Zhu He

For the next many days, Chang Jiaci was drowsy. In a daze, she only remembered that her sister had been taking care of herself by the bed, wiping her sweat and feeding him medicine, and repeating what she promised her parents over and over again.

She will take care of him and not let his brother suffer any more...

When Chang Jiaci woke up again, he was alone in the room. He was about to call his sister when he suddenly heard a low voice outside, which was not real, and he could only vaguely distinguish that it was his sister and Lian Tang.

"...Since that's the case, you can go on the road in two days..." My sister said.

"Then reward him..." Lian Tang hesitated.

"I'll take care of it...you don't have to worry about us...you have to be careful..."

After a while, there was no movement outside, the door curtain was lifted, and Lian Tang walked in.His face was still pale, and he didn't heal at first glance, but his eyes were brighter than before, and his face was firm, as if he had turned into a man who shouldered a heavy burden overnight.

Seeing Chang Jiaci on the bed awake, Lian Tang was pleasantly surprised and leaned over.

"Are you still suffering?"

Chang Jiaci shook his head: "Where's my sister?"

"Outside, she... has something to do."

Chang Jiaci knew what her sister was busy with, her eyes dimmed.

Lian Tang wanted to comfort him, but he didn't know what to say, but Chang Jiaci scolded him fiercely: "Why are you so stupid? You will be fooled as soon as you are deceived!"

Lian Tang lowered his head: "Master and Madam said she was looking for me. I didn't know there was drug in the tea. I'm sorry, it's all my fault..."

Jiaci felt angry and sad when he thought of everything before, and couldn't help shaking his whole body in sadness. Lian Tang found out and hugged him in his arms.

Chang Jiaci's face flushed with forbearance, and he couldn't help crying, crying hoarsely, crying until his heart broke.

"I want that person to die, I want him to die!! Killing my father and mother will cause us all to die...I want to die too, the fortune teller is right, I am a dead star...so I deserve to die too... ..."

"Jiaci, just blame me, don't hate yourself, blame me..." Lian Tang was entangled in his crying, except for apologizing but he didn't know how to undo it, so he could only caress his back over and over again, using The immature body dispelled the other party's coldness.

"Liantang," Chang Jiaci suddenly raised his head and called out to him, "Let's go, let's find a land with good mountains and rivers, we don't need much glory, we don't need much gold and silver, and we will leave here with my sister. , I'm not afraid of suffering, I'm not afraid of poverty, I just can't let my sister suffer like this for us, she is so good, she should marry Hao Erlang who loves her upright, not a second generation ancestor who can't even give up her name, He's not good enough for her!"

Chang Jiaci's eyelashes filled with tears, eyes full of earnestness and anticipation, and entrusted all his hopes to the person in front of him. He felt that Lian Tang would definitely agree, and he had no reason not to agree. Lian Tang was so kind to him, He said that he would always be with him. At that time, he would rather give up his fame and his future. He would rather be a slave in their Changfu for the rest of his life than be with him. How could he abandon him and his sister now, when they need to rely most on it? .

However, Chang Jiaci's earnestness met Lian Tang's wandering eyes for a moment, and the other party frowned, and then lowered his eyes for a moment.

Chang Jiaci smiled stiffly, and gently pushed his arm: "You talk..."

Lian Tang said nothing, but pursed his lips tightly.

"Lian Tang...are you unwilling to leave like this?" Chang Jiaci found an excuse for him and nodded repeatedly, "It's okay, it's okay, I'm not reconciled either, we shouldn't let them go, but it doesn't matter , let’s find a safe place to live for the time being, and we’ll discuss it later, in short, we can’t stay here, let’s leave, okay, take my sister and go... okay?!”

Lian Tang hesitated for a moment, and said softly: "Jiaci, Liang Zhi County has been dominating here for many years. With our current state, we can't even get out of the Changfu..."

Chang Jiaci was startled, and turned cold: "Don't you dare? Are you afraid?!"

Lian Tang shook his head: "I'm not afraid, I'm not afraid of anything for you and your sister."

"Then you take us away!" Chang Jiaci yelled, "My sister can't wait! In two days, she will pass the door!"

In the middle of shouting, seeing Lian Tang still had a solemn face, Chang Jiaci seemed to feel something: "...Actually, you want to go by yourself?!"

Lian Tang sighed heavily, and was about to speak when suddenly there was a "slap", and his face was slapped aside hard.Lian Tang was stunned, and turned to face Chang Jiaci with a pair of blood red eyes and a face distorted by anger.

"Master..."

Lian Tang held his trembling hand, but was thrown away forcefully by the other party, Lian Tang was helpless.

"Master, I have to go to Beijing..."

Chang Jiaci gritted his teeth. The two of them grew up together. How could he not know what kind of person Lian Tang is? Chang Jiaci didn't read many books, but he was clever, and he could figure out some truths after thinking about it. , there must be something that Lian Tang must do, but it is dangerous, and Lian Tang can't take him with him.

However, it was precisely this that made Chang Jiaci hate him even more, hating his own helplessness and hating his own powerlessness.

"The elder brother of the magistrate of Liang is a high official in the capital, if you want a safe journey, my sister can't escape." Chang Jiaci looked straight at him, "Do you think what you are going to do is worth it? "

Lian Tang looked back, his deep eyes showed a wavering.

However, after waiting for a long time, Chang Jiaci did not get his answer. He already knew what Lian Tang meant.

"Okay, let's go..." Chang Jiaci breathed out a sigh of relief, lightly brushed his hand away, and fell back on the bed exhausted, "Go to the capital to take the exam, our Chang family...we are waiting for you to get one." The champion is back."

After saying the last sentence, he actually showed a smile, which was sad and ironic.

Lian Tang looked at the thin and frail figure on the bed, pondered for a while, stretched his hands over the quilt and carefully covered him back.

Chang Jiaci stared blankly ahead, until the person next to the bed walked away, he didn't take a look...

……

Originally thought that there would be a chance to meet Jiaxi again, the siblings could talk, who would have thought that the Liang Manor would send someone to pick her up that night.There was no betrothal gift, no eight palanquins, only two girls and a small box of money, and even Mr. Liang didn't come, but the housekeeper came to welcome him.

The girl is serving Jiaxi, and the money is for Jiaxi.

Chang Jiaci was so angry that he knocked the thing down, and the white baby was scattered all over the ground, but he didn't even look at it and went straight to his sister, but he was stopped by the servants of Liang's mansion after only two or three steps. On the road, just like the stinky Taoist who stopped cheating two days ago, he was merciless.

"...You can't treat her like this! Don't marry, my sister won't marry!"

Chang Jiaci kicked and struggled but was firmly pressed down.

The butler of the Liang Mansion looked at him condescendingly: "You can decide whether to marry or not. The Liang Manor has provided manpower to bury your parents well, and to ensure your health and well-being in the future. You are not here to make money. of."

"Our Changfu has been prosperous for three generations. My sister is Miss Qianjin, not a Luliuqianghua who can be carried in a broken sedan chair to be a concubine!"

Chang Jiaci's stern response was met with a sneer from the housekeeper of Liang's residence.

"Three generations are thriving? Miss Qianjin? Then look at what you have left now? Only our young master is not disgusted and is still willing to accept people, 'Master Chang', you should wake up, don't be so confused with your parents It’s like, if you lure a wolf into your house, you won’t know friend from foe.”

While Chang Jiaci was in a daze, the housekeeper left a servant to wait on the new brother-in-law of the Chang Mansion, and then ordered the others to pick up the sedan chair.

Chang Jiaci looked at the group of people going away, got up and chased after him without stopping, but he had just recovered from a serious illness, and even though he was only wearing two thin shirts in the cold night, he was already swaying halfway through the run.

At this time the sedan chair in front finally landed, and despite the dissatisfaction on the housekeeper's face, Chang Jiaxi ran out of the sedan chair to help his younger brother up. Some tears.

She gritted her teeth and said word by word to her younger brother who was crying to her to stay: "Blessing! The matter has come to this point, and there is no turning back. If you really love your sister, you have to live up to your spirit and live well, okay?! Don't let me Parents are broken."

Chang Jiaci looked at the most important person in front of him with teary eyes, sobbed for a long time and finally nodded vigorously.

"I will live up to it! Sister, I am living well, and you are also well..."

We're all going to be fine...

Looking at the small sedan chair going far away, Chang Jiaci murmured these words over and over in his heart, and then slowly got up.

He didn't go back to the mansion, but walked staggeringly along the street, walked and walked, walked out of the city, walked up the mountain, and climbed on hands and feet for a long time, finally standing on the half-height On a high steep slope, I looked into the distance motionlessly.Chang Jiaci waited until the stars were full and the moon was in the sky. At the end of the long path, a fast horse finally came galloping, with a man lying on the horse's back, his white clothes fluttering violently in the wind.

Chang Jiaci didn't make a sound, but just watched the figure passing by intently. He waited for several hours, but he could only take a quick look at that person.But Chang Jiaci has no regrets, he just wants to keep all this firmly in his heart, in case it is difficult to see each other for many months and years, at least he has this back view as a comfort in addition to those little memories.

Seeing that the white shadow was about to go away, the man on the horse suddenly pulled the rein as if he had sensed something, the horse let out a long neigh, and slowed down.

Chang Jiaci saw that the other party turned his head and looked at the bushes where he was hidden. The next moment, a clear male voice roared vigorously.

"—I will be back—you wait for me—Blessing!!"

Lian Tang used [-]% of his strength to call, every word and every sentence was like a sharp sword, but it was a pity that the wind in the valley was noisy, and the words were blown away by the strong wind in the middle of the line. , only some of them leaked into Chang Jiaci's ears.

However, this is enough for him who is alone and helpless.

Chang Jiaci tightly covered his mouth to prevent himself from crying, until he could no longer see the white shadow, then he dared to carefully take off his hand, and replied in a low voice.

"I'll be waiting for you... Lian Tang, I'll be waiting for you to come back, you must come back..."

********

Although Qingxi was just a servant, but after being by Dong Qinghe's side for a long time, this time he was assassinated in the door again, so he naturally received a lot of attention.Dong Qinghe personally picked a day to bury him, and several elders in the sect also went to show their concern. The elders have gone, can the disciples not go, so Lalazaza made it look like a big day for the sect up.

As a disciple of the sect master, Chang Jiaci was naturally there too. Compared to the young servants in Pianshiju who were all tearful, he didn't cry and couldn't look too painful, so he had to find him for himself. Stay in an inconspicuous corner so as not to be criticized.

Because of the strange cause of Qingxi's death, many people are secretly guessing the ins and outs at this moment. Of course, more people are pointing their finger at the most likely murderer - the kindhearted man who was taken in by the sect master but disappeared without telling anyone. The former villain Shen Yuanxiu threw all kinds of fierce and indignant words at him one after another, making Jiaci very convinced that if Shen Yuanxiu really appeared here, he would be killed by all parties immediately, and he would die without a whole body.

"For a villain like him, I really don't know how he got into the sect master's eyes back then. He must have used some pretentious means to get away with it."

"It's just that the sect master is kind and kind, and he despises poor people the most."

"But it's necessary to pretend to be pitiful, otherwise, wouldn't everyone be able to be the sect master's disciple?"

"Indeed, at least in these years, there are only two successful ones."

Jiaci listened for a while, and found that these words were the harshest, pointing at Sang and scolding Huai for killing many birds with one stone, he couldn't help turning his head slightly to look, and sure enough, he met two familiar faces, it wasn't Elder Miwu and her good apprentice Xiangtai and who?

The two were talking in whispers, both sides were denouncing everyone, those words should have been very imperceptible, but he couldn't help Jiaci's eyes and ears, he rolled his eyes, leaned sideways to that place, and sure enough he could hear the conversation more clearly.

Xiangtai asked Mi Wu curiously: "Master, if it is said that the mortal is pitiful by the sect master, it is obvious to all, but Shen Yuanxiu's pity...why do the sect people always avoid talking about it?"

"Naturally, we must avoid talking about it, otherwise this scandal will be known to everyone." Mi Wu said.

"What scandal?"

What scandal?

Xiangtai and Jiaci asked each question in their mouths and hearts.

Mi Wu was silent for a while, as if hesitating, for a moment, he saw that people on both sides were paying attention to Qingxi's coffin in front, and this Shen Yuanxiu had already caused a catastrophe again, and had already become a sinner of Qinghemen, so there should be no need to do it again. Concealed, so Mi Wu lowered his voice and said: "Even if a person who looks like a fake is really dressed in fine clothes, he can't change his humble status after all. It's just showing his true colors at this point."

"What lowly status?" Xiangtai didn't understand, "Isn't he from a spiritual background? Could it be... is he also a mortal? Or a goblin?"

Mi Wu snorted, full of contempt: "What kind of spiritual background? It's just an outsider. Compared with him, mortal goblins are considered good."

Even animals are considered good, what could be worse? !

Xiangtai and Jiaci thought of one thing at the same time.

"Magic..." Xiangtai was interrupted by Miwu before he could say the last word.

"Watch your mouth carefully!" Mi Wu scolded her.

But those who should know already know it.

Xiangtai was shocked: "Why, why did this happen? His parents are like that? Then why did Shen Yuanxiu come to Qinghe Gate..."

"Qiu Muwang didn't pick it up in person. It is said that Shen Yuanxiu's parents were killed. However, the little baby is really lonely and pitiful, so it is not enough to take care of him by himself. In the end, he got involved with the door master. .”

"In this way, Elder Qiu really treated him with the utmost benevolence." Xiangtai sighed.

Jia Ci couldn't help but think of that tall man with a face as cold as ice when he heard this, with such an indifferent and cold demeanor, as if the sky is falling and the earth is falling, and his face will not change. Would he be so gentle to a person?

On the other side, Zhengjue couldn't believe it, and heard Mi Wu dismissively say: "So what if you are benevolent and righteous, in the end it's not the same as being forgotten."

Xiangtai, who was already a beginner at the time, knew about this matter, and she was a little bit embarrassed when she recalled it again: "I didn't expect Shen Yuanxiu to attack Elder Qiu suddenly. When he dragged people out from the Ministry of Water, I watched him with my own eyes. The last two swords, plus the previous one, make a total of three swords, the sword pierced the intestines, Shen Yuanxiu is really capable..."

Chang Jiaci was also a little surprised by what he said, so he couldn't help looking forward. After searching around, he saw Qiu Muwang also standing in the corner of the coffin, his eyebrows were as cold as three feet of ice as before, and besides that, he seemed to be more beautiful than before. There is something more in the daily life, dark and heavy, like a cold pool that has been sealed for thousands of years, with stagnant water on the surface, and dark eddies within, about to overflow.

"It's also thanks to Qiu Mu's fate that he was stabbed and robbed by this guy, and he was able to come back alive after being missing for a hundred days." Mi Wu said again.

"That's right, but if I were Elder Qiu, if I saw this treacherous man again, I would have chopped him into pieces, but Elder Qiu let him run away again." Xiangtai was surprised.

"Look at the day when Shen Yuanxiu was sent back by Xu Feng, everyone thought he was going to die soon, so I said that people who are used to pretending to be pitiful are the most hateful." Mi Wu brought the topic back again, " I only hope that this time the sect master can recognize the tricks of these villains, stop trusting them, and let those who pretend to deceive and harbor dissent will not be left behind!"

While Mi Wu and Xiangtai were talking, Chang Jiaci felt two resentful gazes from them on his back.

He was about to dodge and avoid this unprovoked wave when he suddenly heard a soft call from the other end.

"—Blessing."

Chang Jiaci quickly raised his head: "Hey, master, master, I'm here."

Dong Qinghe gazed across the crowd and landed on Jiaci, and said quietly: "There is a rule in the cultivation world that you need to burn incense before burial, which is to pray for the dead soul to pass through the underworld and enter the cycle of reincarnation safely and smoothly..."

After all, Qingxi is a young servant, and Dong Qinghe's behavior is an exception. It is really inappropriate to ask him to offer incense to the young servant, and the other elders are also not suitable, so in order to show love, Dong Qinghe decided to let him offer incense to the young servant. Only lovers come to do it, as appropriate.

Dong Qinghe said, and handed over the talisman paper.

"It's up to you to pray sincerely and send Qingxi to the path of bliss. He will be happy to see it in the sky."

Chang Jiaci stared at his master indifferently, but with a penetrating gaze, and was slightly taken aback.

The two looked at each other for a while, Chang Jiaci stepped over and carefully took the talisman paper over.

"Yes……"

When he came to the incense cauldron, Jiaci wanted to light the incense candle, but Dong Qinghe stopped him.

"Order yourself."

Jiaci only learned this formula for lighting a fire two days ago, he should know it, but I don’t know if under so many gazes, especially the one belonging to Dong Qinghe not far away, it is extraordinarily solid, which makes Chang Jiaci a little nervous, he After twisting it several times, he couldn't get it to work, which caused unceremonious laughter from one side.

Until Dong Qinghe said aloud: "Concentrate on it, without distracting thoughts."

Chang Jiaci settled down and drew the fire.It's just that when he put the requiem talisman into the furnace, he almost burned his hand. Fortunately, the master of the east gate pulled his palm out in time to avoid the trouble.

Feeling the scrutiny on the top of his head was heavy again, Chang Jiaci immediately apologized.

"Disciple, disciple is dull, please master to blame..."

After a pause, Dong Qinghe's voice sounded: "Forget it, you go down."

Chang Jiaci's throat moved, and he responded in a low voice: "Yes..."