gentle and affectionate

Chapter 55.

"Brother, thank you! Are you people who travel?"

"Nine Towers is a good place!"

It is impossible for a person to step into the same river twice. People in later generations often feel that time is gone forever. I once thought so, when the exact same reality appeared before my eyes again, I suddenly felt chills down my spine .

Just like acting, are those people who are running step by step according to the script really alive?

"That was... what happened just now."

The little boy who was lifted up ran towards his fruit stand like yesterday, and then happily waved to us.

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

The little wolf didn't speak.

"Thank you very much," the child's mother also came to thank, "this child is always in a panic."

The mother smiled and rubbed her son's hair. In our eyes, we saw such a warm picture, but there was no joy or nostalgia.

Hei Gang also had a dignified expression, I exchanged glances with him, and then stood beside the little wolf like yesterday, bowing down to be vigilant, while Hei Gang defended the space behind us.

"Look at your clothes, are you foreigners?"

The actors in the lines were all accurate, so I tried to answer the same as I did yesterday, and everything was as usual.

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

"That's good."

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

"Have you decided where to stay?"

"not yet."

I agree.

"In this case, please come to my house to appreciate it."

The mother and son who had already received us said so, and it was no different from the first meeting. Even the blood-red sunset in the western sky was as dreamy and impressive as yesterday.

After dinner, everyone was a little bit disappointed.

The exact same meals and dialogues don’t mean much. Mokona tried to ask the child of that family about the repetition of time, but the child had no memory of the previous events, so naturally he couldn’t ask anything.Under the circumstances that we cannot take the initiative to obtain information, we discussed with Little Wolf that we should observe it for another day before considering it.

But that night, when the hostess once again offered to let us live in two rooms, I did not choose to decline, but readily agreed.

"It's different from yesterday... What's the reason why we slept separately from the kid?"

A faint smell of blood wafted from the black steel, and I thought he was kind enough to mention it, so I took off my gloves and cast a scrutinizing look at him with a half-smile.Seeing my expression, the latter probably also realized that I had been exposed, and froze in place unnaturally.

I walk over to him.

"Because I found out—"

Gently pulling away his cloak, it turned out that the place where the prosthesis was connected to his left shoulder was already red and swollen. The new wounds caused by the friction between skin and metal were intertwined with the old scars, making him look even more hideous, and some places had been worn out and bleeding.

I don't know where a burst of anger came from, and I suddenly reached out to touch his wound, and he couldn't help but groan.

"I think it's probably the physique of a vampire that makes me very sensitive to the smell of blood."

The blood on the fingertips is covered with a light dip, which contrasts with the bloodless fingers, like the contrast between blood and white bones.

What a bad association, I licked it away with a frown, the body that belonged to a vampire quickly became excited, and I squinted my eyes subconsciously.

"It's strange that you don't even take off your cloak in the room."

"Is it to hide your expression? Because you are enduring the pain."

"Is it because the prosthesis doesn't fit?"

I think I always know Black Steel best, just as he knows me best.Heigan looked at me with complicated eyes, and moved his lips as if he wanted to say something, but those words were all dissolved in a sigh in the end.

He sighed and sat down beside the bed, with a resigned and helpless expression on his face.

"It's still moving, so it's fine."

"Does it hurt more than yesterday?"

"..."

Silence at times like this often makes people even more irritated.But when I stood in front of the bed and looked at him, I felt that the man sitting there silently was inexplicably distressed. Through that tall figure, I seemed to see a lonely child who could only be alone because he didn't want to hurt anyone. Contradictions, dare not take a step to rely on, because the most important person is standing in front of you.

It was as if he had seen his former self, clearly facing his dearest Wang, but would rather persevere alone than dare to say a word of grievance.

The slight anger caused by worry disappeared in an instant, and I raised a hand to caress his face, meeting his eyes.

"Answer me," I looked at him earnestly, "In the repeated time of Jiulou Kingdom, we can use this to know how much time has advanced."

He obviously understands this feeling best, so how can he be blamed.I tried to speak in the gentlest tone, but I didn't expect this guy to just look at me and turn away, and said very perfunctorily:

"……Oh, yes."

He also had a smashed expression, which made me so angry that I couldn't help but think, no matter what I understood or not, I just punched him on the forehead.

"Hey! You bastard!"

"If it hurts, tell me right from the start. Are you an idiot?" I said helplessly, "If we are together, we can't hide many things. If we know about it afterwards, both Xiaolang and Mokona will feel even more uncomfortable."

But he caught my words, he glanced at me, and said disgustedly:

"You have the nerve to say it."

Why am I ashamed to say that even I, a professional liar, have washed my hands of gold, but you, an educated old man, went into the sea to cheat.I looked over playfully, Heigang knew he was wrong, and after bluffing, he could only squint at me with aggrieved eyes, his ears turned red from embarrassment, he was so cute.

The dialogue of persuading the other party not to hide the pain has changed roles between us. I who was persuaded before became the one who persuaded others, but he who persuaded me before made the mistakes I made. It is really helpless It's funny; but I think it's precisely because I am an ex-offender that I understand all the reasons why, so I can better understand his current mood.

Humans have the instinct of dependence, even so, the reason why we still choose not to rely on it is because we love too much.

Because I love so much, I am afraid of this and that, I am afraid that you will worry about me, I am afraid that you will pity me, I am afraid that you will dislike my weakness, and I am even more afraid that you may leave me one day, so instead I pretend to be strong, and then try my best to protect you.

The tacit understanding in this world is nothing more than that, I have experienced your feelings before.

"It's because of me that I can say it."

What's more, you love me so much, as much as I love you, how can I be unhappy.

He looked at me quietly for a while, then suddenly hooked my waist and brought me into his arms. I sat on his lap, and the moment my eyes met, the kiss came suddenly.

It seems that even love is magnified tenfold.

I responded enthusiastically to him.It is only at this time that we understand more deeply how much we long for each other.It's only been a day since I came to Jiulou Kingdom, but it seems like we have been separated for a long time, and we can see each other when we look down and look up.

The lips and tongue were entangled frantically, until the moment they parted while panting, the corners of the mouth held a silver thread.

I put my arms around his neck, and the two of them put their foreheads against each other, giggling like a child who stole candy.

"Huh... Heiwangwang doesn't change his lust even at a time like this."

"Then don't hug her so tightly."

"No, people like Master Hei."

Even though I have confessed many times, and I have done what I should do and what I should not do, Hei Gang will occasionally blush uncontrollably in the face of my surprise confession from time to time, like a primary school student.

"You guy..."

"Well, I know, Black P is shy."

"……sleep early."

"No, I still want to whisper to Mr. Hei."

"..."

"Besides, Master Hei's hands don't hurt."

"good."

He looked at the sky outside.The darkness outside the window was the same as yesterday, but it was already asleep at this time yesterday, and when it was almost midnight, the crescent moon just climbed into the middle of the night, bringing a little life to this huge sucker-like night.

"Sleep, I won't have time to rest tomorrow."

He looked at me again, his expression seemed a little uneasy, which didn't match his usual calm image, which made me feel very strange.

"Didn't you agree to take a look at it today? When will the time start... um..."

There was a sudden pain in the temple, ten times worse than in the morning.

"Hey!"

When the crescent has just passed the Milky Way, the gears of the world are pushed and rotated, connecting this time and space to form an endless cycle.

The time-space magic brought a strong sense of fainting, the eyes suddenly sank to the point of being unable to open, and the feeling of losing control of the mind and body was as terrifying as dying.

death.

The terrible things seemed to flood into my mind in an instant, and my whole body was trembling. Under the control of this primitive fear, I could only subconsciously hold on to the person in front of me, and the next moment I felt my body was wrapped in warmth.

"Don't be afraid..."

Hei Gang hugged me and fell on the soft bed together, calling my name over and over again in his ear.

"Don't be afraid, Fay."

His gentleness and calmness liberated me from fear. In the doomsday world, he was so powerful that he seemed to be unaffected by any magic, but it was not until the moment before I passed out that I struggled to open my eyes that I saw that he was also suffering from pain. And frown tightly.

I thought of the ninja who sat in the dark with the pain last night. When we escaped such pain in our deep sleep, he could only endure such suffocation alone, and was sad to despair because he could not save us.

That's why he woke me up so anxiously in the morning, so he didn't say anything afterwards.

This guy really did everything by himself.

"Master Hei... Occasionally rely on others..."

"...It's a shame to say."

My face is reflected in the ruby ​​eyes that are close at hand, giving me a full sense of security again.

In the near-death feeling that time and space were reversed, we hugged each other tightly and fell asleep, as peaceful as facing the doomsday. It seemed that as long as two people were together, no matter how difficult the road ahead, there was nothing to be afraid of.

It was already afternoon when I woke up the next day, and the same dizziness as the previous day also existed.More seriously, I enjoyed the service of the black masseur again. I heard that he also felt dizzy when he first woke up yesterday, and I scolded him for not revealing such important information earlier.

However, after reconfirmation, almost all the information that should be mastered is mastered. The "intercepted time" should be the period of time that is repeated continuously. I roughly calculated that it was about the period from four or five o'clock in the afternoon to the early morning. Last time we went to bed early so we didn't notice it. But last night, I really felt it.

To be honest, that feeling is really uncomfortable, and I really don't want to go through it again.But Heigang said that he was anti-hypertensive, had experienced it twice before and after, and he didn't feel too uncomfortable after getting used to it. I watched him for a while and decided to show mercy not to expose his flamboyant speech.

I asked Little Wolf and Mokona, and sure enough they also fell asleep suddenly, and Little Wolf's complexion was not good, probably due to the influence of magic.

We rested for a while and then pushed the door out again, and the market in the evening was still the same lively scene.

This is the third time he has experienced the same situation. The young man obviously calmed down a lot, and he walked to the center of the crowd without rushing. Hei Gang and I followed behind him as usual, and the little boy with the fruit basket on his head also walked towards Xiaolang as usual. Edge fell over.

Although Mokona said that if the little wolf didn't help him, maybe the child would fall down. It can be seen that our arrival has changed the life here to some extent, but the little wolf still didn't do it. This kind of experiment, like the previous two times, once again supported the child in front of him.

After that, thank you, greet you, and everything is as usual.

"If it's because of Fei Wang's scheme that these people keep doing the same thing over and over again..." The boy's face was filled with sadness.

"The time of these people has not moved forward, has it?" Mokona said with some fear.

No matter how much time passes, tomorrow will never come.

In this way, is it considered alive?

Looking at the pair of mother and son who were smiling from the bottom of their hearts just like the day before, I suddenly thought of a terrible thing.

"Maybe... if time goes forward, tragedy may happen."

"What do you mean?" Ninja asked.

"For example, at the next point in time, something may happen..."

For the people inside the period of magic interception, although some subtle behaviors may not be unchangeable, they undoubtedly form a relatively balanced system with this repeated world, but when we appear from another world, we will be affected by us. , things that should have happened may be replaced by events related to us, and those who participated in these events may... be excluded from the inherent system of this repeated world.

Something popped up in my mind.And Heigang seemed to realize something after listening to my words, and scanned around carefully.

"indeed……"

"Although the dialogue is basically the same, there are some changes."

"Has it changed?"

Hei Gang's face darkened.

"There are fewer people."

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

Although it is good to travel alone, but... it is better to travel with people.

I froze.

The person who said that was gone.

And his friend, like the previous two days, chatted with us with a smile, as if the person who should have stood by his side had never existed.

The chill instantly invaded our limbs and bones, and the three of us stood in the middle of the bustling crowd, suddenly out of tune with this world.

The man was still smiling and said:

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

The heat of the afternoon has not yet completely faded, the setting sun makes the market as red as blood, and people's noisy discussions are everywhere, like thousands of newly hatched larvae crawling around.

"... What kind of festival is it?"

The boy asked with a solemn expression, and the people stared wide-eyed after listening to his question, and then suddenly cheered.

"It's a festival to celebrate the birthday of the princess of Jiulou Kingdom, Princess Sakura!"

"Princess Sakura means Sakura?" Moko couldn't help it.

"A princess is a princess!"

The mother and son smiled,

"She's so cute!"

"A very lovable princess indeed."

People talked about their beloved princess again, the smiles on their faces were happier than the previous two days, but it seemed that they were far away from us.

The boy's expression changed, as if he realized something.

"This is..." he said with some difficulty, "How old is Princess Sakura's birthday?"

"After this birthday, the princess will be seven years old!"

It seems that pearls are strung together one by one to form a necklace.

The Nine Towers Kingdom seven years ago.

The princess of the ruins.

The boy lowered his eyebrows in pain.

"The princess is really cute!"

The boy opened his arms and looked at us innocently, while his mother stood lovingly behind the son, smiling at us with a very happy expression.

Then, it melted.

At first, the same skin color liquid flowed from the smiling face, as thick as a wax figure, but it eroded and melted extremely quickly.The child's mother smiled and watched our silhouette disintegrate and destroy quickly in front of her eyes, and finally swallowed her whole body, leaving only a distorted and weird voice still talking——

"His Royal Highness is very cute."

As the sun sets, the ruins take away the fiery sunset, and the sun takes away the last hope.

As she spoke, it finally turned into a puddle of pale liquid that evaporated in the hot and dry air.

……

I suppressed the feeling of nausea, followed by the sound of the sword being unsheathed, and Heigan protected the young man on the left and on the right.

"Also, the nights in this country are rather cold..."

"Sleeping in the open is impossible..."

The people who spoke like living wax figures also began to melt in the last trace of heat.

Concerned inquiries, blessings to the princess, and even the cries of peddlers not far away seemed to melt into hot wax oil, with a strange mucus-like noise.More and more people melted and evaporated before our eyes, disappearing without a trace, not even a trace of blood left.

People's increasingly indistinct voices were intertwined with the sound of sticky liquid flowing, and Moko's cry came from behind, and we stood among the melting crowd, watching the smiling faces flow into the swamp.

In the repeated time, it is our arrival that changes the flow of time.

"They... are all living people..."

"Um……"

Even if they repeat the same actions every day, even if they can never move forward to the future, they are still alive, not phantoms created by magic.

Living life, excluded from this world of false repetitions, dissolves into nothingness before our eyes.

……

"Go to the ruins!"

The boy gritted his teeth and said,

"Sakura is there!"

"Which Sakura is that...?"

"Did you see it through the eyes of another you?"

Hei Gang and I asked this question, turned our heads while asking, and saw the boy's face full of sadness.

"Do not,"

"It's... the Sakura who was always by my side before being imprisoned."

After he finished speaking, he suddenly ran madly towards the direction of the ruins, his back blocked the fiery sunset, leaving only the sunset glow all over the sky, exuding a deep sense of helpless sadness——

"Big brother, where are you going?"

The boy's voice is as pure as the first time he saw it, and the lines he has never heard before are as sincere as ever.

"It would be dangerous to leave the town."

he smiled,

"Stay overnight!"

The boy stood smiling among the melting crowd, watching as the peace shattered by the arrival of us three strangers finally began to end.

"Stay overnight!"

People shouted, and then the sound became muffled, as if soaked in mud.

"Stay overnight! Brothers!"

"My mother's payu is delicious..."

He stood in the swamp of life and opened his arms, like an angel in a parade.

Finally, he was leaving too.

His pure and innocent smile seemed to declare that even though they were imprisoned in this twisted and wrong world, they had been living earnestly until the last moment——

The teenager turned sharply and walked back to him as the boy expected, wrapping his arms around his small, melting body.

"Time that doesn't move forward is like dying."

"But even so, it cannot be used as our absolution."

"I came here to fulfill my wish, so... all the crimes are borne by me alone."

After the boy finished speaking, he turned and left, never looking back.

And the boy's face is no longer recognizable, and the only remaining limbs are also rapidly disappearing, the tone becomes dull and strange, but the innocence that belongs to him in the tone remains unchanged, even the small ending is——

Stay overnight, big brother.

Payo made of apples, you will love to eat.