dragon pen

The dead general reappeared in front of his eyes again, and the huge alien beast that appeared out of thin air forced Yun Qibing, who had already approached the city, to retreat...After they left, calm was restored under the south gate of Wusai City, and the moon over the desert was as clean and bright as topaz On the jade plate, the moon is too bright to look up and you can hardly see the stars. The night wind blows through the wind and sand. In the wind, you can only hear the whispers of the soldiers guarding the city, and "hulu" and "hulu" like the panting sounds of wild animals.

Under the city gate, a huge black beast with a ferocious appearance was resting its head on its paws, sleeping soundly. In its sleep, it didn't know what good things it dreamed of. It flicked its long leopard tail and patted There are long scratches on the ground...

People keep it at arm's length.

Only one black-haired boy showed no fear at all. He stood beside the purring ink beast with his hands behind his back, raised his head to look at its appearance, his eyes were so gentle...

It's like looking at your own dog.

"What's the matter with this beast?" The man in the picture scroll hanging on the city wall kicked the gravel away, raised his head and glanced at the young man outside the picture scroll with a gloomy face, "Zhang Ziyao, are you cheating on me, and finally painted it secretly?" Something that shouldn't be drawn?"

"No, look—"

Zhang Ziyao raised his hand to touch Mo Beast's paws, the snoring stopped suddenly, Mo Beast opened one eye, glanced at Zhang Ziyao, then lifted its chin slightly——Zhang Ziyao crawled to Mo Beast's big Staggering on its paws, it stood on tiptoe and moved its hand over to scratch it. The black beast closed its eyes as if enjoying it...

"Have you ever seen such a ferocious beast?" Zhang Ziyao narrowed his eyes with a smile, "I just drew a wild beast and borrowed a soul from any dog ​​nearby, so that I can look after the house and not bite people casually, how nice— —”

As he spoke, he moved his hand away, then jumped off the black beast's paw and reached out to pat it - the latter immediately leaned his head over and pretended to be an idiot who wanted to touch... Zhu Jiuyin watched this scene coldly In the middle of the night, listening to what the young man said to this inexplicably strange ugly thing with extreme contempt, "I will trouble you for guarding the south gate of Wusai City in the future, Xiaohu", Zhu Jiuyin snorted coldly, and changed his sitting position: "You can give me whatever you want!" When will the stinking problem of people taking names randomly be changed? They only take the names of country people."

"Zhu Jiuyin also sounds like the name of a stinky old villain."

"Can you say that again?"

"In short, the city of no sorrow has been defended," Zhang Ziyao turned around with his hands behind his back, his black eyes were particularly bright under the moonlight, "you must not laugh at me anymore, I am incompetent and like to find things for myself—see How well I have done this? Wubei City will not be disturbed in the short term; Yun Qibing will probably not come to die easily; even Hongye doesn't have to resurrect another person-no one wants to sacrifice their lives, How nice."

so what!Are you still waiting for someone to praise you now?Zhu Jiuyin said "Oh" expressionlessly: "Did you plan to do this in the first place?"

Zhang Ziyao glanced at him and said, "Yes."

Zhu Jiuyin resisted the urge to sneer: "Go back to the tent in a while, look at the censer you used to burn incense for 'the fairy in the picture scroll', and repeat these two words again."

Zhang Ziyao: "..."

Zhu Jiuyin: "Little idiot, you are no longer the little idiot you were back then, you are now a cheeky little idiot."

Zhang Ziyao: "Well, those who are close to the ink are black."

Zhu Jiuyin: "What is it near?"

Zhang Ziyao: "... close to Zhu Zhechi."

Zhu Jiuyin: "If you have the ability, don't be cowardly."

Zhang Ziyao: "I've always been very timid, you are the uncle."

Zhang Ziyao carried it to the front of the scroll and looked at it. Niu Niu didn't know which stone he hid behind and there was no shadow, so he asked, "Where is Niu Niu?"

Zhu Jiuyin lowered her eyes and scanned a certain dark corner, paused and said, "I'm asleep, of course it's possible that I simply don't want to talk to you—that's right, think of someone who wanted him to go alone this afternoon. Facing thousands of Yun Qibing alone, tsk tsk, even this lord will be very angry."

"I'm just kidding, how could he really go, and you think people are as narrow-minded as you," Zhang Ziyao simply took the scroll off the wall and rolled it up carefully, thinking for a while, "This afternoon, Zhang Ziyao After Xiao came, he hid, feeling that he doesn't like Zhang Zixiao very much."

Zhang Ziyao paused and added, "I don't like him either."

Zhu Jiuyin flicked her nails lazily: "It's so easy for you children to dislike others casually."

Zhang Ziyao: "..."

Zhu Jiuyin: "Unlike me, I don't like anyone except myself."

Zhang Ziyao: "That's right, I can really see that."

Holding the picture scroll, Zhang Ziyao knocked on the gate of the city while talking, and the gate was pulled open from the inside. The guards guarding the gate smiled when they saw Zhang Ziyao was standing outside, and offered to hand over the torch to him. Him, let him light the way back to the tent, Zhang Ziyao thanked him and took the torch——

At least before this afternoon, everyone except Wubeijun didn't know who this young man was, but now, his image in the eyes of everyone is extremely tall, er, maybe even surpassed Louhen, and he can barely die General Qi Yun's shoulders are so high...

Holding the torch, Zhang Ziyao went back outside the tent, and conveniently put the torch on the shelf outside the tent——when the light of the fire faintly illuminated the inside of the tent, the young man immediately realized that there was someone else in the tent. He held the scroll tightly in his hand, and asked in a slightly raised voice. :"who?"

Hearing Zhang Ziyao's voice, the man came out and lifted the curtain—so under the moonlight, Zhang Ziyao was caught off guard and looked at Zhang Zixiao's expressionless face. He was shocked, but the latter was just With a gloomy face, he said, "Why did you come back so late?"

"Looked at the ink beast outside," Zhang Ziyao walked into the tent and glanced at Fuyao—the maid who usually draws a lot was silent tonight, she glanced at Zhang Ziyao, turned around and poured him a glass of water, Zhang Ziyao took it inexplicably , took a sip, then looked at Zhang Zixiao again, "Do you need something from me?"

Zhang Zixiao didn't seem to hear his question, and asked himself: "The beast hasn't disappeared yet?"

"Borrowing the soul of a dog, the painting will not disappear until it is torn." Zhang Ziyao paused, turned around and had to ask again, "Did you ask me for something? Zhang Zixiao, didn't you go home earlier?" Is it? Why did it appear here again—”

"Because I suddenly had something to worry about, so I came back again." Zhang Zixiao stood up, stared at Zhang Ziyao for a while, and suddenly smiled, "Zhang Ziyao, don't be so indecisive that you can't support the wall with mud, I'm kind If you don't cherish what I give you, I will take it away."

Zhang Ziyao subconsciously covered his waist and tapped the dragon pen——

Zhang Zixiao smiled: "It's not this, it's something else."

While talking, he bent down and took the painting that Zhang Ziyao was holding in his arms, and then, regardless of the black-haired boy's stop, he unfolded it directly, stared at the "landscape painting" that was just a rocky pine tree for a while, his eyes rolled Turned around: "There is nothing, why are you holding this thing like a baby?"

Zhang Ziyao snatched the painting back with his hands: "None of your business."

Zhang Zixiao smiled, and watched the young man bring the painting over—at this time a cow's head poked out from behind the rocky mountain, and the first time he saw Zhang Zixiao, he grinned at him, as if Said: Go away!

Zhang Ziyao specifically looked it up in the book, and it is true that Feishou is quite ferocious when it grows up, but at the moment Su Lian is still a cub, making this movement is like a kitten blowing its fur——Zhang Zixiao not only Don't be afraid, still keeping that smile that doesn't match his style of painting, bent down and waved at the little beast: "Good night, cutie."

In response to his greeting, the Flying Beast opened its mouth to bite his finger—

Zhang Zixiao sighed and retracted his fingers in time.

At that moment, the banter in the corners of Zhang Zixiao's eyes gave Zhang Ziyao goosebumps, and he said "Don't play with it" and rolled up the scroll.

Zhang Zixiao straightened up and looked at Zhang Ziyao, then paused and said, "I take back what I said about you being indecisive. You are still a bit progressive. In the past, you would definitely not do Feng Ling, which seems a bit immoral in theory—— It's good now, you still know how to collect strange-shaped things as pets for yourself..."

"Niu Niu is not a strange thing, nor is it my pet! Shut up!" Zhang Ziyao said angrily, "If there is nothing else, I want to sleep!"

"It's not a pet even after it's named like this," Zhang Zixiao muttered, "You didn't say thank you for helping you today."

"You didn't say thank you to me for the shitty things I went to the capital to blame for you!" Zhang Ziyao stared, "You came here just to hear me say thank you?"

"Of course not. I'm here to remind you, don't meddle in the Mirror Witch's affairs, otherwise you will regret it. If you mess things up, I will intervene. Don't blame me for not reminding you."

"What can I mess with?"

"You almost-"

"Is the big cat outside the door more terrifying or the dead general you drew?"

"..." Zhang Zixiao suppressed the smile on his face, and returned to his previous dead face, "Speaking of which, what happened to the painting "Lake Light and Emerald Green" in the end?"

"It's useless." Zhang Ziyao was protecting the scroll behind him, as if he was deeply afraid of Zhang Zixiao's hands and feet again, "Although the kingfisher is still... Forget it, you don't do such immoral things in the future, and you won't be afraid of short life!"

"Before I painted that painting, I caught wind and cold on the way to the capital, and I died of illness when I arrived in the capital." Zhang Zixiao said with a smile, "I won't die again."

Zhang Ziyao rolled his eyes a few times, and then threw Zhang Zixiao out of the tent without saying a word.

……

When he got up the next morning, Zhang Ziyao found that not only Niu Niu was the one who thanked the guests behind closed doors, but even Zhu Jiuyin was also hiding—these two animals seemed to be infected with some kind of plague and refused to show their faces. While feeding the bean paste buns, Zhu Jiuyin came out and showed his face.

"I thought you were dead." Looking at the man in the picture scroll who was holding a bean paste bun, Zhang Ziyao teased, "I haven't responded for a long time."

At this moment, Zhu Jiuyin's hair looked a bit disheveled compared to the past, her face was listless, and there were thick dark circles under her eyes, as if she hadn't slept well all night... After hearing Zhang Ziyao's words, he raised his eyelids and swept He glanced at him: "It's really a teenager who doesn't know what it means to be sad."

"what's wrong?"

"You are in a good mood."

"It's good."

Hearing this, Zhu Jiuyin looked at Fuyao behind Zhang Ziyao, took a bite of the red bean paste bun and was burned again, babbling for a long time until Fuyao couldn't stand it anymore and handed him a cup of cold tea——Zhu Jiuyin threw the red bean paste bun and drank it quickly After taking a sip, calm down, okay, then he returned to his expressionless look and said, "Just be in a good mood, and it won't be better for a few days--you go out and look up at the sky outside, isn't it dark clouds overwhelming the city? "

Zhang Ziyao glanced outside, the sun was shining brightly, the breeze was refreshing, and he turned his head back to look at Zhu Jiuyin inexplicably—the latter rolled his eyes and muttered, forget it, and pretended to retreat back to his dark corner...

At this moment, Zhang Ziyao glanced at another untouched red bean paste bun placed on the chaotic rocks, glanced worriedly at the back of the seam, and stopped Zhu Jiuyin, saying: "I'll go find my mother, Later, I will accompany her to choose a suitable house to live in... You look at Niu Niu, if he comes out later, let him eat something."

The branches of the pine tree rattled and trembled. After a while, Zhu Jiuyin poked his head out: "What do you think of me as a nanny or a nanny?"

"Be whatever you like." Zhang Ziyao put on his shoes without looking up, "I'm leaving."

Then, regardless of Zhu Jiuyin's desire to protest, he walked out of the tent without looking back.

When she arrived at Yuanshi's place, she was still sleeping.

The tent was full of aloes. If Zhang Ziyao saw Yuan Shi for the first time, the fragrance was still faintly visible, but now it can only be described as "strong"——

Even a little too rich.

After smelling it for a long time, it seems to have the smell of rotten wood.

Zhang Ziyao didn't wake Yuanshi up immediately, but just sat down next to her bed as usual, waited for a while, and looked at the rose on Yuanshi's neck - it was more colorful than yesterday, but Compared with the lifelike appearance of the flowers when they were in full bloom a few days ago, the tattoos at this time vaguely reveal a trace of decline. Although the flowers are still blooming just right, the petals at the very edge have drooped softly , crumbling appearance...

Probably tomorrow, the flower will officially begin to wither.

Zhang Ziyao didn't know if this meant that everything would end in the future—the rose mark didn't have a next host, so where would it go?

What about the Mirror Witch?Could her mission also come to an end temporarily?As long as she doesn't take the initiative to resurrect others, she won't be hurt?

Sitting on the edge of the bed, Zhang Ziyao thought to himself for a while, and then stretched out his hand to wake her up—but when Zhang Ziyao's hand touched Yuan Shi's shoulder, Yuan Shi's hair slipped off, and Zhang Ziyao slammed her Suddenly, a few strands of glaring red appeared in Yuanshi's black hair, the red was like newly brewed fruit wine, and it was extremely eye-catching between the black hair.

Zhang Ziyao's heart skipped a beat, subconsciously he felt a little strange, but before he could understand the problem, Yuan Shi opened his eyes and saw Zhang Ziyao sitting beside the bed smiling: "You are here. "

Zhang Ziyao stepped aside to let Yuan Shi get up.

But his gaze couldn't help but follow the strands of red between Yuanshi's hair.

"What are you looking at?" Yuan Shi asked, following Zhang Ziyao's gaze and finally fixed it between the ends of his hair, Yuan Shi was stunned, and smiled after a while, "I was shocked by the one that appeared last night..."

Zhang Ziyao hesitated again and again, and finally suppressed the uneasiness in his heart and asked, "Mother, do you feel unwell?"

"No, I'm fine."

"If you feel uncomfortable, you must tell me—" Zhang Ziyao emphasized.

"Understood, you are a child who loves to worry about nothing... I heard that you rescued Hongye, mother and daughter from the hands of the prince yesterday, and used the giant beast you drew to scare away thousands of clouds. Mother has heard of it." Afterwards, I felt very proud and distressed—I, a child who doesn’t like painting, now knows to do things he doesn’t like to do for others.”

"There is nothing you would like or not... A general guarding the south gate died in battle, and Lord Rui wanted Hongye to revive him—"

"Why did you stop him?"

Zhang Ziyao was stunned by Yuanshi's question. He raised his head and looked at Yuanshi as if he was unsure and asked, "Mother, what did you say..."

Yuanshi rolled up her hair: "Mother just asked out of curiosity."

"...that is a general, brave and good at fighting. Although he may have been a loyal and passionate man before his death, no one knows what will happen to him after he becomes the Army of No Sadness." Zhang Ziyao bit his lower lip lightly, "This kind of... It just so happens that because of being loyal to the country, I am afraid that the desire to give birth has become even stronger. If someone like Zhang San wants to resurrect his wife for the time being, I am worried—"

"You are worried that the general will be unfavorable to Hongye."

Zhang Ziyao nodded.

Yuan Shi stared at him for a while, and then sighed: "You are so soft-hearted, you always don't want to see what wronged people suffer, and you don't want to fight or grab. You need to know that sometimes you may be a lot less by staying out of things." trouble--"

"The only wrong thing I ever did was to believe in the wrong uncle, which killed you." Zhang Ziyao held Yuanshi's hand, thought for a while, and said, "Mother, I should thank you for looking at the rose on your neck." .”

"Yes."

Zhang Ziyao paused for a long time, his eyes flickered almost every word and he asked, "Tell me, what will happen after the flowers wither?"

There was a moment of silence in the tent.

Yuanshi withdrew his hand from his son's hand, turned back to the bronze mirror, straightened her hair and said in a calm tone: "Mother will turn into a rose and return to the dust. The fate of the mirror witch will also So it's over, until that mirror finds the next person who is suitable to be a mirror witch, the mirror witch will not reappear in the mortal world."

Zhang Ziyao was stunned for a moment.

After a long time, he smiled bitterly and said, "I knew it."

He always felt that there was something wrong, so he didn't find it strange to get such an answer now, he just paused, and then stood up from the bed: "It seems that my presumptuous assertion almost killed my mother again the second time."

At this time, Yuan Shi was gesturing to put a plain hairpin into her hair bun. After hearing what he said, she turned around and glanced at him: "I am very happy to be able to come back to see you. There are some things that cannot be forced—it is not Living people, what do you say that kills but not kills..."

Zhang Ziyao stood in the tent, silent for a moment, then raised the curtain and walked out with a gloomy face.

Yuanshi looked at the back of his son leaving, and sighed after a moment of silence.

The tent fell into silence at this time, just as Yuanshi finished tidying his temples.When she stood up and changed her clothes, the curtain was lifted from the outside—Yuan Shi had her back to the door, but at this moment, she did not stop changing her clothes, she let the clothes slip off her shoulders, revealing the light. bare back—

It's just that on the skin that should be white and delicate, there are raised meridians at this time, like rose vines buried under the skin and climbing all the way up from her buttocks. It is complicated and creepy.

However, the visitor did not show the slightest surprise.

He crossed his arms and stood behind Yuan Shi in a leisurely manner, watching the woman slowly put on a new apron and coat, he said lightly: "The vine climbed to your heart, you should turn into a plant gone."

"..."

The man didn't get a response, so he turned around in a circle: "Yuan Bei, has anyone told you that if a woman doesn't treat herself better, don't expect others to love you—whether it's your husband or your son. "

Yuanshi lowered his eyes, fastened the buttons on his clothes in a leisurely manner, turned around and looked at Zhang Zixiao behind him: "I'm wandering in the world, but it's just because I don't worry about my child living alone in the world. He has grown up, knows right from wrong, and understands human feelings; I walked out of the mirror just to take another look at my son, say goodbye to him, and satisfy the regrets at the end of life. Now that my wish has been fulfilled, I can't think of a reason to do it—"

"Even if you die for it?"

"I'm already dead."

"Oh, it hurts."

"I'm already old, so I'm afraid of pain."

"You woman, you are cruel enough to yourself."

Zhang Zixiao watched Yuanshi pull up his clothes coldly, and put the high collar to cover the cyan vines protruding from his chest, and sneered, "It's just that you forgot what we agreed at the beginning? Do you think I'm here for charity? Bless you all." Mother and child reunite and say goodbye? At the beginning, because I believed that you would not disappoint others, I was relieved to stay away from Zhang Ziyao's sight, but I couldn't wait for the result—now, the roses are about to wither, when are you going to do it?"

"Before I answer your question, please answer my question first." Yuanshi came to Zhang Zixiao and stood still, "Why me?"

"Emotions in the world are the purest between parents and children. Your love for Zhang Ziyao is the most equal to Yuan Die's protection for Hongye." Zhang Zixiao tilted his head, "Such people have the strongest emotions when they do something. There is resonance—”

"What do you want?"

"Have you heard the story of the finishing touch?"

"?"

Zhang Zixiao smiled: "Back then, the ancestors of the Zhang family used a pen to draw a dragon on the mural. After finishing the eyes, the dragon took off, and the Zhang family united with the bald donkey in the temple to seal the dragon—now, the same pen is still the same. If the Mirror Witch contains a drop of her heart's blood with resentment, she will anoint the dragon with blood-red dragon eyes, so that he can break free from the shackles and reappear in the world."