twin moon

Chapter 20 Act Two

In the seventh year of Yuansui, it was April, and the grass was growing and warblers were flying, and greenery was everywhere.

For several days in a row the sky was cloudless.It was not until noon, but the warm spring sun was quite scorching.The fair-skinned Ning Yue didn't care about getting tanned at all, like a seedling that broke out of the ground, letting the warm sunshine shine on her body as much as she wanted.

She deliberately walked in front of Jiang Yan, in the name of exploring the way, but in fact it was for fun.Every time her companion catches up with her, the girl picking willows and picking flowers along the way will quickly run a long way forward, giggling and saying:
"Can't chase, can't chase."

Although Jiang Yan was not walking fast, perhaps he hadn't walked so comfortably for a long time.Now his mood is flying into the sky like a feather, but he still doesn't forget to tell the girl who can't stop for a moment:

"Yue'er, take it easy. We haven't been on the official road yet. Be careful to run too far and meet bandits. I won't have time to save you."

"You are really boring. In such a good weather, the bandits are hiding at home to bask in the sun, so they don't bother to come out to rob the way. Besides, if someone really meets a bandit, don't you? ?”

Facing his companion's mischievousness, Jiang Yan didn't want to say much, but secretly controlled the pace of his feet so that the opponent always remained within his sight.Half an hour later, Ning Yue, whose head was covered with wild flowers, was finally tired from running, and gradually slowed down, but deliberately backed away, walking face to face with the boy.

The day before yesterday, the girl had dyed her red hair brown and chestnut with the black oil smoked from birch bark.At this moment, the sun was warming her body, which made her feel good, and softly hummed a melodious song that seemed to have neither beginning nor end:
"The lonely river is cold and deep, and the cliffs are covered with snow.

In the middle of the boat, it is suitable for the paradise.

The sun and the moon have their permanence, and the stars have their movements.

From the old in four o'clock, everyone listens salty.

Qing Yunmanman, the Milky Way is especially bright.

The essence is not exhausted, and all spirits are blessed.

It's hard to play the harp, and the feathers don't dance.

Promised land Promised land, where is the place? "

"Yue'er, when we met for the first time, you seemed to be singing this song too, right? The tune is winding and melodious, it sounds very nice."

Looking at the strands of golden light falling on the girl's body from among the high leaves, Jiang Yan narrowed his eyes and said.

"Hee hee, little stammer, I didn't expect you to have a pretty good memory."

Ning Yue absent-mindedly replied, and continued humming to herself.

"What's in that word?"

"This song is a long poem that everyone in our family can sing, and it was composed into a tune by a singer. The whole word is too long, and I can't recite it completely. It probably says a lot The story of the ancestors who left their homes many years ago in search of a paradise. Can’t you understand a single sentence, little stutterer?”

Ning Yue finally stopped humming and looked at her companion strangely.However, as soon as the words came out of her mouth, she realized that she had made a mistake.

"Actually, in fact, I don't know how to read, and I can't understand the elegant words sung in the song. I'm afraid that if you find out, you will look down on me..." Jiang Yan lowered his head embarrassingly.

Ning Yue looked at the embarrassed boy in front of her, and realized that her self-willed lying had hurt the other person's self-esteem, and hurriedly wanted to make up for the mistake, and comforted him instead:

"How can I look down on you? Don't you know a lot of things that I don't know at all? If you want to learn, why don't I teach you how to read from today, okay?"

"You—are you really willing to teach me?"

"Of course it's true, can it be possible to cheat by teaching people how to read?" Ning Yue put on a rare serious expression.

"Then can you teach me to sing this song first? Then I can sing it to you in the future."

"Okay, okay."

Ning Yue clapped her hands and agreed.However, as soon as she heard the other party sing the first two lines, she had to stop hastily.

But Jiang Yan, who is tone-deficient, obviously has no self-knowledge in terms of rhythm: "Yue'er, I sang pretty well just now, right?"

"You sing very well, but I suddenly feel that this song doesn't match the current artistic conception. It feels so bleak. I'd better teach you later, so as not to spoil your interest." Ning Yue was embarrassed to tell the truth, so she had to With a wry smile, he smoothed things over.

Although the boy didn't understand the profound meaning of the other party's artistic conception, since Ning Yue said it was inappropriate, it was really inappropriate, so he didn't ask any more questions.

The two children who had been chatting endlessly were rarely quiet.This change also caused an unusually small sound above his head to drift into Jiang Yan's ears.The young man turned his gaze to the sky, which he had never left his companion before, and then looked towards the path under the shade of the trees in the distance.Immediately, his expression changed, and he immediately cupped the face of the girl facing him with both hands, forcing her not to turn her head away.

"Oh, little stammer, if you want to learn, I'll just be taught you. What kind of madness is this!" Ning Yue was taken aback by this sudden strange move, and she used all her strength to push the other party out of front of her body. Push it away and blame him.

"I'm not crazy! Yue'er, don't move, and don't look back!"

It wasn't until this moment that Ning Yue noticed that above her head, for some reason, there were many unusual large birds gathering and circling.The boy told her that those big birds were called corpse vultures, and the place that attracted the birds seemed to be somewhere hundreds of steps away from the two of them.

The more Jiang Yan refused to let him look at him, the more the girl couldn't help breaking free from the opponent's hands, turning her head and looking behind her.However, after looking at it, it made her whole body tingle with numbness.

The winding path along the river suddenly opened up not far away, and the hazy shadow of a small town also caught the girl's eyes.The young man mentioned last night that today they will arrive at a place called Zhihedu, from where they can take a boat to cross the Zhishui, and then go north along the official road to Mulu, the capital of Ye Kingdom.

However, on a banyan tree just outside the entrance of the town, dozens of bones that were almost eaten by the vultures were densely hung!
"Ah! These people, yes, were bandits killed?"

The girl was timid after all, and couldn't help screaming.

"Don't panic, Yue'er. If bandits are really coming, there is no way there will be smoke rising in the town. Let's not mess around, go to the place where there are many people and ask before we talk."

The boy gently squeezed his companion's hand and comforted him.So the two children boldly walked out of Lixu again.After passing the thin-leaved banyan tree that people dare not look directly at, several broad horses straddling the entrance of the town came into their sight.Behind the roadblock, there is also a Ye army in black heavy armor stationed, which makes people afraid to avoid it.

Jiang Yan couldn't help feeling a little flustered, he grabbed a woman who was just passing by and asked politely, "Auntie, what's wrong with this in front? Are you not allowed to cross the river?"

"It's not that you're not allowed to cross the river, it's just that everyone who comes and goes needs to be interrogated."

"Why did Ye Guojun suddenly set up a checkpoint at the entrance of the town? Who are those people hanging from that banyan tree?"

"I heard that a group of cavalry was attacked in the mountains a few days ago. The leader of the cavalry captain was so angry that he captured and hanged all the pirates who were hiding in Leiyin Mountain. After that, he led others After searching in the mountains for several days, I finally found the remains of the missing soldiers. Sigh, those corpses brought back are really horrible..."

The woman only listened to half of Jiang Yan's next words, and couldn't listen anymore.It was hard for him to imagine that hanging from the banyan tree he passed were the bones of Brother Cui's wife and children, witches, and other neighbors in the hunting village.Although he didn't have much affection for these villagers, he never thought that one day, they would all lose their lives because of him.

The young man hesitated suddenly, he didn't dare to move forward rashly, instead he took the hand of the girl beside him, and said in a low voice while stepping back:

"Yue'er, we may have to turn around and find another way."

However, in the crowd that was not considered dense, this extremely unnatural move was immediately noticed by a man with a beard and the appearance of a general standing behind the horse, and shouted loudly on the spot:
"Those two brats on the road, stop for me!"

Presumably, it is convenient to be the captain of Xiaoqi who ordered the killing of all the mountain people in the woman's mouth.There was a buzzing sound in Jiang Yan's head, and he was a little dazed.He faintly felt that the other party's voice seemed familiar, but for a moment he couldn't remember where he heard it, so he could only say to the girl who was also standing blankly beside him:

"Yue'er, run! No matter what happens, don't look back, or neither of us will be able to escape!"

The boy didn't even have time to explain, so he pushed his companion towards the way he came.But how could Luo Jianli, who was in charge of the horse, give them a chance to escape?He was riding a strong red-red lion horse with a long mane. At this moment, with only a slight pinch of his legs, he rushed straight to the two children in a menacing manner.

Jiang Yan turned around, stretched out his hand and wanted to touch Baipi behind his waist to resist for a while.Unexpectedly, the person who came directly jumped up on the horse and flew high above the young man's head, completely blocking the escape route in a moment!
What was even more unexpected to him was that the ferocious-looking Captain just shot him a glance, he was taken aback for a moment, and then he burst out laughing:

"I didn't expect you, kid, to be alive! This general was not mistaken before, you are indeed in collusion with pirates! You are so brave, you dare to show your face here!"

Although the other party spoke with certainty and seemed to know him, Jiang Yan knew that he was definitely a big trouble.Even though the hope of escape was almost shattered, he still stood in front of the horse with his chest upright, and firmly protected Ning Yue behind him:
"You've got the wrong person, I don't know you at all!"

"Don't know me? Why run away in such a hurry! Your life is really tough. You escaped in the Chanying Sea, and even the giant wolf on the mountain couldn't kill you. But this time, the general has those in his hands. According to the confession of the mountain people, the two of you are the accomplices of the pirates who killed the cavalry of Ye Kingdom. Today I want to see whether it is your fate or the knife in the general's hand!"

Luo Jianli didn't know that the boy on the opposite side had already forgotten who he was. With a sneer, he pulled out a long iron knife from his waist, pointed at the man's brow and shouted, "Come on, take these two brats down for me. Search them carefully, then push them to a tree outside the town and hang them together!"

With a sharp whistle, several soldiers with long halberds rushed out from behind the horses, and tied Jiang Yan and Ning Yue together without any explanation, and quickly found the Baipi behind his waist.

"In broad daylight, you take people without proof. Could it be that unarmed people can be convicted and humiliated at will?"

Jiang Yan's arms were tightly bound by the rope, but he still refused to give in.Even though he was pushed to the ground, he still stuck his neck and asked angrily.

Luo Jianli pressed the long knife in his hand against the back of Jiang Yan's heart, and with a little force, he was able to pierce the young man's body:

"Little ghost, it seems that you still don't know your situation? Zhihedu is located on the border between Ye State and Fu State. Our boat division camp was specially set up here by the order of the Lord to arrest the rebels. So here, My words are Duke Ye's will. Even if I order you two brats to be beheaded on the spot, no one will ask if it was a mistake!"

"Lieutenant Luo, no matter what time you say, I'm afraid it can't represent the meaning of the king, right? Why are you so eager to kill someone?"

Just when Jiang Yan thought he was going to die, another man's voice suddenly sounded in his ears.Afterwards, a fast horse as black as ink flew across the crowd of horses, and rushed straight to the crowd, no one dared to stop them.

The person who came was in his early forties, with a short beard of an inch on his face, and a blue cloak in green clothes and trousers that was clear from top to bottom.The disheveled hair made him look a little more aloof and unrestrained than the soldiers around him, but under his valiant and heroic posture, he also carried a kind of seriousness without anger and prestige, which made the noisy checkpoint immediately quiet down.

As soon as Luo Jianli heard the other party's voice, Luo Jianli immediately put away the long knife in his hand, got off his horse and knelt down on the ground with one knee: "I have seen General Baili, what kind of wind brought you here? Just now my subordinate Words, not—"

"Don't need to say too much, don't lie anymore in the future."

The person who came waved his hand, it was the military guard in front of the palace of Ye Kingdom.In fact, even if you give the other party a blow, you don't intend to continue to listen to Luo Jianli's nonsense, "Tell me, why did you kill these two children in the street today?"

"General Qi, my subordinate judged that the two of them were the accomplices of the pirates who were hanged a few days ago, so I personally stopped them and wanted to take them back to the camp to ask for clarification. In fact, I just wanted to scare them. hands."

Luo Jianli has a perverse personality, but at this moment the hostility in his body disappeared without a trace in front of the man in Tsing Yi, and he became as docile as a stallion that has been gelded.

"The gang of pirates? Oh—that means those people hanging from the banyan tree at the entrance of the town?"

"Exactly. They have clearly described the appearance of these two children. It is absolutely impossible for the subordinates to arrest the wrong person."

"Oh? How did you say it?"

"According to the thief's confession, the boy who escaped had a long scar in the middle of his right eyebrow, and said that this girl—" Luo Jianli turned his eyes to Ning Yue as he spoke, and then suddenly realized that the hair of the girl in front of him was not actually red .

"Why are you silent all of a sudden?" the man in Tsing Yi asked.

"Girl, girls don't have any obvious characteristics. But the mountain folk mentioned the dagger they carried with them, which is the iron evidence that these two are pirates!"

"What knife? Bring it and let me see it."

The man in Tsing Yi said, spreading his right hand in front of Luo Jianli.Captain Xiaoqi had no choice but to suppress the unhappiness in his heart, and handed out the Baipi he had just found.

"Lieutenant Luo is indeed the queen of the gate, and his eyesight is really good. Please tell me, how did you know that this knife is a pirate's thing? Could it be that there is a pirate's white whale pattern engraved in some secret place? "

"Please forgive me for not having time to investigate carefully in the future—" Although Luo Jianli still clasped his fists calmly in response, he knew that he was wrong, and big drops of cold sweat dripped from his head wearing a feather helmet.

"There's no time to investigate in the future? But you're very quick to kill people!" The man in Tsing Yi changed the subject abruptly, revealing extreme dissatisfaction in his tone:
"This time the lord ordered to send troops to search for suspicious people in various places in the territory, but he did not order to kill people at will. Even if the pirates were captured, they had to be taken back to Mulu City and handed over to the court officer for interrogation. Fat loss, could it be that Lord Overseer didn't explain to you?"

"Your Majesty, he has explained it. It's just that those mountain people have confessed to their crimes before, so, therefore, this subordinate—" Luo Jianli's voice no longer had the previous arrogance, and it was replaced by a A deep sense of panic.

"What did you confess? Did they commit some murder in the Chanying Sea, or did they set up a trap to lure you to send troops into the mountain?"

"neither……"

"Then why were those mountain people you strangled at the entrance of the town, and these two children, sentenced to death?"

"That's because...it's because..."

Facing the aggressive question from the man in Tsing Yi, Luo Jianli couldn't answer anymore.He never expected that this time he would lift a rock and shoot himself in the foot-the mountain people were killed without any evidence left.Although his body is strong and strong, his voice became smaller and smaller during the repeated questioning, until finally it was so weak that even the two children who were tied up beside him couldn't hear clearly.

But from the beginning to the end, he never mentioned anything about Jiang Yan ever going to sea with him.

"In troubled times, there are already enough enemies in the Hushiye Kingdom. People in the army should not act recklessly. The hanging of the mountain people this time has already caused panic in the Zhihedu area. There are many complaints and rumors have even spread. In Mulu City, that's why I came here in person today! Do you know that if you continue to act like this, it will not only damage the reputation of you, me, and Marquis Jinghai, but also endanger the prestige of the lord and the entire Ye The country's community!"

The man in Tsing Yi sat firmly on the back of his dark cloud riding snow.Although he looks a little decadent and lazy on the surface, he speaks with a strong voice, and his voice hits his ears, and he is even more merciless when he reprimands his subordinates who have made mistakes.

Luo Jianli couldn't stand anymore, and immediately knelt down on both knees and put his whole body on the ground: "Subordinate—I know I was wrong!"

"Then I'll give you forty army sticks, let's not take it as an example. Now the matter of the Yugu Lake camp is quite difficult, not to mention the two galloping wolves that suddenly appeared on the Leiyin Mountain. I order you to hang the town immediately. Let all the mountain people on the tree be put down for a good burial. The scarred person is by no means the only one in the world, and this short knife is hard to prove that it belongs to pirates. Release these two children immediately, and don’t give them to me again. What other troubles are caused to the boat camp!"

Seeing that General Tsing Yi still spared him in the end, the captain hurriedly thanked him, and then ordered someone to help Jiang Yan and Ning Yue who were lying on the ground, and untied them with his own hands.

The man on the black horse bent down, smiled and handed the dagger back to the still aggrieved young man:
"Little ghost, this is a treasured knife. It must be a gift from someone important, right? You must keep it safe in the future, and don't lose it."

Jiang Yan, who didn't want to continue entanglement, snorted heavily, stretched out his hand to take Baipi without hesitation, saluted briefly, and hurriedly pulled Ning Yue away.Because from the sharp eyes of the man on the horse, he clearly sensed a trace of curiosity about himself, and he couldn't help beating his heart up and down, just wanting to hide as far away as possible.

　Thank you for your attention to "Twin Moons", and hope that the wheat grown by the little raccoon can meet your appetite.You can search for the official account with the same name~
　　
　
(End of this chapter)