"Mmm, it's been hard for you, wife!"
With gratitude, Zhang Han commented as he walked out and rubbed his red eyes.
He was around 20 and wore a scholar's attire. However, it was ordinary clothing and one could tell that he was not an imperial scholar. He had a skinny look at they were leading poor lives.
Looking at the egg in his bowl and the soup that his wife had prepared, he had a heavy heart. "Mei'er, it has been 3 years since we've been married. Every day, you're doing the hard labour and it has been hard for you..."
Quickly, he picked up his chopsticks and started to peel the egg, but was stopped by his smiling wife. "I'm fine. Besides, what's more important is your studies!"
"One is enough for me, have more for yourself!"
Zhang Han insisted and wanted to give her another egg. Although his wife knew that he was persistent, she stood firm and rejected.
Under her supervision, Zhang Han ate his egg. Laughing, Mei'er started to eat her egg as well, delighted.
Could this be happily ever after?
Witnessing this scene, tears welled up in Zhang Han's eyes as he almost cried.
After breakfast, Mei'er cleared the table while Zhang Han appeared dazed.
Hmm, his name was Zhang Han and he was a scholar. His family had about a hectare of farmland, a few hostels, and he had a wife for himself.
When he was young, Zhang Han's family was rather affluent and could afford for him to study. However, afterwards, his siblings were fighting for their parent's inheritance. He had no grounds to fight and only inherited a little. There was no progress in his studies as well and slowly became the joke of the village. Slowly, poverty set in.
"Mei'er, don't you worry! I will become an Imperial Scholar and let you live the rest of your life in bliss!"
Zhang Han was determined as he clenched his fists.
"That's right! I shall wait for then!"
His wife, who was busy, turned around and smiled, filling his heart with encouragement.
In the ancient times, being an Imperial Scholar was a big thing. They were not obliged to greet officials and were exempted from slavery. Additionally, officials would reward them with plots of land. The top students would be given a fixed amount of staples every month. Although they were still not considered rich, they were well-to-do.
However, Zhang Han was a bit of a nerd and was unsuccessful many times in many examinations.
Zhang Han felt a little different today. As he looked at his wife rushing towards the farm, he walked over. "Let me help you!"
"That's not appropriate. You are a scholar, how can you do the menial stuff?"
Mei'er rejected his help and spoke with fear in her voice.
"Let me accompany you!"
There was nothing Zhang Han could do to convince Mei'er.
The couple walked along the farm. It was cold and there was a lining of frost on the leaves of the nearby trees.
Zhang Han casually plucked a branch and waved it around at random. As the branch cut through the air, there was a buzzing sound as though he knew swordplay.
"Husband, it is cold. You should return!"
Mei'er carried a hoe on her shoulders and spoke with worry. "Your body has always been weak..."
Since young, Zhang Han was a weak boy but now, although he did not wear thick clothing, he did not feel too cold. With a smile, he held Mei'er's hands. "Don't worry, I'm strong!"
Although this was a normal act of intimacy, Mei'er started to blush. "No... Don't do this here! If someone else sees us, we'll be in trouble!"
In the olden times, there were many rules and teachings. Even legitimate couples performing acts of intimacy in public would provoke rumours to be spread, which might cause their death!
Zhang Han was a scholar and knew this. However, he did not let go. "Look around. There's nobody!"
Both of them talked and laughed as they arrived at their own farm.
Mei'er started to tend to the farm and Zhang Han had attempted many times to help her out but was rejected. Finally, he sat on a wooden stump next to the farm and started to read his books.
As the sun rose, Mei'er started to sweat and her sweat slowly dripped onto the soil.
"Who would understand how much effort it takes to harvest rice..."
Zhang Han shook his head and placed his book down. He quickly poured a cup of tea. "Mei'er, take a rest. I can help out!"
"It's alright! I'm almost done!"
Although she claimed that she was almost done, she still stopped whatever she was doing and took the cup of tea over.
Before she could say anything else, the galloping of a horse broke the silence.
"Gallop! Gallop!"
At the horizon, a few black dots appeared. The black dots slowly grew in size and the farmers around were stunned as they looked at the horses.
Suddenly, there was a cry. "The horse bandits are here, run!"
After running a few steps forward, the farmer who cried out was soon caught up by the horse. With a flash, his head rolled onto the floor and his blood spurted everywhere. His body continued to run a few steps forward before tumbling to the ground.
"Father!"
A well-built man cried as he waved his hoe. "D*mn you! I'll fight with you!"
"Whoosh!"
Alas, he was only a farmer. His strength, technique and equipment were far off from that of the horse bandits. Amidst laughter, a horse galloped through and the long sword sliced effortlessly through the hoe and slicing the well-built man in half. His intestines and blood flowed out and it was a horrendous sight.
"Run!"
The other farmers finally realised what was going on as they ran for their lives towards the village.
"Haha..."
As the horse bandits laughed, they chased the farmers around and casually killed a few more of them.
Although there were a few hundred people in the village compared to the few horse bandits, the horse bandits were much more highly-skilled than the rest of them and the chaos which ensued made the villagers unable to regroup and defend.
"Go!"
Zhang Han grabbed his wife's hands and ran. Her hands felt cold, but there was no time to think about it.
One of them was a scholar while the other was a woman. Both of them could not run fast and started to trail behind, attracting the attention of the horse bandits.
"Eh? That lady is sweet!"
One of the horse bandits noticed Mei'er and his eyes glittered as he galloped ahead. "Haha... scholar, give me this lady!"
"Husband! Quickly leave! Don't care about me!"
Mei'er was determined as she pushed Zhang Han away.
"No!"
Zhang Han clenched his teeth. "I am willing to die together!"
"What a couple. It's a pity I won't let your wish come true!"
The horse bandit laughed and chased up to them. With a grip, he pulled Mei'er onto the horse and struck his sword on Zhang Han's head.
"Husband..."
Amidst Mei'er's wailing, Zhang Han's expression changed. Although he appeared stunned, he was already taking action.
In that instant, Zhang Han tilted his body and avoided the sword. His right hand quickly struck out and gripped the horse bandit's wrist. With a pull, the horse bandit wailed as the sword flew out of his hand.
"Clang!"
Zhang Han held the sword and sliced it in the air.
A line of blood appeared on the horse bandit's forehead as he tumbled down the horse's back.
The snatching of the sword and killing of the horse bandit happened within seconds. While the horse bandits behind were still cheering, the horse bandit in front tumbled down, which left them in shock.
"Go!"
Zhang Han leapt onto the horse and along with his wife, they galloped away.
The horse was as swift as wind as it rushed towards the remaining horse bandits.
"Die!"
As he swung his sword out, with the strength of the moving horse, he sliced another hose bandit in half.
"Ah!"
The remaining horse bandits galloped ahead and exclaimed. "How dare you kill our people!"
"Hmph!"
Zhang Han did not reply them. Instead, he controlled the horse and swung his sword out a few more times. In a few seconds, another 2 horse bandits were sliced off their horses.
"Spare me! Spare me!"
Seeing this, the last horse bandit was petrified as he turned around and escaped.
"Whoosh!"
After galloping for a few seconds, a glow flashed past and struck into the horse bandit's back. It was a sword.
As the horse neighed, it flung the corpse off its back and continued galloping.
"Phew... I would always know who would awaken first!"
After killing the horse bandits, Zhang Han stopped the horse, kept the sword and gazed at the beauty in his arms. He had mixed emotions.
"Husband... you..."
Mei'er was shocked at what had happened and has yet to compose herself.
"You've sealed your memories? What an effort!"
Zhang Han, nope! Fang Yuan sighed as he pointed his finger at her forehead.
"You..."
Mei'er's mouth was bleeding and she appeared confused. She did not believe that he husband was capable of all that he had just done. Her eyelids became heavy as she started to close them.
At that moment, she opened her eyes and had a mysterious look. "Impossible! I've already harnessed the abilities of the magical equipment and arrays. How can you become self-aware so quickly?"
If Fang Yuan did not become self-aware, the scholar would die under the sword of the horse bandit and Mei'er would act accordingly. This would surely leave a deep impression on her heart.
If she were to repeat this for a few more lifetimes in the dream, she could completely destroy Fang Yuan!
"You don't have to know this... Are you prepared to face the backlash of intruding into my dream world?"
With a sinister smile, the sword essences of the fire and water sword appeared in Fang Yuan's eyes. Slowly, it penetrated Mei'er's eyes. "Reverse this! Dream in a dream! Go!"
Fear was written all over Liu Mengmei's face. Within seconds, she fainted and lost her breath.
"I've caught you!"
With a smile, Fang Yuan carried the corpse in his hands.
He knew that she had the help of magical equipment and her dream world to recreate the past 3 years and force a snippet of memory into Fang Yuan's dream world. Strictly speaking, the dream only started from this morning. Liu Mengmei wouldn't give him so much time, or he might have the chance to become self-aware.
To complete the act to perfection, she used her own mind and sealed her own memories. It was a lot of effort for her to do this to reveal her truest emotions.
"Life is complicated like a dream! Mei'er... thank you!"
Fang Yuan dismounted from the horse, dug a grave and buried Mei'er.
Afterwards, he quickly restored his true appearance and the dream world started to crack.
As a dream master, he needed to have the strong willpower to leave the illusionary. This dream could be the best memory he would ever have, and yet it would not affect how he would live his life in the future.
Entering a dream and leaving it would be akin to being reborn!