The strange story of Huai'an Inn

Another snowfall fell in Tianliang City, thickly pressing on the green and black tiles.Even though the weather is cold, there are quite a lot of pedestrians on the street these days, probably because it will be New Year's Eve in two days.

Bianhe Street is full of stalls selling New Year’s goods. People who go to the market are jostling together, yelling and bargaining.

Song Mingzi hurriedly squeezed through the crowd and headed towards Huai'an Inn.Three or four streets away from the destination, he suddenly stopped and opened his eyes wide in surprise.

But among the humming crowd, there was a tall man with a white face like jade, hair splashed with ink, and wearing a Firefox cloak, which was very conspicuous. On his arm, there was a stupid bamboo basket, which was full of bacon, Dim sum, Spring Festival couplets and other things look nondescript.

But it was Zhu Helan.

"Old Zhu!!!" Song Mingzi roared excitedly, shaking the whole street into silence for a moment.He didn't care about anything else, and immediately moved in front of the shopkeeper by using the illusion technique.

"When did you come back?! Da Luo sent that brat to our mountain with his master on his back, saying that you and Little Six were dead, and I was so scared that I was going to look for you!"

Zhu Helan smiled and cupped his hands at him, "It's my fault. It's only been two days since I came back, and I haven't had time to send you a message."

Song Mingzi hurriedly asked, "What happened? Didn't you go to Tailong Town? Why did you go to Nanhai again?"

"It's a long story." Zhu Helan sighed softly, but there was deep sadness in his brows.

"Then I'll go to the inn with you, tell me slowly on the way."

Zhu Helan thought that if more people came to the scene, it might change Chong Liu's mood, so she nodded and agreed, "Just, when you see Liu'er, don't mention Nanhai."

"Huh? Why?"

Along the way, Zhu Helan narrated what happened in the past few days in the most concise words.The more Song Mingzi heard it, the more surprised she became.He guessed that Chong Liu was not a simple attendant, but he didn't expect that he was so powerful that he was the last disciple of Mr. Gou Chen, the legendary figure of Baixiaomen.Not to mention that Mr. Gou Chen was actually alive until...

It is conceivable that Guan Zhongliu was hit hard...

"So be careful when you speak, don't mention Nanhai, it's best not to even mention the word Nan. Also don't mention the words Gou and Chen." The shopkeeper Qian reminded Wan Wan.

"...Are you exaggerating too much?"

Zhu Helan glanced at him warningly, "Bai invited you to drink and eat so many times?"

"Then I've been watching the store for you for so many days!" Song Mingzi stretched his neck and looked at the things in the basket, "Hey, there are so many delicious foods. I remember that your inn didn't celebrate the New Year very much before? "

"It's not too late to start this year."

"Tsk tsk tsk..." Song Mingzi rubbed his chin and smiled maliciously, "Could it be to coax a certain waiter to make him feel at home? I didn't expect that I would also see the day when a dead tree is in spring!"

"Who is the dead tree?" The threat in his tone became more serious, and his eyes were piercing.

Song Mingzi felt that if he continued to speak without restraint, he might be overwhelmed and walked around, so he hurriedly laughed and said, "I'm a dead tree, can I still do it?"

The speaking room has arrived at the inn.Before the New Year's Eve, there were a lot fewer guests. In the hall, only Zhu Yi was distributing the sauce, and Xiao Shun was sitting on the bench chatting with him.

The shopkeeper put the basket on the counter and asked Zhu Yi, "Has Liu Er come out?" Zhu Yi shook his head, looking very worried.Xiao Shun said, "Brother Six hasn't eaten much food for the past two days. I once saw him secretly give the food we sent to beggars outside, and he didn't touch it at all."

Zhu Helan frowned, her eyes were full of melancholy but she didn't say much, she just went into the kitchen, took some food and went to the backyard.

Song Mingzi leaned on the counter, grabbed the peanuts from the plate and asked while peeling them, "I said... have you noticed anything... strange since you came back?" Zhu Yi and Xiao Shun hurriedly nodded, "Yes! He doesn't eat, he doesn't sleep at night, he shuts himself in the house during the day and doesn't know what he's doing, but he still smiles when he sees people, as if nothing happened."

"I mean...is there any change in him?"

The two looked at each other and shook their heads at the same time, "On him? No?"

Song Mingzi nodded, but there was a hidden worry in his heart.

A few days ago, Xu Hanke and Liu Sheng went up the mountain together with Yuanchu.The various situations they told the brothers were too unbelievable.

What about an ancient underground city 2000 years ago, a giant swelling like a mountain, a monster crawling out of a hole, and two heavy sixes...

He knew that Zhu Helan didn't tell him something.

Is it to protect Guan Chongliu?

............................................................

Zhu Helan gently opened the door, and a ray of sunlight followed his footsteps into Chong Liu and Zhu Yi's room, as if a gap had been opened in an airtight tomb.

Chong Liu sat cross-legged on the bed, looking down at the book on his lap.He turned his head, bent his eyes habitually and smiled at Zhu Helan.

But Zhu Helan can distinguish the difference between Zhongliu's heartfelt laughter and professional habitual laughter.

"It's so dark in the room, reading a book will hurt your eyes." He said, putting the dinner plate on the table.He noticed that the two pieces of mustard pancakes delivered in the morning had not been touched, so he clicked his tongue lightly.

Chong Liu hurriedly said, "I'll eat it in a while!"

"What time is it? How about a while? Eat your lunch first, and I'll be with you." Zhu Helan pulled out a chair without any explanation, and ordered, "Come and sit down." Chong Liu could only sigh, reluctantly Sit on the stool.

Zhu Helan broke the Hubing and soaked it in the hot porridge, with a few pickles on the side, "Eat it quickly."

Chong Liu picked up the bowl and poured the porridge into his mouth in a daze, but he couldn't taste it at all.

"The day after tomorrow is New Year's Eve, what do you want for New Year's Eve dinner?" Zhu Helan asked softly.

This is Chongliu's first year in Huai'an Inn.He let out an ah, flattered, "Can you still order food for New Year's Eve dinner? When did Master Liao become so generous?"

"I say yes." The shopkeeper took a sip of the porridge and said with style.

Chong Liu chuckled twice, but the smile quickly faded, even a little reluctantly, "Let Zhu Yi Xiaoshun order, I'm not picky eaters."

Zhu Helan looked at him quietly, and suddenly covered Chong Liu's hand holding the bowl.

Chong Liu was slightly taken aback.

"Liu'er, you don't have to keep laughing." Zhu Helan said seriously.

Chong Liu stared at him blankly, his Adam's apple slipped, as if he was swallowing something, but he couldn't make a sound.

"Farewell to your loved one is the most painful thing in the world. It will take a long time for this pain to subside, and it may even never subside. It will just get used to it as time goes by." Speaking of here, Zhu Helan paused, then continued, "But...if you want, I can help you share the burden."

Chong Liu's eyes began to flash with glitter, he probably felt a little embarrassed, so he hurriedly looked away and nodded vigorously.

Since leaving the South China Sea, he has been in a state of numbness along the way.It was as if a considerable part of his soul had been gouged out, but the knife was too fast and the edges were too neat, not even the blood came out.

It was as if the concept of the Master had disappeared, unable to seep into his parched mind.

He always felt that the master seemed to be still alive, quietly existing in the earth in the collapsed underground palace.If he passed, he could still be found, and his voice could still be heard.

Even if his rationality knew that it was impossible, he couldn't accept this reality.

Zhu Helan picked up the teapot on the dinner plate, poured two small cups of tea, and said slowly, "The biggest disadvantage of living a long time is that you are doomed to watch all your relatives die. To be honest, I can't remember my mother I have changed her appearance, but I still remember the numbness and emptiness during the time when she passed away.

But I am not alone, for I am not the only priest of the All-Mother.At that time, those who passed the trial plus I had a total of ten children.The ten of us knew from beginning to end that from the day we became priests, we had only each other.

Everything around us changes and decays, but we alone remain the same.We can only rely on each other, like ten close brothers and sisters.

Do you remember those portraits you saw in the house? "

Chong Liu sat up straight and nodded.

Zhu Helan raised his teacup and took a sip, then said calmly, "Whenever one of the ten of us dies due to various accidents, I will draw a portrait for the deceased, lest I forget their appearance in the future, just like I forget my Just like your own parents."

Chong Liu began to quietly count in his mind how many portraits he had seen.But Zhu Helan didn't intend to let him waste his mind, and sighed softly, "I have drawn a total of nine."

nine...

In other words, what I have experienced now, the shopkeeper has experienced at least nine times.

Chong Liu tried to imagine, if he was Zhu Helan, if he also sent his relatives away again and again, and in the end he was left alone.So how did he survive?

If everything in this world is gone, what is the meaning of existence?

"If there were no locust trees, I'm afraid I wouldn't have persisted until now." Zhu Helan sighed, answering the unspoken questions for him.

Chong Liu looked down at the teacup Zhu Helan put in front of him.There were two tea leaves floating in it, spinning slowly and aimlessly in the hot air.

"I've heard people say that before a person dies, his life flashes before his eyes, like a revolving lantern. It happened when I was killed by my 'brother' before. The sequence is out of order, but every detail is very vivid, And the whole process is very long, repeating it over and over again will make people think that they are not dead." Chong Liu spoke slowly, his voice was hoarse and dry, as if it had been squeezed out of his chest.

"Master... he seldom told me his own story, and it can even be said that he never mentioned it. Even if I asked him, his answers were often contradictory, which made me puzzled. Many things about him are still in the I found it outside after I left.

However, at the last moment, I saw Master's revolving lantern. "

Zhu Helan waited quietly, waiting for Chongliu himself to pour out the secret that was stuck in his heart.

Chong Liudao, "I saw the young man's master, and saw how he became a disciple of the former Mr. Gou Chen. The master also worked as a waiter, but it was a well-known shop in the capital. I found out that he and I are really close friends. Very similar. He was also very curious about the world, even more curious than me. Later, his curiosity took him in an unexpected direction.

He began to collect ancient inscriptions, and began to search for those ancient books that only existed in rumors.He knew more and more, and gradually realized that this world was not as peaceful and stable as it appeared on the surface, but more like... a piece of volcanic ash temporarily floating on the surface of the magma, which would be absorbed and swallowed by the lava at any time.He began to be afraid and disturbed, and he wanted to see more of the truth.

Then one day, in his dream, he saw a bright light, and there was a frozen, veiled figure in the light.

This figure would tell him many things, many things that humans should never know.It enters Master's dream time and time again, and takes Master's consciousness to another world that is wider and more confusing...

Every night, Master will meet with it.Gradually, Master began to cut off all connections with old acquaintances around him, and began to dream day and night.It was as if the dream had become his reality, while the reality was a dream instead. When Chong Liu said this, he suddenly had an epiphany, and said quietly, "I think...the master fell in love with that veiled figure...he fell in love with a dirty god. "