I kept quiet. Warsky was the only one out of all of us who was daring and shameless enough to do such a thing. That didn’t mean it wasn’t effective though. Assuming that he managed to sway even just a couple of Top 100 players to his side, Warsky Alliance’s strength would easily grow by leaps and bounds. With all that said, his real target was the players ranked 100 to 10000. These players were the first-rate experts everyone used, be it during a guild war or a Nation War. On the other hand, the Top 1 to 100 players had been locked down by the major guilds a long time ago. If they really wanted to move to greener pastures, all they needed to do was to make a wink, and countless guilds would send them their greatest offers. For example, Warsky and Wang Dongliang would invite these players to an offline meeting immediately. If possible, they would even drive them back to their gaming base so they couldn’t change their minds later.

The "hero summoning" thread was met with positive response by countless players. Despite the other thread’s extremely dubious claims, it was a fact that Warsky Alliance had taken Gold City. There were countless players out there vying to become Gold Cavalrymen because the opportunity would only come once in a lifetime. Take the Dragonlight Cavalry for example. Every single Dragonlight Cavalryman was proud of their status. They even felt taller and more confident when walking in the public and dating girls.

On a related note, both Candlelight Shadow and Blue Sky Scar had posted their own threads to apologize to their players, blame absolutely everyone and everything for their unfortunate defeat, and promise a million empty promises about the bright future of Candle Dragon. To be fair, it was a skill every leader must possess. It was impossible to make a super guild if you couldn’t do something as simple as manage your people.

I browsed the forums a bit longer and found the most useful information of everything I had read thus far. Five hours later, the CGL committee would be announcing the latest China Guild Ranking. Unless something had gone horribly wrong, Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls would finally become the number one guild and the bellwether in the China server. We would finally surpass Candle Dragon. As written in the Analects, one’s words carry weight given the right title. We had been China’s strongest guild for a while, but to earn the official recognition by the CGL itself would be so much better.

It was at this moment the beautiful waitress from earlier walked up to me with the food I ordered. "I’ve packed the food you ordered, handsome. The price is 278 RMB, but I’ll make it just 270. Please come again!"

I paid the bill and shot her a smile. Then, I ran back to the workshop.

When I opened the door and walked back to the living room, I discovered that He Yi and Murong Mingyue had fallen asleep on top of each other on the sofa. The previous 48 hours had been pretty tiring.

"Wake up, pretties. It’s lunch time…" I said.

They didn’t move a muscle.

I decided to change my tactic. "Holy shit it’s Wang Leehom!"

The effect was immediate. The girls sat up and rubbed their sleepy eyes. "Where? Where?"

I shoved my packed food in front of their face and chided them, "Fangirls. Come on!"

The girls giggled. After that, we sat around the table and chowed down like hungry bears. Seriously, they finished everything in just ten or so minutes. What if they decided to eat me like that one day? Maybe I should stop bathing myself. I know they are all mysophobic to a certain extent...

……

After lunch, I went back to my room and fell asleep in less than five minutes. Countless dreams fleeted across my mind until one dominated them all. Beneath a huge banyan tree, I saw a husband and wife surrounding a boy 2 or 3 years old riding a wooden horse. The boy’s smile looked just as sunny as the mother’s.

"You need to be good, okay Lu Chen? Be good!" she said while holding the boy’s hands.

The boy made baby noises and grabbed his mother’s hair. He was full of smiles.

The young father then held up a wooden pinwheel and said to the boy, "Look at my pinwheel! Does it look pretty? I’ve even colored it for you…"

The mother looked back. "I’ve never seen one made out of wood before…"

"Hehe, I promise you they can spin. I used flat wood to make the wheels."

Still grabbing his mother’s hair, the young boy said unclearly, "Ma… ma… mama…"

The young mother gripped the young boy’s hands and said. "Lu Chen is so good! Remember to listen to papa as well, okay?"

The young father said, "Come on, dear. This is almost like brainwashing…"

"..."

For a moment, I simply watched the happy family. Feeling an unspeakable sorrow in my heart, I walked up to them and walked up to the young woman. I asked softly, "Mom… mom. Is it you? Mom…"

She couldn’t see me though. She continued to pamper the boy.

A sobbing noise escaped my throat. I felt like crying.

The scene changed to a road at a farmer’s village. The playful kid just turned four, but mom wasn’t there.

"Don’t play beside the road, Lu Chen. Come back when you’re done, okay!?"

Father chided the boy while carrying a stack of four or five chairs on his shoulder. Beside him, third uncle said smilingly, "Your boy is really active, old Lu. I bet he’ll be nothing like you when he’s grown up. Whatever he might become, he'll be much better than a carpenter!"

Father’s face had become wrinkled, but it did nothing to hide the loving affection on his face.

Suddenly, a roaring car appeared from one end of the road. It was moving too fast and too recklessly.

Pa...

Father dropped all the chairs and ran toward the boy with a look of terror. "LU CHEN, LOOK OUT! THERE’S A CAR BEHIND YOU!"

The horrible screech of a car brake cut through the air, and the next moment father was lying on the ground with a small pool of blood beneath his mangled leg. The terrified boy in his arms was completely safe, however. Third uncle’s horrified voice followed next, "OLD LU! YOU FINE, OLD LU!?"

……

Father… father...

Tears blurred my vision and slid down my cheeks when I watched my father’s pained expression. Was this how you were lamed, father? Just how much more do I owe you...

"Ah…"

I awoke from my dream and blinked away some tears. The pillow was wet with tears.

Then, He Yi’s gentle voice rang beside me. "Did you have a nightmare, Lu Chen?"

I slowly sat up. After noticing that He Yi really was sitting beside my bed, I hurriedly wiped away the tears and shot her an awkward smile. "I… I don’t know if it was a nightmare or a painful memory that I saw. Can I… take a vacation and return home for a couple of days? I would like to visit father…"

He Yi smiled until her own tears started to fall. She abruptly hugged me before murmuring, "You kept calling out to your father and mother in your dreams. What on earth did you dream about? Just how bad was your childhood…"

I replied, "No, my childhood wasn’t bad at all. Mom loved me, and father loved me. It… wasn’t bad at all."

While saying this, I grabbed my phone and called dad.

……

"Hello, Lu Chen?"

"It’s me, dad. Have you eaten dinner yet?"

"It’s past nine already. Of course I’ve eaten dinner. You?"

"Oh. Yeah, I’ve eaten. How is it going these days? Is everything fine in the house?"

"Yes, everything’s fine. I raised two goats, although your third aunt’s the one who usually fed them. We can slaughter one for a hot pot when you come home for Chinese New Year."

"Of course. By the way, I’ll be visiting in a day or two."

"You don’t need to visit if you’re really busy, Lu Chen. Your time is far more valuable than this old man’s. Is there anything specific you’d like to eat? I’ll ask your third auntie to prepare it, and I’ll bring it to Suzhou myself."

"It’s fine…"

"What’s wrong, son?"

"It’s nothing, dad. Can I ask you something?"

"Sure. Ask away."

"How… how did you lame your leg again?"

"Oh. I was hit by a car when you were younger. The driver paid me forty some thousand as compensation. Don’t you remember?"

"Was it… was it because I was disobeying you and playing by the roadside?"

"Lu Chen, you…"

My dad was a bad liar. I knew the moment he spoke that I was right, and the truth churned in my heart like acid. I had no idea about this until now. Maybe it was because the dream had awakened my deepest memories, or maybe it was because I had unconsciously shied away from the memory all this time. Guilt and regret overwhelmed me.

An entire half a minute later, I sobbed out, "I-I’m sorry, dad… I… I won’t be thoughtless anymore, I… I’m sorry…"

A few seconds of silence later, dad let out a chuckle before saying, "Tell me what you’d like to eat. I’ll have third aunt prepare it and bring it to you with Old Third in a few days."

I mumbled, "I would like some pork rib soup…"

"Got it!"

……

I sat in silence after hanging up the phone. I was still overwhelmed by guilt and regret.

He Yi held my hand and said, "Everyone has someone they owe many things to. However, those who truly love you would rather live everyday in happiness than wallow in guilt. The better you live, the happier uncle will be. Do you understand, Lu Chen?"

I nodded. "Yeah. Starting now, I’ll try and keep my father company as much as I can, Eve. I won’t let him feel like he’s alone."

"Mn. I’ll be right there with you!"

"Hehe, thanks!"

I pulled her closer and kissed her once on her cheek. She turned beet red, but she kissed me back on the cheek before saying, "You should get up. The maintenance for the Cities of Heaven is almost over, so we should grab dinner now and log into the game later. Let’s see if we can maximize the usefulness of Silver City."

"Yeah!"

We went out to grab dinner.

At a table, I asked the girls, "Has the China Guild Ranking come out yet?"

Murong Mingyue tapped away on her smartphone before passing it to me. The new list entered my eyes—

1. Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls. Guild Leader: From Water (Vice Leaders: Broken Halberd Sinks Into Sand, Lian Xing)

2. Candle Dragon. Guild Leader: Candlelight Shadow. (Vice Leaders: Blue Sky Scar, God’s Dance)

3. Warsky Alliance. Guild Leader: Warsky (Vice Leaders: October Rain, Lin Bing Dou Zhe)

4. Snowy Cathaya. Guild Leader: Wind Fantasy (Vice Leaders: Purple Marquis, Nangong Lexi)

5. Purgatory Mad Dragon. Guild Leader: Pillar of the Nation (Vice Leaders: Roaming Dragon, Coldmoon Rose)

6. Purple Lily. Guild Leader: Luo River God of the Capital (Vice Leaders: Moonkiss, Moonlight Beneath A Rock)

7. Blazing Hot Lips. Guild Leader: Stranger of Three Lifetimes (Vice Leaders: Eyes Like Water, Lasting

8. Gods of Destruction. Guild Leader: Dominating Heaven Blade (Vice Leaders: Dominating Knight God, Dominating Warrior God)

9. Baidicheng. Guild Leader: Come See The Snow Tonight (Vice Leaders: Splendor of Fire, Teeth of Darkness

10. Hall of Immortality. Guild Leader: Bloodthirsty Battle Monarch (Vice Leaders: Wing Breaker, Galaxy Breaker Mage)