Merit Book·Xinghai

For human beings, no matter how honorable the status, countless money, luxurious life, and exquisite medical skills, they can only try their best to delay the coming of death, but cannot really prevent it.

The old emperor has lived for a long time. Among the Lantian people who generally live longer, he is also one of the longest-lived wave, and now he has finally come to the end of his life.There are wrinkles all over his face, the loose skin hangs down like a deflated ball, and his hands are like dry branches, covered with dark brown spots.The crown inlaid with huge gemstones, the rings that shone brightly, and the gorgeous and soft silk could not conceal the aging and death that permeated his body.

He lay on the bed, looked at his most beloved little daughter, Selinda, and raised his hand.Selinda immediately leaned over to hold the old emperor's hand, looked into his eyes, and called softly, "Father."

Seeing his daughter's round and smooth forehead, rosy cheeks, and delicate and soft skin, the old emperor could not restrain his jealousy.He closed his eyes, and when he looked at his daughter again, there was only kindness and majesty in his eyes.

"Selinda, my daughter." The old emperor took a breath and said intermittently: "I'm sorry, you will have to bear the hardest and heaviest burden in this world, and from now on, you will no longer be me My beloved little princess Selinda is now the Queen of Landia... From now on, you can no longer cry when you want, laugh when you want, go wherever you want, and be with whomever you want You can pursue it calmly. You will become a high-ranking emperor, and your relatives, friends, love, and dreams will all be unrecognizable under the royal power... Serinda, my Serinda, I will give you one last chance, you... ...Have you really decided? Are you ready? You regret it now, there is still time, there is still time..."

"Father." Selinda held the old emperor's hand and pressed it against her face, with tears in her eyes, but a gentle and lovely smile appeared on her face, and said softly: "Father, if I shrink back now , what should you do?"

The old emperor snorted and said, "There are a lot of people staring at my person, so you don't need to worry about it."

Selinda smiled and said: "Can you rest assured that the empire will be handed over to such a person?"

"As long as you are happy and happy. After I die, don't care about his flood." The old emperor said willfully: "Selinda, Father knows that your wish is to follow that kid to travel across the stars and take risks everywhere. Father ...My father used to be reluctant to let you endure hardships, so he insisted on keeping you by my side. However, my father was wrong...wrong...you should live the life you want, no matter what kind of future, as long as you feel happy, then That's enough. Go...go...do whatever you want while your father can protect you from the wind and rain again..." He pushed Sai with his old and feeble hands as he spoke. Linda actually seemed to want to push her out now.

Selinda blinked her eyes, didn't let the tears flow down, clasped the old emperor's hand together, shook her head and said with a tearful smile: "Father, I am your daughter, the princess of Landia. All along, I had the best of everything, how can I be a deserter now that it's time to take responsibility?"

"You... have decided?" the old emperor asked hesitantly.

"Yes." Selinda's voice was very soft, but her attitude was firm.

It can't be said that it was disappointment, sadness, or a sigh of relief, or the calmness that he knew earlier. The old emperor's expression was extremely complicated, and the momentary impulsiveness and willfulness quickly disappeared, and he became the one who ruled this huge world. The emperor of the empire for more than 300 years.

The room was silent for a moment, the old emperor held Serinda's hand with more strength, the wavering and sadness in his tone disappeared, and he became majestic and deep again, he said: "Selinda, this emperor, will It's more difficult than I imagined." He closed his eyes, and murmured with a hint of pain: "I am a failed emperor, whether as a father or as a monarch, I am a complete failure... I didn't pay attention. At that time, darkness had permeated the entire empire, and wherever the sun shines, there must be shadows... They are poisonous snakes lurking in the shadows, greedy wolves, when desires will never end..."

What he said became more and more vague, and Selinda didn't understand. She thought he was talking nonsense in a daze, and whispered: "Father? Father? What are you talking about?"

The old emperor's eyes opened suddenly, and his sharp gaze was fixed on a certain place in the void, as if he saw a heartbreaking enemy. His cold expression made people shudder.

Selinda was a little uneasy, and even wanted to run away from the old man for a moment.

"Selinda, my daughter." The old emperor looked at Selinda, his eyes became kind again, and he said solemnly: "You need a helper."

"Have you forgotten? There are many people around me who can help me." Sailinda said: "Uncle Lance, Mr. Right, Mr. Left, General Leopold..."

"No! No! They can't do it!" The old emperor suddenly became agitated, and his tone was fierce, and he patted the bed vigorously and objected loudly.Selinda quickly grabbed his hand and coaxed: "Okay, I understand, don't want them, don't be angry."

She finally calmed down the old emperor. Hearing the old man panting violently and making a hoarse and unpleasant sound like a bellows in his throat, Selinda leaned her head against his chest, tears rolling down silently.

Then, she felt the old emperor's chest vibrate slightly, and his unusually calm voice came from above her head: "The captain of the bird team, do you still have contact with him now?"

"It's the Feiyan team, father." Sailinda first subconsciously corrected a sentence, and then responded: "Yes. I and the captain...well, Mr. Rong...sometimes communicate by email."

She was a little hesitant to say it, because these years, as the old emperor handed over more and more affairs to Serinda, they haven't seen each other for a long time.Moreover, the old emperor had a bad impression of Rong Yuan and the Feiyan team. He believed that Serinda had a noble status and should not associate with such a wandering mercenary group. His daughter was brought on a dangerous road, and after the accident of the Feiyan team, his idea was strengthened, so he has been deliberately obstructing the contact between Sai Linda and Rong Yuan and others.

Except for the earliest time when the Feiyan team escorted Serinda back to China, this is the second time in many years that the old emperor and Serinda mentioned Rong Yuan so calmly and frankly.

"Is his ability really as powerful as you said?" the old emperor asked.

"It will only be stronger than that." Serinda said with a little pride, the affirmation and trust in her tone surprised the old emperor.Then Selinda realized the meaning of the old emperor's question, shook her head and said: "You think too much, father. The captain... is like a free wind, even if it wanders in one place temporarily, it will not stay forever Come down. But I figured if I needed help, he wouldn't say no."

"It's not enough, it's not enough!" The old emperor said, "You need a helper who will help you wholeheartedly, who will be loyal to you, who will never betray you, and who will always stand behind you!"

"You mean...Isli?" Selinda asked uncertainly.She knew about Yisli's feelings for her, but she never accepted it.

"He can't, his ability is too poor!" The old emperor vetoed without thinking.

"But, didn't you say... no matter how strong an individual is, he is nothing compared to the country?" Selinda asked back, remembering what the old emperor said before belittling Rong Yuan and others.

"I was wrong." The old emperor flatly denied his previous statement, squinting his eyes and said: "Absolute force can sometimes have the effect of overturning the universe."

"However, it is impossible for the captain to be loyal to me." Sailinda said, in her heart, she was unwilling and unable to imagine that Rong Yuan would kneel in front of her and bow her head like everyone else.

After pondering for a moment, the old emperor ordered, "Bring me the box on the cabinet."

Selinda turned her head to look, only to find an inconspicuous square box on the side cabinet. She took it and handed it to the old emperor.

With the help of Selinda, the old emperor sat up, rubbed the lid of the box, and recalled: "89 years ago, you said that the Feiyan team that rescued you had an accident, so you insisted on asking me for an army. The Pillars searched for a full ten years. Although they didn't find the person you were looking for, they found something from an alien galaxy, and this is one of them."

The old emperor opened the box, and Selinda saw a slender transparent glass tube inside. Some bright red lines that looked like characters and paintings were soaked in the colorless liquid inside the tube. Those lines seemed to be alive. Still swimming slowly in the water, looking weird and disgusting.

"What is this?" Selinda couldn't help shrinking back and asked.

"This is a legendary thing called a soul talisman. Not many people know about it." The old emperor looked at the glass tube, and the red lines seemed to sense his gaze, and they moved towards him one after another.The old emperor said: "They found three in total, one was used up, and one was handed over to the Academy of Sciences for research. This is the last one."

Selinda suddenly had a bad feeling. She bit her lip and asked softly, "Soul Talisman...what's the use?"

"Put a drop of your blood in, and the thing will become colorless and tasteless, and then give it to the man named Rong Yuan to drink it." The old emperor said indifferently: "From now on, your will is his will, Your command—even if it is to let him die—he will do it with all his heart. He will always be by your side, wholeheartedly, without any second thoughts, and will never disobey any of your orders. He will be in your hands The sharpest sword, cut off any obstacles in front of you."

Selinda's fingers twitched, her face was completely pale.She lowered her eyes and looked at the soul talisman, as if she saw the most terrifying thing in the world.After a long time, Selinda whispered: "Rong Yuan...he is like the embodiment of free will. I'm afraid he would rather die than be someone else's slave."

"He can't die." The old emperor said coldly: "The life and death of the person who drinks the soul talisman depends entirely on the master's thought. If you want him to die, he can't live; if you want him to live, he can do it even if he wants to commit suicide." No. Of course," looking at his pale-faced daughter, the old emperor added, "Even if you have a soul talisman, it's best to let someone stay by your side willingly. You can give him power, money, women, Fame, title... As the emperor, this star field is all yours, as long as it is what he wants, you can give it to him, and you don't care about petty profits."

Selinda didn't speak, her fingers were icy cold, like the ice that never melted in the imperial capital for thousands of years.

The old emperor closed the lid, held Selinda's hand tightly, and said lovingly: "Don't be afraid, child, the soul talisman sounds scary, but it's not a bad thing. In this world, people who want to be loyal to you don't know How much, you gave the only soul talisman to that Rong Yuan, which means that you will absolutely trust him in this life, this is not harming him, but his luck."

He warmed his daughter's cold fingertips with his palm, and said: "Don't worry, Father will not let you do this kind of thing in person. That person who has arranged for me by Rong Yuan's side, you just need to give me a drop Your blood, you don't need to worry about the rest, Father will arrange everything for you."

As he said, he took out a thin needle that had been prepared earlier from the box, grabbed Selinda's hand, and aimed the needle point at her finger.Selinda trembled violently, and wanted to pull her hand back, but the aging emperor was so powerful at this time, he grasped his daughter's hand tightly, and poked the needle tip in without hesitation.

A drop of bright red blood popped out.

Selinda trembled, watching in horror as the old emperor pushed open the lid of the glass tube with his thumb, and squeezed the blood beads into it.The soul talisman is like a small fish that sees the bait. They swooped up and swallowed up the blood in an instant, and their own red color gradually faded. After a few breaths, they turned into something like clear water.

The old emperor closed the lid and was about to put the glass tube back. Selinda shook, and suddenly reached out to grab it.

"Father, let me do it myself!" She heard herself say calmly.