Embers

Ember was 39 years old this year.

In a blink of an eye, half a lifetime has passed.

His quiet eyes fell on the bronze mirror, looking at himself with his chin propped up in a daze.

Snow-like white hair poured softly, scattered on the black clothes, and the setting sun bleakly shone over.

It is like a painting with a sense of age, exquisite and beautiful, but it reveals the vicissitudes brought about by the erosion of time, and the details are full of breathtaking shock.

This was what Li Mei saw when he walked in, and he instinctively held his breath.

No matter how long you have been with this person, even if you have engraved his face in your heart, you will still be amazed by him at a certain moment.

But he still wanted to break the silence.

"problem occurs."

His voice was calm.

Ember glanced over, her gaze was also very calm.

Li Mei said succinctly: "Someone bribed our five disciples and let them do evil things to ruin the reputation of the Devil's Cult."

Ember seemed to have expected it long ago, and was not surprised by this incident at all, and only asked, "What evil is it?"

"□□Women, rob people by force, beat them to death and arrest them quickly... There are many more, you can see for yourself."

As he spoke, he handed a piece of densely written paper to Ember's eyes.

Ember took it over, glanced at it, and remained silent for a long time.

Li Mei's face finally showed a forbearable anger: "We have done this, the court still refuses to let us go!"

Ember pressed the paper on the table beside her.

"It can be regarded as a reminder that in the near future, the imperial court will take us under the knife." Li Mei frowned.

"How is the situation now?"

"People have been detained."

Ember leaned on the back of the chair, her eyes flickered, she didn't know what she was thinking.

Li Mei said: "I believe that in the near future, there will be at least one confession that can convict our Demon Cult of a serious crime."

"We were all wrong." Ember suddenly said.

Li Mei didn't react for a while: "What?"

Ember stood up suddenly, with a sharp and cold look in her eyes that she hadn't seen for a long time: "Dignified Demon Sect, shouldn't have compromised in the first place!"

"..."

Li Mei was suddenly speechless.

Yes, why did you naively think that the imperial court would let them go so easily?

If he made concessions first, what he got in exchange was not mutual debt, but further pressure. If it wasn't for the persuasion of himself and Mo Yuan, how could Ember choose to compromise?

He couldn't help thinking that if Nie Budu was still alive, he would definitely choose to fight to the death with the imperial court.Although I don't know much about him, I can clearly feel how proud he is.

In many respects, Nie Budu is actually far less bound than Ember.

There are many fewer reasons to "have to do it".

But now, after all, it's too late to say anything, the situation where the Jianghu is the Devil's Cult and the Devil's Cult is the Jianghu is over, and the current Demon's Cult has no ability to confront the imperial court at all.

So, there is no way out.

It was precisely because of tossing and turning for several nights that Li Mei was able to talk about this matter with Yu Jin calmly like now.

"What should we do now? Is it a fight to the death or..."

He didn't go on.

Ember took a deep look at him.

Is there still room for a decisive battle now?

With the strength of the Demon Cult, it might still be able to inflict heavy damage on the imperial court, but it will definitely end up in annihilation itself.

Ember didn't say anything, got up and left the study.

Li Mei looked at his back silently, her heart was clenched, the suffocating pain made her blood roar and let out a shrill roar.

The sun has not set yet, it is very evening, and the setting sun is like blood.

On the bluestone path, Ember paced slowly.

There was a vague expression on his face, revealing a kind of silent chill.

A congregation passed by and saw him, they couldn't help saluting quickly: "Hi, Master!"

"Good morning, Master!"

"Good morning, Master!"

Ember nodded slightly.

Someone hesitated for a moment, but couldn't help but ask, "Master, how is your injury?"

He was one of the first batch of children raised, unlike those left behind during Nie Budu's reign, he kept a respectful distance from Ember.The children raised by Ember are all closer to Ember.

When the others heard it, they also waited for Ember's reply with stunned ears.

Ember breathed out lightly: "No problem."

"...Then, that's good."

After the child finished speaking, he didn't dare to look at Ember again, so he left quickly.

It was early spring, and the peach and pear blossoms in the yard quietly grew buds, and they would bloom in a few days.Ember could recall every detail of that extremely beautiful scenery even with her eyes closed.

He has lived in this piece of land under his feet for an unknown number of years.

He is very familiar with every plant and tree here.Everyone who lives here, he can remember their faces and say their names.

Stroll along the path to a pear grove with few people.

In the depths of the woods stood a hut. Walking past, the lock on the door was already rusted.

This door has been locked for several years.

Unlocking the lock, pushing the door, everything in front of me is extremely familiar, but it looks a little dazed because too much time has passed.

There was dust all over the table.

He slowly turned around the room twice, saw a few pieces of paper on the desk, and stopped silently.

One of them reads in unrestrained and elegant fonts: "Looking up is worthy of the sky, bowing down is not ashamed of others".

Now, he can hardly remember what Ye Bozhou said to him when he wrote this sentence.

Everything in the past began to blur, even if you try hard to see it, you can't see it clearly.

He gently opened the closet, and there was still Ye Bozhou's favorite white robe inside, with intricate patterns embroidered with gold silk on the cuffs.It's just that the fabric has lost its luster due to its age, and when you touch it, your fingertips are covered with dust.

And the aroma of pear blossoms in early spring that belongs to Ye Bozhou has long since dissipated, leaving no trace.

He closed the cabinet, walked out of the room slowly, and locked it again.

In the backyard, a stone monument stood silently.Here, embers come every year.

He stood in front of the stele again.

This time he didn't say anything, just stood silently for a long time, finally raised his hand and broke off a dry pear branch from the nearby pear tree, and placed it in front of the stele.

With entangled memories, time becomes thick.

The sun had completely set, and the ambiguous sky began to become dim. Ember strode away without looking back.

The next day, Ember left the Demon Cult by herself.

Li Mei could vaguely guess where he was going, but Ember didn't say anything, so she couldn't follow.

As he expected, Ember went to the lower string gate of Lingyou Mountain.

The last time I was here was 22 years ago.

The place that has not been inhabited for 22 years is barren and depressed.The courtyard walls of the houses began to show signs of dilapidation, and the grass in the yard had grown taller than people.

Following the memory, he walked all the way to Ye Bozhou's yard.

It is very different from the imitation hut of the Devil's Cult.

The place is so dilapidated that even the wind sighs.

Bypassing the weeds, Ember walked all the way to the backyard and walked to the grave.

The one inside is the real Ye Bozhou.

He put down the lyre in his arms, and knelt down on the dusty ground without hesitation.

"It's been so long since I learned how to play the piano, and I didn't remember to play a song for you. I was negligent."

After he finished speaking lightly, he raised his hand to cover the strings.

The deep and quiet sound of the piano began to linger in the yard.

The tunes he plays are ethereal and melancholy, but also reveal an indescribable sadness.

This piece, called "Soul Returns", was composed by a well-known luthier.His beloved wife died in the delivery room, and the luthier was in so much pain that he was almost crazy, so he composed this piece of music, hoping that his wife in the underworld could hear his thoughts and come back to take a look at him when he dreamed back at midnight.

That's all, Ember got up, left Qin in front of the grave, got up and left.

He walked every corner of the lower string door.

Some places are still very clear in memory, while some places have begun to deviate, and I can't remember clearly.All the way to the cave in the back mountain, Ember raised his eyes, and there were still messy sword marks on the wall, which were the marks left by him when he went crazy.

And the lake outside the cave has already dried up, revealing an ugly lake bottom.

In a peach forest not far away, Li Mei once told him her heart. At that time, Li Mei was only a teenager, with a sky blue body, slightly lowered head, a peachy face, shy and timid.

He said that if you are loyal, you will not know the king.

He walked to the back of a tree, and even he didn't know it, it happened to be where Ye Bozhou stood.

When it was dark, Ember returned to the Demon Cult.

Li Mei was standing at the gate waiting for him, with the frosty moonlight falling on his shoulders.

"I see that you haven't come back so late, I'm a little worried." Li Mei whispered.

Ember took off his coat and put it on him.

"Pass me an order, half a month later, the Demon Cult will be disbanded."

Li Mei froze in place.

The night was so thick that he couldn't see Ember's expression clearly, but felt an indescribable coldness in his heart.

Ember didn't say anything, and strode into the door.

Leaving Li Mei in place, she didn't recover for a long time.

It's not that I didn't expect this result.

However, when these words were suddenly uttered from Ember's mouth, he still felt the pain was too heavy to bear.

When Nie Budu was the sect leader, although he failed to dominate the Jianghu, he was still the number one sect in the martial arts.

But now, it has fallen to the point where it is about to be disbanded.

The Demon Cult that Nie Budu used to do whatever it takes to keep it, the Demon Cult that Ember spent half his life consolidating, is now about to be disbanded.

He didn't dare to think how Ember made up his mind to do this.

He is a person who pays so much attention to promises. Once he promises, he will fulfill it even if he dies. Now, he is being forced to break his promise.

But he has no other choice, if he doesn't do this, and confronts the imperial court head-on, there will be no one left in the entire Demon Cult.

At least now that they are disbanded, there is still a glimmer of hope left.