Republic New Policy? Executing the Old Guard, Who Am I Really! Illusions and Reality Overlap, I Can't Tell Them Apart!

The execution ground was set up in the vegetable market.

The crowd was roaring with noise.

The executioner was sharpening his blade, occasionally testing the edge with his finger.

Rows of bound prisoners stood waiting.

They were forced to the ground by burly soldiers.

Shi Wen was an inconspicuous member of the line, tied up with thick ropes.

The sharp pain of his joints aching and his skin being bitten by the ropes came through clearly, causing him to show an expression of surprise.

An illusion?

It must be a false image. I was clearly counting my loot just a moment ago; that eyeball must have trapped me in an illusion.

But this sensation is so real. If I didn't know I was currently in an illusion, I would truly believe I was one of the prisoners about to be executed.

Shi Wen was filled with shock and curiosity.

He did not understand what this place was.

And how exactly did that eyeball pull him into this phantasm?

The environment was truly too realistic!

"Shu Heng, it is merely death, why fear it?"

A frail old man with graying temples beside him said with resentment, "These damned Reformist Party members, using barbarian ways to disrupt our order and destroy our rites, will surely face divine retribution!"

"This old man has upheld the path of the sages all my life to defend the foundation of Great Liang. It is just a matter of the victor being king and the loser being the villain."

"I only hate that the heavens are unjust, allowing you thieves to run rampant..."

The old man's voice was extremely familiar, as if he were a family member with whom he had spent countless days and nights.

After listening to a few sentences, Shi Wen felt dazed.

Images of memories that did not belong to him surfaced in his mind, and at the same time, his head throbbed with agonizing pain!

"Shu Heng? Who is Shu Heng?"

"Am I Shu Heng? Is Shu Heng me?"

"Yes... I am the thirty-ninth generation direct descendant of the Tiannan Wen Clan of Great Liang, the heir to a family of sages. Because our family resisted the rebel uprising, we were trapped and ultimately ended up being beheaded in public..."

Shi Wen was in a stupor, his composure collapsing as snot and tears streamed down his face. "Grandfather, I am still young, I do not want to die!"

"Bullshit! My Wen Clan has enjoyed the grace of Great Liang for generations; we must prove our loyalty through death!!!"

The old man beside him, hearing his words, suddenly revealed an expression of fury.

He used all his strength to slam his head against Shi Wen's, baring his teeth to bite him as he roared, "Where have all your studies gone? Can a scholar still be called a scholar if he fears death?"

Shi Wen wailed and sobbed.

The soldiers carrying rifles separated the two and trampled them into the dirt.

Rumble...

The ground trembled.

A group of soldiers riding Flood Dragon Horses approached with murderous intent.

The burly soldier leading them rode his Flood Dragon Horse to the execution ground.

He stared at a certain figure.

He said coldly, "Brother Muzhi, you are the Tiannan Military Governor, tasked by heaven to shepherd the people, but why can you not see the situation clearly?"

The middle-aged man he was looking at remained silent.

He continued, "Great Liang is rotting. If you join the Republic New Policy, you will be a founding hero of the new era. The Grand President will then bestow upon you a higher official rank and status. If you and your disciples in Tiannan all join the Republic, you will all be fine ministers of the state, rising to great heights. Why die for the sake of so-called reputation?"

"You cut your hair and change your clothes, altering the calendar and the era—this is an act of offending the ancestors and defying the laws of nature. The Emperor is deceived by thieves and has neglected the state. Our Great Liang has a foundation of over eight hundred years; how can you allow your crooked heresies to shake it?"

"If I die today, it is to sacrifice myself for the laws of my ancestors, not because I am guilty!"

The middle-aged man's gaze was cold, meeting his eyes without a hint of fear.

He shouted, "In one stroke, you abolish redundant offices, leaving thousands of clerks destitute and causing a hundred industries to wither."

"You only know how to talk empty words about reform, but do you know the practicalities of the empire's canal transport, criminal law, and taxation? Who can keep them running without our kind? How long has the reform been implemented? Yet chaos is already sprouting everywhere!"

"If you truly push this across the land, the clerks will all flee and bandits will rise in every corner. You will ultimately become the culprits who destroyed the nation!!!"

Although the middle-aged man was kneeling.

He seemed taller than those who were standing!

On the spot, many others also began to curse Hong Tianwu.

"Hong Tianwu, you are the Grand Marshal of the Black Crow Army, guarding the frontiers for generations and receiving the Emperor's grace, yet today you surrender your entire army. Do you not know the meaning of shame!"

"Borrowing Tiannan under the guise of reform is an act of treason, unprecedented in history. Our lives are of no consequence, but it is a tragedy that you have buried this magnificent land."

"This old man governs to prevent rebels from plotting against the foundation of the nation. You lot colluded with traitors to carve up the territory; it is truly detestable..."

Hong Tianwu said calmly, "I am the newly appointed Commissioner of the Republic New Government and Commander-in-Chief of the Seventh Army of Tiannan. If you join us, you will surely be granted promotions and..."

"Promote your mother, get lost!!"

"Traitorous scum, everyone has the right to execute you!"

"Hong Tianwu, I curse your eighteen generations of ancestors! We will be waiting for you down below!!!"

The people at the execution ground were agitated, and one man even spat at Hong Tianwu!

Hong Tianwu, mounted on a Flood Dragon Horse, remained expressionless, merely waving his finger calmly.

The surrounding officials understood his meaning, hurriedly threw down the command tokens, and shouted, "Execute!"

The executioners at the scene received the order.

They swung their blades and beheaded Chen Muzhi, the former Military Governor of Tiannan Prefecture, first.

Following that.

Soldiers pushed these core figures of Tiannan onto the wooden blocks.

One by one, they were beheaded in turn!

There were hundreds of them, and each person reacted differently.

Some knew they were doomed and, aside from lamenting the injustice of fate and cursing the rebels, showed no fear.

Some of the pampered, cowardly, and conservative bureaucrats.

Faced with the encroaching fear of death, their convictions crumbled; some wailed in collapse, some begged for mercy, some were dazed, and some spoke incoherently.

Others chose silence to maintain their final shred of dignity.

Heads fell to the ground, and blood sprayed into the sky.

The thick, pungent scent of blood assaulted the air, drilling into the nostrils of Shi Wen.

With only a few more people left, it would soon be Shi Wen's turn.

Shi Wen's will collapsed, and the fear of death appeared on his face, "Grandfather, I don't want to die, I don't want to die!"

"Silly child, it is merely death. Grandfather will be waiting to receive you below."

The old man laughed heartily before being dragged away. The executioner's blade fell, severing his head. Scalding blood splashed onto Shi Wen's face, and that head happened to roll right in front of him. Its expression was ferocious, their eyes met, and its mouth opened as if trying to say something.

Shi Wen was horrified.

He was dragged away to his execution, wailing.

He struggled with all his might, but was grabbed by the arms by two soldiers and pressed down onto the wooden block.

The burly executioner traced a line on his neck with a hand dipped in wine, spat a mouthful of liquor onto it, and raised his blade to strike.

Just at this moment.

Shi Wen suddenly heard a series of intense cat screeches.

The cat's wailing was completely out of place with the atmosphere of the execution ground, and it simultaneously stirred his confusion.

Cat screeches? How could there be cat screeches at an execution ground?

No! I am not Wen Shuheng, I am Shi Wen!!

I am Shi Wen!

An illusion!! Everything here is an illusion!!!!

Shi Wen's eyes split at the corners as he bit down hard on his tongue.

The scene before him began to fracture; the environment of a dilapidated wooden hut, the smell of moldy floorboards, and the stifling air rushed into his senses.

A black cat was tearing at his flesh, screaming with all its might!

And in another space.

There was the scene of rolling heads, rivers of blood, and warlords standing tall!

"Damn it!"

"I can't tell them apart!!"

Shi Wen's face was twisted, and a strange memory in his mind was distorting his perception.

He was driven into a daze by the fragmented images, suffering immense pain.

In his peripheral vision.

He suddenly saw that eyeball, the size of a fist.

He took control of his remaining sliver of consciousness.

And slammed his left hand onto it!!!