11. Return to Jinzhou
With every step I took forward, I felt farther and farther away from the sun.
Jinzhou in front of you is dazzling and comparable to the sun.
The walls of the city were full of drunken guards, the scarlet gates were divided in half by the crowd, leaving flesh and blood blurred bodies to resist this drunken gold fan, parrots hovering in the streets, their feathers more expensive than real gold, and the streets were floating with a worthless conscience.
In this city held up with money, there is abandoned kindness everywhere.
We who have not entered the city are not worthy of a name.
I took the cheap wooden sign and waited for it to be called. The crowd seemed to be mediocre, and their heavy steps kept leveling this treasure land. The masonry is so bad that perhaps they were once abandoned by the city, so they can only watch with resentment as the new victims continue to moth to the fire.
There are only two tragedies that play out here: one is not getting what you want, and the other is getting what you want. Everything that comes out of this city has to be exchanged for yourself.
There are no mountains, not even a small river in sight. The air was filled with the smell of copper, which caused the crowd to be restless for no reason. I was carrying this heavy bag of dry food, surrounded by adults who passed by, and they all seemed to have the same face, a face that was cold but above the top.
I think of the townspeople of Xiangyun Town, their simple smiles are extremely precious in my mind at the moment, and this full friendship makes me incompatible with this.
"Thirteen."
It was my turn. I struggled my way through the narrow space and squeezed in front of the goalkeeper. The adults are really strange, knowing that they are not shouting themselves, they still have to hold the wooden sign and look at it non-stop, and they have to make up a decent lie to deceive themselves.
The soldier rudely slapped away the dust on me with a feather duster, and I was beaten in pain, but I didn't dare to shout. They gathered around me in groups of three or five, like villains who had no money and wanted to set up a shelf to eat the overlord's meal.
Their pride is just hidden behind this lacquered gold official uniform, and the real inside has long been pitch black, and there is no conscience to be seen.
Clothes are like people, but people are not as good as clothes.
Here, to lose your dignity.
I stood like a log, like a sugar cake in the back of the shop that no one wanted, and it was an eyesore. They didn't touch me the whole time, they pointed fingers at me with dusters.
The package was snatched away, and I watched these simple objects being displayed naked in front of everyone, and we were like monkeys for people to enjoy, but they were just cloaked.
This city is a city where people eat people.
I was a little dissatisfied, and the careless attitude of the gatekeeper made me anxious. He's had had enough money to do, but mine hasn't started yet. I can't waste time and miss out again because I'm late.
I glared at him, but my eyes met the jade wrench in his hand, it was so old and so familiar, like the key to a story, attracting my thoughts. I grabbed the package and stood in front of him stunned.
"Give it back to me."
"How do you talk, stinky girl."
He stood up and glared at me. I snatched my own stuff and was not to be outdone with him. People inside and outside the city are watching the excitement, and maybe I will die here in the next second, to warn all the new students: we are inferior, and we must rely on their handouts to even get in.
We don't make a difference.
The guard's spear brushed my neck, leaving a dehumanized glow of blood. The silver face flashed over my pale face, and when it overlapped with a young face, it was another gratuitous trance.
There are some scars, which are slowly being revealed.
He ripped my long hair, and the butterfly hairpins were scattered on the ground, and I didn't even have time to say my last words. The long hair covered my eyes, and in front of me was the indistinguishable sword and sword, and I hurriedly bent over, but he took the lead.
"Impossible..."
He fell to his knees suddenly, his knees pounding on the masonry, startling the crowd with panic. He held the hairpin in his trembling hands and slowly clenched it, for fear that it would hurt again. The hairpin shone with a faint starlight, forgiving us for the farce we had just done like a saint. He carefully let go of it, quietly tucked it into his big sleeve, and then twisted awkwardly to make sure it didn't slip off, so he dared to look at me.
He took off his official hat and brushed the broken hair from my forehead with his fine lines. This gentle gesture made me suspicious, but he knelt in front of me and blocked all my retreats.
The sun was dazzling, I looked at this face full of knife marks, and exclaimed the cruelty of the years, it was so worn by time that I could no longer see a trace of warm memories. He held my face in his hands, his mouth open and closed, and it took him half a day to make a few incoherent sounds.
"Miss Lin?"
"You are.... Miss Lin? ”
"Miss Lin... You're still back...."
I'm at a loss, it's been a long time since I've heard anyone call me this title. This name, like a dream, makes me unable to distinguish between good and bad. Seeing that I did not answer, he hurriedly presented a pass with gold trim and ordered a carriage to take me home.
The crowd began to chatter, and I turned around in three steps, but I could no longer see his strange expression. Just a turn, everything is back to normal.
His trembling disguise, like the truth I can't confess.
All I know is that this city can give me the answer.
The carriage trampled on the masonry, but the gate compromised for me, and it silently watched my departing back, and sighed again that the past was unpredictable. The city still remembers me, but I look through the car window at the grass and trees on the side of the street, and I just feel terrified.
The sun can't shine here, and people's hearts can't always be warmed.
I don't know where I'm going to be sent or if I'm going to start living under the fence again. Winter is almost over, and the truth of the heavy snow is gradually being revealed. I hid away from these soft cushions outside and within, trying to feel a little bit of real warmth.
Horse-drawn carriages were rampaging through the bustling streets, and I couldn't tell the difference between pedestrians and broken souls.
"Thirteen... Ah, no, Miss Lin, I was offended just now, and you have a lot of adults, but don't worry about it. ”
The coachman turned his head to me and bent down to laugh, and I realized that he was the guard. I looked at this young man of my age, who was stout, but with very thin dark cheeks, a pair of big eyes that were not dull and looked at me secretly from time to time, slightly thick lips tightly pursed, and a twisted expression that had no money but had taken a fancy to a beautiful piece of jewelry.
His back was huddled in this cramped official uniform, and his body was overwhelmed, and he could only throw his original nature outward to alleviate his sin. I looked at him and thought of the white rats raised by the rich and noble people in the story, living a good life that no one knows, but in fact they were at best the cat's rations.
Behind his extremely standard official tone is the price of not knowing how many lives have been done. Man goes astray not because of his ignorance, but because of his self-righteousness. The color of this official uniform is dazzling, so that it makes him darker.
"It's fine, it didn't hurt me anyway. Brother Guard, where are you sending me? ”
"Miss Lin, you are really good, in fact, you just call me a minibus, this is really with our Lord Zhu, at first glance, it is from a rich and noble family, what is that word called... Knowledgeable, yes, knowledgeable. Look at what you asked, I must have taken you to Zhu's Mansion. ”
"Lord Zhu? Zhu Fu.... I'm afraid it's not good for me to disturb me so rashly, in fact, you just need to send me to the inn, and you don't have to bother Lord Zhu. ”
"Oh, that's going to work. What Master Zhu confessed, I don't dare to snub you. What's more, you don't know, this Zhu Mansion is magnificent, where can the inn compare. ”
As I listened to his gushing flattery, I suddenly felt a sense of helplessness. Maybe no matter how much I refuse, he thinks that I am the reserved of the eldest lady, and it is just a different bearing from him. He may never have imagined that I, a poor man who almost became a ghost under the knife, would actually become a noble man in Jinzhou.
This is the dream he has been thinking about day and night after guarding the city for half his life.
The world is bustling, all for profit; The world is crowded, all for profit.
"Minibus, who else lives in Zhu Mansion now?"
"Miss Lin doesn't know? Mrs. Zhu died early, and now only his sick son is enjoying himself. I really envy Young Master Zhu, I don't have to do anything, I don't have to worry about food and clothing in this life. I really can't tell you what life is, I.... Sigh.... Miss Lin, we've arrived. ”
The carriage came to a stop, and I finally got rid of the inexhaustible bitterness of the minibus.
He supported me, bowed his head and followed me, but those eyes did not stop for a moment, constantly circling in this house. I looked at the Zhu Mansion, which was not quite the same as the splendor I thought.
Zhufu is located in the center of Sanli Road, which is a good place for personal connections to gather. This three-in, three-out mansion is built with black stone and wood, the iron gate stone road, the carp pond chrysanthemum platform, and even the small bridge, do not dare to reapply the thick ink, only simply maintain the lightest color of the original body, and the pestle of the wood and wood is in the small area of its own square, and does not dare to trespass half a point.
It is silent, in this highest, most powerless contemptuous way, rejecting the colorful world outside.
I stepped on the ambiguous gravel road, and then I felt a little steady. The rough stone is unpolished, and the patterns on it are still clearly visible.
They have more integrity than anyone else, and even if they are trampled on, they are unwilling to cut off their edges and corners and bow to interests. I walked slowly, watching the anxious little bus in front of me hurt, and I had to grit my teeth and say words of praise, and I couldn't help laughing.
We followed the path to the lobby.
The lobby is even simpler, with two black marble pillars standing alone in the doorway, and we enter through the semi-square archway, an empty room with sandalwood.
There are a few calligraphy and paintings hanging above the desk in the center, and there are a few dark yellow lanterns floating on the beams of the room on all sides.
I randomly found a corner and sat down, and began to wait intently for Master Zhu to return to the house. The minibus on the side was uneasy, and he couldn't wait to experience the feeling of sitting in a mansion, where could he calm down and accompany me.
He was also smart, and he looked back and forth at the maid who didn't see him, and hurriedly took advantage of the effort to pour tea for me, and ran away without a figure.
The cold wind sniffed out the arrival of my uninvited guest, and squeezed out of the framed door, tearing me left and right. Everything is cold here, and where can I be a living person with hope?
More than a year is approaching the night, and there is no return.
"Miss Lin... Miss Lin? ”
I opened my confused eyes, and saw a hideous scarred face in front of me, and those black and white eyes stared straight at me, but they were already full of hot tears.
His hand was carefully resting on the back of my neck, and the faint heat was constantly transmitted. The cold wind was blocked by him, and he could only be dissatisfied with this official uniform.
I woke up and hurriedly got up and saluted Lord Zhu.
Before I knew it, it was already dark, and I thought about the embarrassment of my sleepiness just now, and now I didn't dare to speak. The tea beside the small table has been cold for half a while, and it is called the sentimentality of this celadon cup for no reason, and after spitting out the last few mouthfuls of hot air, he no longer cares about the people in the world to go to the tea to cool.
"Zhu... Lord Zhu... I was careless, so that you could make you laugh. ”
"Miss Lin, there have been more people in the city recently, it's not good for me, at least you should let Cun'er accompany you."
He shivered slightly, and his calloused palms slowly rested on my forehead, and he breathed a sigh of relief after making sure I didn't catch a cold. He glanced at the candlelight rising outside the window, twisted his beard thoughtfully, and sighed to himself.
The night in Jinzhou is brighter than the day.
"The food at the house has arrived, I don't dare to snub you again this time."
He took the lamp from the maid beside him, took my hand and walked slowly to the inner hall. I looked at the decaying back and tried to remember what he had once been.
Lights were lit everywhere outside the house, and the moonlight seemed dim. He shuttled back and forth in the light, but I could only see the shadow that dodged in the shadows, hear it twist its body, and then be silent.
Same with this house.
It is very strange that no matter how hot the body is, the shadow can only hide in an unknown place and bear the sins of the world for itself. They have no names, no blessings, no words, and can only follow us unhurriedly, begging for mercy.
My shadow, led by his shadow, must be very warm.
When I got to the dining room, I did have a touch of humanity. There are a few small dishes with color and aroma on the log table that is not too big, and a bowl of plump rice on the left is the most delicious joy in the world. The simplest is often the hardest to cherish.
People are simple, and at the beginning of the heart, this is the way of eternal life.
For a moment, I felt as if I was no different from my usual life. At this moment, I am lying in the gazebo in the backyard, listening to the crisp sound of the moon setting in the pool, and admiring the fragrance of wild flowers by the rocks like a spring day. Time is quiet in this moment, and I am still alive in this moment.
"One flower and one world, you seem to have a lot of Buddha fate."
I withdrew the hand that had just wanted to pick the flowers, and squatted silently to the side just to admire. The moonlight was bright, and the young man's eyebrows were like snow, his eyes and teeth were bright, accompanied by a soft chant, and the reflection of us not far from each other in the pool was unprovoked.
I raised my eyes, he was dressed in white, quietly in the flower and stone forest, and smiled at me.
He flicked his sleeves and pulled off a few withered petals. I have never seen such a spotless man, who is more refined than everything in this world, and even time cannot bear to pass by his side.
Where the heart desires, the shoes go.
I slowly approached him, trying to get a better look at the immortal. Only then did I realize that he was in a wheelchair and was talking to me on an equal footing. Occasionally, the wind blew at night, but it was just a gentle greeting to him, and it was no longer the same as the raging in the past. He was spoiled by all things, but it was not a perfect work of art.
May all incompleteness be his wholeness.
"I just think they're just like us, cold, hot, lonely."
"It's the same... It's not the same. You're funny and aura. ”
"Reiki?"
"All things have spirits, and you and I have them. It's just that you're too clean to fit the city. ”
I looked at him, and he had a galaxy in his eyes. It's just that the streamer flies by, and all the starlight only turns into the sadness that can't be erased from the bottom of his eyes, turning into an empty ruin, watching the world cocoon itself.
There seemed to be a story in his eyes, but there was nothing in his eyes. He didn't mind my searching gaze, he just smiled, fading away like a cloud, as merciless as flowing water.
"Don't you wonder who I am?"
"It's like you didn't ask me who I was."
We look at each other, as if too much speech is a burden. He looked at the fish swimming in the pool, and I caught the moment of the mirror.
Maybe I had something in my heart that I wanted to say a hundred times around, but when it came to my mouth, I didn't want to mention a word. I looked at him like a drunken man admiring the moon, and suddenly I couldn't tell the truth from the fake.
You are the bright moonlight in the world, and you are also a young man in this world.
"Cun'er, why did you come here alone, how dangerous it would be if you fell. It's cold at night, and you're still wearing such thin clothes, you have to freeze and get sick. You are already weak, and even your subordinates follow you. ”
Zhu Yin hurriedly put on a thick velvet cloak for him, and reprimanded his subordinates for a while, and then leaned on the side of the stone mountain and gasped for breath. The night was so cold, but he was sweating profusely, and his words and deeds were full of anxiety and worry. I looked at such a warm picture of the father and son, and I couldn't help but feel a little envious.
However, he didn't respond to anything, but turned his gaze to me faintly, but there was no tenderness in his eyes anymore.
The night came, and Mingyue had never seen any quiet years, so she had to hide in the clouds and sigh for this right and wrong.
"Miss Lin... Miss Lin..."
"You're... Lin Yi? ”
"You are Lin Yi!"
Tiangong didn't do a good job, and suddenly thunder erupted in the air, suppressing his powerless anger. The black night sky was split in half, and no matter how much the world struggled, it turned into a lost graveyard in vain. We suddenly became shadows, but the shadows suffered thunder, and we were left with only powerless defeat.
And in his eyes, he also wants to break me into pieces like this.
He hates me.
"You are..."
"Come on, bring the young master back. He is sick and needs to recuperate, and you will take care of him. ”
"Lin Yi! Lin Yi! Lin Yi! ....”
The name, constantly drowned out by thunder, was deafening in my ears. Maybe Tiangong also knows that this monstrous hatred does not belong to me now.
I thought of this name that had appeared so many times in my dreams, so unfamiliar, and so desperate to pull me into the abyss.
Just in an instant, he was taken away silently. That unspoken sentence, like this sudden natural disaster, is only the beginning of the disaster.
There are no fish in the pool, no flowers under the moon, I still miss his smile, but he has blended into the city, and wants to eat me alive.
I stayed where I was, overwhelmed.
I can't even understand where his hatred comes from.
It's like me, a name that has been called out of nowhere.
"Miss Lin, there are some things I want to talk to you about."
Zhu Yin walked up to me, his face full of sadness. Is the answer to what he wants to say is the answer I am looking for?
He is still so tall and shelters me from the wind and rain; But he couldn't do anything about it, and he couldn't guess fate.
Bean-sized teardrops fell on my face, and the rain poured outside, turning the city upside down, but nothing was found. They rage against their emotions, frantically competing for the only remaining tenderness in this world. The people of this city are all victims.
"It's raining, winter is really over."
Scone House. The night rain frightened this huge house even more lifeless. Yaochi's fine wine corrodes the earth, and singing and dancing sing the prosperity and Qingming of unknown dynasties and generations. But behind this prosperity, there is a ruthless revenge drama. The only people who wake up in the middle of the night are people in their dreams.
"Fan abandon, Fan abandon, I don't want to die, I don't want to die......"
Behind the curtain of the bed stretched out a pair of sore and bloody hands, and he waved them in the air with all his might, but he could only pass by the people in front of him who were close at hand. The pain came like a nightmare, and he struggled and twitched, but his hands still didn't give up trying to grasp the only straw.
There was no light in the room, the luxurious marble floor was brutally cut by the fragments of the mirror, and it was a mess everywhere, a dilapidated golden pool, and another good show. Scones' cry of pain seemed to move the heavens, and it rained down a great rain to cleanse the sinful soul.
Fan Qi stood in a silent place, and it was dark before and after.
He leaned on the window edge and listened to the storm tearing at the wobbly world outside, and the branches of the trees that killed him knocked on the window, trying to find refuge in the sky.
'Knock knock...' A quick knock on the door also broke into this dilapidated world, and he leaned abruptly against the door, his figure stretched narrow by the remaining moonlight, and instantly saw through the whole room.
He picked up the mirror on the ground casually, and smiled at the thunder light to pleasing himself to his eyes. Thunder rolled, warning him of his impudence; And he just didn't say a word to the mirror, and he was better than the power of Tiantiao's intimidation.
"Oh, Fan Lang, it's raining really hard outside."
"Yes, are you afraid that this scene will not be watched?"
Outside the house, there was an endless darkness, spreading towards Jincheng.