fictional spring

When his father came back, he brought back the news that the blood-headed Danbingwei had been captured.

"Is it the real Blood Head Pill Guard?"

Father shook his head, "The thief who provided the clues identified him as an impostor, and he said, 'The real blood-headed Danbei will definitely not be a bastard who did such a thing.'"

I looked up at my father and paused: "So, it's actually true."

It's just that the thief didn't want to accept the reality, and didn't want to believe that it was the blood-headed Danbingwei who he had admired and who strictly abided by the three rules of thieves, so he said it was a fake.

It seemed to me that my father thought so.

So my father didn't speak, maybe he was feeling sorry for something.

Human beings are always complicated. It is normal for people to be affected or their own ideas to change over time.

Because people are subject to change.

As Minami Makoto's father, he should be used to such things.

But this time he showed this expression, more because he was worried about how this matter would affect Qingzhi.

"Do you want to tell Qingzhi about this?"

The greedy and cruel murderer who killed everyone in the Watanabe family has been caught.

There was hesitation in the tone of the father's question. He probably felt that the child seemed to be closer to me, so he came to ask my opinion.

"Tell him," I said.

There was no particular reason, and I didn't think too much about it. I just thought of his look at dinner and thought he should want to know the outcome of this matter.

For him, knowing the truth should be better than not knowing anything.

The task of informing him of the result fell on me. Considering Qingzhi's unpopular character, I refused the maid's company and came to the door of Qingzhi's room alone.

When he raised his hand and was about to knock on the door, the barrier door was pulled open with a "shua".

The black-haired boy stood at the door without saying a word, his eyes were calm, and there was no wave in his plum red eyes.

Is it because you have been paying attention to what I said at dinner that you can't fall asleep standing at the door?

I suppressed these messy thoughts and returned to my own purpose.

I came to tell him: "The murderer who broke into Watanabe's house has been caught."

After I said this, my clear eyes darkened, and the hand holding the door frame seemed to tighten instantly.

He pursed his lips tightly and asked after a while, "Who is it?"

"Thieves Blood Head Dan Bingwei."

I told him all the relevant content I knew, while Qingzhi listened to everything in silence with his head half down.

The sky was already dark, and because he hung his head down, I couldn't see the expression on his face at all, I could only see the white knuckles of his fingers grasping the barrier.

Maybe it was just pretending.

I suddenly felt this way.

Because he was unwilling to accept such a fact, he acted as if nothing had happened—it was not impossible.

Seeing his appearance, I couldn't help but feel pity in my heart, so I reached out and touched his head, and when I realized it, I realized that I had hugged him.

I don't know if it's the body's natural condition or some other reason, Qingzhi's body temperature is very low, and he can hardly feel the warmth, so I tightened my arms slightly and hugged him even tighter.

"Would this make you feel warmer?"

I asked him softly.

It was said that he seemed to be frozen, without struggling or responding, just standing there blankly.

But after a while, I became aware of the extra weight on my back.

——Qingzhi also responded to my hug and put his palm on my back.

"why?"

His voice was low, with some dullness caused by burying his head in my arms.

Therefore, no matter how indifferent he looks, he is actually just a child, and he only uses that behavior to distance himself from other people, but in fact, what he thinks in his heart is completely opposite.

——I hope someone can talk to me, I hope someone can give me warmth.

It must be because I have such thoughts, so I inadvertently look at me with such longing eyes that I may not even be able to detect.

So here I am.

"Because I think you may need me."

It's strange, it's clearly the first time I saw Qingzhi, but I felt a very familiar feeling in him, as if I've known him for a long time, so when I showed that indifferent and lonely expression to him, I couldn't help but want to tell him say.

Qingzhi was silent for a long time, and in the end he didn't say anything, but when he let go of me, he raised his face and looked into my eyes.

"Then will you stay with me all the time?"

He suddenly asked this question.

At this time, the clear and straight eyes were sharp and straightforward, and even gave people a sense of oppression for no reason, as if the person standing in front of me was not an ordinary child, but someone else.

But faced with this question, I nodded.

Qing Zhi frowned, his expression seemed a little displeased: "Why didn't you say it?"

"Why do you have to say it?"

He stopped talking, only those scarlet pupils were still staring at me.

I sighed and said, "I will."

"I will always stay with you."

After I said this, there was a rare smile on the corner of his mouth, but it was very shallow, and he wanted to take a closer look, but he had already restrained himself.

That night, after returning to my room, I had a dream.

It was a dream...it had appeared before when I was young, but it was always completely forgotten after waking up. Only when I dreamed it again, would I be surprised that I had seen such a dream before.

In the dream, there are people whose faces cannot be seen clearly, and tall and thin backs. Someone is holding my hand. I don't know if it is me or him talking.

"This is a curse..."

What is a mantra?

I thought it might be something important, but I couldn't remember it anyway.

It wasn't until the sky was bright that I opened my eyes from the bedding and looked at the wooden beams in a daze, only to realize——

This time the dream seemed to be different.

Not only is there more content, but also because this is the first time I can remember what I seemed to have said in my dream after waking up.

So what exactly is a mantra?

When he asked his father, he also showed a puzzled expression, and asked me why I asked this. If I told him my dream, maybe he would be worried again.

So, "I saw this word in a book, so I want to ask my father what he thinks."

I lied to him.

But at the same time, I also thought that if this is the case, I can really try to flip through the book to see if I can find something from the book.

With this in mind, I begged my father to open the study, and went to get some books from his bookshelf.

Naturally, my father would not object to this, but only reminded me: "Remember to put it back after reading it."

When I returned to my room and opened the book, I realized that these were travel notes. The large number of people coming and going in Edo Castle, coupled with the prevalence of literacy, so many people would write their own travel notes and publish them.

I was a little disappointed and could only accept this reality. I flipped through a few pages, but I couldn't help but be attracted by the content above, so that I didn't even notice when the sun went down.

Until someone sat down next to me.

I thought it was a maid, so I didn't say anything, but the other party didn't make any sound, so I turned my face and glanced——

"Clear?"

The boy with black hair and red eyes sat next to me, his eyes fell on the book in my hand, and he seemed to be looking at the content on it.

"Do you like books?"

he ask me.

I nodded. In fact, my father bought a lot of books for me before, so that when I couldn't go out due to physical reasons, I would not feel lonely at home.

"Because it's quite an interesting thing," I thought for a while, "In the travelogue, I will write about many places, people who can travel, what I saw and heard during the trip..."

Looking at the words on it, it seems that I have also experienced that journey together.

Qingzhi looked at the book in my hand, then at my face, and asked, "Do you want to go out?"

In fact, it’s not like I can’t step out of the gate at all. Occasionally, when the weather is good, I will go to the magistrate’s office with my father, or go with him when he visits Mr. Hasegawa.

I just can't travel far.

So I shook my head.

Qingzhi showed that frowning expression again, as if he couldn't understand my thoughts.

"I think that's the way to go."

I say.

"It doesn't mean you have to get everything and do everything in order to be called consummation. In fact, it doesn't matter whether you do or don't do irrelevant things."

Hearing this, Qing Zhi was slightly startled, his face changed, and then he turned his head away from looking at me.

I think he may be a little embarrassed—or maybe what I said is a little inexplicable to him.

So I asked him, "Does Qingzhi know all the characters on it?"

"I don't know." He said.

"Then let me read it to you."

I picked up the book and read the words on it to him. It was not my illusion. When I looked up at him occasionally, I discovered something.

The way he looked at me, the kind of silent and focused eyes, seemed to be looking at me seriously, or... looking at someone else through me.

I'm not sure what he was thinking.But I also found that no matter when, the child's sitting posture always looks like a straight back, and every move other than the sitting posture is also impeccably noble.

It's not like the appearance that the children of ordinary people can show as the father said.

So after reading that page, I suddenly stopped listening and called his name——

"Clear?"

Nothing happens.

After a while, he seemed to come back to his senses suddenly, and looked at me with a slightly suspicious expression.

At that time, I was sure of one thing - Watanabe Kiyoshi, maybe it wasn't his name.