"Senior brother, you all know that it was said at the beginning, since it was the beginning, how could I easily agree to you as a brother? At that time, you didn't understand that it would be irresponsible for you to say yes casually. Xie Yifan said with a smile, a little bit of learning from my previous words.

My brow furrowed.

"I'm not here every day to play dumb riddles with you, you like to talk about it or not, one day I will figure out all your purposes." After staring at him expressionlessly for a while, I resolutely put away my somewhat confused thoughts, turned around and walked out of the store.

Losing is the preciousness of what I have, so only I know how tempting it is for me to be able to get my three souls back, at least as easily as it sounds. So just now, I really almost wanted to say that sentence.

Fortunately, in the end, reason prevailed over emotion, and Xie Yifan's words of "casually agreeing is also irresponsible to me" also fully shows that once I say that sentence, I need to bear the corresponding price, which I am not yet clear.

In the next few days, I will still walk into this ten-square-meter store on time at nine o'clock every morning, watch the people in the store make tea and drink tea, and stay for more than two hours before leaving. It's just that he rarely takes the initiative to speak again, and in the end he doesn't take the initiative to speak anymore, even if Xie Yifan obviously talks to me, if he feels that there is no value, he rarely responds again.

Correspondingly, seeing that I rarely responded, Xie Yifan's pointed words became less and less, and then he became less and less talkative, and in the end, he was even completely silent. The two of them sat facing each other like this, coming and leaving on time, without saying a word, only the occasional slight touch of the tea set, and the sound of drinking tea.

I can't remember how long it took for this situation to finally change again. At this time, although I can't remember how many days have passed, I also vaguely feel that it seems that the New Year is long overdue, but from beginning to end, I have never felt even a trace of the New Year.

"I'm leaving."

Although when I went out in the morning, I had a faint feeling that some changes should occur today, but I didn't expect it to be so big. So when the pot of tea was almost finished and I was almost ready to leave, the moment I heard Xie Yifan say that he was leaving, I couldn't help but be stunned for a moment, then raised my head and looked at him in a daze.

"I'm going to leave for my brother." As if afraid that I didn't hear clearly, Xie Yifan repeated his previous words again.

After speaking, he lowered his head, picked up the teacup and took a sip gently.

"I'm not going to let you go." After a moment of silence, I spoke softly.

"Why?" Xie Yifan was slightly stunned, and seemed to think that this was a little funny.

I looked at him seriously and said, "Because you deserve to go to hell, and you deserve to go to hell from here." ”

"Why?" Xie Yifan asked again, and after waiting for a while and didn't see me answer, he had to say again: "Just because of you, junior brother, do you think that being a brother is a heinous person?" ”

"You think you're not?" I asked rhetorically.

Xie Yifan smiled: "Brother Wei won't explain anything, let alone deny that Brother Wei has indeed ended the lives of some people, but Brother Wei just wants to ask one question: Senior brother, have you ever seen Brother Wei mutilate innocent people and kill people indiscriminately?" Of course, taking away your three souls from your junior brother was a matter of fact, and you are still alive now, and you have become a family, and it won't take long for you to become a father for the first time, so it can't be included. ”

"Kill the puppet." I replied softly, giving him a strange look.

It's strange because he said it wouldn't be long before I became a father. You know, so far I have received a certificate with Zhang Xiaowei, and she has not yet shown any signs of pregnancy, so this person knows that I am going to be a father?

As for the murder of the puppet, a murderous creature refined from my three souls, the picture of torturing the living to death is still vivid in my mind, no matter how long it has passed, I will never forget it, and it is also the evidence of the crime that the big yin man on the other side can't quibble with no matter what.

"Kill the puppet." Xie Yifan smiled lightly, and then said: "In order to maintain the three souls of your junior brother, you have cultivated a relatively complete soul, but you have never given the name of killing a puppet, so dare to ask junior brother, where did you hear these two words?" ”

"Well, in fact, it doesn't matter, let's just call the soul cultivated by your three souls a puppet, and I believe it, junior brother, you have indeed seen the killing of puppets and the killing of innocent people, but junior brother, how can you conclude that the murderous puppet you saw with your own eyes is the same as the "killing puppet" of your brother? ”

"You continue to quibble, I want to see how far you can talk nonsense and reverse black and white in order to clear the score." I smiled coldly.

"No, Brother Wei is not arguing for himself, but he just wants to ask you a question that you have never considered, if you don't want to live in confusion for the rest of your life, maybe you can let Brother Wei finish talking first."

Perhaps full of importance to the conversation at this time, Xie Yifan put away the faint and warm smile like a humble gentleman for the first time, and his tone sped up a little, and after looking at me for a pause, he said seriously: "The art of painting spirits started from the founding patriarch Li Changmeng, and has been passed down for more than 1,300 years, not counting the brother who was expelled and hunted by the master like this, until the master's generation, it has also continued for thirty-five generations, except for the short-lived and glorious period of Li Changmeng's patriarch, all periods have been passed down in a single way, So for my brother, I want to ask you: Under such difficult conditions, there is always only one lineage, who dares to guarantee that in the long history of 1,300 years, there has never been a problem with the art of painting spirits, and it has never gone astray. If a disciple goes astray, the master who is responsible for the head of the sect can correct it, and even uphold the will of the founding patriarch to clean up the door, but if there is a problem with the head himself, who can correct it? Who can guarantee that every generation of leaders is a person who has no desires and no desires, idle clouds and wild cranes, people who are beyond the ordinary world to see through life and death, and have never had any problems with thoughts or choices? ”

I couldn't help but be stunned, and subconsciously wanted to refute it, but for a while, I couldn't find something to say.

Seeing that I couldn't speak, Xie Yifan smiled a little sadly, and then said: "I want to come to this stage, junior brother, you have already heard that Wu Yue, the founder of the mountain, under the seat of Li Changmeng, betrayed the sect and entered the devil, causing the sect to be ruined in one fell swoop, and completely lost the opportunity to carry it forward, and I have also heard that this Wu Yue is a simple and kind, virtuous and excellent person, and attaches great importance to filial piety. Even people like him, after comprehending the greatest mystery of painting, can't resist the temptation, let alone others? I don't know how much you have comprehended the painting spirit, but if you just want to understand how difficult it is, it should be easy to think about it. ”

"If you can't do it, it doesn't mean that others can't do it either, and blindly exculpating others for yourself will not only look shameless, but also ridiculous." Frowning and silent for a while, I looked up at him and retorted, and then the picture of the founding patriarch Li Changmeng and the rebel Wu Yue at the end of the final settlement appeared in my mind, so I said: "And you are not qualified to compare with Wu Yue." ”

"There is no doubt about this, Wu Yue should be the most talented person in the history of the Spirit Painting School, if he hadn't gone astray, he would definitely be able to lead the art of painting the Spirit to a higher peak, and even surpass the ancestor of the mountain. Regarding my words, Xie Yifan was not annoyed at all as always, and nodded seriously: "But it is precisely because of this that it fully shows that the art of painting spirits has been passed down to this day, and it is still orthodox, and it is so difficult that there is almost no such possibility." ”

"Speaking of which, you are still defending yourself, in order to clear your name, you spare no effort to speculate on today's master with the worst thoughts, speculate about my master, this is your repeated respect, gratitude?" I sneered.

"You keep saying that your brother is maliciously speculating about the master, speculating about the master and his old man, but why aren't you like that, junior brother?"

Xie Yifan shook his head and smiled bitterly, and after a moment of silence, he looked at me and said, "In this way, we will not talk about it from afar, and I will only ask for my brother: Senior brother, do you think that you can be completely indifferent in the face of great temptation?" If one day, your loved ones are facing a life-and-death situation and need to save them with the blood of innocent people, what choice should you make, and how will you choose? ”

I couldn't help but feel shocked in my heart, and I was a little stunned when I looked at him.

"Senior brother, Brother Wei really doesn't want to defend himself, but I just want to tell you that almost every generation of painters has faced the same choice to a greater or lesser extent, including the master and his old man himself. The so-called distinction between good and evil is often just a thought, so who can really guarantee that more than 1,300 years of independent veins have been inherited, and the art of painting spirits has never made a mistake, or after making a mistake, it has completely returned to the right track in line with the will of the founding patriarch? ”

"In other words, if you don't already have a preconceived subjective impression, will you think that as soon as you see your brother, you will definitely be a great evil and heinous person?"

"Besides, for my brother, I know, junior brother, you must think from the bottom of your heart that the main purpose of coming here for my brother is to clear the pen for the sake of the master. But until now, do you see any intention to rob your brother? When you came on the first day, you didn't have any defense, and your brother had already seen the Yuqing pen, and it was tied to the wrist of the little daughter at that time, if the main purpose was to get the Yuqing pen, wouldn't it be easy for your brother to get it? Brother Ke Wei never did this at all, so have you ever wondered why Brother Wei didn't do this? ”

"Your main purpose is not Yuqing Pen, but me?" I asked with a frown, only to feel that my mind was already a little messed up by this time.

No, it's not a little messy, it's very messy.

"To be exact, it's to tell you what you said today." Xie Yifan said seriously: "My brother's greatest desire is to one day get the understanding of you and the master and his old man, even if we don't get understanding, the three of us master and apprentice can also calmly put aside the conflict for the time being, and have a good talk face-to-face, just like 1,300 years ago, when Patriarch Li Changmeng finally finished up with Wu Yue." As long as we can talk about it properly, even if we don't get the understanding of you and Master, I will die for my brother without regrets. ”

"Getting closer, it is for my brother to hope that I can get some understanding from my brother first, at least when you have the opportunity to meet again in the future, you will still be like now, you can sit down and listen to your brother first, and explain a little bit or two, instead of meeting as soon as you meet like a great enemy of life and death, and there is an enmity that does not share the sky."

"But this time, the only purpose of my brother is to tell you what he said."

"Are you really leaving?" At this time, I remembered that the old man had told me to keep my heart and not think too much, because my soul is uneven, and I am destined to be not good at thinking, and it is easy to fall into misunderstandings, so I put away my thoughts and asked.

Although at this time, I have inevitably had some thoughts about this sentence that I had not had before, but I also knew that the current situation was indeed not suitable for me to think about it anymore. The person in front of him is born with the magic to make people feel that he is trustworthy, even if he doesn't believe his words anymore and continues to think about it, he will only be led by the nose.

"The purpose of your words to your brother today has been accomplished, so naturally there is no purpose to stay." Xie Yifan replied with a smile.

My brow furrowed slightly, and I looked at him without speaking.

"How? Senior brother, don't you still want your brother to leave? Seeing that I didn't speak, Xie Yifan simply asked.

I still didn't speak, I just felt conflicted, I wanted to say a lot, but I couldn't say a word.

"Oh yes, there's one more thing I almost forgot." At this time, Xie Yifan suddenly remembered something, patted the back of his head lightly, and said with an apologetic smile: "I said before for my brother, as long as you open your mouth, junior brother, you can return your three souls to you at any time." The reason why I don't count it at the beginning is because I haven't said what I said to you today, and now that I have said it, I should naturally do what I say. ”

After a pause, he looked at me and said, "So junior brother, now or?" ”

I was slightly stunned, gathered my energy and looked at him seriously.

Is it true that if I say it, he can give it?

There was no time for me to judge whether he was true or not, and whether he wanted to speak or not. Because a few seconds later, the old man, who had been missing for some time, suddenly appeared at the door without warning and walked towards us.

After a sudden flute, I couldn't help but be overjoyed.

And Xie Yifan obviously didn't expect that the old man would come suddenly unconsciously, not only his face, but even his facial features were a little distorted in an instant, and he looked at the old man in shock, and a trace of fear flashed in his eyes.

"Let's go." Faced with the same shocked but completely different expressions of our "senior brothers", the old man didn't say much, only said a word with a blank face.

I quickly realized that this was the meaning of letting me go, so I was a little stunned for a moment, and I couldn't understand why he let me go as soon as he came.

"Let's go!" The old man, who found that I didn't move at all, and his eyes were completely focused on Xie Yifan, said again, and his tone suddenly became much more severe, as if he was in the head.

I shuddered, and without thinking about it, I reflexively got up and trotted out like a thief.

It was at this moment that everything around me suddenly changed.