Afterword: Waking from the Great Dream

Hart Boksin has no relatives.

"Yes, that's what his will said. Donate to the Black Cat Orphanage charity fund, that's correct."

After Xue Ming finished explaining these matters to the telegraph operator, he happened to run into Wu Xiuwen knocking on the door.

He gestured for silence with one hand and placed the other on the telegraph operator's shoulder, telling him to keep ringing the bell and not to be so nervous.

Wu Xiuwen had just woken up and returned to reality from the illusory world woven by Fragrant Dream. He had many questions in his mind that he wanted to ask his master.

After Jiang Xueming finished his telegraph work, he took the students to the tea room in the Prefect's Mansion's mansion.

This place was originally Li Kunhai's private entertainment room, but now it has become the temporary residence of the Nameless Command Headquarters.

There were several futons in the tea room where Billy the Kid and Fuyanni took their afternoon nap.

Xue Ming found a spot for Wu Xiuwen and brought over a coal stove to boil water and heat tea.

Let me introduce you.

"These two are your senior brothers."

He pointed to Billy, who was still snoring.

"By seniority, this is your third senior brother. In the Nameless Sect, he is a mechanical and electrical specialist, and he is very skilled in CNC machining."

He then pointed to Fuyanni.

"This is your fourth senior brother; he's quite good at materials science."

As soon as the kettle was placed on the stove, Xue Ming rolled up his sleeves and stared intently into Wu Xiuwen's eyes.

--This young man looks well and has recovered very well.

"They all read <Knightly Combat Techniques>, but everyone has their own specialty. Your master doesn't have any special skills; I can only be sent to the front lines to kill the enemy, which is what I'm good at."

Wu Xiuwen smiled awkwardly, letting go of the last bit of "etiquette" in his heart.

"This book was all written by you, Master. You're too modest."

Xue Ming felt only joy in her heart.

--This student seems to have finally grasped the concept.

"Yeah, you know I'm awesome, right? Do I need you to emphasize how awesome I am?"

"Hahahaha!" Wu Xiuwen clutched his stomach and laughed heartily, "Hehehehehehe!"

Jiang Xueming patted his bald head with one hand and reached for the lid to check the water with the other. Xia Bang's tea was particular; it couldn't be brewed with boiling water, but rather with water at 91 or 92 degrees Celsius for the best aroma.

He spoke with Wu Xiuwen about serious matters.

"You're awake. How are you feeling?"

Wu Xiuwen's expression became complicated, a half-smile playing on his lips.

"It's hard to describe."

Jiang Xueming: "Then tell me slowly."

"Master, you took me to a place I can't understand at all," Wu Xiuwen recounted the story from his dream. "I really, really don't know how to thank you."

Jiang Xueming: "To be more specific, this dream was woven by my primordial spirit incarnation—actually, I don't really know what you encountered or experienced in the dream. This is your inevitable path. I am not you, so I can't understand you all at once."

"Let me put it this way," Wu Xiuwen said, resting his elbow on the table and scratching his head vigorously, "I'm so anxious. I keep wanting to go back to Zhuzhou to inherit the family fortune, but it feels like I've walked into a dead end."

"Jianxiong and I have arrived in a bizarre and mysterious world."

"I deliver food in Taiye, and I don't know why, but I just understand what the food delivery business is all about."

"Take out a small box (phone), tap a few times, and food and drinks will be delivered to your door."

"I was riding a metal basket (electric scooter) through the city at breakneck speed; there were lights everywhere, and people everywhere."

"At first, I felt like my head was going to explode, so many things came rushing in all at once. Slowly, as I came to understand them, I felt relieved, because it was all both strange and familiar. I still have to pay rent every month, Xiangxiang is still selling herself, and Jianxiong, like me, is still doing odd jobs."

"There are many indentured laborers in the office building. They don't sign indentured servitude contracts, but rather three- to five-year contracts. When chatting with them, they talk about layoffs—it seems that not having indentured laborers is also a problem; without slaves to be enslaved, they panic."

"But there is no more Cai Family Village, no more Cai people."

"Later, I got into a fight with two bastards over a parking space."

When Wu Xiuwen talked about this, his face showed impatience.

"When the police came to mediate, I thought they were like the constables in Zhuzhou City, who would side with money and not reason, but it turns out..."

Gunsmith: "What was the result?"

Wu Xiuwen chuckled dryly, "I never imagined that such a thing as [upholding the law impartially] actually existed in this world."

Gunsmith: "And then?"

"Those two bastards were completely drunk and out of their minds. They were taken to sober up and will be detained and fined." Wu Xiuwen helped his master wash the tea set, then continued telling the story of his dream, "Jianxiong and I are tough as nails, we only suffered minor injuries. Iodine and gauze can take care of it, and it won't hinder our journey."

The gunsmith serves tea to his students.

"Where did you go to play?"

"So many places, so far away," Wu Xiuwen said, taking the teacup. The story in his heart was too long to tell in a short time. In the real world, he might have only slept for two or three days, but the flow of time in dreams was different.

"Jianying has a car. In the car, I saw so many people and so many things."

"While we were waiting at a red light, an old man who collected scraps went into the Shaxian snack shop. I heard him clearly—"

"--He asked the boss for food, and the boss gave him food."

"I always have doubts and suspicions in my heart."

"Where in this world is there such a good thing as a beggar reaching out and asking for something and someone actually giving it to him?"

"As a result, the old man who collected scrap even tried to use the aluminum alloy window frames he had collected in his bag to pay for his meal, but the owner of the Shaxian snack shop refused, saying it was all about mutual help."

"I don't know why, but I seem to be unable to bear seeing this kind of thing."

After drinking a cup of tea, Wu Xiuwen's speech became increasingly fluent.

"When I got to People's Square, the roads started to get congested, and then I saw a girl standing on the billboard on the third floor of the Vienna Hotel in the shopping district."

"Hey, Master, guess what happened?"

"The firefighters have arrived; they're afraid she'll jump."

"When we rescued her, we found out that this silly woman had lost her cat, so she climbed up the billboard to look for it."

"There were so many people gathered around, trying to comfort her, talking to this silly girl, telling her how wonderful life is."

"Tell her how beautiful she is, how good-looking the firefighter is, and ask her to look at him a few more times."

"Ha ha ha ha."

"Jianying drove to the north side of the mall, and across the street was a middle school, a provincial key high school."

"I saw a few high school students suddenly drop their backpacks, they were about three or four years younger than me. They were running frantically towards the alley entrance—"

"--I don't know what's going on, so I leaned out the window to take a closer look."

"A masked man carrying a travel bag rushed out of the alley, followed by several police officers. It turned out that this guy had just robbed a jewelry store and was trying to escape to the street to find a car, but these students blocked his way."

"I understood all of this, and when I woke up, it suddenly seemed unbelievable. Is this the kind of life I'm meant to have?"

"There are so many, many more stories."

"Xiangxiang, Jianying, Jianxiong, and I squeezed into one car."

"I felt pretty embarrassed, and I still felt strange when I woke up."

"She was originally a courtesan kept by my good-for-nothing godfather to entertain guests, something to be bought and sold. But suddenly she turned into a human, and even joked with me, wanting to talk to me about wedding banquets—she seemed to have become carefree and generous, undergoing a complete transformation."

"Even after getting on the highway, I was still worried about my family's assets; they were weighing me down."

"But after ten days or half a month, I've traveled to so many places, and it seems like nothing else matters anymore."

"Jianying drove me to Hulunbuir, to see the numerous lakes scattered across the grasslands, and at night we lay on the grass, gazing at the boundless sky and earth."

"I can shout at the top of my lungs, and wolves in the far distance of the wilderness seem to be responding to me. It's hilarious!"

"I don't know what I've become, Master."

"When I woke up, it seemed like I had forgotten so many things, and the rope that had been binding me so tightly had come loose."

After finishing the three cups of tea, the gunsmith waved his hand, and Jianxiong was waiting outside the door.

"Go to the side and think about it slowly, make room for Jianxiong."

Wu Xiuwen immediately retreated to the screen in the tea room and welcomed his junior brother in.

Jianxiong had just woken up, still rubbing his head and looking sleepy. He sat down in front of his master and, like his senior brother, washed his teacup.

The gunsmith casually asked, "How's your sleep quality?"

Jianxiong still can't let go of his elder brother.

"Master, I dreamt of my elder brother. Did you use your supernatural powers to take his soul away?"

The gunsmith told the truth, "No, that's fake."

Jianxiong exclaimed in surprise, "How could it be fake?"

Gunsmith: "It's fake. The dead can't be brought back to life."

Zhao Jianxiong's face darkened. As he awoke from his beautiful dream, he was slowly accepting the reality of the situation, and he murmured to himself.

"If my older brother were alive, would he also drive us on a trip?"

"Even if we send you to the surface, Jianying won't survive." The gunsmith continued, "But Jianxiong, how many Zhao Family Village are left in Shambhala? How many Zhao Brothers are still displaced? Do you think there will ever be a day when they can all drive cars and live a smooth and comfortable life?"

History will keep moving forward. Just remember what happened in your dream and the path you need to walk.

"Master came to Great Xia to save people from suffering and hardship?" Zhao Jianxiong recalled the mortal world in his dream, a living environment he could never have imagined.

"No, no, no!" the gunsmith quickly waved his hand in denial. "I told you about this from the beginning. You want me to be a moral exemplar and do this kind of thing? I don't understand it, and I don't have the ability."

"After the nameless one conquers Taiye, he needs time to rest. I still need to head north to do what I do best: slay monsters and slaughter animals. That's my job. You all should have your own path to take as well."

Is there anything else Zhao Jianxiong wanted to say?

The gunsmith shoved his foolish apprentice aside.

"You and Wu Xiuwen, continue your comprehension."

Xiangxiang sat cross-legged in front of the gunsmith, her hair disheveled. She still had many scars on her body, especially on her fingers. Her ten fingers had been tortured by the clamps, and before a professional surgeon could correct them, the Universal Elixir and White Lady's products had healed them.

The woman looked haggard, but she didn't cry.

When Jianying discussed marriage with her, she cried.

Later, when she thought about her marriage and Jianying's death, she was also constantly in tears.

In the trial hall, she was tortured and wept bitterly.

When Li Kunhai beheaded the villagers of Xiangxiangpu, she cried her heart out.

I awoke from my dream, and bid farewell to Jianying forever.

--At this moment, she didn't cry, seemingly much more rational than her younger brother Zhao Jianxiong.

Do you have any cigarettes?

As she spoke these words, it seemed as if she had adapted to modern life in a dream, transforming herself from a Xiabang native, from a meat dog, into a human being.

Jiang Xueming was quite surprised; he hadn't expected that Guan Xiangxiang would be the one who was most fully awake.

He took a pack of cigarettes out of his bag, handed it over along with a lighter, and also brought a tea mug to use as an ashtray.

Xiangxiang's movements as she lit the fire were practiced and friendly. As she rubbed her dry, yellow hair, her eyes gradually brightened.

"Fuck you! That damn God!"

She cursed and swore without restraint, losing all the reserve of a courtesan and the elegance of a young woman awaiting marriage; she was free of any constraints.

"I finally found this old man to share my life with, and now he's gone just like that."

Jiang Xueming: "I am very sorry about Jianying's matter."

"It's not your fault, I didn't mean to blame you at all." Xiangxiang scratched her nose all the way to her philtrum, still not quite used to the tobacco full of flavoring and tar. "It's just that I'm still reluctant to leave. Your magic almost made me unable to get out of there when I woke up."

"I really miss him, I really do."

The woman's eyes welled up with tears again, but she managed to hold them back after a while.

"I've really cried enough, enough already! More than ten days, that's enough, that's more than enough!"

The gunsmith nodded. "You're better than my first student—he (Tang Ning) couldn't get out of that illusion, he just couldn't escape it."

"My benefactor, you've helped me so much." Xiangxiang, shameless as she stared intently into Jiang Xueming's eyes, said, "I have another favor to ask of you."

The gunsmith shrugged and offered tea. "Go ahead and speak."

"Great!" Xiangxiang took the teacup and drank it all in one gulp. "There's another book with Jianying, isn't there?"

Gunsmith: "What book?"

Xiangxiang pointed at the gunsmith's students, one by one.

"It's the book you gave them. You also asked Zhao Jianxiong to bring a copy to Jianying at first. It's called <Knight Combat Techniques>, right?"

Gunsmith: "You want it?"

"Can't I learn?" Xiangxiang retorted.

In that instant, the gunsmith could clearly feel that determination filled the woman's eyes.

"Of course you can learn it. I wrote this book specifically to give to people who are suffering."

Xiangxiang took out Jianying's book of "Knight's Combat Techniques" from her pocket and began the ritual.

The book cover gently patted her forehead, and she stood up properly. She didn't kneel, but instead bowed to Jiang Xueming.

Perhaps you don't quite understand the significance of this ceremony, just as Hart Boxing embarked on the inevitable path of life to fill that deformed heart. In the Fast Knife, there are many other comrades who possess this strong fighting spirit. For the soldiers, as long as the fighting spirit remains, they cannot be considered defeated.

This book holds extraordinary significance for Xiangxiang; it is both her husband's keepsake and the path she will take next, perhaps even becoming a lifelong career.

Three months later, the gunsmith had already headed north, once again embarking alone on the path of slaying demons and monsters.

The story of Southeast China is not over yet; the impoverished mountains, treacherous waters, deep ravines, and ancient forests remain treacherous.

--Injustices are everywhere, and war is brewing everywhere.

In the late autumn, as the rain fell incessantly, three men in straw raincoats arrived in Changping Town.

Upon arriving at the long street of the wine shop, two tall men stood outside the door of a noodle shop to take shelter from the rain, while a short, masked man carrying luggage squeezed into the shop.

The innkeeper welcomed the guests in and was about to call the guests outside to come in and sit down.

"I'd like a bowl of dry noodles. My two brothers can stand outside; the room is full, and they don't like interacting with strangers."

The shopkeeper bowed and scraped, listening to the short man's voice, which sounded like a woman's.

"Would you like me to get some wine to warm you up?"

The shorter customer said, "No need, I'll just have a bowl of noodles. I'm not very fat and I get hungry quickly. I'll leave after I finish eating."

As they were talking, they arrived at the long table where they saw a pimp who sold human flesh, huddled together with four or five girls.

The pimp, looking fierce, cursed, "Eat! Eat more! If the master of Changping sees your skinny monkey faces, how am I supposed to price you?"

The girls kept their heads down, focused only on handling their bowls and chopsticks, not daring to utter a sound.

The pimp grabbed a broom and used it as a whip, striking anyone who ate too slowly.

"Give me some! Shopkeeper! Two more bowls, please! I'll give you plenty of money!"

The bar owner immediately called to his staff, who replied with a smile, "Alright!"

A section of a scabbard peeked out from beside the pimp's money pouch.

--The seal on this scabbard is significant; it was made by the Wuhuan Iron Cannon Factory.

The short guest lifted his straw hat, revealing Xiangxiang's true face. Her hair was neatly tied up in a bun. Recognizing the official seal on the pimp's waist, he naturally knew what was going on.

The Fast Knife's next target is the first stop in the Central Plains region, and their primary task is to capture the cannon factory in Changping Town.

At that moment, a pale and thin girl, no more than fifteen or sixteen years old, couldn't eat anymore. She spat out the dry noodles as soon as they went down her throat.

The pimp, his eyes red with rage, chased after the little girl with a broom, beating her until she screamed and cried, seemingly still not satisfied.

"You beast! You wasteful good-for-nothing! We spend money to feed you, but you can't even eat a bite!"

For a moment, the customers in the store all avoided the area, retreating to a corner, showing no intention of helping, and even their eyes held a hint of mockery.

The wicked guest drew his knife, preparing to disembowel the woman and sell her flesh, showing no intention of giving her a chance to live.

In the blink of an eye, the long table, having been kicked violently, was thrown sideways and landed squarely on the pimp's genitals.

His eyes bulged, and he heard a loud crashing sound as bowls and chopsticks fell to the ground in the hall.

Xiangxiang drew her sword and charged forward, leaping onto the table. She first chopped off the scoundrel's fingers, then kicked him in the chin, causing him to stagger and fall, blood gushing from his mouth and nose.

Hearing the commotion, Jianxiong and Xiuwen outside the door, one of them came in to seize the knife, and the other came in to tie him up; their cooperation was excellent.

After Xiangxiang finished killing the man, she put away her weapon and, without saying a word, told her two senior brothers to lift up the pimp.

"You have a knife from the gun factory; it belongs to the Government Soldiers."

"I'm looking for Commander Changping. What's his name? Where does he live?"

At this point, the guests at the bar realized what was happening, and they all looked timid and secretly slipped away.

The girls who had been sold to pimps by their parents were still eating noodles at the table. Most of them were too scared to move around. However, one simple-minded woman picked up noodles from a broken bowl on the ground and still tried to put them in her mouth.

When Xiangxiang saw this woman, it was as if she saw herself from another time and space.

She waved her hand towards the door, as if to draw her sword.

"Roll!--"

These unfortunate people immediately came to their senses and scrambled out of the door, running from one small cage to another large one.

When the pimp saw that the human flesh had grown legs and that all that silver had just vanished, he was both angry and frightened, and he cursed loudly.

"You blind bastards! Have you got some nerve?! The county magistrate won't let you get away with this!"

Xiangxiang reached out and grabbed the scoundrel's groin, when she heard a heart-wrenching scream coming from the bar.

Wu Xiuwen stood to the side, winking and making faces, his face contorted in pain, as if the one being tortured wasn't the pimp, and his Inspiration could sense the pain. Jianxiong's face was also pale, and he involuntarily clenched his legs together.

Xiangxiang put on the straw hat again, covering her true face.

"If you utter a single useless word, I'll crush one of your precious treasures. Think carefully before you speak."

As for what happened next, that's a separate story and needs to be told in a different chapter.