Secret.

Hide it in secret, hide it in secret.

If it is not known, it is a secret.

When more people know about the secret, it loses its mysterious attributes, and it is not considered a secret. Unless, those who know this secret tacitly hide it in their hearts, as if they never knew it...

Xia Xun's secret is like this.

When Yueyang was in Yueyang, Yu Youran once used a sword to break through the sky and lift the first veil of this secret. So that the old man who asked the Tianshan Mountain was the first to look out of the cave. But he rationally chose to be silent, and embed the soul of the Heavenly Asking Artifact into Xia Xun's flesh and blood to reseal the secret. Even if Peony noticed the clue later, the old man was vague and talked about him left and right, but did not say anything. Then Xia Xun forcibly broke into Shoushan and ambushed the corpse and broke the dragon, and saw the foreshadowing of the saints. Then he sang the tragic song of the north at the Temple of Heaven, and the soul was immersed in a chaotic dream to see his past life, so as to completely understand the cause and effect. It was only later that Sun Wukong saw through the vanity with the breath of a person who was also abandoned by heaven. Yu Youran skillfully tricked to deceive the truth, and many other aftermaths. But these people, without exception, all chose to hide it tacitly, so Xia Xun's secret was still a secret...

And now, Tang Xiaotang seems to be about to make a similar choice.

With a heavy heart, Tang Xiaotang walked out of the Juyi Hall. The moonlight outside has risen into the sky, and it is selflessly swaying with a silver shimmer, and the night is deep...

In the dead of night, the banquet on the mountainside was quietly cleaned up and empty. The bats in the crevices of the mountains like to hunt for food in the middle of the night, and they fly through the clouds and mist, flashing red eyes, and cautiously look down on every move in the mountains.

In the darkness of the night, everything is swallowed up by the black.

Even Haoyue could not avoid becoming a slave to the darkness. The world seems to be covered with a mysterious black cloth, and everything is hidden in the dark. The white is the water and the moon, the black is the rocks and trees, the gray is the endless wilderness, that's all...

Along the uneven yellow mud path and over a few small hills, Tang Xiaotang finally returned to her and Xia Xun's cabin. The gloomy soul of the daytime, fluttering like a fairy, can still be remembered vividly. It's just that I was looking forward to the golden wind and jade dew after nightfall, but I don't know when it has been left behind, and only worries remain.

Xia Xun was not in the cabin at this time, but outside the cabin.

An oil lamp and the bright moon reflect the small banyan tree, and two small cups carved from rattan are soaked in black tea. Xia Xun seemed to have expected that when Tang Xiaotang came back, he would inevitably bring such a worried bitterness, and there would be a thousand words in his heart. Therefore, he moved the simple desk in the house to the banyan tree outside the house early, and neatly arranged the tea set and fruit food, and lit the oil lamp.

Maybe it's been a long time coming, Xia Xun took advantage of the gap and didn't forget to write a letter sent by the south, and now he's still writing...

"Sasha..."

Slightly whispering, like the wind blowing, softly, quietly.

Boiling water over a slow fire, the dry tea leaves absorb the heat and quickly unfold, staining the water red. The fragrance is pleasant, like a gentle drizzle on a summer night, drenching the irritability and bringing coolness. It makes people feel refreshed and happy after hearing it for a long time, as if they are in the vast world of the Northland, looking at thousands of miles of ice, thousands of miles of snow drifting, but reckless...

"You're back?"

"Well..."

"You're not full, are you?"

"It's ok, but not hungry either. ”

"I'll give you a little bit to eat, and I'll cook some more for you later. ”

“......”

Smelling the unique fragrance of tea from afar, Tang Xiaotang knew Xia Xun's mind with understanding. The incense comes from the northern cold, and it is especially far away through the vicissitudes of life. Xia Xun was categorically ready to spend the long night confiding in his heart. Therefore, the dialogue between the two seems very flat, like an old couple who have been working together for half their lives on weekdays, without much emotion but full of concern.

Smelling the fragrance of tea, Tang Xiaotang came to the little banyan tree and sat quietly on the small stool specially left for her by Xia Xun. With his hands folded beside his calves, he looked at Xia Xun quietly.

Xia Xun raised his eyebrows slightly, but the pen in his hand did not pause, and he still wrote unhurriedly.

"Do you need to see it?"

"Nope. ”

"You've always liked to peek at my correspondence with her. ”

Tang Xiaotang's body didn't move, and he shook his head lightly: "Now, these things are not so important to me." ”

"Well..."

The words were profound, Xia Xun seemed to have a clear meaning, nodded noncommittally, but did not say any more. Instead, he quietly finished the last few sentences of the letter, then folded it into a slip of paper and tied it to the claws of the little blue bird, and then let it turn into a green mang and sweep into the sky.

The green mangs are like needles, and the lead thread is embroidered in the sky, disappearing in the sky.

Xia Xun sat up at this time, looked at Tang Xiaotang with a soft smile, and then stretched out his hand to point to the two cups of tea on the desk and said, "This tea is very bitter, I don't know if you can get used to it." ”

Tang Xiaotang didn't even think about it, he directly picked up the wooden cup and drank the black tea in one gulp. As soon as the extremely bitter tea fell to his throat, Tang Xiaotang's face instantly turned green. After a while, the bitterness was gone, and when he came back, Tang Xiaotang smiled bitterly and said, "The name of the tea is Phoenix Red, right?"

"Oh?"

Xia Xun was slightly surprised: "You actually know this tea?"

"Of course I do. ”

"I'm underestimating you again. ”

"So do I. ”

"Got a story?"

"Not long..."

The conversation is extremely brief, but it is worth more than 10,000 words.

Putting the teacup back on the desk, Tang Xiaotang didn't hurry to talk down. She stood up, moved the small stool to Xia Xun's side, and then held Xia Xun's right arm with both hands, pillowed her shoulder, and looked up at the bright moon and stars in the sky. As if reminiscing about the past, he said slowly: "On the year of my grandmother's 100th birthday, your grandfather ordered someone to send four taels of black tea to Tangjiabao to celebrate her birthday. At that time, when I was young, my grandmother only dared to reward me with a mouthful of food, but I drank a little and almost didn't cry.

I still remember that my grandmother told me at that time: This tea is a good tea, and it is a rare product in the world. The name is also good, and it is called Phoenix Red. The phoenix nirvana, the blood-stained sky, is worthy of the hidden dragon in the abyss. It's a pity that this tea is too rare to be obtained by those who are not very lucky. And there are too few people who know this tea. Mortals taste tea, only taste the three inches of sweet and bitter on the tip of the tongue, and the aftertaste of ordinary tea is only a moment. But this phoenix has been in the wind and snow for decades and is extremely cold, and the boiling water can only melt its fur but not its muscles and bones. Tea drinkers need to taste the bitterness from the tip of the tongue to the throat in order to appreciate the bitterness and sweetness. I couldn't understand what my grandmother said at the time. Now that I have tasted the bitter taste again, I know that the deep meaning is so strong. Xia Xun..."

"Huh?"

Speaking in a daze, Tang Xiaotang suddenly evoked Xia Xun's name.

Xia Xun responded, and Tang Xiaotang continued: "I don't think what grandma said is right. ”

"How is it wrong?" asked Xia Xun.

Tang Xiaotang said: "I think that tea is like a person, and drinking tea is like tasting life." As long as you really like it, you will like everything about him, including his bitterness. When the tea is entered, the fragrance dissolves in less than half an hour. When people enter their hearts, no matter how difficult the road is, they have to go down. Therefore, I don't regret that he tastes very bitter every day, and I just hope that I can share the joys and sorrows with you and stay with you for life. ”

"Hehe..."

The night is still long, and the tea is just right.

The two looked at the moonlight, like a husband and wife chatting about homely things, very light. It's just that Tang Xiaotang's words have a deep meaning, and Xia Xun understands it in the blink of an eye. Even Xia Xun could predict that Tang Xiaotang would definitely have a hand to retreat in the future.

The smart man's dialogue is about the main point, so Xia Xun naturally skipped all the intermediate links and asked directly, "You don't plan to ask?"

"There's no need. ”

"Why?"

"If you want to say, you'll tell me, so I don't have to ask. ”

"What if I don't want to say it?"

"Then I will believe you silently. ”

“......”

Sure enough, Tang Xiaotang directly gave up the choice.

Whispering, the wind was gentle, one next to the shoulder, one next to the other's head. The green silk 3,000 naturally falls, overlapping and staggered on the back of the neck and in front of the knee. The moonlight is bright, sprinkled with cold light on the mountains. The stars are shining, dotting the vastness of the galaxy. Although Tang Xiaotang's retreat was expected by Xia Xun, his heart was still heavy.

"Is it cold?"

Tang Xiaotang rubbed Xia Xun's shoulder with his head like a kitten, and said, "It's not cold with you by your side." ”

"However, my body may get cold one day. ”

"Then I'll get cold with you. After a pause, Tang Xiaotang added, "Or I can light a fire for you in Chang'an City, so that we may all be warmer." ”

"Hehe, silly girl, if you do this, Grandma Tang will definitely crush me to ashes. ”

"It's better than going up in smoke. ”

"Then I'll tell you a story. ”

"Okay. ”

It's plain and bland, but it's so-for-tat.

After sipping two or three sips of bitter tea, Xia Xun gradually recalled many childhood memories. Compared with today, I couldn't help but smile self-deprecatingly...

"I grew up in Xia Village since I was a child.

The village is small, no more than a few miles in circumference, surrounded by a majestic mountain range. The valley is like spring all year round, the stream is at room temperature, and the flowers and plants are abundant. A few miles away, on the other side of the mountain, is an endless snow-white ice field. There is no life, no seasons, and it is extremely cold. It's so cold that a basin of water is sprinkled out of the cliff, and when the water falls down the mountain, it will turn into hard ice slag, smashing holes in the ground.

When I was very young, I used to sit alone on the top of a mountain, looking out at the vast ice fields. I always fantasize that one day I can go out of the village, see the prosperous world described in the book, and then try my best to break the seal in my body, practice a good martial arts, and take my younger brothers and sisters in the village to travel all over the world and fight for righteousness.

But God always likes to joke with me.

When I walked out of the village one day, I suddenly realized that everything written in the book turned out to be a lie. Behind the beauty of the world, there is always a lot of filth. Deceit, intrigue, ambush and calculation, day after day, everywhere. And when I regretted coming out and wanted to go back to the village, there was no going back.

When I left Beimang and set foot in Datang, it was like a sword leaving its scabbard. The hilt of the sword was in my grandfather's hand, and although he had thoughts, he could not break free, and although he was free and bound to the trajectory, he could only follow the trajectory to the direction set by my grandfather. At this point, Xia Xun paused, and looked down at Tang Xiaotang's * slightly: "It's like a little puppet on your waist..."