Survival countdown

Green smoke curls up, and the Buddha's voice is faint.

Zhao Baiyu tucked his hands in his sleeves, lowered his eyebrows and lowered his eyes, walking in the corridor like a wandering soul, and caught a glimpse of two figures talking in the courtyard from the corner of his eye.

Looking up, one is gray-haired and slovenly, and the other is wearing ordinary clothes, with a straight back and gray temples, talking to the slovenly old man.

He approached and listened, "...at all costs, but I hope that Wulang will cultivate successfully in the next life." The voice was very familiar, so I went around to see the face of the speaker, it was Zhao Boyong.

"I know it's absurd to bring people back from the dead. I don't want to live in this life, but in the afterlife. Don't suffer as much as in this life..." Zhao Boyong's voice faded, and he couldn't hide his depression and pain: "As a father, I can't even describe it as a failure, a big mistake has been made, but I can't even give me a chance to make up for it. Sir, I beg you to have mercy, Goro shouldn't have to endure suffering that doesn't belong to him."

The old fortune-teller was very helpless: "There are tens of thousands of people in the world who are suffering in all kinds of sufferings. How can they change their lives casually? If you can't control the affairs of this life, how can you manage the next life? Fate is like this, and you can't force it. Everyone has their own fate. He suffers in this life, how can he know that he will not be able to enjoy happiness in the next life? Of course, I am not saying that he will have a good life, but... well, don't beg me anymore. That weak kinship has given Mr. Xiao Lang some blessings."

He waved his hands and said mysterious words, his eyes fixed on the place where Zhao Baiyu had landed.

Originally, Zhao Baiyu thought he could see him and wondered how weird the dream was, but he soon discovered that the old fortune teller couldn't see him.

Swimming uncontrollably, Zhao Baiyu walked towards the depths of Zhao Mansion. Zhao Baiyu looked back at Zhao Boyong, who was covered with wind and frost, and a strange emotion flashed in his heart. Then he continued to move forward, and saw Zhao Changfeng, Zhao Chongjin and Zhao Yuqing respectively. The former continued to work in the imperial army, and the second child was in the third division. Zhao Yuqing seemed to have cut off his career because of drinking and making trouble, and went to the rivers and lakes to become his knight.

Zhao Yuqing just returned home today, Zhao Baiyu almost thought he had misunderstood someone when he saw it, the once reckless young man became bearded and downcast, although he was much calmer, he looked sullen.

There is not much difference between Zhao Chongjin's appearance and cognition, more capable and stable, but at this time he is drinking alone in the yard.

Compared with Zhao Yuqing, Zhao Changfeng didn't have many vicissitudes, but his temples were covered with frost at a young age, which is embarrassing.

Speaking of which, Zhao Yuqing, the youngest, is approaching her thirties, not to mention the other two, but it is surprising that the three brothers have no wives or children at this age.

The body was passively floated to the remote courtyard where he had lived for 19 years. Zhao Baiyu was surprised to find that it had been repaired and expanded a lot. Number, it looks more like a temple.

When you get closer, you can really hear the sound of knocking wooden fish and chanting sutras.

Zhao Baiyu stood in the promenade, the lantern above his head was lit with orange-red fire, swaying in the night wind, making a faint creaking sound, the door beside him was open, the green lamp inside was always on, the incense was still burning, and the table There is a memorial tablet on the table, and a plainly dressed woman is copying Buddhist scriptures at the desk next to it, and red paper is burning in the copper basin at her feet.

"That's how I heard it. For a moment the Buddha was in the Trayali Heaven..."

She was copying the "Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva's Fundamental Vows Sutra" to pray for the dead.

At this time, a mother came over with two maids carrying a basket. In the basket were folded ingots, king gold, blessing money and other things burned for the dead. They worshiped before taking the tablet, and copied the Buddhist scriptures as if no one was around. After a few words of explanation, Xie went to the courtyard to burn the ingots.

Mammy told the two maidservants to watch the fire in the courtyard, pay attention to the fire before leaving, and then went into the house to accompany Mrs. Xie.

The two maids were quite far away from the corridor, but Zhao Baiyu could hear their conversation, one of the maids was obviously new here, so she asked in a low voice because she didn't understand the situation of the Zhao residence.

Another big maid looked around and made sure that no one was approaching before she told her about the big event that caused a sensation in the capital. A party, exposing them for murdering the late emperor, and assisting the king of Lin'an County to ascend the throne.

Even if Chang Ping, Zhao Yuzheng and others get their due retribution, the real Goro is already dead, no matter how much he does, no matter how much he regrets, it will not help, after all, people cannot be resurrected after death.

"Today is Goro's memorial day."

At the same time, Mrs. Xie behind him chanted very devoutly, "Namo Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, Namo Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva, I beg my little son Lang to be fulfilled in the next life, to live a long and worry-free life."

Zhao Baiyu suddenly turned his head to look, and finally saw the big characters on the tablet, "The Spirit Tablet of the Old Son Zhao Baiyu", which was his tablet.

——No, to be precise, it is the spirit position of the original "Zhao Baiyu".

How could he have such a dream?

"Not a dream."

Who is speaking?

Zhao Baiyu followed the reputation and saw a person who looked exactly like him, but his temperament was softer and paler, his body was also very thin, and there was a gloomy look between his eyebrows.

"Zhao Baiyu."

In the original novel, no one loves Zhao Baiyu.

"Happy to meet."

Unexpectedly, the "Zhao Baiyu" in front of him was not as miserable as described in the original book.

'Zhao Baiyu' looked at Mrs. Xie with gentle eyes, neither resentment nor paranoia: "Did you see that? They think my life is miserable, but in fact, apart from no one loves me, life is always worry-free, without worrying about food and drink." Laughing He smiled, "But when people are alive, they can't think through these things. They focus on the suffering of the moment and magnify it infinitely. They are paranoid about things that have no fate, and they refuse to let go... Now I understand that my paranoia is in the same line as them. People Death is nothing, I should have disappeared without a sound, but their obsession pulled me back and told me to see with my own eyes, it is not that no one loves me in this world."

"I am content."

"You are Zhao Baiyu but not me, but I wish you no disasters and no pains, everything goes well and everything you want."

"I also hope that you will be free from disasters and difficulties, be blessed by the heavens, have three stars shine brightly, and everything will go well and be auspicious."

Two people with the same name, face, and fate but different numbers, one on the left and the other on the right, bowed their hands to each other, blessed each other, and smiled at each other. At this time, the sound of "咚——" and the sound of yellow bells filled the sky over Kyoto Prefecture, accompanied by With the sound of fast-paced wooden fish, chanting, rain, and frogs, the whispers of the maids in the courtyard and the whispers of the servants outside the house are intertwined, gradually pulling away, one side disappears, while the other side becomes clearer, and the picture changes from distorted to blurred. to vividness—

Zhao Baiyu opened his eyes suddenly, the room was dark and the sound of rain, frogs and murmurs disappeared, only the bell was faintly tolled, and after a while, he heard the news of 'the prime minister's wife is visiting', followed by the little He entered the room to make sure that he woke up from the dream just now and returned to this world.

Putting on the crane cloak, Zhao Baiyu walked through the corridors, interlocking his fingers and hiding them in the wide sleeves, lowering his eyebrows and thinking about the "Zhao family" and "Zhao Baiyu" he saw in his dream.

There is no doubt that it is the story line of the original work. The ending of HE is fixed on the day when the protagonist canonize the big pawn. As soon as the curtain falls, the supporting characters like marionettes come to life, burning, slaughtering, bloody and bloody, weaving a bloody BE for the protagonist. Spoiler.

It turns out that he thought that the Zhao family still dotes on Zhao Yuzheng after knowing the truth about the change of sons. It turns out that the "Zhao Baiyu" in the original book is not extremely sad, not trampled by others, and death is not a pity, but someone picks up his bones Some people offered him a long-lived lamp for decades after his death;

It turns out that 'Zhao Baiyu' has a superficial relationship, and it's not a fate that cannot be violated.

***

front hall.

Mrs. Xie turned around quickly when she heard the footsteps, and when she saw Zhao Baiyu, she subconsciously stepped forward. After walking a few steps, she suddenly stopped on the same spot, with a smile on her face: "Wu Lang," looking at Zhao Baiyu, no disaster, no pain, no chance. With signs of dying at the age of 26, the tight rope in his heart broke instantly, and he couldn't help but let out a long sigh of relief, and whispered softly: "I just passed by the palace just now, and I wanted to meet you. I saw you now, but I didn't I won't bother you about other things, I... I'm leaving now."

He said to go, but his feet did not move, his eyes were still fixed on Zhao Baiyu.

Zhao Baiyu lowered his eyes, although he had that dream foreshadowing, he still didn't know how to face Xie Shi.

The person who hated him, resented him, and treated him harshly was Mrs. Xie, and the one who loved him, was ashamed of him, and prayed for him to pray for Changan was also Mrs. Xie. Zhao Baiyu was sad but never wanted to hate Mrs. Xie and the Zhao family.

The one-life and clean-up in the past was not a matter of anger. His self-indulgent affection for the Zhao family disappeared in the summer of the year he married at the age of 19. Since then, there has been no disturbance in his heart. Although he feels the efforts of the Zhao family to mend their relatives, it is not a big deal after all. touch.

But at the moment, the Xie family, who has to carefully turn the corner even if he wants to care about him, always makes him inadvertently copy Buddhist scriptures like a madman in a dream, chanting "Nanwu Guanshiyin Bodhisattva", begging for mercy from heaven, and looking forward to Xiaoerlang's growth Xie Shi, who lives a hundred years old.

After all, I can't bear it.

Zhao Baiyu: "I received the brown sugar cubes from Yan Bing the day before yesterday. He boiled them by himself. I thought about cooking some brown sugar eggs tonight. I cooked them too much. The scorpion is still in the palace. It will cool down after a long time." It will smell fishy...do you like to drink it?"

Xie's eyes lit up visibly, the corners of his mouth turned up, and he nodded repeatedly: "I like it, mother—ah, I, I like brown sugar eggs the most!"

Regardless of the past, anyway, this will be her true love from now on.

Zhao Baiyu smiled. The excuse was to urge him, but he actually went to the kitchen to cook brown sugar and egg water by himself. His cooking skills were too poor to do anything else, except cook a bowl of delicious brown sugar and egg water.

Cook two bowls first, then bring them to the front hall, and share one bowl with Mrs. Xie.

Xie tasted it, the tip of his tongue was scalded and his eyes became hot, and he instantly understood that it was just boiled sugar water.

It's not about favors, but cooking on purpose. After six years, the clouds finally see the moon, and finally see the possibility of resolving the past and renewing the relationship.

Xiao Erlang cooks in person, sits at the same table, drinks sugar water quietly, only the scene of the spoon clinking against the wall of the bowl is the expectation that Xie has been longing for for a long time but never dared to imagine. She thought she would cry bitterly , would be unbearably excited, the fact is that she behaved calmly and decently, just like every ordinary mother and her son in the world, doing ordinary things on an ordinary day.

Drinking brown sugar and egg water like tasting delicacies from mountains and seas, no matter how hard he tried to procrastinate, the bottom would be reached soon, Xie was a little at a loss, he didn't know what excuse to use to stay in the palace.

Zhao Baiyu chatted about some common topics quite freely, but Mrs. Xie quickly picked up the conversation, and chatted casually, still stiff and rigid, but it was a sign of breaking the ice.

Soon, half an hour passed, and Mrs. Xie was already satisfied, and she didn't want to make an inch of it here, which was annoying for no reason.

She got up to say goodbye.

Zhao Baiyu sent her off, walked through the courtyard, veranda and screen wall, stood at the door and watched her get into the carriage, and suddenly asked, "How are the peonies blooming in the house?"

Mrs. Xie raised her eyes in surprise: "The flowers are blooming like a brocade, and they are so beautiful."

Zhao Baiyu: "A banquet in late March?"

Xie Shi: "March 25."

Zhao Baiyu: "Can I go?"

Xie's nose was sour, and he smiled softly and brightly: "We welcome you with a smile."

Zhao Baiyu raised his hands, covered his face with his wide sleeves, bowed his head slightly to say goodbye.

Mrs. Xie got into the carriage, and the wheels drove away. Suddenly, she covered her face with her sleeves and wept with joy.

***

In the evening, Huo Jingtang came back from the palace.

Since he rejected the position of the crown prince and recognized his identity as the eldest prince, the father-son relationship with Emperor Yuanshou has eased to the purest and best state.

But Emperor Yuanshou has a personality that likes to maximize the benefits of people and things. To put it bluntly, he can't see Huo Jingtang's idle look all day long, so he asked him to enter the palace to teach the princes martial arts, arrange troops, march and fight, etc. , the God of War in the Northwest taught in person, of course it is a famous teacher who produces a good apprentice.

Moreover, Huo Jingtang is not only the eldest brother of the princes, but also their teacher. With the protection of his dual status, the new emperor must treat them respectfully and respectfully when he ascends the throne in the future.

But judging from the current progress, Huo Jingtang is more likely to become the childhood shadow of the princes.

In the bathroom, the steam was dense, and Huo Jingtang was soaking in the hot water. From Zhao Baiyu's perspective, he could only see his broad back and bulging, muscular arms. His long hair was bundled up. There is a string of Buddhist beads wrapped around it.

"It's been raining all afternoon today, so I can't carry out outdoor activities. I should come back early. Why is it so late?"

"On the [-]th and [-]th in the morning, each played their own tricks and asked me to continue practicing in the rain as punishment, and let them go back when they were exhausted."

Although Huo Jingtang said that he was strict and serious in training, he rarely punished him. With his lazy personality, he must be less concerned about one thing. ran back.

For him to take the initiative to punish someone, it must be that the other party has touched his bottom line.

"how?"

"It's commonplace for princes to fight and play tricks, but at a young age, they will use any means to kill them. If they don't correct themselves quickly, they will inevitably become cruel and heartless. These boys, don't ask them to produce a prosperous and wise king in the future. A benevolent and righteous king can lead by example and be sympathetic to the suffering of others."

Having said this, there was a moment of silence, Huo Jingtang couldn't contain his calm and composure, and snorted heavily, contemptuously, and extremely unhappy: "Annoying!"

Turning over, reaching out to Zhao Baiyu, Huo Jingtang coquettishly said: "Little Lang, come and comfort my tired body and mind."

Zhao Baiyu walked over and slapped him on the back, as the old saying goes: "Be a decent person." He was allowed to hold hands, bowed his head and bowed his head, his eyes were clouded by water vapor, his lips were blocked, and suddenly Spinning around, he was dragged directly into the bathtub, splashed in all directions, and his clothes were mostly wet, floating on the water.

The surface of the water was swaying, Zhao Baiyu squinted, the hosta slipped off, and the loose hair bun fell to the shoulders for a moment, and the ends of the hair were soaked and floated with the outer shirt.

Huo Jingtang chuckled lightly, "Xiao Lang met Mrs. Zhao in the evening?"

Zhao Baiyu responded with a nasal snort, curling up his toes.

Huo Jingtang's hand lingered on Zhao Baiyu's waist, and he continued to ask, "Xiao Lang plans to go to the banquet?"

Zhao Baiyu frowned, his left hand crossed Huo Jingtang's shoulder and tightly grasped the edge of the tub, his fingertips turned white, and he replied in a low voice, "It's impolite to refuse after you've been invited for a few years."

Huo Jingtang: "Let's let go of the past, or let's go through the motions?"

Zhao Baiyu pursed his lips tightly, not wanting to respond, but when Huo Jingtang saw that he didn't say anything, he leaned up and kissed the corner of his mouth, and then teased him, just like teasing a cat. .

"Annoying or not!" Zhao Baiyu suddenly broke out, punching Huo Jingtang's shoulder with both hands, and stood up, ready to kick off the annoying doggy thing and leave directly. "Go and play by yourself-!"

Huo Jingtang grabbed his waist and pulled him back, leaning back against the bathtub, the glass-colored Bodhisattva's eyes were lazily fierce, like a fallen Buddha, Zhao Baiyu, who was so bewitched and annoyed, softened his heart, leaned over and tapped his lips with his lips. Chin and Adam's apple.

All of a sudden, the water was splashing, the mist was lingering, the lights were flickering, and the servants outside the house came and went with tools to clean the bathroom. It wasn't until the mid-moon, when Huo Jingtang came out with Zhao Baiyu in his arms, that they were able to go in and clean up the mess. bath room.

After sleeping for two hours in the afternoon, I should be refreshed, but at night, I made a fuss without restraint, exhausted my energy, and fell into a deep sleep as soon as I touched the bed.

Huo Jingtang put on his coat, embraced Zhao Baiyu and closed his eyes.

The spring night is slightly cool, everything is silent, insects chirp under the grass and trees, the candlelight flickers twice and then goes out, and the dark and sweet dreams come quickly.

……

It was also a night just after it rained, and the forest was deep and the trees were dense and insects were buzzing. The 16-year-old Zhao Baiyu had just become a scholar.

If there is no accident, the next is the township examination, the general examination, and finally the palace examination to obtain the honor.

The mentor praised him as the number one scholar, but he didn't care whether the number one or the second place, as long as he could be an official.

Zhao Baiyu stumbled from this era. Although he fell with a bruised nose and a swollen face, he went to the bottom of the world and saw the misery of the bottom. He has not stepped into the officialdom, he has not really seen the most hopeless darkness of this era, and he has not tried his best. The taste of being hit hard but powerless, still has a bit of innocence and childishness.

He is no different from the students all over the world, studying only to be an official.

Some people become officials to make money, some people become officials to make contributions and leave a name in history, and some people become officials with only two words 'for the people'.

Zhao Baiyu thought that cultivating himself was as easy as cultivating an official body, it was so easy not to seek money or power, but only to serve the people.

If there is an opportunity to travel thousands of miles, from serving the people to worrying about the country, in the final analysis, it is still seeking the well-being of the people.

He also bears the imprint of the age of freedom and equality, and he chooses the good in everything. He never thought that the Zhao family would ask him to give up the scientific examination because of Zhao Yuzheng's idea.

Zhao Baiyu felt it was absurd, and it was rare for him to refuse with stern words. Unexpectedly, when he woke up, he was locked in a strange room, the doors and windows were locked, and there was dry food in the corner that lasted for ten and a half months.

Today is the day to enter the examination room.

Suddenly footsteps sounded outside the door, as if they were walking outside.

Zhao Baiyu saw a familiar figure from behind through the crack of the door. He walked to the gate of the courtyard, and then Zhao Yuzheng asked curiously: "Third brother, why are you here?"

Zhao Sanlang said a few words to fool him, but Zhao Yuzheng wanted to ask more questions, so he heard another indifferent voice say: "He is just a monkey, what else can he do besides doing bad things? Don't be taught by him, you are just recovering from a serious illness." , I will accompany my second brother to sit on the edge of the polo field, and point out my second brother."

Sure enough, Zhao Yuzheng's attention was diverted, and the horseshoe ran away.

But Zhao Erlang reprimanded him indifferently: "Enough is enough."

Zhao Sanlang followed after muttering a few words, the small courtyard was completely empty, Zhao Baiyu thought, there is no need to lock him up for ten days and a half months, as long as he misses today's time to enter the examination room, he will automatically give up the next three years of examination. Test.

"Ugh."

Zhao Baiyu folded his arms and buried his face in the crook of his arms. After two days and one night of being locked up in a strange small courtyard, he finally broke open the doors and windows and escaped. Looking at the starless sky and the depths of the dense forest where he couldn't see his fingers, Suddenly he beat his palms in frustration: "I knew I shouldn't have rejected the peace talisman and blessing lottery sold by the eminent monk of Baohua Temple a few days ago!"

It's a pity that at that time he disliked the price too expensive and refused to go through the powerful back door blessed by gods and Buddhas.

It is useless to regret now, the gods and Buddhas closed the back door and left a ruthless back.

Compared with the dense forest full of snakes, rats and ants, the small courtyard behind is obviously safer, as long as you stay there until dawn, but for Zhao Baiyu, he would rather break into the dangerous dense forest and accept the possibility of death , and don't want to turn around and go back to the cramped room.

That was the beginning when most of his enthusiasm for the Zhao family suddenly cooled down.

Groping forward in the dark, his nose and face were bruised in the physical sense, pain and fear tore his soul and body, he walked alone in this dark dense forest, and he was forced to suppress the incompatibility, fear, loneliness, Unbearable pain and grievances erupted in an instant, Zhao Baiyu suddenly ran wildly, his mind went blank, life or death depended on God's will.

Then he tripped over a tree root and fell down the hillside, and rolled to the side of the mountain path, thinking that he would fall to his death there and no one would know, then he heard the sound of horseshoes at the end of the path approaching from far and near, somehow, the double restriction of darkness and blurred vision Below you can see galloping horses and a handsome young man on horseback, a low-flying eagle hovering above his head, a longbow in his left hand and the white arrow feathers in the leather belt of the horse's back are particularly conspicuous.

Before his consciousness became blurred, Zhao Baiyu thought to himself, it turned out that he was a man who rode and shot at night, and he didn't know if he would join the army.

Look at his long hair flying high and high spirits, wouldn't it be a pity if he didn't wear a Wu hook?

The gentleman on the horse glanced at him, cold and indifferent, but he moved away lightly in an instant, and the sound of the horse's hooves gradually faded away. Zhao Baiyu thought he didn't notice him, or did he see him but didn't want to be nosy?

Forget it, it hurts a little, sleep for a while.

When his consciousness was depressed, the horse whistled, his front hooves were raised high, a candle lamp illuminated his face, and then he was wrapped in a warm quilt, smelling the faint, peaceful scent of incense burning in front of the Buddha. smell.

Zhao Baiyu murmured while he was half awake, "...the general draws the bow at night, and looks for the white feathers in the morning." That's why he guessed at the first time that it would be a pity if it wasn't for the young and famous general.

After waking up again, Zhao Baiyu was in the medical center, and he couldn't find out who rescued him. He didn't even remember what the other person looked like. He only had a concept of being handsome and beautiful. Of course, he ruled out the ugly one immediately. The cruel king of Lin'an County.

Over time, the memory became more blurred, and sometimes I even thought it was a dream.

Or that person was a ghost in the mountains, who occasionally did good deeds to save him.

……

Suddenly awakened from sleep, Zhao Baiyu opened his eyes, and saw Huo Jingtang's sleeping face. Looking carefully, if he was ten years younger, his outline and facial features would be softer, and his complexion would be paler. The mountain ghost I met at six o'clock.

At this time, the hawk outside the house sounded in response to the situation, like an eagle circling low at night.

Zhao Baiyu suddenly smiled.

——It turns out that you saved me every time I faced life and death.

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The author has something to say:

There is an idiom for lowering eyebrows and drooping eyes, which describes a shy look, but the usage in my article means looking down at people literally.