[75] Passionate but ruthlessly annoyed

Zhan Zhao knew that he was dreaming again.And it seemed that because the sound of the rain outside never stopped, it actually started to rain in his dream.The gloomy sky seemed to be pressing down all the time, and the tall building that soared into the sky stood quietly, looking weird and hideous in the night.

The cool rain hit his face obliquely, Zhan Zhao held his sword and said to the people around him: "You wait here, I'll go."

"Why should I listen to you, huh, who are you?" The person next to me said bluntly, "Even if my elder brother is here, he may not be able to dictate to me like this. Cat, I think you have become more and more arrogant recently gone."

There was a sudden sadness in Zhan Zhao's heart, as if he still vaguely remembered what happened afterwards, and there was a lingering sadness in his tone when he spoke: "Didn't you always refuse to get involved in the affairs of the government? Is it okay for me to do it?"

"This is not a matter of the government, it is my brother's matter, and I can naturally get involved."

"I heard that there are many traps in the skyscraper, how can I let you take risks for me?"

"Mao'er, you're overthinking. Why did I take risks for you? Of course, the fifth master took risks for the common people of the world and the people of Li. What's more, I just want to see the institutions in the skyscrapers." He laughed out loud as he spoke, as if he could get something cheap out of his mouth, which made him very happy.

Zhan Zhao's eyes blurred, it was the rain that wet his eyelids.He heard himself murmur, "But you will die."

Suddenly, the picture in front of me suddenly changed, it was no longer the gloomy sky and tall buildings rising into the sky, this oppressive scene was torn apart like a broken mirror.Immediately afterwards, the fire suddenly ignited, and the sky was dyed red, and the screams and roars almost burst the eardrums.

For the first time in his dream, Zhan Zhao clearly realized that this was not the night of Bai Yutang's death, but a few years after his death in the copper net array of the Sky Tower.In order to take revenge, almost all the well-known knights and righteous men in the world gathered together. In this place where Bai Yutang's life was taken, once again at the cost of blood and life, he forcibly tore a bloody road.

Perhaps it was because this memory was so clear that the dream was extraordinarily real.Zhan Zhao could even see the faces of all the people, the faces of those who gathered at his call and were going to die again.The sky is full of fire and rain, and arrows are flying.Zhan Zhao walked towards death step by step in the dream, but passed death again.But those people who should have been alive are already dead, and only he, who should have died a long time ago, is still alive, lingering on his last breath.

This is probably his punishment.live.

Gradually, everything in the fire became distorted and weird.Zhan Zhao seemed to see a figure in white in a daze, so he chased after him recklessly, but suddenly saw that it was the woman in white in Qingshan Temple.

She looked back from a distance, no longer pale and thin and sickly, so she was even more astonishingly beautiful.Those eyes were terribly bright at night, perhaps because of the surrounding fire, as if her eyes were about to burn.

It's just that even in a dream, Zhan Zhao can still clearly remember the woman's silent expression after he asked that question, and the last sentence she said in the night not long ago:

"The deceased is gone, so what is there to say?" The voice was so beautiful that it was almost sad, and it was as cold as moonlight.

In the midst of the fire, Zhan Zhao couldn't help thinking, maybe it was the words of those officials that made him see the appearance of the woman in white in the fire in his dream.But was she involved in the arson?Gradually, everything around him began to change due to Zhan Zhao's jumping thoughts.Suddenly, he arrived at the back mountain of Qingshan Temple, and there were several green graves in front of him.

"Tomb of Father Yao Angong"

"The unfilial girl Qinghan stands here"

The words on the tombstone have not been changed, but this time, Zhan Zhao saw the people worshiping in front of the tomb.It was the woman in white, she lowered her head slightly, revealing a slender and fragile neck.In the copper basin in front of him, paper money coins were quietly burning, and green smoke rose up.

The wind picked up, raising pieces of ashes, and dissipating in the wind.

"Brother Zhan, why don't you want me?" Suddenly, Ping'er's voice sounded, with the sound of crying.Zhan Zhao turned his head, but was being hugged by Ping'er.

He didn't push her away, but hugged the girl in his arms presumptuously.The pain in his heart spread and gnawed at him, but he was reluctant to push away the only vitality.

So in the dream, instead, he unscrupulously did things that he would never do when he was awake.

The rain outside became heavier, and the lotus pond was constantly being rustled by raindrops.Zhan Zhao frowned unsteadily in his dream, and at this moment, there was a "plop" sound of falling into the water.Somewhere, the wild cat was startled and made a shrill cry, like a child crying.

Zhan Zhao suddenly woke up from his dream, and couldn't help breaking out in a cold sweat.He gasped for a while in the dark, then suddenly realized, grabbed his clothes and ran out of the room.

As the rain outside gradually subsided, the lotus pond was indeed beaten to pieces, making it look even more desolate and sad in the night.Zhan Zhao walked towards the lotus pond with big strides, his eyes searched the water surface suspiciously, but found nothing.The scene in the dream and the movement heard in the half-dream were intertwined into terrible conjectures, and the uneasiness and fear in his heart tormented him. After a while, Zhan Zhao lifted his feet and walked quickly towards Ping'er's room.

After quietly pushing the door open, Zhan Zhao heard the reassuring sound of breathing, and the anxiety in his heart could not help but dissipate.He walked in slowly, gradually making out the figure curled up on the bamboo couch in the darkness.

Ping'er hugged her knees and shrunk herself into a ball, squeezed into the corner of the bed aggrieved, with tears still on her face.Perhaps it was because the rain had subsided, and the moonlight gradually became brighter, spilling in from the window.Ping'er's face has a hazy beauty in the moonlight, because she drank too much wine, her cheeks were as red as rouge.The loose black silk is as smooth as satin, and the delicate skin is as white as a peeled egg, and the wet tears make her very charming.

Zhan Zhao stopped a few steps away, and after the fear in his heart dissipated, it was replaced by a dreamlike throbbing.His jaw tightened suddenly, he turned his head hastily, and strode away in embarrassment.Such evil thoughts made him loathe himself, an impulse drove him, like what he had done thousands of times in the past, made Zhan Zhao want to pull out his sword and cut his own throat.

Outside the door, the pattering rain was still falling.Zhan Zhao stood in a daze for a moment, then suddenly, he saw a half-open door, and the wreckage of a bamboo flute was still scattered in front of the door.

The moonlight left frost-like traces on the slate, and the half-closed door cast a shadow.

It is self-evident who the room behind that door belongs to, and the sound of falling water that I heard when I was half asleep and half awake was really not a hallucination.Zhan Zhao's heart suddenly felt cold.He realized his negligence, and immediately wanted to go into the house to take a look, but his legs and feet seemed to be filled with lead and he couldn't move.

After a while, he turned his head stiffly and looked in the direction of the lotus pond. There seemed to be a white figure lingering there for a while before his eyes, and then he raised his body to clear the pond without hesitation.

No matter what happened, it was too late.There were only circles of ripples on the water surface when the raindrops fell, and there was no sign of anyone.Zhan Zhao walked with difficulty and walked slowly towards the lotus pond.In the silent night, he seemed to feel some kind of calling.Can death really solve everything?What kind of misery and sorrow did the woman in white go through before she was alive, and she could choose to end her life so peacefully.

Maybe it wasn't calm either, Zhan Zhao stood in front of the lotus pond, his eyes wandered over the dark water and the muddy ground.There are messy footprints here, and the woman must have lingered here for a long time before she died.Perhaps because she lost her belief in being alive in the end, she raised her skirt and stepped on the edge of the pond, leaving that footprint, maybe she stared at the water like Zhan Zhao himself, and then jumped into the lotus pond .

Zhan Zhao stepped on the edge of the pond, then bent down and stretched his right arm into the pond.The lotus pond was dug so deep that Zhan Zhao almost poked his whole body out.The cold water spread from his elbows to his shoulders, and finally, his fingers caught a piece of fabric.Zhan Zhao stretched out his five fingers, grabbed a piece of icy wrist, and then pulled hard, pulling him out of the water.

It was undoubtedly the woman in white, but she had completely lost her anger.Zhan Zhao carefully dragged the woman down to the ground, then reached out in vain to detect her breathing and heartbeat.This is just an effort, but it is destined to have no results.The woman's face was paler than ever, Zhan Zhao helped her up again for some reason, numbly pressed her abdomen hard and patted her back.However, the body tightly wrapped in wet clothes was completely cold, without any breath of life.

She is already dead.

Zhan Zhao couldn't help but feel the powerlessness again, the powerlessness of being helpless while life is passing by.He lowered his head, looking at the face of the dead woman under the moonlight.With wet black hair sticking to her cheeks, closed eyes, and bloodless lips, she looked a bit terrifying, completely shrouded in the shadow of death.

Perhaps death is the final destination.

To a man afflicted by illness and pain, death may be more of a gift.Since every day of living is endless sorrow and suffering, why not embrace death?

Zhan Zhao looked away and looked at the lotus pond.

At this time, the rain had gradually stopped, and there was a dark fragrance floating in the humid air, but it was mixed with a cold breath of death.

However, a voice suddenly sounded from behind, shouting in horror: "Brother Zhan?!"

Zhan Zhao suddenly woke up, turned his head, and saw Ping'er trembling.Standing under the eaves, she looked at Zhan Zhao with a pair of black eyes in horror: "What's wrong?"

Ping'er seemed to have realized something, perhaps from Zhan Zhao's expression, or from the deathly silence of the night.She couldn't help feeling a burst of fear, and took a step forward, instinctively wanting to get closer to Zhan Zhao.

"It's nothing, go back to sleep." Zhan Zhao subconsciously moved his body to block the woman's body, he didn't want Ping'er to see such a scene.

However, Ping'er's face turned pale. She asked, "What's wrong with that lady? Why is she lying on the ground?" Said: "Why are you in the yard, it's raining..." Not long after, she finally saw the corpse in Zhan Zhao's arms, and that pale face clearly indicated something.Everything was clear, Ping'er couldn't help but screamed.

Zhan Zhao got up in a hurry, he pulled Ping'er into his arms at a loss, tried not to let her see the corpse on the ground, tried his best to coax her in a soft voice: "It's okay, it's okay, don't be afraid."

Ping'er trembled like a fallen leaf in the wind, and asked choked with sobs, "Is she dead?" She stretched out her hand to grab Zhan Zhao's skirt, her fingers turned white with such force that she dared not let go.

Zhan Zhao hesitated for a moment, then finally nodded and said, "Yes, she is dead."

When I said this, I felt a little strange in my heart.Another absurd thought flashed through—if he was the one lying on the ground, what would happen to Pinger?

"How did this happen? Wasn't she fine before?" Ping'er sobbed, perhaps because Zhan Zhao's embrace comforted her and gave her the strength to be afraid again, "Why did she have to die?"

Zhan Zhao didn't know how to answer, so he said after a while, "Probably, it's because he couldn't survive."

"Okay, why can't you live?" Ping'er raised her face, with tears in her eyes.

Zhan Zhao stretched out his hand to wipe away the hot tears with his thumb, and sighed, "You are still young, so you won't understand."

Or, he hoped she didn't understand.Anyone who understands this helplessness must have experienced despair.Zhan Zhao hopes that this elf-like child can always be so ignorant and ignorant, and not feel sad for the coldness of the world.

However, maybe she has already understood this kind of helplessness, and she has understood it since tonight.

Finally, after persuading Ping'er, who was tired from crying, to go back to the room, Zhan Zhao pulled away and called the monks who were watching the night in the temple, and restrained the woman's body first.The monks who rushed over saw the tragic situation, clasped their palms together, bowed their heads and chanted Buddha in a low voice.They temporarily housed the woman's body in a meditation room, and left the little novice monk to recite a volume of Sutras to save the souls of the dead.

——"Concentrate on reciting the great name of Amitabha Buddha with all virtues, and you will be able to eliminate disasters and obstacles, break through confusion and enlightenment, and reach the other shore. If you really believe in the Buddha's name, you will be able to be reborn in the Pure Land."

Zhan Zhao only listened silently for a moment, then turned and left.He thought that he might have to go down the mountain after dawn to explain the matter to the county government.Originally, he only came to Qingshan County to deal with official business, but he didn't want to be involved in this case, Zhan Zhao couldn't help but smiled wryly.Maybe he will never be able to avoid trouble, maybe trouble always finds him, or maybe he is asking for trouble.

In short, this is another life that I have brought on.If he hadn't stopped those officials, perhaps the woman would not have had the chance to commit suicide tonight.

Zhan Zhao didn't go back to sleep, the summer sky always dawned very early, and it didn't take long for the east to turn pale.It was sunny after the rain, and the crisp chirping of birds echoed in the mountains and forests, and there was a pleasant smell of moist soil in the air.

This day seems to be no different from any other day, and who can see that a life has disappeared here last night.Maybe human life is so worthless, even if it is the emperor's funeral, life still has to go on.The sun doesn't rise because of someone's death.

Zhan Zhao hurriedly changed his clothes in the room, and left Qingshan Temple along the mountain road.He walked a few miles in silence alone, went to the foot of the mountain and took the horse he had left before, and then rode the horse back to the county seat.

The county town after the rain was clean and peaceful, and the simple residents came to the streets after the rain stopped and greeted each other warmly.Zhan Zhao seemed out of place, he walked hurriedly across the long street alone, passed the archway, a gambling house, and a tea house, and then slanted into an alley, and arrived at the back door of the county government office.

At this time, the county yamen had just finished lighting up, and Zhan Zhao easily found someone to bring him in.The yamen seems to be always busy. Although most people don't know what they should be busy with, even if they don't want to look leisurely, they will find some unimportant things to do for themselves.Last night, there was a lot of wind and rain, and there were fallen leaves all over the ground. A boy took a broom and swept the fallen leaves in the stagnant water to the east corner.After sweeping everything, he swept the fallen leaves to the west corner.

The county magistrate was the same, although he was still frowning at the official documents in the study, his actual thoughts had already flown to the banquet in the near future.He didn't know anything about what happened last night, and even the police officers were dispatched by the arrester to investigate the arson case of Yao's house.

So when Zhan Zhao told the county magistrate the truth and stated that he was willing to take responsibility for the accident that happened last night, the magistrate did not show any anger.Granted, it wasn't a big deal to him.

It's just that a minor suspect died.It's not worth it for a seventh-rank magistrate to offend Zhan Zhao from the capital rashly.Although Zhan Zhao is only a fourth-rank military officer, everyone knows that standing behind him is the old Yan Luo who would give way to the emperor by three points.

The way of the world is like this, bullying the good and fearing the evil, the law of the jungle preying on the strong, and human life is worthless.The woman in white is like this, Pinger is like this, they are all like this.

In the officialdom for many years, Zhan Zhao understood the key points very early on.But this time, he felt a kind of melancholy in his heart, so he ignored the courteous greetings from the magistrate, and instead asked: "I heard the arson case of Yao's house brought up by the officials yesterday, what's going on?"

The county magistrate was startled, and hesitantly looked at the chief clerk beside him, obviously he didn't remember the case clearly.The chief secretary coughed and replied: "A few months ago, Yao's house, a big family in the county, caught fire in the middle of the night. The fire was so violent that no one escaped. Originally, this case was regarded as an accident, but this A headhunter in the county found that only one concubine Ji was missing from the body of the Yao family when counting the number of people. In addition, based on the situation of the autopsy, the Yao family seemed to have encountered an accident before the fire started. Therefore, the headhunter They have been investigating this matter, and later found the whereabouts of the concubine Ji in the Qingshan Temple, and they were supposed to bring the suspect back to the Yamen to await trial last night. Presumably the suspect committed suicide because he knew that he would die."

"I see. I shouldn't have meddled in other people's business, but let that woman take this opportunity to commit suicide." Zhan Zhao said flatly.But he couldn't help thinking, is that woman really the perpetrator of the arson?Did she really commit suicide in fear of crime?

It's a pity that all of this became a mystery after the woman's death.

Naturally, the county magistrate didn't dare to seriously blame Zhan Zhao, so he quickly said a few nice words, flattering Zhan Zhao overtly and secretly.Zhan Zhao listened, suddenly felt that the boss was boring, sat for a while, and then left.

He suddenly remembered that Ping'er was still in Qingshan Temple.