410: The world is just a dream

“Of course,” Xiao Zhanmo nodded slightly, not expecting Song Mingguang to say such a thing.

He knew that Song Mingguang’s deceased friend was himself.

But…

“Why do you treat me like your friend?”

After taking a big gulp of strong liquor, Song Mingguang said with a blank look in his eyes, “Because there are some things I don’t know who to say to.”

“And I don’t know who I can say them to.”

“It’s been a whole year.”

“I still can’t get over it.”

Xiao Zhanmo raised an eyebrow and said, “I’ve heard about it. Is it the incident where your teammates died in the conflict with the Demon King Group?”

Upon hearing this, Song Mingguang’s brows furrowed in sorrow, and the hand holding the wine pot began to tremble inexplicably.

He lowered his head and said hoarsely, “Yes…”

Suddenly, he took a deep breath and his tone returned to normal.

“Do you know?”

“I’ve been ‘the child from another Family’ since I was young.”

“I am Song Mingguang, the eldest legitimate son of the Alliance’s foremost Family.”

“I possess the infinitely powerful talent of the Son of Light.”

“And I have never been negligent in my Cultivation.”

“My father always told me from a young age that you, Song Mingguang, were born to be a hero.”

“I didn’t feel that this statement was any pressure.”

“I like being a hero.”

“I like standing before the world, radiating light, and giving them the feeling of light.”

“It’s just…”

Song Mingguang suddenly choked up.

“It’s just, why did it have to be this way?”

Xiao Zhanmo raised an eyebrow but said nothing, letting Song Mingguang continue.

After another big gulp of strong liquor, his cheeks were already slightly flushed.

“When I first entered the Super God Class, my elders, everyone around me, told me that the key to my Awakening lay with a girl named ‘Hei’.”

“So I approached her.”

“Later, I didn’t expect that I would actually fall in love with her.”

“But at the time, I thought, this is great! I can interact with that girl more sincerely.”

“No girl can refuse sincerity, right?”

“And then?”

“During that time, I was immersed in my feelings for Hei and neglected my training.”

“Ultimately, it led to the death of my teammates.”

“I comforted myself, I’m only eighteen. What’s wrong with liking a girl?”

“Don’t you want to fall in love when you’re eighteen? Don’t you have someone you like?”

“Why, when it comes to me, is it a sin!?”

Song Mingguang grew more agitated as he spoke.

“Yes, it’s a sin!”

“I’m not an ordinary eighteen-year-old boy, I am Song Mingguang!”

“I am a born hero!”

“Being obsessed with feelings is wrong!”

“And causing teammates to sacrifice due to emotional matters is an even more unforgivable sin!”

“Yes, unforgivable!!!”

Song Mingguang suddenly crushed the wine pot in his hand and roared, “To this day, I don’t know how to convince myself!”

“I even wish that the one who died there was me!”

“People are dead!”

“Everything is irreparable! Nothing said is useful, nothing done is meaningful!”

“Dead is dead, gone!”

“And I don’t even have a reason to feel at peace!”

“Other teams also had members die, but they tried their best, they weren’t negligent, and they didn’t hold back in battle!”

“Only me!”

“I have no reason, no excuse.”

“It’s just failure, it’s… unforgivable!”

“From that day on, I felt like everyone around me was mocking me, blaming me.”

“Even comfort felt particularly jarring!”

“I can’t bear to hear the names of those two dead teammates.”

“As soon as I hear them, I become extremely irritable, frantic!”

“I feel like I’ve gone crazy.”

“I… I feel like I can never become that so-called hero.”

At this point, Song Mingguang let out a long sigh, his emotions finally stabilizing a little.

He had finally spoken his mind.

These words, he couldn’t say to others.

Saying them to teammates would be like complaining, grumbling; their experience wasn’t enough to understand.

Saying them to elders would make him seem utterly incompetent, like a coward. Before he even opened his mouth, he could imagine how harshly he would be criticized.

So he could only speak to this old man in front of him.

Because he was a stranger.

It was just that strange.

Some words are unspeakable to those close to you, but flow easily when spoken to a stranger.

At this moment.

Song Mingguang took another sip of wine, shook his head, and sighed, “I really want to be like Xiao Fan.”

“To die heroically.”

“To be awarded the medal of a hero, to be recorded in textbooks.”

“And not to be nailed to a pillar of shame, a pillar of shame that can never be escaped!”

Hearing this, Xiao Fan shook his head.

Failure after trying one’s best can be forgiven and understood, because that is fate, a lack of luck.

But conversely, failure without effort is one’s own problem, without excuse.

However, Song Mingguang’s failure was irreparable.

Just as he said.

People are dead, gone.

How can it be compensated?

At this moment, Song Mingguang smiled sadly and said, “Elder Xiao Zhanmo.”

“That friend I told you about, the one who resembles you, is actually Xiao Fan.”

“I’ve always wondered, what would Xiao Fan do?”

“If Xiao Fan encountered such a thing… he would probably swallow all the pain, then slaughter all those enemies, right?”

“But even then, would Xiao Fan’s heart be at peace?”

“Perhaps he could, but I can’t, you know what I mean, right?”

Xiao Zhanmo nodded slightly and said, “Talent always influences personality.”

“Light cannot tolerate darkness.”

“But I hope you calm down and think about it.”

“Is it possible that this is the key to your Awakening?”

Hearing this, Song Mingguang was stunned.

He gave a self-deprecating smile, then shook his head and said, “I’m already like this, what Awakening can there be?”

“Hmm? What do you mean by that?” Xiao Fan frowned.

“Sadness is sadness, sorrow is sorrow, but are you going to stop here?”

“Give up on yourself?”

“Surely not?”

Song Mingguang sighed and said, “You wouldn’t understand.”

Upon hearing this, Xiao Fan raised an eyebrow and said, “Come, let’s have a drink.”

With that, he took out his wine pot and clinked it with Song Mingguang.

Then he told him to drink it all.

After drinking, Song Mingguang stood up, dusted off his backside, and wanted to leave, saying that the wine he brought was finished.

But at this moment, Xiao Fan’s Storage Ring flashed.

Countless wine pots instantly filled the hundred-square-meter room, directly shocking Song Mingguang into sobering up by a third.

He asked blankly, “You… you love to drink so much?”

Wine pots filling an entire living room!

Holy crap!?

Xiao Fan smiled, “Not bad.”

He thought to himself that it wasn’t really like that.

Mainly, it was prepared specifically to fit his persona.

He didn’t expect it to come in handy today.

He knew Song Mingguang was very sad, very pained.

So he had to drink, get him drunk, make him hazy, then he wouldn’t be able to feel sad, he might even forget his sadness and just want to sneak away quickly and sleep it off at home.

When one is completely drunk, drinking more becomes torture.

So, Xiao Fan wouldn’t let him leave.

He would continue to make Song Mingguang drink until he dropped!

Drink until he was bewildered, drink until he was scared!

By then, he might not dare to shout about those sad things anymore.

Because these things would already be linked to the massive, endless amount of strong liquor, just thinking about it would fill him with dread.

This way, his heart might calm down by three points, and he could start thinking about the future.

Thinking of this, Xiao Fan revealed a “kind smile.”

“Come, Little Song, drink.”

“The world is but a grand dream, life but a few autumn chills.”

“Wine may not solve problems, but it can make you forget them.”

“This lonely old man hasn’t had much company lately.”

“You came at just the right time. Tonight, we don’t go home until we’re drunk!”