The Earth After Rebirth - Chapter 217: Someone Unexpected

Sixty Years ago, one middle aged man brought a Qilin that looked like a pug and a mandarin duck that looked exactly like a duck, walking into the Imperial City of the Central Plains for the first time.

In the spring of year 6823 of the New Calendar, Lu Xuan, an unregistered resident of the Federation, hid outside a high school classroom and secretly learned a Cultivation Skill, embarking on the path of Cultivation.On the same day, he returned home and had a dream, just as he always did. In the dream, he was in the Guardian Storage Room during the Spring and Autumn Period in Chinese history（770-481 BCE）, and the current Keeper of the Records was named Li Er, also known as Laozi.Later, Lu Xuan dreamed that he became the succeeding Keeper of the Records, became Confucius's second teacher, became the senior brother of Zhang Daoling, the Ancestral Celestial Master, and became the honorary father of the First Emperor...Even later, someone unearthed a roll of bamboo slips from the ground, on which an event was recorded.[The eighteenth Keeper of the Records, Lu Xuan, his Sword Qi like a waterfall, assassinated Duke Huan of Qi in his bedchamber]

It was in the middle of the night that the woman who would be the Duchess came to see me.

She said my father and mother died, and my kind uncle became king.

She said it’s not worth it for me, the crown prince, to be living in hiding, too.

“A while ago, Your Highness had been hiding from me. With all due respect, is that for the sake of survival? Just because your parents died doesn’t mean you have no reason to survive. Actually, that fact alone made it all the more reason why you should live. If you die now…”

If I died now?

When I asked her while looking at her eyes, the woman eventually brought out the harsh truth with empathetic eyes.

“It’s like a dog’s death.”

“That’s rude….”

It’s been a long time since I said that. In a short while, he has been treated as a madman and beaten to death just by saying similar things. She loosened her arms that held me and I suddenly stiffened up due to it. Because I thought she might have loosened her arm to hit me. But she didn’t.

She knelt down with one knee in front of me, just like a knight.

“Hastred’s Sarian raised her salutations. May you accept it gladly.”

My first knight is beautiful and kind.

“Are you on my side?”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

It was all a lie.

She thought heartbreak was the hardest battle she'd ever fight. Ending a five-year relationship in 2024 nearly broke her, but she rose anyway. By 2028, she’s everything she once dreamed of becoming. A bestselling author, an admired high school teacher, and a successful businesswoman. But behind her perfect image lies a dangerous secret. She’s also one of the most feared underground hackers in the cyber realm.Then one night in City X changes everything. A book signing. Too many drinks. A stranger with a voice like sin and eyes full of danger. The next morning, no memories, a blurred signature, a hotel room, and a man’s touch she can’t forget. Back in City C, she tells herself to move on. Until someone knocks on her door. And the man from her forgotten night says the words that turn her world upside down.“I’m your husband.”He’s younger, commanding, and far from ordinary. A soldier from a secret military unit hidden in the shadows, where forbidden experiments and enhanced beings redefine humanity itself. Now bound by a contract marriage, they’re forced into a world of covert missions, coded lies, and a war between love and survival.She’s a hacker who steals secrets.He’s a soldier sworn to protect them.And when their worlds collide, love becomes both a weapon and a weakness, the only thing powerful enough to save them... or destroy everything they stand for.