I don't know how many years I haven't been touched by bloodthirsty hands, the long knife that exudes a cold atmosphere, in the sun, somehow, always looks a little less domineering, a little more tender. Pen % fun % Pavilion www.biquge.info

I still remember that back then, this long knife with a bloody handle, on the sinking road, did a scene of resistance that would rather die than live, how majestic it was, and it could not be lived.

Thousands of years of peace, thousands of years of silence, these swords and guns that returned from the battlefield triumphantly, bathed in the blood of victory, returned to their homeland, and returned to their homeland, although they have never stopped tempering, but the magnificent spirit has unconsciously collapsed little by little. It was as if they had forgotten the bloody storm they had experienced, or rather, they were infatuated with the sleepy peace.

Zhu Hou, who took off his numb disguise, was silent in the dazzling sunlight, his eyes slightly closed, as if he was meditating and remembering. Zhu Cong stood upright beside him, not smiling, looking at death as if he were at home, and hit his face little by little.

Zhu Hou didn't say anything, Zhu never asked, the father and son, enjoyed some of the tranquility before the storm.

In the middle of the night, Zhu Hou's eyes opened suddenly, turned around, and looked at the retainers of the Suzaku Mansion who had already prepared with a cold face, and the tone that could not be refused came out, "Everyone, this city has reached the moment when it needs to make changes, and I will be the first to take this step." Are you willing to follow?"

"As a retainer of the Suzaku Mansion, his subordinates must go all out and go to the soup and fire, and they will not give up!" The monstrous voice of response was uniform, and from a distance, it was like a thick transparent pillar, soaring straight into the sky. Shocked by the eaves, the birds and sparrows who were still stubbornly making the last resistance, unwilling to leave this homeland that had survived for a long time, had to endure the pain in their hearts and flapped their wings away.

The mournful sound of birds rose and fell, causing Zhu Ying's body to tremble.

Zhu Shi, who had just rushed back from outside not long ago, stood beside Zhu Ying, and the two of them were in the shadows under the eaves, looking at the people gathered in the courtyard from a distance. The indescribable heaviness of my heart.

Zhu Shi stretched out his arm, gently put it on Zhu Ying's shoulder, and took her into his arms, hoping to provide some comfort.

Zhu Ying obediently pressed her cheek to Zhu Cong's chest, and he wanted to ask him where he went last night, but as soon as the unique smell reached the tip of his nose, he didn't need to say more.

"Second brother, father and eldest brother, why do they have to do this? Didn't they think that with the heart and courage of the current king, this trip must be gone and never returned?" Zhu Ying's voice of inquiry was faintly sad.

Zhu Shi heard this, he has been addicted to kendo for decades, and he has never paid attention to other things before, and it can even be said that he has not cared about anything in the Suzaku Mansion. At that time, he stubbornly believed that kendo was everything, the true meaning of his life. It wasn't until last night that the changes that had occurred due to the presence of the phoenix fairy made him think of all this for the first time in his life.

The inexplicable vicissitudes of life gradually hit his originally empty and pure eyes, Zhu Shi raised his head and looked at the familiar and strange two people standing side by side in the distance, his brows wrinkled unconsciously.

"Third sister, if it was before, I would not have known how to answer this question, but now, I suddenly have a comprehension of the path chosen by my father and eldest brother. ”

Zhu Ying, whose nose moved slightly, heard this, looked up at him, and asked puzzledly, "Second brother understands?"

Zhu Shi nodded lightly, lifted the wide palm on Zhu Ying's shoulder, and gently stroked her long hair, that look, just like the girl leaning on her arms, or the same crybaby who wore a playful ponytail and followed him all day long, like a fart, because of curiosity, and repeatedly chanted that she also wanted to learn kendo.

"Third sister, you must know that in this world, everything has a cycle of cause and effect, and we are just a role in this game that can never be solved, but later someone found that although the role has long been destined, such a role, the way forward is full of thousands of variables. My father was one of those who discovered this fact. ”

Zhu Ying listened quietly, her brows furrowed, and her rapidly changing expression seemed to vaguely understand, but she didn't seem to understand it thoroughly.

Zhu Shi smiled faintly, that smile was full of too much bitterness, "Third sister, to put it simply, everything that is happening now is actually destined not long after we were born. It's just a time for us to be strong. ”

Zhu Ying was thoughtful, she was smart in the past, but for some reason, on this issue, she seemed to be unable to turn around, "Could it be that the theory of fate really exists?"

Zhu Ying is reluctant to believe in the existence of this kind of thing, for her, people will win the sky, and no matter how strong the fate is, in front of those who are willing to work hard, it can be described as a vulnerable thing.

Zhu Shi's gaze, which seemed to be confused and suddenly realized, turned to Zhu Hou and the others in the distance, and moved back again in just a moment. "This matter may not have much to do with fate, but I can only understand this early this morning. ”

Zhu Ying looked up, "What do you say?"

"Third sister, do you remember what happened in your childhood?" The fog in Zhu Shi's eyes gradually dissipated, and he who had sorted out his clues, and who had figured out what had happened, seemed to have completely untied the knot in his heart.

When Zhu Ying heard this, she first nodded reflexively, and then shook her head. Even she was a little surprised to make such an unaccustomed reaction, and she thought to herself, "Could it be that the red medicine smells too much and is so strong that even her own reaction is a little weird?"

However, thinking about it, because she was anxious to understand all this, she hurriedly replied, "I remember, I remember, but I don't know, what did the second brother say?"

Zhu Shi moved his gaze upward, as if facing the bright sun looking at the blue sky, and seemed to fall into a memory, and after a while, he spoke, "Back then, eldest brother, me, and you, after the three of us spent a boring childhood peacefully, my father led us to the martial arts training ground in the mansion and ordered us to take a weapon that we liked at first sight. I still remember that the sky was as blue as it is today. ”

Hearing Zhu Shi mention it, Zhu Ying immediately remembered what happened that day, and her thoughts slid rapidly with the words, and memories came rushing over.

Back then, the three of them, who were only four or five years old, were playing carefree in the streets and alleys, but for some reason, they were suddenly found by Zhu Hou one after another, brought back to the Suzaku Mansion, and went to the martial arts training ground.

I still remember that at that time, Zhu Hou, who originally loved to laugh, was unusual, with that strange look on his face, which made the three of them sincerely frightened when they saw it, and they didn't dare to have any rebellious words or even expressions.

It was probably from that time that Zhu Hou gradually changed from the amiable and kind father role he had at the beginning, little by little, to what he is now.

When the three of them were playing and playing when they saw Zhu Hou with such an expression, they almost had a sense of tension in their hearts for no reason, but they were just children at the time, and they couldn't understand what that feeling meant, but they simply thought that they should have caused some trouble.

The three of them lined up in a column, led by the bold eldest brother Zhu Cong, followed by Zhu Shi, the youngest Zhu Ying followed closely to Zhu Shi's back, and Zhu Hou took the lead. From the place where they played, it was only a short ten minutes away from Suzaku Mansion. But they felt like it was a long journey that seemed centuries old.

Along the way, Zhu Hou never said a word, but maintained a monotonous and boring pace, until he reached the martial arts training ground, he stopped and turned to face the three of them.

The three people who thought they would usher in the overwhelming reprimands, seeing this, immediately lowered their heads in fear, but who knew that Zhu Hou just said lightly, "The three of you, each choose a weapon that suits you." ”

Hearing this, the three of them immediately understood what all this was all about. Although they were young at that time, they had been active outside the mansion for a long time, and they had already known that to be born as immortal citizens was to start practicing martial arts from a young age. But what they don't understand is that instead of comparing the children of ordinary city citizens, they say that the children of the other three provinces will not start this journey until they are seven years old at the earliest.

However, the three people who were afraid of Zhu Hou did not have the courage to express their inner confusion.

Almost at the same time as the words fell, Zhu Cong, who was a little honest and wooden, walked out without hesitation and walked towards the giant axe weighing about 1,000 catties not far from his right.

Zhu Shi stood in front of the giant axe that was three of his heights, and said to Zhu Hou without humility or arrogance, "Father, this is my weapon!"

Zhu Hou nodded expressionlessly, signaling that he knew, but from the careful Zhu Ying, she still noticed the fleeting smile on Zhu Hou's face at the moment when the two of them met their eyes.

It seems that my father is satisfied with the choice of his eldest brother. She thought so casually.

Seeing that the eldest brother had already been chosen, Zhu Shi, as the second eldest, after hesitating for a moment, also raised his foot and walked to a long sword on the left hand, "This long sword is my weapon." ”

When Zhu Hou heard this, he didn't even move his gaze, as if he already knew Zhu Shi's choice. Only Zhu Ying and Zhu Hou stood looking at each other on the field.

To this day, Zhu Ying still can't explain where the stubbornness came out back then, and she refused to move her feet at all.

After about half an hour's effort, Zhu Hou lightly opened his lips, and said in a thick and gloomy voice, "Ying'er, why don't you make a choice!"

When Zhu Ying heard that voice and words, her legs almost went limp, and she was about to sit on the ground.

Seeing this, Zhu Shi's eager expression was so clear in the corner of Zhu Ying's eyes.

Zhu Ying didn't answer immediately, and the anger on Zhu Hou's face intensified little by little. Finally, Zhu Ying opened the cherry mouth when Zhu Hou was about to raise his foot and rush towards him. "I don't like the weapons here, they smell too bloody, I don't like it. ”

After Zhu Ying said this, she immediately closed her eyes, just waiting for Zhu Hou's stormy anger to hit, however, the expected thing did not happen, and when Zhu Ying opened her eyes again, Zhu Hou was gone.

Seeing Zhu Shi leaving, he hurriedly ran to Zhu Ying's side, and said, "Third sister, you shouldn't disobey your father, why do you do this, today is just a very simple choice, you just choose one at will." ”

Zhu Cong was still standing in front of the giant axe, his body did not move a bit, and then his body, but he didn't know when he had turned around, staring at Zhu Ying with straight eyes.

Zhu Ying was immersed in great fear, and when she came back to her senses after a while, she immediately felt an indescribable feeling of weakness in her whole body, and this feeling was only slightly alleviated after Zhu Shi repeated several concerned inquiries.

"I don't want to make a choice. For the first time, a strong and decisive expression was covered on the immature and innocent little face, which not only made Zhu Shi a little trance-like, but also made Zhu Cong, who seemed indifferent, a little surprised in his eyes.

As the years passed, Zhu Shi, who chose the long sword, began to practice day after day since that day, and gradually, kendo has become the whole of his life.

Zhu Cong, who saw the giant axe at a glance, naturally became the object of Zhu Hou's key training, and the two were almost inseparable. At the same time, the battle axe in Zhu Cong's hand also grew from small to large, until it was able to split thousands of catties.

As for Zhu Ying, after that day, Zhu Hou acted as if disobedience had never happened, and never mentioned it, although the relationship between the father and daughter gradually became cold and estranged, but what Zhu Ying could understand at that time was that for some reason, Zhu Hou needed to spend all his time cultivating Zhu Cong.

Zhu Ying, who didn't choose any weapons, had a foreign female teacher after a few days, and as time went by, she gradually learned what the teacher was good at: light skills.

A family of three children has since embarked on a completely different path.

Zhu Ying thought about it, and unconsciously, the image of the female teacher who left quietly on the day she became an adult suddenly became clear again, as if it was right in front of her eyes and within reach.

Memories are like a poison that runs through the bloodstream, bringing out all kinds of good and bad touches.

After a long time, Zhu Ying replied, "I remember, but second brother, what do you mean?", in fact, Zhu Ying, who said this, had already vaguely felt that she had touched the edge of the secret, but the edge was slightly blurred.

When Zhu Shi heard this, the expression on his face flickered brightly and darkly, as if he was figuring out Zhu Ying's words, after all, in terms of his understanding of his sister, the words had already reached this level, and Zhu Ying should be able to understand the meaning immediately.

After a long time, seeing Zhu Ying's eyes looking at him, it really didn't look like he was pretending, Zhu Shi sighed weakly, looked at Zhu Hou who was already ready to go in the distance, Zhu Cong and the two, and said, "As early as then, or it can be said that when we were born, everyone's fate had been set. Back then, we didn't choose the weapon of our choice. ”

Zhu Shi paused: "To a certain extent, it can be said that what we have chosen is the fate of the future! Second, we have always thought that such a fate was chosen by ourselves and walked out by ourselves. But in fact, my father probably already knew the choice of the three of us that day. ”

"What?" The words fell, and Zhu Ying finally fully understood the meaning of Zhu Shi's words, and suddenly a bone-chilling chill ran through her body. "Second brother, are you saying that over the years, we have actually been following the path set by our father?" Zhu Ying said and shook her head, "This, this is impossible. ”

Zhu Shi smiled bitterly, "My father is an excellent strategist, and before today, although I overestimated him, I didn't expect that his mind would be so meticulous to such a terrifying point." Zhu Shi said and looked at Zhu Ying, "Third sister, if you think about it carefully, you will understand what I mean." ”

Seeing that Zhu Ying didn't have the slightest meaning to answer, Zhu Shi continued, "The three children of the Vermilion Bird Mansion, the eldest son Zhu Shi, holds a thousand catties in his hand, can split mountains and rivers, and a giant axe should be among the ten thousand armies, and directly take the head of the enemy general." At the same time, he almost got the true inheritance of his father, although he rarely got the opportunity to perform, but he really learned his father's strategic ideas. Courage and resourcefulness, that's probably it. ”

"The second son, I, am obsessed with kendo, and for decades I have stayed in my own comfort zone, not asking, not caring, and not caring about everything in the outside world. I used to wonder why my father indulged me so much, which can be said to be a selfish and wasteful behavior of life, until today, I suddenly figured out that behind the kendo, I actually took on a responsibility given to me by my father, that is, to spread the incense of the Zhu family. ”

Zhu Shi, who said this, did not have a sense of vicissitudes in his words. "Probably because of this, even if things have come to this point, it shouldn't be a headache for me to save my life and maintain the continuation of the incense with my hard swordsmanship and my attitude towards life without fighting with the world. ”

"In the end, it's you, the third sister. As a girl, my father's original plan was to let you live a peaceful, carefree and happy life. So on that day, you didn't choose any weapons, and my father's heart was actually full of relief. ”

Tears slowly gathered into her eyes, and the gaze that shot out of Zhu Ying's eyes showed how sad she was at this moment.

"If that's the case, doesn't it mean that the fate of the eldest brother on this trip has been doomed?"

Zhu Shi sighed silently, and then shook his head inexplicably, "Now that I think back to what my eldest brother has said intentionally or unintentionally over the years, I think he has long understood that his life does not belong to him." ”

When Zhu Ying heard this, her heart was stunned, and her eyes uncontrollably shifted to the man in the distance, who was unpretentious and even a little stupid no matter when she looked at it. She didn't dare to think about it, and she didn't want to think that her eldest brother, who had not been close since she was a child, could silently endure such a terrifying and helpless life.

Zhu Ying couldn't imagine how much courage it would take to be able to face it calmly.

Scenes of the past flashed quickly in front of Zhu Ying's eyes, and at this moment, she recalled the disputes and unreasonable troubles with Zhu Cong over the years, and her heart was full of shame and self-blame.

Zhu Ying felt the pain in her heart, and she couldn't help but walk forward under her feet.

Zhu Shi, who realized what she wanted to do, silently increased the strength of the palm on her shoulder, "Third sister." Zhu Shi said and shook his head gently, "It's useless to say more." The eldest brother has long been prepared, and the belief in his heart is no longer something we can change. ”

Zhu Ying lowered her head and was silent, and after a while, she suddenly spoke, and said in an unusually firm tone, "You and I are both members of the Zhu family, and at this moment of life and death, we should spend it together." ”

Zhu Shi seemed to be quite surprised that she would say such a thing, and after being stunned for a moment, he looked at Zhu Hou and Zhu Cong, who already had a tendency to move, and said softly, "This is not what my father and eldest brother want." ”

"But ....."

Zhu Ying wanted to say something more, but at this moment, Zhu Cong looked at the two of them.

The two people who realized this immediately looked at the past like ghosts, and the three of them were silent at this time.

Between the six eyes, time passed like the yellow sand in the hands trying to hold onto it.

Finally, Zhu Congchong nodded lightly at them, and a smile appeared on his face that had never appeared in decades, and that smile was full of happiness and relief.

It's like telling them that their mission has finally come to an end.