After a while, Mark and Song Yue left the royal palace in their LMV, leaving behind the others in their respective rooms.
It is the first time Song Yue was in the City of Lunaris. So, she didn't know where he was taking her. But, since he wanted to keep it a secret, she didn't ask him again and kept her eyes on the clay road.
After 30 minutes of drive, they reached a location with a giant banyan tree that was dead. The state of the surroundings indicated the settlements of an ancient civilization from thousands of years ago.
Because it is a weekday and early in the morning, there isn't anyone around the place.
Song Yue was naturally confused. "What is this place?" She asked as she got down from the vehicle.
Mark also stepped out and then spoke while staring at the tree, "That tree is known as Truth seeking Tree. According to the beliefs of the citizens of this kingdom, it is planted by Shen Erlang, the ancestor of the Shen Dynasty.
Some people believed that he became a god after acquiring the truth-seeing eye and some people believe that it is a myth.
Whatever it is, I want to tell you something at a special place and there isn't a better place than here."
Song Yue didn't understand why they traveled for fifty kilometers just to speak. But, since it seemed to be pretty much important, she decided to be patient.
"What is it?" She asked curiously.
Mark then stared at the horizon as he started to speak of the story, "I'm going to tell you a story of someone that I know. His name is Mark.
Well, this person isn't exactly from this world. He is from a place called Prague.
Mark lost his parents in a war at the age of ten and has only no relatives except for his younger brother, who is six years younger.
Because his parents died as heroes while saving twenty-two civilians and three soldiers, the government, I mean, the ruling organization provided them a house to live in and scholarships to study in institutions.
Admiring his parents, the boy dreamt of serving the homeland. However, he wasn't that gifted in physique and was very smart for his age. Eventually, Mark became a weapons designer after going through mandatory two years of military training.
At the age of twenty, he was already a team leader. Since his homeland was constantly at war, he had to create weapons of mass destruction. Yes, indirectly, he killed tens of millions of people but he was also one of the people responsible for the end of the fourth world war, which took the lives of 3.6 billion people over 39 years in various ways.
In fact, one of the reasons the war ended is because of a missile named Meteor-Z, which carries diluted anti-matter warheads. Just one of them can potentially wipe out the size of our Phoenix Empire in an instant.
And then, peaceful times arrived. Just because peace is there doesn't mean that no one wanted to start chaos. The world's most powerful mafia gang, I mean, an evil organization has learned of this genius weapon designer and his team.
At that time, without much work, Mark was enjoying his life. He doesn't have that much of great looks but I guess he was a charmer. He was also a bit of a bad boy, enjoying the company of girls very often and that weakness made him fall into a trap set by the evil organization.
Mark was abducted and imprisoned him. The evil organization wanted him to create his greatest invention, the Meteor-Z missile as the project was abandoned after the war due to the risks."
Song Yue gasped in horror, imagining the scenario of the man. "What happened to him?" She interrupted.
Mark continued with a smile, "But, he wasn't the only person who was involved in the project. He doesn't have his team and it will take a long time to create one on his own. Well, that's what he said to his captors.
They told him that he can only leave only when the weapon is ready.
So, he did what he could do. While working on the mega project, he was making other weapons for the mafia leader, who exported them to who knows what kind of organizations.
Anyway, five years later, Mark managed to secretly create anti-matter grenades with 1mg concentration in each.
He went on a full-Rambo-mode, destroying the entire facility and the people inside it, and escaped from the island on a speedboat, although with injuries.
Everything should have been fine if he had just tried to go home but he just had to contact his trusted superior because he was in another country, I mean the place that is ruled by someone else. You can think of it as another kingdom.
Anyway, within a couple of days, he reunited with his friends after five years. And he thought he would finally go home. But, soon, he realized that he was betrayed.
He tried to escape but the old injuries acted up as he was shot three times. In the end, he jumped into the ocean but never surfaced."
Song Yue didn't understand several things that he said but she could at least understand the story. She became sad and commented, "Poor guy."
Mark shook his head, "the story hasn't ended, Song Yue. It is just the beginning."
"Hmm?" She looked at him. What else is there? Did he perhaps survive? Song Yue wondered.
Mark continued with his story, "Mark thought that he would die but when reopened his eyes, he was in someone else's body with the original body's memories. His soul was merged with a young man, who was equally unfortunate."
"Eh?" Song Yue was taken aback by the development of the story. Suddenly, she felt like her fiancé wasn't telling her about someone else. She listened in patience.
"This young man is the son of the Emperor and his consort. But, he was born without ether energy and so, he was abandoned by his mother.
If that wasn't enough, even his adopted parents were mysteriously killed by a burglar and the nobles squashed the case using their authority. He developed a hatred for nobles but he doesn't have any power. Hence, he only tried to live a normal life like every other commoner out there.
But, the heavens didn't abandon him. His misfortune turned into a blessing after his soul merge with Mark within a few months. Since then, unbelievable things happened to him one after another.
He met new people, created enmities with powerful people, became rich, and even a princess of a neighboring kingdom proposed to him.
However, that darkness had never gone from his heart. The betrayal from his love, then, his superior, his friends, and the injustice faced even by the other soul he merged with, everything clustered together to give him just one goal, revenge.
He couldn't take revenge against the people from his previous life. So, all of their sins will also have to bear by the sinners of this life. Until he does that, he can never move on with his life. But, fate has another plan for him."
Now, it became clear for Song Yue even though Mark never spoke of the word Lu Zhen. She became emotional.
She pointed at him while tears filled her eyes, "It's you?"
"Yes." Mark nodded in confirmation and continued while looking straight into her eyes this time, "Do you know why I am telling you all of this? It's because you are my light, Song Yue. Ever since I met you, I started genuinely smiling in normal conversations, I stopped feeling lonely, I started worrying about someone, and I even showed mercy on my enemy, giving him a second chance.
In my life, I have lost my parents, my teammates, my friends, my brother, and probably myself. But, I don't want to lose you too."
As Song Yue already started tearing up, Mark stepped forward and grabbed her arms, "I love you as a man loves a woman, Song Yue. Please don't leave me. I'll do anything that you ask."
As the tears ran down her cheek, Song Yue responded with a request, "Can you hug me, please."
In that instant, a smile bloomed on Mark's face as he freed her and widened his arms while stepping back a bit.
Song Yue stared at him for a couple of seconds before rushing into his arms. Hugging her tightly, Mark proceeded to ask, "Will you marry me?"
Song Yue looked at him and nodded thrice before hugging him again while tearing up in happiness.
After a while, Mark and Song Yue left the royal palace in their LMV, leaving behind the others in their respective rooms.
It is the first time Song Yue was in the City of Lunaris. So, she didn't know where he was taking her. But, since he wanted to keep it a secret, she didn't ask him again and kept her eyes on the clay road.
After 30 minutes of drive, they reached a location with a giant banyan tree that was dead. The state of the surroundings indicated the settlements of an ancient civilization from thousands of years ago.
Because it is a weekday and early in the morning, there isn't anyone around the place.
Song Yue was naturally confused. "What is this place?" She asked as she got down from the vehicle.
Mark also stepped out and then spoke while staring at the tree, "That tree is known as Truth seeking Tree. According to the beliefs of the citizens of this kingdom, it is planted by Shen Erlang, the ancestor of the Shen Dynasty.
Some people believed that he became a god after acquiring the truth-seeing eye and some people believe that it is a myth.
Whatever it is, I want to tell you something at a special place and there isn't a better place than here."
Song Yue didn't understand why they traveled for fifty kilometers just to speak. But, since it seemed to be pretty much important, she decided to be patient.
"What is it?" She asked curiously.
Mark then stared at the horizon as he started to speak of the story, "I'm going to tell you a story of someone that I know. His name is Mark.
Well, this person isn't exactly from this world. He is from a place called Prague.
Mark lost his parents in a war at the age of ten and has only no relatives except for his younger brother, who is six years younger.
Because his parents died as heroes while saving twenty-two civilians and three soldiers, the government, I mean, the ruling organization provided them a house to live in and scholarships to study in institutions.
Admiring his parents, the boy dreamt of serving the homeland. However, he wasn't that gifted in physique and was very smart for his age. Eventually, Mark became a weapons designer after going through mandatory two years of military training.
At the age of twenty, he was already a team leader. Since his homeland was constantly at war, he had to create weapons of mass destruction. Yes, indirectly, he killed tens of millions of people but he was also one of the people responsible for the end of the fourth world war, which took the lives of 3.6 billion people over 39 years in various ways.
In fact, one of the reasons the war ended is because of a missile named Meteor-Z, which carries diluted anti-matter warheads. Just one of them can potentially wipe out the size of our Phoenix Empire in an instant.
And then, peaceful times arrived. Just because peace is there doesn't mean that no one wanted to start chaos. The world's most powerful mafia gang, I mean, an evil organization has learned of this genius weapon designer and his team.
At that time, without much work, Mark was enjoying his life. He doesn't have that much of great looks but I guess he was a charmer. He was also a bit of a bad boy, enjoying the company of girls very often and that weakness made him fall into a trap set by the evil organization.
Mark was abducted and imprisoned him. The evil organization wanted him to create his greatest invention, the Meteor-Z missile as the project was abandoned after the war due to the risks."
Song Yue gasped in horror, imagining the scenario of the man. "What happened to him?" She interrupted.
Mark continued with a smile, "But, he wasn't the only person who was involved in the project. He doesn't have his team and it will take a long time to create one on his own. Well, that's what he said to his captors.
They told him that he can only leave only when the weapon is ready.
So, he did what he could do. While working on the mega project, he was making other weapons for the mafia leader, who exported them to who knows what kind of organizations.
Anyway, five years later, Mark managed to secretly create anti-matter grenades with 1mg concentration in each.
He went on a full-Rambo-mode, destroying the entire facility and the people inside it, and escaped from the island on a speedboat, although with injuries.
Everything should have been fine if he had just tried to go home but he just had to contact his trusted superior because he was in another country, I mean the place that is ruled by someone else. You can think of it as another kingdom.
Anyway, within a couple of days, he reunited with his friends after five years. And he thought he would finally go home. But, soon, he realized that he was betrayed.
He tried to escape but the old injuries acted up as he was shot three times. In the end, he jumped into the ocean but never surfaced."
Song Yue didn't understand several things that he said but she could at least understand the story. She became sad and commented, "Poor guy."
Mark shook his head, "the story hasn't ended, Song Yue. It is just the beginning."
"Hmm?" She looked at him. What else is there? Did he perhaps survive? Song Yue wondered.
Mark continued with his story, "Mark thought that he would die but when reopened his eyes, he was in someone else's body with the original body's memories. His soul was merged with a young man, who was equally unfortunate."
"Eh?" Song Yue was taken aback by the development of the story. Suddenly, she felt like her fiancé wasn't telling her about someone else. She listened in patience.
"This young man is the son of the Emperor and his consort. But, he was born without ether energy and so, he was abandoned by his mother.
If that wasn't enough, even his adopted parents were mysteriously killed by a burglar and the nobles squashed the case using their authority. He developed a hatred for nobles but he doesn't have any power. Hence, he only tried to live a normal life like every other commoner out there.
But, the heavens didn't abandon him. His misfortune turned into a blessing after his soul merge with Mark within a few months. Since then, unbelievable things happened to him one after another.
He met new people, created enmities with powerful people, became rich, and even a princess of a neighboring kingdom proposed to him.
However, that darkness had never gone from his heart. The betrayal from his love, then, his superior, his friends, and the injustice faced even by the other soul he merged with, everything clustered together to give him just one goal, revenge.
He couldn't take revenge against the people from his previous life. So, all of their sins will also have to bear by the sinners of this life. Until he does that, he can never move on with his life. But, fate has another plan for him."
Now, it became clear for Song Yue even though Mark never spoke of the word Lu Zhen. She became emotional.
She pointed at him while tears filled her eyes, "It's you?"
"Yes." Mark nodded in confirmation and continued while looking straight into her eyes this time, "Do you know why I am telling you all of this? It's because you are my light, Song Yue. Ever since I met you, I started genuinely smiling in normal conversations, I stopped feeling lonely, I started worrying about someone, and I even showed mercy on my enemy, giving him a second chance.
In my life, I have lost my parents, my teammates, my friends, my brother, and probably myself. But, I don't want to lose you too."
As Song Yue already started tearing up, Mark stepped forward and grabbed her arms, "I love you as a man loves a woman, Song Yue. Please don't leave me. I'll do anything that you ask."
As the tears ran down her cheek, Song Yue responded with a request, "Can you hug me, please."
In that instant, a smile bloomed on Mark's face as he freed her and widened his arms while stepping back a bit.
Song Yue stared at him for a couple of seconds before rushing into his arms. Hugging her tightly, Mark proceeded to ask, "Will you marry me?"
Song Yue looked at him and nodded thrice before hugging him again while tearing up in happiness.
