Ambush from all sides

After staying in Luoyang City for three days, the dead leaves packed up their things, left the city in a mess, and continued to walk west.

It has been raining in Luoyang for the past two days. It is very cold, not heavy, but it does not stop.Seeing that it cleared up in the afternoon, Dead Leaf thought about hurrying to the next town.He wasn't going to do anything, he just felt that Luoyang City couldn't stay anymore.Now he is very tired and sleepy, as long as he relaxes, he will become lazy.He didn't want to have any feelings for this place, so he packed up his things and left Luoyang in a hurry while the rain stopped.

The road outside the city is very muddy. The snow melted some time ago, and with the recent rain, the places on both sides of the road that are not covered by gravel are already a mess.He walked forward while avoiding the stagnant water, and had to avoid passing carriages from time to time.

The weather was gloomy, and the road ahead looked empty, and it was not known where the next town was.Waiting for him in front may be a village or town, or it may be a wilderness.

Whatever, wherever he went, anyway, he was in no hurry and had nothing to do.

Walking slowly all the way, turning over a small hillside, the road ahead is not a road, but a stretch of mountains and forests.Dead Leaf was a little hesitant, because he didn't like to walk on mountain roads, which would be slippery in rainy days, and his shoes were already dirty when he climbed the small hill just now.But there is no way to go in front of the village and no shops behind, so stopping is not an option... Anyway, the shoes are already dirty, so let's get dirty.Thinking about it, Dead Leaf frowned and rubbed her shoes against a tree trunk with some disgust, then continued walking.

After walking in the mountain for about half an hour, a small wooden building appeared faintly beside the mountain road in front of it. It was not big, and a column of white cooking smoke was slowly wafting from the back of the house.The dead leaves were a little uncomfortable due to the freezing weather. Seeing the heat coming out from there, I couldn't help feeling excited.Guessing it was a small restaurant, he quickly walked over there, and when he got closer, he found that it was a simple tea house.

The tea house is not big, with a canopy under it, and three or four square wooden tables under the canopy.Withered Ye tentatively walked over, and saw an old aunt with some gray hair in her [-]s pouring tea into a small bright yellow copper pot.White steam was rising from the mouth of the copper pot, and the dead leaves felt their throats dry, and the coolness on their bodies became heavier.After pouring the tea, the old aunt stepped back tremblingly from the small bench in front of the stove, turned around—and saw the dead leaf standing at the door swallowing her saliva.

The old man saw that he was thin, with sharp eyebrows and eyes, with a knife on his waist, and a strange mask on his face, so he couldn't help being a little scared for a while.Seeing the old man's expression stiff and shrinking, Dead Leaf thought that he might have frightened him, so he quickly narrowed his eyes, walked in and said as gently as possible: "Miss Boss, do you have hot tea here? I want to buy a bowl of tea."

Seeing that he didn't look like he was here to make trouble, the other party gradually relaxed in his heart, but his expression was still somewhat reserved: "Yes, please sit down first, guest officer, and I'll pour you tea!" After finishing speaking, the old man Bumping his little feet, he ran towards the back kitchen and shouted in a low voice, "Old man! There are guests, take out the teacup!"

"Got it! Tsk, why are people here in this weather..."

"Hey, shut up! Be quick with your hands and feet, don't make people wait too long!"

Dead Leaf listened outside, lowered her eyes, and reluctantly hid the knife at her waist under her robe.After a while, the curtain of the back kitchen was lifted, and an old man with half black hair came out with a teapot and a teacup in his hand.Seeing the dead leaves, he was also taken aback for a moment, with a look of fear in his eyes.Dead Leaf pulled the corner of her mouth stiffly, forced a smile, and said, "Old man, hurry up and have some tea, you are cold."

"Hey, hey!" The not-so-young uncle nodded, hurried over and put down the tea bowl, and poured him a bowl of hot tea.The dead leaves lowered their eyes, and when they saw that the tea was poured, they lowered their heads and breathed intently.After a while, he took a sip of hot tea, and his body instantly warmed up.

The boss walked back to the stove slowly, and looked up at him cautiously from time to time.Fortunately, Dead Leaf's aura is restrained, and he has no intention of intimidating, so he looks like a passing martial arts person, not like a troublemaker, and the other party gradually feels relieved.

The sky outside was still gloomy and stagnant, with dark clouds gathering faintly in the distance.Withered Ye drank a bowl of hot tea, his body recovered and he felt a little hungry again.He looked up tentatively and saw that the old uncle and aunt were there, so he asked softly, "Boss, do you have steamed buns for cooking? I'm a little hungry."

"There are no steamed buns, but the vegetables can be fried for you, but there are no big fish and meat." The old man wiped the copper pot with a rag, with a flattering smile on his face.Withered Leaf curled the corner of her mouth in embarrassment, and said, "It's okay, just a little side dish, let's have a bowl of rice."

"Okay, guest officer, just wait!" Seeing that his temper was really kind, the old man was completely relaxed, and swiftly tossed the rag and walked to the kitchen to do some work.Dead Leaf sat quietly, looked at the surrounding trees, and looked at the crude furnishings around, leaned against the table for a while, opened the small purse containing money, and counted.The loose silver in it was useless, and the two slings of money only cost a few tens of cash, which was quite ample.After counting the money, Dead Ye silently put away the purse, the jade pendant hanging on the purse was exposed from the skirt of his clothes, he looked down to see it, and stretched out his hand to tidy it up again.

There were no people on the mountain road in the evening, only the sound of cooking from the kitchen and the distant wind.Withered Leaf sat a little restlessly, depending on the weather, how should he go when it rains?Is there a place to stay in this teahouse?

He was looking up at the scale upstairs when there were rustling voices from the east of the mountain road.Dead Leaf turned her head and saw two short and sturdy men running towards this side cursingly, with a hatchet pinned to their waist and a coarse cloth bag in their hand, they looked like farmers.As soon as the two men ran here, they rushed straight to the teahouse, threw the bag on the ground carelessly, and shouted loudly: "Boss, quickly serve two bowls of tea and a catty of beef! It's so cold..."

The old uncle inside heard the yelling, and hurried out with his wife: "Oh my goodness, unfortunately, the weather has been bad recently, I didn't go out to buy meat, I only have some side dishes, can you make do with it?"

"Oh, let's make do with it, I'm starving to death! Do you have any eggs, spread two eggs!"

"Hey, good! Wait!"

Dead Leaf glanced at the two of them calmly, but didn't speak.After the other party complained for a while, the tea came, and they chatted quietly while drinking hot tea.Dead Leaves saw that their hatchets were shiny, but the wear was not serious, as if they hadn't been used often, and with thick beards on their faces, they didn't look like farmers anymore.Generally, those who do farm work will not go out now, and it is even more impossible to run outside in this weather.Dead Leaf frowned, then turned to look at them again.

Coincidentally, the other party was also looking at him suspiciously.Seeing him turn around, the two of them looked away awkwardly.Withered Leaf felt a little bad in his heart, how did they look like—thief?

After a while, the old uncle brought him the fried vegetables.Seeing that their food wasn't ready yet, the two urged them impatiently. The boss bowed his waist in a hurry to make amends, and hurried back to work again.The dead leaves didn't pay much attention to them, and when the food came, he just hung his head and ate the food without saying a word.At this time, the sky was getting darker and darker, and the rain began to fall, gradually turning into a large-scale heavy rain.

"Damn it, the rain is too timing! It's really his grandfather's heart..." Seeing that it was raining, one of the people next to him stared at the rain curtain and cursed dissatisfiedly.The old aunt who was watching tea smiled embarrassingly, and comforted them and said, "Don't worry, you two, we have spare rooms in our small shop. If you can't walk, you can stay. Anyway, the weather is slippery, so it's not easy to walk. .”

After hearing this, the two exchanged meaningful glances with each other, and then agreed with some reluctance: "Hey, that's the only way to go! Ma'am, you have to clean up the room. !"

"Hey, that's natural." The proprietress responded hurriedly, then turned her head and urged her man: "Old man, hurry up, it's so slow!"

On the side, Dead Ye took a fixed look at the sneaky two people, and made a decision calmly.He finished a plate of dishes leisurely, put down the chopsticks in his hand, and said unhurriedly: "Madam Boss, I'll be staying here tonight too, help me tidy up a room."

The proprietress was taken aback for a moment, her eyes were obviously apprehensive, she still felt afraid of him.But when the guest spoke, she couldn't refuse in this weather, so she could only agree with a stiff smile: "Hey, good!"

At this time, the two short and strong men frowned and gave him a disgusted look.The dead leaf didn't respond, but lowered its eyes calmly, and took out the beautiful purse that he had robbed earlier, shaking it deliberately, and the silver inside rattled: "Boss, I Give the money first, how much is the total..."

Before he finished speaking, Dead Leaf noticed that the eyes of the two people next to him dimly lit up from the corner of their eyes.He raised his eyebrows steadily, and the right corner of his mouth curled coldly where they couldn't see.

At night, the teahouse closed, and the boss led the dead leaves to the second floor.There are only two rooms on the second floor, Dead Leaf chose the innermost one, and the two dwarfs followed behind to watch, as if they thought the arrangement was good, so they didn't say anything, just took the cloth bag and went into the room.Dead Leaf stood at the door and looked around for a while, before walking into her room.

Putting the luggage on the table, Dead Ye took off his shoes and sat on the bed, crossed his legs and calmed down, and began to practice the mental method given to him by Zhan Zhao.In the past few days, he has almost practiced all the formulas for a round, and he is short of the last sentence.When exercising, he could feel the sea of ​​qi gradually filling up, and his whole body felt calm and warm, very soft and comfortable.Dead Leaf didn't know that this internal ability couldn't match the moves he practiced before, the two styles didn't seem to match, one was majestic and the other was vicious, no wonder Yinhou and Tianzun looked down on his martial arts before.

There were rustling voices from the room next to it. Withered Leaf opened her eyes, stared at the wall for a while, and then slowly closed them again.He was already sure that those two were thieves, and it was not just as simple as stealing, they were probably ready to kill and silence them.Dead Leaf didn't want to be a hero, but just felt that it was unreasonable for these two old couples to open a teahouse in the mountains to quench their thirst. They were killed by those two little thieves.But he himself really needs to stay in this place, and if something happens, he might be implicated, and it would not be good to meet with the government.

Luoyang City is not far from Fengfu, and he doesn't want Zhan Zhao to know his whereabouts.Since you want to go, you have to go decisively, and you can't let yourself find any excuses to give up halfway.

He can't see those people and can't go back to Changzhou.

In the middle of the night, the dead leaf, who had been sitting quietly and dozed, heard the "squeak" sound of the door opening in the next room. It was not very audible in the rain, but it was enough to wake him up.Dead Leaf weighed his internal strength before, and estimated that it has recovered to the original level of more than five floors. Although it is not a good result, it is enough to deal with two thieves.He opened his eyes firmly and got out of bed, unsheathed the withered leaf knife, and held it in his hand.The two thieves walked slowly to his door first, and eavesdropped on it.Seeing that there was no movement inside, they turned around and walked quietly to the restaurant owner's room.

Probably because he was afraid that Dead Leaf didn't look like a big deal, but he also felt that he seemed quite indifferent and didn't seem to want to care about it, so he went downstairs with confidence.Dead Leaf was not in a hurry, he opened the door after they walked down the stairs, and followed them leisurely.

It was very dark downstairs. On the stairs, Dead Leaf saw the two men take out a bright wick, and walked all the way to the door of the main room according to the surroundings.Under the light of the fire, Dead Leaf sharply saw the hatchet in a person's hand. The blade was very bright and very sharp.

It turned out to be for this purpose.

These two people seemed to be habitual offenders. When they got to the door, one took a fire, and the other inserted a small iron piece into the crack of the door to pick the latch.They were only focused on the work in front of them, and they didn't notice that the dead leaves had quietly walked behind them.After a while, the door opened, and the old couple inside didn't wake up, so the two thieves walked in tiptoe.After a long while of rustling, the proprietress' panicked hoarse voice suddenly sounded in the dark room: "Ah! You, what are you doing!" A shiny hatchet.

"Take out the money, or I'll cut you off!" The owner of the restaurant recognized the bearded face with just one glance.Before going to bed, he told his wife that the man in the mask didn't look like a good man, and that such martial arts people are not as good as those two peasants. Don't care about regretting some of these things.Although he felt sorry for the money, in order to save his life, he had no choice but to get out of bed vigorously, and opened the small cabinet where the money was kept in the dark.

There are some scraps of silver in the cabinet, as well as a few ingots of silver ingots and a few copper coins.When the two men saw the silver, their eyes almost lit up, and they immediately snatched the money box from their hands.The boss was standing by the table in coarse and obscene clothes, feeling cold and frightened. Seeing the two thieves took the money, he couldn't help begging for mercy: "My lords, you got the money too, then, then..."

"Hey, old man, what do you want to say?" One of the taller men raised his lips and smiled coldly, and said relentlessly, "Let us save your life? Let us sue the government for a reward Ah, that's a good idea!" As he said, he and his accomplices raised the knife in their hands one after the other—just as the couple wailed and hid their heads to hide, they heard a "clang clang" "Twice, the person in front of him dropped his hatchet, his eyes turned white, and his body fell limply to the ground.

The couple raised their heads in a daze with dumbfounded eyes, and saw that in the dim light, half of the copper mask was faintly reflecting the lustrous light in the darkness.Withered Leaf looked at them quietly, and said unhurriedly: "Old man, tie them up with a rope. I've tapped their acupoints. You can send them to the government to receive a reward tomorrow."

After speaking, he turned around and walked upstairs slowly.The two old men stood in front of the bed, dazed, and finally the boss came to his senses first, and he rushed to the door trembling, regardless of his coat being naked, shouting, "Hey, little brother!"

Dead Leaf had already walked up the stairs, when he heard him calling himself, he paused, then turned to look at him.The boss faintly saw him standing still in the dark, and didn't know what to say for a while.After holding back for a long time, I finally managed to say: "Well, thank you benefactor for saving the lives of our couple, we..."

Withered Ye blinked quietly, and the corners of his mouth curled up indifferently: "It's just a little effort. Uncle, you should tie them up quickly, I'll go to rest first."

"Ah, good! You go, you go, uh, it's dark upstairs, be careful!"

"fine."

Withered Ye said lightly, the figure went upstairs and disappeared in a blink of an eye.The old man stood there in a daze for a long while, still a little confused and unable to recover.After a while, his wife came out with clothes on behind him, urging him: "What are you still doing in a daze! Get the rope quickly, let's thank you benefactor tomorrow!"

Upon hearing this, the boss came back to his senses, and quickly lit the oil lamp to find the rope.

The next morning, Dead Leaf woke up late today because she slept too late last night.He opened his eyes on the bed in a daze. The thick cotton quilt of the farmhouse had a warm smell of charcoal baking, so warm that he didn't want to move.The rain outside the window seemed to be still falling, pattering.There was a faint voice coming from downstairs, the tone was neither too urgent nor too slow, this tone...why does it sound so annoying?

Withered Ye rubbed her eyes, sat up and wrapped herself in a quilt and rubbed herself in front of the window, pushed the window lattice a little, and the voice downstairs immediately became much clearer.Dead Leaf heard the voices of the boss and the boss's wife, and they were talking about the dangerous situation last night.After a while, Dead Leaf heard the unhurried voice again: "Blame our ineffective arrest, which frightened the old man. It's a coincidence that we just passed by here today, or you have to go to Luoyang But, I just heard you say that the young man who saved you last night has short hair and wears a half mask?"

Hearing this question, Dead Ye tensed up upstairs instantly, feeling a little flustered.This person should be from the yamen, most likely a catcher or something.For him to ask like this, it means that he must know his identity, and it may not be certain that Zhan Zhao will tell him anything.Withered Leaf bit her lip and lay down by the window, her temples tensed up.He heard downstairs, the proprietress seemed to hesitate for a while, and then said slowly: "Uh, yes, that's right."

When Dead Leaf heard this, she immediately bounced away from the window, then threw off the quilt, and began to pack things hastily.Outside the window, the conversation between the proprietress and the man still came in a low voice: "...But, Engong left very early today and said he was on his way, so we didn't wait for the rain to stop, and we gave him a bamboo hat to let him go." Wear it away."

Hearing these words, Dead Leaf's hand holding the burden stopped instantly, feeling a little unbelievable in her heart—why did they hide their whereabouts for themselves?

"Well, did he tell you where he was going?"

"I asked, and he seemed to say he was going to Lanzhou. Well, that's where he is headed."

"Ah, yes, thank you, aunt. It's getting late now, so let's go first. Here, this is a silver reward, 100 taels, take it!"

"Hey, thank you, sir! Let's go!"

Then, the viscous sound of horseshoes stepping on the mud sounded downstairs, and it was chaotic and slowly walked away.Withered Ye stood in the room holding his breath, until he could no longer hear the movement of those people, then he put on his clothes and walked downstairs slowly.As soon as he arrived on the first floor, he saw the two old couple sitting at the table without saying a word, with a little sad expression on their faces.Dead Leaf stood by the stairs, hesitated for a while, coughed softly, and then walked out.

"En, Engong, you are up." Seeing him, the aunt's face was obviously a little nervous and embarrassed, holding the box of silver ingots in her hand, she tilted it to show him: "Here, look, those two thieves It turned out that he was a murderer, and he was rewarded with a lot of money. This is the credit of benefactor, the money..."

"I don't want this money." Withered Ye looked at her steadily, and interrupted her unhurriedly: "Mother, don't be nervous, I'm not a wanted criminal, and I won't do anything to you."

"Aren't you a wanted criminal?" After hearing his words, the couple were obviously relieved, but their eyes were still full of concerns: "Then, why did Qin Guanye ask about you?"

Dead Leaf pursed her lips, walked slowly to the table and sat down, said: "I just have a little relationship with his colleagues. They want to find me, but I don't want to go back. It's not a big deal, you don't have to worry. But, ma'am , "Dead Ye frowned slightly, and looked up at them with some puzzlement, "How could you help me hide my whereabouts?"

After listening to his question, the old couple looked at each other, and said a little helplessly: "We saw that you came out alone in such weather, and it didn't seem like you were in a hurry, so we thought you should be the kind of person who doesn't like to reveal your whereabouts." You are from Jianghu. Just now, I heard Guanye Qin asked, and I suspected that he was a wanted prisoner... However, the expression of the official Qin does not seem to be very serious, and you are not acting like a fugitive, so I will make my own decision and follow They say you're gone."

"So..." Withered Leaf muttered in a low voice, feeling a little complicated in her heart for a moment.I don't know whether it's luck or regret, but in short, there are some contradictions and some unpleasant feelings.The couple looked at him cautiously, and after a long while, they asked again: "Well, benefactor, it's raining now, and the road is not easy to walk, otherwise, how many more nights do you want to stay here? Go west to Beijing Zhaofu, there are not many towns on the way, you will probably be hungry on the way, and you don’t even have a place to live, so you can stay for a few more days. When the weather is fine, go to Luoyang and buy a horse for transportation, it will be much more convenient.”

Dead Leaf listened, turned her head and glanced blankly at the mountain forest in the rain outside the house, a sense of melancholy gradually emerged from the complicated emotions in her heart, and she felt a little lonely.After walking alone for so many days, I am still greedy for the warmth of others.There are hot tea and hot dishes here, and the two old people are kind and gentle, plus it has been raining non-stop... Dead Leaf pursed her lips, and her eyes gradually narrowed: "Okay, then I will stay for a few more days."

After making this decision, Dead Leaf suddenly felt much more relaxed.At noon, the couple carried the copper pot and prepared to boil water to make tea. Looking at the dead leaves, they felt a little strange. They wondered why the two old people opened a teahouse and didn’t even have children around them?Later, I couldn't help asking, and found out that their only son was originally a soldier of the Zhao family army. Unfortunately, he died in battle. The army gave a sum of money to the old man, so they left Luoyang City and opened a small teahouse here.

"I can't stay there. They are all neighbors. When they saw us, they always comforted us and said, Uncle Chen, Aunt Chen, don't be sad, people can't be resurrected after death... Hey, of course we know that people can't be resurrected after death, but we want to I still can't help but feel sad. If I could go back in time, I really wish I could break my son's leg so that I don't have to join the army..." Aunt Chen was talking ramblingly while choosing vegetables, tears welling from the corner of her eyes.She wiped her face with her hands, stabilized her emotions, and continued: "We came here to open a teahouse, and the idea is to be clean. My son is buried at the bottom of the hillside, and we can often go to see it. I am old, and here I am. What else can I do, I have been working so hard all my life."

"Thanks to my man, his body is still strong now, and he can stir tea leaves and carry a copper pot in spring. But, I guess he won't be able to do it in a few years. Well, let's retire here..."

Aunt Chen babbled on, while Dead Leaf was listening silently beside her.It was still raining outside, and it was cold to the bone, but because there was a charcoal brazier at the feet, it didn't feel too cold.But after staying for a long time, and without luck, Dead Leaf couldn't help but fight a cold war.When Aunt Chen heard his movements, she raised her head to look at him, and couldn't help but said, "Grandpa, why are your cotton clothes so thin? Don't you have thick clothes? It's cold in the mountains here. Do you want me to take my man's clothes?" Thick cotton coat for you?"

"Uh, no need, I have clothes." Withered Leaf waved her hand awkwardly, with an uncomfortable expression on her face, but Aunt Chen insisted: "If you have clothes, go and add them. What if I'm freezing? Hurry up." Go, go!" Withered Ye was embarrassed by her urging, and finally got up and went.When he arrived in the room, he took out Zhan Hao's padded coat, and gradually something was wrong with his heart...Heavy, but still aching.He held the clothes and put them on slowly after a long while.The cotton coat was thick and warm, and seemed to have a familiar atmosphere.The dead leaf buried her face in her collar, and couldn't help but take a deep sniff—it smelled very good on Zhan Hao, but she didn't know what it was.

When the distance and time have been lengthened, and the face in the mind is not so clear, the only thing that can evoke clear memories is the smell.In the Zhan's house, the dead leaves have smelled various smells, the scent of evening flowers, tobacco, lotus and magnolia, fried rice, the smell of various foods, the smell of saponins, and... Zhan Hao's body is calm and gentle smell.Rather than the brain, the nose is the sense of memory.As long as you smell those breaths, the scene at that time will instantly appear in your mind.

Scene by scene, frame by frame, the more you want to forget, the clearer you will remember.He couldn't escape, he couldn't forget, Zhan Hao was the first person he fell in love with, how could he forget so easily?Withered Ye closed her eyes tightly, bit her lip, and couldn't help covering her face with her hands.The palm of his hand can feel the expression on his face, and it must be insincere—no matter how long it takes, he will never learn to confess, be calm, and love others.

In the evening, the rain outside the house gradually subsided, and after the dead leaves had dinner with the Chen couple, Uncle Chen moved out a half-sized earthenware vat from the kitchen and put it on the triangle iron.Dead Leaf looked at the pot and thought it should be roasted tea, but now it is winter, what kind of tea should be roasted?

Uncle Chen saw his doubts, so he struck the charcoal with tongs and said: "A few days ago, the tank was cracked, and the black tea in it was damp, so it needs to be fried, or it will go bad in the next year." With that said, Aunt Chen took out a big cloth bag from the room, which contained half a bag of black loose tea leaves.The couple poured the tea leaves into the vat in batches, worked together, and raised their heads to talk to the dead leaves from time to time: "My benefactor, when the rain stops, where are you going?"

Dead Leaf looked at the flickering sparks at the bottom of the tank, lowered her eyes and said in a low voice, "I don't know where I'm going, I have nowhere to go."

After hearing his answer, Uncle Chen was a little startled: "Ah? Are you just... walking around like this?"

"Well, walk around, wherever you go."

Hearing what he said, the two couples were stunned immediately, and Uncle Chen's movement of frying tea in his hands stopped involuntarily.They looked at each other for a while, guessing in their hearts, why did En Gong seem to run away from home?Official Qin was asking in the morning, and En Gong also said that he didn't want to go back.Speaking of it, he is also a young man. Could it be that he ran out because he was wronged at home?

If you don't think about it, you will feel more and more like it when you think about it.Or it could be said that there was an accident in the family, some wealthy family competed, and everyone had grudges.The child probably lost his parents, and couldn't stand the ugly faces of those relatives, so he ran out disheartened, tsk tsk, how pitiful.Aunt Chen was thinking wildly in her heart, and she couldn't help but cast her sympathetic gaze on the dead leaf: "Grandfather, what's your name?"

"My name is..." Withered Ye was a little taken aback, she probably didn't expect her to ask her name, "My name is Cen, Cen..."

The second word couldn't be pronounced for a long time, but Aunt Chen's gaze became more and more earnest.Withered Ye panicked, and a word popped out of his mouth: "Hao, I, my name is Cen Hao."

"Oh, Cen Hao, can Aunt Chen call you Ah Hao?"

"Uh, yes... yes." Dead Leaf agreed awkwardly, lowered her head regretfully, her face was burning red, and her body was suddenly hot.His mind was in a mess—how did he say Zhan Hao's name, and it was combined with his own surname, really...

He was flustered on the side, but Aunt Chen didn't notice it, and she was still talking to herself: "Well, Ah Hao, you said you don't know where you are going, Auntie thinks, why don't you just stay here? Look We two old people are lonely, we stay here all day, and there is no one to talk to..."

After hearing this, Dead Leaf raised her face in a daze, and saw the slightly lonely and melancholy eyes of Aunt Chen and Uncle Chen.The two old men were working hard under the dim oil lamp. On Uncle Chen's rough hands, the scald marks from touching the bottom of the hot tank from time to time were very conspicuous: "Anyway, you don't know where you are going, otherwise, Just stay with us?"

With that said, Aunt Chen raised her face to look at him expectantly, and even brought Uncle Chen to a halt.Withered Leaf was stunned, and was at a loss for a moment.This, this matter developed too fast, he was only planning to stay for a day or two, why...

"Of course, if you don't want to, we won't force you. It's just, hey... In two months, it will be the Chinese New Year. Thinking that this year will be us two old people who are not enjoying the new year, I just..."

Withered Ye looked at her, and gradually felt a little uncomfortable.He didn't mean to sympathize, nor did he mean to be soft-hearted, but he could understand and experience the feelings of the two old people.Want a companion, want someone who can talk, or, hope someone can take the place of his son, to comfort the life without a child... He can understand all these, losing a loved one, heartbroken and lonely, he all know.

"Your Uncle Chen is getting old, and it's troublesome for us to go up and down the mountain here. We bought a lot of things and couldn't bring them back. The warehouse on the top floor is always leaking, and we haven't been able to fix it. I thought, if Ah Hao can stay, These things are just..." Aunt Chen muttered, and there was already a sad meaning in her words.Uncle Chen listened and couldn't help interrupting him: "Hey! What are you talking about, you stinky old woman! Ah Hao is our benefactor, you let him stay and do these things, what do you think!"

"Uncle Chen, don't scold auntie, I'll stay here."

Withered Ye lowered her eyes and softly replied such a sentence to the couple.After hearing this, they were all a little stunned. Aunt Chen stared at him in a daze, and said in disbelief, "Ah Hao, you, you really agreed to stay?"

"Really," Dead Leaf raised her eyes and smiled faintly at her, "I have nowhere to go anyway. Rather than spending New Year's Eve alone in a foreign country, it's better to be here with you, and I can work harder in the future Do things for Uncle Chen so that he won't get hurt. Aunt Chen, don't you think so?"

"Oh, yes, yes! Well, well, oh, it's so good..."

The couple hurriedly responded, the smiles on their faces were a little bit happy, but also bitter.Withered Ye looked at them, couldn't help but clenched Zhan Hao's cotton coat a little tighter.He thought he could go back to his previous life, the days of being alone, but in the end he still couldn't refuse the warmth of people, and decided to stay in this place, to accompany the two lonely old people who had lost their children.

Zhanhao, how do you want me to appreciate the changes you have brought me?For more than three months by your side, I have changed so much, I can't bear a little bit of cold, I can't refuse a little bit of warmth... How do you teach me to forget you?Even if you are thousands of miles away, even if you haven't seen each other for more than 100 days, you will never forget it.All the clothes on me belong to you, the name I use now belongs to you, you taught me how to... Zhan Hao, the bastard Zhan Hao...

Even if the person escapes, the heart cannot escape.Zhan Hao's goal may have been achieved, but now for the dead leaves, this is a torment, a torment eager to escape.

This year's winter is very cold, less than a month after the beginning of winter, there have been two heavy snowfalls.Hot stoves were lit in each room, warming the cool air, making people even more reluctant to go out.

Since Zhan Tianxing and Yin Lanci came back, Zhan Hao can be said to be completely free, without doing anything or worrying about business.All he needs to do every day is eat, drink and sleep well. Yin Lanci also asked Ji Tang to watch him all day long, to watch him eat and sleep on time, and each meal should not be less than two bowls.Zhan Hao felt a little lucky, because the bowl at home was small, otherwise he would really have to eat to death.

He really doesn't eat much and doesn't have much desire for food.Often after eating, he didn't need Ji Tang to accompany him, and told her to do whatever she had to do, while he groped around by himself.In fact, he remembers the terrain and location of the house, but there are still some small corners that he has overlooked.Sometimes when he was walking, he would stumble over something under his feet, and then Zhan Hao would silently think, ah, so there is a little gadget here.

Now he often goes to the East Courtyard, and misses one, and more importantly, it is really pure here.He moved a stool out of the house and put it there, often sitting at the door for a whole day.Without his eyesight, he listened carefully to the movements in the yard with his ears.In fact, I can figure it out. Now that the winter is covered with snow and it is cold and bleak, there are no plants with leaves in the yard except for the lotus magnolia.The wisteria has long since withered, crawling on the shelf skinny, and the grass is also dry and yellow, not to mention the shrubs and flowers inside.

The sky and the earth are very quiet, and the only thing that can be heard is the sound of birds landing on the trees and snowflakes falling.Zhan Hao quietly held a small hand stove, nestled in the chair, motionless