The Villain’s Memories Revealed

In the countless shocked gazes of the people in the heavens, Jiang Zhige once again stopped outside the cave and found the sharp stone in the snow.

He rolled up his left pant leg, stabbed the intact part of his thigh, and endured the intense pain to cut out a piece of flesh.

As he took the flesh, he repeatedly burned his own clothes to keep the fire going.

After taking the flesh, Jiang Zhige tore his right trouser leg and lied to Nangong Rou that he accidentally cut himself on a stone while he was out, and roasted the meat over the still-unburned charcoal.

Nangong Rou saw Jiang Zhige’s right lower leg exposed to the cold wind and wanted to give him her sable fur coat, but he firmly refused.

Nangong Rou didn’t argue, she remembered that Jiang Zhige had always been resistant to the cold, losing a bit of trouser leg should not be a big deal.

………….

“Foolish! How foolish! Although Fairy Nangong was young back then, she would not have died from missing a piece of meat or suffering a bit of cold. How could the Demon Emperor end up like this?”

“I cannot understand it either. If my sister’s life is life, then is his life not life? Now that he is dying, how can he accompany Fairy Nangong to the east of the city?”

“Have you ever thought that maybe the Demon Emperor never planned to make it out of this journey alive…”

As soon as these words were spoken, the people in the hall were stunned.

Recalling the previous scenes, it seemed to be true.

They were thinking about how Jiang Zhige could accompany Nangong Rou to find the plum blossom tree ten miles east of the city.

But Jiang Zhige himself only thought about keeping Nangong Rou safe.

“Demon Emperor…”

“Why did you have to come to this point?”

“I am starting to doubt whether it was the Demon Emperor who was wrong in attacking the Xuancang Holy Land today, or us.”

The people in the hall were silent, all lost in their own thoughts.

At this moment, besides shock, they were left with only shame.

It’s kind of ridiculous, how could they as outsiders understand Jiang Zhige’s feelings back then?

In fact, ever since he first cut meat for Nangong Rou, Jiang Zhige was already at death’s door.

He may have reached this point just to increase Nangong Rou’s chance of survival before he died.

Qu Yun’s face grew even darker, as he reminded everyone: “Don’t let your heart soften. Although the former Demon Emperor may have had an innocent childhood, the crimes he committed since he took control of the Heavenly Realm can’t be forgiven even if he dies a thousand times.”

The people in the hall nodded in agreement. They understood that even if Jiang Zhige was kind in his youth, it was not enough to let him off the hook.

While the hundreds of strong people in the hall remained unmoved, Nangong Rou quietly clenched her fist.

Noticing Nangong Rou’s small movement, Mo Ziyan couldn’t help but sigh.

In fact, Qu Yun’s words had a lot of ambiguity.

You said Jiang Zhige was innocent, but he was a beggar who managed to survive in a harsh environment.

You said Jiang Zhige was naive, but he once stole in public for two buns.

Therefore, the Jiang Zhige of that year was not naive, he was simply kind to Nangong Rou alone.

While the group of unrelated people inside could remain indifferent, what about Nangong Rou who witnessed these heartbreaking memories after so many years?

…

By the time Nangong Rou finished eating the meat, the snowstorm outside had already lessened significantly.

Jiang Zhige’s lips had turned white, but he still tried to maintain a normal appearance as he held Nangong Rou’s hand and walked out of the cave.

They hadn’t gone far when he suddenly stopped in his tracks and looked up at the velvety snow in the sky.

“Rou’er, from now on, you can only rely on yourself…”

Jiang Zhige’s expression was melancholy, lost in his memories.

He was orphaned at the age of three and taken in by an old beggar, always enduring hardship and poverty.

At the age of six, the old beggar died, and he began to beg on the streets, following the old beggar’s dying wish.

He wandered the streets, displaying the old beggar’s body for sympathy, just to get some food.

What troubled Jiang Zhige the most was not the disdainful gaze of others, but their pity.

Jiang Zhige had once believed that he would not be a beggar forever, and that he would soar high above the nine heavens one day.

Now he realized that it was just a joke.

Finally, Jiang Zhige remembered the past half-month of being with Nangong Rou, and a smile of contentment appeared on his lips.

Being able to meet this pure and lovely girl may be the greatest comfort in his life.

“Rou, do you want to play a game with me?”

“Play a game? Yes, please!”

Nangong Rou’s eyes lit up as she turned her head with anticipation to look at Jiang Zhige.

Jiang Zhige pondered for a moment before smiling and saying, “The game is to see who is tougher between us. The first person to speak to the other person loses. The person in front can’t turn around to look. Understand?”

“Okay, then you go in front, big brother!”

Nangong Rou immediately understood the rules of the game and wanted Jiang Zhige to go in front.

She wasn’t dumb; walking behind him allowed her to see his back, while walking in front meant she could only see the endless white snow. But as long as she could see her big brother’s back, Nangong Rou was confident that she could win.

Jiang Zhige’s expression changed, shaking his head and saying, “No, that’s unfair. Let’s decide who goes first by playing rock-paper-scissors.”

“Okay…”

Nangong Rou suddenly lost her confidence, but she couldn’t refuse Jiang Zhige. Since it was a game, it had to be fair to be fun.

Jiang Zhige struck a pose, smiling and saying, “Rou’er, I’m going to throw a fist!”

Nangong Rou’s face lit up, thinking that her big brother was going to let her win.

“Rock!”

“Paper!”

“Scissors!”

This time, Jiang Zhige didn’t go easy on Nangong Rou.

Nangong Rou’s face fell, angrily saying, “Big brother, you cheater! Big brother, you lied to me!”

She thought Jiang Zhige was going to use his fist, so she naturally used paper, but Jiang Zhige used scissors.

“Let’s honor our bet. Rou’er, you go first.”

Jiang Zhige laughed triumphantly, motioning for Nangong Rou to go in front.

“Fine, I’ll go first. Rou’er may not necessarily lose!”

Nangong Rou stomped her foot, turned around, and started walking in front.

Once Nangong Rou’s back was turned, Jiang Zhige slowly withdrew his smile.

Without the cover of childish voices, he was now like a dying man.

Pale, breathing raggedly, limping behind Nangong Rou was difficult even with him tightly pressing on his thigh wound. Every step he took left a long trail of blood on the snow.

…..

At this moment, almost the entire Heavenly Realm fell into silence.

Countless people stared at the image on the screen, some in shock, some moved, and others lost in thought.

“He…is not the Demon Emperor, just a foolish older brother who would sacrifice his life for his sister.”

“If I had such a brother in this life, I could die without regrets…”

Most people in the Heavenly Realm had not personally experienced the cruelty of the Demon Emperor, but witnessing this scene was enough to make them forget their hatred for him.

A person who could go to such lengths for his sister, how bad could he really be?