One of the Twelve Kingdoms

Before the white tiger came back, Joshya and Shu Le changed their dead mother into decent clothes.

"Mom likes blue skirts the most, but she never wears them after the cold weather." Shu Le whispered.Joshua wiped away her tears with his fingertips, then looked at the dead body on the bed, and slowly brushed her eyes.He didn't feel scared at all, just covered her with a white sheet, and asked Shu Le, "Baihu and I will send your mother to the cemetery, do you want to stay at home?"

Shu Le sobbed and shook his head quickly.

The official tombs in each ri are located in the north, opposite to the market in the south.Baihu and Joshya pushed the cart across the entire town, and Shu Le quietly followed beside the cart.

Occasionally, someone drove by in a carriage, and a pair of legs and arms were exposed under the thin straw mat.Joshua suddenly felt that the wide road became extremely crowded, as if countless undead were walking with him.

When passing through a remote path, they even ran into a robber with a knife.

Joshua was instantly furious, "For God's sake!" He shouted angrily, "Let this poor child send her mother off for the last time."

He thought he'd get a beating next, but the burly, brutish man looked at the white sheets on the cart and silently joined them.

When the ground was gradually covered with a layer of white paper, the four of them saw the yellow eaves of the temple. This building with only four walls and no shelter stood alone in a wilderness. Several clusters of red flames were burning with green smoke.

There isn't even a person in charge here.

Joshua and Baihu started digging a hole with a shovel. There was fresh loess everywhere. It made one wonder if half of the town's people had been buried here, and it was hard to find an open space.

During the official burial, Shu Le burst into tears. She cried so sadly, as if she had lost the whole world.

The three big men looked at each other helplessly, none of them could bear to see despair appear in the eyes of such a young child.The robbing uncle comforted in a rough voice: "Little girl, don't cry, your mother will ascend to Penglai and become a fairy, and live a good life."

But that was of no use.

Joshua thought for a while, and suddenly caught a glimpse of a cluster of bright colors out of the corner of his eyes. His eyes lit up immediately, and he ran over to pick a handful and sent them to the girl.

Shu Le raised his head due to a burst of fragrance, and a large clump of bright red flowers occupied the entire field of vision.The blond brother said to her behind the flowers: "Shu Le, go and give it to your mother, with a smile, as the last gift." He kissed her forehead encouragingly, and softly persuaded the girl who stopped crying: "Be strong a little."

Shu Le stared at him blankly, then wiped away her tears with her sleeves, and hummed heavily.Her expression was still pained, but a flash of faith slowly appeared in her eyes.She stands in her mother's eternal tomb, at the boundary between life and death.

Shu Le scattered the flowers, and the bright petals fell on the woman's chest, floating with the breeze as if giving the dead breath.

"It's time to say goodbye to Mom," Joshua said.

Shu Le nodded, then took a deep breath and said, "Goodbye, Mom."

Joshua breathed a sigh of relief.

They buried new soil and removed a board for a tombstone, and Shule fell asleep from exhaustion before they finished.On the way back, the white tiger turned into a beast and carried her on his back, chatting with the robber uncle.

"You are not locals, are you? Where are you from?"

The white tiger replied: "Play the country."

The uncle sincerely envied: "That is really a good place."

Bai Hu paused, then asked in a low voice, "Does this kind of thing happen often?"

The uncle snorted inexplicably: "Those who can still work in the city have gone out to work, but the pay they get is not enough to fill their own stomachs. Those who stay in the city either freeze to death or starve to death. And self-defeating."

Joshua asked strangely: "In this case, why don't you leave? You can go to other countries, can't you?"

"Those who have this idea are now waiting to be starved to death in prison. And we can't get a boat at all." The uncle was indignant and helpless: "Those grown-ups only want to live a good life by selling jade, even if they don't You can live well even if you eat, and you don’t care about the lives of the people at all.”

"But..." Joshua was a little puzzled: "Doesn't God care about it? Shouldn't your gods protect you all the time?" He even came up with a set of things that the king would finish playing as soon as he felt rebellious.

"Our unicorn and king have long been missing." The uncle clenched his fists fiercely: "Damn it, even the Qiao Kingdom has a new king, why do we continue to be punished? It has been more than 70 years."

Baihu was stunned for a moment: "Isn't it said that Taiqi has been found?"

"What's the use of that? Instead of getting sick or disappearing without pain, it's better to disappear completely, so at least there will be new unicorns to save us."

For some reason, Joshua suddenly felt strongly accused.The uncle told him that Qilin and Wang are not everything in a country, but they are the cornerstones of everything.The close relationship between royal power and people's livelihood becomes more concrete and close here.

It was a terrible feeling, as if his life was not entirely his own, and every decision he made was likely to involve the fate of other people.What is Qiaoguo like now?He couldn't help but began to think back, but he had never been anywhere except that mountain, but at least he still had a red and green spring in his impression.

Will it become like Dai Guo there?

"Joe?"

"Huh? What's wrong?"

"You haven't looked well since just now."

"It's nothing." Joshua waved his hand as if trying to drive something away: "I'm just... I don't know, I'm a little shaken..." The bewildered sound faded away, and Joshua sighed listlessly.

The two of them returned to the hotel. The uncle himself had a daughter, a cheerful little girl with the same red hair as her father.Joshua left Shu Le there, and he felt that it was much better to have her peers with her than to leave her alone at home.

Joshua gave them all the food on his body, and there was nothing else he could do.

"Hey, you two, where have you been all day?"

As soon as the two stepped through the door, a sailor greeted them and asked politely.

"Looking for us?" Joshua was a little silly, and then he thought he had guessed the reason for their anxiety, and asked nervously, "Why, we missed the boat?"

"Tch, the boss asked you to help us with us later."

"What help?" Baihu asked.

"I've encountered a little trouble." The sailor seemed to be in a hurry, and urged them impatiently: "Hurry up if you're a man, what nonsense."

So before they even had their dinner, they followed a few sailors and ran into a group of mountains chasing the setting sun. The dazzling silver light and the roar of wild beasts split the rocks. Joshua subconsciously raised his arms to cover his face and closed his eyes. swept him all over.

"Get out of the way! Don't just stand there!"

Joshua immediately backed away a few steps, and the next second a huge demon fell to his feet, Ao Dou yelled and used the sword to completely end its life.

Oh my God.

Joshua, whose face was covered with blood, stiffly pulled his foot out from under the big black bear-like monster, thinking to himself that he should look quite calm, at least he didn't faint like Zhiqi when he saw the blood. In the past, that was really too cowardly.

Ao Dou flicked the blood on his weapon, and said strangely: "Little guys, what are you doing here?"

"Let them come to see your heroism, boss, just in time." The sailor who brought them laughed.Ao Dou laughed: "There is a small one over there, I'll leave it to you."

"Small meaning, boy, come with me."

Joshua pointed to himself: "Me?"

Bai Hu followed him together.They walked around the steep rocks, and there was indeed a small monster behind Stonehenge. It looked like a brown-red bear, but had sharp and curved white fangs like wild boars, howling at them menacingly and dangerously.

They surrounded it in a circle with hatchets and trapped it in the middle, and then let experienced people cast a net at the right time, stun it, and then shoot it to death.

Joshya also participated in it, although he just walked around with everyone, he was still very excited.He can feel the adrenaline rushing, the enemy has bloodthirsty claws and fangs, and humans have absolute advantages. This experience is dangerous and exciting.

How many lives has it ended?Maybe Shule's father was among them.

"Chop off their teeth and legs." Joshua heard someone order, but he was still immersed in the boiling of his blood, until something suddenly brushed his cheek, and the white tiger nimbly pushed him to the ground, The two looked at the sky together, and a big brown bird spun around twice and flew away.

"It's the hooked falcon." Baihu said.

"You seem to know everything," Joshua said.Bai Hu was a little embarrassed, unable to scratch his head because he was still propped on top of him.

"Baihu, do you want to be king?"

Bai Hu was choked by his sudden question: "Huh?"

Joshya's tongue tied a little. "I just thought you'd be a good king if you had the chance."

Baihu laughed: "Zuoguo is a very good country, I don't think I have this chance." He lay down on the side and said, "But I think if it's Joe, he will become a wise king, and people will easily like you. "

"Hey, two boys, come and eat!"

The sailors set up a bonfire and began to roast the bear's legs. Joshua was so hungry that he could smell the aroma of the meat, but he wanted to go up and kiss the white tiger even more.

What a handsome and thoughtful fellow he is, Joshya thought.

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