One Hundred Ways to Die

four

During the days when he was with the two of them, the third prince refreshed his cognition every day.

Ah Ba seemed to be holding his own eyeballs in the palm of his hand, and would never let him do anything that could be done for him, for fear that the wind would blow and the sun would burn.Ah Ba would pick the first-bloomed apricot blossoms, pick a branch of tender green lotus leaves, buy wooden bells with tassels and chubby clay dolls, and hand them to Ah Qi while he was on his way.

If he hadn't seen this person belittle Ah Qi, the third prince would have thought that he was treating his beloved younger brother or son.

In fact, the iron chain could be easily broken free. Ah Qi had never pulled it hard, but when the chain accidentally fell out of the boy's hand, it was Ah Ba who was nervous.

He would immediately stop his movements, bend down to pick up the iron chain, and carefully put it back in Ah Qi's hands.

The third prince vaguely guessed that there would be this restraint. It was very likely that the man accidentally injured Ah Qi when he was mad, so he put on the shackles of introspection for himself.

Sometimes the third prince was very grateful for Ah Qi's untouchable temperament like clay sculpture and wood carving.

He put himself in the situation and thought about how terrible it would be if he had a physique that would make the other person addicted and go crazy if he was touched.In addition to the countless mad bees and butterflies, even the loved ones are not allowed to have close contact, and they have to be immersed in the pain of killing their close ones all day long.

Ah Qi was young at the time, if he was moved by such care, how painful it would be to lose it later.

This later was a series of tricks by Princess Peiyang.

Counting birds with one stone caused thousands of waves in the rebellion, affecting countless nobles of the royal family. In the end, King Li was defeated, two princes died tragically, and the only remaining third prince became a hostage in the hands of Princess Peiyang.

This rebellion lasted for four years, Ah Qi became more and more tall and straight like bamboo, and as beautiful as deep snow, and became the eye-catching right-hand man of Princess Peiyang together with Ah Ba.

That day Ah Qi went to treat the refugees and prevent the plague, and Ah Ba was sent to assassinate the mission.

When Ah Ba came back, they saw a raging fire in a row of residential buildings. Those people only told him that Ah Qi was inside and hadn't come out yet, and they didn't know which household it was. They hypocritically asked him to give up and put out the fire first.

Ah Ba rushed in, braving the fire and the collapsed blocks of wood to search from house to house. He escaped the house engulfed by flames, and he did not escape the poisoned back arrow.

At that time, the third prince was standing on the tall attic, and beside him was Princess Peiyang, who was pressing Ah Qi's shoulders with both hands, exhaling at him, "Ah Qi, he is dead."

Ah Ba was the only bodyguard she prepared for Ah Qi, the only one who had never been abolished, because of her profound internal strength, martial arts, strong will and firm will to maintain her xinxing, she accidentally got closer and closer to Ah Qi, but she was still alive and well.

It's a pity that he is the emperor's pawn and must die.

Princess Peiyang smiled and said: "Don't be sad, I will equip you with new guards, they must be stronger than Ah Ba."

Ah Qi's eyes were indifferent, as if he was just watching a boring shadow puppet show.

What is he thinking?Or nothing at all.

No one could guess what was going on under his calm face.

The third prince sometimes guessed that maybe he was just a lazy plant, lazily feeling the sunlight and water, and didn't listen to people's words at all.

Later, Princess Peiyang's queen's dream was shattered, and she was secretly executed by the emperor. Before drinking the poisonous wine, she asked to see Ah Qi again.

She laughed at herself: "Should I see you as a human being, or as a ****? I brought you out of the deep mountains, and now I'm going back. You might as well go back with me."

She drank the poisonous wine, suddenly pulled Ah Qi's collar, turned her head and kissed him on the lips.

The third prince quickly ordered the palace servants to pull the two of them apart to prevent her intention to kill Ah Qi.

Dirty blood continued to ooze from her lips, she laughed wildly, and cursed that Zhao Guo would die because of Ah Qi.

I don't know if it's because the amount of poisonous wine that he took in was small, or because he wasn't afraid of poison at all, but Ah Qi didn't show any symptoms of abdominal pain.

But from that day on, Ah Qi never spoke again.

**

Yinjiabao, dormant outside the Huzang Pass in Saibei, is like a black and trapped beast tempered by wind and frost.

Every time you step in, there is an unbearable sense of suffocation.

If it wasn't for official business, the third prince really didn't want to deal with the Lord of Yin Castle. He came here this time to investigate the murder of the governor. He had already figured out the cause and effect along the way, and finding Yin Hong, who is the governor, was just a formality.

When the group arrived, Yin Honggao was sitting in the main hall, with a wolfskin blanket under his feet, his chin resting on his right hand covered with iron claws, his eyes squinted like a vulture patrolling its territory, and his right face was covered with burn marks for him to see. It looks especially hideous and terrifying.

It is said that a businessman from another place once wanted to pass the customs by transporting prohibited goods. Hearing that he had no wife and children, he sent a beautiful woman to bribe him.

Yin Hong had no enthusiasm for this pedestrian, nor did he pay much attention or vigilance.

——everything was going well.

But just a few days before he was about to leave, a bunch of moths appeared.

For example, when a caravan passing by was stolen, they insisted on identifying people in their team. After busy checking, it was finally discovered that the other party was blind and misidentified; for example, the team escorting Xue Xingrui was suddenly attacked by men in black. After counterattacking, the opponent quickly receded like a tide; for example... the Seal of Commanding the Lord of Yin Castle disappeared.

Yin Hong's method has always been rough and direct, even if he has doubts about them, he will not use such a tortuous method.

Someone must be deliberately delaying their return to Beijing.

The third prince had a faint idea of ​​a candidate.

Lord Yin stared at his subordinates from one room to another, and when he found Ah Qi's house, the third prince was not particularly alarmed. Ah Qi was wearing a mask, and Yin Hong couldn't recognize him.

——Sure enough, Master Yin of Castle Sen looked around the room coldly, paused for a moment at Ah Qi who was wearing a mask, and turned away after not staying for too long.

The third prince thought, even if Ah Qi didn't wear a mask, Yin Hong wouldn't be able to recognize him.

Back then, this person was seriously injured in the fire scene, and after being rescued, he was on the verge of death several times. The imperial physician used countless precious medicinal materials to rescue him.He was insane for half a year, and finally regained consciousness completely, but lost his memory, and became the only existence that quit his dependence on Ah Qi.

At this moment, when he heard his subordinates say that they hadn't found anything, Yin Hong signaled to continue to the next room, turned around and strode away, his black cloak raised a cold arc.

Ah Qi stood beside her, as quiet and silent as if she had never seen her old friend.

This passing by without any pause made the third prince feel in a trance.

He seemed to see the two people walking towards him in a snowy sky that year, their robes rattling, distanced yet intimate.

Those harmonious and enviable memories were completely torn into countless fragments at this moment.

When there were only two people left in the room, the third prince took off Ah Qi's mask.

"He doesn't remember you anymore." He said, "Father won't let you out of the palace again this time, and he won't have the chance to set foot in the capital."

Ah Qi looked up at him.

These dark and moist eyes are like young deer in the forest who are ignorant of the world, with a kind of clear and cruel innocence.

The third prince's heart was agitated, and he felt unprecedentedly relieved that the two missed him, like a thief who stole a gem and suddenly learned that the owner gave up looking for it.

it's already over.

Yin Hong didn't know, and Ah Qi couldn't tell.

Since then, the mountains have been high and the rivers have been long, the sun has burned into ashes, and the rainy season can no longer arrive. That bit of broken tenderness has been sealed in fossils forever.

The third prince lowered his head, so close to the distance between breaths, passionately kissed Ah Qi's slightly parted lips, slender chin, and shiny cheeks——

Every time the skin touches, it makes his whole body ache, and countless thorny thorns are stirring and surging in his mind, punishing him for his indulgence.

Soon he finally couldn't bear it anymore, pushed Ah Qi away, curled up beside the bed with his head in his arms, and cried out in pain.

This is the Gu worm that he planted for himself by the witch doctor in order not to be tempted by Ah Qi to lose himself.

Ah Qi lowered her eyelashes to look at him for a while, stretched out her pale fingers to take back the mask, and slowly put it back on herself.

The weather outside is bright and clear, the breeze is warm, and it is a day suitable for basking in the sun.

A few days later, the seal was found, and it was another oolong case.

The day when the third prince and his party left, the sky was gloomy and it was raining lightly.

Yin Hong stood under the apricot tree in the empty courtyard, and the wet apricot blossoms fell on his broad shoulders.

He stretched out his iron claws to pick up a petal, and looked down at the soft and white flower carefully.

Hearing the sound of horseshoes outside the door, the subordinates who followed him gradually felt relieved—the castle owner didn't know what he was thinking in the past two days, and sneaked into the courtyard of the weird man wearing a mask every night, neither entering the house nor calling for anyone to come out , one stop is the whole night.Seeing how precious the third prince was to that person, he was really worried that the castle owner would make a fuss for robbing him.

Now that the person is gone, there should be no more troubles.

"Zhu Zhan, have you ever been afraid of anything?" Lord Yin suddenly asked.

Zhu Zhan was stunned for a moment, and said, "Of course..."

Yin Hong didn't want to talk to him, but said to himself: "I want to see him, but I'm afraid of seeing him."

The most dangerous assassination, the worst danger, never made his heart beat wildly, apprehensive and frightened.

It's not like him.

He suddenly wanted to go out for a walk.

The Lord of Yin Castle rode to the market, and the crowd parted spontaneously in fear when they met him, and the noise became quieter.

He walked aimlessly, and at the end of the long street, he saw a convoy stopping for no reason.

The third prince's carriage was parked there, and he was holding an umbrella to buy a brightly colored and round pottery pig from a street vendor, and turned around and handed it to another slender young man wearing a mask under the umbrella.

It turned out to be such an interesting thing to buy these gadgets for Ah Qi.

Seeing Ah Qi holding it in his hand with a calm expression but obviously interested, it was rarely tainted with fireworks, which made people's heart itch. No wonder Ah Ba liked to give him these things so much at the beginning.

The third prince raised his arm to put away the umbrella, and was about to help Ah Qi into the carriage, when he suddenly heard the sound of approaching horseshoes, and a cold voice: "Your Highness, stay here."

The sudden appearance of a tall man made the third prince have a bad feeling.

"Lord Yin Castle?"

"...let me see his face."

The third prince's expression darkened, and the guards around him became nervous and put their hands on the hilt of their swords one after another.

After a while, the third prince showed a generous smile: "I thought Castle Lord Yin was here for something, but it turned out to be for a beauty. I will satisfy the castle owner's curiosity."

He didn't want to attract more attention from the other party because of his resistance, so what if he saw the face, Yin Hong wouldn't think of it.

……Will not.

The delicate eyebrows and eyes appeared in the field of vision as the mask slipped off. Yin Hong stared at Ah Qi and asked, "What's your name?"

Ah Qi didn't answer, the third prince was about to speak for him, Yin Hong had already driven his horse closer, condescendingly pressed the back of his claws against his chin: "Why don't you answer."

"boom!"

It was the pottery pig in Ah Qi's hand that fell to the ground and broke into pieces.

Yin Hong looked at the fragments in a daze, and subconsciously said, "I'm sorry..."

It broke again, let me buy another one for you, Ah Qi.

But... Ah Qi?

Who is he calling?

Seeing that his expression was not right, the third prince reacted quickly, hugged Ah Qi and sent him into the carriage, saying: "Since Lord Yin's wish has been fulfilled, let's go back! My palace is one step ahead!"

He urged the driver to speed up, and got into the carriage himself.

"Did he remember it?" The third prince grabbed Ah Qi's shoulder and pressed him against the wall, "Why is his ghost lingering? You already belong to me, why can't he act like nothing happened?" Pass?!"

Ah Qi raised his hand to break him away, but he held his fingers, and the third prince forced him from a close distance: "If he wants to take you away, will you follow him?"

Knowing that there was no answer, he couldn't help but ask again and again.

Guilt and panic made him unable to calm down. He stared at Ah Qi for a while, then suddenly picked Ah Qi up, put him on his lap, and began to peel off his robe.

Before he could move further, there was a sudden loud noise above the carriage, and the roof of the carriage was torn open by iron claws. The third prince only felt the strong wind blowing, almost knocking him into the air. His eyes blurred, Ah Qi in his arms had been taken away by someone who had come. Take away.

He watched in dismay as Yin Hong hugged Ah Qi in his arms, rode off on the horse and rode away.

"What are you looking at, hurry up and chase after him!" He scolded the guards beside him.

Knowing that his riding skills are not as good as the opponent's, he stood outside the carriage and gnashed his teeth at the surrounding woods: "Di Wei! Don't hide anymore! I know that you did all those little tricks before, no matter what tricks you want to play to delay time. , if you stand idly by again, don't expect to see Ah Qi again in the future!"

Following his roar, rustling sounds came from all around.

General Di in black, holding a gun and riding a horse, led a group of men in black out of the woods.

Di Wei didn't feel guilty at all, so he asked, "What enmity does that Yin guy have with Ah Qi?"

The third prince said coldly: "There is no enmity, it's just an old lover!"

"That would really be damned." Di Wei frowned, "It's just..."

The third prince understood his scruples, and said loudly: "That guy Yin Hong wanted to assassinate me, but fortunately General Di came to rescue him! If I can kill the traitor who committed chaos, I will report the credit to my father." Emperor!"

Di Wei opened the corner of his mouth and showed an evil smile: "The last general will definitely fulfill his mission!"