【Shuangxuan】Self-knowledge

Chapter 11

It took He Xuan a long while to lift his foot and walked over step by step.The old couple noticed him first, and when he approached and saw his appearance clearly, they couldn't help but widen their eyes, feeling a sense of deja vu lingering in their hearts.

Hearing the sound of footsteps, Shi Wudu opened his eyes, and seeing that it was He Xuan, the corners of his mouth twitched, and he closed his eyes again.When Shi Qingxuan saw the person coming, he stood up immediately: "Young Master He, you are back!"

He Xuan tried his best to suppress the trembling in his voice: "Who are these...?"

Shi Qingxuan didn't notice anything wrong with him at this time, so he explained softly: "These two uncles and aunts were rescued by my brother near Zhangye City County when he returned, and these two little girls are their daughters... "

It turned out that when Shi Wudu first came to Jiayuguan with the bodyguard team, he noticed the gathering of ghosts and restlessness in the frontier fortress.Thinking of his brother's reminder and instructions before he set off, he became 12 vigilant.It was okay when I left the customs, everything was calm, and the accident happened when I returned.Ma Ben, a group of people, turned back according to the original road. After leaving Jiuquan County, they walked eastward along the Great Wall for more than ten miles, when they were suddenly covered by yellow sand rising from the ground.When the dust dispersed, Shi Wudu found that the escort team was missing, and he was separated into a magic circle surrounded by dozens of alien evil spirits.He has seen this formation more than once, and it is often set by the ghost clan when they devour other ghosts. If ordinary lonely ghosts accidentally fall into it, they will basically never have a chance to come out again.Naturally, Shi Wudu would not let himself break here. After he estimated the Taoism of those evil spirits, he took out two ghost-flavored sugar balls and swallowed them, and his mana was immediately filled.After hacking and killing more than a dozen evil spirits in a row, he finally found the eye of the formation. After finding an opportunity, he broke through a hole in the formation and escaped on horseback.Fortunately, those evil spirits did not catch up, but repaired the magic circle, and it seemed that they were preparing to continue waiting for the next unlucky ghost.

Shi Wudu hurriedly communicated with Pei Ming, but there was no response from the psychic circle; he went to Nangong again, but he still couldn't get in touch.He didn't know if Mingguang and Lingwen were in trouble, or if there was something wrong with him.Shui Hengtian thought for a moment, and decided to continue heading due east to reach the Qianggu River.He knew that compared with the vast wasteland, he had an advantage by the water; and the middle reaches of the Qianggu River was Zhangye County, which was an important town on the Northwest Commercial Road, and he might be able to join the escort team there.After making up his mind, Shi Wudu first rushed to the river, and then traveled southeast along the river.When it was more than 20 miles away from Zhangye County, Shi Wudu met this family who was on their way on the official road.Originally, he didn't care about these people, and he had already rode his horse for a distance of more than ten feet, but suddenly he heard a loud noise, so he reined in the reins and looked back, and a water ghost of a foreign race appeared in the river beside the road. , and attacked the family.

Although Shui Hengtian is unreasonable and often uses some shady means, but he is a priest after all, and he still has some kindness in his disposition; as long as the safety of relatives and friends is not involved, he will still instinctively come across mortals who are in danger. Help me on the ground.So Shi Wudu immediately jumped up, patted the past with a palm, and blasted the water ghost away.It was dangerous to say, if his action was delayed by another moment, the woman and the little daughter she held in her arms would be torn apart by the sharp claws of the water ghost.

The water ghost didn't expect that another ghost would come out halfway, so he didn't set up his defenses and suffered this blow.Taking advantage of this time, Shi Wudu has already stood in front of the family, let them find a cover first, so as not to accidentally injure them when he fights later.The water ghost quickly got up from the ground and returned to the water surface, staring at Shi Wudu fiercely, exuding a very oppressive ghost aura all over his body.Shi Wudu can feel that this ghost's cultivation base is not low, it must be a severe state, almost a dangerous state.His heart sank, knowing that he had encountered a big trouble, but he still gritted his teeth and swallowed the remaining sugar balls in one gulp.He knew that he could not fight for a long time in his current state, so he planned to go all out and preemptively strike.He controlled the water with both hands at the same time, and several water columns suddenly surged up in the river, surrounding the water ghost in the center; and then, many water-condensed sword blades emerged from the column, nailing hard at the monster. past.But the water ghost is not small, after dozens of blows, his fierceness was completely aroused, he broke through Shi Wudu's water formation, and attacked him.

The two ghosts fought like this on the water.Shi Wudu's attack was precise and ruthless, and he hit the door of life with every move; but after all, his mana is limited, and after a long time of confrontation, he gradually felt that it was difficult, and he accidentally exposed his flaws, and was hit by a series of heavy blows from the water ghost. He was beaten and flew out.Except for facing the black water sinking, Shi Wudu had never been so embarrassed, and became angry for a while.Holding the determination to kill the fish and smash the net, he set off a huge wave in one breath. Countless water dragons drilled out of the waves, and water arrows spit out water arrows from the mouth of the water dragon, which was thunderous.The water ghost was pierced by thousands of arrows, and Yuanshen was not spared, and was finally scattered.

After removing the water dragon, Shi Wudu was almost exhausted.But he didn't care about his serious injury, so he walked to the Tubei not far away, and found the family that was hiding and the horse that jumped here after he was frightened.The four members of that family witnessed the whole process of Shi Wudu's fight, and called the gods directly, and immediately wanted to thank him for saving his life.At this time, Shi Wudu laughed at their absurdity in his heart, even referring to ghosts as gods, he felt extremely ironic.However, he didn't show it on his face, he only said that he was not a god, and asked them to avoid those useless gifts, and if there was anything to do, he would first arrive in Zhangye City before talking about it.Shi Wudu asked the couple to ride a horse, and the two little girls were light in stature, he held one in each hand, and used the little mana left to control the saber to fly, and he managed to make it all the way to the city.

Inside the city is peaceful and peaceful, not as spooky as outside the city.Shi Wudu was looking for a place to stay, but he ran into the lost bodyguard team near the market.It turned out that the wind and sand only attacked non-human objects, so only Shi Wudu was left behind.The head of the bodyguard found that he was missing, so he sent someone to look for him, but they couldn't find him.Although being alone at the border is likely to be more dangerous than good, but they can only hurry first and enter the city according to the original route; if Shi Wu survives the disaster, they will naturally come to the city to find them.As a result, after staying in the city for a day, Shi Wudu rushed over.The bodyguards are mortals, they can't see the strength of the ghost, and they said that he is safe and sound, saying that he is really blessed; when asked about the family of four, Shi Wudu made up some random excuses, saying that he had practiced simply After a while, knowing a little about ghosts and ghosts, I met these people in distress and rescued them.

Shi Wudu looked at the two little girls who were still in shock, and couldn't help but think of Shi Qingxuan when he was a child, and felt more compassionate for a while, so he took the family to the inn where the escort team stayed, and let them settle down.He inadvertently asked where the family was going, and learned that they originally lived in a village near Zhangye City. Because the Western Regions were haunted by ghosts recently, they were afraid of being disturbed, so they packed their bags and prepared to go to the south of the Yangtze River. The in-laws of the baby's queen, who did business and settled there.They wanted to go to the city and rent a carriage, but they encountered such ghosts on the way.Shi Wudu thought: This couple is very old, and they brought two little girls with them, if they just go to Jiangnan like this, there will be many dangers along the way.It is said that good people do their best and send the Buddha to the west. Anyway, if you go to the south of the Yangtze River and go to the imperial city, you might as well just take them along.Although it's a little troublesome, it's just a matter of accumulating good fortune for my younger brother.Therefore, Shi Wudu discussed with the head of the bodyguard, and took the family on the road together.Coincidentally, after escorting the caravan out of customs, the carriage left for the leading merchant was empty, and Shi Wudu let the four people sit in it.

The bodyguard team went all the way south, rushing back day and night, and it happened to be noon when they arrived at the imperial city.Shi Wudu took the family of four to the rouge shop, and briefly told Shi Qingxuan about his experiences these days, but concealed the fact that he was seriously injured.Due to the large number of people in the front shop, Shi Qingxuan moved the stools and invited the family to have a rest in the backyard, and then went to the street to buy buns, planning to find them an inn to stay in after they finished eating, and let them stay for a while. Continue on the road after resting.

Shi Qingxuan relayed all his brother's words to He Xuan.After the ghost king heard about this experience, Dang even guessed how Shi Wudu's serious injury came about, so he couldn't help turning his head to look at him with an extremely complicated expression.

After a while, He Xuan withdrew his gaze, took a step forward, and walked up to the two little girls.He squatted down, looked at this, and then at that, his eyes were gentle but sad.He raised his hand slowly, as if he wanted to touch their faces; but after biting his lip, the hand that was outstretched in mid-air dropped down again, trembling and clenched into a fist.

The two children were not afraid of him.The younger child directly opened his mouth and called "Brother", then moved down from the chair, ran to He Xuan's side, and tiptoed curiously into the basket behind him.The older girl was a little reserved at the moment, she just sat there and looked up at him, but her eyes were still shining.He Xuan actually smiled at them, untied the basket from his back, and grabbed a handful of lychees for each of the two children.

At this time, both Shi Qingxuan and Shi Wudu had already noticed something.Looking at He Xuan with an abnormal expression, and then looking at the family of four, a guess came to mind, and the hearts of the two brothers were all shaken.

As if he couldn't help being puzzled, the old man sitting on the side stood up, glanced at Shi Qingxuan, and asked He Xuan, "I just heard that little brother call you, and your surname is He?"

He Xuan nodded.

The old man said again: "They all have the same surname, no wonder I always feel that your face is familiar, as if I have met you somewhere!"

The woman at the side blamed him for speaking bluntly, fearing that he would offend others, so she quickly apologized to He Xuan and asked him not to take offense.Then he quickly tugged at his wife's sleeve, and said in a low voice, "You're real, that's all you need to do in your hometown, why are you still dating here, everyone looks familiar!"

The old man retorted: "What kind of marriage, I'm just telling the truth! I really think he looks familiar..."

He Xuan looked at the old couple who were bickering, with his lips parted slightly, as if he wanted to say a thousand words, but in the end he just got down on one knee and said:

"...Ah Weng is right. The same surname has the same origin, how could He be surprised..."

Shi Wudu had already stood up straight, his eyes widened in surprise, and his hands that were originally hugging his chest were also put down.Because of the tiredness and busyness of the journey, he only asked the family where they came, where they were going and what they needed on the way, but never asked their names.He never dreamed that the four people he rescued would be the reincarnation of He Xuan's relatives!

The old couple turned to Shi Wudu again, and asked him how to repay his life-saving grace.Thinking of the karma he created hundreds of years ago, and the victims at that time thanking him sincerely at this moment, Shui Hengtian was at a loss for what to do.Guiltily avoiding the other party's gaze, he hesitated for a long time before saying:

"...I don't deserve the word 'repay'."

As he said that, he raised his chin and pointed in the direction of He Xuan: "If you really want to repay someone, you can go to him. If it wasn't for him, I would never be able to save you."

This is the truth.If He Xuan hadn't kept his spirit, how could he have had the chance to take root in the mortal world and go to the northwest, let alone save the He family.

The old couple didn't know why, and stood there, not knowing who to recognize as a benefactor.However, He Xuan directly skipped the matter, stood up, walked up to them, and asked softly: "Next, are you going to Jiangnan?"

The woman nodded: "I'm going there..."

He Xuandao: "I'll take you there."

The couple hurriedly thanked each other, but the two little girls were ignorant, but they also wanted to salute.He Xuan reached out to stop them, but knelt down by himself, startling the family.

"... Tomorrow, I will send you all to Jiangnan. Can you two please help me fulfill a long-cherished wish?"

The old man was shocked: "You young man, you are obviously kind to me, but now you still kneel down to me, a bad old man, don't you want me to shorten my life!... Get up quickly! If you have anything to do, get up and talk about it!"

He Xuan stood up from the ground and looked at the two old men. The word "father and mother" was choked in his throat, but he couldn't call it out.

"... Could you please make another meal for me to try?"

In the afternoon of that day, Shi Qingxuan closed the Yanzhi shop, and after cleaning up the kitchen with his elder brother, he lifted the big table on the first floor to the open space in the center of the shop again.

In the backyard, He Xuan didn't use mana, but fetched a bucket of water with his own hands, and sat by the well with the two old men to wash vegetables.When the sun was setting to the west, the stove was on fire, and the couple was chopping vegetables, and He Xuan tacitly added water and firewood to them.The two brothers evaded knowingly, Shi Wudu stood in the corner of the yard with complicated thoughts, raised his hand and rubbed the center of his brows; Shi Qingxuan took two little girls in the front shop, peeled lychees for them without saying a word, They each poured a cup of honeysuckle tea.

After the meal was ready, the four members of the He family and a ghost sat around the table.He Xuan held the bowl and picked up the chopsticks, but his hands trembled slightly.He chewed every mouthful of the food he picked up for a long time, even swallowing slowly, as if he was afraid that the long-lost taste would disappear after passing through his mouthpiece once.

As early as when He Xuan brought the dishes into the house, Shi Qingxuan cleaned up the lychee shells on the table and retreated to the backyard.But he couldn't help it anymore, walked to the side door and stood there, poked his head out, and quietly looked at the dining table.He has seen He Xuan eating many times; it's just that the other party is whole every time, and he has never cherished it so meticulously like today.

Looking at it, Shi Qingxuan felt sour in his heart, and tears fell.He knew that what He Xuan tasted was far more than the taste of this meal.Reunited in the reincarnation, relatives gather together, but Yin and Yang are still separated, and no one remembers him anymore.In addition to the sweet and delicious taste at the entrance, there must also be the saltiness and bitterness that penetrate into the bone marrow.

Taking a deep breath silently, Shi Qingxuan wiped off his wet face, raised his face and swallowed all the remaining tears back into his stomach.When he finally calmed down and turned around to go back to the backyard, he found his elder brother standing in front of Zhaobi.In fact, Shi Wudu has been standing behind him all the time, seeing his younger brother wiping tears, he also feels distressed.

Seeing Shi Qingxuan turned around, Shi Wudu sighed, handed him a handkerchief, and then walked to the center of the courtyard, looking up at the sky.Shi Qingxuan bowed his head in silence, and walked into the kitchen holding his handkerchief.He planned to clean the pot first, but saw that the wooden food box that was originally placed in the corner cabinet was taken out and placed in the most conspicuous place on the stove.

Reaching out to lift the lid, I saw a plate of golden glutinous rice dumplings inside, which seemed to be kept warm by magic, and it was still steaming.Next to the plate, there was a note.Shi Qingxuan picked it up and took a look. A line of lowercase script was written in a hurry, but the handwriting was still painted with silver hooks:

"This gold ball is made by my mother. Her craftsmanship is much better than those on the street."

Shi Qingxuan folded the note in half and put it close to his body.Then he picked up a golden dumpling, it wasn't too hot, he held it to his mouth and took a bite.The first taste is crispy, chewing glutinous fragrance.Like He Xuan, he swallowed slowly, and the tears flooded out of his eyes unconsciously.

After nightfall, the four members of the He family did not go to the inn, but rested in the inn.In addition to the two bedrooms on the second floor, there is also a smaller guest room, but it has never been occupied.Shi Qingxuan cleaned up all three rooms, his own room for the two little girls, his elder brother's room for He Xuan's parents, and the guest room for He Xuan.

Originally, the two old people felt that they were bothering a lot, and when they heard that they would occupy the bedroom of the brothers from the teacher's family, they felt even more sorry and did not want to stay in the shop.But Shi Qingxuan had already prepared everything, and He Xuan also signaled with his eyes that they couldn't refuse, so they had to stay.

Shi Wudu was against it at first.But looking at his brother's lonely but resolute expression, he didn't say anything in the end. He just took another straw mat, quilt and pillow from the cabinet, took them to the woodshed and spread them on the floor.Even more quiet.Shi Qingxuan leaned against the wall and sat on the mat, embracing his knees, staring at the lamp on the ground, without any sleepiness.

Shi Wudu lay on another straw mat, tossing and turning for a long time, seeing that Shi Qingxuan was still in a daze with his eyes open, he wanted to persuade him to take a rest.But after thinking about it, I also felt that I was making things difficult for others.So he was silent for a while, then changed his mouth and said:

"...If you can't sleep, go to the courtyard to get some air. This room is stuffy, don't hold back."

Shi Qingxuan shook his head and said with a smile: "No...brother. I'm going to sleep now, and I have to get up early tomorrow." As he spoke, he shook off the quilt at his feet and covered him.

Shi Wudu sat up and looked at his younger brother worriedly: "Qingxuan, don't force yourself, just say it when you are sad."

"Hahaha... Brother, look at what you said! Why am I so sad! Mr. He and his family are reunited, I'm too happy..."

"Qingxuan."

"Ok?"

"Actually, today, the He family should thank you the most... Even I should thank you as well."

"Brother, what are you talking about?"

"If you hadn't given me the candy ball before we set off, let alone saving them, I'm afraid I would have escaped even myself."

"It's okay, brother. Don't family members just want to protect each other..." Shi Qingxuan lay down, pillowed on the pillow, listened to the sound of insects outside the house, looked at the beams with spider webs, and smiled Bitterly, "But to be honest, as a guilty person, I was able to help you save Mr. He's close relatives, but I did my duty unintentionally. I really can't afford their thanks..."

A gust of cool wind swept through the window, and the candles flickered in the firewood room.He Xuan stood at the door, listening to the conversation between the two in silence.

The ghost king was worried about the hot and humid firewood room and wanted to pick Shi Qingxuan to sleep with him in the guest room, but when he heard the other party talking with Shi Wudu, he didn't open the door and just stood there quietly.He didn't move until the room became quiet and the lights were turned off.But he moved two steps to the side, sat down against the outer wall of the firewood house, and looked up at the vast night sky.

Several times of reincarnation in the past and present, the origin and extinction are like the stars and the moon.The living have the way of life of the living, no matter how reluctant he is, He Xuan also knows that some people have actually separated themselves from their clarity.Even filial piety can't be justified, and the golden and jade marriage can't be given by himself; the best choice he can think of is to pretend that everything is accidental, and then disappear from the other party's sight.He Xuan knows that some people can become his eternal obsession, but they will not always belong to him.It is enough to be able to watch over the other party's safety in this life and happiness in the whole life in secret, and he will have no regrets in the future.

In the early morning of the second day, He Xuan's family was about to leave.Shi Qingxuan really got up very early.After preparing the meals, he put on delicate and lovely makeup for the two little girls, and took the best carmine powder in the store, wrapped all his savings together, and handed them over to Mr. and Mrs. He.But the old couple dare not accept it at all.While they were not paying attention, Shi Wudu took the heavy bag of gold and silver from Shi Qingxuan's hand, and threw it to He Xuan in the air. Then he pretended to be nothing, and stood with his arms folded.

He Xuan is familiar with the account books in the store, knowing the income and savings of the store.After a little weighing the money in his hand, he estimated the amount, and found that it was almost all of Shi Qingxuan's family wealth.The ghost king was worried that his business would be difficult without sufficient funds, so he asked him if he wanted to keep some more.Shi Qingxuan just shook his head, saying that he should be like this.

After breakfast, the He family thanked the two Shi family brothers and resigned.He Xuan carried the luggage for his parents, and walked out of the store, holding a small one in one hand.When he stepped out of the door, he looked back, Shi Qingxuan was still standing by the counter, smiling and waving at him:

"Young Master He, have a good trip!"

Xu was a little far away, and He Xuan didn't notice that Qing Xuan's eyes were already red.He nodded and continued to walk out. Not long after, his figure disappeared into the bustling crowd on the street.

The person has been away for a long time, but Shi Qingxuan still stands there, looking towards the door, as if his own soul has gone with him.

Reunited with his family, He Xuan has found his home, Shi Qingxuan is happy for him from the bottom of his heart.

But for some reason, he just wanted to cry at this moment.