I would rather betray the gods

Thatched roof, mud walls, rotten tree branches, broken fence, the yard full of dust, and an old hen searching for insects along the fence.

This was Yu Bulai's home before his death.

Is anyone there?

Yuzu and Pandan disguised themselves as indigenous people and paid a visit.

To be honest, this shout was just a formality. The fence, which was not even waist-high, allowed them to see the entire yard. They could see their mother, who was cooking over a fire.

Hearing the sound, Bu Lai's mother poked her head out. Perhaps because it had been a long time since anyone had come to this remote place, she looked surprised and asked, "Who is it?"

After explaining their purpose at the gate, Bu Lai's mother, with tears in her eyes, led Youzi Banlan into the house.

According to her mother, she never thought she would receive a supplementary pension, and that it would be a cow and three sheep.

It was lunchtime, and my mother treated us to a meal.

Yuzu didn't refuse; it was a good opportunity to experience life when it rains and people don't come home.

What was served next was a plate of bracken, three pieces of flatbread, and a pot of thin porridge; nothing else.

Perhaps its color, aroma, and taste are nothing like modern food, but it is definitely the best that this family can offer, full of rustic simplicity.

"Auntie, with these cattle and sheep, you can cultivate more wasteland and grow more crops. You can also save some goat milk to supplement your little sister's nutrition."

Yuzu patted her little sister Bulai, who was sitting quietly to the side. She was really well-behaved and cute, but she looked too pale and thin.

"Yes, yes, Yu Bulai's father passed away early, and Yu Bulai himself is gone too. We, his mother and I, really don't know how we'll survive. With these livestock bestowed by the imperial court, we... we've finally seen a glimmer of hope."

"I don't know whether to be happy or sad that you're not coming," she said, tears streaming down her face again.

What is the trauma of war? The losses on the battlefield are numbers, but they are wounds that countless families can never heal.

Deeply moved, Yuzu silently stroked herself and looked at the furnishings inside the room.

The walls were plastered with mud mixed with rice husks. There was nothing in the outer room, and in the inner room there was only a broken wooden box on the kang (a heated brick bed) for storing clothes. By modern standards, it wouldn't even be called a house; it was barely better than a cowshed.

Finally, he turned his gaze to the small window, where a small butterfly was perched on the wooden frame, but the rain did not come.

The idea of ​​letting the rain turn into butterflies and return to the mother planet is a way to barely circumvent the mechanisms of Heaven, or perhaps it's a risky strategy devised by Banlan, drawing inspiration from the concept of reincarnation in the human world.

Unlike the cycle of reincarnation in the human world, interstellar resurrection is not as simple as casting a long line when the distance is long. The various unknown factors and mutation factors involved are immeasurable. If there is any deviation, the rain will not come and there will be no return. It may even be discovered by the mechanism of the Heavenly Dao, and both body and soul will be destroyed.

Of course, basic hardware is also essential. Just like fishing, it's easy to cast a long line, but the longer the line, the more you need a high-strength, high-quality fishing rod and line.

In practical terms, the person responsible for guiding the soul to this location must possess absolute strength.

So at the same moment, on the other side of the starry sea, on the planet Bulai, Serachia was wholeheartedly performing rituals, striving to keep the ever-burning lamp in the altar from going out. If the lamp went out, Yu Bulai would be lost in the sea of ​​suffering of reincarnation.

*Bang!*

A thunderclap suddenly resounded across the sky, followed by the gathering of dark clouds that blotted out the sun.

The light inside the thatched hut suddenly dimmed.

"Oh dear, the rain comes so suddenly at this time of year. Please enjoy your meal while I go and fetch the oil lamp."

While speaking politely, Bu Lai's mother went to the inner room to get a lamp.

However, being just an ordinary mortal, she did not know that this was not an ordinary weather change.

As deities, Yuzu and Banlan clearly felt the Heavenly Dao roaring, and an invisible pressure was tightly locking down the surrounding area.

It's obvious where the problem lies.

Go and see what's going on.

Yuzu commanded Banlan with her mind, then turned her head and glanced towards the small window.

At this moment, Yu Bulai, who had transformed into a butterfly, was opening and closing his wings slowly but with great amplitude.

Banlan nodded. "Where is the outhouse, Auntie? My stomach hurts."

"It's in the southeast corner of the courtyard."

The mother, still frantically searching for the oil lamp in the inner room, answered loudly.

Oil lamps require oil, and she rarely used them. After leaving them unused for so long, she forgot where she had put them.

Banlan made an excuse to come into the courtyard. As soon as she stopped, she called softly, "Rain, rain, come here."

Before long, Yu Bulai fluttered its wings and landed on the wooden frame beside her.

"I told you so many times to calm down and calm down, how could you forget so quickly?"

"You are a god, not a human. Even if you transform into a beast, you cannot conceal your divine aura. You are too conspicuous; the mechanisms of Heaven will detect you easily!"

Banlan immediately launched into a tirade of reprimands.

Sister, please calm down. I didn't want this to happen either, but I suddenly sensed that the person who harmed me is nearby, and I can't hide my resentment and anger.

The rain doesn't come; it just flaps its wings a few times.

Heaven does not conceal evil. When a person enters the cycle of rebirth, all the cause and effect connections from their previous life will be laid out in their sea of ​​consciousness like publicly available data.

It was only when the rain stopped that he realized that his death on the battlefield was not only due to the enemy's plot, but also to a traitor—a traitor who was jealous of his abilities and had a rivalry with him for a military rank.

It is precisely because of this cause-and-effect relationship that he, in his deceased state (the butterfly's return), was able to sense that person.

"You mean..."

Banlan looked puzzled at the only path outside the courtyard, which stretched out in the distance.

That's right. My mother didn't believe I led troops to kill the enemy without authorization, and she asked someone to request that the higher authorities reinvestigate the matter.

The man used his connections to deflect the matter, but fearing things might get complicated, he actually tracked them down here, probably intending to wipe out their entire family.

The rain flew around in a hurry, not coming and going.

Afterwards, Banlan returned to the house and told Youzi about it.

Yuzi was making hand shadows for her little sister in front of the oil lamp, and the novel and varied ways of playing made the little sister cheer with joy.

After hearing the message from the colorful spirit, he continued playing with his little sister without changing his expression, as if he hadn't taken it to heart.

"Second Master, say something! If you keep this up, I'm going outside to stop that scoundrel."

After a while, seeing no reaction from him, Banlan couldn't sit still any longer and got up.

【Hey~ The Tao follows nature. You can't take on such karma yourself. Once the karma is settled, a bolt of heavenly lightning will follow. You can't withstand it.】

Yuzu finally turned her head.

Well... Banlan didn't have any good ideas either, so she had no choice but to obey.

Sure enough, a knock came at the door shortly afterward.

"This is?"

When Bu Lai's mother looked out through the door, she saw three or five soldiers, led by a young man dressed as a junior officer. She looked at Youzi with a puzzled expression.

"Oh, perhaps it's another cleanup team. Auntie might as well go out and take a look."

Yuzi wasn't satisfied with coaxing the little girl, so while talking, she simply hugged the little girl in her arms and personally taught her how to manipulate hand shadows.

"Oh, I see. I'll go take a look."

Only then did Bu Lai's mother's tightly furrowed brows relax, and she patted her clothes and left the house.

At the entrance of the courtyard, the man in the lead told Bu Lai's mother that his name was Huai Sheng, and that he was a good friend of Yu Bu Lai from the same camp. He had come on the orders of the general to visit Yu Bu Lai's family and had also brought some eggs.

Fearing his mother wouldn't believe him if he didn't come, the man named Huaisheng specifically asked his men to take it out for inspection.

Upon receiving the order, the subordinate lifted the bamboo basket he was carrying higher, revealing it to be full and covered with burlap.

In these chaotic times, being able to eat a piece of bread is a blessing, so this is a rare treat. No wonder Mom quickly invited a few people into the yard.

To everyone's surprise, as soon as Huai Sheng and his companions entered the courtyard, they heard the sounds of cattle and sheep coming from the distant thatched huts, and their eyes lit up.

"you?"

Seeing their strange expressions, Bu Lai's mother felt vaguely uneasy.

"Oh! Hurry up and hand the eggs to the old lady. What's the point of us carrying them around?"

As he spoke, Huai Sheng took the bamboo basket from his subordinate, and subtly winked, his eyes gleaming with mischief.

The men understood immediately and ran towards the thatched hut.

"Auntie, I think it's going to rain soon, hurry up and bring the eggs inside."

Turning back, Huai Sheng forcefully grabbed Bu Lai Ma's wrist and handed her the bamboo basket.

When Bu Lai's mother took the bamboo basket and weighed it in her hand, she was surprised again. The weight didn't seem like that of eggs at all!

But Huai Sheng was staring intently at her, so she didn't dare to rashly lift the burlap cloth to see what was inside.

"It looks like it's about to rain, why don't you come inside?"

Bu Lai's mother's tone was almost pleading. She could guess what would happen next from the scene before her, but she still clung to the last glimmer of hope.

Until the soldiers forcibly dragged the cattle and sheep out of the thatched hut, the cruel reality completely extinguished her simple and peaceful heart.

Unable to hold back her inner resistance any longer, she rushed towards the thatched hut, crying out in distress.

At this moment, Huai Sheng, who had been staring at her, shoved her back and said sternly, "The eggs are for appeasing the family; we're requisitioning the cattle and sheep!"

Unexpectedly, the force of the blow was so great that the mother, a woman, could not withstand it at all. She staggered back a few steps and fell to the ground.

The bamboo basket in her hand fell to the ground and overturned, and a pile of pebbles rolled out from it.