Shimmer Forest

I thought that there would be a storm of anger and pain, but the man's movements suddenly stopped, followed by a suffocating silence.

Time passed by every minute and every second, and I don't know how long it took, Su Jin felt the weight on his body lighten, and the terrifying sense of oppression disappeared.

He opened his eyes suspiciously.

The mountain god turned his back to him, standing in the dim light by the window, his plain white clothes fainted with sadness.

"Forget it, it's not you after all."

He heard the voice of the mountain god coming faintly and slowly, extremely subtle, as vague as his figure in the light.

After saying this, the mountain god left without looking at him again.

Su Jin didn't know why, but she always felt lucky.

In the next few days, the mountain god would occasionally come to him, chat with him, talk about important things, and bring him some special food in the palace.

If he was bored, he would wander around the yard. The attendants in the yard would respect him when they saw him. He felt that as a sacrifice, he was treated really well.

He thought of Xiao Qinghan inexplicably, their identities and situations overlapped in an extremely similar way.The only difference is probably that he didn't have any blood feud, but came here voluntarily.

He couldn't help but wonder if there was some kind of emotion in the mountain god's inexplicable attitude.

He didn't want to think about it, and he didn't dare to think about it.

Taking a deep breath, the grass exudes a sweet smell.He looked around, every plant, every tree, every flower and every leaf here was very familiar and nostalgic.He was sure that this was the first time he came to this courtyard, but he could vaguely remember that his favorite flowers were placed at the corner of a certain long pavilion, which water lily in which pond had died, and which room was full of flowers. his favorite book.It seems that he lived here a long time ago, and he is so familiar with it that he can walk around a certain corner of the courtyard with his eyes closed.

From Wang Xiaoer to the mountain god, countless mysteries surround him.He came here with determination. Although he was not unwilling, he would never have any good feelings for the mountain god.But I don't know why, this kind of feeling slowly dissipated from the first day I came here, and was slowly replaced by an uncontrollable nostalgia.

He thought he must be crazy.

He began to dream frequently of the battlefield where there were mountains of corpses. The familiar white figure stood peacefully in the setting sun, the red color was smeared, and ink was splashed on the man's body. It was hard to tell whether it was light or blood.

That person is always calm, affectionate, calling his name over and over again.

"Su Jin."

When he woke up again, the mountain god was sitting beside him, drinking tea leisurely.

He sat up instinctively, eyes full of vigilance.

But the mountain god just raised his eyebrows, drinking tea and said nonchalantly, "Don't worry, as long as you don't want to, I won't touch you."

He was startled, this completely different attitude from before made him a little confused.When the contract hadn't started yet, he was so impatient and domineering, how come he now pretends to be a good man who is affectionate?

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but burst out laughing.

Unexpectedly, he would have such a reaction. The mountain god almost choked on the tea, but quickly pretended to be calm, stared at him with dissatisfaction, and asked in confusion, "What are you laughing at?"

"It's nothing." Holding back a smile, Su Jin frowned, pretending to be serious: "I'm just thinking, obviously it's just Wang Xiaoer."

"...can you stop mentioning that name?"

"Why, didn't you use this name to be someone else's son for many years?" Su Jin continued to pretend to be stupid, and asked with a puzzled face: "I thought you already had feelings for that name."

"You—" the mountain god was so angry that he almost crushed the glass, but this person who had been vigilant and indifferent to him finally got rid of his scruples and started joking with him, which may be a good thing.

His anger dissipated immediately, and he even felt a little happy.

"How about me?" The mountain god was so angry that he was speechless, it was really funny, he suddenly became interested, and looked at him innocently with blinking eyes.

"Forget it, I'm lazy to talk to you." The mountain god took a big sip of tea angrily, frowned and said to himself, "It's really a virtue like before."

As soon as the words fell, he was stunned, as if he realized that he had said something that shouldn't be said.

Su Jin was also taken aback, recalling the familiar feeling when he was staring at his back, as well as the dream that kept repeating, he asked carefully: "...We used to... know each other?"

"...I know you." Surprisingly, the mountain god didn't deny it, and turned to look out the window.Those deep gazes were full of melancholy and longing, as if caught in a long and tender memory: "But that happened a long, long time ago."

"How long?" The soft side profile outlined by the dense light, which had faded from the sharpness and murderous intent, made him feel a little dazed for a moment, and couldn't help but continue to ask.

The mountain god's hand holding the teacup paused, and in a soft, sad voice, like a sigh, he slowly uttered: "It's been so long that I almost forgot."

The seemingly unintentional sigh was full of helplessness and loneliness, like a long-suppressed feeling that finally opened a small gap.Su Jin was inexplicably distressed.After coming here, many things became unbelievable.Just like his instinctive disgust and resistance to the existence of the mountain god, subconsciously he will care about and approach him again.

The breeze blew, and the long satin-like hair of the mountain god was lifted. He stretched out his hand involuntarily, held the flying hair, and asked in a daze, "Then... where is your name? Your real name."

Unexpected questions and actions, the hostility of the mountain god dissipated the moment he was touched.He gently held the extended hand, his eyes were full of tenderness: "You will remember it one day."

"Father said that you are someone who doesn't know how to love." The smile slowly spread on the corners of his lips, without the original teasing.Su Jin hugged his knees and looked at him, with hazy and confused eyes: "It doesn't look like it at all now."

As if very dissatisfied with his remarks, the mountain god frowned, took a sip of tea angrily, and said as a matter of course: "I know a lot more than him."

"Huh? Do you know my father well?"

"Of course, you are from the Su family after all. The strength of your family is our natural enemy. Only by knowing yourself and the enemy can you win every battle."

"Speaking of it—" As if thinking of something important, Su Jin paused, looked at him and smiled: "When will it start?"

"What do you mean?" The mountain god narrowed his eyes and looked at him.

"Sacrifice." Su Jin didn't intend to beat around the bush, and went straight to the point: "Following you to the mountains is just the first step in completing the contract. The real sacrifice, in fact—"

"Shut up." A sullen voice interrupted his words, and the mountain god stared at him with faint anger in his eyes: "This is enough, once the contract takes effect, I can no longer treat the people in your village." People have done it, isn't that enough?"

"Obviously you are the one who insisted on our family signing the contract?" Su Jin was a little puzzled by his attitude, and asked amusedly, "Why are you acting like a victim?"

"I—" The mountain god instinctively wanted to justify something, but swallowed the words back on his lips.He smashed the cup angrily, then slammed the door and left without saying a word.

Leaving Su Jin staring at the crumbling door, sighing softly.

If it goes on like this, it won't be a good thing for anyone...

-------------------------------------------------

At night, Wu Hao hurried back home.Knocking open the door, he saw Uncle Wu sitting in the middle of the hall, playing with a teacup, with a solemn expression on his face.

"Father, I can't find the bookworm!" Wu Hao snatched the teacup in his hand, drank the water down, slapped the cup heavily on the table, and wiped his mouth casually: "It's been three days, he doesn't Did you go to some strange place again?"

"...Wu Hao." Uncle Wu didn't answer his question, looked at him with a complicated expression, and asked hesitantly, "Do you know about the Mountain God Sacrifice?"

"Mountain God Sacrifice?" Wu Hao was stunned for a moment, and quickly recalled what Su Jin had said in his mind, then shook his head foolishly.

"As expected, that child, I didn't tell you anything..." Uncle Wu sighed softly, and stroked the old but well-preserved ancient book in his bosom with rough hands.

"What?" Wu Hao, who was in a panic, didn't hear his words clearly, and asked instinctively.Seeing the ancient book in his hand, Wu Hao's attention was quickly diverted: "Isn't that the treasure of the Su family? Why is it with you?"

"I have something that I want to do but dare not do." It seems that he didn't intend to listen to Wu Hao's words from the beginning. Uncle Wu focused on stroking the ancient book inch by inch, as if he was stroking someone's Appearance: "Obviously I can get closer to him... Now, I suddenly feel so regretful. If I could be like you back then, if I had no hesitation, maybe, maybe..."

Transparent water drops fell on the ancient book, and circles of water stains bloomed in the unfolded folds.

"Father?" For the first time in his life, the strong man who worked hard to support the family wept.Wu Hao was shocked for a moment, but was quickly replaced by strong anxiety.He knelt down, held his father's rough hand, and tried to ask cautiously: "Did something happen between you and Su Jingran?"

"Child." Holding his hand instead, such a small movement seemed to exhaust all the strength in Uncle Wu's body.He took a deep breath, suppressed the trembling in his voice, and said slowly: "Xiao Jin... probably won't come back."

"What?" It was groundless sadness and fear, but to Wu Hao, it was like a bolt from the blue.He opened his eyes wide, and quickly recalled the days with Su Jin in his mind, until he confirmed that there was nothing unusual about Su Jin before parting, and then tried to speak with a glimmer of hope: "You...you are joking, Dad, How could the bookworm not come back?"

"It's Su Jingran, he must have hidden the bookworm." Without getting a definite answer, his anxiety and uneasiness swelled rapidly.He held his father's hand tightly, as if grasping a life-saving straw, and said in an almost pleading tone: "Father, let's go find them?"

"It's my fault that I didn't tell you about this." However, Uncle Wu's words broke his last hope, and he reached out to caress his face. Uncle Wu's eyes were full of regret and guilt: "I always thought you still There is time... But when you are about to part, your previous feelings are already too strong to dissolve."

"Did I make a wrong decision?" He covered his head in pain, he didn't know if he was looking for an answer, or he was questioning himself: "Perhaps it should have been better to separate you as Su Jingran said earlier? "

"It's not good at all! I never think it's a wrong decision to be with the bookworm." It seemed to be said out of a sudden, angry words, but Wu Hao's expression was extremely firm, revealing unshakable determination: " So, dad, can you tell me what happened?"