Blade and Swift

Yan Xichen felt as if he was sinking into a bottomless lake, and he saw a familiar figure in the depths, it was the person he had been thinking about so many times in his dreams.He opened his mouth to scream, but bitter salty water poured into his mouth, he stretched out his hand to grab it, but Du Yachen sank deeper.He didn't have time to reach it, so he could only desperately drill into the depths.The feeling of suffocation in the lungs became stronger and stronger, and the consciousness began to lose consciousness, and the alarm bells sounded in pain in the brain.

Yan Xichen opened his eyes suddenly, exhaled heavily, the suffocation disappeared, and what he saw in front of him was a hill.Losing consciousness and shaking his body, it took Yan Xichen several seconds to wake up.He was in a robber's den in Somalia. During this period of time, the sun was scorching hot, and there were fewer businessmen running away, but this area was full of mercenaries.There are pedal tricycles everywhere, and the yellow sand and fog are all over the sky.

Yan Xichen arrived at the place and jumped down holding the gun.He has a tall and straight figure, and his armor makes him energetic.

Walking quickly along the tent to the front of a dilapidated low building, squatting on the ground was a skinny foreigner with dark skin, at first glance he looked like a black monkey.This is one of the stragglers of the Somali Free Army, one of the few who can speak Chinese.The black monkey-like straggler was suddenly covered by a shadow, looking up along the black.

Yan Xichen took off his helmet, revealing Zhang Wen's handsome face, which was a little reddened by the heat.

"Yan, you're here!" The straggler, who looked like he was doing nothing just now, suddenly jumped up, hooked his shoulders and led Yan Xichen into the door made of cement behind him, "Are you looking for news again? You know Yes, we are busy fighting wars here every day, and the news from the outside world has been blocked for a long time!"

"Any news?" Yan Xichen went straight in.

The straggler shook his head regretfully: "After all, you have helped us before. Since you told me last time, I have searched everywhere for information from insiders, but no one has heard of Aachen. Will he change his name?"

Yan Xichen didn't speak, just took out another photo from his pocket: "Last time I came here in a hurry, this time I brought a photo, I will come again in three months, if there is any news, I will still call the original number. This time I'll find someone to give you the money."

Seeing Yan Xichen turned around to leave, the black monkey-like straggler was stunned: "Wait... you, you haven't sat down for 2 minutes, have you? It takes two hours to come from the nearest town, so you're leaving?"

"Let's go now. I have to go to the next place." Yan Xichen nodded.

The stragglers were silent for a moment behind him, and caught up: "You send us money every three months, find someone, and listen to the news. This is pie falling from the sky for the Free Army. There is nothing easier than this Good job. But as a friend, I have to remind you that this place is too dangerous! Why don't you go back to Moscow and try your luck?"

Yan Xichen didn't speak, he shook the straggler's shoulders with a smile, waved goodbye to him under his questioning eyes, and got back on the back seat of the bumpy tricycle when he came.

He found that these people especially like to say "try your luck", but such things as luck often do not come very well, and many people may not be able to wait for a lifetime.

nine months ago.

He was driving in a thick fog, and the speed of the car almost reached the limit. Suddenly, a huge object appeared in the thick fog, like a wall. He slammed into it, and then lost consciousness.

When he was conscious, the red light dazzled his eyes, and several police cars surrounded him.

He had a car accident and hit an oncoming large truck on the winding mountain road. The driver of the truck was unharmed, only he was lying on the steering wheel with his head bleeding. When he woke up, the police were waiting for the ambulance to arrive.The police failed to find anything representative of his identity on Yan Xichen, and the moment Yan Xichen woke up, regardless of the police's condolences and inspections, he immediately turned his head to check the back seat.

There was nothing in the back seat, it was clean, the shattered rear glass became intact again, there was no blood on the seat, and Du Yachen... just disappeared out of thin air.

Yan Xichen confirmed that he had hit a wall on the straight highway No. [-] before he fell into a coma, but in a blink of an eye he hit a truck on the winding road, the world, the fog, the border, the wall——Yan Xichen was enlightened.I'm afraid it was at that time that he broke through the boundary of the inner world.

He didn't dare to tell the police too much about Du Yachen, and he couldn't use the public and legitimate channels to find someone.On the way the police took him back to the police station, Yan Xichen took a break and ran away by himself.

For nine months, he has been running around, Southern California, Quebec, Kiev, Chernobyl, Somalia... those places where there used to be Du Aachen, and even all the places that are more chaotic now.In the past few months, Yan Xichen has almost been like a rootless person, wandering around looking for, but got very little news.Du Yachen is like disappearing from the world, and he can't be found in the sky or the earth.

He searched for people all the way and traveled to many places, but he didn't meet any luck, and all he encountered were barriers.

After coming out of the other world, Yan Xichen tried to contact the former Hawkeye's support person, but there was no news.

He contacted a Chinese mercenary he had met in Heishui. The mercenary had washed his hands and married a wife and had children in a small city in China.He was surprised when he saw Yan Xichen and heard the news about Du Yachen.

He helped Yan Xichen get a new identity, and also helped him get in touch with the Blackwater headquarters in the United States, and Blackwater promised private assistance.

Before leaving, the partner of Heishui found Du Aachen's military chain card from the storage room, and the handwriting of Aachen carved on it was strong and powerful.Holding the small metal plate, Yan Xichen was silent for a long time.

With the help of Heishui, Yan Xichen returned to Somalia to collect the employment money he had saved back then.Somalia may be a truly anarchic country in the 21st century. War and cholera are everywhere. Yan Xichen took out his commission alone and suffered a lot on the way.

Afterwards, after crossing thousands of mountains and crossing thousands of rivers, Yan Xichen still failed to find him.

Most of the time, he didn't want to force himself to believe in his heart—maybe Du Yachen was gone.

It's not that I haven't been back to "home".

The graves of the mother and sister are together.Standing in front of the tombstone and seeing the faces of his mother and younger sister in the photo, Yan Xichen felt as if he had passed away.He also went there once during the Qingming Festival. When he saw that the tomb was filled with the flowers his mother liked and the strawberries his sister liked, he knew that his remarried father would spend every year.

He also visited the man's new home, but the man didn't know it.

An old man in sweatshirt opened the door, behind him was his aging wife and daughter sitting on the sofa eating ice cream.Yan Xichen wore a peaked cap and lowered his head to deliver the milk. He said thank you, but he didn't recognize him.

Now, for the third time in Somalia.Still nothing.

When Yan Xichen passed by the city where Duan Mingyi was located, he stayed for two days.

After finally breaking the boundary and escaping from the inner world of nothingness, they shouldn't bother each other anymore.But in the end he couldn't hold back, Yan Xichen remembered the detailed address Duan Mingyi told him, and walked to the neighborhood where Duan Mingyi's home was located.Duan Mingyi's home is on the eleventh floor of a high-rise apartment in the northern district of the city. Even if he looked up, he couldn't see anything.

He stayed for about 10 minutes, the time for a cigarette.After smoking a cigarette, he stopped wandering and turned to leave.

"Yan Xichen!" Suddenly someone behind him stopped him.

Yan Xichen's back was stiff. He turned his head and met Duan Mingyi who had just bought breakfast.

The gaze was so intense that Yan Xichen didn't dare to greet him for a moment.There was shock, joy, trance, and anger at Yan Xichen secretly preparing to turn around and leave.

The two faced each other in silence for two seconds, then walked quickly towards each other and gave each other a hug.

Five minutes later, Yan Xichen sat in Duan Mingyi's study.

"Boss, he disappeared?" Duan Mingyi was stunned, "What do you mean by disappearing? After all, when you broke through the boundary, you yourself were also delirious. Could it be that he...didn't come out at all?"

Yan Xichen clenched his hands on his knees invisibly: "I have a hunch that he's still there."

Duan Mingyi observed his words and expressions, and he didn't say anything to spoil the fun.

"Compared to not being able to find him temporarily, there is worse news."

Duan Mingyi expressed his willingness to hear the details.

Instead, Yan Xichen hesitated: "Ming Yi... After you came out, did you try to recall the past?"

"You mean things in the other world?"

Yan Xichen nodded: "When you think back to some details, do you feel a little fuzzy?"

Duan Mingyi was stunned for a moment.

The days when he first returned to the real world were almost a disaster for him.During that time, he seldom recalled the things in the external and internal worlds. Looking back now, many things were indeed blurred and faded, as if they happened a long time ago.

"You should also be concerned about the missing persons recovered two months ago. I saw a familiar little girl in the report. She was the receptionist when we went to look for the crow in District K."

Duan Mingyi did remember this incident, he remembered it very clearly, when Yan Xichen slapped his face, the little girl blushed.

"Remember." Duan Mingyi nodded.

Yan Xichen was a little hesitant: "By chance, I found her social account online by following the clues, and conducted some... testing on her."

With a flash of thought, Duan Mingyi said, "She doesn't remember anything?"

Yan Xichen nodded.

No wonder they left the inner world for a while, and no news came out.It is not yet known how many people returned to the real world from the other world, but if everyone still kept the memory of the other world after they came out, it would have caused panic in the society.

No shocking news has come out until now, because after returning to the real world, everyone's memories of the inner and outer worlds have been deleted.

"Then why do I still remember so much clearly?" Duan Mingyi felt cold all over.

"I guess, the closer the person is to the core will, the slower the memory fades. I only met the girl in K area once, but I have a deep emotional foundation with you, and your memory will fade slower. Of course, these are all my guesses. Even myself, now I can’t remember what happened when I first arrived in the other world.” Yan Xichen shook the tea leaves in the cup, watching the floating leaves in the glass Falling slowly, "It stands to reason that the inner and outer world should have left a deep impression on us, but they are like weathered sand now. One day in the future, we will completely forget this bizarre experience."

Duan Mingyi was shocked when he heard that, facing Yan Xichen's almost gloomy expression, he could understand his worry.

Yan Xichen smiled forcedly: "Ming Yi, I'm afraid that before I can find him, I'll forget all about the other world."

Before leaving, Duan Mingyi entered his mobile phone number and WeChat ID into Yan Xichen's mobile phone.What Yan Xichen said just now really made him panic.

Only then did he realize that they had always been afraid of being left in the inner and outer worlds, but those experiences were real, shaping who they are today.Cannot be ignored and cannot be changed.Forgetting is not difficult, nor terrible, but more of it is cruel.Cruel to the living, cruel to the dead.He didn't want to forget Duan Yun, because Duan Yun would be tantamount to dying again.He also refused to forget Yan Xichen, he was afraid that he would become a lonely Prometheus.

It's winter.

Yan Xichen traveled westward to Kiev. After visiting Fang Shuo's cemetery, he placed a small white flower in front of his tombstone and pressed it with pebbles. It was brought by him from China all the way. Flowers at the door.There are also such flowers in the former "secret base".

Yan Xichen lived in the town where Fang Shuo was buried for a while.He and Du Yachen had performed missions here before, and it was at that time that they spent their first Christmas together and had their first Christmas tree together.

Too many memories fell on Yan Xichen's heart like fluttering snowflakes, which were cold and melted quickly.

Recently, many memories of the other world have been blurred, but the things about him, Du Yachen, and Fang Shuo in Kiev have become more and more clear.

Putting on a velvet hat, Yan Xichen looked at his own face in front of the mirror, a face that he didn't even want to see more.Pale, haggard, lifeless.In this cold winter, he seemed to be about to lose all his strength.The Ukrainian town in mid-winter is a dark well, and the thick clouds that linger all day long are like white snow, covering the sky above the land throughout the winter.

In April, the spring snow melts, the green shoots grow, the glaciers turn into running water, and the world regains its vitality.

The river comes alive, and the city becomes full of emotion.Yan Xichen looked at the bright red crossed out days on the calendar, and he only felt withered.

One day, Yan Xichen was about to leave. He packed his luggage and prepared to go west again to visit Heishui.

The spring wind was still cold, he dragged his luggage and buried his head, wearing the same white plush hat on top, and buried his chin deeply in the coiled scarf.He walks across the tram terrace and buys a ticket in rusty Ukrainian.

A little girl running next to her in a snowflake dress fell down on the left side of the platform; a woman in a red dress with crossed legs on a bench was arguing on the phone; A middle-aged man smokes while looking at the distant sky...

A man walked past him, humming the melody in a low voice, passing by Yan Xichen like a gust of wind, it was a familiar melody——

little swallow, wearing a floral dress

Come here every spring

I asked Yanzi why you came

swallow said

The spring here is the most beautiful

……

Like a spring breeze blowing, Yan Xichen suddenly stopped his movements.The sun parted the clouds, and the tiles on the platform floor reflected layers of light spots.He turned his head to look at the figure of the man, pulled down the heavy scarf covering his mouth and nose, and smelled the long-lost sweet and sour smell in the air.

The man who passed by him felt something, the singing stopped abruptly, and he also stopped and turned his head.The man happened to be standing in the folds of light, and the shadow was a sharp blade.

He saw the man's face against the light clearly, like a swallow who had been searching for a long time and finally found his roof, and burst into tears in an instant.

The author says:

The full text is over.Thanks to the readers who have been accompanying this article, especially the sweethearts who have been leaving messages.This story is a completely new field for me, the writing is very enjoyable, and the fighting is also very satisfying. The full text is written here, and it feels like a big dream.There will be a few episodes in the future, and I will be in charge of Tiansu's episodes.Love the swallow, love the boss, love you guys, see you next door!