But no one knew that while fighting enemies on the outside, Lu Yuan also had to guard against attacks from within.
The Emperor grew more muddleheaded by the day, while Lu Yuan’s fame became too great. The day the insects were to be eradicated was also the day the Emperor had chosen for Lu Yuan to die. On the eve of the final battle, Lu Yuan made a rare mistake and someone infiltrated his command ship. Then, at the critical moment, the command ship suddenly went out of control.
Faced with the runaway command ship and the insect broodmother being shot down in the distance, Lu Yuan chose to lie flat.
He was tired. Let it all be destroyed.
—
Yet even he had not expected that he would get another chance to open his eyes.
This was a barren planet known as a garbage star: resources exhausted, technology backward, surviving only on the supplies the Empire sent over from time to time.
Lu Yuan had little interest in revenge. The Empire had finally entered a rare period of peace, and the people could at last recover and rebuild. He did not want to destroy the prosperous, peaceful age he himself had fought to create.
So he opened a small shop on the wasteland planet and spent his days reading, watching dramas, playing games, and happily loafing around.
However, by sheer accident, he ended up taking in quite a few future big shots.
The drama buddy who watched shows with him ended up producing a TV series that became a sensation across the galaxy, and the child doing odd jobs in his shop became a huge star.
The boys in the junkyard who used pots and pans as instruments formed a band, and every new song they released shook the entire galaxy.
The book-loving boy turned out to be the young master of a great Imperial family, and after reconnecting with his relatives, quickly became the darling of high society.
The little girl who came to his shop every day to play games became the “King of Soldiers” in the military, while her adoptive parents started a company and within a few years became wealthier than nations.
…
The dramatic transformation of the wasteland planet drew everyone’s attention, and in the process, Lu Yuan’s whereabouts and his past gradually became known.
In the end, the whole Empire learned the truth: their undefeated Marshal had been repeatedly framed and nearly killed, and in utter disillusionment had withdrawn to live in seclusion on a wasteland planet.
Suddenly saddled with the image of a beautiful, strong, tragic figure, Lu Yuan found people coming to his door.
His childhood friend, who had always been at odds with him before, looked uncharacteristically cautious when he saw him. “I’m sorry. I was one step too late and couldn’t stop their plot. But the people who harmed you—I didn’t let a single one of them go.”
A general covered in military decorations landed a starship right outside Lu Yuan’s door. The moment he saw Lu Yuan, tears streamed down his face. The man, nearly two meters tall, was almost sobbing uncontrollably: “Marshal, I missed you so much!”
The former emperor had died, and the new emperor had only just stabilized the situation before coming straight to the wasteland planet. “Teacher, would you be willing to attend my coronation ceremony?”
Lu Yuan: …Could you all stop interrupting my retirement?
