Nantuo, Qiushui.

The child lay on the lattice in the night, looking out of the town at the woods.

The world is shrouded in a peaceful night, but behind the forest, there is still a twilight light.

The child looked at it for a long time, not knowing what he remembered, and then jumped down from the window, secretly glanced at his father and mother, who were still busy in the back kitchen, and then took a bowl, filled a piece of stewed pork, endured the scalding and tore a piece and tasted it, nodded very satisfied, and then ran outside with the bowl in his arms.

His mother probably heard the movement, poked her head out of the kitchen, looked at his back and asked, "Where are you going?" ”

Without looking back, the child said, "I'll go outside." ”

"Get it done, come back early, don't be too late!"

"Okay."

The boy ran out with the bowl in his arms, across the stream, and out of breath to the edge of the forest.

And then he turned over the branch under the tree.

It's just that when I took it out, I was worried again, how to make this thing become a sword-like thing again?

It was only when the child began to think like this, that the glow scattered in the night of the forest rushed towards this place, and circled around the branch twice like a sword intent, and then turned into a sword light, and suddenly disappeared here with the child.

......

The grass house by the autumn water has been renovated, and although it is incredible that a grass house from a thousand years ago has survived to the present, no one will probably be surprised by this.

After all, such an autumn water immersed in twilight all day long is already very incomprehensible.

The door of the grass house was open, and the sunset was shining, and the white-haired woman with peach blossoms was sitting under the maple tree outside the house, making a fire and roasting rabbits.

The sword, which was invisible to the world, was casually attached to its scabbard and inserted into the dirt at the edge of the house, quietly bearing the twilight.

The child carried the bowl of stewed pork and landed on the twilight of the long river from the night of the town.

Qiushui raised his head and looked at the child who ran over with a bowl in his arms, but he was a little surprised.

"What are you sitting here today?"

The child stopped in front of Qiushui, handed out the bowl in his arms, tilted his head and thought about it, and said, "I'm afraid you're hungry here....."

It's just that this sentence is not finished.

For the child's eyes fell on the fragrant rabbit roasted on the fire outside the cottage.

Probably he didn't think that a sword cultivator demon who looked very powerful was about to die, and came to this river alone, but he roasted a rabbit with a great appetite.

But the child didn't ask such a thing.

But he put the bowl aside, squatted down by the fire, looked at the rabbit that was roasted golden and crispy, licked his lips and said; "Where did this rabbit come from? Did you catch it in the mountains? ”

Qiushui looked at the bowl of stewed pork on the side, was silent for a while, and then said with a soft smile: "No, the one in the forest may have come from the mountain outside your town." ”

"Oh." The child said with some regret.

It's not a pity that such a cute rabbit was roasted by such a good-looking demon.

It's just a pity that I haven't encountered such a good thing.

At the same time, the child has some covetousness, but also some guilt.

After all, there are many demon clans here, and his mother is also a demon.

"Didn't you say that the demon clan wouldn't eat the things of the mountains and wilderness?"

The child asked, confused.

Qiushui looked at the child and said, "Who said that?" ”

"My mother said that."

His mother is probably a demon turned into a thing in the mountains.

Qiushui thought for a moment, and then said calmly: "There was indeed such a saying a long time ago. After all, when the demon clan was born, he always felt that he should be close to the things of the mountains and forests, not the world. ”

"And then?" The child asked, thought for a moment, and said, "Is it because they are closer to the world?" ”

"No, it's not." Qiushui quietly looked at the roast rabbit on the fire, "Later, it didn't happen, because everything in the world can turn into demons, if everything is taboo, it is equivalent to cutting off all life in the world." ”

The child said ignorantly: "Everything can turn into a demon? ”

"For example, autumn water." Qiu said quietly, "It's also like black soil, like a broken stool leg." ”

The child's eyes widened.

"Stool legs?"

"Yes, stool legs. The world knows what a demon is, and it also knows how to turn a demon, but so far, no one has been able to explain why such a group of transformed species came from. Maybe it's something from heaven, or something that is still unknown to the world. ”

Qiushui whispered, his thoughts perhaps returning to the long millennium ago.

"From the same stream, to the different stream, and finally back to the same stream, the self-perception of the demon clan has undergone a long change. But in today's world, there is probably only one taboo - not to eat the corpses of the demon clan. ”

Children are always a little creepy, but they are also very curious.

"Why?"

Qiu said quietly: "It's a truth that you can't eat people with people. ”

So in a certain courtyard in Nanyi City, someone drooled at the mushroom demon that was roasted golden and crispy, and then felt that it was disrespectful to the prisoner.

No normal person would drool over the corpses of their own kind.

The child finally understood the meaning of autumn water.

"So that's all there is to it?"

"Yes, everything is based on the standard of being in the same stream with the world, and there is no taboo in anything other than worldly morality." Qiushui looked at the child, "If you are hungry in the future, you can rest assured that you can roast rabbits and eat them." ”

"Okay."

The children were probably very happy.

It's just that after being happy for a moment, he fell down again.

"And what am I?"

The child muttered softly.

It's like the fatal question he once asked his father.

He may not be a demon, but he is not a human either.

Qiushui quietly looked at the child squatting in front of her, and she could naturally see that this child was born from the combination of the two races.

After being silent for a while, Qiu Shui said softly: "This is a question that has been a long time ago, and there is still no definite conclusion between the cultivation world and the world, and you may not be able to understand these things when you talk to you. ”

The child looked up at Qiushui and said seriously, "I want to hear it." ”

Qiushui quietly looked at the child in front of him for a long time, then stood up, walked to Qiushui's edge, and said slowly: "The first time the demon clan appeared was on a high cliff in the north, and it was a sword. ”

"I know, that's the Demon Ancestor."

The child said excitedly.

It's like when people are talking about something, talking about a big person, and someone is very proud and says, 'That's Kamigawa, I've seen him.'"

Children probably don't understand what the name means to Qiushui.

But Qiushui didn't say anything, just looked down at his heart, where half of the demon heart was already beating extremely slowly.

"Yes, that is the Demon Ancestor, and since then, the world has begun to live together with all demons, and the world has begun to really deconstruct and analyze the existence of such a population for the first time, and finally put them .... We are defined as incarnate beings, and the corresponding human beings are multiplying beings. ”

This time, the child didn't say anything, just listened incomprehensibly and attentively.

But in order for a definition to arise, it is natural to consider everything that is related to it. The world is the same stream, all the souls meet, so there are always many intersections—just like you. ”

"An existence like you, combined by the two races of shemales and born from the mother's womb, is naturally a multiplying spirit, but it can't be called a human being, nor can it be called a demon."

The child whispered, "Then what are we?" ”

Qiushui stood quietly by the river and said softly: "This is where the world cannot be determined, unless the definition is reconstructed." But if there is only a definition and no essential understanding, we can only continue to define until it becomes an unsolvable answer. The Sword Sect of the Cultivation Realm once came up with a name and called you Spirit. But this is only a superficial definition, and Daomen does not agree. ”

The child was puzzled and said, "Why?" ”

Qiu said quietly: "Because they are materialistic and dialectical, a noun that comes out of thin air, it is impossible to get their approval. To know and know, you need to be known in order to be known. ”

The child fell silent, stood up, walked to the side of the autumn water by the river, and quietly watched the psychedelic glow of the river.

"But whether it is tentatively called a spirit or another name, these are all things that belong to the upper echelons that need to be truly answered, and living in the world is just a human being."

Qiushui raised his hand and touched the child's head, and said softly: "If you think too much in the current world, you will fall into the quagmire." ”

"And when will people be able to answer this question?"

Qiushui said softly: "I don't know, but since there is a question, there will naturally be an answer." There is no such thing as an inexplicable thing in the world, and you can wait slowly. ”

The child looked down at his reflection in the river, and it was himself, not himself—just a superficial definition.

The child had a headache, so he didn't think about it anymore, nodded, and then remembered the bowl of stewed pork he had brought.

"Is the meat I brought you going to be cold?"

The child suddenly turned and ran towards the cottage.

Qiushui walked back with him.

The boy touched the bowl of stew, which was indeed a little cold, and remembered something else very bad.

"It's over, haven't I been here for a long time, I have to go back quickly, or I'll be beaten."

The boy said anxiously, and ran to find his weapon.

Qiushui laughed softly: "Your father and mother are ready to go out to find you, but don't worry, you can bring this rabbit back, and say that you will find someone to change the rabbit." ”

The child's eyes lit up, and he walked back with the magic weapon, looked at the golden-skinned rabbit in the twilight, and licked his lips again.

"Is this really good, then you don't have anything to eat?"

"I eat stew."

Qiushui laughed softly, took the rabbit from the fire, and handed it to the child.

The child took it with a smile on his face, and then ran to the river with the branch in his arms, and the sword light flowed on the branch, and then disappeared in an instant.

Qiushui just stood there quietly and watched.

......

When the child returned to the town, sure enough, his father and mother were about to go out, and they happened to bump into the child who was smiling and returning with a roast rabbit in his arms.

"Where have you been, so long?"

"Hmm..... I have a little friend who caught some rabbits, I just went to her to change the rabbits, mother, you see, what a rabbit. ”

"Friends in town?"

“..... In the village outside the town. ”

"Oh, don't just play with others, when the time comes, it's up to you to see if your father beats you up, and in a few years, we'll send you to study in the hanging courtyard in the town next door, where you can make more friends."

“......”

......

In the wind and snow, a round of mountains and moons loomed.

It's just that after all, the moon in the snow in December is hazy and hazy, and it does not have the magnificent but cold meaning of the moon shining on the world in the past.

So the people of the city only occasionally raised their eyes to look under their umbrellas, and then quietly departed in the night.

Zhang San also walked on the street with an umbrella.

Although the mountain and river Taoist named Chen Qingshan said not to let himself run there all the time, it is still okay to go there once in a while.

And after clarifying some things, his daughter-in-law also came to the door again to apologize and brought many gifts.

So Zhang San is not afraid that his daughter-in-law will make any more trouble.

On the contrary, his daughter-in-law became more attentive, always asking Zhang San - why don't you go to see that little fairy in the north?

Zhang San was very helpless.

So he held an umbrella, carried a piece of bacon, and walked towards the alley in the wind and snow.

When I walked through the street, I saw that above the sky, there seemed to be a sword light cutting through the wind and snow, which made those blurry moonlights have a ray of clarity, but it quickly healed again, as if it was just a dream illusion.

Not an illusion, of course.

Zhang San stopped and looked at it for a while, but he imagined that his daughter would probably be able to go away in the wind and snow like those people in the cultivation world in the future, so he was happy again, lowered his head, and continued to walk forward.

It's just that when I walked near the alley, I saw a woman in red standing with her back to her and holding two swords on the rugged slope steps towards the alley.

Zhang San was stunned.

Looking up at the sky, there is indeed a clear passage to the world, which is gradually covered by snowflakes in the wind and snow.

Could this be the sword cultivator just now?

Zhang San secretly glanced twice, only to feel that the young woman in red had a very cold chill on her body, her eyes fell on the two swords again, she shrunk her neck subconsciously, and then walked along the other side of the slope towards the alley.

After just a few steps, the woman in red turned her head and looked at Zhang San quietly, her eyes fell on the piece of bacon that Zhang San was holding in his hand, Zhang San subconsciously stopped and stood there.

The woman in red looked at it for a long time before she said coldly: "Is there a Taoist who lives in the alley?" ”

Zhang San was stunned for a moment, then shook his head decisively and said, "No, there have been some sword cultivators living there before, but there are no Taoists. ”

The woman in red looked at Zhang San quietly, then didn't say anything, turned around and walked towards the alley.

Zhang San hesitated a little, and slowly followed.

The alley was full of wind and snow, and the woman in red stopped not far from the small courtyard under the locust tree, looked quietly for a long time, and then her eyes fell to another courtyard not far away that seemed to be empty.

After looking at the yard for a long time, the woman in red turned her head to look at Zhang San, who came up with bacon, and said calmly: "If you know the owner of this yard, tell him that I have rented this yard, and you can let him come to me to get money." ”

Zhang San hesitated for a moment, stepped forward, and said very sincerely: "I am, but this yard is haunted, you see there is a locust tree there, and it may not be easy to live in it." ”

At that time, Zhang San also made a fuss about the locust tree - there are ghosts next to the wood, and the world is peaceful.

It's just that now it's a ghost next to the tree, and it doesn't live there.

The woman in red just calmly pushed open the door and walked in.

"I'm not afraid of ghosts."

Zhang San hesitated a little, glanced at the courtyard on the side, and for some reason had some courage, and said very resolutely: "I don't rent." ”

The woman in red stopped at the gate of the courtyard, touched a money bag from her arms, threw it over, and threw it in Zhang San's arms.

"I think I can rent it."

Zhang San said with some anger: "You are unreasonable! ”

The woman in red glanced back at Zhang San, her eyes calm and indifferent in the wind and snow.

"Yes, so what?"

The courtyard door closed slowly.

Zhang San stood there stunned, and lowered his head in discouragement.

Of course not how.

Practitioners reason with the world because they are willing to reason.

If you don't want to talk about it, the world naturally can't do anything.

Shanyue City is not Huaidu.

Zhang San stood in the wind and snow and hung his head for a long time, then threw the bag of money in his arms to the gate of the courtyard, and then spat at the courtyard gate, and then walked to the courtyard under the locust tree, pushed the door open and walked in.

Chen Qingshan was still roasting under the eaves and squinting at the stove.

People who have been injured naturally feel a lot.

Zhang San looked at Chen Qingshan under the eaves with a sad face, thinking that you are sleeping peacefully, and you don't know how to converge and converge, no, your enemies have come to the door with a smell.

I don't know if it was Chen Qingshan's inner slander that was heard, or the sound of the door closing woke up this Taoist, in short, when Zhang San walked to the courtyard, Chen Qingshan opened his eyes and looked at Zhang San a little strangely.

"Why are you sad, your daughter-in-law scolded you again?"

Zhang San sighed, walked to the eaves, put away the umbrella, and put the piece of bacon in the bucket on the side - Chen Qingshan sat under the eaves all day long, and he didn't take those things in, so he simply threw them aside.

After putting away the bacon, Zhang Sancai turned around and shook the snow on the umbrella at the steps, and told Fang Cai about it.

"Does the real person know which of your enemies it is?"

Although Chen Qingshan listened to the whole story, he only glanced lazily to the side and said, "I don't know, there are too many enemies." ”

"Are you going to run away with that real person?"

Chen Qingshan said quite indifferently: "What road am I running?" The people in this world who can let me run away are all bad old men. ”

"And what is she doing there?"

Chen Qingshan shrugged his shoulders and said: "I don't know, I may be pleasantly surprised to find that I am actually here, but I am pessimistic to find that I can't win, so I just wait to see when I will be seriously injured." ”

"Aren't real people now?"

"For her, it's not enough."

Zhang Sanhu looked at Chen Qingshan suspiciously for a long time, and saw that this Taoist man's face was indeed very calm, so he also put his mind at ease.

Chen Qingshan really didn't care who that person was, just thinking about the days, sitting in front of the stove and waiting quietly.

......

A seaside town somewhere in the world.

In addition to the vicinity of Nanyi City, there are actually few people who are keen to play cards.

However, this town has a rare card hall that looks like it has been open for many years.

The business inside is not very good, but it is not deserted, after all, it is snowing in the world, there is nothing to do, and it is inevitable to find some pastime.

Someone sat quietly at the card table in the corner, and he rubbed the red card in his hand for a long time with the middle-aged man at the table, and then played it out.

"Huh."

The man calmly took the red card from the deck and pushed it down.

The man at the table sighed for a while, simply paid, probably lost too much, and was about to be scolded by his daughter-in-law when he went home, so he got up and walked out with a sad face.

When I opened the curtain, I happened to meet a person who came in with the curtain, and the loser didn't care, and walked out dejectedly.

The man in the corner of the card table raised his head and quietly looked at the man in white who walked in.

"How many laps?"

"Yes."