In the early spring night, there is still the chill that is too late to take away after the winter leaves, and the light rain is silently descending on Nanxian County, but a house three or four miles away from the county is not as quiet as the county, and the fire in the house appears at night.

Several black-clothed people searched the inner courtyard vigilantly, and soon someone found out about the movement in the south courtyard, and after coming back to report, one of them pulled down the face towel and threw it on the ground: "Damn, I just said that those two little ones are still alive, search quickly!" ”

In the south courtyard of the house, a seven or eight-year-old girl was running desperately, her limbs were already numb and weak, all relying on that willpower, and there seemed to be countless people behind her urging her: "Acacia run, run!" ”

She didn't dare to look back, for fear of seeing the people chasing after her, and when she arrived at the edge of the firewood house in the backyard, the little girl carefully put her brother down and whispered to him: "Good, Zhi'er is good." ”

After turning around, she began to take the firewood in the corner, and the barb on a lost firewood pierced her hand, and the little girl burst into tears of pain, but she did not dare to stop, her tender hands were full of wounds, and she threw away all the piles of knee-high firewood, and pulled the weeds in the corner of the wall and finally saw a low hole.

"Zhi'er, let's go out." The little girl asked her brother to climb out first, and she pushed him behind her, that is, the moment she stood up outside the wall, the man in black found the backyard, saw the corner of the wall that had been messed up, and then looked at the hole that had been raked, and ordered someone to go out to find someone.

The little girl picked up her younger brother and gently covered his mouth, hid in the grass desperately, and ran in the direction of Nanxian

There was a big murder outside Nanxian County, Yongzhou, dozens of people in the Qi family were killed, Qi's house was burned, the skyrocketing fire at dawn illuminated the sky outside Nanxian County, and after the fire was extinguished, the people of the official government only left some coke after entering, and they couldn't tell who died, and they couldn't count how many people died, only people saw that there were people in black who haunted Qi's house in the middle of the night, but they didn't know the identity and couldn't find the murderer, and the case was reported to Yongzhou and soon came to a conclusion, vendetta.

But the Qi family, who has always been charitable, is famous for its medicinal food, even in Yongzhou City, the Qi family has a good reputation, how can they make enemies with others, and the government that the people can't figure it out can't understand, and the case of not catching the murderer has become an unsolved case.

A few days later, on a heavy rainy night, outside a house in the west of Yongzhou City, a small figure hurriedly passed by and stopped outside the house, she looked up at the plaque on the door, this is it.

Ignoring the fact that she was drenched, she carefully put down the child wrapped in half a coat in her arms after going up the steps, and raised her hand to gently wipe the rain on his forehead: "Zhi'er, is it okay for my sister to play hide and seek with you." ”

Qi Yuanzhi looked at her sleepily, pouted, raised his hand and rubbed his eyes, and was at a loss: "Sister." ”

"My sister is playing peek-a-boo with you, you turn around, and when my sister says you can turn around, you can turn around again, you used to like your sister to play peek-a-boo with you the most, didn't you?" Qi Xiangsi knelt down and looked at him, took out a piece of jade pendant and a piece of paper from his arms and hid them in his arms, stroking his face one by one, with tears in his eyes, "Zhi'er, listen to my sister's words and turn around." ”

Qi Yuanzhi turned around obediently, and as soon as Qi Xiangsi took a step back, he hurriedly turned around and ran towards her, hugging her legs and refusing to let her go, crying and calling for his sister.

"Zhi'er is good." Qi Xiangsi pushed him away with a forced smile, "Are you hungry or not, when my sister accompanies you to play peek-a-boo, I'll take you to eat, okay, your favorite goat milk cake." ”

"Hungry, Zhi'er hungry." Qi Yuanzhi, who was more than a year old, touched his little belly and milky, and then looked up at her, with tears in the corners of his eyes, "I want a mother." ”

couldn't hold back the tears falling, Qi Xiangsi hugged him in his arms, the sister and brother cried in a low voice, she quickly let go of him again, raised her hand to wipe his tears for him and coaxed him: "Zhi'er is hungry, right, when we play hide and seek with my sister, we will eat, you turn around, your sister will not move if you don't shout." ”

"Don't." Qi Yuanzhi grabbed her hand and refused to let go, tears fell on his fleshy face, "I don't want it." ”

"Zhi'er, you don't want to eat?" Qi Xiangsi pushed away his hand and retreated into the rain, grinned at him, raised his hand and made a few gestures with tears in his eyes, "Zhi'er doesn't remember the poem that my mother taught us to read, there is Zhi'er's name in it, the spring breeze is full of Changshan, peony gastrodia and peony, Yuanzhi went to find the gentleman, why should Angelica look for Zelan." ”

Qi Yuanzhi quieted down, Qi Xiangsi put down his hand and squatted down to look at him: "You turn around, wait for your sister to call you and have something to eat, don't you listen to your sister?" ”

"Listen." Qi Yuanzhi turned around aggrievedly, and in a few seconds he would turn around to see that she was still there, Qi Xiangsi stood in the rain for a long time, until he stopped looking back from time to time, slowly retreated, the rain and tears on his face mixed together, and suddenly turned around and hid in the alley on the side.

The earth-shattering cry sounded at the door of the house, a little man stood at the door of the Zhang family's mansion and cried earth-shattering, he looked at the street with only heavy rain, where is there still a sister's figure, and cried in his mouth that his sister did not dare to rush into the rain to find someone: "Sister, sister, woo." ”

Qi Xiangsi in the alley knelt on the ground, she covered her mouth and looked at the door of the Zhang family's mansion, looking at the poor person under the lonely lamp, crying silently.

She tried to rush out and carry him back several times, but she held back, the rain drenched her all over, her thin body leaned against the wall of the alley, her hands were soaked in the rain, and her trembling lips were bruised.

"Zhi'er." She cried in a low voice, and the sound of the rain drowned out her screams, until the child's cry woke the servant guarding the gate, and the closed door was pulled open, and out came a middle-aged steward in a thick cotton robe, who found the child standing outside.

The middle-aged housekeeper picked up the crying child, saw that he had been crying to the empty street outside the door and called his sister, looked around and waited for a while without seeing anyone, he carried the child into the house, as the gate closed, Qi Xiangsi here in the alley could no longer restrain his tears, crying and muttering his brother's name in the heavy rain, and the heavy rain in the middle of the night blended together

The sound of firewood in her ears pulled her back from her memories violently, Acacia sighed in the palm of her hand, picked up the bowl on the side, scooped the water in the big jar and poured it into the crockpot: "Three liters of water, boil ephedra first." ”

After pouring the water, she carefully blew the fire she was holding, and the red light faintly came out of the firewood, and her frozen blue face finally showed a smile, and took out a piece of something that she didn't know from her arms, took a bite on it, chewed hard, and waited for the smell of the medicine to disperse before she spit out the slag and swallowed the juice, and this extremely bitter taste made her brow not wrinkle.

From the corner of the wall on the other side came a faint shout: "Acacia." ”

Qi Xiangsi hurriedly walked over, there was a shabby mat on the straw pile in the corner, and a bed of tattered cotton wool was padded on the mat, and a thin and pale little girl was lying there, covered with patchwork cotton clothes and quilts.

"If you want to drink water, I'll pour it for you." Qi Xiangsi reached out and covered her forehead, it was still hot.

"Don't go." The little girl reached out and grabbed her, but the force was very little, "Sit down." ”

"Today, I was lucky to meet a few well-wishers, I grabbed medicine for you, and you will get better soon." Qi Xiangsi smiled and stroked the hair on her forehead to soothe, "When you are well, I will boil a big pot of hot water for you to bathe, it is the most comfortable on a snowy day." ”

"Acacia, you listen to me." The little girl struggled to sit up, Qi Xiangsi sat on the mat and hugged her to lean on, raised her hand to pull up the cotton clothes and cover her, and said softly, "Well, you say, I'll listen." ”

"Acacia, we've been running away from there for a few years."

"It's been three years."

The little girl looked at the dark corner of the wall, her eyes were blank: "It's been three years, do you remember when we met in the cottage?" ”

Qi Xiangsi hugged her tightly and looked at the medicine pot at the other end: "Of course I remember." ”

"That's thanks to you." A weak smile tugged at the corner of the little girl's mouth, "If it weren't for you, I wouldn't know where I was sold like them now, maybe I was eaten by those people." ”

"Rest for a while, and when you wake up, you can drink the medicine." Qi Xiangsi didn't want her to talk more, "Ying'er, when you're well, we have time to talk." ”

"And do you remember your brother?" Qi Ying turned her head to look at her, "Acacia, you don't want to look for your brother?" ”

"Yes." Qi Xiangsi was silent for a while, and brushed her hair, "I will definitely find him." ”

Halfway, Ying'er sighed: "Acacia, I'm afraid I won't survive." ”

The person behind him shook slightly, followed by laughter: "Sick people are prone to cranky thoughts, don't think about this, it'll be fine." ”

Ying'er flickered her eyes and didn't speak, Qi Xiangsi helped her lie down after feeding her water, returned to the decoction place and broke the dry steamed buns in the broken bowl on the side, pinched them into small pieces and put them in a small pot to pour water and boil, looking at the flames running around the medicine pot, Qi Xiangsi looked focused, and didn't notice that the person lying there behind her kept looking at her with his eyes open.

The hand under the cotton clothes moved, and Ying'er took out an ivory carved crescent from her arms with great difficulty, and her eyes gradually blurred when she pinched the crescent moon and looked at Qi Xiangsi, and she was misty with tears

In the winter of Layue, the wind and snow outside were greater in the middle of the night, and the already crumbling door was shaking, Qi Xiangsi did not sleep, she shrank beside the straw pile and looked at the door that was blown open and closed, trying to open her eyes and not let the tears accumulate.

That night three years ago, she was knocked unconscious in an alley a few days after leaving her brother in front of that house, and then moved to a cottage outside Huizhou, where she was locked up with many children.

In order to prevent them from escaping, she was only given one meal a day, and it was at that time that she met Qi Ying, who was captured from Huizhou.

It was a dark life, a month later, when they were about to be sold, in order to make them look more energetic, the last few days were to take care of their three full meals, two days later there was civil unrest in the detention room, many of them took the opportunity to flee, I don't know what happened to others, she and Qi Ying were finally able to escape.

But when she returned to Yongzhou, the family that took in her younger brother moved out of Yongzhou half a month ago, and I heard rumors from people nearby that it was because they had picked up a son, and they were worried that the family would regret coming to the door, so the family left Yongzhou and didn't know where they went.

The low □□ voice on the side pulled back Qi Xiangxi's memory, she turned her head and reached out to cover Qi Ying's forehead, she began to have a high fever and fell asleep from the beginning of the night, and she has not retreated until now.

"Acacia, Acacia." Qi Ying called out her name in a low voice, and Qi Xiangsi grabbed her hand that was looking for her in a panic, "I'm here, Ying'er, I'm here." ”

"Acacia, come here, I have something to say to you." Qi Ying opened her eyes and gasped, Qi Xiangsi lowered her head to cover her face and couldn't stop saying that she was there, in the dim Qi Ying groped and stuffed the ivory carving pendant into Qi Xiangsi's hand, "Acacia, you put this away, and when I die, you, you will go to Kyoto, go to the Qi family to recognize your ancestors and return to your ancestors." ”

Qi Ying clenched her hand with all her might, the edges and corners of the ivory carving hurt Qi Xiangxi, she looked down at her, Qi Ying stared at her with wide eyes, her white lips couldn't help trembling, and tears had already crossed her cheeks.

"What nonsense are you talking about." Qi Xiangsi's heart trembled, and she wanted to break free from her hand to help her lie down, but she couldn't get out, "You'll be fine." ”

"Acacia! You promise me! Qi Ying raised her voice and shouted, trembling all over, "You promise me, when I die, you will go to Qi's house for me, help me and my mother recognize my brother, Acacia, you promise me!" ”

The fear that had been buried in my heart for several years rose again, the heavy snow and cold wind seemed to be able to foresee something, constantly knocking on the door, the cold wind raged in the house, Qi Xiangsi opened his mouth and couldn't speak, Qi Ying propped up his body and prayed: "Acacia, I beg you, you go to Qi's house for me, recognize my brother for me, you take this to recognize." ”

Tears slipped unconsciously, Qi Xiangsi knelt there and didn't speak, but Qi Ying's strength in holding her was getting smaller and smaller: "Acacia, go to Qi's house for me, help me recognize my brother, all the qiē I have are yours, Acacia, I beg you." ”

Qi Ying kept looking at her with her eyes open, tears slipped from the corners of her eyes, and the voice in her mouth became softer and softer, she hated the Qi family and hated abandoning her and her mother's father, she swore that even if she died in this life, she would not step into the Qi family, but Acacia was still alive, she couldn't continue to be here like this without hope, she should have a better future, she could still find her brother.

Qi Ying raised her hand and stretched out towards Qi Xiangsi: "Acacia, promise me." ”

"I promise you, I promise you, I promise you everything." The bloody pictures she dreamed of countless nights frightened her, she was afraid that death would come again, Qi Xiangsi held her hand and cried silently, "I promise you everything, as long as you get better, I will promise you everything." ”

"You promised." Qi Ying smiled, her eyes full of tears were full of strange brilliance, her cheeks were still red with a high fever, she stared at the beam above her head, as if she saw her mother's smiling face, "Acacia, just take my ashes back to Huizhou and bury them next to my mother's grave." ”

"No, I don't, you'll be fine." Qi Xiangsi shook her head and refused to promise, Qi Ying hooked her hand, and her movements were very light and light, "Let's pull the hook, you live well, and live well with my share." ”

"Nope." Qi Xiangsi shook her head and didn't want to see her like this.

"Acacia, I'm so tired."

As soon as the words fell, the smile on her face slowly faded, and the eyes began to close, and the hand in Qi Xiangsi's hand drooped down, and was held by Qi Xiangsi deadly, she touched her face in a panic: "Don't sleep, don't sleep, Ying'er, don't sleep, I promise you, I promise you everything, as long as you live, I promise you everything." ”

But there was no voice to answer her, the person lying there was already less breath in and more breath, Qi Xiangsi wiped her tears and carefully put her hand down, groped on her body and took out a jade pendant with broken horns, as if she had made up her mind, got up from the ground and stumbled towards the door, muttering in her mouth: "You won't die, I'll go to the doctor, I'll go to the doctor." ”

The moment the door was opened, there was a sound of throwing the bowl from behind, with a click, the small wooden bowl with half a bowl of water left was swept to the ground by Qi Ying's hanging hand, Qi Xiangsi stiffened, and the hand holding the door frame slowly slipped down with the squatting of her body, she stared blankly at the dark sky outside the door, letting the wind and snow blow on her face, and did not move for a long time.