Chess game

Mo Liangcheng left Ling Jingxia's tent like a walking corpse, and unconsciously returned to his own tent. Gazing at the moon in the darkness, he said sadly, "Ling Jingxia, I've fallen in love. I've fallen for you, but you've shown me that to you, I'm just a game you've meticulously planned. Ha~ This is the first time in my life I've liked a man, regardless of gender. He's simply the object of my heart's desire, but he doesn't reciprocate. How pathetic!" Mo Liangcheng smiled bitterly at the moon, and as he smiled, a single tear slowly fell into the sand and quickly disappeared.

The shadowy figure noticed Mo Liangcheng's departure and slowly released Ling Jingxia from his embrace. Ling Jingxia had barely caught his breath when the shadowy figure's casual remark reached his ears, "What do you say, how about making him a beautiful and obedient puppet?" Ling Jingxia's heart, which had just settled, jumped again. He was about to speak when the shadowy figure grabbed his chin, forcing him to look up at him. "Look, you scared me! If you're obedient, he won't become a beautiful and obedient puppet!"

Shen Muchen and Mu Siyan sat together, chatting over wine. "Do you think this war will end?" Shen Muchen looked at Mu Siyan and said slowly, "Yes, I know you've always hoped for peace and prosperity, for the people to live in peace and happiness, and for the soldiers to be able to return home and enjoy their remaining years! I also look forward to that day!" After Mu Siyan finished speaking, Shen Muchen looked at him and they both smiled.

In the afternoon, Mo Liangcheng still couldn't help but question Ling Jingxia. Shen Muchen wanted to follow, wanting to know what had happened. Mu Siyan stopped him and shook his head. Ling Jingxia wasn't surprised to see Mo Liangcheng come to him; he simply poured a cup of tea and invited him to sit down and talk. "I came here today simply to know if you truly love me?" Hearing Mo Liangcheng ask this, Ling Jingxia looked at him with a smile in his eyes and countered, "Didn't you say you weren't into men? What do you mean by asking this now?"

"It's nothing. It's just that when I went to see you once, I heard you say that all of this was because you went to great lengths to get close to me, and that your purpose in getting close to me was only to get rid of me. Is that true?" Ling Jingxia paused for a moment when she picked up her cup, and continued to drink her tea as if nothing had happened. Mo Liangcheng naturally noticed Ling Jingxia's pause and was waiting for her answer.

“Since General Mo has asked me this, I’ll be frank. Yes, from the very beginning, I deliberately planned all of this. My goal was to make you fall in love with me, to make you work for me, and ultimately, to get what I wanted.” Ling Jingxia said this half-truthfully, but Mo Liangcheng believed her. “If I had truly fallen in love with you, then our relationship would only be one of use and being used. What a brilliant plan! As expected of the eldest son of the Ling family, I, Mo, am completely impressed! If I had taken your scheme seriously this time, would your plan have succeeded, while for me, all my sincerity would have been wasted, just a game, a deception!”

As Mo Liangcheng spoke, he questioned Ling Jingxia with restraint and stoicism. Ling Jingxia felt a sharp pain in his heart, but having made this choice, there was no turning back. At least he had been pulled out of this vortex, but his heart still ached. In this final moment, Ling Jingxia absolutely could not allow this last act to go wrong. "Now that General Mo knows my character, let us part ways from now on. If we meet again, we will be strangers..."

Hearing Ling Jingxia's words, he got up and left without lingering. Ling Jingxia watched his resolute back, constantly telling himself that a better path awaited him, and that someone like him, rotten to the core, no longer deserved it. But his eyes still involuntarily reddened, and he finally broke down in tears. Just then, the shadowy figure arrived. Seeing Ling Jingxia's red eyes, he felt no pity, because the person before him had defied him. "What, you can't bear to part with him? That's not up to you. I said, if someone disobeys, someone will naturally be punished!"

Mo Liangcheng appeared unconscious before Ling Jingxia, who immediately panicked. Seeing his distraught state, the shadowy figure said, "I will turn him into your personal puppet, never leaving you, but he will never know you, is that alright?" With that, in front of Ling Jingxia, it erased Mo Liangcheng's memories and shattered his consciousness, turning him into a mindless puppet that only obeyed commands. Having done this, the shadowy figure ignored Ling Jingxia and vanished in a puff of black smoke. Ling Jingxia was utterly devastated. Why did he try to change someone's life, yet always end up hurting him? Ling Jingxia kept repeating, "I will save you, I can definitely..." his voice trembling with tears.

When Shen Muchen and Mu Siyan emerged from their tent, the scene outside had changed drastically. The army outside the city gates, though listless, exuded a murderous aura, like warriors returning from hell, charging recklessly towards the city gates. Shen Muchen and Mu Siyan, wanting to see for themselves, understood the meaning: this city had to be defended, or the people inside would suffer. A dark figure floated high above, watching the puppets, a smile playing on his lips. Jiang Yi and Jiang Chuan both realized that the person had acted ahead of time, catching them completely off guard. When Jiang Yi and Jiang Chuan arrived at the battlefield, it was already a mountain of corpses and a sea of ​​blood. Without a word, they immediately began fighting, but the puppets kept appearing, making it increasingly difficult for Mu Siyan and the others. Just when they were about to give up, Mo Liangcheng appeared, but he remembered nothing.

Ling Jingxia poured half of his life's power into repairing Mo Liangcheng's consciousness. The shadowy figure, watching Mo Liangcheng's actions, was naturally filled with hatred. He destroyed the puppets he had painstakingly created. Mo Liangcheng stood there, and the shadowy figure could feel the sun-like aura emanating from Mo Liangcheng, which stung him painfully. The shadowy figure transformed into an illusion, drawing the rest of them into the illusion.

Both Mu Siyan and Shen Muchen were in an illusion—the eve of Shen Muchen's wedding to that person. Now, it had become the eve of Mu Siyan and Shen Muchen's wedding. Mu Siyan, lucid, looked at them. 'Mu Siyan' said to Shen Muchen, "I'm so glad you're willing to marry me. I always thought I wasn't liked by others." Shen Muchen looked at 'Mu Siyan' and gave him a warm hug. Resting his chin on 'Mu Siyan's' shoulder, Shen Muchen slowly said, "Now you're a child who's liked. If you're ever unhappy, I'll be there for you. Don't worry about being alone anymore!"

Hearing these words, Mu Siyan couldn't help but want to immerse himself in them. However, he knew that Shen Muchen would never say these words to him, but only to that imposter. He envied that person for receiving Shen Muchen's unique favoritism, yet he also hated that person. If it weren't for his insatiable greed, things wouldn't have turned out this way! Watching them share a bed, Mu Siyan felt another pang of heartache. He couldn't help but hope that Shen Muchen was conscious and not being controlled by the illusion.

At the grand wedding ceremony, gods and immortals came to offer their congratulations. Mu Siyan, witnessing this familiar scene, understood the reason that person had created this illusion: to force him to kill his beloved with his own hands, while the person watched helplessly as he suffered. The illusion clearly sensed Mu Siyan struggling to break free of its control, but the shadowy figure would not allow it. Helpless, Mu Siyan…

You can only mechanically obey the illusion, obey it, and make it understand that all your struggles are in vain.

Despite being controlled by the illusion, Mu Siyan still said to Yan Yunqing, "You will always be the only one in my life. I never dared to hope that one day I could stand with you. Although the timing is not right, I still want to tell you this!" Yan Yunqing just smiled and did not notice that something was wrong. Mu Siyan used magic to make Shen Muchen fall into a coma. At the moment Yan Yunqing fell down, he looked at him in disbelief and finally closed his eyes.

"Get a good night's sleep. When you wake up, all your wishes will come true..." Mu Siyan knew that he could not leave this body. The illusion wanted them to kill each other, so it gave them a false impression. The shadowy figure was very satisfied with this scene in the illusion, but he did not intend to let them go. He took Yan Yunqing away, leaving Mu Siyan alone in the environment.

Illusions are the best at seeing into people's hearts. They know what you want most and what you fear, and then endlessly amplify those fears and desires until you are addicted to the illusion and unable to extricate yourself.

Although Mo Liangcheng was a person without memory, the illusion wove a beautiful dream for him that seemed both real and unreal. The boy stirred Mo Liangcheng's heart, and he could not deny that he had fallen for the carefree and dashing boy. The boy invited him to release lanterns together, and he agreed. By the river, the boy confessed his feelings to him. However, for Mo Liangcheng, the boy in front of him was a complete stranger, yet he still fell for him. But after the boy learned of his feelings, his expression immediately turned sour. Mo Liangcheng was completely oblivious. Mo Liangcheng's first crush was as clumsy as a child in front of the boy. He knew that the boy liked fireflies, so he caught hundreds of fireflies to surprise the boy and win a smile from him. But what he didn't know was that the boy approached him only to use him.

One day, he wanted to find the boy. He knew which star was the most beautiful and wanted the boy to see it too. But to his surprise, the boy was with someone else. All his heartfelt words were a lie. In front of that person, the boy was nothing but humble and ingratiating. But he knew that the boy's choice would never be him; it would always be that other person. He realized that he had been deceived. He left, heartbroken.

But he was unwilling to accept this. He wanted to fight for himself, but then he thought, maybe that other person was doing quite well. He had gotten what he wanted, but the boy had always loved him, Mo Liangcheng, not that other person. For the boy, he was living in a quagmire, and Mo Liangcheng was the star that pulled him up, not as dazzling as the sun, but it still illuminated him.