Xiao Jingrui accompanied his mother Princess Liyang out that day, and it was late when he came back, but after hearing Xie Bi say about Mei Changsu's attack, he immediately rushed to Xuelu to greet him. However, when I arrived at the gate of the Deke Courtyard, I found that the lights inside had been turned off and the candles had been extinguished, and the people in the courtyard had obviously rested. If it was before, maybe he would have ignored it and just broke in to make them up, but for some reason, the relationship between friends has become more and more divided for a while, and there are more etiquettes and politeness than in the first few days of acquaintance. At this time, looking at the courtyard gate of the black hole and the branches under the shadow of the night, this feeling is even more profound, it seems that this friend who has been admired by him has really gone farther and farther now, and he is no longer the brother Su who walked all the way, talking and laughing gently.

With a long sigh softly, Xiao Jingrui turned around and slowly walked towards his residence along the stone-paved road. The night is quiet and windy, and there is a heavy damp smell in the air, and it may snow again in the second half of the night. The first time we met, it was in the snow of the Qinling Mountains, meeting friends with Mei, drinking and talking, but in just one year, the personnel changes have come to this, and people can't help but feel nostalgic, and the pace is getting slower and slower, and the lighter and lighter it is. As soon as I turned the side of the rockery, I suddenly felt a cold on my face, and when I reached out to touch it, it was already a drop of water. When I looked up, I couldn't see anything in the dark, but my skin, nose and mouth were already one step ahead of my eyes, and I noticed the light snow that was beginning to fall gently.

Before the third watch, the snow has fallen, and it seems that tomorrow should be a glass world made of ice crystals. If there is no disturbance in this world, you can make an appointment with two or three friends, drink around the fireplace and enjoy the snow, and think about the scenery, which is a joy in the world. It's a pity......

Sighing again, Xiao Jingrui shook his head, as if he wanted to shake off the boredom in his chest, and reached out to wipe the snow and dampness on his face. At the moment when he took another step, a black shadow seemed to faintly pass on the edge of the field of vision in the corner of his eye, passing quickly, like an illusion, and when Huo Ran turned around to capture it again, there was no movement in front of him.

I don't know if it was because of premonition or vigilance, Xiao Jingrui stopped all his actions, just stood quietly behind the rockery, staring at the direction of the snow house through the gap between the rocks.

Sure enough, within a moment, another black shadow flashed. This time, because I was concentrating, I could see more clearly. The black shadow came from the side of the east wall of the snow house, and after jumping on the courtyard wall, he lay down on the ridge of the roof and stood still, and a second black shadow swept in, and so on several times, nearly ten people had come to the roof of the snow house. Xiao Jingrui was wondering how Feiliu could not move, the window of the west wing of the snow house suddenly shook, and almost at the same time as the window sash shook, there was a muffled snort on the ridge, and a person had fallen headfirst into the courtyard, and at some point in the night, there was a slender and flexible figure, and in the ghostly flash, the remaining few black shadows had been forced back to the roof of the east wing, and they were very embarrassed.

Xiao Jingrui just had a smile on his face appreciating Feiliu's skills, and the next moment he froze again. Because another group of attackers appeared in sight, coming up from the south wall, just avoiding the flying stream that had been slightly hindered by the group of people who had started. Xiao Jingrui didn't have time to think about it, he flew up, and shouted: "Who dares to break into Xie Mansion at night!" ”

Because he didn't have a blade by his side, Xiao Jingrui could only pick the front one and chop it with his flesh while shouting. The other party obviously knew something about the situation in Xuelu, and he didn't expect that there was a second person besides Feiliu, and he was a little surprised at first, but then he regained his composure, and with a gesture, he divided two people to stop Xiao Jingrui, and he and other subordinates went straight to the main house where Mei Changsu lived every day.

The Assassin leader's decision, while decisive, made two mistakes.

First, he underestimated Xiao Jingrui's martial arts. The two black-clothed men who were assigned by him to block Xiao Jingrui were robbed of their blades in the third move, and they both fell to the ground in the fourth move, only slowing down the pace of the Houmen Gongzi's progress slightly;

Second, he underestimated Feiliu's ruthlessness. Because Mei Changsu has always restrained Feiliu from hurting people, he gave some interested bystanders an illusion that this young man was just a martial artist. Unexpectedly, in the dark night, he was like a killing god, killing with a move, leaving no trace of life, and solving the people around him was not only fast but also simply terrifying.

But at the same time, Xiao Jingrui and Feiliu also made a mistake, they both underestimated the strength of the leader.

After realizing his disadvantage, the leader quickly ordered all the people to go to meet Feiliu, and faced Xiao Jingrui's head-on slash alone.

The knife is a steel knife, but the move is a sword move. Because it was a snatched blade, it was not too easy, but the sword was attached to the sword soul, and it was still extremely sharp, the leader changed his shape, blocked with the iron thorn on his wrist, and just pressed the knife flower, Xiao Jingrui's back palm had already slapped it fiercely.

A palm was printed on the chest, and the other party's body flew up like a kite with a broken string, Xiao Jingrui only realized that something was wrong at this time, but before he could stop it, the leader had already fought hard to catch the palm, and his body smashed the door panel like an arrow, and shot straight into the main house.

As far as Xiao Jingrui knows, in this main house, there has always been only a weak and powerless Mei Changsu, and there is not even any other servant.

"Brother Su!" With a hissing shout, Xiao Jingrui rushed up the steps, stepped on the broken wood chips of the door panel, and entered the dark and dreary room. The bloody breath came to his face, and with his astonishing night vision, he could only see a figure standing in the middle. Before his brain could react, the fire flashed in front of him, the lamp on the table was lit by Yingying, and in the yellow light that filled the room, Mei Changsu was wearing a fur coat, standing fluttering on the tabletop, and the shadow of the lamp swayed on his plain face, which seemed a little solemn.

Xiao Jingrui's gaze swept over Mei Changsu's body, and fell on a small crossbow that he casually threw on the table, the red bow and ink strings, the white jade buckle, and the pattern of the crossbow body were like tears.

"Can't draw?"

"Yes, this is the crossbow made by the Ban family, 'can't be painted'," Mei Changsu said lightly, "Jinling is really different from other places, and it can force me to use it." ”

Xiao Jingrui lowered his head, and the body of the assassin leader lay not far from his feet, and a delicate small arrow was stuck in the middle of his Adam's apple. Although his chest was red and bloody, it was obviously sprayed after being hit by his own palm, and the wound in his throat was stimulated by the sharp force of the arrow, which stimulated the muscles of the deceased, and no blood splashed out.

"You'd better not look," Seeing that Xiao Jingrui seemed to be trying to lift the black scarf covering the deceased's face, Mei Changsu stopped in a low voice, "It's so late, I didn't expect you to come." ”

"I heard that Brother Su was attacked outside today, and I was a little worried. When I arrived, I realized that it was too late. Xiao Jingrui's fingers had pinched the corner of the scarf, but there was some inexplicable hesitation in his heart, and he didn't lift it immediately.

He is not Xie Bi, he has been in contact with the rivers and lakes since he was a child, he understands the rivers and lakes, he has also killed people with his own hands, and he has also seen the scene of the vendetta in the rivers and lakes full of corpses, he is not afraid of corpses, no matter how ugly that person dies, it will not frighten Xiao Gongzi, who ranks second on the list of Langya Gongzi.

But Brother Su said...... "You'd better not look at it"......

The Assassin lay right in front of him, his face covered in a black scarf, the same face to look at or not. Just like some truths, whether you understand them or not, those facts are always there and will not change with them.

Xiao Jingrui gritted his teeth, and finally uncovered the face towel that was as light as nothing, but as heavy as a thousand catties.

Just one glance, the gaze is a jump. The fingers slowly clenched into fists, and the muscles on his cheeks flashed with a spasm from tension.

It was a face that seemed strange and yet familiar.

He is said to be a stranger because he has never said hello, spoken, does not know his name, does not know his position.

He is said to be familiar because he is often seen, right next to his father, and he is often seen following, obeying and carrying out some trivial instructions.

If such a face doesn't mean anything, then the silence around it at this moment is more like a slowly tightening net, tightening Xiao Jingrui's heart inch by inch.

The more pure the silence, the more all kinds of sounds mingle with it. The sound of the night breeze blowing, the sound of falling snow, the sound of thumping heartbeats, the sound of breathing up and down...... The voices that should not be heard are heard, but there is no sound that should be heard.

The dignified Ning Guohou Mansion was attacked in the quiet night, and the sound of killing and shouting and the sound of the blade was enough to tear apart the night sky, but it was like a stone falling into the ancient well, and after the slight ripple, there was no response.

Feiliu outside the courtyard had already cleaned up all his opponents, but he didn't come in, and he didn't know what he was doing. The diffuse blood qi became fainter and weaker in the night wind, so faint that it could be ignored.

No one came to support, no one even came to check, and the whole Xie Mansion slept quietly as if nothing had been heard, waiting for the dawn of the next day.

"Jing Rui," Mei Changsu's voice sounded steadily, as if ignoring the stunned look of the young man in front of him, and his tone was flat, "I went out to see the house today, and it was recommended by the Great Commander Meng, and I was on the side of Changzhifang." The house is very clean and sturdy, all the furniture is complete, and the view in the garden is poor, just enough for me to completely renovate. So...... It's time for me to move out too......"

"Move away...... Xiao Jingrui's eyes were still staring blankly at the corpse in front of him, and muttered, "Yes, it's time to move away, this snow house is really unlivable......

"Jing Rui, listen to me," Mei Changsu pressed his palm on the young man's shoulder, with a slight force, "Now go back to your room, just as if you haven't been to Xuelu tonight, what you see is just a dream." Tomorrow, I will go out to play in Yujin, relax and relax, and everything will be the same. Don't be cranky and make your mother worry about ......"

"Everything...... Is it really possible that it will still be the same? Xiao Jingrui stood up and looked back at Mei Changsu's eyes, "I don't want to know why my father killed you, I just want to know...... Why are you involved in the whirlpool of Jinling City? You are the kind of people I envy the most, unrestrained and free......"

Mei Changsu smiled miserably, looking at the light on the table, "You are wrong, there is no free person in the world, as long as a person has feelings and hopes, he will never be free." ”

"But you can avoid ......"

"Jing Rui," Mei Changsu raised his eyes, his expression slightly cold, "You are not me, don't judge for me." Go back, I'll leave early tomorrow morning. These days in Xuelu, thank you for taking care of you. When I settle into my new home, you are always welcome to come and visit me if you wish. ”

Xiao Jingrui looked at him in a daze and asked, "In the future, we can still come and go?" ”

Mei Changsu smiled, "Why not?" I'm afraid that you won't want to come in the future, and I don't know. ”

Xiao Jingrui thought of the current foggy situation, and thought of his father's hostile position with him, his heart was like a mess, and he was at a loss. originally thought that it was just Xie Bi who was caught in the situation, and that he would not harm the overall situation, and even if he made a mistake in the future, he would still be able to rely on the status of Ning Guohou and the eldest princess, but today he suddenly found out that his father was not as neutral as he appeared, and then he understood how deep the Xie family was involved in the battle for succession. Although he has always left it alone, although he often travels outside and is at ease, he is always a member of the Xie family, and it is impossible not to care about it at all. Now that I think about it, the words that Yujin persuaded him on the side of the grass were so prescient.

"Things haven't come to that point yet, so why bother in advance?" Mei Changsu seemed to know his thoughts, and said with a faint smile, "As long as you keep your true temperament, what can't you survive?" It's like the snow outside, although it looks like it's getting heavier and heavier, but you and I both know that it will stop eventually. ”

As if to match his words, a gust of wind and snow swept in from the door that was knocked open, bringing a burst of cold air and a figure. Feiliu reached out and dragged the corpse on the ground and pulled it out with ease. Xiao Jingrui followed to the door to take a look, only to see that he threw it casually, and threw it outside the wall, and then looked at the ground in the courtyard, it was already clean, and there were already those horizontal and vertical places.

"You're just going to throw it out like that?" Xiao Jingrui asked in surprise.

"Okay," the person who answered was Mei Changsu, "Put it outside, someone will deal with it." ”

Xiao Jingrui could hear his voice like ice, not like the gentle Su brother who had been familiar with him for a long time, and he couldn't help but feel a chill in his heart, and his vest was cold.

Feiliu had already come back and held Mei Changsu's hand: "Together!" ”

"Okay," Mei Changsu smiled softly at him, his expression changed so quickly, but it was extremely natural, "Brother Su will go to the West House with you to sleep." Can you send Brother Xiao out first? ”

Feifei turned his head and glared at Xiao Jingrui, who was still in a daze, "Not good!" ”

"Flying ......"

"No, no," Xiao Jingrui came back to his senses, a trace of bitterness appeared in his heart, and said gloomily, "You rest, I'll go first." The second half of the night...... Be careful, too. ”

Mei Changsu smiled lightly, watching Xiao Jingrui turn around and walk towards the courtyard with heavy steps, the smile on his face gradually turned into a faint sadness. From behind, the young man's head was lowered, and his originally upright figure looked a little rickety, as if some invisible weight was pressing on his shoulders, which he had to carry, but it was so difficult to carry. What he will face in the future may only be known to himself, but the ice-like obsession in his chest is clearly saying that even if he knows, everything that should happen will still happen according to the predetermined track.

"It's just the beginning...... Jing Rui ...... I hope you can get through it......" muttered, Mei Changsu put away the sympathy that inadvertently surged out of his heart, and took Feiliu's hand and slowly walked into the West Chamber.