The moonlight is like frost staining the shadow of the tree, and the song of insects is better than the cool summer night.

The two figures, one tall and one short, were stretched long by the moonlight, sometimes intertwined with the shadows of the trees cast by the roadside. Figures and tree shadows are occasionally gently blown and swayed by the night wind.

"I'm going into retreat tomorrow, you have to take care of yourself. The tall figure turned to look at the shorter figure walking beside him.

"Big brother, you can retreat with peace of mind, I am not a child. The short figure looked up, and his smile was clearer in the moonlight.

"Tonight at my mother's place, at the mention of the first day of the next month, your eyes make me a little worried. The tall young man's footsteps did not stop, but he stared seriously at the eyes of the young man who looked up at him, and seeing that the latter was still smiling and looking at him, the tall young man continued: "I know what you have in mind. Don't act rashly until you find out. ”

The short boy stretched out his fingers and flicked a small insect that landed on his shoulder, frowning tightly but not speaking. The young man in the lake blue costume on the side saw his younger brother's expression, sighed and said, "I'm not trying to persuade you to give up. I want to avenge my mother more than you. If it hadn't been a mistake, I would have been the victim. ”

The young man in the black robe lowered his head, looked at the shadow walking with him on the ground, and whispered, "So, if something happened to you at that time, I should have taken revenge." ”

"But I'm not dead yet. The blue-clothed young man seemed to sense that his tone was a little stern, and said a little softer: "I'm the elder brother, and this kind of thing should be done by me." Buddhism pays attention to karma, if there is really retribution, it should be borne by me, the elder brother, whether it is retribution in this life, or going to hell or the next life, I, as an elder brother, will not let you be contaminated with karma. ”

Although the young man around him is precocious, but in the final analysis, he is only an eleven-year-old child, and his brother's words are like a boulder falling into the heart of the young man, which is not too deep, and a sense of depression is like the gradually thick and heavy night in this palace, and the look of the young man who is pressed becomes solemn.

The blue-clothed young man, who realized that he had spoken too much, hurriedly half-jokingly remedied: "Everything will wait until I get out of the customs." Don't worry, with your brother and me's talent, we will reach iQue in the year of the weak crown. When the time comes, you will become the head of the family, and it will not be easy to take revenge. ”

"What are you doing when I'm the head of the house?" the young man in the robe rarely responded to the topic in his brother's mouth.

The young man in blue seemed to have a draft, and he was not surprised by his younger brother's unusual question, "I will assist you, be your right-hand man, be the sword in your hand, the armor on your body, and the shadow guard behind you." ”

"Brother, have you never thought of being the head of the house?" asked the young man in the black robe solemnly.

The blue-clothed young man beside him was not surprised, nor did he pause for a moment to think, and said, "No." If it weren't for the fact that you didn't have the intention to practice martial arts and devoted yourself to studying business, I, as an elder brother, would even be able to compare to you with the only martial arts talent that I can be proud of. From the day you showed all your talents, I made up my mind that even if Second Uncle did not pass on the position of head of the family to you, I would definitely help you win this position. ”

The young man in the black robe lowered his head and stepped on his dark shadow on the ground, as if he was in deep thought. He didn't hear the tall young man beside him finally whisper, "What's more, this position should have belonged to my father." ”

Early the next morning, the young man who had changed into a new dark robe walked into the hall alone, and the maids were busy serving breakfast. The young man looked at a pair of dishes and chopsticks on the table, and although he had been prepared, he still felt a little lonely in his heart.

"Has the eldest brother had breakfast?" the boy looked at the maid who was serving soup for himself.

The maid gently placed the soup bowl in front of the young man and whispered, "The eldest young master packed up his things and went to the retreat last night, and the slave and maid will not be responsible for the meals after the retreat. ”

Hearing this, the young man in the Xuanrobe raised his eyebrows, "Oh, did the eldest brother come back last night and go into retreat directly?"

It seemed that the young man in front of him was talking to himself as a question, and the maid who stepped aside said: "Last night, the eldest boy said that if you retreat earlier, you can break through the Six Realms one day earlier, and maybe you can catch up with the second young master to travel with the head of the family." The second young master will leave for as little as half a year, and the eldest young master wants to see the second young master again. “

Hearing this, the young man in the Xuanpao said that he was no longer a child, and the eldest brother was still so worried about me, but the soup in his mouth was exceptionally warm and delicious.

On weekdays, the two brothers live together. After breakfast during the day, the two would go to practice martial arts separately, and after lunch, they would learn business together. It's just that as the younger brother's talent in the business path has become more and more obvious, even several elders and worshippers in the family who are proficient in this way have sighed at some of the young man's performances, and the elder brother has gradually become a bit of a martial idiot, so the two of them spend more time and energy on what they are good at. Although the time spent together during the day is not as good as before, the three meals must be eaten together. The eldest brother is like a father, so the young man, who has no impression of his father for a long time, takes care of his younger brother who has never seen his father at all.

In addition to going to his mother's house twice a month to reunite with him, the only understanding and feeling of family affection for the teenager is that he has been dependent on his brother for more than ten years.

Although they are the children of the royal family, they have no worries about food and clothing, and the talented two have been valued and cultivated by almost the entire family. But because of this, family affection has become a luxury. Although whether it is a martial arts or a businessman, feelings seem to be the most useless thing, and even the biggest fetters that hinder the avenue from reaching the top.

The teenager, who always complained about his brother and cared for him like a child, spent half a month in front of an empty pair of dishes and chopsticks on the table and tirelessly inquired about the current situation of the retreat every day.

On the first day of the new year, a young man in a black shirt who had just taken a bath was sitting in front of the mirror, watching the maid stroke his hair with an ivory comb. The maid behind her looked at the curvature of the young man's mouth in the mirror, and couldn't help but smile and ask, "The second young master is in a really good mood today, what are you happy about?"

"I received news yesterday that the eldest brother has broken through the Burning Kiln Realm, a few days faster than expected. After another day or two of retreat, you can get out of the retreat when you are firmly established. Tell your mother the news later, and she will be happy. ”

"The two young masters are so promising, the eldest lady must be very happy. The maid pinned a purple hairpin to the boy's hair.

The young man got up quickly, and was about to go to his mother's Zen courtyard with a spring breeze on his face, but before he stepped out of the courtyard gate, he was almost hit by the oncoming green-shirted figure.

The boy dodged sideways to avoid the maid who rushed into the hospital recklessly. Before he could open his mouth to reprimand the other party's rudeness, when the person who came saw that it was a young man, he didn't care about saluting and pleading, and the anxious look on his face tightened, "Second young master, it's not good! ”

It seemed that there were too many people in the courtyard, and the black-clothed young man, who didn't want to delay for a moment, stepped directly over the courtyard wall and flew over everyone's heads to his mother's house. The few medical officers, maidservants, and nuns at the door who had not yet had time to salute or dodge were all shaken away by the vitality that burst out of the young man's body. The young man had no time to pity the staggering people, and rushed into the room while shouting "mother".

The incense in the room did not seem to calm the young man's mind, and he came to the bed, first glanced at the closed-eyed woman whose face was still a little bruised, and turned to salute an old man beside him. "Mr. Sun, how is my mother?"

"The poison in Madame is too strong, and it is a little late to be discovered after the poison. In addition, over the years, I have injured my body because of the last poisoning, and my body is ......" Seeing the young man's gloomy face, the old man changed his words and said: "The old man will do his best to save his wife's life." ”

There was a muffled thunder outside the house, and although the young man's face was as cloudy as the sky in the courtyard changed abruptly, he regained some sense. He saluted the old man again, "There is Mr. Laosun." The old man didn't pay too much attention to the young man's perfunctory, but just sighed.

The young man in Xuanyi didn't hear the old man's explanation to the maid clearly, he came to the woman in green who reported the news, grabbed the latter's arms with both hands, and his nails were embedded in the white skin, "What's going on?"

The maid endured the pain in her arms into the bone marrow, and couldn't wipe the cold sweat oozing from her forehead, and replied with a trembling voice: "In the morning, the second lady came with the third young master, saying that the third young master was going to travel with the head of the family in a few days, and she wanted to ask the master of the Ming and Qing dynasties for a peace charm for the third young master." Then I had lunch with my wife. After they left, Madame said that she was tired, and Madame had a habit of taking a nap, so I did not doubt it, so I left Madame to rest in the room. Just now I went to wake up Madame and wanted to ask her what kind of food did you come to eat in the evening, but I found that Madame ......"

There was another muffled thunder, which resounded in the courtyard and bombarded the boy's mind. "It's this poisonous woman again. "The hatred in the young man's heart is like a dead old tree, which burns with fire when it is struck by lightning. He turned and rushed out of the house, the shouts of the maids behind him were drowned out by the torrential rain, and the world in front of him suddenly became like night.

"Mother, it's still your food here that is delicious. At noon, the meal at the eldest mother's place didn't even have meat, and it was unpalatable. ”

"Eat more of the delicious feast. ”

"Mother, don't give me food, I'm full. ”

"Your mother is right, eat more if it's delicious, and you won't have a chance to eat these in the future. In the pouring rain outside, a sound that was colder than the rain sounded, breaking the peace and quiet of the house.

A middle-aged beautiful woman and a seven or eight-year-old boy looked at the door in unison when they heard the sound, and the door was kicked open with a "bang", and the debris of the door panel was swept into the house with the rain, and the lights in the house were also trembling.

"You, you, what are you going to do?"

"Second brother?"

A soaking black boy slowly walked into the house, the young man held a knife in his right hand, and the blood on the tip of the knife was still dripping, but the blood stains on the young man's body had been washed away by the rain. The boy ignored the words of the two men in the room, and his gaze swept over the boy and then fell on the woman's face.

Looking at the mockery and grim look on the young man's face, the woman felt that what she was looking at was not an eleven or twelve-year-old boy, but an evil ghost who had crawled out of the Shura Hell on a rainy night, and she subconsciously dragged the unknown boy from the chair behind her.

The boy ignored the woman's exclamations and threats, and all voices were muffled out in the rainstorm. He walked towards the mother and son, whom he hadn't seen for three months, and his approaching blade was about to turn the reunion into a dead farewell.

"Second brother, stop. When the young man's hand raised the knife and fell, a panting sound came from outside the house, the sound was very familiar, and it reached the young man's ears, dispelling the cold of the young man being drenched in the rain. The young man saw in the woman's desperate eyes the soaking blue-clothed figure who had broken into the door, as if two flames of hope had not been extinguished by the rain, and flickered in the woman's eyes. The sneer on the corner of the young man's mouth pierced the woman's heart like an ice pick, and she shivered and wanted to speak again, but her voice was cut off by the cold blade. The boy's cry behind him, which had not yet spoken, was also sealed in his throat by the sword light.

The boy held his knife to the ground, as if the thirty-odd lives in the courtyard had exhausted all his strength. His face was pale and panting, and as he staggered, two cold hands held him up. Despite the cold skin touching each other, the boy felt a stream of heat permeate his body. He turned his face sideways, "Brother, you're here." The young man wanted to say sorry, but when he saw the reproach and anxious concern in the eyes of the brother next to him, he changed his words again.

The young man in blue shook his head, and was about to say something, when his ears moved. He snatched the knife from the young man's hand and rubbed it against himself, and before the black-clothed young man could ask, he put his fingers together and tapped on his trembling brother's chest. The black-clothed young man's eyes widened, but he didn't make a sound, and let his brother wipe the blood from his face with his hands.

Dense footsteps gathered from the courtyard to the door, and the sound of the rain seemed to be trampled to stillness by the heavy footsteps. A team of silver-armored guards surrounded the two of them in the room. A middle-aged man with a slightly chubby body and an old man with gray hair stepped out of the crowd.

"Second uncle, uncle. The young man in blue bowed, still holding the knife in his hand.

"You did it. The chubby man glanced at his wife and children, and the head of the family did not lose his temper, but asked with a trembling voice.

The blue-clothed young man shook his head and looked calm, "I did it." There are sixteen maids in this courtyard, twenty nurses, and ......" He glanced sideways at the two headless corpses in the house, stopped in front of the black-clothed young man and continued: "There are also murderers in this house who poisoned my mother twice, all of whom I killed. ”

Hearing this, the slightly chubby middle-aged man and the gray-haired old man's faces twitched at the same time, and the old man scolded angrily: "Hao'er, you are confused. Do you know what kind of family law is committed by fratricidal cannibalism? Do you know what kind of family law is committed by killing innocents? Do you know ......?"

"I know. Before the old man could finish speaking, the young man in blue interrupted: "Today, my younger brother came to my retreat and told me about my mother's poisoning. I think that today's events, even if they are investigated, will definitely not lead to anything. Since the family law can't punish her, let me be subject to the family law. ”

"Hao'er, why don't you go to me, you can't trust the second uncle so much?" The chubby man's voice was weak.

"It's not that I can't trust you, second uncle, but our brothers are fed up with the days when people are being calculated every day. Second uncle, you don't know how many means she used behind her back. Perhaps all these years you have been struggling with the guilt of our father and your true affection. Isn't it a relief for you that I do this?" the young man said indifferently.

The middle-aged man and the old man sighed heavily at the same time, "Hao'er, we can't favor you in this matter, otherwise in the future, the other children in the family will rely on favoritism and talent to follow suit, and the family will be in chaos." If it is preached, it will also be criticized. The old man slammed the iron rod in his hand to the ground, "You are so confused." ”

"Uncle, I'll go home to the ancestral hall with you. Saying that, the young man in blue looked back at the young man in black clothes behind him whose lips were blue and his face was as white as paper, and he patted the young man's shoulder with his hand, full of love and doting, just like his father in his vague memory, "It's just that the second brother couldn't stop me, and I was frightened." I also asked the second uncle to let him have a good rest. ”

The young man in Xuanyi raised his hand and grabbed the sleeve of the young man in blue, and the latter turned around and said in a voice from the heart lake: "I said that no matter what kind of cause and effect, what kind of retribution is borne by me, the elder brother. It's just that I can't see the day when you become the head of the house. Take care of yourself in the future. Speaking of this, the blue-clothed young man smiled bitterly, "Today I only learned that you have already entered the Burning Kiln Realm, and it seems that my talent for cultivating martial arts is far inferior to yours." Don't expose your cultivation in front of outsiders again, so as not to cause extraneous branches. The young man in blue stretched out his hand and gently wiped away the tears that slid down the cheeks of the young man in black, he ignored the latter's desperate shaking of his head and trembling lips, and continued: "As an elder brother, nothing is as good as you, I wanted to protect you for a lifetime, but I can only protect you this time." For me, live well and get back what belongs to my father. ”

With that, the boy turned around and strode towards the crowd.

The moment the blue-clothed young man stepped out of the door, a terrible roar came from behind everyone, "Wait." ”

Everyone turned around, but saw the young man in Xuanyi slumped on the ground, and in the face of everyone's inquiring eyes, he just shook his head and cried. After all, he didn't have the courage to say that sentence, maybe because he was afraid of disappointing his brother, or maybe he was even more afraid of the ending he was about to face.

Fan Jing didn't wipe the tears on his face, he drank the last sip of wine in the pot, "Then, I asked the second uncle to let me out to practice." I told him that he would not return home if he did not enter or leave. Actually, I just wanted to escape from that mansion, and every night I could dream that my eldest brother was screaming in pain under the giant elephant when he was tortured by the elephant, and I was afraid that he would ask me why I didn't tell the truth at that time, and I was afraid that he would say that he regretted it...... I'm scared of ......."

Looking at the drunk shopkeeper lying on the table, Yun Xuelan let out a long sigh of relief, but all physical and mortal babies will have irreparable regrets, and all regrets are only six words in the final analysis, I'm sorry I'm afraid.