After finishing the family meeting, Cheng Jinyang finally emerged from the conference hall, letting out a long sigh.
Suddenly, an uncontrollable sadness washed over him, as if his second uncle and the others had died in vain.
Well.
Though, on further thought, at least from the moment they agreed to join the military adventure project until Yu Yuangui reissued the summons today, the Shendu Cheng family had indeed enjoyed a period of safety, allowing the war-weary family members to catch their breath.
Even though the notion of "when a person dies, their affairs cease" is inevitable, and now without a fifth-grade supernatural, the Shendu Cheng family truly needed to demonstrate more aggressive loyalty to maintain their noble status.
Even though his second uncle and the others were willing to sacrifice for the family, and even upon learning that Taicheng had now reneged, Cousin Huaiyan and Cousin Yuexian did not blame him for his initial decision.
But...
Cheng Jinyang felt a fire burning in his chest, ready to burst out through his throat at any moment. He wanted to find a place to vent, even if it was just shouting out loud.
Yet, reason told him that doing so would be pointless.
As the head of the Shendu Cheng family, he should put aside any personal feelings and view matters purely from a perspective of benefit.
But.
Sigh.
He felt like he was going to explode.
"What's wrong with you?" Miss Qingqing's voice sounded beside him.
"I want to kill someone," Cheng Jinyang said.
"Who do you want to kill?"
"Some demons... or something."
"Idiot." Miss Qingqing laughed, "I can see you've been under a lot of stress lately."
"But killing... isn't a suitable way to relieve stress. Why don't you learn to cook with me? At least washing fruit and cutting vegetables can be quite calming."
"No cooking for me. But, 'killing isn't a suitable way to relieve stress' — it's really strange to hear that from you."
"Strange? But I think I'm the most qualified to say that." Chu Qingqing said with a smile, "Using killing to escape reality is still a form of escapism. Precisely because I'm still deeply involved, I don't want you to fall into it with me."
"Jinyang, you've been putting too much pressure on yourself lately. Not everything can be achieved through sheer effort. Forcing yourself to bear an unbearable burden will only crush you in the end."
"Wow, you can be so gentle?" Cheng Jinyang was taken aback, "Is this what they call a gap moe?"
So, when she hugged me from behind while I was sleeping last night, was it because she saw how stressed I was and wanted to comfort me in this way? Damn, suddenly there's this motherly aura about her. Qingqing, stop adding to your character!
"What's gap moe?" Chu Qingqing said angrily, "I'm a girl, after all. Being considerate isn't unusual, right?"
"Mm, thanks for the advice," Cheng Jinyang said sincerely.
"So, feeling a bit better now?"
"A bit, but if I could have a delicious lunch cooked by Qingqing, I think I'd fully recover."
"Don't even think about it!" Chu Qingqing said with a cold smile, "In your own family estate, get your chefs to cook for you!"
"That really hurts my feelings. So, was your comfort just a formality?" Cheng Jinyang clutched his chest, looking incredulous.
"...What do you want for lunch?" Miss Qingqing asked, exasperated.
"How about scrambled eggs with shrimp and black pepper steak?"
"Okay."
Chu Qingqing turned and walked a few steps before Cheng Jinyang's hesitant voice sounded behind her:
"Hey, Qingqing... are you okay lately?"
She was silent for a moment, lowering her eyes:
"I'm fine."
"Then last night..."
"That was an accident."
An accident?
Watching Miss Qingqing walk away, Cheng Jinyang stood in silence for a while, then shook his head.
——————
Chu Qingqing personally cooked, and the food was indeed quite delicious. Not only Cheng Jinyang, but even Yang Wangshu almost swallowed her tongue, wishing she could take off her mask and eat heartily.
After lunch, his mood improved, and he began to seriously study the intelligence reports from the Jiangning District frontline.
However, by the afternoon, another piece of news disrupted his good mood.
Tianluo had captured a rebel alive at the front line. It was Cheng Qingxin's eldest son, Cheng Yizhou.
The other party seemed to have gone mad, resisting desperately when captured, causing minor injuries to several Tianluo family members.
This was certainly very strange because Cheng Yizhou, who was the same age as Cheng Jinyang, should only have a ninth-grade bloodline level. No matter what, Cheng Qingxin shouldn't have sent him to the battlefield... What does it mean that he has gone mad?
Arriving at the family dungeon, Cheng Jinyang saw Cheng Yizhou restrained in a straitjacket from a mental hospital, with a gag in his mouth to prevent him from biting his tongue to commit suicide, and a brain domain development helmet on his head.
"Since his capture, he has been continuously self-harming and attempting suicide. We had no choice but to inject him with sedatives, restrict his movements, and use a bran domain development virtual environment to confirm the situation with him."
Cheng Yuexian's face was pale as she spoke with difficulty:
"It seems he has been brainwashed."
"Brainwashed?" Cheng Jinyang was silent for a moment, then guessed the answer.
"What about the others?"
A long silence followed.
"According to the battlefield intelligence, all the Cheng family members from our uncle's lineage who entered Jiankang City..." Cheng Yuexian closed her eyes in pain, "have all become mindless death soldiers."
Cheng Jinyang stood there in a daze.
In other words, the lineage of the uncle who defected to Duke Wuchang was finished.
They had all been brainwashed by Wang Chuzhong's abilities and turned into expendable soldiers on the battlefield.
But why?
"You..." He didn't know what to say for a moment, until all the impulsive emotions in his mind slowly calmed down and rationality returned to his consciousness, "For now... let's leave it at that."
"I will ask Wang Wanrou to come and take a look."
Miss Wang quickly arrived at the Cheng family estate. Descending into the dungeon, she saw Cheng Jinyang sitting quietly on a chair at the end of the corridor, waiting for her.
Light from the high windows on the wall cast onto the dark floor, with him sitting just behind the light, his entire body shrouded in shadow, obscuring his face and upper body, his hands resting on his knees, seemingly deep in thought.
This suddenly reminded her of when she was young and went to Taicheng to find her father, who was then serving as the Grand Secretary.
At that time, her father was reporting to the Emperor. Upon hearing that the Grand Secretary's young daughter was waiting outside, the Emperor graciously allowed her to enter and wait.
Led by the Jinyiwei, she reached the depths of the palace and saw the Emperor sitting in the shadows at the end of a distant corridor.
High windows were set every few meters along the corridor walls, with beams of light cutting through the imperial banners, falling onto the carpet extending into the distance, with floating dust particles gently swirling in the air.
However, the Emperor remained in the shadows, along with the entire throne, untouched by any light, seemingly merged with the darkness.
Just like Cheng Jinyang now.
These thoughts flashed through her mind for a moment before Wang Wanrou quickly refocused, entering the prison cell accompanied by Cheng Yuexian to check Cheng Yizhou's mental state.
"Brainwashed." Miss Wang said flatly, "And very thoroughly. All subjective will has been erased, leaving only a rigid mindset to destroy the Jiankang court and the Emperor."
"Is there a way to cure him?" Cheng Jinyang's voice came from the shadows.
"There is." Wang Wanrou said.
Cheng Yuexian breathed a sigh of relief.
"But it depends on what you want to restore him to." Wang Wanrou continued.
"What do you mean?" Cheng Yuexian asked tremblingly.
"I've said it already." Wang Wanrou frowned, "His subjective will has been erased, meaning the original personality that belonged to 'Cheng Yizhou' has been completely destroyed. To use a soul as a metaphor, it's as if the soul named 'Cheng Yizhou' has been entirely hollowed out, then filled with a bunch of simple and crude mechanical thought patterns, turning him into a pure death soldier."
"I can remove those death soldier thought patterns. However, if I only do that, he will become an idiot who knows nothing, because the original elements belonging to 'Cheng Yizhou' are gone, understand?"
"Even when files are completely deleted from a computer, there is still a chance of recovery." Cheng Jinyang asked in a low voice, "Can you fix him, Wanrou?"
"Please."