Ten states

( ) Sky Volcano.

Thousands of corpses in the forest at the foot of the mountain have already rotted and smelled so bad that even the wolves foraging for food have dispersed. Only the densely packed crows and vultures are still circling and shuttling like flies. The half-collapsed mountain in the middle is like a huge Grave mound.

Tang Qingxiao stayed in the center of the tomb all the time, on the lava pool that had condensed into rock where everything happened that day.Xiao Xia knocked him unconscious here, waited for him to wake up here, and threw him here too.And he just sat here blankly.

In fact, after the first day or two, he has already finished sending out what should be done, but he is still here because he can't think of where he should be or where he can be.

He spent most of his time sitting in the lava pool where Tang Zhengyi was engulfed. Everything he saw and heard that day, and all the joys, joys, and angers before were constantly flowing through his heart.That radiant dream, which seemed to cover the entire world, turned out to be so ridiculous and pitiful. It burst like soap bubbles before revealing the reality below—that tall figure was actually so stalwart and kind in his mind. , the kind of ordinary life that he disdained to the extreme was so reassuring, and being with that simple and wishful girl turned out to be his all and everything.But now all of these are deeply buried under this huge tomb, leaving nothing behind.

He also remembered that he had never cried many times, but it gradually became numb later on, his eyes no longer had any tears to flow, and all the sadness seemed to have turned into dust and settled in the deepest part of his heart, leaving only an empty nothingness.

It rained once or twice, and he kept drinking the rainwater accumulated in the hollows of the rocks. When he was hungry, he picked up stones and killed a flying crow. Mao is eaten raw.After a few days, the fair and clean boy who was once handsome and handsome has become a savage with ragged clothes and a dirty face.

Not only that, he was also sick.Maybe it's the haggard body and mind after the great change and the cold, maybe those crows ate too much dead human flesh.He started to have a fever and began to vomit profusely. He couldn't think of any way to save himself, and he was too lazy to think about it. In the end, he could only lie in the lava pool, sometimes sober and sometimes looking at the sky in a daze.

It's fine to die here.Dimly seeing several vultures waiting on the surrounding rock walls, he smiled feebly.

I don't know when the ground seems to be trembling slightly, and the rocks under him also start to heat up.The surrounding vultures flew away in a hurry, and the volcano that had been completely silent seemed to have regained its vitality.Even in a semi-conscious state, Tang Qingxiao could still feel that there was a force under the rock formation that seemed to be rushing here.

Tang Qingxiao on the ground still didn't move.Turned into ashes in the spewing ground fire magma, in his mind there is probably no better result than this.

boom.The condensed rock layer not far away shattered, and a flame broke through the layer of rock below and flew high, but there was no expected collapse and eruption that followed.The rock formation below him immediately calmed down.The fire light slowly disappeared at high altitude, and after a turning point, it fell straight down, and stuck on a rock not far away with a bang.

It was a knife, a thick-backed broadsword that looked a bit rough and simple, wider and bigger than ordinary knives, with a layer of dark red light.It stands there like a monument.

Tang Qingxiao was stunned, and looked up blankly at the familiar knife.After a long while, he gathered all his strength and stood up, staggering over and looking at the cave where the knife broke through the ground and flew out.

Deep in the cave is a slowly fading red light and a heat wave, but below is still the lava hell deep in the earth's core. Except for those dead members of the Skyfire Sect, it is really impossible for any living beings to survive in it.He was startled for a while, then suddenly turned around and walked up to the rock where the knife fell.After falling several times, he finally climbed up the rock and stood in front of the knife.

After looking at it for a long time, Tang Qingxiao finally reached out to the handle of the knife.His trembling was very severe, even more severe than that of an old alcoholic who had been in it for many years. The stability obtained from years of immersion in hidden weapon practice has long since disappeared.He was afraid that this was just his own hallucination before he died, that he would not be able to grasp the knife when it stretched out, and that he was not qualified to grasp the knife.

Finally, he grasped the handle of the knife.The residual heat from the ground fire was still hot.But it's the scalding heat, and the thick, simple, and friendly feeling that filled his already cold and empty heart.

He drew his knife.The weight of the knife almost made him fall off the rock, but he managed to stand still, his body was still as weak as before, but the heat in his heart made him feel so full of strength that he had never felt before.

Looking at the knife in the middle, he spit out the first word in the past few days in a sluggish manner.I don't know when the eye sockets seemed to have dried up and came back to life again, two lines of clear tears rolled down from the filthy face.

a month later.Outside Mingshan Town in the west of Xuzhou, Lingyun Village, Xiuyu Valley.

Tang Qingxiao easily found this beautiful and inaccessible valley, and also easily found the two graves mentioned by Tang Gong.Although there are weeds in front of the grave, it is not deep. It seems that Tang Gonggong will come to clean and worship every year.One of the stone tablets above reads "Tomb of Father Tang Tianhao", and the other is "Tomb of Beloved Wife Li Xiao".

Tang Tianhao's tombstone must have been erected by Tang Gonggong, and the other one should be Tang Qingxiao's mother.Tang Qingxiao, who was standing in front of her parents' grave for the first time in her life, did not cry bitterly, nor was she agitated, but just stared blankly at the words on the tombstone in a daze.

"My mother's name is Li?"

Tang Qingxiao has never met her mother, and she doesn't even know her name.A family that betrayed Tang Jiabao is not worth wasting his memory and feelings, but at least he still knows that the family that his father and his relatives are not surnamed Li, and that his mother, who is more or less the daughter of a family, is unlikely to marry him. My father was buried silently in this unknown valley together.

But Tang Gonggong, who was at the last moment of his life, had no reason to lie to him. Since it was his mother buried here, it must be his mother.

"Could it be. My mother is." After the changes in Tianhuo, these dozens of days of silence and reflection, Tang Qingxiao originally thought that his mood would never cause too much trouble, but at this moment he felt that Realizing that he was trembling slightly again, he didn't even dare to think further.

With a mess in her heart, Tang Qingxiao walked slowly to a small courtyard not far from the grave.This is a small courtyard composed of several small wooden houses, and the wooden houses are also quite exquisitely built.Although it is very old, it is not dilapidated, and there are not many weeds in the courtyard. It seems that Tang Gonggong will live here for a while before and after the worship.

The doors of the wooden house were not locked, Tang Qingxiao casually walked to a building, opened the door and walked in.

Very ordinary furnishings, every piece of furniture in the house is the same as the wooden house, exquisite and ingenious, it should be from the same person.With Tang Qingxiao's eyesight, he could even vaguely see some traces of the unique Dharma left by the disciples of the Tang Sect.What shocked him the most was that the more he looked, the more a hazy feeling came to his heart, as if he had been to this place before and was very familiar with it, but he didn't remember being there.Shouldn't have been here either.

In the corner of the room, he found a wooden box, inside which were sealed several paintings and calligraphy with oil paper. When he unfolded them, they were all written by his father Tang Tianhao. recognize it.It's just that these paintings are not about the birds, fish and insects in Sanniang's house, but people.A very beautiful woman.Tang Qingxiao has never seen this woman before, but she can still recognize it at a glance, because the woman in the painting looks almost the same as him. <The wind is bright and sunny, as smooth as mist and drizzle. Although the brushwork of the painting is the same as the wedge bird, fish and insect in Tangjiabao, it has an indescribable emotion and vitality.You can feel the joy, intimacy and admiration that the painter brings when he writes.Among the paintings of these women, there are two children on two of them. One is Xiao Xiao, who is seven or eight years old. He is holding a wooden knife and chopping in the air. Even though he is young, he is quite dignified. He is clearly Tang Gonggong. , while the other one is just a baby in swaddling.Surrounded by a woman with a loving face.

It is impossible to tell who the baby is from the face, but Tang Qingxiao can guess it.His heart is already filial piety.Everything found here is gradually crushing and destroying something in his heart that constituted the world.

Besides those calligraphy and paintings, there is a letter at the bottom of the box.On the yellowed letter paper were his father's words, "My son smiled and kissed me."

Tang Gonggong did not mention this letter.Maybe it was too late, maybe he knew Tang Qingxiao would find it after he came here.In any case, when Tang Qingxiao saw this letter, he was completely stunned. He never imagined that he would have any relationship with the father who betrayed Tangjiabao, who was the biggest shame and stain in his eyes. Intersection, but at this moment, those childhood and youthful worlds are beginning to blur and collapse.

Finally, with the greatest courage and strength in his life, Tang Qingxiao picked up the letter and opened it.

Fifteen days later, Shuzhou, Tangjiabao.

After hundreds of years of operation, Tangjiabao is no longer considered a fort, but a town with tens of thousands of people living together. The surrounding area is full of traffic and people come and go. It seems to be no different from other towns, but as soon as you enter the center In the inner house area of ​​the Tang family, all the hustle and bustle will gradually go away, gloomy and quiet, under the gloomy sky most of the time in Shuzhou, this seemingly ordinary and simple building seems to be a yin that can swallow everything The shadow behemoth silently erodes anyone who breaks into it into a part of itself.

After nearly six years, Tang Qingxiao came back here again.

During these six years, he had imagined countless times how to return to this holy place in his mind like a hero with all the honor and scars all over his body, and there would be no other way.To the former him, if he was not successful, he died on the road to success, and there was no extra possibility.

But in the face of reality, those fantasies are as illusory and vulnerable as the reflections in water bubbles.He came back now, without success, let alone a hero, and even this gloomy holy land is no longer what it used to be in his eyes today.

He didn't notify or pass on the letter in advance, but as long as any unexpected person enters Tangjiabao, the people of Tangjia will naturally know.So when he walked to the door of the inner house alone, an uncle was already waiting for him.

"Come with me, the old man is waiting for you." Uncle said simply.

The old man rarely summoned ordinary Tang family children in private.This was once the honor that Tang Qingxiao dreamed of, but now there is only depression in his heart.

In a somewhat gloomy attic, Tang Qingxiao met the old man who was once a god in his mind.Compared with six years ago, the old man seemed to be older, with more wrinkles on his face, and a slightly hunchback. His whole body exuded an old man's smell that was integrated with this Tangjiabao.

"Your brother is dead..." The old man's gaze was always on the knife behind Tang Qingxiao.After he kowtowed and stood up, he asked.

Replied with a chuckle.

The old man was silent, his old man's air seemed to be getting heavier, and his back seemed to be more hunched.After a long while, he slowly asked, "How did he die? Did he die in Jin Zhiyang's house, or in the general's house?"

According to Tangjiabao's news channel, what happened before and after Tianhuo should have been known clearly, but no one knows what happened in Tianhuo except for a few people.

Take a deep breath.Tang Qingxiao replied: "In order to save me, I fell into the earth fire magma together with Jin Zhiyang."

"...Then why are you there?" There was a trace of anger in the old man's voice and eyes.This is very rare, at least Tang Qingxiao has never seen any emotions in this old man, he is always so gloomy and indifferent, unfathomable, it seems to be a human figure condensed and embodied in the whole Tangjiabao .but now.That trace of anger made the god in the eyes of most people in Tangjiabao look more alive.

"I... wanted to take the opportunity to get the Vermillion Bird Spirit Fire, to prove that I was more suitable than my brother to be a real disciple of Tang Sect, but... I... I was wrong. I killed my brother." Until this time, When Tang Qing laughed out this sentence, he could still feel the sourness in his heart, and his voice was trembling, but he could finally come out.

The old man let out a long sigh, and the trace of anger in his eyes also fell silent.The whole person seemed to have turned back into that mysterious statue.

After a long time, the old man finally spoke slowly: "From now on, you will be the only one left in the fourth room, and you will replace your brother as my inner disciple of Tangjiabao."

It was this sentence that made Tang Qingxiao desperately pursue it for six whole years, but when this dream finally came to her eyes, the whole world was already different.He shook his head slightly, and said harshly: "This is my brother's position, it shouldn't be mine in the first place."

The old man frowned slightly. It had been many years since no one said "no" in front of him, or expressed a similar meaning.And the old man still hasn't forgotten what happened six years ago.

"I'm coming back to Tangjiabao this time. In addition to reporting the news to the old man and admitting his mistake, I also want to ask the old man one thing." Tang Qingxiao took a deep breath and continued in a slightly trembling voice: "It turns out .My elder brother is the eldest son born out of the legitimate family, and I am the illegitimate son born after my father recited the Tang family, right?"

Grandpa nodded slightly.

"I saw the letter written by my father. It was originally intended for my brother to give it to me when I was there. Because my mother died of illness and his old injury relapsed, the time is running out. So I asked my brother to send me back. Tangjiabao. And I asked the old lady to cover up my birth, so that I would not be discriminated against and oppressed in Tangjiabao. Therefore, the identity of this inner disciple should have been my brother."

Tang Qingxiao's voice became lower and lower, and gradually became stagnant.This is the truth he got from his father Tang Tianhao's letter.It completely smashed all the roots of attachment, jealousy, and anger in his heart to pieces.He didn't even have the strength to ask whether Sanniang, who raised him up and instilled in him everything a Tang Sect disciple should have, knew the truth.

"In my eyes, you have always been the flesh and blood of the Tang family, there is no difference between the sons and daughters of the concubines. People of the Tang family need to prove themselves, not their backgrounds." The voice of the old man was still indifferent. "I want your brother to be an inner disciple because he is more suitable."

Tang Qingxiao didn't make a sound.What he couldn't forgive was not the old man, not Tangjiabao, but himself.

The old man stared at Tang Qingxiao, who bowed his head silently, with indifferent and gloomy eyes. After a while, he sighed softly, "I'm old, and Tang Jiabao is too old."

Tang Qingxiao raised his head, a little stunned.

"The power, fame, and prestige accumulated over hundreds of years of hard work. After too long, these gradually become a burden, overwhelming people. I understand that everyone in the family thinks too much, but But I can't make them not want to. Because in order to support this huge family business in this turbulent arena, some things must be done. Your father Tianhao is the favorite disciple of me and the old lady, his son We also know best that we didn’t really care much about what he did in that way.”

The old man's voice and eyes are still indifferent, but it is not a ignorance of turning a blind eye to everything, but an indifference, exhaustion and helplessness after reading all the world's knowledge, in order to maintain the status and reputation of Tangjiabao as a behemoth in this arena, he sacrificed the most Perhaps it was the old man who was the one.

"Your brother never took Tangjiabao's package seriously and carried it on his back, so the old lady and I valued him the most. Now that he is gone, you carried his knife on your back. Tangjiabao's package is in your heart Let go of it too, it's up to you to decide how to walk the road under your feet, and I won't force you either."

After finishing this sentence coldly, the old man turned around and walked out of the attic.Looking at the back of the rickety old man, Tang Qingxiao knelt down and kowtowed again, then turned around and walked out.But instead of going deeper into Tangjiabao, it was heading outside.

Of course he already knew how to go, and the hot heat from the knife on his back reminded him all the time. (To be continued., You are welcome to come to the starting point to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets.

ps: Hey, somehow stuck

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