A month passed, then two. In the final month, the experiences of twelve-year-old Martin Ouyang in prison were all spread outside by the guards.
One of the guards once asked Martin Ouyang why he could be so cheerful every day. Martin only smiled and replied, 'The world is already dead. What is the point of struggling against misery?'
It was this statement that ignited the spirit of resistance among the locals. A rebellion broke out. Farmers joined forces with merchants, and within just seven days, they managed to gather enough weapons. It was the darkest of times—ordinary people were forbidden by the authorities to possess iron, except for butchers and certain merchants with special permits, who had to pay regular fees, essentially renting iron tools from the government.
Though they called them weapons, real iron tools were scarce. At this moment, a resourceful man stepped forward, for the local rebel forces were poorly equipped—most of their arms were made of wood.
He began planning their next move. First, he used his connections with the guards inside, as some of the soldiers were also locals, to secretly obtain the key to the armory. With their superior numbers, they seized the armory in one swift action and acquired real weapons.
However, a regiment was stationed not far away. So, after successfully overtaking the local authorities, the rebel army shut the city gates, reinforced the towers, and prepared for a life-and-death battle against the government troops.
The young Martin Ouyang was released. Yet when people said it was his bravery that inspired everyone, Martin only gave a foolish smile and insisted it had nothing to do with him. He spent most of his days sleeping, and his smile grew increasingly bizarre.
The locals believed that this cruel world had driven a perfectly good child insane. One of the guards took on the responsibility of caring for Martin Ouyang in a civilian home.
Soon, the guard noticed that Martin Ouyang’s smiles were fading, replaced only by cold, mocking grins. The guard felt a chill in his heart and wondered aloud to others if Martin was possessed, but no one believed him.
Martin Ouyang was awake for only one hour each day. The rest of the time, he slept. When he did wake, he devoured food like a wild beast, his eyes empty and indifferent to everything.
Although the guard could barely stand it, he remembered Martin Ouyang’s radiant smile during those days in prison, and so he decided to continue caring for him as always.
At the start of the battle, the defenders held the advantage. Various factions gathered, and after three years, the court took notice and dispatched a massive army to suppress them.
The war raged for seven days and nights. Both sides were exhausted. The defenders, though numerous, couldn’t keep up with supplies. When the city finally fell, rivers of blood flowed within its walls.
Everyone was branded as rebels—soldiers and civilians alike were slaughtered without mercy. In just three days, the land was filled with mourning and devastation.
By the time the city fell, Martin Ouyang had already been pushed out by the kind-hearted guard in a wheelbarrow, escaping with the fleeing masses.
But the authorities sent thousands of troops in pursuit. Anyone who escaped from the city—regardless of age or gender—was killed on sight.
On the run, the clever guard separated from the main group, narrowly avoiding capture several times. By the sixth day, he was utterly exhausted and could walk no further.
Seeing Martin Ouyang still sleeping, a cold smile on his lips, the guard grew furious and resentful. So many had died. He blamed himself, thinking that if he hadn’t spread word about Martin, perhaps fewer would have perished.
Hearing this, I couldn’t help but sigh. This is human nature. I thought again of Leah King—people will support you when you bring them hope, but the moment you let them down, they turn on you without hesitation.
"And then what happened?"
Regarding what Ouyang Wei said, the youth named Martin Ouyang likely became connected to Lord Dream, the Ghost Sovereign, from that time onward. It seems that the Ouyang Family has been entangled with that ghost for generations. No wonder Ouyang Wei’s father, and even her entire family, always seemed so mysterious—especially her uncle.
Later, after a bout of bitter sobbing, the guard picked up a stone from the road, intending to kill Martin Ouyang right then and there. He thought, better to end the life of someone so strange than let him survive in this world—it would be easier that way.
Yet the years of companionship stirred compassion in the guard’s heart. When the pursuers arrived—a cavalry unit of several hundred—the guard hesitated, but ultimately pushed Martin Ouyang into the woods to hide.
The guard himself wasn’t sure what he felt. He hadn’t killed Martin Ouyang, and continued to care for him, pushing him southward.
They successfully evaded the pursuers, but the guard was utterly spent, starving for days until he finally collapsed from hunger.
Then something strange happened. In his dreams, the guard saw Martin Ouyang smiling at him, just like three years ago, and Martin told him where to find food.
Upon waking, the guard hid Martin Ouyang and, though skeptical, followed his instructions. He did indeed find food and ate his fill.
After returning, the guard thanked Martin Ouyang profusely. That night, he dreamed of Martin again—this time, Martin told him where to find money and how to gamble at a nearby den, with clear instructions.
Still skeptical, the guard went early the next morning and, just as Martin Ouyang had said, won big and feasted. When he returned, he revered Martin as a deity and cared for him even more attentively.
"Did you know, Qingyuan? On the third night, Martin Ouyang said that if the guard had abandoned him, he would have died with no grave to rest in. After that, things began to change."
Hearing this, I smiled. It was the light in the guard’s humanity that saved his life.
Afterward, thanks to Martin Ouyang’s guidance, the guard found a relatively stable place. Following Martin’s step-by-step instructions, he became a powerful figure in just a year—wealthy and influential. At Martin’s request, he changed his name to Nathan Ouyang.
But as time passed, Nathan Ouyang gradually realized that Martin Ouyang was no god, but a ghost. The things Martin taught him in dreams always benefited Nathan but brought disaster to others—sometimes destroying families, sometimes causing death or illness.
All of it was connected to Martin Ouyang. Nathan’s smile faded, replaced by fear. He dreaded Martin, worried that one day, when he was old and useless, he would meet the same tragic fate as those others. So he remained constantly vigilant.
Over time, Martin Ouyang’s demands grew more excessive, even to the point of ordering Nathan to kill. With no way out, Nathan could only obey.
As the saying goes, all things unite and divide in cycles. The world settled, and the Zhu Family claimed dominion. Peace returned.
By then, Nathan Ouyang had become a dominant tycoon and merchant. The kind-hearted guard had vanished, replaced by Martin Ouyang’s puppet, steeped in corruption. Now over fifty, Nathan sought to continue the Ouyang Family line.
Nathan found many women for Martin Ouyang, but only one became pregnant with the Ouyang bloodline.
Now wealthy and powerful, Nathan decided to break free from Martin Ouyang’s control. Over the years, he’d investigated supernatural matters and gathered experts to subdue Martin.
Nathan used Martin Ouyang’s unborn child as leverage, and the experts soon discovered the truth: Martin was possessed by a vicious ghost. Once the ghost was forced out of his body, it proved to be weak and fragile.
Martin Ouyang regained consciousness, but death awaited him. Nathan Ouyang killed him without hesitation, hoping to end the threat for good. The ghost was sealed away and taken by the experts to be dealt with elsewhere.
Nathan originally intended to eliminate Martin Ouyang’s offspring as well, but after much thought, he gave the pregnant woman some money and sent her far away.
Nathan Ouyang thought he could finally rest easy and enjoy his later years, but when his house was full of descendants, strange things began to happen. His loved ones started falling into deep sleeps, showing symptoms just like Martin Ouyang. Nathan sought out famous doctors, monks, and priests, but nothing helped.
The experts who took the ghost away died on the road. The ghost they had sealed was none other than Lord Dream, the Ghost Sovereign.
Nathan Ouyang, now with one foot in the grave, possessed immense wealth, but watched as his loved ones and descendants died, one after another.
Years later, word came that a child named Cyrus Ouyang was seeking Nathan.
Nathan hurriedly had the boy brought in. At first sight, it was clear this was not Cyrus Ouyang, but Martin Ouyang reborn—especially those eyes.
"You owe me far too much. Everything you have, I gave you. From now on, I’ll make your life a living hell."
A twelve-year-old child spoke these words.
Hearing this, I sighed. I never expected the story to end this way. The once kind-hearted guard and the radiant Martin Ouyang were both destroyed by Lord Dream, the Ghost Sovereign. Such a fate is truly lamentable.