north bird south

……

Winter House.

When Dong Yibai opened the door and saw that there was no one on the bed, he broke out in a cold sweat, caught a man who brought tea and water and asked, "Where are others?"

The servant immediately pointed to the direction of the open-air balcony, and hurriedly replied: "Master, he insists on going over, we can't stop him."

Dong Yibai ran over nervously, and was relieved when he saw Xu Zhiyuan standing in front of the fence intact, and quickly grabbed his arm to catch him back, saying: "You have to jump to find someone Don’t kill me in front of my house.”

Xu Zhiyuan's eyes were very light, and the moment they fell on Dong Yibai's body, he mistakenly thought that there was still a reflection of the fire that hadn't dissipated.Xu Zhiyuan was speechless, and Dong Yibai didn't expect him to have anything to say to him in this state.He dragged Xu Zhiyuan who looked like a ghost back to the room, and said: "Listen, you are not allowed to go anywhere in my house. I will guarantee your safety. It will not benefit anyone if the news about you here is leaked."

On the day of Xu Zhenping's execution, people with "righteous indignation" went to their house to smash up and set fire to them. Dong Yibai was cautious for a moment and sent his own people to sneak in. In the end, Xu Zhiyuan's life was really saved.

Dong Yibai also understood why he appeared there - if he lost his mother and father for a while, he didn't know where to go except returning to the house that could still be called "home".

Dong Yibai put his hands on Xu Zhiyuan's shoulders and said: "Xu Zhiyuan, in fact, Yu Yao contacted me a few months ago before he left Huai City. I know his current address. I can send you to north."

Xu Zhiyuan seemed to be awakened by the word "North", he repeated it: "North..."

"The news of Xu Zhenping's execution must have reached Yu Yao's ears. He doesn't know your safety yet. You can write him a letter to report your safety now. I..."

Xu Zhiyuan suddenly patted his hand away, and he said, "I don't need your help."

"Now is not the time to talk about personal grievances!" Dong Yibai said angrily, "I didn't help you, you have already been burned to death!"

"Personal grievances..." Xu Zhiyuan looked up at Dong Yibai with clear and lingering eyes, those eyes were like a mirror, making him suddenly feel as if he was covered in sin and at a loss under his gaze.Xu Zhiyuan said quietly, "Tell me Dong Yibai, who killed Pei Zhen and Yu Yan's brothers, and who exposed those comrades that Xu Zhenping redeemed."

Dong Yibai pursed his lips tightly, seeing Xu Zhiyuan put the cold muzzle of the gun on his brow, and said: "... who indirectly killed Xu Zhenping and Li Anrong."

Dong Yibai took silence as a default, did not push his gun, but closed his eyes forcefully, and said: "I admit to everything my father does, you can kill or cut as you like. But when I die, I will No one sent you to find Yu Yao."

"Did I tell you?" Xu Zhiyuan said indifferently, "Don't help me anymore, or you will regret it."

"..." Dong Yibai bit the word "regret" into pieces in his mouth, he never thought that Xu Zhiyuan would forgive himself, if he shot himself in the head to wash away Dong Jianshu's sins, he would be willing.

Dong Yibai was waiting for him to pull the trigger, but the pressure between his brows was gone.

"The injustice has its head, and the debt has its owner." Xu Zhiyuan said.

When he opened his eyes again, Xu Zhiyuan had already jumped from the balcony just now. He looked down in surprise, and saw that he used tree forks and bushes to climb out of the fence of their backyard without incident.

Seeing his figure disappear with his own eyes, the cold sweat on Dong Yibai's back drenched his clothes.

……

A few days later, Dong Jianshu, who had committed many crimes, finally died in the hospital.

The bullet pierced the back of his head from his throat, but no one heard the sound, and no one saw the murderer.When he was alive, he was dignified and stirred up the situation, but he died ugly and silently in such a pale room,

And Young Master Dong knelt next to his father's corpse for a day, almost collapsed, and cried and cursed for a long time in a trance, as if he knew something.But no one could ask him, and he wouldn't let anyone in.

Mou Xianzhi also died in the same way—his body was thrown on the balcony of his house, and it happened that there was a heavy rain that day, which washed away the bloody smell.

The tragic death of the two caused a lot of suspicion and discussion, but it seemed insignificant under the big news that Meng Xu "two tigers are fighting, and both sides are hurting".

Amidst these blood and scandals, a letter with hatred and Xu Zhiyuan's "death" was sent from Dongfu to Beicheng.

……

A few days later, Fulin District.

The girl moved back to her hometown in Fulin from Huai City, and her mother opened a flower shop in a small city, so she no longer had to carry a bag of dangling water bottles to the street selling flowers every day like she did when she was a child.

She still wears a large beret and a small Mazak, squatting at the door to look after the shop.

A thin man with glasses used to pass by here every day, just sneaking a glance at the storefront.Every time the girl will ask: "Sir, do you want to buy flowers?"

The man with glasses would shake his head, tug at the strap of the briefcase that had slumped from his shoulders, and walk away faster.The girl guessed he was the man who worked in the little bank at the end of the street.People who work there pass by here on their way home.

When the girl is in a daze, she will meditate, whether the thin brother doesn't have enough money - after all, the small local bank looks like it's going to close down - or doesn't know what flowers to send to whom, so every time he passes by Just a quick glance.

The girl looked at the burning clouds in the sky. The sky was washed by a heavy rain in the afternoon, so today's sunset burned the blue curtain more beautifully than before.

He thought, if that brother passed by here again, she could secretly send him a flower.

Because my mother said that Huai City had started fighting, and the flames of war would soon reach Fulin District.She was going to take her to the safest city of Beicheng. They didn't have time to take care of these flowers on the way, so they had to sell them as soon as possible, or they would have to throw them away.

The girl felt that it was a pity to throw it away, and if she couldn't sell it, she would give one away, and her mother would definitely not blame her.

So she looked at the end of the street, where the fire was burning, waiting for someone to come.

But at this time in the alley, the sounds of begging for mercy and struggling cries gradually faded away, and the man muttered: "I didn't mean to...please forgive me...Master Zhiyuan...Master..." finally became White foam.

It wasn't until the sound disappeared for a long time that Xu Zhiyuan let go of his arm, and the dying man slid down to the ground with a few bangs.

Xu Zhiyuan's body was full of scars and embarrassment. He held his arm that was scratched by the shards of glass in the man's hand, and a lot of blood dripped down his arm into the stagnant water on the side of the road.

Xu Zhiyuan lit the business card with "Name: Zhou Nan" in the man's pocket with a lighter, and threw it into the discarded trash can, along with his glasses, briefcase, and suit with the bank's name embroidered on it, everything that could be identified Throw everything into the fire.

After finishing all this, Xu Zhiyuan slumped against the wall, as if he had finally completed some task, coughed blood and laughed for a long time, and carefully tasted the first mouthful of fresh air in countless days. burnt scent.

He lay down until he didn't know when, then he got up from the ground in a daze, and staggered out of the alley.

The girl in front of the flower shop saw a tall and strange figure approaching, and her sensitive nose also smelled a trace of blood.

Xu Zhiyuan walked to the door of the flower shop, she got up and said in surprise: "Sir, you are injured."

Xu Zhiyuan stopped and looked at her in a daze.What he was looking at was a pair of eyes that were not wary of anyone, full of kindness.She quickly fetched bandages and iodine from the store, and carefully handed them to Xu Zhiyuan.

Xu Zhiyuan was silent as if the sunset was going through a quiet death, and the sun and moon rising on the horizon seemed to count his silence.

So he put a piece of ocean in her hand with a hand full of blood, and said hoarsely: "I buy flowers."

He looked at a bunch of roses, and the girl held the blood-stained silver dollar tightly in her hand.There is no malice or fear in the eyes, it is a quiet temptation like a smart little animal.She seemed to sense that Xu Zhiyuan was a good person, so she stuffed all the red roses left in the store into his pockets.

"...North," Xu Zhiyuan asked her again, "Do you know how to get to Beicheng from here?"

The girl pointed in one direction and said, "Go over there and walk a few kilometers. There is a train station. My mother said that we will take that train when we go to Beicheng. But because of the war, its driving time will be very inaccurate." She thought Xu Zhiyuan was a homeless man, so he asked in a low voice, "Can you take the train?"

Xu Zhiyuan shook his head with a smile.

He thanked the girl, said nothing more, dragged his exhausted body, and walked towards the north she pointed to.

The girl poked her head out from among the flowers, looked at his figure, and thought of a reed that would fall when blown.

When she grows up, she will probably think of this day burned into her mind from time to time.

She met a man who had nothing, holding a bunch of clean roses with blood on his hands, like a bird returning home, heading north towards dusk.