Chiwuxing

(Ni Chengxin rumor)

The winter wind howled, rain and snow fell.

Among the eaves of the high courtyard, there is a touch of red blooming in the blank white snow.

"hiss--"

A girl in red let out a low cry, and staggered up from the snowy steps. She protected the things in her arms with her left hand, stretched out her sleeves and wiped away the melting snow stains on her face. Fuqiang ran away.

The girl walked towards the corner of the west wing, bypassed the clay brick stove, and squeezed into a narrow gap that was only about the shoulder width of an ordinary person.

The wide sloping eaves just covered the snow in the middle, and the wet and cold soil stuck to the soles of the girl's embroidered shoes under the plaster wall, and she moved slowly towards the narrow place.

It was getting darker from the cracks in the wall, the girl squatted down, whistled at a narrow dog hole, and called softly, "Little brother, are you there?"

"exist."

A reply came from the other side of the pitch-black dog hole, although it looked childish, it was very calm.

The girl was overjoyed when she heard the sound, laughed twice, and then took out the things in her arms.

The light red rose cake was covered with dust when she stumbled just now. She wiped it for a long time, but she couldn't wipe off the black stains.

I hope he doesn't find out... The girl thought as she stuffed the paper bag into the dog's hole.

"...This is wound medicine. I also brought some of my favorite rose cake, which is delicious," the girl said cautiously, "Take it and taste it."

She heard the grinding sound of sliding in the hole.

"Thank you."

"Do you like to eat sweets? The mother-in-law in our small kitchen is very good at cooking, it is better than the ones bought outside..."

"do not like."

"Oh..." The girl felt a little regretful that she hadn't asked in advance, "Are you still looking for your mother later?"

"Yes."

"Then can you...don't get hurt?"

The person over there paused for a moment, and said, "If you don't want to trouble, I won't bother you anymore."

"...I didn't mean that," the girl said urgently, "I mean...injured...it hurts."

Just now she fell in the snow through such thick clothes and her legs and feet hurt, not to mention the wounds on his face that could not heal for a long time.

"……I know."

"Then you promised me?"

"not now."

"...Why not now?"

"Because I don't have the ability not to get hurt."

The girl felt that there was something wrong with his voice, she couldn't tell what it was, so she simply changed the subject and said with a smile: "Little brother, it happens that you don't have a father, and I don't have a mother... why don't you just take your mother over to live here, we can see each other every day Yet?"

"Ah."

"...Can't you?"

"If it's okay, I'm leaving."

"Hey... don't go!"

She knelt down, lit a candle, put it beside the dog hole, and then squatted down at the hole mouth: "Little brother, can you squat down and bow your head?"

"What are you doing?"

"I'd like to see you."

The girl could only see a piece of crow-blue clothes and half a boot under the light.

"Look at me."

Just as the girl was about to answer, she saw the corner of her clothes fall down, turned around and held her breath.

A pair of bright peach blossom eyes emerged in the orange halo.

"...you have beautiful eyes."

She couldn't help but drilled her head in again——

"Ouch!"

The wind slanted, the hand shook, and the flames jumped onto her hair.

"What's wrong?" There was a surprised voice over there.

The girl looked at the approaching Mars, and cried in a daze where she was.

"……Silly girl!"

There was a jingling sound outside the wall, and a figure leaped over the wall.

The boy fell to his side, flicked his sleeves and slapped the girl's hair and collar in disorder, sending dust everywhere.

It took a long time to extinguish the spark, and a piece of clothing on the shoulder was burned, and a few locks of hair were not spared.

Tears were running down the girl's face, and she stared at the person in a daze.

The boy tilted his head and tugged at her collar, and found a small burn on the side of her neck. He reached out to touch it, but stopped halfway: "...does it hurt?"

The girl Fang came back to her senses and shook her head: "...it doesn't hurt."

The boy Shen Mo took out the wound medicine that had just been put in his collar, lowered his head, scooped out some ointment, and slowly applied it.

Only then did the girl wake up from the pain, and subconsciously shrank her neck.

The boy glanced at his face: "Didn't you say it doesn't hurt?"

"...it's a bit cold," the girl said, still staring at him, "so you can turn inside..."

The wound was not serious. After the boy applied the medicine, he wrapped her collar around her and put away the medicine box.

Looking up and looking at the edge of the wall and the four corners, I don't know whether to say it to her or to myself: "How should I go back..."

The girl glanced at the bare high wall, there was nothing to rely on, thought for a while, then pulled his sleeve and walked out: "...It's okay, just follow me out, if anyone asks, I'll say you are my friend ..."

She was about to pull it out, but found that the boy behind her was motionless, but she was pulled back a few steps: "What's wrong?"

"No."

The girl reassured: "It's okay, even if my father sees it, he doesn't care about me. At worst, if he says a few words about you, he will definitely let you go back."

"No."

Seeing that he was so stubborn, the girl couldn't persuade him, she frowned and said, "Then what should I do?"

The young man lowered his head, thought for a while, and said, "Do you have any firewood in your kitchen?"

The girl thought for a while, wondering: "Yes...but the firewood is taller than you...I, I definitely can't move it..."

The young man pursed his lips and looked up at the wall again.Then he touched the cracks in the bricks, and there was no need to rely on force, at most he could only rush up with a momentary friction.

He raised his arms and pushed hard, his feet quickly kicked along the flat wall in the blink of an eye, and his whole body climbed up the edge of the wall like a gecko.

Unexpectedly, when he was climbing on the edge of the brick wall, he suddenly lost his support and fell from the wall.

The girl was startled and hurried over to help him.

The gap in the wall here is narrow, and when the boy fell, half of his body was folded on the wall behind him.

"How is it?" The girl's whole face was wrinkled together, and the tears that had just stopped fell down again, "I'm sorry... I shouldn't have let you in..."

The young man struggled to stand up, unable to straighten his waist for a while: "I rolled in by myself, what has it to do with you."

He looked up at the height of the wall again, thinking about the way.

"How about..." The girl wiped away her tears as she thought about the scene where the young man was just a hair away from climbing the wall, and said, "Why don't you just step on me and step over me."

"...how can I do that?" the boy glanced at her and vetoed.

"You just... almost got there," the girl said with tears in her eyes and a firm expression of determination, "Go ahead."

As he spoke, he stood along the wall, motionless.

There was no movement behind her for a long time, she turned her head and urged: "Come on... don't you want to go out from the main entrance..."

There was a moment of silence, with a hand on his shoulder.

The girl followed her hands and looked up.

"Squat down."

The voice of the young man behind him was difficult, as if half of his throat was blocked.

The girl huddled into a ball, just over the height of a head from the dog hole.

The young man pursed his lips, and glanced at the high wall of the mansion again, a thin trace of sinisterness slowly spread.

The girl gritted her teeth tightly when she heard the wind suddenly tighten behind her, followed by a force of gravity on her shoulders.

Before he could react, the strength quickly disappeared.Unable to sustain the momentum, she fell to the front wall.He hurriedly covered his mouth and nose, holding back the tears that were forced out by the pain on his shoulder.

"...how is it, you?"

Another boy's voice came from the dog hole.

The girl took a few deep breaths, and then replied, "...it's all right."

There was no movement again.

The girl said: "In three days, my father will not be in the house all day, I can sneak out..."

"Where do you want to go?"

"Anywhere is fine, just walk around the street."

"I'll wait for you here."

"Yeah!" The girl nodded excitedly, her teeth grinning.

She never distinguishes what is the time and what is the sky, she only knows that there is a kind of excitement and anticipation that fills her heart, which will send her quickly to the "three days".

It was only when the girl sneaked out along the corner that I vaguely remembered that I didn't tell him the specific time, what should I do if he hasn't arrived yet...

When he was half regretful and half worried, he realized that the person he wanted to see was already sitting alone in the corner of the alleyway.

She trotted forward, and the boy saw her too, and looked back at her.

"I... I just remembered..." The girl took a few breaths, "I didn't tell you when I came out..."

At this time, the sun is in the middle of the sky, and it is noon, which should be the time for lunch.It was at this moment that the girl got the convenience to avoid the precautions of the crowd and came out privately.

The young man pulled her to the corner behind him silently, and unfastened her front buckle.

The girl didn't dare to move, she just stared into his eyes.

She blushed, shrugged and shivered, and when she noticed the boy's gaze shifted, she said again:

"cold……"

The young man moved a little faster, tore off a bit of the cotton coat, saw the burn and bruise, frowned and said, "...Did you take the medicine when you went back?"

"...I went back to get the medicine twice in a row, but the nurse insisted on asking why, but I didn't dare to answer, so I didn't tell her..."

The girl looked at him hesitantly, and saw that he took out the ointment handed to him last time and applied it on her bit by bit.

It was cold and hurt.

The girl bit her lip and endured, still staring into his eyes, and let out a sigh of relief.

After wiping it off, the boy hurriedly buttoned up her skirt, and then passed the ointment on his hand: "Take it back, and wipe it on yourself."

The girl didn't answer: "You don't need it anymore?"

"no need."

She stretched out her index finger and tapped the red blood on the corner of the boy's mouth, and said in a low voice, "See you last time...not yet."

The young man grabbed her outstretched hand and put the ointment on her palm: "Take it."

Then, not allowing her to refuse any more, he pulled her sleeves out of the alley and walked towards the street.

There was a rush of people on the street, and two children were walking on the sidelines one after the other.

"Little brother." The girl stepped up her pace.

"Ah."

"Are you capable of not getting hurt now?"

"……No."

"Then you should take this medicine."

"I do not need."

"why?"

The boy kept silent.

A curse in my heart, because I am a coward.

The long street in the imperial capital was noisy and lively, with the sound of hawking one after another.

Laughter and joy in the world are all obtained from the crowd.

"Did you eat that?"

The boy slowed down and pointed at a street vendor a few steps away.

"What?" The girl followed the location he was pointing at.

"Candied haws," the boy added, "sweet."

"Okay."

When the two approached, the boy took out a copper coin and took a bunch, handed it to the girl, and continued walking up the street.

"Where do you want to go?"

The girl thought for a while, looked left and right at the crowded crowd, and said, "...take me to see your mother."

"No."

"why?"

"She's busy."

"Go secretly," the girl said, "just take a look, don't bother... you are familiar with that place?"

The boy turned a corner, led him to the narrow passage between the first floors, and climbed up the stone steps on the edge.

"Where is this going?"

"Enter from the side door."

The girl was overjoyed, and felt that the young man took the hand that was pulling her sleeve back to her own, and said to her: "Follow me closely, don't shout or run around."

"……Oh."

The girl lost a little interest because of his serious expression, thinking that this approaching place must be a dangerous place, and regretted letting him lead her here.

While thinking, he was led to a dark corridor.

There is a faint voice of noisy people, but the voice seems to be covered by a cage, it seems to be close but far away, like separated by clouds.

Unable to see the way ahead, the girl was frightened and did not dare to make a sound. She tightly grasped the boy's hand with both hands, and followed him forward.

The hand in the palm was thin and dry, the bones were wider and longer than hers, but it was inexplicably warm.

After walking for a long while, the boy tilted open a long curtain, and the sudden bright white light blinded the girl.

In an instant, another pair of hands was covered.

The girl felt that she had returned to the peaceful darkness, and the young man led her forward with half his arms around her.

Just vaguely heard the noise getting closer, as if I was in it.

There is also a strong aroma lingering.

She moved her head, covered her mouth and sneezed.

The two stopped in one place.

"I let go."

The girl nodded, not daring to make a sound.

Withdrawing the hand in front of her, she opened her eyes little by little, and found that the two were standing behind a mahogany pillar thicker than a person.Looking up along the pillar, it leads directly to the second floor of this building.

And the empty space on this floor is full of people around the tables and seats, men and women laughing and whispering incessantly, it's a warm and harmonious scene like drinking wine.

Among the many laughing noises, there were two special voices mixed in. The girl followed the prestige and saw that there were two human figures with heavy makeup on the stand set up in front, singing something softly without distinguishing between male and female.

The voice sounded a bit sharp and harsh at first, but after listening to a few words carefully, I felt that it was very unique amidst the chaos of laughter.

The girl held the boy beside her with one hand, and put her arms around Guang Zhu with the other, and then she looked up.

The boy met her eyes, bent over, and whispered in her ear: "What's wrong."

The girl pointed to the stage, and whispered, "What is that person singing?"

The boy shook his head, pursed his lips and said, "I don't know."

"……Oh."

The girl pushed close to the pillar, trying to distinguish the libretto from the noise.

It's a pity that there was a lot of voices, but it just overwhelmed the voices of people. Occasionally, only a few words could be heard, but they were lost in the noise of the crowd in an instant.

The girl was a little discouraged, and slowly lost her mind.

Everyone at the wine table was flushed, laughing and drinking endlessly.It was very different from the men she had seen at the mansion before who came to visit his father.Giving up on keeping calm and cheering up, it seems that everyone has become a drunkard, with disheveled clothes.

And the woman with a spacious dress interspersed with it poured wine and talked happily, just like him, her face was flushed and dizzy.

She even felt that the fragrance of the woman passed through the hall and directly penetrated into her nose.

Feeling a little uncomfortable, the girl subconsciously took a step back and bumped into the boy's thin-ridged chest.

"What's wrong."

She felt that she was half-protected in her arms, and she suddenly felt relieved, but the hot atmosphere really made her a little breathless, and her breathing was a little short.

"...Is your mother... in here?"

"No."

"Then she..."

"She's upstairs in a private room."

I don't know if it's an illusion brought about by the stuffy environment, but the girl always thinks the boy's voice is weird.

She struggled to turn her head, and the arms of the people behind her loosened.

The girl was unprepared, and suddenly bumped into the boy's face face to face, and also bumped into the pair of deep peach blossom eyes.

The surrounding noise disappeared in an instant.

Respiratory arrest.

A long and swaying libretto flew into my ears:

"...the bright pearl, Yu Hengbo."

The whispered voice lingered in his mind.

Then there was no more sound.

She is still the person who can't tell the time, day, day, and month. No matter how many years have passed, she will never forget that moment.

The actors in the stands still chanted:

Bright Pearl Yu Hengbo

Returning from the dust, the world will no longer lose its color.

What kind of rhetoric are you talking about?

Is it a hundred and two thousand gold,

Still can't change An Sheng's two scattered?

The old man is not yesterday,

It's strange that my eyes were muddy and my ears were muddy back then, and I could not bear to believe in falsehoods!

The actor at the other end moved his eyes, wiped the crimson cinnabar on his forehead, and then sang:

I picked up soil to bury the father and mother of the officials.

Begging all the way to Kyoto,

I see you in the temple today,

And throw away the old chaff,

Where is the emperor's list,

It is clearly a trick of the picture name,

Sigh the absurdity of the world for me,

Let's see how long you laugh, there is no coffin for death, no side for life, no money to bribe the king of Hades!