In the darkness.
Rapid, heavy breaths echoed in the cold cave.
All eyes converged on the young Heavenly Emperor. What they saw was a face as pale as death.
And a body that kept trembling.
“Father’s dead, Mother’s dead, the whole village is gone, it’s just the two of us left. I’m your brother so I’ll protect you.”
The young Heavenly Emperor, with a shaking body, clutched the crying infant to his chest with all his might.
…
Seeing this scene, every strong figure outside the mirror was moved.
“So he is still afraid after all.”
“His courage probably comes from the baby in his arms,” someone murmured in a low voice.
A child of only five was still naive in temperament, and his parents had been ordinary people. Though he had a talent for swordsmanship, it had not been discovered.
It’s true that the later Heavenly Emperor would be invincible and dominate the world, but at this moment he was simply an ordinary child.
How could he not be afraid!
At that moment, everyone was somewhat moved.
Compared to thinking that the young Heavenly Emperor had and extraordinary temperament and unmatched audacity, watching this child, a clearly terrified yet overcoming his fear because of the baby in his arms, was undoubtedly more human and moving.
“At this time, the Heavenly Emperor is actually such a sentimental person,” someone whispered.
But that remark was more like a kind of irony.
The Heavenly Emperor was cruel, slaughtering living beings without a thought. For his own desires he caused countless lives to be bathed in blood and wiped out entire races. Those close to him, including family, siblings and lovers, were treated with even more ruthlessness.
The evils the Heavenly Emperor committed in his life were enough to make one shudder just to think about.
If such a person deserved the label “sentimental”, what an irony that would be!
These words caused many who had been moved to once again harden their gazes into indifference.
…
In the scene, the young Heavenly Emperor walked out of the cave, looked around, then without warning sprinted down the mountain.
“It seems he also understood that the dangers in this mountain are far beyond what he can handle.”
“If he continued staying in the mountains, he would definitely perish.”
“But going down the mountain is not wise either. At night the ferocious beasts are active. If he goes down now, he’ll be lucky to survive. He should at least wait until dawn.”
“He can wait, but can the baby? Perhaps the most important reason he goes down is because that’s where he can find food suitable for the baby.”
Everyone fell silent.
This child, who had just mustered the courage to fight the beast for the baby, was now leaving the mountain at night again for that same infant.
…
Perhaps by attracting a sentient ferocious beast, that had exhausted the young Heavenly Emperor’s share of bad luck.
He ran wildly the whole way and surprisingly did not see a single beast.
After about three hours, he finally reached the foot of the mountain.
In the distance lanterns flickered. It was clearly a village.
Gu Changqing dared not take the baby back to this village, so he went to another remote mountain village.
There was a relative of his here.
His father’s younger brother.
His uncle’s family was one of the wealthy households in the village and had often helped them in the past, so Gu Changqing chose to seek refuge with this uncle.
…
The Bronze Ancient Mirror could not only see images in memories but also sense the thoughts within the soul’s memory at that moment.
Therefore, when everyone sensed that Gu Changqing was going to seek his uncle’s help.
Many immediately lost interest.
After all, compared to struggling to survive in the wilderness, Gu Changqing’s entry into a life of comfort was clearly less interesting.
“I guess the Heavenly Emperor and Gu Youwei are likely to be taken in by his uncle.”
“That only makes sense, doesn’t it? A five-year-old with a baby—how could they possibly survive in this world alone?”
These words received the crowd’s tacit agreement.
But soon, the crowd’s tacit agreement was broken.
…
Knock knock!
After Gu Changqing knocked on the wooden door, a moment later a middle-aged man and a middle-aged woman appeared, leading a boy the same age as Gu Changqing into view.
“Uncle…”
The strength he had shown fighting the beast in the mountain instantly collapsed, and the Heavenly Emperor’s vision blurred once more.
He recounted his ordeal.
The uncle’s family expressed deep sympathy.
But when he asked to be taken in by the uncle’s family, the kindly middle-aged man showed a look of displeasure.
“Changqing, you know life at Uncle’s place isn’t easy. Sustaining one child is already difficult, let alone feeding the two of you.”
…
Seeing this, the strong ones outside the mirror couldn’t help but smirk.
Human hearts!
The uncle’s family had once received many favors from Gu Changqing’s family, yet upon learning of the boy’s misfortune, even blood relatives proved unreliable.
“Humans can be such cold-hearted creatures. Everyone weighs the pros and cons of each situation they’re placed in.”
“Raising one child is already difficult, let alone three.”
“Perhaps the Heavenly Emperor was driven, step by step, by these cold-hearted people into becoming a heartless and unfeeling great demon.”