbans on their heads, could it be... could it be the Yellow Turban Rebellion at the end of Eastern Han? Then where is this place? And who am I..."
He lowered his head, looked at his hands and feet, and was shocked to find that his body wasn't even his own. The thick arms, the wide palms, and the clothes on his body were exactly the same as those of the Han soldiers, the only difference being that he wore a complete suit of armor, with a heavy copper helmet on his head.
"What's going on? Didn't I get into a car accident and was taken to the hospital by an ambulance? Could it be... could I have already died? Then what am I now... a spirit possessing a body?"
Suddenly, a memory of his death flashed through his mind. His name was Tang Liang, the boss of a company. He had been drinking for business and drove home drunk. As he sped past an intersection, he didn't see the red light turn on... At almost the same time, a heavy truck came from the side and crashed into him...
The moon broke through the thick clouds, slowly climbed up, and shone its bright light on the earth. The earth was quickly covered with a layer of silver gray, and even in the dark night, there was a faint light.
On the ground above, those knights were still searching for money in the pile of corpses, busy with joy.
He turned around under the earth trench, with his back against the yellow soil, raised his head to look at the moon hanging high in the night sky, and let out a faint sigh.
The sigh was very low, and the knights' footsteps covered it up completely.
He lowered his eyelids, raised his own blood-stained hands, and pinched his thigh again, feeling the pain, not dreaming. He moved his hands and feet, but did not feel any injuries on himself, and could not guess how the person he was attached to had died.
At this moment, another memory that didn't belong to him appeared in his mind. He clearly remembered that his name was Gao Fei, and he was the Front Army Sima of General Lu Zhi's camp in Beizhonglang. He led 400 cavalrymen to pursue the surrounded Yellow Turban bandits, but unexpectedly found himself outnumbered and surrounded by the enemy. He fought desperately, killing more and more bandits, but his comrades fell one after another. Finally, he died from exhaustion.
Two memories, yet sharing the same body, he suddenly felt a severe headache as two incompatible memories collided. One was a company boss with a wife and children, a career; the other was a young general leading thousands of soldiers, fighting on the battlefield... His mind was in turmoil, he had to use his own will to reconcile these two memories.
A gentle breeze blew across his face, but the air was still thick with the smell of blood. He leaned against the mound of earth behind him and noticed that in front of him, a pack of wolves emerged from the thicket, their eyes glowing green, mouths open wide, revealing rows of white teeth, their fur standing on end as they stared intently at him.
He saw the few wolves exposing their sharp claws, running towards him quickly, and let out a sharp howl. In his panic, he no longer cared whether he was Tang Liang or Gao Fei, instinctively climbed up the slope, and shouted loudly: "There are wolves! Wolves... wolves... help!"
The howling of the wolves startled the knights who were searching for corpses, they turned around and saw a blood-stained man running towards them desperately, followed by frightened horses and four wolves with bared teeth.
"These beasts!" The leading knight inserted his long spear into the ground, drew a long sword from the scabbard hanging at his waist, spat on the ground, and made an eye gesture to the knights beside him. The other knights followed suit, drawing their own long swords, with cold gleaming white blades aimed at the approaching wolves, and shielding Highfly and the horses behind them.
The wild wolves suddenly rushed forward and the knights skillfully swung their long swords, chopping them into a mess in an instant.
The leading knight took a step back, sheathed his long sword, and hastily turned around to look at the approaching person, still with a hint of surprise on his face. He hurriedly clasped his fists together in salute and said: "Great... sir... I am Lu Heng, reporting for duty!"
"See the lord!" The other knights also sheathed their swords and bowed in unison.
He heard those people's cries and didn't speak, relying on his high-flying memories to search for the leader of the knights in front of him.
Lu Heng saw Gao Fei's wooden expression, with a hint of terror, and said: "Sir, I searched the entire battlefield and couldn't find you anywhere. I thought you were already... But now that you've narrowly escaped disaster, it must be heaven's will. Sir, we came under the orders of General Lu to bury our army's corpses, but instead we met you - what a joyous occasion!"
Lu Heng, a native of Youzhou Shanggu, was the head of the garrison and also one of Gao Fei's personal guards. He remembered this person in front of him, sizing up Lu Heng, who looked to be twenty-six or seven years old, with an average build, his entire body rippling with muscles, exceptionally sturdy, a pair of deep-set eyes shining with wisdom and sharpness, a fine and curly beard on either side of his face adding a few points of maturity and experience. His facial features and physique were as if carved by a knife or axe, with clear-cut outlines, displaying a kind of strength and willpower, standing there straight and tall, truly an iron-like man.
He looked Lu Heng up and down, then smiled: "Even if you die, I won't die!"
Lu Heng and some others burst out laughing.
The laughter stopped, and Lu Heng said, "Sir, it's not suitable for us to stay here for long. Let's deal with these corpses as soon as possible!"
He nodded and immediately ordered, looking at his body again, he thought to himself: "I didn't expect that I would actually come to the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty. In this era of continuous war and heroes competing for hegemony, I must have my own achievements. Tang Liang is already dead, since heaven has given me a chance to start over, let me soar in this era and stir up a wave!"
Gao Feng and Lu Xiang together searched for the bodies of the Han army, dug a large pit nearby, and buried the bodies. Afterwards, they piled up all the bodies of the Yellow Turbans, and burned them with fire. After finishing all this, Gao Feng had Lu Xiang lead the way in front, and returned to camp together with them.
Gao Fei rode on horseback, and although he was a novice at riding horses, he was so skilled that he didn't feel the slightest bump. It wasn't until then that he remembered his own background: Gao Fei, courtesy name Zi Yu, from Liangzhou Longxi, had been familiar with archery and horsemanship since childhood. At the age of 15, he was selected as a Langya officer. After the Yellow Turban Rebellion, at the age of 18, due to the lack of lower-ranking military officers in the imperial court, he was exceptionally promoted from Langya officer to Military Officer of various departments. He became the Front Army Officer under the command of General Lu Zhi, who was under the jurisdiction of Lu Zhi, and went to Hebei to suppress the Yellow Turban army. His position was outside Guangzong City.
On the road, Gao Fei carefully recalled everything about himself and all things related to this era...
