twin moon

Chapter 47, Scene [-], The Tide II

It has been rainy for days, and the water level in the canal has soared, almost overflowing the breakwaters on both sides.Nearly half of the streets in Mulu City are also soaked in two fingers deep stagnant water, as long as there are vehicles and horses passing by, they will be splashed with mud.

The city has not encountered such a torrential autumn rain for many years, and the number of pedestrians on the road is becoming less and less.However, in the mist that seemed to be only the sound of rain, a carriage slowly stopped in front of Jiayunzhai's gate.

A middle-aged man wearing a bamboo hat and coir raincoat jumped out of the car.He lowered the bamboo hat on his head, obviously not wanting to be recognized, but threw a gold baht to the coachman behind him to send him away.However, the coachman, who saw that the customer was spending so much money and failed to secure a decent deal for several days, immediately asked with a smile:

"My lord, the road is slippery in rainy days, so it's inconvenient to find another car and horse. If you go to the store to have a drink, the younger one will wait in the back street, right?"

"No need." The man waved his hand, "I should stay at the nearby Xunjian Inn, just take the money and leave quickly."

Seeing that the guest spoke resolutely, the coachman had no choice but to take the money and send his horse away with a little disappointment.The man in the bamboo hat didn't delay anymore, he turned around and lifted the curtain in front of Jiayun Zhai's door, and walked in.

The whole store was full of seats.Even such a heavy rain cannot dampen the enthusiasm of these loyal diners.Seeing someone coming to the door again, the proprietress immediately put down the feather duster she was playing with in her hand, greeted her with a smile, and asked in Mandarin with a Dongli accent:
"May I ask what the guest officer would like to eat?"

"A pot of Qingli roast, half a catty of pork knuckle in sauce. Please ask the proprietress to bring it to the Accord upstairs."

The visitor walked upstairs without looking back, as if he knew everything about the shop.For a moment, Leng Jiayun couldn't remember which regular customer the other party was, so she could only answer, and hurriedly ordered the back kitchen to prepare wine and food.

I never thought that the man was halfway there, but suddenly he raised his hand and threw a heavy object.The object landed on the counter in front of the purple-clothed woman impartially, but when she lowered her head to look at it, her expression changed instantly.

It was a gold baht with a little warmth, which was several times the price of the wine and food that the visitor ordered just now.A red cotton thread was worn on the gold baht, and a beautifully blooming crabapple was tied to the end of the thread.

The corners of Leng Jiayun's eyes and brows were full of surprise, and he immediately brought out the food and wine from the back kitchen, and slowly sent them to the Accord upstairs with a small shallow plate in both hands.The man had already sat down in the pavilion, and after taking off his cape and coir raincoat, he revealed a green satin robe underneath. It turned out that most of the soldiers and horses in front of the palace who had never come to the store to buy wine in person guarded Baili.

Hearing the soft footsteps of a woman behind him, General Tsing Yi said without turning his head: "Those flowers are the new branches that I grew in the greenhouse a few days ago when the weather was still warm, and I thought about the flowers blooming. sent to you."

The woman calmly brought the wine and food in her hand to the other party, and looked at the man with the short beard and loose hair in front of her, but her brows were tightly furrowed:

"Why did you come here without saying hello? What if someone recognizes you?"

"It's because of the heavy rain recently that I came here in person. Don't worry, the diners sitting in the hall should be secretly planning how to go home later, and won't pay attention to an ordinary traveler like me."

Talking to Baili, he filled up the exquisite white jade wine glass in front of him, raised his neck and took a big sip, "It's better to drink Qingli Shao, which you personally brew——"

"Okay, the dignified guard came here despite the wind and rain, isn't it just for a sip of wine?"

The woman also sat down cross-legged opposite the man, looked up into the other's eyes and asked seriously.

The man in Tsing Yi shook his head: "Of course not. You should have heard about the fire in the city a few days ago, right?"

"Hmm. There are rumors that the fire was not an accident. Could it be true?"

"The reason why the pawn shop caught fire was closely related to Jiang Yan's dagger. It's a pity that we were a step too late. Although the dagger is still there, someone has already taken the map inside the dagger."

"Then why don't you hurry up and send someone to chase it back!" Leng Jiayun couldn't help becoming nervous.The general on the opposite side was just silent, and put the half glass of wine back on the small case:

"The bodies of the three galloping wolves were burnt to pieces in a fire. The only witness to prove that Luo Jianli also died in the Human Bone Palace outside the city. I'm afraid that I want to find out who is behind all this. It will become more and more difficult. This is why I will not hesitate to take risks today to come to see you."

"What's the use of seeing me? I'm just a shopkeeper, I don't know how to investigate cases, and I don't have tens of thousands of Yuling troops to dispatch. Besides, if you hadn't mentioned this in front of the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty 20 years ago Zhang Gutu, perhaps there will never be a third person in the world who will know about this matter. Now that we are looking for it, maybe we will not encounter so many obstacles."

"Since the day when the knife-wielding man disappeared, the secrets hidden in Baibi are destined to be no longer safe, and it is also destined to set off a bloody storm in the world again. Even if I didn't say it back then, that picture will still be revealed sooner or later. It was discovered by others. Besides, if it wasn’t for Duke Ye’s great help in exchange for this method back then, how would we have ships and troops today, let alone how we could have lived a stable life for 20 years?”

"Baili, you'd better listen to my advice, and leave this place of right and wrong while you can still go! Go back to Yizhou with me, and spend your life peacefully by the male and female seaside, wouldn't it be great? it is good?"

"No! Now that the map has fallen into the hands of outsiders, how can I leave at this time? Of course I have to abide by the promise I made!"

"But what about the promise you made to me? Why did I follow you all the way to Mulu? The whole 20 years of coming to Mulu with you!"

Leng Jiayun suddenly became angry.Her voice was still so faint, but her eyes were red, and her crooked eyebrows were also twisted together.A tear slid down her face and fell on the small case in front of her, stirring up a crystal tear.

"Since you don't care what I'm thinking at all, and you don't care what kind of life I want, why did you marry me in the first place?!"

Facing the woman's questioning, Xiang Baili's Adam's apple moved slightly, his lips parted slightly, but he couldn't utter a word.The two just looked into each other's eyes and fell into a suffocating silence.

"But let's forget it. For 20 years, all the people and things that I have been familiar with, cherished, and devoted my whole life to, all exist in this huge Mulu City. In fact, I can't leave anymore. Just Like fallen leaves falling from a tree, once they fall off the branch, they will never grow back."

In the end, Leng Jiayun was the first to break the silence.The woman sighed softly, but the look of grief and indignation on her face had disappeared without a trace. In 20 years, this was the first time he lost his composure in front of the man in Tsing Yi.Although she is nearly forty years old, she is still beautiful and charming, sometimes as sensitive and fragile as a girl, but she can return to her usual loneliness and strength in a blink of an eye.

Xiang Baili was surprised that the other party could restrain his emotions in an instant.Looking at the woman with tears on her face, he couldn't help feeling a little unbearable. He picked up the remaining half glass of wine, but he didn't bring it to his mouth:
"Xiaojia, I promise you, up to three years, and give me another three years. No matter whether I can achieve my wish, I will leave here with you, okay?"

"Forget it, you and I won't be able to figure out what will happen in three years. Let's talk about the present." Leng Jiayun lowered her eyes, as if she was disheartened, "Before I heard that General Yan I said, you have already started teaching him how to destroy mountains?"

General Tsing Yi hesitated for a moment, but still nodded and admitted: "Yes. This kid is extremely talented. The first time he made a move, he almost hurt me."

"But don't you feel that you are too impatient? You could have taught him some Zhongzheng and Peaceful Kung Fu first, so don't you have to find someone to inherit this fierce and domineering saber technique?"

"I have my reasons."

"Just because that kid looks like you when you were young?"

Faced with the woman's repeated questions, Xiang Baili didn't answer any more, but turned his head away, looking at the pouring rain outside the window, as if he was recalling the past many years ago.

Raindrops drifted in through the half-opened window with the wind, wetted half of the small case, and also soaked the man's cuffs.But he didn't care at all, after a long time, Fang said again:

"That's right, that child who refuses to succumb to fate - he has resentment, anger, ambition and determination in his heart, very much like me when I was young - I don't want to see him go back to the detours I have gone through , I want to help him, teach him some useful things, so that he can protect himself in this troubled world."

"But even if it can be preserved for a while, it may not be able to survive for a lifetime... That child's temperament is very strong, if the power that destroys the mountain leads him to go astray, what should we do?"

"What is a wrong path? Could it be that what you and I are doing now can be accepted by the people of the world? Not all things can distinguish between good and evil, right and wrong, but as long as you have something in mind, you will not easily lose your way. That child, After all, it will not be an eagle that is willing to be trapped in a cage. For now, we can only take one step at a time. What's more, the people we need to worry about right now are not only Jiang Yan, but also the little young master .”

"What happened to Ziyin?"

"Do you know that after escaping from the underground palace that night, this little ghost actually begged the lord to issue an order, ordering me to teach him some kung fu in fists, kicks and swords?"

"It really looks like something that child would do... But you have never told me in detail what happened in the woods in the east of the city on the night of the little girl's birthday? How were those galloping wolves burned alive? dead?"

"The fire was indeed very strange. Not to mention that the children had no time to take care of themselves at the time, and they didn't have any tools to start the fire. Even if it was indeed an ordinary fire to burn the wolf, how could the fire be controlled in the world? With such precision, it didn’t hurt the three of them at all?”

"But if it's not an ordinary fire, what do you mean—" The woman on the opposite side was startled suddenly, and looked at her with wide eyes, as if she had already understood what she was thinking.

Xiang Baili nodded, and continued: "That's right, it's clearly the fire of the spell! And the caster has powerful mana, at least he has practiced this spell for dozens of years!" Xiang Baili, who had been playing with the wine glass in his hand He suddenly raised his neck and drank the rest of the wine in one gulp.

"It seems that the background of the opponent is getting more and more difficult... I'm afraid—"

"No, there is absolutely no way that this fire was done by the person behind the scenes. He released the wolves from the underground palace, and he didn't intend to leave any alive. But this fire only burned to death those few wolves. But the three children he was about to kill were unscathed. Moreover, when Mo Lingwei found the young master and Miss Ning Yue, they both fell in the middle of the fire."

"Could it be that you want to say that the spell was cast by those three children? How is this possible?"

"It's not that I want to doubt them, but this is the only explanation that still makes sense. Besides, I'm especially concerned about that red-haired girl."

"You mean Satsuki?"

Leng Jiayun looked at the opposite man in disbelief, as if she couldn't believe that these words came from his mouth.

Xiang Baili smiled wryly and shook his head, but he asked back: "The origin of that girl has always been a mystery. Presumably, you should have a better understanding of this than me, right?"

The woman didn't deny it, just sat quietly.

"Just that fiery long hair is already rare in the world. I can often feel an unusual aura from her. Presumably, you have already noticed it during this period of time."

"Then what do you want me to do?"

"This girl has lived in Jiayun Zhai for a long time. I think maybe you can help me pay more attention."

"I promise you. Do you have any other orders?" Before Xiang Baili could finish speaking, the woman in purple immediately agreed, as if she had expected such a day.

"Also, I learned from Young Master Ziyin that on the day of the fire in the city, he once bought a sea demon tear for that girl Ning Yue as a birthday present. I also saw that thing with my own eyes. Ordinary accessories that are easily sold in ordinary gold shops. Therefore, if you can find an opportunity to trace the origin of this item—”

"Ok, I see."

"Xiaojia, now the map has fallen into the hands of outsiders, and we don't have much time left."

Facing Xiang Baili's instructions, the woman didn't speak any more, she just nodded and wanted to go downstairs.But just as she took a few steps, she suddenly stopped in front of the stairs, lowered her head and asked in a low voice:
"Baili, have you ever thought about what our conversation would have been like if we hadn't left Yizhou?"

General Tsing Yi didn't expect the other party to ask this question, he was stunned for a moment, and then he wanted to pour wine into the cup, but he poured it all over the table: "There are not so many ifs in the world. Now that I think about it so much, It's just asking for trouble..."

But Leng Jiayun was still chattering, as if she didn't hear what the man said:
"Baili, sometimes I can't help but think, maybe you and I will never go to that place and find what we are looking for in our whole life. Maybe our original decision was wrong from the beginning? "

"Xiao Jia, don't talk nonsense. The legend is true, and that place also exists. As I said before, you wait for me for another three years, the last three years."

The woman's words obviously made Xiang Baili agitated.

"But what if, I mean what if, things don't turn out the way you expected? Like this time—"

"It's worth a try! Now, for that map, countless lives have been paid, and the two of us have spent 20 years. Now, I can't think of so many ifs, and there is no turning back Let’s go! People need hope, even if this hope requires me to place more bets, I must give it a try!”

Xiang Baili twirled his index finger around the mouth of the cup and muttered thoughtfully.But when he looked up again, the woman's figure had disappeared at the stairs, as if she had never appeared in front of him.

The rain outside the window was falling faster.The raindrops hit the window like the beat of drums on the battlefield.This situation made the man suddenly think of himself when he was in Yeli City 20 years ago.Looking at the water vapor churning in the rain curtain outside the window, he seemed to see the [-] soldiers who fought bravely with him and suppressed Dongli's rebellion in the past.

General Tsing Yi couldn't help reaching out his hand to his back and groping around, but what he took out was not the whitened wine gourd, but an egg-shaped object with holes.

It was a nine-hole pottery xun.

Xiang Baili raised Tao Xun to his lips, puffed up his cheeks and blew a long old tune.The tone of Tao Xun is simple and simple, just like an old voice telling the unknown past events, and like the hourglass of time, pressing the heavy and vicissitudes of fate on everyone's shoulders bit by bit, making people feel happy. They were exhausted, but they were powerless to fight.

(End of this chapter)