readytorunbook Chapter 120 Dragon Travels the World 7
Chapter 120 Dragon Travels the World 7
He Yaozu let the people behind him bind his hands without any resistance, and only said, "Father, take those books from inside the room with me. It's too boring in the prison."
He Zhengjie's eyes sharpened, and his tone was resolute: "The things in this yard are all important evidence, how can I give them to you? Get out of here!"
He Yaozu was helpless but not disappointed. He had thought of this before, and he was just saying it casually. It would be good if he could take it with him, but it wouldn't be a pity if he couldn't.
Xiao Tianzan, who had been watching coldly from the sidelines, had a complicated and unreadable expression. He had been captured alive by He Yaozu and would definitely not let him go after being taken back to the government. To avoid being tortured in the future, he might as well take advantage of the moment when He Zhengjie and Zhao Yu were distracted and end his own life. That would be a quick death.
The thought crossed his mind, and Xiao Tianzan struggled to sit up, steeling his resolve to smash his head against the wall and die.
In a flash, Zhao Yu rushed over and grabbed his hair, stopping his suicide attempt.
Zhao Yu was Sima Yulong's confidant. Knowing that the king still wanted to find clues about the empress dowager through Xiao Tianzan, how could he let someone die right under his nose?
"Take them all back!"
Lord Zhao waved his hand and decisively gave the order. The men who had come with him did not dare to delay and quickly stepped forward to tie up the members of the Dragon Slaying Society and escort them back to the yamen.
Upon learning that Zhao Yu had brought back members of the Dragon Slaying Society, the king, who was using the alias Chu Tianyou, rushed to the government office and interrogated Xiao Tianzan overnight.
Xiao Tianzan's crimes are obvious and need no further explanation. What he truly cares about is the safety and whereabouts of the Empress Dowager.
Previously, Xiao Tianzan had threatened the Empress Dowager's life to set a trap for him, which makes people wonder if Xiao Tianzan really knew the Empress Dowager's whereabouts.
As for how the king interrogated Xiao Tianzan, He Yaozu was unclear, because he had returned to his cell.
It was still that empty cell, with only withered grass covering the ground for company.
He Yaozu sighed softly, sat back down by the wall, and his thoughts began to wander.
Life and death are questions that permeate human existence and can provoke endless contemplation.
But for Ho Yiu-cho, life and death were just a choice.
Being born is not difficult!
Although he has been sentenced to death, he can still save his life if he wants to, especially since he still has a card to play and is far from certain to die.
Dying is even simpler!
If you just want to give yourself a quick death, or even if you don't want to do it yourself, the execution will take place in a month.
He used to do whatever he wanted, living or dying as he pleased, not caring about the aftereffects in the next world, since he had experienced it many times before.
He was still somewhat unwilling to leave just like that.
Over the past twenty years, although he has sealed away his previous memories and has inevitably been influenced by the surrounding environment, he has now come to the point where some of his weaknesses have been exposed.
Even if the excessive pampering by Mother He and the instigation by the Dragon Slayer Society were partly to blame, the root cause was his own lack of willpower. He was easily swayed when faced with temptation and provocation, and was unable to uphold his principles, which gave the Dragon Slayer Society an opportunity to take advantage of him.
Realizing this, he couldn't help but begin to reflect on himself, and at the same time, he had to face the flaws that he had long ignored and denied.
From the very beginning of his transmigration, he began to deal with the new world passively. Even when he knew that he might transmigrate repeatedly, he used his eagerness to return home as an excuse to take extreme measures to cope with it.
If it weren't for the fact that when he transmigrated into Bai Yutang, he developed a slight interest in Chongxiao Tower and unintentionally paused the cycle of life and death, he would probably still be going through a rapid cycle of life and death right now.
Unfortunately, he was completely unaware of his shortcomings at the time, and instead kept making excuses for himself.
Looking back now, wasn't he just escaping reality back then?
Each time he travels to a new time and space, it is a chance to start over, but he uses the excuse of "wanting to go home" to refuse to participate in and experience the new world, ignoring and denying his own shortcomings.
After traveling back in time to the reigns of Emperors Qianlong and Yongzheng, his thoughts veered to another extreme.
Because of the emperor's high position and the pinnacle of imperial power, he began to manipulate power, treating the two worlds as if they were his own, and changing their shape at will.
He was very lucky! Every decision and every idea he made came true, successfully advancing the development of both worlds and leading them to an unprecedented period of prosperity. It is not hard to foresee that he will be remembered in the history of both worlds, and future generations will never forget his achievements, and may even compare him with Qin Shi Huang and Emperor Wu of Han.
But Xiao He was both their greatest strength and their greatest weakness!
It was his success in these two worlds that caused his confidence to swell, making him feel that he was really great. His confidence reached its peak, and he had already slid to the edge of arrogance.
Therefore, after transmigrating into this world as an infant, he was confident that even with his memories sealed, he would definitely become a hero of his time. Twenty years would be enough for him to achieve fame and success. When he regained his memories, he could use his experience from the previous two lives to transform this world and rapidly develop it to the same level as the previous two worlds.
Unfortunately, the imagination is often far from reality.
He overestimated his abilities and self-control. During the twenty years he lost his memory, instead of achieving the success he had imagined, he degenerated into a dissolute playboy who knew nothing of right and wrong and only knew how to enjoy himself.
He forcibly abducted women, murdered and stole wives, colluded with rebels, implicated the innocent, disobeyed his parents, and remained unrepentant until death. He was disloyal, unjust, unvirtuous, and unfilial, standing empty-handed between heaven and earth.
If he hadn't been so incompetent back then, who knows how crazy things he would have done for Zhou Yun'er later?
In other words, if he had the ability back then, what kind of situation would he be facing now?
At that time, he couldn't distinguish right from wrong. Could he have really done something that he would regret later?
Will all the things that failed in the past become reality?
Will he turn the world upside down?
He Yaozu did not use amnesia as an excuse to shirk his responsibility and mistakes. Instead, he constantly reflected on himself, analyzed himself with an almost harsh attitude, and forced himself to face his inner shortcomings and flaws.
He did not feel discouraged by the shortcomings he discovered during his self-reflection, nor did he feel indignant about his actions after his memories were sealed. Instead, he chose to deeply reflect on and criticize himself, using this as an opportunity for growth.
Move from arrogance to self-awareness, and from external success to internal growth.
“Even the ancient sages and worthies examined themselves three times a day, but I have only now realized the importance of self-reflection, and I am truly ashamed!”
He Yaozu sighed deeply, feeling somewhat ashamed.
"This incident is a lesson, reminding me that I can treat traveling through worlds as a game, but when participating in the game, I still need to take it seriously, go all out, abandon my arrogance and conceit, and avoid being blinded by past successes."
"While time travel was not my wish, everything has two sides. In the several worlds I experienced, I did gain a lot."