gentle and affectionate

Chapter 54.

The ancient wings are soaked in the pure golden slanting sun, shining, and the golden light sets off the blue sky even further.

In the distance where the boundless sky and earth meet, the old face of the desert city is gradually revealed to us.Even though thousands of years of wind and sand erosion have changed everything beyond recognition, making it impossible to imagine their original appearance, the solid city walls guard the people inside. The scattered houses and the metal and glass that reflect the sun are like stars coming to the world, and like Angels guard this land with the people there, as if they have stood there since ancient times, never changing, never leaving.I stared at the pair of wing-like ruins for a long time, and felt an incongruous sense of familiarity coming from there.

Obviously this is the first time to visit Jiulou Country.

I shook my head, suppressing the doubt in my heart.The yellow sand under the feet retains the temperature left by the sun, and even the air is hot with every breath.I tugged at the neckline. Compared to the temperature in this country, the clothes in Thrace are too warm.

The heat absorption of the ninja's pure black cloak is supposed to be considerable, but he didn't show much. He was still tightly wrapped, only showing his vigilant eyes like beasts.

Mo Ke, who has always been lively and talkative, also quietly stood on the shoulder of the little wolf, silently accompanying us on this final journey, leaving the desert yellow sand far behind.

The three of us stood in front of the towering city gate of Jiulou Capital, silent.

In a world without popularity, in a city that has stopped breathing, it seems that everything is still, revealing a strong sense of strangeness.

"What is the meaning of the intercepted time?"

Is time completely still?Or was it abandoned in the torrent of time, a lonely city overgrown with grass, or even a hell full of corpses?

But I think, no matter what the intercepted time is, the only thing we should hold is the time in our hands.

No matter who will appear in front of us, what we should cherish the most must be the person in front of us.

In front of the door leading to the unknown, the ninja strode forward with his sword as always, the arc of his mouth taunting all the enemies in front of him, and he was the only one.

Yes.

Now that you're here, of course you're going to have a big fight.

I patted the boy on the shoulder,

In this game where everything is gambled, only victory is allowed and no defeat is allowed.

However, when we actually came to the town of Jiulou Kingdom, we found that our previous predictions were all wrong.

The hawkers struggling to sell, the children running around, the market in the evening, there is a constant stream of people coming and going, and there is even smoke rising slowly, which adds a bit of tranquility and comfort to the place.

The market in the desert is full of people, and everything is going on in an orderly manner. People live with happy smiles, and there seems to be almost nothing abnormal.

In the distance, the ruins and the setting sun reflect each other.

"This……"

Little Wolf obviously didn't expect to see such a scene, and his nostalgia for this land prompted him to run into the crowd without thinking. Hei Gang and I looked at each other and followed after confirming that we were both prepared. After walking a few steps, we saw a child rushing towards us.

"what--"

This made Hei Gang and I immediately vigilant, but the little wolf was completely unprepared, and even subconsciously reached out to help the child.Only then did we see that what the child was carrying was a basket of fruit, probably because it was too heavy, so it was on top of his head, and it almost spilled all over the ground because of a trip.

Hei Gang and I breathed a sigh of relief, and turned to see the boy talking to the little wolf.The boy is about six or seven years old, and he is very cute when he smiles.

"Thank you, big brother!" The child looked at our attire curiously, "Are you people who travel?"

"……Yes."

"Thank you so much! Jiulou Kingdom is a great place!"

The dialogue is too routine, and the atmosphere is too peaceful. This Jiulou Kingdom is like many peaceful cities we have been to, and it is even calmer and more leisurely than many places.

Everything is so normal that it makes people feel abnormal.

Even with the vampire's senses, I couldn't detect any abnormalities. I looked at the ninja beside me, and the latter also shook his head.

"Don't the people in the castle town feel any special changes..."

I muttered.It's unbelievable that in "Intercepted Time", there is such a peaceful scene.

The child who helped him ran away after speaking. He had already put down the fruit basket in his hand and was standing not far away waving to us.

"Brother, thank you just now. Thanks to you, the products in our store did not fall to the ground."

"You're welcome……"

"Thank you so much, the kid is always in a panic."

The child's mother also came over to thank the little wolf. The boy seemed a little unable to cope with such an occasion, so he looked at us hesitantly.

I look at black steel.

"Although neither side has murderous intent," he whispered in my ear, "but that kind of thing can be eliminated deliberately."

"That's right..."

There seemed to be no abnormality at all, but the man behind the scenes had set up another good trick.

I stood next to the little wolf calmly, bowed slightly to remain vigilant, and Heigan also moved a step forward, putting a tight guard behind us.

Compared with the nervousness of the three of us, the behavior of the residents of Jiulou Kingdom is much more natural.The costumes and appearances of the three of us attracted everyone's attention, and people surrounded us curiously, as excited as watching a new species.Fortunately, we have been to so many worlds before, and the three of us have already been able to deal with this situation with ease.

"Look at your clothes, are you foreigners?"

"Yes," I said, as usual, as a diplomatic ambassador, "we have just arrived... Jiulou Country."

When they heard the name of their own country, the people did not show any abnormal behavior, on the contrary, they showed some proud expressions. It seemed that they really loved this land very much.

"The clothes of the three of you are different, are you from different countries?"

"Well," I showed a standard smile, "Although we were born in different countries, we are traveling together now."

"That's good."

"Although it's good to travel alone, but... it's better to travel with people."

The person who spoke was probably a friend of the person who asked the question, standing beside that person at this time, his smile was as sincere as that person's.I couldn't help but look at him a few more times, and then I was infected by his smile from the heart.

"……Yes."

When I saw the sight of the ninja next to me, I suddenly felt more relaxed than ever.

"You can stay at ease, and the festival is coming soon."

"Festival?"

"Well," he pointed to the ruins in the west, "it was held in that ruins."

I raised my eyebrows, I didn't expect to catch up with such a thing.I looked at them, Xiaolang lowered his head thoughtfully, Heigang has always kept silent, now, there is no need to guard against these residents anymore, instead they are enthusiastically asking questions, and what he just said Xie's mother and son offered to welcome us to stay overnight.

"But……"

"That's a good idea. Since it's on the way, it's necessary to save money..."

"Also, the nights in this country are quite cold, and sleeping in the open is out of the question."

The warm and hospitable people persuaded us to agree, and I walked up to Xiaolang and asked his opinion in a low voice.

"I think... it's better to secure a place to stay first," he said in a deep voice, "Besides, now that Princess Sakura's whereabouts are still unknown, I also want to inquire about the information first."

I looked at Heigang, who nodded in agreement.

In the west where those wings stand, the sun is setting on the horizon, dyeing the vast desert a bloody red.

That night, we were warmly received by the mother and son.After seven years, Xiaolang finally ate the dishes from his hometown again, and I have to say that even the melancholy on his face was much less.

"Your mother is very good at cooking."

I looked at the little wolf and Mokona who had a good time, and praised them without hesitation.The little gourmet was standing on the table at this time, rubbing his chubby belly and belching unceasingly.

Well, although it is still unclear where her belly is.

Unable to taste anything, I played with the cup boredly, and glanced at the black man next to me calmly.Today he doesn't seem to have a good appetite, which is much worse than his usual appetite. I don't know if it's because he is too vigilant or he is not used to eating.

Facing my praise, the little boy said proudly as if he had been praised:

"Yeah! My mom's payo is also delicious!"

"What is Payo?"

"This is it! It contains the apples we sell in the market!"

The little boy handed an apple to the little wolf, which made the little wolf look a bit nostalgic.Looking at the pale yellow fruit in his hand, I suddenly remembered the green apples I ate in Hanshin country.

I remember at that time, the other him also had the same expression.

They probably all thought of Sakura.And thinking of the events at that time, even I couldn't help but feel a little bit emotional. It was only two years ago when I thought about it now.

The mother who cleaned and tidied the dishes came out of the kitchen, promised us Payo for breakfast tomorrow, and then took us back to the bedroom.Based on the principle of politeness and safety first, we declined the host's offer to provide us with two rooms. The enthusiastic hostess felt sorry for the three of us squeezed into one room, and hugged an extra quilt to prevent us from catching cold at night. .

There was a small bed in the room, and three people could barely sleep on it. I pushed the little wolf to the inside, and then sat on the side of the bed and waved. Unfortunately, the child’s father was too shy and insisted on a bed. The man squatted in the corner pitifully, and he would rather die than surrender on the grounds that he had to watch the wind at night.

I raised my eyebrows and looked at him with a half-smile. The latter glanced at me, then turned his head slightly, and shrank most of his face in the wide cloak, making it difficult to see his expression clearly.

After nightfall, the desert city is completely silent, the crescent moon is skinny, with only faint starlight, making the darkness outside the window so deep that it seems to suck people in.

I sighed, it is indeed unrealistic to sleep peacefully on such a night.

The boy was still a little hesitant, and couldn't help but cast me a questioning look, but the fatigue was evident between his brows and eyes.

I looked at Heigang, then ignored him, and stretched the quilt to lie down on my own.

"Go to sleep."

Heigan blew out the oil lamp, and the whole room was instantly plunged into darkness.

The payo made of apple exudes an attractive fragrance, which makes people look forward to the arrival of tomorrow.

"...Hey, wake up, hello."

When he was woken up by the shaking of Heigang, his head was unbearably dizzy.His voice seemed a little anxious, which made me think that something happened. I tried to sit up, but felt that the whole world was shaking, and I was about to fall to the ground if I was not careful. Fortunately, Heigang stretched out a hand in time to hold him me.

"How are you?! Where's the boy?!"

I looked out the sunny window, closed my eyes and felt the atmosphere around me, and found that there was nothing wrong with it.Mokona of the little wolf beside him was still asleep, and Heigan stretched out his fingers to probe his neck, and finally heaved a sigh of relief after confirming his heartbeat.

I watched him do all this in a daze, and felt that Heigang's expression was a bit wrong.

"What happened, calling me in such a hurry?"

"It's nothing... just to confirm..."

"...It's okay, you will panic like that?"

"It's all right..."

"..."

Hei Gang, who was obviously a false alarm, made me even more dizzy, so I decided to give up on him and lean on his stomach directly.

Anyway, this guy has a sense of proportion, so let him handle this matter by himself.

I moaned and complained that I had a headache, and when I heard the latter chuckle, the hand on my shoulder naturally slid to my temple, gently rubbing it for me, just like many mornings before.

"hungry?"

After becoming a vampire, I have added a whole set of problems, one of which is that I am prone to dizziness when I wake up in the morning, especially when I need to drink blood.

"...Didn't you just drink it before departure?"

"Didn't sleep well?"

"I think it's good, what more..."

When I came back to my senses, looking at the bright sky outside the window, I couldn't help feeling a little annoyed.

"I thought about getting up in the middle of the night to change shifts with you."

"Sleep well when you are old, what shift will you change?"

"I want to take care of the younger generation."

As soon as the voice fell, the hand that was originally massaging left in an instant, and flicked up to the side of my forehead.

"Ouch!"

"Don't make trouble, the boy is still asleep."

He tucked back a little and made me sit up by myself.

"Is it better?"

"pain."

"It still hurts?"

"It hurts to play."

"..."

Hei Gang and I looked at each other speechlessly, and found that neither of us had much sense of urgency in the eyes of the enemy, and we could even tease each other. I have to say that Hei Gang is not as serious as he looks.

Hei Gang rolled his eyes, and I stuck out my tongue.

I still have such a good time at this time, I really don't know if it's because my mental quality is too good or because the two are disrespectful.The little wolf hasn't heard any movement until now. I shook him awake, but found that he was also in a deep sleep, and his head was a little dizzy when he woke up. I was a little surprised by such a coincidence. I blurted out and asked the little wolf How did the wolf sleep last night? He also said that he had no dreams.

I felt that something was wrong, but it was difficult to say anything, Hei Gang also hesitated to speak, and just went out of the room together for the time being.

As a result, there was no one in the room.

My first reaction was a bit strange, and then I felt that the owner was hardworking, maybe he went out to work early in the morning, so he wouldn't get up late like us slobs; but I had to take a look at Heigang, it stands to reason that His work and rest habits should not wake up so late.

I looked at his wide cloak, then at the young man beside me, but didn't say anything.At this moment, Hei Gang walked to the table, seeming to have some doubts.

"what happened?"

"Cooking..."

"I don't see Payo..." Mokona agreed, "Do you want to eat?"

"No," Hei Gang paused, "It's just that judging by the appearance of the mother and son yesterday, I think it's a bit strange that they didn't even prepare breakfast."

"indeed……"

I was stunned, and then I understood the source of this discomfort, and the boy who also noticed the abnormality because of Heigang's words had already run towards the door.

"Maybe something happened—"

Outside the door, the market in the evening is full of voices, and people have the same smiles on their faces, living and working in this time and space in peace and contentment.

The ruins stood in the background of the setting sun, silently looking at the people in this town.

The appearance of the boy running towards the crowd without thinking was almost exactly the same as yesterday.

It's even hard to say if it was yesterday. As I thought about it, the thoughts in my mind jumped and jumped, and I was only one link away from connecting into a complete line.

Until, when the child carrying the fruit basket was supported by the boy.