Wu Huai died, came back to life, and found himself ten years in the future.
The childhood friend who had once scavenged for scraps and begged for food alongside him through their hard days had become the emperor.
Ten years ago, they had to bow and scrape to survive, always watching other people's expressions.
Ten years later, Wu Huai relied on his childhood friendship with the Son of Heaven to throw his weight around in the capital. Everyone else had to tread carefully and watch his mood.
The censor submitted memorials denouncing him, but the emperor doted on him so much that he simply laughed off the complaints. Even when Wu Huai caused a huge scandal, the emperor would just pat his head and indulgently call him "good boy."
Everyone was furious to see the emperor spoil him so much, but none of them dared say a word.
.
Recently, though, Wu Huai had been hearing unpleasant rumors about his childhood friend.
They said that the emperor's temperament had changed drastically ten years ago, that he had become violent and unpredictable, killing people at the slightest provocation, and that he was now even more cruel, a tyrant through and through.
They also said that the tyrant doted on Wu Huai only because of his looks, and that in a couple of years the emperor would grow tired of him and leave him with a miserable fate.
Wu Huai was furious when he heard them gossiping.
What utter nonsense!
He and the emperor had grown up together. They were closer than brothers who had shared a pair of split-crotch pants!
The emperor was gentle and mild-mannered, always warm and friendly toward others. He had never killed anyone!
So angry he could barely eat for days, Wu Huai was plotting how to teach those people a lesson when one night he accidentally stumbled into a secret chamber in the palace.
The people bound hand and foot inside were the very ones who had been gossiping that day.
He watched, frozen, as the emperor who had always been so gentle seemed to become someone else. With cool indifference, he ordered his men to cut out the gossipers' tongues, then waved a hand. "Get rid of them."
That night, Wu Huai had nightmares until morning.
.
Terrified out of his mind, Wu Huai packed his things and fled in the middle of the night.
A few days later, a mass of imperial guards surrounded the inn, leaving no way in or out.
Inside the room.
The emperor's robes fell open, revealing a fair face tinged with pink.
The emperor gripped Wu Huai by the nape and pulled him firmly back into his arms. Casting off his usual gentle facade, he leaned close and laughed hoarsely in Wu Huai's ear:
"Still have the strength to run?"
Reading guide:
* A seemingly gentle but ruthless tyrant gong X a spoiled, naive, empty-headed shou
Theme: As heaven's movement is ever vigorous, so should a gentleman ceaselessly strive for self-improvement
When a Beagle Becomes the Tyrant's Therapy Dog
I Played the Killer, but They Mistook Me for the Mastermind
The Treacherous Official Returns as a Little One
Ocean Survival: The Little Mermaid's Deep-Sea Farm
A Handsome Asian Man Is Coveted by Horror Characters
The Universally Hated One Becomes a Prince Afterward
The Idiot Villain [Infinite]