After four or five days of driving, the month of Muyue passed another ten years. The one-month grace period since leaving Changxing Port has passed, and it is time for Ge Lan to send a secret report.

I don't know how far the orange-eyed unicorn pigeon can fly to the sea. Two months ago, when the three-masted black-sailed flat-bottomed sand boat of the group set off from Zuoshijin, the unicorn flower pigeon flew over once and gave Ge Lan an antidote.

Later, when the group was attacked and captured into the fog, when Ge Lan and Qi Zhilai robbed the pirate ship and broke out of the fog, he finally remembered that the time had passed almost another month, and there was no village in front of the sea, no shop behind, and when he saw that he was cornered-

At that time, the pirate ship robbed by Ge Lan and Qi Zhilai broke out of the fog of Fandong, the sky was dusk, the sun was hanging in the sky, the glow was ten thousand, and the rose-colored fog behind him was also ten thousand.

Against the light, a black dot grew from far to near, from small to large, and finally showed its body in the bow of the ship—

The two wings, which were not very large, fluttered, and because of the backlight, the mottled coat was only black, except for two blood-amber orange eyes that glittered in the glow.

In the distance, you can see the tips of the sails of several ships, which are the merchant ships that travel between Shizhou and Xuanchen, if Ge Lan and their ships had not been intercepted by pirates, they should be in that direction at this moment.

Did this pigeon come here on that merchant ship? did it rise and fall again and again among the sails until I came out of the fog?

Ge Lan opened his arms, and the orange-eyed unicorn pigeon stopped in his hand, and his head turned in a skeletal manner.

Is this little creature a good man? If you can find people on land, you can find them on the sea—and in the fog that lingers all year round, and how long you have waited outside this border.

Thinking of this, Ge Lan was suddenly moved in his heart, he touched the little head of the flower pigeon, and the pigeon also turned its head as if it were human, and its two orange eyes looked at Ge Lan, turning smartly.

Around the black pupils, there are sand-like particles under the eyes, which are called eye sand by those who know carrier pigeons, which is an important basis for judging the quality of pigeons.

The eye sand of this unicorn pigeon is very thick and plump, and when you look closely, it looks like you are looking down on a dense autumn forest, with pale rock walls exposed on the edge of the orange-red dense forest, and the black pupil in the center is the bottomless source pool.

Glenn removed the small tube from the pigeon's leg, poured out a brown-black pill, and slapped it into his mouth. I swallowed it without chewing, and then I pulled out the letterhead in the small tube and unfolded it—

"Standby"

Those two words again.

Ge Lan threw the note on the deck, and he was really annoyed - if he was delayed in the fog for another two days, and he died of poison before waiting for this antidote, then who and what was this death for?

The Ming Duke of Yan Gui, who was far away in the country of Tianyu, held Ge Lan's life in his hands and only relied on this small pigeon to maintain it. If this flower pigeon is intercepted and killed by a bird of prey in the air, if he Ge Lan is trapped in a place where no one can reach him like a few days ago, this gossamer will be broken, and his life will be whimpered.

So casual, so hasty, Ge Lan's life was pinched in the hands of that Ming Duke, and what he did was not a big deal, but just pinched there preparedly, like the paper of a literati and the ribs of a samurai.

Ge Lan didn't know if Yan Gui had to report every ten years and solve every thirty years when he was his Ming Gong's spy, and if he also received a letterhead with the words "on call" when he returned—Ge Lan felt resentment and indescribable nothingness.

The little cylinder containing the letter had rolled to the edge of the deck, and another wave would hit it and it would fall into the sea.

Let it roll down like this, let the orange-eyed unicorn pigeon fly back in the air, and just cut off contact with the Ming Gong of Yan Gui, and wait until thirty years later, laughing and lying down on a foreign land, no longer suffering from this fate in the hands of others.

But he Ge Lan has only passed one spring in his life, which is the year of verdant summer trees; but his Ge Lan's poems have not yet been sung in the world, and there are still so many evil demons and bullies who have not been ambushed under his hands; but he Ge Lan has not yet lingered with the Yiren and played with his children and grandchildren......

Even if he was forced, Ge Lan hoped to die in the great cause of Ming Gong, instead of waiting for the antidote to come and die in the vast sea and mist.

Standby!

If you don't need me, why use this poison to hold my life?

Ge Lan was not angry, but he was helpless. He raised his head and shouted at the sky, startling Qi Zhilai, who was at the stern of the boat, rushed over with a limp.

The orange-eyed unicorn pigeon in his hand flapped its wings, flew to the edge of the deck, picked up the small tube, and flew back to Ge Lan's hand.

Ge Lan let out a long sigh, took the small tube, took out the account of the thirties from his bosom, rolled it into a roll and stuffed it inside, and tied it back to the pigeon's leg with a piece of string.

Qi Zhilai rushed to the side, saw this flower pigeon, saw this small tube, and understood. She no longer had to check what Glenn had written in the secret letter as she had done before, she felt that it was not necessary, and she knew that she was not qualified—she and Glenn were no longer supervisors and prisoners, but rescuers and rescuers...... Perhaps, it is still a companion in suffering.

As soon as Ge Lan raised his hand, the orange-eyed unicorn pigeon fluttered its wings and flew away.

Under the sunset, Ge Lan turned around and turned his back to the flower pigeon that was flying westward, and when he saw Qi Zhilai who rushed to his side, he smiled bitterly and hurried to the stern of the boat.

Qi Zhilai watched the sunset drag a long shadow on him, so there was an indescribable loneliness.

The Ge Lan she knew was a rough young man with a big grin and a preference for vassal elegance, and the appearance of this lonely shadow under the sail was really a bit elegant, but Qi Zhilai didn't like it.

......

The carriage drove through the woods, and the orange-eyed unicorn dove sprang out of nowhere, flew down to the side of the carriage, and cooed.

From Zuoshijin to out of the fog for more than a month, from Changxing Port to Xingkou for more than a month, because there is nothing to describe at sea, the pigeons only came to deliver the antidote and brought back a secret letter along the way.

Now that I have returned to the land, it seems that the frequency of reporting every ten years is about to resume again.

Ge Lan counted the days with his fingers, and roughly calculated, it had really been another ten years since the last time he received the antidote. He shook his head helplessly, and hooked the pigeon's chin with a loop of his index finger, signaling it to rest easy.

Then he took out a folded piece of white paper from his bosom, unfolded it, and tore a small strip along the crease, and took out a small piece of graphite, which was sharpened at one end—

I saw that he was holding the ink block in his hand, and the dragon and phoenix were dancing on the note, and in a short time, it was densely written with words.

Qi Zhilai, who was on the other side, was a little curious about how Ge Lan used that ink block to write, but he stared at it for a long time.

"Do you want to take a look?" asked Ge Lan when she finished writing and looked up, seeing that she had been staring.

Qi Zhilai came back to his senses after this question, and hurriedly waved his hand, "No...... No, I'm curious about the ink block in your hand, you can write without grinding?"

Ge Lan leaned back slightly with suspicion, and said with a smile: "Huh, are you really not afraid that I will leak to my master if I write something unfavorable to Qi Zuo's envoy?"

Qi Zhilai was slightly stunned, snatched away the letterhead and ink block in his hand, glanced at the former hastily, and then fiddled with the latter with interest.

"I can't see that Qi Zuo is quite interested in the gadgets of this city. Ge Lan leaned closer and said in a strange voice.

The dignified Taiwei National Religion Apologetic Left Envoy should have been more unfazed, and Ge Lan was surprised, but also secretly a little happy.

Qi Zhilai raised his head and met Ge Lan's approaching face, his eyes were a little too close.

She picked up the letterhead, hung it between their faces, and slapped it on Ge Lan's forehead, pushing him back into his seat.

"This thing doesn't need to be studied, it doesn't take a pen or inkstone, you can write the same words, it's really convenient. With that, she handed the ink back to Ge Lan, but this time she gently put it in his hand.

Ge Lan sat down from his seat, picked up the letterhead, put away the ink block again, raised his head and responded: "The advantage of this thing is that it is convenient, it is not easy to hold and not speak, and it is easy to write, but it only knows the meaning, but it is not beautiful;

As he spoke, Ge Lan spread out his hand, and the finger that had just held the ink block was already a piece of lead ash, which was really dirty.

"That is, it is convenient to carry with you when you are wandering outside, and there are many spies and spies in the city, and you can't always show paper and ink on the eaves of people, so this thing is popular. He withdrew his hand and continued.

Qi Zhilai pinched his chin, thought for a moment, and then said: "Then why don't you make it into a pen, and then put on silk cloth or apply a layer of lacquer, so that it will be easy to hold and not dirty your hands." ”

Ge Lan shook his head and said, "This thing is very brittle, such a piece is good, if it is chiseled into the thickness of the pen, it will not break when touched." ”

Qi Zhilai pursed his lips when he heard this, nodded his head slowly, and said no more.

For a long time, Ge Lan had already rolled up the secret letter and stuffed it into the small tube on the flower pigeon's leg, watching it flutter its wings and fly away, Qi Zhilai suddenly raised his head with a flash of inspiration, and let out a soft "ah" in his mouth.

"What?" said Ge Lan, confused.

Qi Zhilai's face was full of seriousness, and he thought for a moment before he spoke: "Since you said that this graphite is brittle, what if it is not wrapped in silk cloth, but coerced with wood chips?"

Seeing that Ge Lan was still confused, she immediately raised her injured leg slightly and signaled: "You see the wooden board that the doctor gave me on the injured leg, isn't it a truth—the bone is like your graphite, if you clamp it with a wooden board, it will not bend or break." ”

The days of rushing are really boring, and serious people like her Qi Zhilai have also begun to seize every opportunity to be imaginative. Xu was on the ship to collect the influence of the boatman, and she also began to have some interest in this fine workmanship.

Ge Lan was a little surprised at the beginning when he heard this, and he was surprised that the Qi Zuo envoy in front of him had been pondering for a long time, and he was actually thinking about this graphite matter; when he calmed down and thought about it, Qi Zhilai's idea was indeed not feasible. He also felt a little excited, took out the ink block from his arms, and was about to discuss it with Qi Zhilai a few more times-

Phew—

The coachman greeted and the horses neighed, and the carriage stopped.