Ambush from all sides

On New Year's Eve, there was a lot of snow in the mountains.The first day Aunt Chen had just finished steaming the steamed buns. Seeing that the weather was getting worse, Uncle Chen hurriedly took the dead leaves and went to Luoyang City to buy fish and fresh pork, couplets and so on.Aunt Chen bought dry goods from Boss Wang before, so there is no need to buy red dates and lotus seeds.Withered Ye wore a wide bamboo hat and followed Uncle Chen to pick up things all the way until his hands were full, and then the two returned home.

On the morning of thirty, Dead Leaf was called up early to pack her things.The teahouse was closed for a few days during the New Year's Eve, and few people came here again. After all, they all went home, so Aunt Chen cleaned up and down the teahouse early.After the dead leaves washed, they brushed back their half-grown hair, and went downstairs lightly.

Aunt Chen was not in the building, and Uncle Chen said that she went to the vegetable garden below the hillside to get vegetables.The short-legged cabbage beaten by snow is sweet and delicious. She reckoned to make a vegetable tofu soup at noon.Uncle Chen took out the big black fish bought yesterday from the basin and threw it on the cutting board, and taught the dead leaves how to scrape the fish off.

The dead leaf scraped the scales of the fish clumsily with a knife, and asked, "Uncle Chen, why did the fish have to be scraped off?"

"Scrape the fish paste and make fish balls. Your uncle and I are very good at rolling fish balls. I will let you try it tonight." Uncle Chen said, he took the pork he bought yesterday, separated the fat from the thin, and cut the fat into pieces. Once the pieces are ready, put the pot on the stand, light the firewood, and prepare to boil the lard.Fishing with dead leaves was inattentive, and he kept turning his head to look at Uncle Chen, watching him throw the fat into the pot, and soon there was a "sizzling" sound of cooking oil.Those pieces of fatty meat danced around in the pot, and glistening oil gradually oozed out from under their bodies.

Uncle Chen turned over the oil residue with a spatula while looking down at the fire. He inadvertently saw the dead leaf pestle beside him. move.He couldn't help laughing, he punched the waist of the dead leaf with his elbow, and said, "Ah Hao, have you never seen lard boiled?"

Withered Ye woke up suddenly, seeing Uncle Chen laughing at him, she suddenly felt a little uncomfortable: "Well, I haven't seen it before."

Uncle Chen laughed: "Hahaha, you kid, you didn't admit that you came from a rich family before! Look at your clothes, your shoes, your cotton padded clothes, you can't tell the difference between your body and the grain, you just look at it Nothing at home."

Regardless of the matter, Dead Leaf has nothing to say, but his clothes... are given by others.He lowered his eyes dully, without speaking, just pursed the corners of his mouth and continued to scrape the fish.Uncle Chen looked at his expression, and when he saw him, he sighed and said, "Hey, Ah Hao, uncle, I don't know what kind of quarrel you have with your family, and you came all the way from the south. You see You have been here for almost a winter, no matter how angry you are, you should stop, your parents will be worried."

Withered Ye bowed her head in silence for a while, turned the fish over in her hands, and said sullenly, "I don't have parents."

Uncle Chen choked on his words, and he was tongue-tied for a while before he said uncertainly, "Then, do you live with relatives?"

"Follow brother." Withered Ye said lightly, the movement of his hands did not stop, and he continued to scrape the fish vigorously.Uncle Chen breathed a sigh of relief, and said again: "It's good to follow my brother. Look at your clothes and shoes, they are all made of good materials, and they fit so well... It's just that the cotton clothes seem a little long, but it also shows that your brother treats you well. Shangxin. He must be worried because you have been out for so long. You told us not to tell others about your whereabouts. Look, you have hidden several groups of people! Your brother is really anxious, so don’t If you are angry, you should go back."

Dead Leaf listened with her head down, but did not answer.When he lived here for more than two months, people from the government did pass by here, inquiring about his whereabouts while drinking tea.But he knew that these were Zhan Zhao's actions, and if Zhan Hao wanted to find him, he would send some other people - some unreasonable Jianghu people.But Zhan Hao didn't, and none of the people who came came from him, Dead Leaf could still recognize this.

It is undeniable that Zhan Hao was really kind to him. Looking back now, he was considered considerate.Today, he is no longer concerned about what Zhan Hao thinks about him and Zhan Zhao, first come first, first come first, or other things.He still remembered Zhan Hao's confession to him before he left, what was given to him was his, he believed in this sentence.The only thing he doesn't believe in is himself.

Zhan Hao shouldn't be with someone like him, and he shouldn't spend the remaining 30 years of his life on himself.Now I am in this mountain nest, secluded from the world, and Zhan Hao continues to call the wind and rain in the Jiangnan business district, this is the best and most normal status quo.Maybe Zhan Zhao is still looking for himself because of the guilt in his heart, but Yu Zhanhao, maybe he has thought about it and no longer entangled in this little killer with a weird temper, or, he is already having dinner with a certain lady. uncertain.

Zhan Hao is a smart man.Dead Leaf remembers that he said that he is a businessman, and a businessman is a businessman who counts and counts, only seeks profit, and does not get early without profit.He doesn't think he can create any benefits for Zhan Hao.Liking may be liking, but it won't go to the point of dying.

After all, I don't have that much charm.

Staring blankly at the cutting board in front of him, Dead Leaf stopped what he was doing, and after a long time, a self-deprecating smile appeared on his lips.

Some things, figured out, but does not mean can be relieved.Just like he is now, thinking that Zhan Hao should be with a lady who is suitable for him, but he still can't stop feeling uncomfortable in his heart.Yes, he likes Zhan Hao - he likes it, so he can't relax, can't accept frankly that Zhan Hao is with other people.

But speaking of it, he probably doesn't have the right to bother with these things.He's not a character, he's just a useless, down-and-out killer.

After eating Aunt Chen's frozen tofu soup with green vegetables and fried cabbage at noon, the three of them began to work on the New Year's Eve dinner in the evening.Originally, the New Year’s Eve dinner here in Luoyang was to eat dumplings, but thinking that the dead leaves came from the south, the two elders decided to cook some delicious dishes.

Let’s not talk about those sausages, bacon, smoked fish, etc. Aunt Chen is going to chop pork to make braised lion’s head, and then use some meat to make egg dumplings and fish ball soup.The ham bought from Boss Wang some time ago, Aunt Chen is going to make a sandwich of ham and winter melon, as well as the winter bamboo shoots dug before and two small pheasants caught on the mountain, and she is going to make braised chicken with bamboo shoot tips... There are eight or nine ways.It sounds like there are too many dead leaves, but Aunt Chen said that there should always be leftovers for the New Year’s Eve dinner, not too much, not too much!

I can't get my hands on the dead leaves for cooking, so I knead the dough with Uncle Chen and prepare to make dumplings.Dumplings are stuffed with cabbage and pork. They are sweet and delicious, so Uncle Chen chopped the stuffing aside, and the dead leaves threw the dough on the chopping board.It was really used to fall, again and again, "popping" sound.Uncle Chen looked at his vigor and thought that this year's dumpling skins must be particularly tough.

During these three months of doing these housework, Dead Leaf herself has not put in much effort. Although she is indeed a bit lazy, she has made progress anyway.He began to practice the mental method for the second time. Although it does not match his previous external skills, the combination of the two really has a different meaning.However, the dead leaves were not used for other things during this time, such as throwing faces, chopping trees, and other violent physical labor.Now the muscles are slowly growing, much better than when I was bedridden in autumn, the clothes are not so loose, and the energy is stronger than before.Although there will still be embarrassing situations in the morning, he has gradually gotten used to it.It's just that at certain times, I still feel a little ashamed in my heart.

After kneading the dough, Uncle Chen took the dough and rolled it out.Dead Leaf watched from the side, and felt that there was nothing difficult for a while, so she gave her a hand.Aunt Chen spread the egg skin aside, watching the two of them roll out the dough during the busy work, the more she looked at it, the more comfortable she felt in her heart, and even wrinkles appeared on her face with a smile.

After rolling out the dough, Dead Ye silently patted some flour on his hands, and started filling dumplings with Uncle Chen.It's not difficult to make dumplings, but it's just that the unskilled people don't look good after all.Withered leaves were busy with their hands, looking at the dough and meat in front of them with calm eyes, listening to Uncle and Aunt Chen chattering in their ears from time to time, thinking little by little, not knowing where they were going.

He has not celebrated the Chinese New Year, it should be said that he has no memory of the Chinese New Year.Originally, in the summer, he thought that this year he might spend time with Zhan Hao and the others at Zhan's house, but he didn't expect that he was now in a small barren mountain, with two widowed old people.Speaking of which, the Zhan family should be very lively at this time, with so many frightening little maids, plus Uncle Zhong and Zheng Dong.It is estimated that Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang have also gone back, as well as Zhan's father and Zhan's mother. It may not be that a group of people are making dumplings around the round table now.Fang Qiu may be watching and playing, holding the little mandarin duck in his hand.Xiaojiao probably went somewhere to have fun, probably Qiu Langxing was also there, harassing Chonglian while wrapping.

The imaginary picture is very clear and real, and Dead Leaf can even imagine their eyebrows, eyes, movements, every expression, and what everyone will say.Everyone he once knew at Zhanjia, like or dislike, plain or alienated, is now remembered in his heart in this way.

However, among this group of people, Zhan Hao is the only one who cannot imagine Zhan Hao's expression.

I don't know what action should be, what expression should be.I always feel that he seems to be out of the group of lively people, with a... thoughtful look on his face.He may be sitting, or he may be walking in from the outside leisurely.When others came to talk to him and smiled at him, he answered and smiled too, but the smile never reached his eyes, it just floated on his face.

Think again, imagine a little more... What's wrong?Withered Ye pursed her lips tightly, pinching the dumpling wrapper with her hand until it was deformed, her brows furrowed deeper and deeper, and she thought for a while before she thought, ah, yes, it's the eyes.

In any case, he couldn't imagine Zhan Hao's eyes.That place seemed to be blank, and under the slender eyebrows, those charming and beautiful eyes seemed to have disappeared.Withered leaves thought blankly, the movements of her hands gradually stopped, and her eyes became more and more lost.He thought, he always thought, that Zhan Hao would be the person he remembered most deeply.But thinking back carefully now, he realized that he didn't understand Zhan Hao at all.Just like at this moment, he couldn't even imagine a look in Zhan Hao's eyes.

Is memory so unreliable?

Luoyang, Henan, and Changzhou, Jiangnan, the two cities are thousands of miles apart. Of course, the dead leaves hiding in the small mountain nest don't know that his imaginations are actually correct, and they are exactly the same.

The Zhanjia is indeed very lively, there are many people, and they are all making dumplings in a swarm.Minwei and Yuke chattered while making dumplings, Zhan Zhao was rubbing flour on Bai Yutang's face, and Yin Lanci was in charge of bringing the wrapped dumplings to the kitchen.Uncle Zhong was teaching Zheng Dong to twist the pleats, while Qiu Langxing messily wrapped the dumplings into various weird shapes, and showed off to Chong Lian while wrapping them.Fang Qiu sat in Zhan Tianxing's arms, holding a little mandarin duck in his arms, his eyes wide open warm and curious.

And Zhan Hao... he was sitting beside him, with bandages wrapped around his eyes, and a calm and peaceful expression on his face, as if he was calm, but more like absent-minded.

The hall is very lively, there are parents, brothers, and friends, but his heart is not here.He was thinking of someone, someone who wasn't there

A person, a... a person thousands of miles away from him.

New Year's Eve, farewell to the old year.Before the New Year's Eve dinner, people always go to pay homage to their dead ancestors, but here with Aunt Chen, she is going to see her dead son.

Withered Ye helped her all the way to the foot of the mountain, where her son's tomb was.Covered with white snow, the tomb looks like an inconspicuous little dirt bag.The tombstone is very simple, just a piece of rough stone with the family name written on it.Aunt Chen laid out the sacrifices, burned incense, and silently bowed a few times, then squatted in front of the tomb and whispered to her son.

Dead Leaves waited for her silently.Seeing that tomb, he thought of his elder brother who was buried in some wilderness.After growing up at Cen Jingwen's place, he went back to look for it based on his memory, only to find that his elder brother's bones had been dug up.

I guess it was Cen Jing.For many things, his brother who is three years younger is always more thoughtful than he thinks, and the elder brother's preference is not unreasonable.Gradually, I have already thought about those things in the past.Is there anything in life that you can't let go of? No, there is nothing you can't let go of.

I said this to myself in my heart, but a familiar figure flashed past my mind.Withered leaves closed their eyes, in this white snow field, there was inexplicable silence in their hearts.

When we returned to the teahouse, the meals had already been prepared, with eight dishes and one soup, which was extremely rich.The three of them sat down at the table, said happy New Year to each other by the dim candlelight, and then began to eat.Uncle Chen picked up a dumpling for the dead leaf, and took out a cup to pour sorghum wine for him: "Ah Hao, come, let's have a drink with Uncle."

Dead Leaf was a little hesitant because he didn't drink very well, but it should be fine to drink a glass or two at this time, so he raised his glass to toast Uncle Chen.The two men, one old and one young, ate vegetables while drinking. They took a bite of the delicious egg dumpling with a piece of golden bamboo shoot, and gradually ate heartily.

The snow outside rustled down, and the sound of snow falling from the trees was heard from time to time.The mountains at night are very quiet, so the sound of firecrackers in Luoyang City in the distance becomes clearly audible.A burst of roaring sounds, accompanied by good wine, good food, and warm lights, will give off a strong flavor of the New Year.

The wine was slightly drunk, and the food was half eaten. The three of them were actually full, but they still held and ate with one chopstick without the other.Uncle Chen was a little drunk, and Dead Ye's head became dazed.He didn't know what time it was, it was estimated to be close to midnight, and the increasingly heavy eyelids were stuck together in difficulty.In a daze, someone seemed to be knocking on the door panel, duk duk duk duk duk duk, the sound echoed in the quiet teahouse, exceptionally clear.

Aunt Chen, who was the only sober one, was startled by the sound, and immediately stood up—how ​​could someone come so late?Aunt Chen felt a little uneasy, always feeling that the visitor was not kind.She was a little scared, and couldn't help but cast her worried eyes on the dead leaves.Dead Leaf was actually not too drunk, and felt strange at this time. Seeing Aunt Chen looking at him with scared eyes, he naturally stood up, gripped the Withered Leaf Knife at his waist, and walked slowly to the door.

"Who?" Standing in front of the door, Dead Leaf asked in a low voice, holding back his breath.The man outside coughed twice, and said in a hoarse voice: "Passers-by, I'm bothering you late at night. I just want a cup of tea, beg for a meal, and ask the store owner to show kindness."

Withered Ye turned to look at Aunt Chen, as if asking for her opinion.Aunt Chen hesitated for a while, then nodded slowly: "The voice doesn't sound like a bad guy, let him in, be careful."

So, Dead Leaf clenched the handle of the knife with one hand, slowly pulled out the latch with the other hand, and then carefully opened the door panel.

As soon as the wooden door opened, the wind from outside rushed in with snowflakes.Dead Leaf saw a person, half a head taller than him, standing in the snow wearing a black cloak.The man was tall and straight, with black hair like a waterfall, a protruding nose, bright red lips, and eyes as deep as a deep pool.

At that moment, the dead leaf stood stiffly in front of the door, as if struck by lightning, the blood in the whole body was almost coagulated, and the heart stopped beating.He couldn't move at all, his wide-open eyes reflected the man's calm smile, and in his roaring ears, he heard a faint greeting from the other party's bright red lips: "Yo, I caught you, Cen Erxiao."

Cen... Second Primary?

Withered Ye opened her eyes wide, and her panic-stricken mind slowly recovered a bit of sanity.Cen Erxiao, this name is usually called by people who are a generation older than him, and Zhan Hao always calls him Cen Bie.Take a closer look, the person in front of him, although he looks like Zhan Hao, is wearing black clothes, his eyes are also pitch black, and there is no tear mole under his left eye.

This, could it be...?Withered Leaf's eyes hesitated, and his body relaxed a little.The person in front of him still smiled casually, with a low voice: "I'm not Zhan Hao, Ah Hao is in Changzhou. I'm his father Nie Qi, I think you should remember me."

Zhan Hao's father, Nie Qi... After receiving an affirmative answer, Dead Leaf's throbbing heart slowly resumed beating, and the blood began to flow again.However, he still stared blankly at the person in front of him, unable to move away from the doorway.In the room, Aunt Chen cautiously walked over and asked in a low voice, "Ah Hao, who is here?"

Dead Leaf turned to look back at her stiffly, tongue-tied, not knowing how to introduce her for a while.But when Aunt Chen approached and saw the person coming at the door, Dead Leaf saw an unbelievable look of surprise in her eyes: "Hey! This, isn't this Mr. Nie!"

Nie Qi smiled at her familiarly: "Madam Boss, long time no see."

Now, Dead Leaf is completely stupid.

There is a saying that people are not as good as heaven.Dead Leaf thought that if he hid in this mountain nest, no one would be able to find him.But he didn't know that Nie Qi was a geography expert in the Central Plains, especially in Kaifeng and Luoyang.He basically knows how many households there are in the city and how many people are in each household.He has walked this official road no less than [-] times in more than [-] years, and he often drinks tea in this teahouse. Five years ago, he happened to help Uncle Chen get a bone, so Aunt Chen naturally remembered him.

On the day he left Changzhou, he had already made a plan in his heart.Zhan Hao was still poisoned, and his heart was depressed, so it was impossible for him to take the initiative to find dead leaves.That silly boy still believes in fate, but he doesn't know that fate has to be fought and snatched by himself.Forget it, his physical condition doesn't allow it, so let me, my father, help. At least I can do something for my son, so I wouldn't call him a cheap father.He is very familiar with the area in the northwest. After a few rounds of inquiries in Luoyang City, he knew it by heart. The dead leaves used to go here, and recently a person wearing a bamboo hat came to buy New Year's goods.After contacting this information and thinking about the small tea house in the mountains, Nie Qi almost immediately confirmed the whereabouts of his daughter-in-law.

The Chen family teahouse here is too suitable for Dead Leaf's preferences, and can meet almost all his requirements.A secluded and quiet environment, a relatively well-informed source of news, a kind, kind, flexible elderly couple... If the luck is right, Nie Qi almost believes that the dead leaves will stay here until their old age.

The popular wild fox will never go back to the forest again.He can only run ignorantly, and once he meets someone who can give him warmth, he will stop.

So Nie Qi found here.

There was still a lot left over from the New Year's Eve dinner, so Aunt Chen invited Nie Qi in, and happily brought out the bowls and chopsticks for him.Dead Leaf foolishly followed in and sat down, his heart was flustered, he didn't know what he was thinking for a while, and his face was blank.Nie Qi was not in a hurry, and had dinner with Aunt Chen with a smile.Uncle Chen was already drunk, lying on the table to sleep.While greeting Nie Qi, Aunt Chen reached out to pat the dead leaves, and said in a low voice, "Ah Hao, you carry your uncle to the room to sleep, he probably won't wake up."

Withered Ye came back to his senses, and was stunned for a while in a daze, then reached out to lift Uncle Chen up.Nie Qi heard Aunt Chen addressing him from the opposite side, and there was a hint of playful emotion in his eyes.Dead Leaf didn't notice it at first, but later she put Uncle Chen on the bed, walked back to sit down, and saw Nie Qi sitting across from him, smiling at him with squinted eyes.

That face that was exactly the same as Zhan Hao's was really... hard to calm down.

In the dim light, Nie Qi saw that his face was a little red, so the smile on his mouth became more meaningful: "Little fox, when did you change your name to Cen Hao?"

As soon as he said this, as he expected, the cheeks of the withered leaf burned up all of a sudden due to the alcohol before, and it was as red as anything.Seeing their interaction, Aunt Chen felt a little confused, and couldn't help asking, "Why, Mr. Nie, do you know Ah Hao?"

Nie Qi was still smiling, and with black hair and black clothes, he looked like a black tiger: "Yes, he has the same name as my son, and my son is also named Hao. The two children have lost their temper. My son can think about it." He asked me to come out and look for him."

"It turned out to be like this! Oh, I just said that Ah Hao was losing his temper with his family. Really, it's been a winter and he still hasn't lost his temper. You have a really stubborn temper." As she said, Aunt Chen beat the pestle with her elbow. Ye, but didn't notice that his face was already burning red.Withered leaves bowed their heads like an ostrich, their whole body was hot with embarrassment, and they didn't know where to put their hands and feet.Seeing his bewildered and shy face, Nie Qi felt satisfied, so she didn't feel ashamed of him anymore, and instead drank leisurely: "Aunt Chen, how long has this little brat been at your house?"

"It's been a winter, Ah Hao is so good, he helps us with things every day, and he carries water and chops firewood, so that my old uncle and I will suffer a lot less!" Aunt Chen smiled and said to Nie Qi. Talking about Dead Leaf's performance in the past few months, he spoke with an expression of admiration for what your child can do.Nie Qi smiled slowly, and glanced sideways at the dead leaves in his spare time, and saw that he was also looking at him quietly.Seeing that he was discovered, the little poor boy looked away in embarrassment.This small appearance made Nie Qi very happy, thinking that the daughter-in-law here is more shy than imagined?

Aunt Chen served Nie Qiman wine under the lamp, and noticed that Dead Leaf had not spoken since just now, she couldn't help but looked at him suspiciously.The dead leaves are hanging their heads listlessly, with a guilty conscience.Aunt Chen couldn't help laughing, stretched out her hand to pat him on the back, and said comfortingly, "Okay, now that I know I was wrong, go back with Mr. Nie after the Chinese New Year. My son misses you, should you feel sorry for my brother? .”

This sentence made Dead Leaf dumbfounded, and the entangled and shy mood just now disappeared all of a sudden.He curled his lips depressedly, and muttered in a muffled voice: "Aunt Chen, his son is four years older than me, not my younger brother."

"Ah, four years older? Then..." Aunt Chen couldn't help but stare at Nie Qi, "Mr. Nie, aren't you...?"

Nie Qi put down his chopsticks leisurely, raised his face and smiled at her refreshedly: "That's right, I'll be 59 soon."

Hearing these words, Aunt Chen's jaw almost dropped.

By the time Nie Qi had eaten his fill, the New Year had already arrived.Aunt Chen pulled the dead leaves and went out to set off firecrackers. The sound of "crackling" firecrackers echoed in the open mountains and fields, shaking down many snowflakes.Nie Qi folded his hands and leaned against the edge of the door, quietly watching the flickering fire in the snow and the back of the dead leaves not far away.Sensing his sight, Dead Leaf straightened up a little stiffly, although her back was facing him, her breathing was still restrained involuntarily.

After setting off the firecrackers, Aunt Chen dragged him back to the house stepping on the snow.Withered Ye bravely walked over to meet Nie Qi's gaze, the moment he entered the door, he heard Nie Qi whispering in his ear in an imperceptibly low voice: "Go upstairs later, I have something to tell you. "

After finishing speaking, Nie Qi put away the bland expression on his face, smiled and said to Aunt Chen, "Miss Boss, is the room upstairs okay? I'm a little tired and want to rest."

"Of course you can, no problem! But wait a moment... Ah Hao! Ah Hao, go up and help Mr. Nie clean up the room. There may be some dust. I'll clean up the dining table here." Aunt Chen put the dead leaves on the table. Push it upstairs, and then start to clean up the mess on the table.Withered Leaf walked upstairs hesitantly, dodging between her brows and eyes.He looked at Nie Qi, then at Aunt Chen, and finally turned around and disappeared on the stairs for a while.Nie Qi said goodnight to Aunt Chen with a smile, and walked upstairs slowly.

On the second floor, Nie Qi walked to the right along the corridor, and heard the sound of cleaning in the second room.He walked slowly to the door, leaned against the door frame, and saw dead leaves beating the quilt inside, pulling the sheets, and patting the pillow again.Nie Qi narrowed his eyes, raised his chin slowly, and said in a hoarse voice, "This place where you hide is really nice, Zhan Zhaoyang asked so many people to find out about your whereabouts, but you kept it a secret .”

Withered Leaf froze, and it took a long while before she continued to move, and remained silent.

Nie Qi quietly looked at his slightly stiff movements and figure, his eyes slowly lowered, and asked, "Are you still planning to go back to Changzhou?"

Dead Leaf was silent for a while, then straightened up for a while, turned his back to him and remained motionless, with a hoarse voice: "Don't say 'back', I have no affiliation with Changzhou, and it is not my home."

Hearing him say this, the negative denial in his words couldn't be more obvious—he still doesn't want to go back.Nie Qi couldn't help frowning, with a serious expression on his face.He walked in slowly, sat on the edge of the bed, clasped his fingers, raised his eyes and stared deeply at the dodging eyes of the withered leaves, and after a long time, he said in a deep voice: "Bie Cen, you think that if you don't go back, you leave him, Will Zhan Hao gradually forget about you and return to his previous life?"

"Are you still thinking, anyway, his market is so good, after a year or two, sooner or later he will forget you under the offensive of others, have children with a certain woman, and live happily ever after until he is 60 years old Are you willing to go to see him, go to his grave, and put a stick of incense on his bones until he is dead?"

"If that's the case, then let me tell you, you don't have to wait until then - in a month or two, you will be able to see his tomb in the southern suburbs of Changzhou Prefecture. Don't forget to buy the most expensive incense stick at that time , you know that he is used to gold and expensive, and he is not used to cheap things."

After saying this, Nie Qi saw that the dead leaf, who had been hanging her head down and looking gloomy and forbearing, now stared at him in disbelief with wide-eyed eyes.Nie Qi curled his lips into a sneer, and said unhurriedly: "Don't you believe me, do you think I'm lying to you? It doesn't matter, believe it or not, anyway, my son is dying now. For you, he mobilized Yagi Kyushui's Toxicity is to break the poison. He wants to survive, break the curse of Jiazi, and grow old with you, but you run away. When you are carrying water and chopping firewood, living your little life leisurely , my son is suffering from the poison to death, dying. Now I come to you, begging you to go back and see him for the last time, but you are still unmoved, and you only want to sacrifice to his tomb 30 years later."

"...Since you think so, then you can start now. Walk slowly from Luoyang to Changzhou, and it is estimated that he will be buried just now."

Hearing these cold words, Dead Ye trembled all over, his face was pale, and his eyes were about to burst.It wasn't angry, nor did it turn from embarrassment into anger, at this moment, only the words Nie Qi said echoed dizzily in his head - Zhan Hao was going to die, Zhan Hao activated the poison for him, and Zhan Hao was being tortured to death by the poison of Yagi living water .

In an instant, all the imagination, all the assumptions, all the self-comfort, became a disgusting expression of self-deception.Yes, he thought that Zhan Hao could still live a good life and do business well, even if he had a new girlfriend.He thinks that Zhan Hao will be very good, still so calm and calm, calm, smoking, teasing cats, doing business.However, I didn't expect...

"He..." Under the astonishment and heartache, Dead Leaf opened his mouth in confusion, but found that his voice was already hoarse, "He, how could he..."

Nie Qi didn't say a word, just looked at him deeply, his dark and deep eyes didn't blink, as if he was waiting for his decision.Withered Ye blinked in a daze, swayed for a while, and then sat down on the side of the bed dejectedly, with a dazed expression.Nie Qi looked at him quietly, and after a long time, he saw the dead leaves cover their faces with their hands in annoyance, and then he said slowly: "If you want to go back, I tied a horse at the foot of the mountain, you can ride away .”

Withered Ye buried her face in her palms, and sat on the edge of the bed motionless.Nie Qi looked at him for a while, seeing that he still didn't move, so he frowned, and turned his eyes back in displeasure.

"That's all I've said. Whether you choose to go back to see my son for the last time, or stay here and burn incense for him later, it's up to you." After finishing speaking, Nie Qi flicked his sleeves, without turning his head. Go out the door.Withered Ye sat beside the bed, raised her eyes in panic and discomfort, saw that he was about to leave, thought that Nie Qi was going to ride back to Changzhou on horseback, panicked, and hurriedly stumbled after him: "Mr. Nie! I..."

Nie Qi stopped on the porch, turned to look at him quietly.Withered Ye looked at him and Zhan Hao's deep eyes that almost touched each other, and forgot what she wanted to say for a moment.Seeing that he was still hesitating, Nie Qi coldly flashed a hint of sarcasm on his expressionless face, turned around and walked downstairs again.Dead Leaf woke up suddenly at this moment, and hurriedly chased after her in a panic, stumbling all the way down the stairs, ignoring Aunt Chen's surprised eyes, chased to the door and stopped Nie Qi abruptly.

"I'll go back! Me, I'll go back now!" Dead Leaf flustered and nervously opened her hands to stop him, with guilt and fear in her eyes, afraid that he would ride the horse away and not keep it for herself.Nie Qi stared into his eyes quietly for a long time, when the dead leaves were about to collapse, he said calmly: "The horse is tied under the locust tree at the foot of the mountain, you have to go quickly, Or it would freeze to death."

"Okay, I'll go now!" Withered Leaf hurriedly nodded and agreed, then turned around and rushed back upstairs to get things.Seeing his aggressive posture, Aunt Chen couldn't help but walked over worriedly and asked, "Mr. Nie, what's the matter with Ah Hao? He, is he going back?"

Nie Qi turned his face away, blinked at her calmly, and said unhurriedly: "Something happened at his house, he should go back quickly, he will leave later."

"In such a hurry?! Why is it so, oops..." Aunt Chen was frightened, and clasped her hands on the spot, sighing and upset.After a while, as if thinking of something, he turned around and ran into the room.Not long after, Dead Leaf packed her bags and ran down, just in time to bump into Aunt Chen walking out of the room with something: "Ah Hao! Ah Hao, wait!"

Withered Leaf's hurried footsteps stopped suddenly, and she looked back at her anxiously and suspiciously.Aunt Chen walked up to him quickly, and stuffed something into his arms, which turned out to be a pair of cloth shoes: "The shoes I made for you, I wanted to give them to you on the morning of the New Year, but you are leaving now... , here is still 50 taels of silver, the reward for catching those two prisoners, you take it..."

Withered Leaf hurriedly hugged the things, seeing Aunt Chen's sad face in front of him, he couldn't bear it: "Aunt Chen, I..."

"Okay, don't talk about it, something happened to your family, just go away. If you have time in the future, come and see Auntie..." Aunt Chen wiped her eyes and pushed the dead leaves out with her hands.Withered Leaf staggered out of the door, turned back while standing in the snow, and saw a tear trail winding down the old man's face along the wrinkles.He couldn't help pursing his lips tightly, feeling a soreness in his heart.But thinking of Zhan Hao who was tortured by poison in Changzhou, he had to leave again...

"Aunt Chen, I, I will definitely come back to see you in the future..."

"Let's go, let's go..." Aunt Chen lowered her head and wiped her tears in a concealed manner, waving her other hand to urge him.Carrying the burden on her back, Dead Leaf slowly retreated to the snowy road, looked at Aunt Chen, then at Nie Qi who was silent behind Aunt Chen, finally gritted her teeth, turned around resolutely, and walked down the mountain with big strides.

The night wind was whimpering, the chill was chilly, the cold wind was blowing from the direction of Luoyang, and the dead leaves could smell the fire after the firecrackers were set off.He opened his sore eyes, stared at the snowy road under his feet, and walked down the mountain step by step firmly and stubbornly.The pungent and unpleasant smell stimulated his sense of smell, and his nose was so sour that he couldn't help but want to sneeze——

The nose that had been healed at Zhan's family was infected with the disease again in the wilderness of the New Year.He doesn't know this sour feeling, it seems to be parting, or lovesickness.

Nie Qi stood at the door of the teahouse watching the dead leaves gradually go away, his thin back was slowly engulfed by darkness.Aunt Chen's crying gradually let go of her suppression, sobbing out loudly.Nie Qi stretched out his hand to support the old man's shoulder, his eyes were as deep as the night outside the house.He stared at the direction where the dead leaves left for a long time, and after a while, a quiet and sad chuckle appeared on his face.