sin of nature

"Who are you?" He Li's eyes became vigilant, and the calmness he had just asked the servants if they wanted to go back to the mountain with him immediately became tense.

Like an animal that suddenly sensed danger, its hair stood up.

Everyone's eyes fell on Xiao Ming.

I saw him approaching a few steps unhurriedly, holding a small stone in his hand, throwing it up and down carelessly.He met He Li's gaze, and slowly replied, "Oh, I'm the crippled illegitimate brother of this family."

Everyone: "........"

He Li put his hand on the big knife at his waist, knit his eyebrows together, and glanced at the people next to him questioningly, "How did you do it?!"

The big man in gray felt that he was wronged, bent down and picked up the knife he had knocked out, and rushed towards Xiao Ming even more imposingly.

The crowd exclaimed.

The big knife was shining brightly, and it went straight to Xiao Ming's face. The big man holding the knife thought he wanted to get back the setback just now, but his men didn't show mercy at all, and slashed hard at the man's head again and again.

Xiao Ming dodged to the left, the saber turned in the same direction, turned sideways, and went straight to the door again——

Xiao Ming raised his head and dodged, the sharp blade immediately cut into the dark red painted pillar on the porch, and in the next second, he stretched out his hand to grab the opponent's throat.

The big knife was hacked into the pillar and he couldn't pull it out for a while. Although the hand on the neck looked thin and pale, it just strangled his life, and the strength was so strong that it made people a little breathless.

"Cough, cough, cough, cough!" The big man in gray coughed with his face flushed, and reached out to pull his wrist, but he couldn't move it at all.

He Li has been watching the confrontation between the two from ten steps away, narrowing his eyes in doubt.

When did Li Ran have such a person under his command?He looks like a frail scholar, but his subordinates are not vague at all.

Xiao Ming looked at the flushed face in front of him, his expression didn't even fluctuate, he let go of his hand abruptly, and threw the man backwards forcefully, the [-]-pound man fell on his back, with a big mouth Panting heavily.

With a flash of He Li's eyes, he realized that the man in front of him was difficult to deal with, so he quickly yelled "Get out!" He stepped forward and dragged away the fallen gray-clothed man, and rushed out the door.

Xiao Ming didn't seem to have any intention of chasing after him, so he pulled out the big knife that had been cut on the pillar, and walked towards the servants who were tied together and hadn't figured out the situation.

The servants looked at him suspiciously, both startled and frightened.

Without saying a word, Xiao Ming took the knife and cut off the rope that bound them, and went back to his room without saying anything.

All the servants said a few words to each other in shock, and finally felt a certain relief from the desperate situation and the fear of hindsight. A group of people hugged each other and burst into tears.

When Li Ran, who was dealing with business outside, received the news and rushed back, he saw such a scene.

Seeing Li Ran's return, everyone cried even more fiercely, and rushed to his feet, talking about the situation just now.

While comforting everyone, Li Ran went to the backyard to check the situation.

The gates of several warehouses stacking gold bars in the backyard were all open, and there were several corpses lying in a mess in the middle of the backyard—all the attendants in charge of guarding the vault, bleeding all over the floor.

The domestic servants who were still crying were silent for a while.

He checked everyone's breath one by one, and found that one of the guards still had breath.Li Ran called a servant, and the two gently moved him to the bedroom to rest, and the servant hurriedly found the doctor.

They also counted the vaults one by one, and they removed the gold bars in a whole warehouse, but the other warehouses did not move, probably because there were few people and they could not take away many others.

After being so busy, it was already night.While waiting for the only living servant to wake up, the servant added many details of the unexpected disaster to Li Ran.

"The disabled illegitimate brother?" Li Ran looked shocked, "Who is this person? Why don't I know."

"Aiyo," the aged servant frowned, and said frankly, "don't deny it, he himself admitted it—is it the fault of the illegitimate child? You don't have to be so secretive, who Isn't there any scandal at home?"

"No, listen to me explain—"

"Stop talking," the servant interrupted, "The old city master has a kind heart, even if this happened, everyone would not respect him less—"

"No, Uncle Sun, listen to me—"

"Oh, when your father was young, he was as good-looking as you. He was very handsome! Many girls in the city quietly sent him handkerchiefs made by themselves. I think your younger brother is probably your father and a man named He Yue. The girl's child, the two of them have so much alike in their facial features, they are so beautiful... I don't know when the two of them secretly communicated with each other... You have to be considerate of your father, your mother is dead If it's too early, he will be confused."

Li Ran: "..."

The boy next to him came over and asked Li Ran where to eat.

He thought for a moment, pointed to Xiao Ming's bedroom, and asked, "Have you given it to him?"

The boy nodded, "According to your instructions, no matter whether he eats or not, he will not miss three meals a day."

Li Ran nodded and said, "Okay, then send my dinner there too."

The boy agreed and left.

Uncle Sun sighed quietly behind him, patted him on the shoulder, seemed to be very relieved, and said, "You are a good boy... After all, you are also your younger brother, and the whole family must reconcile."

Li Ran: "..."

When the lights came on, several oil lamps were placed in Xiao Ming's bedroom after a long absence, and the food on the table was still steaming.

The door rang twice, and Li Ran walked in from outside the room.

The figures on the boat turned their backs to the wooden table on which the meals were placed, and when they heard the sound of someone coming in, they remained motionless.

"I heard that you admit to being my younger brother?" Li Ran stood in front of the dining table without going any further, speaking to the man's back, his tone was very gentle, making one think of the smiling face of the speaker.

Xiao Ming still maintained the original posture, without any movement or response, as if he had fallen asleep.

"Today the cook prepared her own sweet-scented osmanthus wine for us, I think you might want to try it."

The person on the bed moved, but that movement could not be clearly captured on the dark bed.

Li Ran didn't force him, and sat down at the table, picked up the jug, and shook it in his hands a few times.

A sweet and mellow smell immediately spread in the room, as if you were in the shade of the osmanthus tree, that kind of sweetness surrounded you lightly, as if you were isolated from this world.

The person on the bed turned over, a pair of bright eyes looked straight over, and locked on the flagon in Li Ran's hand.

Li Ran poured the wine into the white porcelain wine glass, and first drank a cup by himself.

Xiao Ming looked at him, then at the wine, finally moved off the bed and sat down at the table.

The smiles in the corners of Li Ran's eyes were about to overflow.

A few days ago, the kitchen delivered the wrong dinner for him and Xiao Ming, and when the kitchen returned the dinner for the two of them, nothing else was moved when it was returned, and the maid did not pay attention, but Li However, I realized that the osmanthus wine in the pot had been drunk.

Li Ran poured a glass of wine for Xiao Ming, looked at the other's very pretty face by the light of the fire, and couldn't remember what he was like the first time he saw him.

"I really want to thank you for today's matter." Li Ran sincerely thanked you.

Xiao Ming looked up at him, and replied indifferently, "It's nothing." He raised his head and drank a glass of wine, wrinkled his nose, and showed a satisfied expression.

Li Ran saw his little movements, poured him another glass of wine, and said with a smile, "I thought you couldn't talk."

Xiao Ming shook his hand holding the wine glass, settled his mind, raised his head and drank another glass, and said, "I just don't want to talk about it."

Li Ran looked into his eyes and asked curiously, "Why don't you want to say?"

"It's better to have someone to talk to when you talk." He looked listlessly at the appetizers in front of him, Li Ran handed over a pair of chopsticks, but he shook his head.

"What about your relatives?"

Xiao Ming thought about it for a moment, then replied, "I have no relatives."

Li Ran recalled those messages about him being abandoned by his family, and he was afraid that mentioning it would make him sad, so he didn't ask any more questions.

The two sat quietly like this, drinking one glass after another.

"Master City Lord" Xiao Ming suddenly said, "Can I stay with you for a while longer?" His dark eyes looked straight into Li Ran's eyes, neither humble nor overbearing, and his expression was a little youthful, pure and simple. And naturally, he explained, "I don't know where I'm going yet."

Li Ran's heart moved slightly, he didn't know if it was pity or something else.He didn't have doubts in his heart, according to the servants, the young man in front of him who looked a few years younger than him easily subdued the other party and scared He Li away.It is really strange that such a skilled young man appears here inexplicably.

But he inexplicably felt that maybe it was difficult for him to say a word of rejection under such gaze.

Li Ran nodded and said, "I also had this idea long ago, even if you have been lying down like the previous days, I still want to keep you."

Xiao Ming thanked him sincerely, and said, "If the City Lord needs me in anything, I will do my best."

Li Ran said, "I am very grateful today."

While the two of them were talking, the servant came over to deliver a message, saying that the only guard alive had woken up.

Li Ran put down the wine glass in his hand, bid farewell to Xiao Ming, and came to the guard's bed when he woke up.

The guards guarding the vault are all Li Ran's confidantes, almost all of them grew up with him.

The only one alive, and he also digs out the hornet's nest with him when he was a child.

Before Li Ran went in, the doctor told him outside the bedroom that the only person left could not survive today.

The other party lost too much blood, and now he is still holding his breath, all in one breath.

There was only one wife in his family, who was seven months pregnant, and the servants did not dare to notify her rashly, for fear of frightening the fetus.

Li Ran walked softly to the man's bed, as if afraid of disturbing him.

The faces of the people on the bed were all covered with gauze, only half of their face and left eye were exposed. When they saw Li Ran's face, they raised their hands and moved with difficulty, signaling him to move closer.

The latter leaned over and sat on the edge of the bed.

The other party was struggling to speak, Li Ran carefully leaned against his head and listened to his intermittent words.

"My lord..." he said, "It's not good for guarding the vault... It's really, really my fault-I couldn't, I couldn't..." Stumbling , They are all talking about their own regrets and the stupidity of not discovering the wrong tense earlier, and they come and go blaming themselves.

Hearing these words, Li Ran thought of Doctor Cai's words again, his heart felt like a needle prick, but he could only reach out and pat him on the shoulder to comfort him, and kept saying, you have done your best.

"Yang Da..." He mentioned another guard who had died, and suddenly there was a little waver in his eyes, "It was Yang Da who brought those people... He made an agreement with those robbers To divide the loot... I was lying on the ground at that time, and I heard the conversation between him and He Li——He Li didn't want to share [-]% with him...so he killed him—cough cough cough cough Cough!" As he said, he suddenly coughed violently, and bright red blood flowed from the corner of his mouth.

Li Ran anxiously called the doctor, and the person on the bed waved his hands with difficulty, "I know...I can't do it anymore." He said vaguely, a line of hot tears suddenly flowed from his left eye, It dripped onto the back of Li Ran's hand.

"I just can't let go of my wife and my unborn child—" He coughed violently again, "You know—I've been an orphan since I was a child...I'm really not reconciled. ...How could my child be without a father? Cough cough cough cough cough! I am not reconciled—" He suddenly sat up from the bed as if possessed by a demon, his chest heaved violently, and tears kept flowing The ground fell, and the voice raised excitedly.

"Li Ran, why do you think my life is so worthless? I just want to live peacefully with my wife and children - it's that simple, thousands of people can do it - why? Do I have to die?"

The tone suddenly dropped again and turned into a rambling mutter, "It's not my fault...why did I have to die...why..." The voice gradually became smaller , until it disappears completely.

Li Ran's eyes were red, watching the person in front of him gradually lose signs of life, but he was powerless to deal with the situation in front of him.

The doctor stood aside, checked the other person's breath for the last time, shook his head, and said, "My lord, please forgive me."

Li Ran closed his eyes, pinched his brows, walked out of the bedroom door without saying a word, and told the attendants waiting at the door, "Go to the four of them's house tomorrow, prepare your horse."

After finishing speaking, he walked to his bedroom, and every foot felt like stepping on cotton.

The light in the porch was very dim, Xiao Ming's figure was hidden in the shadows, and Li Ran didn't see him.

"My lord," he called out to him in the dark.

Li Ran turned around and looked at him, with a deep tiredness on his face.

"Even a god cannot bear the burden of life and death."

Xiao Ming's voice was very forbearing, and the expression on his face was uglier than crying.