âWhy canât I recruit troops anymore?â Shu Yichao fiddled with the screen, hoping to use his starting fund to recruit some soldiers, only to realize that he was unable to do so.
What was even weirder wasâŠ
âI canât recruit troops, but I can directly recruit heroes? What is with this setting?â Shu Yichao fell into deep thoughts. âAnd the page for recruiting heroes looks the same as the page for inviting a friend into a mod in the original Beacons of the Otherworld.â
Beacons of the Otherworld was one of the most successful games back then, so it went without saying that it allowed users to interact with one another too.
âIs the translation correct?â
Shu Yichao tapped into âHeroes Recruitmentâ. Only one hero was colored; the rest were grayed out.
âIsnât this the same as inviting a friend? The only one who is in the same psionic frequency as me is⊠Miazova? Do I have such a person in my friend list?â
Shu Yichao tried to check the personâs profile, only to accidentally tap on the âRecruitâ button.
Ksh!
Space shattered like a mirror, revealing a distorted, blood-red scenery.
Tok tok!
A figure reminiscent of a metal tower walked out of the shattered space with heavy footsteps, and the space behind them immediately recovered as if it had been an illusion.
âIt really is inviting a friend to help?â Shu Yichao was speechless. âWhat kind of nonsensical scenario is that? The players are heroes? Uhh, I guess that isnât exactly wrong.â
Players tended to be much fiercer than NPC heroes anyway.
Shu Yichao was certain that the person he had summoned was a player because of their mishmash of equipment.
He wore a combat helmet with a gas mask, along with a bamboo hat. His body was even more heavily armored than the Metal Fortresses, with an army pixelated uniform on the inside. On his waist was a military water bottle and shovel.
In his combat gloved hands was a red-tasseled spear, whereas his legs were covered in a pair of military boots.
It was bizarreâŠ
It felt like he was cosplaying multiple characters at once.
The invited friend first took a look around before his eyes fell on Shu Yichao.
âKikiki! You have summoned the demon. Tell me, mortal, what price will you pay to fulfill your⊠Huh?!â A gasp could be heard beneath the gas mask. âShu Yichao? Bastard, you are still alive? Where did you go the last few years?!â
This is bad!
Shu Yichao looked calm on the surface, but he was panicking on the inside.
Who in the world is this fellow?
He had lived in a dormitory through his elementary school, middle school, and high school. There were far too many people whom he had âloving ties withâ, be it through stealing their food or copying their homework, resulting in a Shrodingerâs relationship of father and sonâŠ
He actually couldnât tell who the other party was through his voice!
This isnât good. The other party recognizes me, but I donât know who he is⊠Iâll become this bratâs laughingstock if he finds out about it. I should first pretend to know him and find a way to probe him outâŠ
Shu Yichao quickly formulated a reply, âHow saddening. Itâs been long since we last met, but my son is talking to me in such a manner. I have failed to bring you up well.â
Shu Yichao shook his head and sighed.
Huh?!
Miazova was startled.
That fellow used to be so nice and obedient. How did he become like that in just a few years? Could it be that the few years I spent with him in this world has unknowingly affected himâŠ
No, I absolutely canât admit to that! Iâll become a laughingstock if others learn that I have been a bad influence to a child!
âOi oi oi!â Miazova plunged its red-tasseled spear into the yellow sand and rested its hand on its hip. âI fed and cleaned up after you from a young age. Iâd have been your parent if not for you going missing all of a sudden. Donât you think that you should call me father instead?â
âHow dare you rebel against me? Kowtow to me right now and call me your father!â
Both sides began arguing over who was the father and who was the child.
Clang!
Miazova immediately pulled out its red-tasseled spear, dragged Shu Yichao behind it, and pointed its spear in the direction of the sound.
Shu Yichao also leaped off his steed and drew his sword.
Tak tak tak tak!
A couple of men riding on horseback stopped a distance away from them. The one leading the group was a white-haired old man with a beard.
The old man assessed the two of them, and his eyes became exceptionally heated when he saw Shu Yichaoâs face.
That getup. That appearance. Heâs from the Central Plains!
Yes, he must be from the Central Plains! No one in this region dares to wear those kinds of clothes!
His breathing became ragged, and his hands holding onto the reins shook. With a reddened face, he gulped down his saliva, bowed, and spoke with a quivering tone, âYoung masters, I am from the Great Tang.â
He pointed to his own hair as if to prove the point.
âMay I ask if the Sage Emperor has dispatched troops? Are our men making a comeback here?â
ââŠâ
ââŠâ
Miazova lowered its red-tasseled spear and fell silent.
Having been summoned to this world before, so it had some grasp of the setting. It knew the identity of this old man. The latter wasnât a bandit but a survivor of the local population after the Great Tang lost this plot of land.
They were either scorned under Tibetan rule, lived tough lives in the countryside, or buried their names and lived under a new identity. They tolerated their plights and waited with hopeful hearts for the arrival of the reinforcements that would never come.
Meanwhile, Shu Yichao still hadnât made sense of the situation yet. He understood the context, but he struggled to string it all together to form a complete picture.
Silence ensued.
The old manâs face turned pale. He could feel his hands and legs slowly turning heavy and cold. This silence was more deafening than any spoken words.
âPardon me for disturbing you.â The old man clasped his fist before backing off with a melancholic expression. âFarewell, young masters.â
With that, the old man departed with his sons.
It was only then that it finally struck Shu Yichao. âWait, what he just saidâŠâ
He quickly tapped into the minimap and zoomed out till he could see the entire map.
âThis is!!!â
ăHm? I donât know what happened, but it looks like I have a new host. Letâs turn on the mic!ă
System 12345 cleared its throat and began communicating with its new host.
ăMy host, as you can see, this isnât a game. You have beenâŠă
Shu Yichao closed the communication windows and turned off the volume.
ă???ă
Shu Yichao quietly weeped as he nodded. âThis is indeed not just a game.â
Even though there were some differences, with a fantasy element weaved into the background, he could still recognize the setting right away. This mod was simply too sentimental!
There was no way Shu Yichao wouldnât recognize this background!
âItâs the Great Tang!â
In 755 AD, a powerful military governor named An Lushan rebelled against the Tang Dynasty.
To quell the rebellion, the emperor mobilized the elite soldiers stationed in the Western Region to the Central Plains, leaving just 10,000 soldiers to guard the area.
The Tang Dynasty did succeed in quelling the rebellion, but it suffered severe damage in the process. The Tibetan Empire took this opportunity to attack the Hexi Corridor, cutting the Tang Dynasty off from the Western Region.
The 10,000 Tang soldiers left in the Western Region found themselves isolated in the Gobi Desert, with hundreds of thousands of enemy troops eyeing them with malevolence.
In 768 AD, an envoy from the Anxi Protectorate made an arduous journey to the capital, Changâan, to tell the imperial palace that they hadnât lost the Western Region yet, and that the Tang soldiers were still fighting hard. (T/N: Anxi is the Tang Dynastyâs territory in the Western Region.)
The imperial court was moved to tears by the tenacity of their soldiers, but they had grown so weak that they couldnât even send a single soldier to reinforce them.
Thirteen years passed. Yet another envoy from Anxi arrived in Changâan.
Those energetic young lads stationed in the Western Region had grown old and sprouted white hair, but they continued to hold their ground with great tenacity. The odds were stacked against them, but they fought until the yellow sands drowned their old bodies.
âI get it now.â Shu Yichao pointed his sword to the sky and howled. âMy mission is to restore Great Tangâs glory in the Western Region! As long as I have a single arrow or sword in my hand, the whole world shall know that this land belongs to Great Tang!â
âTo think it is this talent!â Shu Yichao was overjoyed.
He opened his map once more to confirm his locations before galloping in a direction.
He knew where he had to go now.
Miazova was still staring in a daze at the departing old man. It only turned back when he heard Shu Yichaoâs excited yelp, and to its shock, the latter had already run off.
He recalled what Shu Yichao had just said, and that made him so angry that he nearly snorted his gas mask flying.
âThe Tibetans have countless shamans, as well as hundreds and thousands of warrior slaves who are impervious to stabs and slashes. Yet, you want to conquer the Western Region all by yourself? You must be tired of living! Come back here!â
Shu Yichao was too far away to hear anything.
Miazova stomped its leg in anger. It leaped onto a nearby horse and chased after Shu Yichao.
âMy accursed son, hold it right there!â
âŠ
The burning desert unknowingly turned freezingly cold, as the searing sun was replaced with dark storm clouds. A thick fog seeped out from the cracks of the sand, making the surroundings look eerie.
The horses neighed miserably out of fear.
However, Shu Yichao was unfazed.
Hu!
He finally arrived at his destination.
It was a dilapidated city with hardly anyone around.
The plaque hanging above the city gate had grown dull under the wear of time, but the word âKuchaâ could still be vaguely seen. The cold air gushing from the city caused a layer of frost to form on Shu Yichaoâs armor.
Miazova, who was following Shu Yichao, stared at the city with complicated eyes.
âWhat strong yin energy! Is that son of mine planning to enter the city?! Damn it!â
It reached into its bag, grabbed a bunch of talismans, and tossed them at Shu Yichao with a pained heart. These talismans transformed into surges of light that formed indiscernible barriers around it.
âI never thought that a day would come when I, the demon, would make a huge lossâŠâ
Neighhh!
Its horse trembled in fear, not daring to advance any further, so Miazova took out a Potion of Courage and poured it all over it.
The Potion of Courage was indeed effective. The horse first shook Miazova off its back before turning tail to flee.
ââŠâ
As soon as Miazovaâs feet stepped on the yellow sand, cold sweat started flowing down its back. A feeling of coldness and eeriness flowed up from its feet into its body. In just a moment, its legs had already stiffened up.
âShit!â Miazova took out a yellow talisman from its bag and smacked it on its legs.
There was a flash of fiery flames, and only then could it finally feel its legs again.
âUgh! My goosebumps are all coming out!â
Miazova fiddled with its gas mask and pulled out a breathing tube reminiscent of a butterflyâs proboscis. It took out a bottle of serum and breathed it in before dashing toward the city gates while cursing under its breath.
âThat unfilial son! Iâll make sure you kowtow to me a hundred times after I rescue you!â
âThe abandoned city in the middle of Gobi, the sun sets upon graves of the loyal,â Shu Yichao murmured as he strolled through the deserted city.
There was no other sound in the city other than the rustling from his movements, yet he could feel bone-chilling gazes gathering on him from the surroundings.
Shu Yichao leaped onto a pedestal in the middle of the city.
âBorn as a loyal Han clansman, die as a Great Tang soul!â
It felt as if a force 12 whirlwind was raging inside the city, unleashing the billowing icy-cold resentment.
Krk ka kak!
White bone hands covered in dirt shot out from the ground, as skeletons dressed in old armor slowly climbed out from the ground.
âThrough swan goose blood letters were sent, till an entire city filled with white-haired ghosts!â
Shu Yichao pulled out his sword and pointed it toward the distant sky. By this point, countless white-haired skeletons were groveling before him.
âGRAR!â
The white-haired skeletons roared in anger, and the city trembled under their rage.
Tah!
Shu Yichao leaped down from his pedestal and walked into the skeleton army, whose eyes followed him wherever he went.
âBrave children from the Great Tang, I know that you have waited a long time, from energetic black-haired youths into elders with snowy hair. Over the decades, you heard nary a word from your homeland and your families. You can see the sun in the sky, but Changâan was nowhere in sight.
âBut todayâŠâ
Shu Yichao stopped.
ââŠyour days of waiting are over!
âIf Changâan refuses to come to us, we shall go to Changâan instead! I shall bring you to take back Changâan, take back Beiting, take back Hexi! We shall return to the Changâan we have yearned for on countless sleepless nights. No one can stop us!â
Shu Yichaoâs voice slowly crescendoed.
âIf the Karluks block our way, we will trample them into the dirt!
âIf the Uyghurs block our way, we will drain their blood!
âIf the Tibetans block our way, we will eradicate them from the face of the world!
âOur sharp blades will slice through our enemies, even if they number in the millions!â
With a cold flash of light, Shu Yichao sliced the pedestal into two.
âI, Shu Yichao, hereby vow to accomplish everything I have said!â
Activate Soul Summoning!
Boom!
With the utterance of the vow, the yin energy gathered in Kucha began to billow.
Deathly black auras blazed forth from the white-haired skeletons and gushed toward Shu Yichao, drowning him in an instant.
âYou lunatic!â Miazova, who was barely keeping its balance amidst the powerful winds, witnessed the scene and was horrified. âDonât you know the terrifying karma youâll have to shoulder for making such a vow to those vengeful souls?! A misstep may cause those vengeful spirits to turn against you!â
However, it was too late to say anything.
The resentment and yin energy of those vengeful spirits flowed into Shu Yichaoâs body, manifesting as a black-silver breastplate, a bow, and a sword.
His breastplate comprised two ferocious beasts on his shoulders that glared down at his enemies, whereas his abdomen had a behemoth baring its fangs. His bow was shaped like a majestic eagle challenging the sky, whereas his sword was like a dragon ripping through the netherworld.
Shu Yichaoâs hair swiftly grew long, and its color lightened until it was finally white.
He turned his head around, revealing sinister blood eyes that glowed in the dark!