If you're made a fake emperor, why did you change the country's name?

Sleepiness washed over me like a tide, and my vision gradually dimmed.

Consciousness plummeted rapidly in the cold, as if jumping off a cliff, just waiting to hit the bottom.

Just then, a warm feeling came over him, like a big hand, and steadily supported him.

...................

After a good night's sleep.

The little boy's brow twitched, and he woke up from his light sleep.

He rubbed his blurry eyes and realized that he had somehow gotten several pieces of clothing on him. Upon closer inspection, he saw that they were all his mother's clothes, which he had somehow wrapped around himself.

Beside him, a small flame flickered and crackled softly.

The warmth emanates from this small fire.

The mother lay beside the fire, her eyes closed and her brow furrowed, as if she were having a nightmare.

"Mother?"

The little boy instinctively nudged the woman.

The woman trembled, slowly opened her eyes, and saw that the little boy was awake; a look of melting appeared on her face.

"Mommy, we have a fire now, it's so warm!" the little boy said happily, his voice full of childish innocence.

"Yes, Mom went to gather some firewood, and it's warm now." The woman tried to sit up, but her body swayed and she couldn't stand up.

But she still wore that gentle smile, as if it were nothing.

The little boy instinctively reached out to help her up.

But he soon discovered that his mother's leg was completely useless.

He looked down and saw...

My mother's leg is missing!

It was cut cleanly at the ankle, the wound was haphazardly wrapped with rags, and dark red blood continued to seep out, staining the dry grass on the ground a scarlet red.

The little boy was so frightened that he froze and trembled all over.

"Mom...your feet..."

"It's alright," the woman comforted him, reaching out to pat his head. "You'll be fine in a while."

The little boy's gaze followed the crimson stain all the way to the outside of the house.

From the threshold of the dilapidated house to where the mother lay, there was a clear trail of tracks dragged across the snow.

That mark was also scarlet.

For the first time, he vaguely realized that some things, once lost, can never be regained.

……

Zhao Yu's consciousness emerged from the fragments of memory, and paused briefly at the edge of the sea of ​​consciousness that was being impacted by the torrent of consciousness.

Mother's love... is truly great.

In this freezing weather, where in the city can we find firewood?

It's obvious without even thinking that it was stolen.

However, the price paid was far too high.

But what is even more awe-inspiring is the motherly love that led her to crawl back to the dilapidated house with her broken leg, light a bonfire, and ward off the cold for her son.

"This is the cruel feudal era."

"Human life is as cheap as grass." Zhao Yu shook his head.

[Task progress: 80%...85%...]

not enough!

Zhao Yu dared not delay for a moment, and his mind once again peered out, retrieving another piece from the turbulent sea of ​​memory fragments.

This piece felt heavier than the previous one, even carrying a rotten, nauseating stench.

This is probably the memory that Qian Batian least wants to recall.

Consciousness, sinking in.

……

The scene changes.

A boy of twelve or thirteen years old was carrying a bundle of firewood taller than himself, walking down a dilapidated dirt alley.

His legs were strong and his steps were steady. His eyes were bright and piercing, and his face showed an undisguised excitement.

Deep within that bundle of dry firewood lay a wild rabbit he had killed.

"I'll make it for Mom when we get home!"

The boy imagined his mother's surprise when she saw the rabbit, and he couldn't suppress the smile on his face. His steps became much lighter.

But as soon as he reached the middle of the alley, the boy sensed something was wrong.

The neighbors around him looked at him strangely.

Some people would immediately lower their heads and pretend not to see him as soon as they saw him.

Some people avoided the area from a distance.

Some people even slammed their doors shut the moment they saw him.

The boy slowed his pace, a vague sense of panic rising within him.

He sensed something and took off running towards home.

"Bang!"

He pushed open the dilapidated wooden door and froze on the spot.

Inside the room, several burly men were blocking the way, their faces lewd smiles.

His mother lay on the ground, her clothes disheveled, her face filled with despair.

In that instant, the boy's mind went blank with a "buzz".

Then, a surge of excitement rushed to my head.

"I kill you!"

He roared, put down the bundle of firewood on his back, pulled out the short knife he used for chopping wood, and charged forward like a madman.

He had no martial arts background whatsoever; he was just a teenager.

But he swung his knife straight at the burly man who was leading the group.

The incident happened so suddenly that the burly man had no time to react and could only instinctively raise his arm to block.

"Pfft!"

The blade sliced ​​through, leaving a deep gash that exposed bone on the burly man's arm.

"what!"

The burly man let out a scream, and in a fit of rage, he slapped the boy away.

"Damn it, beat him to death!"

Several people surrounded the fallen boy and began punching and kicking him, targeting his vital areas.

The boy was beaten until he curled up in a ball, but he didn't utter a single groan of pain.

"No! Tian'er!"

Just then, the woman, who had come to her senses, screamed and pounced on the boy's back, using her thin body to climb onto his back.

The rain of fists and feet rained down on her.

bang bang bang...

The pain in his body, accompanied by dull groans, caused the boy to lose consciousness.

……

After some time, the bullies left, cursing and swearing.

The boy slowly awoke from his coma.

He opened his eyes, and the first thing he did was call out.

"mother……"

no respond.

He struggled to turn his head and saw his mother lying next to him, looking at him with a smile, as if she had been waiting for him to wake up.

But his breathing was so shallow that it was almost inaudible.

The woman's hand, trembling, touched his face.

But this time, the feel was quite different from before.

Without warmth, only the stickiness and coldness of blood remain...

"Hey... it's getting cold, remember to wear more clothes..."

"Eat properly..."

"If you encounter danger... don't take risks..."

"Being well... is better than anything else..."

As soon as he finished speaking, the hand that had been stroking his cheek fell limply to his side.

The woman's smile was still there, but she was already lifeless.

"Mom, Mom! Mom!"

The boy panicked and reached out to shake her awake.

My vision gradually blurred.

Warm liquid dripped down his cheeks and onto the ground.

"mom!!!"

He knew that his mother, like that broken leg, would never come back.

Tears welled up in the boy's eyes, but he didn't wipe them away. Instead, he gritted his teeth, clenched his fists tightly, and roared out each word with gusto!

"I want you all to die!!!"

……

Zhao Yu's consciousness was pulled away from this memory, and he was briefly stunned at the edge of his sea of ​​consciousness.

this.......

Zhao Yu didn't know what to say; his feelings were very complicated.

[Task progress: 90%...95%...]

The system notification brought him back to his senses.

"Phew~"

Zhao Yu let out a breath and calmed himself down.

Regardless, his work wasn't finished, and it couldn't just end like this.

Just a little bit more!

But it was too late.

The last line of defense he built with the power of the nation's destiny is collapsing at a visible speed.

Qian Batian's violent torrent of consciousness was no longer indiscriminately sweeping across the area, but began to converge, condensing into a more precise and destructive spike that tore at the edges of the defense.

At most, there are three breaths left.

Zhao Yu made a decision that was even more insane and risky than the previous two.

He no longer tries to retrieve those scattered fragments of memory.

His consciousness transformed into a barely perceptible stream of light, no longer dodging or defending, but instead charging headlong into the most intense and turbulent area of ​​that torrent of consciousness!

He wants to gamble!

The final piece of the puzzle about the gambling tyrant's motive for rebellion is hidden in that deepest, largest, and darkest memory that he suppressed!