Kyushu · Endless Nagato

Chapter 45 Tracing the source (3)
"Come to the fire first, take a break, and it's never too late to argue," she said, "Although I can't fly, I also know that flying is very exhausting."

Although Feng Qiuke was very rude to An Xingmian, he was an elder and considered himself a master, so he couldn't treat Xue Huaiqing roughly.He turned his head and nodded at Xue Huaiqing: "I'm sorry to disturb your rest, last time I came and went in the Ten Thousand Snake Lake in a hurry, and I haven't been with you yet..."

Just now, under the light of the fire, he could see Xue Huaiqing's face clearly.The last time at Ten Thousand Snake Lake, Feng Qiuke's attention was always on An Xingmian and Xumizi, and he didn't look carefully at Xue Huaiqing's face.But this time, the two stood very close, and he finally saw each other's face clearly for the first time.Then he froze.The muscles on his face twitched slightly, and he subconsciously took a step back.

"It's you!" He exclaimed, "You...you're already dead! How could it be..."

Xue Huaiqing looked at him inexplicably.Feng Qiuke's expression was very strange, he seemed surprised and terrified, and a little sad, but he quickly realized it.

"Sorry, I'm confused," Feng Qiuke collected himself, "Your surname is Xue, isn't it?"

"Yes, my surname is Xue." Xue Huaiqing nodded.She was already very smart, and she was always thinking about certain things in her heart, so she guessed what it was all at once.Impulsively, she made a very unladylike gesture, grabbing Feng Qiuke's skirt.

"Do I look like a woman you know?" she asked aloud. "That woman is a human, and she married a Yuren named Xue, right? She's a human, and she married a Yuren." She gave birth to me, didn't she? She might be my mother, the mother who abandoned me since I was a child and never heard from her, do you know that!"

Facing these repeated questions, Feng Qiuke could only sigh in return. He looked carefully at Xue Huaiqing's appearance again, nodded slightly as if confirming, then shook his head again, looked at the standing On the side was An Xingmian who seemed unwilling to disturb her: "The two of you... really have a wonderful fate. Is this the so-called providence?"

An Xingmian was shocked: "What are you talking about? What is God's will? Does her... Does her background have anything to do with me?"

Feng Qiuke said no more, and left the cave with a sad expression.Under the moonlight, his wings shone with crystal brilliance, but his back looked so lonely and depressed.Soon, his figure disappeared behind another mountain peak.Of course, An Xingmian knew that he would not leave. For the reason that he was unwilling to say clearly, he would always follow and protect him.But for some reason, seeing his expression just now, An Xingmian's disgust towards him disappeared a lot.

This is probably a man with unspeakable difficulties, An Xingmian thought.

three

Silent all night.

After dawn, both of them picked up some irrelevant topics to talk about, trying to pretend that the mystery brought by Feng Qiuke last night did not exist at all.After eating something to fill their stomachs, they walked out of the cave and came to the edge of the cliff again.Xue Huaiqing probed down and looked down, but there was still a confused gray cloud, even darker and thicker than yesterday, it was impossible to see what was underneath, and it was even more impossible to judge the depth.

An Xingmian took down a large bulging rucksack from the back of the corpse servant, and began to take out the climbing equipment from the rucksack, which were all prepared for him by Li Fuchuan, including the tough long rope and the fixed rope. Iron hooks and claws, boots with rough soles, etc.An Xingmian fixed the rope on a solid rock, and told Xue Huaiqing, "Use your corpse servant to help me watch. If this rock becomes loose, it will still be impossible to hold me with the strength of the corpse servant." questionable."

He thought for a while, and then said: "In case I accidentally fell and fell to my death, you... Forget it, there is nothing I must ask you to do. You have helped me too much."

"You and I don't need to say such things. If you have any last wish, just say it, and I will try my best to fulfill it for you." Xue Huaiqing is worthy of being a corpse dancer. The word "last wish" is relaxed and casual, There is no auspicious or unlucky taboo at all.

"Well, if I die, I would like to ask you...to help me take care of my elder brother and sister until they wake up," An Xingmian smiled, "What happens next, whether it is related to my teacher Yes, it is still related to my family property, they will take good care of it, but there is really no need to trouble you. In addition..."

He took out the banknotes and scattered gold bahts in his arms: "I know it's vulgar to withdraw money, but you still have things you want to do. Holding these money will make you move more conveniently." , at least save some time in gathering and refining medicines."

Xue Huaiqing did not refuse, and collected An Xingmian's money.An Xingmian tied up the rope and was about to feel her way down when Xue Huaiqing suddenly asked, "That Miss Tang He...she is not your sister, but your crush, right?"

An Xingmian was stunned for a moment, with a confused expression on her face: "It was in the past, but now, I don't know anymore, I just feel that she is getting farther and farther away from me. Why do you suddenly want to ask this?"

"Just ask, you go, be careful." Xue Huaiqing turned her head away, not to let An Xingmian see the tears in her eyes.She hadn't cried for many years. At this time, she felt hot in her eyes and very uncomfortable, but there was a hole in her heart, and she didn't understand what she was thinking at all.

An Xingmian patted her on the shoulder to express her comfort, and then carefully slipped down the rope bit by bit.Finally, Xue Huaiqing couldn't help turning her head, watching his back disappear into the thick fog, she was a little distracted for a while.

After seeing An Xingmian's "suicide" by jumping off a cliff in a mischievous manner the night before, she found that she couldn't keep her peace of mind.She tried to use meditation to calm her mind, but to no avail, her mood became more and more chaotic.Some inexplicable things were secretly growing in her heart, which seemed to have escaped her control, making her confused and slightly frightened.She is not the kind of silly girl who is completely ignorant of the world. In fact, she has already realized what is going on, but she is just instinctively afraid and resisting.

Xue Huaiqing was preoccupied with her own strange thoughts, and suddenly became aware that someone was approaching her, less than ten steps away.She has always been very sensitive, and it is very rare to be bullied at such a distance to find out. Although there are reasons for her being distracted, it also shows that the person who came is no small matter.

She kept her composure and secretly gathered strength, ready to strike at any time, but she heard someone say: "Miss Xue, I don't mean any harm, you don't need to be so nervous."

Xue Huaiqing heaved a sigh of relief, she had already heard that the person who came was none other than Feng Qiuke who had just appeared last night in Ten Thousand Snake Lake.She got up from the rock she was sitting on and looked at Feng Qiuke: "Mr. Feng, you haven't answered my question last night. You know who my father and mother are, don't you?"

Feng Qiuke looked sad: "I know, but you'd better not know."

"Why? Why don't I even have the right to know my own life experience?" Xue Huaiqing's voice grew louder.

"Because if you don't understand, you can live well," Feng Qiuke said. "Once you know everything, you will live in pain. And the pain is second to none. What is more important is that from now on you will live in pain." Entangled with countless dangers and troubles, and can no longer escape."

"I don't care," Xue Huaiqing said loudly, "I used to be very afraid of knowing everything, and I used to hope that I would never have to face the truth, but now I have figured it out. The truth does not exist because of I was afraid and disappeared, but when people live in this world, they have to face everything after all.”

Feng Qiuke shook his head lightly: "The words you said... are really like your mother, that unique human being."

He walked up and down the edge of the cliff with his hands behind his back, as if hesitating.Xue Huaiqing waited quietly.After a long time, Feng Qiuke finally gritted his teeth: "Do you have a jade bracelet, can you let me see it?"

Xue Huaiqing rolled up her sleeves, revealing the jade bracelet on her wrist. After Feng Qiuke saw the appearance of the jade bracelet, she closed her eyes and opened them again after a long time: "I am burdened by the oath, and there are many things I cannot tell you , or tell anyone. But if you find out, it's none of my business."

He didn't say any more, wings condensed from behind, and flew away quickly.Xue Huaiqing didn't stop him, because the moment he flew up, she heard a "ding dong" on the ground, it was something falling from Feng Qiuke's body.She immediately understood that Feng Qiuke was deliberately leaving some clues for her.

She quickly picked up the thing on the ground.It was a small badge, cast in bronze in the shape of a long-necked white crane, the workmanship was very fine, the white crane seemed to be spreading its wings, full of elegance and nobility.Although she didn't know much about the Yu clan who occupied half of her blood, she could guess that it was probably a clan emblem.That is to say, Feng Qiuke is hinting to herself that she can find the answer from this family emblem, for example, may this family emblem come from her father who is a feather man?

Xue Huaiqing put the family emblem into her arms, and was rejoicing that she finally found the first thread of the mystery of her life experience, when there was a sound from the edge of the cliff.That's An Xingmian coming up!
An Xingmian pulled the rope and slowly climbed up from the edge of the cliff.Xue Huaiqing quickly ordered the corpse servant to run over and quickly pulled him up.At this time, she found that An Xingmian's expression was very strange, as if he was anxious, angry, or sad, and mixed with a gloomy aura that could almost be called despair.

Could it be that he ran for nothing and got nothing?Xue Huaiqing first made such a guess, but she immediately noticed that An Xingmian's arms were bulging, and she had obviously found what she was looking for.But his expression was so unusual that it seemed a little frightening.

"What's wrong? Didn't you find it?" She still asked.

An Xingmian waved her hands, but did not answer, but sat down on the ground with a gloomy and pale face.Xue Huaiqing understood that something must have happened, so she didn't bother him and sat quietly by the side.The joy just now was washed away without a trace. Does this mean that she has gradually regarded An Xingmian's affairs as more important than her own? She didn't dare to think about it.

It was almost noon at this time, and the corpse servant brought bread. Xue Huaiqing originally thought that An Xingmian would not eat it, but he took it casually and stuffed it into his mouth. It was not at all like Liswen's usual way of eating. It seemed that he was concentrating all his attention on eating this hard bread, so that he could not think about those disturbing discoveries for a while.

An Xingmian, who has always been picky about what he eats when he has the chance, now looks like a very hungry and rude villager. He swallowed the bread in two bites, and then gulped down a large glass of hot water. Finally regained a little rosiness.When he turned his head to look at Xue Huaiqing, his expression seemed much calmer.

"Sorry for keeping you waiting," An Xingmian said, "I feel a little complicated at the moment, and I don't know where to start."

"Then don't talk about it now," Xue Huaiqing didn't know why, but she could understand his feelings, "Let's go down the mountain first, and talk about it when we return to the cloud."

An Xingmian nodded and stood up silently. The two of them stopped talking and went down the mountain in silence.During the subsequent journey, An Xingmian remained reticent and never concealed his uneasiness, which was rare in the past. He has always been a person who is unwilling to infect his companions with bad emotions.Fortunately, Xue Huaiqing was used to not talking all day long, and she is not uncomfortable with everything now. Compared with those enthusiastic people who care too much about others and always ask questions, maybe she is more suitable to accompany An Xingmian today .

In mid-January, the two returned to Yunzhong City. The obedient Li Fuchuan also noticed An Xingmian's abnormality, so he didn't dare to ask more questions, and quickly arranged a room for them to rest.But An Xingmian hastily made some preparations and was about to set off again.This time he wouldn't even say where he was going.

"I need to verify some facts," An Xingmian said to Xue Huaiqing, "this time it won't be such a dangerous thing as climbing down a cliff, you don't have to accompany me, take a good rest."

If it were someone else, maybe they would insist on going no matter what, but Xue Huaiqing was different after all.She saw that An Xingmian had some secrets and couldn't share them with her for the time being, so she nodded happily: "I understand. Be careful on your own way."

It took another month for An Xingmian to come back. It was already February, and the weather was gradually getting warmer.During this month, Xue Huaiqing had nothing to do, and she didn't care where she was, so she simply continued to stay in Qianyun Hall, meditating and practicing exercises patiently every day.She never caused trouble, and Li Fuchuan gradually saw that although she was not talkative, she had a good heart and a good temper, so he no longer feared her.During this month, Xue Huaiqing often visited Bai Qianyun and Tang He. Although these two people had nothing to do with her, and they didn't even know each other at all, she couldn't explain why she did this, maybe it was Out of the mentality of "help An Xingmian take care of it".

When An Xingmian came back, she was covered in dust and dust, with holes in her clothes. She looked in a mess, as if the trip was not as easy as she said before.But this is not important, what is important is that his mood seems to be worse than before he set off, and even his eyes are a little dull.He just greeted Xue Huaiqing briefly without saying a word.After taking a hot bath, An Xingmian went out again, but this time it seemed that she was just wandering around, and came back after dark with a big package on her shoulders.This time, he simply locked himself in the room and never went out, and only asked Li Fuchuan to send someone to bring him food.

What's wrong?Xue Huaiqing thought, An Xingmian seemed to have suffered a big blow, he was not at all like the usual him.Unconsciously, she was full of concern for this young monk who didn't look like a monk, as much as she cared about herself.

At noon on the third day, she finally couldn't help knocking on An Xingmian's door.An Xingmian opened the door quickly. To Xue Huaiqing's surprise, this person was not as unkempt and unshaven as she had imagined. The eye circles are a little dark, and it seems that he has not slept well.

"I don't want to inquire about your secrets," Xue Huaiqing said, "I'm just worried about you. If it makes my heart feel better to say something, I can be a good listener."

An Xingmian laughed.He stretched out his hands, and suddenly took Xue Huaiqing's hand: "Thank you. It's my luck to know you. Please come in."

Then he let go of his hand and invited Xue Huaiqing to enter the room, but Xue Huaiqing was a little dazed.After living so long, it was the first time that a man of similar age held her hand. Those hands were not as rough as imagined, nor warm. On the contrary, they were a little cold, but they didn't make her feel uncomfortable at all, as if there was a kind of warmth coming from her. It flowed directly into the heart between the fingers.After a while, she came back to her senses, a slight smile appeared on the corner of her mouth, and followed into the room.

It can be seen that An Xingmian is a person with good living habits. Although it is only a rented room, it is still kept clean and tidy. The only exception is the desk.The guest room appeared to have been a study in the past, with an empty bookcase and a large desk, but the desk was now filled with books of all kinds.Xue Huaiqing didn't read much, but she could tell that these were quite rare books, each of which was very old and hard to find, even bamboo slips and parchment.However, it seems that these ancient books are still quite well preserved, even the bamboo slips that had fallen off have been carefully re-tied with thin threads, and the paper books also have more or less traces of repair.

"Have you been reading in your room these few days?" Xue Huaiqing asked obvious nonsense.The light grip just now made her a little flustered, and she had no choice but to find words to cover up her inner turmoil.

(End of this chapter)