one of my alchemist friends

"Don't talk, listen to me first." Mo Chengkong pulled the bench and sat closer to him. "I'm just guessing right now, but I feel the need to tell you."

"At that time, the ghost girl threw you with a pen. I thought it was because you hurt her companion. I thought about it again these days. Remember before she went to die? She jumped up and hit me with all her strength, maybe not In order to struggle before dying, but to remind—” He took out the blueprint and spread it on his lap, “This blueprint is very important, she has drawn everything on it.”

"Let's talk about Xiaoyu. She has never met you, but she reacted so violently when she saw you. If the boat brought back painful memories for her, then your appearance really drove her crazy. Grandpa and aunt also said, this is For the first time, she went mad at someone."

"What did she yell at you at that time? 'Bad thing, get out of here', 'I will take you to be buried with me when I die'. I also joked with you, is it because you are too decent, or because you are too murderous, which offends the little girl I gritted my teeth with hatred. Now I somewhat understand..."

"You came in when she was awake just now, and you said the same thing to you. How can a normal person react so violently when he sees a stranger? There is only one reason."

"She's not targeting you. What scares her is your outfit. Although she claims she doesn't remember anything about that night, you can see that the memory is still very clear in her deep consciousness. A few details are deeply embedded in the mind and are revealed through behavior when touched."

"Among that group of people, the man she has seen and contacted the most is the man in the lead. From this, I boldly guess that the deep impression on your school uniform came from him. If you don't believe me, let's have a little Little experiment."

The three of them wandered around along the river, picked a clean inn, left Gao Jian waiting there, and went to Xiaoyu's house.Bairan put on a new outfit, while Mo Chengkong wore the school uniform that Bairan had replaced.

Repeatedly confirming to the uncle and aunt that Xiaoyu is awake at this time, Mo Chengkong took the lead and was the first to enter the door. As expected, Xiaoyu screamed wildly and was thrown out.

"Go in instead and tell her what she likes to hear." The school uniform was too loose for him, and he had to lift the hem when he came and went to avoid tripping.

"Okay, I'll be here in a while, you wait for me." Bairan pushed the door open and went in, Xiaoyu was sitting on the edge of the bed dangling her legs, her hair was messy, and she couldn't comb it smoothly.Seeing him coming in, he shrank back under the quilt, with a look of defense on his face, and shouted: "Who are you? Father and mother, come quickly!"

The old couple rushed over upon hearing the sound, Xiaoyu hurriedly jumped out of bed, hid behind them, and said, "I'm afraid that this man broke in suddenly."

"This child... this is benefactor, have you forgotten?" the couple blamed.

"Grandpa? Then you are not a bad person?" Xiaoyu poked her head out from behind her parents. Her face was almost completely rotten. The only thing that was intact was her eyes, which were round and watery, and she was looking at him.

Bairan said in harmony, "Of course not."

"You drove those stinky Taoist priests away?" Xiaoyu gradually let go of her guard and approached him slowly.Seeing that the other party replied affirmatively, she said happily, "So amazing! Then, can you braid your hair?"

The expectant eyes were too eager, and Bairan nodded slightly hesitantly, recalling that she seemed to have helped the little sister comb her hair once or twice in the past.

A wooden comb was stuffed into her hand, the little girl asked him to sit down, and she dragged a bench to sit in front of him.She thought for a while, brought another basin of water, and said, "My hair is too frizzy, it might be easier to comb it with some water. I can't comb it myself, and Auntie is pulling me so painfully."

Bairan divided her hair into several strands, and combed it patiently from top to bottom, as gently as if she was wiping a treasure.Xiaoyu lowered her head cooperatively, humming briskly at first, but after a while her shoulders shrugged slightly, and there was a faint sobbing sound.

Bairan stopped his movements and asked with concern, "Did it hurt you?"

"No." She wanted to wipe away her tears, but when she stretched out her hand to her eyes, she froze for a moment, crying even harder. "Big brother, my parents said they would take me away and hide in a place where no one is around. But I know that if I don't eat those things, I won't be able to live. I can't control myself, but I don't want to hurt anyone either." Finally The tone was almost pleading: "Big brother, you are so powerful, can you kill me? I would rather die innocently than live against my will!"

"Understood." Although the little girl in front of her was thin and weak, her will was extremely firm.It's not that she doesn't want to live, but she dares not live.It's not that she doesn't understand her parents' painstaking efforts, but she doesn't want to drag them down.No matter how powerful Bairan is, she can't change her fate.All I can do for her is to tie her braids, give her a little smile, and warm her fearful and helpless heart.

When he returned to the inn, Gao Jian had already fallen asleep.Mo Chengkong fetched a basin of water, and said that he would repay him for washing his feet once.Unable to resist him, Bairan had no choice but to take off his shoes and socks and let him play with them.

Mo Chengkong said, "Do you trust me now?"

Bairan propped his head to look at the moonlight outside the window, and replied, "I don't believe it."

"Hey hey, I don't know about you yet?" Putting his feet on his lap to dry, "You must be thinking: 'Perhaps someone deliberately framed the blame'. Right? I've thought about this problem too, so I'm just guessing right now That's all."

"I know how much the Bai family means to you, and I also know that you don't want to doubt any of them for no reason. Don't think about anything now, just sleep well. Xiaoyu's wish is still waiting for us to realize it." Mo Cheng Kong patted his calf to express his relief, but his fingertips touched several scars. "When did you fall? It looks old. The wound is long, deep and ugly. Why didn't you cast a spell on it?"

There was no light in the house, only the moonlight in front of the window.Most of Bairan's face was hidden in the darkness, and he couldn't see the expression on his face clearly. He only heard him answer: "Sometimes I accidentally fell down, so I will keep it in mind and warn myself not to be so reckless in the future."

Mo Chengkong said with a smile: "Haha, I thought it was impossible for a fairy like you to make mistakes in his life, so there are still times of embarrassment. Thank you for not letting me see, otherwise I will laugh at you for three to five years." .”

Bairan didn't speak anymore, just smiled faintly.As early as the time he met that man, his thought-promising peaceful, barren life had gone awry.He has been confused, struggled, and suffered, but now, he just wants to indulge himself in making mistakes again and again.

The sky is blue-gray, mixed with the little stars left over from last night.The morning breeze brings coolness, the whole town is still in a dream, and the only thing heard is the sound of Luoshui flowing.Four people and two horses stand at the head of the bridge.Gao Jian's sleepiness persisted, but he insisted on following along.

"Sister Xiaoyu, don't you really want to say goodbye to Grandpa and Madam?"

"No." Xiaoyu changed into a plain dress, her hairstyle was still the braid that Bairan made for her. "Now that I've decided, I won't hesitate any more. If my father and mother are here, I'm afraid I will be reluctant to leave."

The four of them rode their horses to a wasteland, and Xiaoyu said, "It's right here." She has been completely eroded by the toxin, and she has become as ugly and photophobic as a ghost, but she insists on going out to take a last look at this scenery. "The sky and the earth are so big that there is no room for me... let's do it."

"Stop!" Bairan raised his sword to stab, but was thrown away by one person.The old couple somehow found this place. They were out of breath, but they couldn't stop scolding, "Xiaoyu! You want to leave us like this, you are so cruel!"

"Father, mother, my daughter doesn't want to drag you down, and I don't want to live like a monster!" She knelt down and kowtowed and begged, "I'm still sober and ready to go, if I go crazy, I don't know where I will harm people. Please Mother is perfect!"

The old woman hugged her and cried: "If you really want to go, then take me with you."

"Mother, don't be like this. I... I don't deserve to let your two elders treat me like this! I just wish I wasn't a man and couldn't be the pillar of the family. I have given you a lot of trouble since I was a child, how can I want you now?" Your life?"

"Aren't you going to kill me if you leave?" The old woman hugged her even tighter.

She smiled slightly and stroked the old woman's back: "Aniang, didn't you teach me that I should not be too selfish in life? I don't want to hurt other good people just to live for myself. It would be very painful for me. Don't say anything If you hurt yourself, let me go without any worries, okay?"

Xiaoyu stood up, facing the rising red sun, with an extremely peaceful and peaceful expression.Her dress and long hair fluttered in the wind, she looked back and smiled, and said: "Please don't miss me, I am very happy now. Mom, dad, look, how beautiful the sun is."

She was bathed in the sun, and gradually turned to ashes from the soles of her feet, scattered in the air, like a group of butterflies flying.

Saying goodbye to the old couple, the three went on the road again.When passing by the wasteland again, Gao Jian said bluntly: "I...I miss my father."

Mo Chengkong rubbed his head, sighed, and rubbed it again.

Turning to Bairan's side: "What about you? Do you miss your father?" Seeing that he didn't respond, he said to himself, "I don't even know what my father looks like, so let's think about my mother. Tell you , my mother is fierce..."

A cold wind passed by, and a black snake was nailed to the ground very close to him.There was a snake approaching, but no one noticed it!

"My mother! Have you manifested?" The green blood flowing from the wound of the black snake corroded the ground around him.If it bites him... Mo Chengkong doesn't want to think about it anymore.

Bairan looked at the place where the hidden weapon came from. There was a person wearing a black shirt, a bamboo hat, and a black veil on his face. He stood there with his eyes fixed on him.It took a long time to leave.

startled

They were laughing and joking and bickering along the way, but nothing happened.After another seven or eight days, the three finally entered Huaiyang territory.

Mo Chengkong relied on his early years