I put out his fire

Rome has entered the bitter late autumn.

The inexplicable strange disease became more and more serious, and a large number of people died of blood in urine and diarrhea.The Romans turned from panic to resentment.

There were rumors in the city that Nero's succession was not in line with the will of the gods, and the gods punished Rome with strange diseases and incurable floods.

However, misfortunes never come singly. The long-dormant flood broke the embankment and submerged the streets and shops at the foot of New Manor.

Since these houses belonged to Nero in terms of title, Nero had to pay for the repair costs of the houses and embankments.This expenditure is huge.

Nero was very busy.He was doubly frustrated by public condemnation and financial burdens.

As an administrator, he had to visit patients suffering from strange diseases.This is a symbolic sympathy from politicians, which can calm the emotions of the people.

Before going out, Nero put on his leather boots and fastened the neckline of his cashmere cloak.The slave taped the fine ash off his cloak and sprayed clove distilled water on his curly hair.

In the courtyard outside the door, the coachman combed the horse's mane with a brush and added grease for lubrication to the axles of the carriage.

The marble fireplace in the house was burning vigorously, and the bright fire filled the bedroom, and the heat was pervasive.

There was the clank of iron boots stomping on the ground at the door.Nero paused, his heart itching like a bug crawling over.

Since the neck-to-neck relationship in the tree that day, the atmosphere between the two has become much more viscous.

He turned his face slightly, his golden-brown pupils moved to the corners of his eyes, and he saw Rhodes with wet hair all at once.

Rhodes had just taken a shower, his face was still dripping with water, and his lips were as red as fire.His black eyes were wet, and his black hair was dripping with water, clinging to the black clothes, like black ink dripping into black ink.

"I'm ready." He picked up his longsword, checked it quickly, and put it firmly into the scabbard.

The young slave girl kept sneaking glances at him.Nero signaled all the slaves to stand down.

"We're going to the slums again." Nero buttoned up his boots, "give some coins and medicine to delay death to those sick."

Rhode tied the scabbard around his waist, "Rome now is like a diseased weed that has withered from its roots. After so long, those guys who are known as famous doctors are still at a loss."

Nero said sadly: "At present, they can only judge that this is a chronic disease, which may be related to food and drinking water. But the specific cause has not been determined yet."

Rhodes stood leaning on the sword, water dripped down his bright jaw, looking very stern.

"Let's go." He pointed out with his chin.

"Not yet," Nero said. "The coachman is still loading the herbs and the cash box. We must wait a little longer."

Rhodes glanced out, and the right hand that was holding down the hilt withdrew again.

He added a few sticks of charcoal to the fireplace and stood by to warm himself.The wind of the fire hit his face, blowing his black wet hair.

Rhodes was silent for a long time, and said with a stern face: "I heard that your shops and houses were flooded..."

He stared at the flame, and two flames reflected in his eyes.

Nero's face was gloomy, and he replied seriously: "Unfortunately, I lost all the money I had and borrowed some money from my mother. The naming of the property will let me enjoy the glory first, and then let me suffer from unexpected disasters." .”

Rhodes pondered for a while, and the silhouette was embedded in the golden red fire like a hammered iron stone.

"Do you still remember your previous divination?" He said coldly, "The fortune teller gave two oracles, one of which is that water will bring you disaster..."

Nero hesitated.

"The bath water that was poisoned, encountered pirates on the sea to Cyprus, fell into the courtyard and contracted malaria, and now this flood that makes you in debt..." Rhodes counted each one, "All your disasters are related to water. related."

The fulfilled prophecy alarmed Nero.He stepped on his leather boots and walked heavily to Rhodes.

The bright firelight stuck to his melancholy face like gold flakes.Rhodes could smell the fragrance of cloves on Nero's silk robe.

Nero lowered his eyes and said, "What a terrible coincidence..."

"This is not a coincidence, but a determinism." Rhodes glanced at him sideways, "Perhaps the three people who determine your fate really exist."

Nero stared at the flames, the light spots in his pupils jumped like phantoms.His expression was gloomy.

Rhodes fiddled with his hair indiscriminately, throwing out a few strings of water droplets that radiated fire.His long hair was very thick and didn't dry out easily, and it hung down meekly after being soaked, giving him a feminine beauty.

He brushed back his sideburns that were blocking his view, and Nero's shining brown eyes came rushing in.

The gazes of the two collided like swords sparking.

A look at each other can make the atmosphere suddenly sticky.

Nero's light brown eyes were obliquely illuminated by the red light, like transparent glass, showing a strange golden red.His cheeks were faintly blushing, the whites of his eyes were bloodshot from staying up all night, and he was a little haggard.

Rhode stared at his golden eyes, and suddenly said, "I haven't finished reading the last story."

Nero froze for a moment, "Is that Minos whose eyes were gouged out by his parents?"

"He has a pair of golden eyes." Rhodes said, "I want to hear his ending."

So Nero rummaged through the cabinets and found out the story book.

The parchment scroll full of words has turned yellow, the corners are crumpled, and the cracks spread out on the scroll like leaf veins.This is a parchment scroll that has been around for a long time.

Nero brushed the dust off the rolled surface, and the formal Greek appeared on the wrinkled yellow leather.

"This is the most popular Greek story book, and every villa in Rome will have this book hidden in the bookcase. Almost every aristocrat who wants to learn Greek has a copy." Nero said.

Rhodes leaned his back against the wall, looking interested.

Nero scooped out a spoonful of suet and applied it to the cracks in the scroll.He found the last location and read in Latin:

"Poor Minos had his eyes gouged out.His parents had high hopes for their only son, and in order to make up for the lack of eyes, they trained him in extremely cruel ways.

They threw Minos into a forest inhabited by wolves, forcing him to hear the direction of howling wolves to escape; they made him smell the food before every meal, and said every ingredient and seasoning; Fan the wind and use the wind that bounces back to judge the size and position of things.

These parents love their son in such a frightening way. 』

Nero paused for a while and continued to read:

"In a life without vision, Minos' other senses are extremely sensitive to the outside world.His whole body seemed to be covered with a film of dense nerves, as sensitive as the tentacles of a snail.He is so delicate that he can feel every slight change in the environment.

Under the urging of his parents, Minos learned to write and speak, and he was very talented.

However, his physical insufficiency gave him a pessimistic and gloomy personality.He lives in the dark every day, hardly ever going out, his physique is so weak that he can't even lift a slightly heavier sword...』

When Rhodes heard this, he suddenly said, "Like you."

Nero was stunned, his face flushed even more with embarrassment.Still childish, he rubbed his nose twice, light brown freckles were faintly distributed on it.

He read on:

"After Minos became an adult, the king and his wife still bound their son like ropes.They have always hoped that Minos can learn riding, archery and swimming, increase his military strength, and become a king with both civil and military skills in the future.

At this time, Jupiter, the father of the gods, gave people a special villa.

This villa from the gods was built entirely of mirrors:

The dome is made up of countless small mirror pieces, the walls are made of large mirrors, and the pillars, ceiling, floor, and stairs are all made of bright mirrors; the beds and tables in the room, even the dinner plates, vases, knives, forks and spoons for eating , all are mirrors.

Jupiter threatened that as long as someone can live alone in the mirror villa for a year without any injuries, he will be rewarded with invincible bravery and force, and make him the unique master of the mirror villa.Only with the permission of the owner of the villa, outsiders are allowed to enter and leave the villa...』

Rhodes became interested, and his bright eyebrows slightly curved.

"People are flocking to this, wanting to have invincible power.

The king and his wife were even more delighted to see this opportunity.They decisively sent Minos to the villa.

Most people will be stabbed by countless suns reflected by countless lenses just by approaching the mirror villa, so they have no choice but to give up.

The rest of the people finally walked into the villa, and they were dazzled by countless repeated mirror images.

They are often stabbed by sharp table corners, and they can’t even find the mirror plate on the mirror dining table. Some people give up because they can’t bear the loneliness, and more people are driven crazy by the chaotic vision...』

Nero pondered a little here, and then read:

『In this way, Minos lived quietly in the villa for a year because of his lack of eyesight.Jupiter kept his word and gave him unrivaled strength and bravery.No one can beat this young man of divine grace.

His bad luck of having his eyes gouged out turned into his luck...』

Nero couldn't help interrupting the reading, sighing softly: "He is really a miserable and lucky guy."

Rhodes stood up straight, his hair half-dried by the fire curled up messily.

He brushed aside his temple hair neatly, pursed his lips deeply, and said after a long time: "His dramatic experience is worth your consideration."

Nero raised his head, and when his eyes met Rhodes, there was an instinctive softness.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"Minos' calamity of having his eyes gouged turned into his blessing," Rhodes said. "It's like when you got pirates and avoided buying fake olives."

Nero froze for a moment, and his thoughts quickly went back to the past.He said sharply: "It's also like I was lucky enough to get the title of the real estate this time, but I was in debt because of it."

"Maybe this flood will turn into your blessing again one day." Rhodes sighed slightly.

Nero was thoughtful, "You mean...you want me to be more optimistic?"

"No." Rhodes chuckled lightly, "Since fate is an uncertain guy, it is foolish to be optimistic and pessimistic all the time."

At this time, the slave came over and told the master that it was time to go.

The two broke off the story again and set off for the ghetto.

……

The condition of the slums is shocking.

People here are more or less symptomatic.The patients had pale faces, their bodies swayed when they walked, and they were as stiff as walking mummies.There were rashes on their skin, and they looked dazed.

Some severe abdominal pains were unbearable, and they vomited a puddle of broken, blue-green vomit, and their faces were as pale as bone ashes.

The streets in the slums are very dirty, the sewers are covered with moss and sticky insects, and there are rats scurrying around.

Poor people who can't afford soap locust have to use urine to wash their clothes. They will fill the clothes basin with urine and then step on it.There was an unpleasant smell all over the street.

Nero and Rhodes walked into the potholed streets, and people who were not seriously ill lined up to welcome them.

Sick they cheered as hard as they could, throwing peanuts and bay leaves to both of them.This is the most valuable thing for poor people.

Some young children secretly pick up the dropped peanuts to eat while adults are not paying attention.

A skinny mouse scuttled past Nero's feet.

The corners of Nero's mouth twitched, and he said with a gloomy face, "It seems that the monsters in Pandora's Box have all come here, and every breath of air here is poor."

Rhode looked around and said seriously: "These patients seem to be poisoned!"

Nero asked the accompanying slaves to distribute medicine and money.

The poor took it with both hands respectfully.The clothes they wore were much more shabby than Nero's slaves.

Rhode crushed peanuts all the way, and glanced towards the street.He saw a series of crude kitchen utensils and scattered spices.

- The poor live in small apartments without kitchens.The women had to set up stoves on the side of the street and light a fire to cook.

Suddenly, Rhodes' gaze was fixed in one place, and his usual calm black eyes burst out with a horrified flash.

There are some faint blue and white grains sprinkled on the stove.That is the table salt that people eat, but now it looks like mildew, showing a light and strange blue-green color.

Rhodes was familiar with this kind of strange-colored table salt.

He had received such a military salary in the military camp, and he was also compensated with a gold coin at that time.

His feet stood still like parried swords.

Immediately, Nero noticed that there was something abnormal in him, and asked worriedly, "What's wrong?"

Rhodes stared at the salt, and said with a serious expression: "Wait for me."

He quickly slipped into the crowd, as fast as a flash of lightning that appeared and then disappeared.

Nero hurriedly pushed through the crowd and followed, his face flushed red from anxiety.

Rhodes stood by the stove, picked up a pinch of blue-green salt crystals, and sniffed it lightly.This is the smell of the sea that he is familiar with in his bones.

Amidst the noisy voices, Nero ran over through layers of human walls, stumbled, and hugged Rhodes' arm.

He was sweating profusely, his face was flushed, and his lips were trembling uncontrollably.

Rhodes scratched his sweaty nose and said with a smile, "Are you worried?"

Nero became shy and felt the burn on the bridge of his nose.After being scratched by Rhodes like this, his thoughts were a little blurred, and his eyes wandered around.

When he accidentally caught a glimpse of the blue-green salt grains, he froze in surprise.

Rhodes understood.He pointed to the pile of salt crystals and said, "This is private salt."

The author has something to say: