Song of Less Danger

Three days later, the carriage arrived outside Qinggang City.

The forests in the mountains are green and cool, and the streams are gurgling.The carriage stopped by the side of the road, Shao Wei turned around and opened the curtain, Zheng Laoge was lying on the couch with all his clothes in the carriage, his brows were slightly frowned when he closed his eyes, his face turned pale.

He didn't sleep deeply, and he didn't seem to be very comfortable. He opened his eyes and woke up when he heard a little movement, "Shaowei, are we here yet?"

Shaowei didn't answer, just looked at him with a frown, "What's wrong with you?"

Zheng Laoge just woke up, and his reaction was much slower.He put his coat aside, showing a peaceful smile, "It's probably because the outside world is no better than home, and I can't sleep well if I don't sleep on the bed."

Shaowei didn't say anything, motioned him to come out and sit on the front board of the carriage, then picked up the water bag on the carriage, turned around and walked towards the stream.

Zheng Laoge came out and sat down, saw Shaowei filled the water from the stream, came over with the water bag, and handed it to him.

Zheng Laoge came to his senses, took the water bag and smiled happily, "Thank you, Shaowei."

He took out his handkerchief, soaked it with the water in the water bag, wrung out a little water, and raised his hand to wipe the sweat from Shaowei's forehead.Shaowei turned his head and pressed his wrist back, "I want you to wipe it for yourself."

Zheng Laoge raised his hand again, "You're sweating all the way."

He sat on the front board of the carriage, stretched out his hand and lightly tugged Shaowei's arm, "Stand over a bit."

Being dragged so effortlessly, Shaowei took a step closer to Zheng Laoge.

The scorching sun sifted through the dense branches and leaves, the heat turned down, and the clear and gentle light fell on Zheng Liaoge's porcelain-white and delicate face.Living in seclusion all the year round made his skin look white with little exposure to sunlight, but his naturally sick physique and long-term medical care made this white lack a healthy texture and look fragile and fragile.

But Zheng Laoge didn't have the sorrow and injustice that sick people often have.He always smiles with bright and gentle eyes open, and when he is in a good mood, he will smile so that the corners of his eyes and mouth are curled up, his voice is soft and gentle, and he leans over to talk to Shaowei, with a faint scent of medicine and flowers on his body.

Shaowei suddenly clasped Zheng Liaoge's wrist.

Zheng Laoge almost shook off the handkerchief, and stared at him blankly.

His wrist is very thin, there is more than enough to hold it with two fingers.Shaowei touched his slightly cool and clean skin, let go of his hand again, simply turned around and walked to the horse, with his back to Zheng Laoge.

"Walk a little further and you'll be able to enter the city." He suddenly mentioned another matter, "You said that Qinggang is your hometown."

"Ah."

Shaowei was quiet for a long time, and asked, "Do you have any family members in the city?"

"...Probably...not anymore." Zheng Liaoge said this, but he remembered Xuanwu once said that Suzaku often wandered around the Jiangbei area, but their group had no fixed residence, and they were haunted. , it is impossible for him to find someone.

Shaowei jumped on his horse, turned his back to him, and said in a calm voice, "I will stay with you in the city for three days, to see if I can find out news about your family. If not, I will take you back to Fushan."

They advanced into the city at noon.

Zheng Laoge has never been back since he left here when he was very young. His memories stay more in the warm and soft water villages in the south of the Yangtze River, or the green mountains and green cliffs in Bashu.But when he got off the carriage and looked at the old and heavy city gate in front of him, he felt warm and familiar again.

This is the place where his family lived. Brothers, sisters, parents lived in this city for years and years, and he himself was born and grew up here.

Today, Qinggang City is still bustling and bustling, with cars and horses coming and going.But there was no one waiting for him in the city.

Qinggang is a thoroughfare in all directions in the Jiangbei area. It is adjacent to the Yangtze River in the south, connected to the Nanxia Official Road in the north, and a cut in the east leads directly to Jiangnan. The level of prosperity is not much higher than that of Jiangnan.Zheng Laoge walked through the crowded and bustling place, towards the direction of a white tile wall in the distance.Shaowei followed behind him, watching his back.

After getting away from the river in the city, the population gradually became scarcer.Both sides of the path are full of trees with green buds sprouting branches, Zheng Liaoge goes uphill along the shade of the trees, with blue tiles and white walls, and willow leaves flying flowers.

He gradually felt familiar.The long trail is like a scene that has appeared countless times in a dream, breaking into my mind with long childhood memories.He seemed to have passed by this green shade before. At that time, there seemed to be white plum blossoms all over the sky. When the petals flew up, they were as white and gentle as a dream. The snow covered the white wall and fell into his eyes.

"Jiangbei is too cold, you will live in Jiangnan from now on."

His brother's face was blurred in the blue-white, lead-gray sky, like a painting blurred by ink.The voice also seemed to come from a distant unknown place, only cold and real.That day his brother was holding him, standing alone beside the ready-to-go carriage, his black hair fell on his face, as cold as a handful of snow.

"I can't watch you grow up." The warm fingertips gently brushed his forehead, "I'm sorry."

Memories are like heavy snow and ice wrapping Zheng Laoge's heart, bringing numb pain that hasn't been seen for a long time.Zheng Liaoge breathed a sigh of relief, turned a corner, and the mansion under the shadow of trees suddenly appeared in front of him.

At that moment, Zheng Laoge's chest almost twitched.He suppressed the turbulent emotions, looking at the dilapidated house, his eyes were full of ashes, and the ground was desolate.

That was his former home, Zheng's house in Jiangbei.

His closest family members had lived happily in this house, and he should have been filled with nostalgia.However, in the same house, his elder sister died tragically at the door of the house, his mother went mad, his father fell ill after that, his elder brother left the house with a sword in his hand, and never came back.

His first-born sweet dreams and long-lasting nightmares, like white plum blossoms, scattered all over the place, out of control.

Zheng Laoge walked to the door of Zheng's house as if sleepwalking, and the soles of his shoes made a soft click on the dead branches.The lock on the gate of the mansion has long since rusted and fallen off, and the rotten lacquered mahogany door was ajar. Zheng Liaoge gently pushed it, and the door made a sour and old creaking sound.

The front yard was empty and lonely, and the annual fallen leaves covered the ground and rotted, curled up, and after being blown away by the wind, there were new leaves on the ground.The two white plum trees on the left and right in front of the door are still growing leaves, and the small green clusters are clustered together, becoming the only color in the gray and ruined yard.

The wind blows in spring, and the word "Zheng" can be seen on a rotten wooden board on the gate.The two stood in front of the door, looking up at the plaque.

"Shaowei, actually I never told you that my home is..."

"It doesn't matter."

Zheng Laoge turned his head, Shaowei stood outside the door, looked away from the desolate courtyard, and looked elsewhere, "I won't go in, I'll wait for you here."

Some words were left unsaid, and they seemed to know it well, so there was no need to say more.

Zheng Liaoge walked into the front yard alone and walked through the long corridor. The scenery outside the corridor was desolate. The pond had already been filled with fallen leaves, and the window tiles were old and decayed. He was the only light figure in the huge Zheng house, occasionally grazing on the eaves. Birds chirping.

Zheng Liaoge suddenly came back to his senses, only to realize that he had gone too far.Worried about keeping Shaowei waiting for a long time, he turned around and hurried out, feeling very confused.

He walked out of the corridor, raised his head, and stopped in his footsteps.

In the originally empty courtyard, there was actually a person standing at this moment.

The man was dressed in a black robe, his figure was as thin and straight as a blade, his wrists hanging by his side were pale and distinct, and a long black and ominous knife was hung on his waist.

The empty and bleak wind caressed, and the leaves flew down.It was already spring, but the yard was full of coolness, which made Zheng Laoge shudder.

The man seemed to be admiring the leaves on the white plum tree, as if he had just heard the movement behind him, and turned around slowly.

At that moment, Zheng Laoge held his breath and backed away, instinctive fear rose in his heart.

An extremely breathtaking face, with delicate and feminine features, making one forget the vulgarity.But his face was deeply sickly white.The skin is almost transparent, and thin blue blood vessels can be vaguely seen from a distance.His lips were even bloodless, and his eyes——Zheng Liaoge even thought they were not real eyeballs at first glance, because they were so beautiful and shallow, like dreamlike colored glaze beads, they turned around with just a slight turn. Eyes full of color.

The man was standing in the yard, his glazed eyes stared at Zheng Liaoge, they were obviously a pair of beautiful eyes, but Zheng Liaoge seemed to be stared at by a poisonous snake, and his whole body was clamoring for danger.

He raised the corners of his mouth, a creepy smile appeared on his pale face.Zheng Laoge's footsteps were unsteady and he staggered back, who would have thought that the man, who looked terminally ill, walked through the fallen leaves in the courtyard and appeared in front of him in the blink of an eye!

The next moment, Zheng Laoge was grabbed by the collar with a strong force, and he was lifted up from the ground!

"Cough—" Zheng Liaoge grabbed the man's wrist, and his face turned red after a while.The man looked at him strangely, and the smile on his face gradually changed until it almost revealed intimacy in the end.

"Joan, they've grown so big."

Different from the strong hand stuck on the neck, the man's voice was gentle, with a natural sweetness, like the whisper of someone close to him.Zheng Liaoge looked at his face in surprise when he heard this sentence.

"Ruo'an" was his baby name, and only his father and brother had called him that since he was a child.

He lowered his strength so that Zheng Laoge could barely breathe, but he was still pressed against the pillar and couldn't move.His back was pressed tightly against the pillar, his whole body was drawn into the shadow, and the skylight poured down, outlining the slender outline of the man.

Suddenly, there was an ice-like coolness on his cheeks.The man raised his hand, gently caressing Zheng Laoge's face with his knuckles, and said softly, "It really does."

He leaned over slightly, smiled and said, "I'm Brother Xiao Shen."

At that moment Zheng Liaoge trembled violently, his throat was pressed down and he couldn't breathe well, his warm and peaceful eyes instantly filled with water, filled with despair, shame, hatred or pain.

"...Shen Zhan." Zheng Liaoge uttered these words with difficulty, "It really is you..."

The Nie family who killed his family and caused him to lose everything, their current patriarch, Shen Zhan——

"It was you who sent people to hunt me down." Zheng Liaoge opened his mouth with reddened eyes.

Shen Zhan smiled indifferently, and did not deny it, "Ruo'an, you can make it easy for me to find."

"Why?" Zheng Liaoge felt that his throat was oppressed to the point of suffocation as soon as he spoke. He coughed with difficulty, but kept his eyes on Shen Zhan's face, "You still want to...cough for the Nie family... ....revenge......"

However, Shen Zhan seemed to have heard some big joke, and repeated nervously, "Nie's family."

He approached Zheng Liaoge, his face was very close to him, his fingers tightened slightly, forcing Zheng Liaoge to struggle in pain.He greedily stared at Zheng Liaoge's red eyes, and said softly: "It's not me who wants revenge, I just want to take you to find..."

Before Shen Zhan finished speaking, he suddenly turned his head, and then a dagger pierced through the air and cut off a few strands of his hair, and plunged into the pillar with a bang, half of the blade sank!

He let out a soft "Hey" and turned around, Zheng Liaoge also saw the person who came - it was Shaowei.

Shaowei stood under the tree with a knife in his hand, dressed in a black robe like the wind, his handsome face was tense and stern, his dark eyes stared at Shen Zhan for a moment: "Let him go."

Shen Zhan showed a playful smile.He let go of his fingers, and Zheng Liaoge suddenly lost his strength and fell to the ground, coughing and trembling all over.

The next moment, Shaowei rushed towards Shen Zhan like a flying eagle with killing intent, and in an instant the black knife on Shen Zhan's waist came out of its sheath, and clashed against Shaowei's blade with a clang.The two of them didn't say a word, and they started fighting as soon as they met.Shaowei's offensive was fierce and fierce, and every move was a ruthless move that would kill the opponent. However, Shen Zhan, who seemed sick, not only did not lose the wind, but even changed his offensive after receiving two moves. The long knife in his hand was like a poisonous snake several times. Wrapped around Shaowei's neck, but barely passed by, as if he didn't intend to take his life.

"You're the one who killed me?" Shen Zhan flipped Shaowei's knife point away with his backhand, with an inexplicable smile on his face.

Shaowei gritted his teeth and used his inner strength to block the knife he slashed, and said coldly, "I killed it, how about it?"

The voices of the two happened to be heard only by the two of them, and Shen Zhan sneered, "Little brat."

Shen Zhan's saber is like water hitting long waves. The saber waving contains a strong and sinister inner strength, but the moves are looming wide open and closed, blocking Shaowei's way from all directions, and the movements are as fast as ghost shadows. .After all, Shaowei was still young and energetic, and his saber skills gradually became impatient, Shen Zhan turned around to retract the saber, and slashed his shoulder bone with a palm!

I don't know how much internal force was used in that palm, and Shao Wei immediately flew out and hit the courtyard wall with a muffled grunt.

With a flash of his robe, Shen Zhan came to Shaowei.Shaowei suffered serious internal injuries and bit his lip so he didn't spit out blood. He swallowed blood from his mouth and looked at Shen Zhan with hatred.

"The skill is pretty good, much more promising than your good-for-nothing brother." Shen Zhan slowly tapped his broken shoulder bone with the tip of a knife, "Practice for more than ten years, maybe you can compare to me."

Shaowei panted slightly, endured the severe pain in his shoulder, and sneered, "Ten years, how long can you live?"

Shen Zhan smiled indifferently, "I've been here for more than ten years."

"You haven't left Xianbei for 13 years, and now you are in a hurry to enter the Central Plains to rob people with us, but you also know that you will not live long." Shaowei lowered his voice, breathing with blood, "Whether Xiao Baimei is dead or alive, you I couldn't find him 13 years ago, and I still can't find him 13 years later."

Shen Zhan's expression changed.

"You are...a traitor." Shaowei stared closely at Shen Zhan's pale and bloodless face, gritted his teeth, and said, "Brother won't let you find Xiao Baimei, so don't even think about it in your life—hmm!"

The pitch-black tip of the knife was raised, and it sank into Shaowei's shoulder in the blink of an eye!Blood spurted out, reflecting Shen Zhan's crazy eyes full of murderous intent.

"Don't!" Zheng Liaoge yelled in fear, and ran forward to Shaowei desperately, blocking him and the blade with his body, "Don't kill him!"

Holding Shaowei in his arms, he blocked the bloody mouth of his body with his hands, and his hands and cuffs were covered with blood for a moment.But the blood was still oozing out. Zheng Liaoge was terrified by the blood on Shaowei's body when the cold blade was pressed against his neck. He tremblingly held Shaowei's wound, turned his head and begged Shen Zhan: "Don't you want me?" Take me away? You take me away, let him go, please...please..."

Shaowei suddenly reached out and clasped his wrist with astonishing strength, "Don't go with him!"

Shen Zhan lowered his eyes, looking at Zheng Liaoge's tearful eyes and pale cheeks as if nostalgic.The murderous eyes gradually softened, as if he was looking at someone else through his face.

"—Okay." He actually put away the knife like this, and stretched out his hand to Zheng Laoge, with an intimate and gentle voice, "Come on."

At the side, Shaowei endured the severe pain and dizziness from blood loss and grabbed him, his voice hoarse, "Zheng Liaoge!"

Zheng Liaoge stretched out his arms and hugged his neck, crying in his voice, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, you were seriously injured, Shaowei, I'm afraid something is wrong with you...you must not be in trouble."

He always stood in front of Shaowei with his thin body, and tried to calm down when he looked at Shen Zhan again, "Send him to the hospital, and I will go with you."

Shen Zhan didn't mind at all that he dared to bargain with him, but squinted and smiled, "Okay, I'll listen to you."

He put the knife back into its sheath, turned his head and called out towards the courtyard gate, "Tao Zhu."

A light red figure flashed in. It was a young man who looked to be about the same age as Zheng Laoge, with delicate features, a white peach face, and a quiet and independent temperament.The boy named Taozhu walked up to Shen Zhan and said in a low voice, "Master, there are people from outside."

Shen Zhan raised his eyebrows, "Xiaoxue raises a group of dogs with really good noses...that's all."

He glanced at the two people on the ground, Shaowei was almost in a coma, but the hand on Zheng Laosing's wrist was so forceful that his veins bulged.Zheng Laoge didn't care about other things, and quickly took out a fine cloth from the medicine bag on his waist to block the wound.

Shen Zhan laughed.He walked to Zheng Liaoge's side, squatted down in front of the stiff boy, and raised his hand to touch his cold cheek.

"Ruoan, I'm leaving first. But I will come to you soon, remember not to run around, and wait for me obediently."

He whispered in Zheng Laoge's ear: "You must wait for me, let's find your brother together."

The author says:

Shen Zhan: The brat's words are really unpleasant, so he cut his knife to relieve his anger