On this day, Bai Ling first followed Yikang to visit the county lord of Yining.

The cold beauty of the past was now as angry and thin as dry bones, and in front of her sickbed, Bai Ling smelled a familiar smell—she had smelled a similar smell before Huang Chongde's collapse.

The smell of death.

The county lord of Yining could no longer recognize the person, her thin face looked like a shrunken bark, and the whole person leaned on the bed and whispered meaninglessly.

Yikang fetched hot water, sat down next to her and began to wipe her body day after day.

There were no maids in the house, and none of the Taoists in the temple were here. Bai Ling wanted to help, but Yikang asked Bai Ling to go out and wait.

Probably with the arrogance of the county lord of Yining, even if he no longer has a human form, he always doesn't want others to see his ugly and naked body.

At night, the two lit incense and sat opposite each other to make tea.

"Actually, I've always thought it was quite strange," Yikang said softly, "and I've done so much at Chen Yicong...... After such a thing, how can you still want to stay with him? ”

Bai Ling was stunned for a moment, "...... Stay with him? ”

"If you really wanted to leave, you should have left." Yikang poured tea for herself and Bai Ling, and she glanced at Bai Ling, "Can Baihuaya really trap you, I don't think." ”

The mist of hot water spreads from the cup.

Bai Ling held the cup wordlessly, and did not answer immediately.

"What are you doing now?" Yikang said softly, "It was you who asked me to say goodbye to Bai Yi, I thought you would go to them soon, and now you are nostalgic for the scenery in this Pingjing City again." ”

"But it's okay," she said softly, "with you, Chen Yicong at least has a pair of eyes staring at him, and he won't do anything wrong in the future." ”

Yikang sighed.

"Although you are now a slave, with what Lan Zihao has done in the past few years, it is not impossible for you to enter the palace again." Yikang looked at the cup in his hand and said indifferently, "I won't go to your ceremony...... I hope you can live happily ever after. ”

The room was quiet again.

Bai Ling put down the cup, propped his hands behind his back, and looked up at the ceiling in the room, which was somewhat blackened by the candlelight.

The water in the pot boiled again, and the soup stopped boiling.

"I promised a friend that I was going to her wedding." "But there was so much going on in those days...... Just miss it.

"When I saw her again later, it was in the flower lane of Baihuaya."

Yikang looked up at Bai Ling.

"She married, her husband died, she was sold to another man by her mother's family, and she had a child with her. At that time, her man was a gambler, so she worked diligently as a coolie to earn money to support her family.

Bai Ling also looked at Yikang, "Obviously, so many people have come to a tragic end because they have no choice, she is not, there is no knife on her neck."

"And she is upright, good-hearted, hard-working, I think such a person should have a good life.

"Watching people like this being bullied...... I can't stand this. Bai Ling said softly, "So I went to help her, and I tried to help her." ”

Bai Ling frowned slightly, as if he was caught in a memory.

“…… And then what. Yikang asked.

Bai Ling came back to his senses a little, but he diverted the topic and suddenly said something else.

"A long, long time ago, I played a — no, read a script. It is said that a village is occupied by a monster, and the monster eats one person every year, so the villagers make a sacrifice once a year. ”

"Hmm." Yikang nodded.

"Until one day, a brave man came here, and he went down the well to save the woman who had been sacrificed by the villagers, but he drove the monster out of the well, ran to the village and began to kill.

"When the brave man returned to the village, the surviving villagers resented him - he used to sacrifice only one person a year, but now so many people have died at once." Bai Ling said softly, "What does the county lord think?" ”

“…… Innocent villagers are very pitiful. Yikang said softly, "But if you want to kill monsters, they can't take any risks." In the eyes of the villagers, of course, it is better to sacrifice one every year, but what about those who can be sacrificed? ”

Yikang laughed, "It's nothing more than a trade-off, exchanging small sacrifices for big peace." If I were a brave man, I would also kill monsters, and I would have to exchange other people's blood for peace...... It's better for such people to be eaten by monsters, and I won't feel guilty. ”

Under the lights, Bai Ling looked at Yikang's vivid expression, and suddenly felt that the former county lord seemed to be back.

Yikang looked over, "Why did you suddenly remember this story?" ”

"Because I feel like I've been a brave man again." Bai Ling said softly, "Between enduring the pain of monsters and enduring the pain of sacrifice, the villagers have become accustomed to the latter...... And the pain that I am used to is probably not pain anymore. ”

Bai Ling looked at the ceiling again.

"What happened to that friend of yours?"

"Her husband owes a huge gambling debt, and the people in the gambling house are chasing and killing everywhere, and it just so happens that during that time she has been secretly sending money to her husband, and once she happened to encounter the thugs of the gambling house, and she was implicated." Bai Ling said softly.

Yikang's eyes darkened.

"I've been thinking about her since she died...... How much do I want to kill her monster, my own monster? Bai Ling said softly, "What is the sacrifice and how is the descent into the well?" Ever since the emperor ascended the throne, I have been thinking about how to escape. But if you run away somewhere else, will life be fine? Will you be able to live a smooth and peaceful life by hiding yourself in a place where no one knows about it, and living incognito from now on? ”

"I don't want this kind of trade-off in exchange for peace," Bai Ling said softly, "and I don't want this kind of trade-off." ”

Yikang narrowed his eyes slightly and curled his legs.

"'A man ought to be faithful to the facts and to the truth to which they lead, whether or not that truth may seem useful to society, shocking to the world, or contrary to his beliefs'......"

Bai Ling lowered his eyes to the flames dancing under the teapot.

“…… At the same time, 'we should also learn to tolerate dissidents of all kinds, because the flame of hatred and hatred, once ignited, burns everyone.'

"I've been thinking about these two sentences for the past few years, in the end, what should I do......"

Yikang was stunned for a moment, "...... So you built that Orchid Club? ”

"Yes," Bai Ling said softly, "if I can't get out of my own way, then it's the same everywhere."

"What's more, at that time three years ago, it was really the right time...... If you miss that opportunity, you won't have it again. ”

Yikang looked at Bai Ling in front of him, and suddenly felt that maybe she was the same as herself, and she had not changed.