Winter in Liaozhou is always snowy. It is also common for ten days and half a month in a row.

As soon as the wind and snow arrive, the sky and the earth are white, covered in silver, and Vientiane is renewed.

Xu Sheng had no time to care about the picturesque snow scene, so he just walked lonely, carrying the coffin on his back, becoming an inconspicuous black spot in the vast world.

At this moment, his state of mind is extremely complicated. We are about to arrive in Wuzhou County, and the purpose of this trip is about to be achieved. Can... And after that? After burying the old blind man, what should he do?

The world is so big, is there a place for him to live?

What should he do? He is a disciple of the monk of Hanshan and the inheritor of the old blind man, but... Is he really qualified?

"Am I worthy?"

Xu Sheng raised his hands and looked at them intently, although they were clean, he seemed to see endless blood light!

"If the Hanshan monk saw that I had killed so many people, how would he feel? If the old blind man knew that I had used "The Mystery of Life and Death", how disappointed would he be? Xu Sheng asked himself, at a loss in his heart.

"Destiny, fate, "The Mystery of Life and Death". Xu Sheng felt a deep sense of powerlessness, where would his fate go? Could it be to become a weirdo of the Xu family? Could it be the blood-colored "Zhu Guo"?

To this day, he seems to have been pushed by fate, and in the face of fate, he... Powerless.

The snow is still falling.

Xu Sheng finally felt a little cold. The cold calmed him down a little, and he looked at the endless paleness, feeling as if he was in another world.

He began to have the illusion that he was not from this realm!

Yes, there has always been a barrier between him and the world. Ten years of memory were missing for no reason, and he felt like he was being put in the world out of thin air; The sudden, all kinds of unreasonable adventures, weird like a well-planned script...

Originally, he saw the "Dark Forest" as a dream, as illusory; But last time, after crossing the "Monument of Life and Death" in the "Dark Forest", he knew that it was not a dream, it was real!

If what he had previously regarded as a dream was reality, would not the reality he had long identified be... It's unreal!

How to define truth and falsehood?

Life is like a dream!

The world is fantastic!

With such a mood, Xu Sheng's figure was also blurred and blurred in the wind and snow that was getting bigger and more miserable...

"Young man, do you want to cross the river?"

The sudden shouting made Xu Sheng stop his reverie, and as soon as he looked up, he saw a big river flowing slowly in front of him, boundless!

Amazing!

There is an unfrozen river in the ice and snow!

"Alas, I said young man, why do you still carry a coffin." A small boat swayed on the water, and at the head of the boat stood an old man dressed as a boatman, whose face could not be seen clearly, with white hair, dressed in a robe, and covered with snowflakes.

"Old man, this...?" Xu Sheng pointed to the river, and his inquiry was beyond words.

"You're an out-of-towner, aren't you? This is a great wonder in Liaozhou, known as the 'passing water' that does not freeze all year round and lasts forever. The boatman took out a cigarette gun from his bosom, took a beautiful puff, and said with a puff of smoke: "Whether you want to cross the river or not, in such weather, it is better to come to the boat to avoid it first, and then go when the weather is clear." “

"It's okay," Xu Sheng nodded in agreement. He was indeed tired after walking so many roads. When the boat came to shore, he stepped lightly, and when he looked down, he found that there was a pile of unburned firewood in the center of the boat, and a steaming copper kettle hung over it.

"Some?"

"Good"

The boatman took a black porcelain bowl, filled it, and handed it to Xu Sheng.

"It's... Wine? ”

"Hmm," the old boatman nodded, and said with his smoking gun, "I brewed some sorghum rice from my own home, and according to my own preferences, I picked wild tea from the mountains, and boiled it with this turbid wine." It's taboo, but I don't care about that. In this way, it not only tastes mellow, but also refreshing and refreshing, and it is the right time to drink it in winter. ”

"Thank you" Xu Sheng sniffed the wine, and suddenly remembered that he hadn't eaten for many days. Strange to say, he wasn't hungry at all!

"It seems..."Xu Sheng raised his head and drank the wine.

Now he is no longer an ordinary person, his physique has undergone tremendous changes, and he cannot be measured by common sense.

Eighty percent is because of "Life and Death Xuangong"!

He thought like this, after all, there was still so much blood of others in his body, as well as the blood of Qin Lie that had been polluted!

"Me, or me?"

Xu Sheng stared at the blurred face reflected in the wine bowl, stunned.

"Little brother! Brother! ”

"Alas"

The old boatman called Xu Sheng twice before he reacted, he hurriedly gave a salute, sent the wine bowl back to the old man, and said, "Thank you." ”

"They are all hard-working people who have been displaced in other places, so there is no need to say such polite words."

"It's okay," Xu Sheng responded, and then asked softly with some doubts, "Isn't the old man from here?" ”

"Well." The old boatman took a puff of cigarette, looked at the vast river, and said helplessly: "Yes and no." ”

"What do you mean by that?"

"Thirty years ago, the Kanto region was in turmoil, and the war once burned to Youzhou, and I, the old man, a pair of children and my wife, all died in the war." The old boatman paused, turned his head away, and continued: "But I am not dead, I am not so lucky! was dragged by others to fill the strong man, and after being injured, he was thrown into the dead water, and floated all the way to about here, and was rescued by a ferryman. Since then, I've been the ferryman's assistant. Fifteen years ago, the ferryman also died, and I was the only one left on the vast river. ”

"Ahem!" The old boatman coughed twice, took a sharp puff of his cigarette, and then preached: "I have been ferrying here, and two miles east of the river there is a small shed that I built myself and two acres of land that I cultivated in the early years, and that, together with the boat, is all my belongings. I don't want to call this home, but... It's been years, and in fact, this is my home. ”

"Old man, it's me who is not good, and I provoked your sadness again." Xu Sheng bowed apologetically, deeply touched and a little sad.

Thirty years of loneliness, just thinking about it makes people shudder and despair.

"It's okay," the old boatman waved his hand, "it's all over." For 30 years, when I think about the past and the days when my wife and children were still around, I feel a little awkward. It seems that it is someone else's life, and it has nothing to do with me, and it will not be so sad. ”

Such a feeling!

Xu Sheng was surprised, he also had it. From the day the meteorite fell to the ground, it was like a starting point, and his life was completely different. Now, if he were to look to the past, he would even wonder if the rustic peasant boy he used to be was really himself.

Speaking of which, Xu Sheng in the peasant era is very similar to "Qin Zhao" when his memory was closed.

Past or present, which is the true self? Or maybe both?

Xu Sheng had a headache when he thought about it, and asked the old boatman again: "Dare to ask the old man this year?" I don't know why, he talked to the boatman, and he only felt comfortable, and his heart was inexplicably relaxed.

"Nine out of sixty."

"Oh"

At this age, there is not much difference from the old blind man who has been dead for a long time. Xu Sheng looked at the old boatman, and all that came to his mind was the figure of the old blind man.

Speaking of which, the two are really similar, with the same thin and shriveled body, the same old and rickety body, and the same indifferent temperament honed over the years.

"Teacher" Xu Sheng was deeply affectionate and naturally whispered.

Although he took the Hanshan monk as his teacher, he knew that he was more influenced by the old blind man and preferred to be like the old blind man.

If you can.

"What did you say?" The old boatman asked.

"No, nothing." Xu Sheng shook his head, looked at the boatman, and asked, "Is there still wine?" I'd like to ask for more. ”

"Yes, that's enough." The boatman poured another full bowl, approached Xu Sheng's face, and said in a loud voice: "I see that you are fascinated, no matter who you are thinking about, I hope this bowl of wine can relieve your sorrows." ”

"Good"

A glass of turbid wine enters the throat and turns into a belly knife hook, and people say that wine relieves all worries, but it is even more sad after not seeing it.

The so-called wine relieves sorrow and makes people forget their worries, which is probably just self-comfort. A sad person, even if he drinks a thousand cups, is accompanied by tears; After sobering up, looking back on the past, it is even more uncomfortable.

In this world, there is only about time that can heal the pain, and in the end, all kinds of glory and disgrace, joy and anger, joy and anger will come in... Grave!

Bowl after bowl, drinking to the end, it is already tasteless. Xu Sheng put down the bowl and looked up at the sky.

Night. The wind is still there, but the snow is not; A bright moon is in the sky, covering with dark clouds, half hidden and half left.

Firewood was lit again in the boat, and the old boatman set up a bamboo pole and roasted dry food in front of the tongue of fire. The firewood made a "crackling" sound, clear and restless in this silent night of wind and moon.

"Old man, do you want to stay on this river in the future?" Xu Sheng untied the coffin, and his mind was quiet with the scenery.

"Hmm. I've been locked up in the river for the rest of my life, and I'm going to die here. In fact, I didn't feel very sad, on the contrary, I felt a little relieved, as if I should have been. The old boatman was still smoking, puffing on the clouds, and said lightly: "What can an old man who is half buried in the earth?" He could do nothing but accept fate. Perhaps, that's the best arrangement. ”

"Fate... The best arrangement. Xu Sheng muttered in a low voice, thoughtful.

"yes, how do you know you're not the best?" The old boatman coughed, and Xu Sheng stepped forward and patted him on the back.

"Ahem" The old man finally put down his cigarette gun and said earnestly: "I have met the best wife in the world, the loveliest two children, and the most tragic war. But fortunately, after I met the most kind ferryman, and the most beautiful passing water in the world accompanied me day and night, what should I not be satisfied with? After all, the past is in the past, and no one can get it back. In the middle of heaven and earth, I walked this time, although I didn't have much success, but I had a clear conscience and didn't feel sorry for anyone. I did suffer a little, but when I think about it, it's more about happiness. Right and wrong, gain and loss, good or bad, what is beyond the reach of manpower, leave it to God. It gave me all of this, and I have to thank it! Maybe tomorrow, maybe the day after tomorrow, I'll die on this river. It's not a big deal, just feed the fish. How many of the products of the river have I eaten in thirty years, and why should I be the only one who eats them, and they can't eat me? What is this called? ”

"Old man, you are really open-minded." Xu Sheng sat down cross-legged, hesitated for a moment, and said softly: "I have a question, I want to ask you old man." ”

"What do I know?" The old man first prevaricated, then thought about it, and said slowly: "Say, the bad old man may still be of some use." ”

"What should he do if there is such a person, whose fate is in the hands of others, and whose future is uncertain? He has received some people's efforts and high expectations, but he knows that he can't afford those expectations, and he has done something wrong that cannot be changed, what should he do? ”

"It's a nuisance." The old boatman scratched his head and said with some embarrassment: "That man is so tired of life, since he doesn't know what to do, why don't he listen to his heart?" ”

"Heart?"

"Yes," said the old boatman, who no longer smoked, took the cigarette gun back into his bosom and said quietly, "It must be a kind man, and if he were not kind, he would not have such sorrows." Those who have helped him must be equally kind, they must not want to see him give up kindness, as long as he keeps kindness, he will live up to his trust. ”

"Is that enough?" Xu Sheng asked.

"That has a clear conscience." The old boatman put away the bamboo pole, brought the steaming pancakes to Xu Sheng's mouth, smiled, and said, "What you should care about is your own stomach first." If the future is uncertain, what is the use of sorrow? But do good deeds, don't ask about the future, if the end has been written, then go through the process of his own heart. ”