Chapter 596: Trash

Luke felt he was incredibly unlucky; just as he flew over the surface of Dagobah, he encountered a thunderstorm, and the powerful electromagnetic waves from the lightning directly knocked his ship down.

“Oh, this damn environment,” the PO robot complained about the grime on his body; he had intended to jump into the water, but after seeing how filthy it was, he abandoned the idea—he feared emerging even dirtier than before.

“I’m telling you, Luke, we need to find somewhere to wash up. If I stay in this filthy place, I’ll go insane.”

“You’re a robot and you can go insane?” Luke pulled off his gloves and crawled out of the spaceship, glancing around. “Is this Dagobah?”

“If your coordinates were correct, then yes—but where exactly are we now?” PO robot asked a barrage of questions. “No fuel here, no sunbathing, nothing at all. And that Master Yoda you’re looking for? No clue where he is. Allow me to make a sad face.”

With that, PO robot froze, straining to form a sad expression on his steel face—but quickly gave up. “Steel is too hard. Not flexible enough.”

“If you were flexible, you’d have died the moment you fell,” Luke laughed loudly at PO robot’s delusion.

“Hey, you two.”

A familiar voice came from afar. Luke turned toward it, his face instantly lighting up with surprise. “Ye Nan—it’s you.”

Luke rushed over and gave Ye Nan a crushing bear hug. “Thank god—you’re alive!”

“Master,” PO robot trudged forward with a ridiculous gait. “Master. I’ve finally found you again.”

“Where’s R2?” Ye Nan released the hug and turned to PO robot.

“R2 is still with the Rebellion. I came with Luke to find you,” PO robot replied.

“How did you two end up together?” Ye Nan asked both PO robot and Luke.

He remembered that after R2 and PO robot were hit by the bombing, they vanished. Luke had boarded his spaceship and left. Logically, they should never have met.

As for Luke returning mid-mission—that possibility was slim. He’d seen no sign of the spaceship ever coming back.

“Last time, at Luke’s house, suddenly a swarm of aircraft flew in and dropped bombs, destroying everything. R2 and I hid in the basement and survived. We planned to find you, but couldn’t. So we hid inside the spaceship until we met Luke,” PO robot said.

After PO robot finished, Luke added: “I was focused on ordering the AI to fly the ship off the planet. Once we were clear, I thoroughly searched the vessel—and found R2 and you both hiding inside. Then we set out to find Princess Leia. But unfortunately, she’s dead. Her planet was destroyed by the Death Star.”

As he spoke, Luke’s expression darkened. He felt guilty toward Ye Nan—he remembered how Ye Nan had treated Princess Leia, and how he’d promised Ye Nan he’d save her. Now he brought only bad news.

“Princess Leia,” Ye Nan’s mournful voice echoed through the jungle. He forced out a few tears, wearing an expression of utter despair.

“When I was a child, I grew up with Princess Leia. I always understood my duty: to protect her. I thought I’d protect her for life, and one day my descendants would take over. But in the end, I failed to protect her. Why did she have to die first?”

Ye Nan’s voice cracked. Tears spilled from his eyes, falling to the ground and sinking into the soil.

“Don’t be so sad,” Luke whispered, trying to comfort Ye Nan. During his training, he’d come to see Ye Nan as both mentor and friend. Seeing him so broken, he naturally wanted to ease his pain.

He didn’t know Princess Leia was his sister. He’d only seen her image in R2’s recordings. He’d been drawn to her beauty, but he felt no real emotional connection to her.

Like a fan of a celebrity—he might claim he’d marry his idol, but when that idol died, he’d carry on living as before, without any desire to die. Of course, obsessive fans were different—but Luke didn’t look like an obsessive fan of Princess Leia.

“Luke,” Ye Nan suddenly showed a look of relief. He struggled for a moment, then relaxed. “There’s something I’ve always wanted to tell you. I hope you won’t blame me.”

“I won’t,” Luke replied. “You and I are brothers.”

“Brothers?” Ye Nan murmured the word twice, then finally spoke.

“Princess Leia is Anakin’s daughter. She’s your sister.” As he said it, Ye Nan felt as if a heavy burden had been lifted. He exhaled sharply, his face clearing. “If you want to curse me, go ahead.”

“What?” Luke stared at Ye Nan, stunned. He couldn’t believe it.

“Tell me this isn’t true!” Luke grabbed Ye Nan’s collar, his voice bordering on hysterical.

When a celebrity dies, you feel sad—but life goes on. But when that celebrity becomes your sister, everything changes.

Even if you’d never met your own sister, her death still left a deep, aching void in your heart.

“Tell me this isn’t true! You’re lying to me!” Luke shook Ye Nan violently, desperate for him to say it was a lie.

His parents were dead. His uncle and aunt were dead. Now even his only sister was gone. He had no family left.

“It’s true,” Ye Nan said gravely. “I didn’t know Princess Leia was your sister until after I learned you were Anakin’s descendant. Then I understood.”

“Obi-Wan Kenobi rescued you and your sister together. But he gave your sister to someone else, and brought you to your planet, leaving you in the care of your uncle and aunt.”

“And your sister was Princess Leia.”

“Princess Leia,” Luke stared blankly into the distance. His last living relative was gone. His heart felt dead.

“And there’s more—your father is still alive,” Ye Nan, unsatisfied with having broken him enough, continued. “Your father, Anakin, is Darth Vader. He’s the one who killed your uncle, your aunt, and your sister.”

Darth Vader was tasked with hunting Obi-Wan Kenobi and crushing the Rebellion. Regardless of whether he pulled the trigger himself, he bore partial responsibility for the deaths of Luke’s uncle, aunt, and sister.

“No!” Luke screamed, his face twisting like he’d seen a ghost. He began running wildly across the ground.

Thud!

Luke slipped and fell. His face contorted, tears streaming down. He’d lost all reason.

The most painful thing in the world isn’t losing all your family—it’s discovering your own kin killed them. That pain cuts straight to the bone.

“You shouldn’t have told him.”

Yoda had planned to meet Luke and assess his character. But after Ye Nan appeared, his plan collapsed. After what Ye Nan said, Luke’s character was beyond assessment.

And Ye Nan was too cruel. He revealed the truth without considering Luke’s capacity to endure it—now Luke was shattered.

“Everyone likes lies. I prefer the truth. Lies may be beautiful, but they’re still lies.”

Master Yoda stared at Ye Nan for a long moment, watching his righteous demeanor, then recalled his earlier behavior. His doubts deepened. “You went too far.”

“A bleeding wound is better than a rotting one. Once the blood flows, he’ll grow stronger. But if you smother it, he’ll rot completely.” Ye Nan spoke coldly, then ignored Master Yoda. He stepped forward, grabbed Luke’s collar, and hauled him up.

“Get up, you piece of trash.”

“Yes, I’m trash,” Luke said, no longer arguing. His heart was dead. “Say whatever you want.”

He gave up. Whatever Ye Nan said, he accepted it. His heart was already dead.

Boom!

Ye Nan punched Luke in the face, sending him crashing to the ground.

“Trash!”

Luke got up, blood dripping from his nose, staining his lips. His eyes were hollow. He showed no reaction to being punched bloody.

“Definitely trash,” Ye Nan punched him again, sending him stumbling backward. “Your uncle, aunt, and sister—did you just sit here and give up? You’re a pathetic piece of trash.”

Luke’s eyes flickered briefly, then dimmed again. “He’s my father.”

“So what if he’s your father? Does that mean you don’t have to avenge them? Even if he’s your father, you’ll beat him until he doesn’t recognize himself!” Ye Nan grabbed Luke again, snarling. “Get your ass together. Even if you land one punch, you’ll avenge them. Understood?”

Luke’s eyes brightened instantly. “Understood.” (To be continued.)