don't open your eyes [unlimited]

After a long time, the heartbeat, which was louder than the sound of the wind, gradually quieted down.

The journey was much shorter than expected. Ling Su casually mentioned a few dreams that made people feel good——the initial mutation was not serious, so what can become a dream realm is extraordinarily strong emotions and obsessions. .

They fill the entire dream, some are bright, some are bleak, some are warm, and some are desperate... The time flow of these dreams is usually very slow, slower than reality, and slower than cocoon time. Dreams are like living a small half of your life.

When he came back to his senses, Zhuang Die and Ling Su had already walked back to the town along the railway tracks.

……

The teenage crooks of memory were not retaliated or punished.

Although a business was ruined, he brought back an even better painter.

It won't take long for that young man to draw a horse racing ticket that is almost exactly the same, and he can even make prints. As long as he has a board, he can print it in color, and then put a self-made red stamp on the card. Even the ticket inspectors may not be able to tell the real ticket. Fake.

Yiwen is willing to contribute this craft that can almost generate money, but he does not want to share it, and refuses to join them, but only puts forward two requirements:

One, they couldn't beat Eckert to death.

Second, this kind of horse racing tickets can only be sold to those businessmen who make black-hearted money, and [-]% of the profits must be distributed to farmers who have no food.

The swindlers formed a circle, stared at him without saying a word for a long time, laughed and agreed to the two childish requests, and left him a tulip made of silk.

"This is the kindness and kindness of the liar to you."

Eckert pressed his forehead to the back of his hand, and politely put the small silk flower into Ivan's pocket: "This flower is almost perfect, it will never wither, wither, or corrupt, Apart from……"

Ivan interrupted him: "Except it's fake."

Eckert looked at him for a moment, and then that childish smile of anti-proudness appeared on his face again.

He clapped his palms in front of Ivan's eyes: "That's right, Ivan, you have to remember this..."

……

Zhuang Die looked down at his shirt pocket.

As they combed through this memory, the exquisite silk tulip also appeared in his pocket.

It is indeed very beautiful, lifelike, and more perfect than real flowers.It is probably because some kind of spices were mixed inside when making it, and even faintly revealed a rich aroma.

Z1 is still a little regretful: "Unfortunately, Ivan was dragged into the water by these people..."

"Not necessarily, he was already in the water."

The hypnotist held the coffee and patted him on the shoulder: "Don't forget, Yiwen and his family are pirates who specialize in robbing merchant ships and chopping off people's fingers."

If Eckert hadn't dragged the little pirate away in time, these fellow crooks dared to touch Ivan with a finger, and they would probably all be hung on the mast to dry by now.

Only then did Z1 react: "That's right! Why did I forget this—why didn't Ivan tell this matter when he was at the pier, he didn't want Eckert to know?"

"I wouldn't want to, would I?" The hypnotist murmured, "It's not the same as whether you like the pier or not. If anyone knows that our family is beating people with a knife every day, they will definitely not dare to talk to me."

Z1 nodded, and took two sips of the coffee in front of him.

They are now following the memories Ling Su and Zhuang Die got, sitting in a cafe along the street of the town - the atmosphere of this cafe is much better than the tavern on the pier, clean and tidy, decorated with flowers, and a little downcast Some musicians play the violin at the door or in front of the window to add to the fun.

The hunger and exhaustion that this dreamland brings to the body is very close to reality. Even Z1 has to eat something, sit down and rest for a while at this time, so as to have the strength to continue the next exploration.

In the memory given by the dream, this is also the place where Ivan and Eckert often come.

They never talk about crooks and pirates here.

Eckert told him about the scenery he had seen and the interesting stories he had heard during his sojourn. Ivan spent most of his time holding his drawing board and burying himself in drawing, occasionally saying a few words about what he had seen in school.

He forbade Eckert to look at his drawing board. If he hadn't seen Ivan's ability to copy horse race tickets, Eckert would almost have thought that he was bluffing with so many paints and tools.

Occasionally, he couldn't think of any stories to tell, and when he was really bored waiting to accompany the other party to draw, Eckert would also happily show his specialties to Ivan.

He has been a liar since he was a child, and he is proficient in all the ways of being popular and the manners of the upper class-Eckert can fold a napkin into a flower in a few seconds, and then suddenly emerge from the palm of his hand; The most complicated dance steps, the most cumbersome etiquette; occasionally borrowed a violin from a down-and-out violinist, and played it around Ivan.

I have to say that those tunes with different styles are not noisy at all, but very melodious and beautiful, much better than those bad violin players.

In addition to this, Eckert is also very good at riding horses-although Ivan never admits it, this is actually what he thinks Eckert is best at.

Ivan grew up among the pirates. Those sailors could drop anchor and row in stormy waves, and climb the highest mast in storms, but none of them knew how to ride a horse.He hadn't dared to touch any saddle since being knocked out by a runaway horse at the age of five.

However, among those courses at school, equestrianism, which caused Ivan the most headache, was as simple as riding a well-behaved and docile bicycle for Eckert.

Eckert would even do something really crazy—he would ride Ivan to school and back home.

Ivan was sitting in the tram, and Eckert followed him outside on a horse at the same speed.The first time Ivan found out that the other party was actually outside, Ivan almost stood up from his seat in fright.

In the grass half a person's height, the tall horse ran like a wind under the control of Eckert.

The young liar was dressed in a heroic manner, the hem of his clothes was blown by the strong wind, and in the dripping sweat he waved to Ivan who was inside the window, his eyes were as sly and bright as the most proud fox.

……

Ivan still told him that his home lived in the pier.

What made him unknowingly relieved was that when he knew about it, Eckert still acted indifferently.

Keenly aware of Ivan's thoughts, Eckert also solemnly swore to him that he would never care about Mr. Ivan Fremont's origin, experience, intentions and all the mess.

Ivan had already lost count, and he didn't know whether it was Eckert's "nine truths" or "one lie", but he still got a good night's sleep because of this messy oath.

Since then, in addition to staying in the cafe, they would occasionally take a car or simply walk to the pier without telling Eckert's accomplices.

Eckert quickly adjusted to life on the docks.

He easily dealt with the store owner's "buy hot muffins" request, and daringly managed to trick the group, making the thugs lie in ambush in the freezing sea for hours when they thought it was a fat sheep.

If Ivan hadn't arrived in time and secretly persuaded the owner of the cargo dealer, Eckert would probably have been thrown into the abandoned dock to feed the fish.

... As the days passed, the two of them told each other more and more secrets.

Eckert showed Ivan his family crest. What really made him, his father, and his uncle keep fleeing was not just the experience of deception, but also their identities.

Although they are just run-down nobles who no longer have any territory, manor, or property to speak of, their identities still embarrass the royal family, so as long as someone catches them, they can get a knighthood and a knighthood issued by the royal family .

Ivan also admitted that he was the son of the pirate leader, and also talked about his identity as the "son of the ghost", but even if he couldn't go to sea, it was not a big problem, because this pier could almost be regarded as his.

It's just that the pier has been a bit troublesome recently-the authorities have been eyeing this place for a long time, and want to drive these bastards and villains from the sea back to the sea.It's just that the two sides have been in a stalemate, and the pirates are still safe, so the situation doesn't worsen.

Ivan can't control Eckert's accomplices, but he still strictly forbids Eckert to cheat on the pier, and promises that as long as the other party dares to do so, he will never talk to him again.

……

"No wonder in the diary, that unlucky guy actually won ten guilders."

The hypnotist suddenly remembered: "It turned out that not only was he playing hard to get, but Eckert was also afraid that Ivan would really ignore him, so he didn't dare to win..."

Speaking of that diary, the memory that was about to be overwritten by the daily life of these two teenagers became vivid again.

"Ector has been here long enough."

Z1 was silent for a while, then took up the conversation tentatively: "They should go to the next place, but the ferry ticket is really hard to get, and it is impossible to buy it with my own identity... Ivan helped a little secretly."

"But this can't be regarded as Ivan's fault. He doesn't know anything about everything. Is the ghost ship's curse so strong?"

The hypnotist couldn't help frowning: "That storm was an accident. Even if he couldn't accept it at the time, he will gradually understand and understand it later..."

Z1 also couldn't figure it out, and shook his head.

He looked at Ling Su and Zhuang Die who were discussing in a low voice, and after a moment of hesitation he asked aloud, "Team Ling, Mr. Zhuang, what are you discussing?"

Zhuang Die raised his head: "We are discussing whether there is such a storm."

The hypnotist looked over in amazement: "What?!"

"And Ivan is not ignorant." Zhuang Die said, "Both he and 'Ector' have made their words very clear. They took the initiative to choose their roles and let everything continue."

"..." Z1 couldn't keep up with the plot: "Please wait a moment..."

Ling Su tapped the table twice.

A whole roll of yellowed film appeared in front of him, and those films were quickly retraced by Ling Su along the time node, back to the point when the two first met.

This is Eckert's memory.

He was thrown into the grass by Ivan, watching the boy dressed as an ordinary student neatly tie him up, making a knot that only sailors and pirates can do.

"When a liar chooses his prey, he must know everything about the prey in advance."

Zhuang Die said: "Born background, experience, personality, habits... Only after knowing these, can we know where to start to set traps."

Seeing the sailor knot, Eckert was not surprised at all—because he knew that Ivan was the son of a pirate.

He also knew very well that the reason why Ivan wanted him to answer "I'm not with those people" was actually because he wanted to bring Eckert back to the pier.

It's also a den of thieves, there are robbers, ticket dealers, thugs, and intelligence stations, and I don't mind adding another liar.

So when Eckert gave a negative answer, Ivan wanted to get up and leave.

"If he just let Ivan leave like that, the following things might not happen... because Ivan also saw through their tricks."

Ling Su took over the conversation: "In other words, Eckert took the initiative to admit everything to the other party."

Z1 was a little dazed: "When... did you admit it?"

"That tulip made of silk." The hypnotist suddenly responded, "Ector has made it very clear."

When giving the silk flower to Ivan, Eckert once said to him, "This is the kindness and kindness of the liar to you."

After accepting the flower and hearing what the other party said, Ivan's answer to this was——

"It's fake." Z1 whispered.

The hypnotist nodded: "Yes, Ivan realized that all of this is false...and Eckert also reminded him, he has to remember this."

The whole encounter was a well-designed trap.

Even the scammer who bought the race tickets was an accomplice of a crook.

If it wasn't like this, he wouldn't be able to spend so much effort chasing after Eckert. It's their rule to be black and black, and whoever suffers can only admit that he is unlucky.

Selling horse race tickets, cheating was exposed, Eckert ran away with Ivan, and the two were chased for revenge...

All the scenes were designed in advance, leading Ivan step by step into the trap that had already been set up.

"The suspension bridge effect." Ling Su said, "When a person walks on the suspension bridge and his heart beats faster because of fear, this accelerated heartbeat will be interpreted as love."

——This is the kindness and goodwill of the liar to you.It's nearly perfect, it won't wither and fall...but it's fake.

Even the name "Ector," which is a transliteration of the English word for "actor," was one of the most common pseudonyms used by con artists in Europe at the time.

Eckert shouldn't have said this to Ivan.

They had gone to such great lengths to tell a monstrous lie to get the whole pier out of the hands of the pirate's son.

The group of officials made a deal with Eckert's father that as long as they could get the pier and pay the large annual tax that would feed everyone, they would be dropped from their arrest warrants.

Eckert shouldn't have said these things to Ivan, he shouldn't have said anything to Ivan, just try to please this upright and silent little painter... But Ivan's eyes are so beautiful, he couldn't hold back.

This is his answer to Ivan, this is the tenth truth.

For this scam, he secretly observed Ivan for a whole month and a half, watched Ivan go to and from school, and watched Ivan draw in the corner of the cafe. everything.

In a well-known absurd deception, he spent more time watching Ivan.

It was gentle and stealthy torture.

On the yellowed film, Eckert, who was lying in the grass, turned his face sideways and looked at Ivan, who was wrapping grass blades around his fingers.

He later picked up the blade of grass and hid it in the left breast pocket of his shirt—after all, a liar should never dream of a real flower.

"At least... there is still a possibility that I don't know if it is a good idea. This scam did not succeed in the end."

Z1 didn't know what to say, so he was silent for a while before speaking again: "Otherwise, they don't need to rush to get a boat ticket and leave the port..."

He found that the surroundings were too quiet, and looked back and forth a little helplessly: "What I said—isn't it right?"

"It depends on how 'last' and 'scam' are defined."

Zhuang Die opened the memory film he got: "Do you still remember? The perspective of the revolving lantern is third-person."

The center of the picture of those memory fragments is all Ivan.

That is not the legendary "God's perspective", nor is it a self-review before dying.

It is a deliberate observation, a hopeless gaze, the hunter is approaching his prey, and it is the prey who puts his forehead on the back of the hunter's hand.

This is not Evan's dream.

The picture kept flickering, and the dream itself seemed to be resisting this cruel disclosure of the truth, but the thick fog was still slowly lifted.

Among the fragments flashing white light, Ivan returned to the tavern with his schoolbag and drawing board on his back.

The wind chime rang, and he was sitting in front of the counter. The loud voice of the tavern owner came from the back kitchen: "How about it, are those knights who can walk on it? Whether our broken pier can be kept or not depends on those few Knight Medal!"

Evan responded casually.

He seemed to have suddenly remembered that someone had nicknamed him "Little Knight". He raised the corner of his mouth, opened the drawing board, and picked up a charcoal pencil to smear.

"Father." Ivan said suddenly, "Why don't we go back to the sea, and I'll be a pirate with you."

"What are you kidding!" The tavern owner rushed out with a knife that had just finished two fish, "The group of desperadoes are most afraid of ghost ships. If they know that I dare to take you to the sea, they will definitely chop you up!"

Ivan looked down, his eyelashes cast a small shadow under the gas lamp.

He was painting a picture of the station in town one morning—he happened to see his target that day.

The four people on the arrest warrant were all there. He only needed to act a little bit as an upright and upright student, and he could successfully replace that crappy third-rate painter.

Four knightly medals are enough to keep the pier. In the newspaper news and gossip he consulted, it is not that there are no examples of pirates laundering.As long as they pay enough taxes and cooperate well with the town, Dad and the others won't have to live the dangerous life of eating the last meal without the next meal.

"Speak up! You really like that little liar, don't you?"

The owner of the tavern was a little shaken: "Actually, he is quite good-looking, and he is good at deception. It is not impossible to stay as a bartender... But in this way, won't our pier become a thorn in the eyes of those people?"

Evan shook his head.

He didn't speak, just put down his brush and drawing board, and followed the tavern owner to help in the back kitchen.

The angle of view was approaching swayingly, and amidst the rapid panting, the drawing board was spread out on the counter.

The drawing board, which was already too big to fit, was full of sketches of characters in different styles and scenes.

In each painting, there is a stupid, arrogant, smart young liar.