【Good Leaf】Eclipse of the Crimson Moon

【Simplified】

I heard Qi Qiran's slow singing, gliding through the empty space like a trickle, long, stagnant, and silent like the sound of flowers fading, more like someone is crying, but I know it's not.

No matter how you look into the distance, no matter how you change directions, there is only one kind of scenery——endless darkness.

There is no distance, no distance, no layers of blackness.

In such an environment, I can still see myself, which is really inexplicable.

People can see things because the retina captures the light reflected from the body and forms an image, which obviously doesn't apply to my current situation.

In this space where there is no light, no, no object but me, what is it that I see myself?The "earth" that carries me now is pitch black, what could it be?

I looked at my hands, a slightly unreal gray mist passed through the palms, looking a little transparent, as if they would merge into this thick black darkness in the next moment.

So, use these hands to touch the only "entity" under your feet, what will happen?

The earth will suddenly split open, and thousands of rays of light will pour in from the gap?

Or...is the whole world damaged by my touch, shattering into fine pieces from where I touch it, and disappearing into the void?

I speculated about all kinds of possibilities, slowly bent down, and put my fingertips close to the "ground" I was standing on.Then, without warning, I saw my fingers disappear into the darkness, as if dipping into black water.As I hesitated how to figure out its depth, the ground disappeared in an instant.I immediately fell into it, no need to struggle and try, neither seeing nor feeling my body, that is the real abyss of nothingness, even I no longer exist.

In this nothingness, there are only fragments of voices that cannot be judged from the source, and they come out from time to time.Like an old phonograph needle that may break at any time, the sound that is carved on the mottled and rusted record with great difficulty is hoarse, weak, blurred, tune-changed, and intermittent.

Then, in the endless darkness, a faint shadow emerged.

Someone was lying there, and there seemed to be another silhouette beside him.

The faces of the two, who had almost melted into the darkness, could not be seen clearly.But the person kneeling by the side covered his face with his hands, and his body trembled slightly, the amplitude was unusually small, and he couldn't detect it if he didn't focus on it, as if he was trying his best to suppress a certain emotion, and when it was turning like a broken gear, The irregular rubbing sound and the depressing and isolated atmosphere made my heart suddenly throb.

I tried to move my non-existent body, to bring the perspective closer.The outline gradually became clearer than before, and it could be vaguely seen that they were the figures of two young people, perhaps even younger... The back of the standing figure was extremely soft, with dark arcs hanging down to the ground—— Yes, extremely long and silky hair...

who is it?

Where have you seen him before?

I moved an inch closer, and at the same moment, the scene in front of me suddenly disappeared like a bursting bubble, and quickly disappeared.Then everything went back to darkness again.

Nothing appeared again, but the inexplicable voice approached and gradually became recognizable.I finally realized that it turned out to be something I was familiar with...

By the way, it was that day...

"..."

"...Our two children are about to go to college! Don't say such sarcastic remarks!..."

"... Haotai needs a house to get married... How should we think about our situation?..."

"...Sell Tsukimi's house and you'll have money, let's talk to Masumi then...It's always okay to borrow some..."

"But Masumi insists on living there, I'm afraid..."

"If you think about it that way, you can go there too. Anyway, he can't live in such a big house as a child."

"Not over there...over there..."

"Yeah... Don't you know, the check-in procedure over there is very difficult... If there is no introducer, there is probably no way..."

"Then how did Masumi go through the formalities?"

"Who knows? It seems that the office over there is busy with something, maybe he passed the resume after seeing his previous residence..."

"Hey... Speaking of this, I still feel that there is something a little strange..."

"what?"

"It's Masumi... Before Naoto and the others moved to Tokyo four years ago, didn't the child suffer from a sudden illness?"

"Oh... I've heard it too. At that time, the couple was so anxious that they seemed to be going crazy..."

"The hospital has issued a critical illness notice, right? Why did you recover so quickly..."

"It's true to say that... Actually, I also think that child is a bit... How should I put it... Not only does he look weird, but his personality is too calm, right? It's impossible to imagine that he is only 13 years old..."

"Is that really Masumi? It's too far from the feeling when I was a child..."

"Who else could it be if it wasn't him? Children...it's normal for people to become completely unrecognizable when they grow up..."

"Hey, what I heard was a little different. At that time, Masumi..."

...!

I woke up suddenly, the dazzling light made my eyes dry and painful, but the dark shadows still remained in my trembling consciousness, which made me unable to distinguish the boundary between fantasy and reality for a while.

Bursts of dull pain passed through my mind, and my body was unexpectedly heavy, like a fish just out of water stranded on a reef. I weakly took a big breath, and the burning sourness in my throat and chest became more intense with my movements. .

After thinking that he might be able to adapt to this white and bright environment, he opened his eyes again.Instinctively wanting to prop up my body, I was suddenly restrained by the extra restraints. The sharp tingling pain quickly spread from the affected nerves to my whole body, and I fell back into the soft bedding like a puppet with disconnected strings.

After I saw the constraints that hindered my movement, I finally understood where I was now.

I'm lying surrounded by white right now.Layers of bandages were wrapped around the right arm, and the lower arm doubled in size, wrapped in an exaggeratedly cold and heavy hard object.The left foot seems to have received the same treatment in terms of weight, but I can't get up now so I can't be sure what it has become.It is the right foot and left hand that can move a little.But there was an infusion needle attached to the vein on the back of the hand, and nothing but numbness remained after the sting.

It turns out that everything is true...

On my way home, someone pushed me down a very high step.

Although he had tried his best to adjust his posture to protect his head, but in an instant there were violent impacts from various directions, and it was only a few seconds before he could remain conscious.The last scene I could recall was the blurry figure that I caught a glimpse of inadvertently during the fall.

Standing at the top of the steps, looking down at me without any expression, the coldness in those eyes hit the bottom of my heart——

When I realized it, the patient's plain white gown was almost soaked in cold sweat.Even though he was covered with bedding, he still felt as if he had fallen into an ice cave, and his body couldn't help shaking.At this time, the door of the ward opened, and a nurse came in pushing a cart.

★★★

"Yeah, I didn't leave your name. It should be just a passerby. Fortunately, he found you. Otherwise, even a healthy person can't bear to fall outside in this kind of weather."

The nurse checked my situation, put on the infusion bag again, and told me about yesterday's situation.

I was brought to the hospital by unknown persons around midnight and I have been unconscious ever since.While the injuries were not life-threatening, there was a slight concussion in the head, a broken right hand, a fractured left ankle, and he contracted pneumonia from lying in that position for hours.Even a growing child with this kind of injury will have to stay in the hospital for a long time, alas...

"The doctor will be here soon, please wait for a while. Take the medicine first, come on, try to lift your body..."

She held my back and carefully helped me up, and as soon as there was enough space, she tucked the pillow behind me and gently moved my injured arm to a more comfortable position.

I took the pills and took them with water.The medicine I have never taken before is really bitter. I am afraid that my face is wrinkled like a bitter melon right now?She kept staring at me with a hint of doubt in her gentle professional smile.I later learned that what she found strange was my reaction.The young man whose expression didn't change much even after breaking the bone actually became frowning because of taking the medicine.

The results of the subsequent re-examination came out soon, and the head injury was not a major problem, it was just a traumatic injury.As for the injuries on my hands and feet, I have to spend at least two weeks in the hospital, and there is no one to take care of me at home, so I may need to stay in the hospital for treatment for the next two months. This is what bothers me.

It was frustrating to be in the hospital right after I transferred from another school, unable to do everything I wanted to do.And the Siyue Festival that will be held next month is something I have been looking forward to for a long time, so it seems that there is no hope... It should be an excellent time to integrate into the town and understand the customs. Once I miss it, I don’t know when it will come again Chance.

The doctors and nurses left the ward together after checking.I refused the advice to lie down and rest, half lying on the pillow in a daze.

I have been sleeping for two days in a row, no matter how much I like to sleep, it is impossible to continue to sleep, not to mention the severe headache now, all kinds of reasons are mixed together... If I don't solve them one by one, I probably won't be able to fall asleep.

Suppressing the burning sensation in his throat, he tried hard to recall what he saw in his dream.

Not exactly a pleasant memory, but I couldn't escape chasing that phantom.There is still only one reason for myself: perhaps, on the other side of my pursuit, there is a way to fill the ever-expanding "loss" in my heart.

At that time...

I didn't intend to eavesdrop when I came home from shopping, but the people inside seemed to be emotional and forgot to suppress the volume, maybe they didn't expect me to come back so early...

The rented apartment in Tokyo is due to be vacated soon, and relatives want to settle things before then.Once this kind of explicit conversation is carried out more times, naturally they will not want to meet with each other again next time. I can understand their eagerness.

I did hear that someone wanted to come over here with me to see the moon, but then they dismissed the idea...

Thinking about it now, there are many places that are very strange.

First of all, I am only a minor. If you really want to persuade me to sell the house here in Yuejian and study elsewhere, it is not completely impossible. Why didn't they come to mention this to me?

Secondly, to take a step back, the proposal to sell the house here was rejected by other people for some reason, so you can come here with me.I really can't live in such a big house.It's not like their style to give up just because the procedure is complicated...

What did they say afterwards?Seems to be about me?

Thinking of the stabbing pain in my throat suddenly becoming uncontrollable, I couldn't stop coughing.The trembling body exacerbated the headache, and the coughing and wheezing that couldn't be subdued even if I grasped my chest hard almost squeezed out the oxygen in my lungs, and the throbbing pain of suffocation interrupted my thoughts again.

No, don't stop remembering...

I subconsciously felt that it was a very important thing... I would have overlooked it, very, very important...

"At that time, Masumi..."

A wave secretly surged in the finally flattened body, disturbing and irritating.The high fever caused by pneumonia was overwhelmed by the chill it brought... His right hand couldn't help but raised his forehead, pressing his eyebrows tightly to force himself to calm down.Covering the dazzling brightness and returning myself to that small darkness, recreating the past at that time...

【Hey, what I heard was a little different. At that time, Masumi had already...】

cough!cough! ...

I can't do it anymore... The coughing and wheezing again can't stop like a chain reaction, and it's getting more intense... It's difficult to breathe... The severe pain like tearing spreads from the chest to the throat, the throat is burning hot, and the heart seems to jump out of the mouth...

Who can tell me why the symptoms become more obvious after taking the medicine...

Struggling to prop up his body, the only left hand that could move freely reached for the water glass on the small table, grabbed it while coughing, and took a big gulp of water.After almost choking myself to death, there was another violent cough. Just when I thought I was about to die, it finally stopped gradually.

I collapsed on the pillow exhausted, my chest heaving violently.

Can't remember... the most important part... I forgot, or didn't hear it at all?Later, everyone's topic seemed to change direction, and I never heard them talk about similar things again.

This conversation seemed to be ignored by everyone naturally, and there was no further talk.

The dream is really meaningless, and I thought it could be a big reminder...

I slumped in the softness and slowly slid into the quilt.The headache still persists, maybe it is the most practical thing to stop this kind of random thinking and get a good night's sleep...

However, just as I closed my eyelids, there was a knock on the door.

★★★

I looked at the boy in front of me in disbelief, and almost forgot to respond to his greeting.

"You...how did you come here?"

The boy with light blue nail-like hair didn't answer my question right away, walked straight to my hospital bed, pulled out the chair next to me and sat down.

"I'm here to give you the notes and test papers for the past few days. This questionnaire is a must, and the teacher asked you to fill it out and hand it in as much as possible." He didn't look me in the eye, but buried himself in his schoolbag and rummaged for a while, then took He took out a stack of notebooks and placed them on the small table next to him.

"Oh, thank you... um... Zhubing..."

"You can call me Holo Holo, anyway, that's what everyone calls me." He finally looked up at me, but there was obvious anxiety in his calm eyes.

"Can you come here?" Seeing him, the memory of that evening naturally revived.This straightforward young man will also worry about the unspeakable, what I am looking for, the secret of Yuejian.

"It's okay, Asano called me here." He understood what I meant.We haven't had any communication since that incident, and I don't want to get him into any trouble.

"Oh, all right."

"You don't have to be so tense, Nishi Kujo..." He frowned, staring into my eyes very seriously and said, "I came today to tell you something."

"what?"

"You... It seems that I don't need to ask you if you're okay..." He glanced at me who was wrapped into a rice dumpling, and I knew I must have forced a smile: "Ha... It's okay, just lie down, maybe I don't have to go Exam..."

The weight suddenly dropped from my shoulders, it was Zhu Bing who put his right hand up and grabbed my shoulder:

"Can you still laugh? You are lucky to be lying in the hospital now... If there is a slight mistake, you will never have to take the exam, haven't you figured it out yet?"

I was slightly taken aback, I didn't expect him to be so blunt, his nerves were indeed single-lined.I wanted to laugh a little, but it triggered another cough. Under his rough slap, it felt like my spine was about to break.

"Cough...cough! It's okay...it's okay...thank you..." I waved my hand and took a sip from the water glass he handed over.

"It's okay...it's not that serious..."

He stared at me coldly: "Are you trying to say that you slipped down by yourself?"

"Eh... no... Holo Holo, you... how do you know that I was pushed down?" I finally realized the incongruity in this conversation. I didn't tell anyone that I was pushed down the steps. Push up and down.

"Could it be...has this happened before?"

With a sullen face, he didn't answer. He put his hands on his knees and turned his eyes to the side. Although his tone calmed down, he obviously questioned: "You...how can you be sure that it's not serious?"

"Because there are still many opportunities, such as the previous section of the path without guardrails, but they didn't make a move." I answered him lightly.

"You...!" He suddenly jumped up and glared at me: "It may also be because there were other people there at the time, or there was no place to hide!"

"If it were me, if I wanted to cause serious consequences, I wouldn't choose a place with only twenty steps."

"You really don't cry without seeing the coffin! I...I almost...!" He stuttered as he spoke in a hurry, "I" didn't say anything for a long time, and my words choked him again.

"I'm sorry...I'm probably too optimistic? Ha..." I scratched the hair on the back of my head to apologize, no matter how you look at this situation, I am too ignorant, right?

"It's so naive, Nishi Kujo. Are you using common sense to infer these things?" His eyes were flickering with a chilling light, and his expression didn't look like a 13-year-old boy: "But this is Tsukimi, not what you say. unusual."

"...So what?" I was at a loss.

He sat upright, took a deep breath, and said slowly: "I'll tell you what will happen, of course, it's limited to what I know. Otherwise..."

He glanced at me again, and continued to add: "One day, you will disappear to an unknown place. In Yuejian, people call it 'Shenyin'."

"..."

Seeing that I was silent, he continued talking.

"No one can find you, just disappear. Anyone who breaks the taboo will be condemned by the gods."

"Is it... a god? Or someone else?"

"It's a god. Of course, you probably can't believe it, but I'm not much better." He laughed at himself. I've only been here for less than two years...but, here is definitely different from the outside..."

"Have you read the local records of the town? There is also a folk museum."

"No, it's been closed since I came here."

"That's right, because everyone is busy preparing for the Siyue Festival. After the festival is over, if you have the opportunity to go and see it, it should be of great help. At least you don't have to worry about offending something after watching it...Those can be The history of Tsukimi that everyone remembers."

"Can it be remembered?"

"Correct."

"Then... what can't be remembered?"

His face sank again, and his voice was very low: "'Don't look at what you can't see, don't listen to what you can't hear, don't ask what you can't ask', this is the old saying of Yuejian. Because here It is the dwelling place of the gods! Therefore, those who step into that realm presumptuously will be taken away."

I was stunned.

This is the second time I've heard this sentence.

The meaning it contains is just like the surface, but at the same time it also reveals the taboo of moonlight.

Those who break the taboo will be punished by the gods!

Will be……

no... no...

something is twisted...

Some... the truth buried in this ancient rhetoric is...!

"No! I was indeed pushed down! I saw it with my own eyes! That is definitely not a god!" The first time I cried out excitedly, Holo was also taken aback by my unexpected reaction.

"Have a lot of things like this happened here? They weren't done by gods! I saw their faces the other time! All of this..." I couldn't help raising my voice, propping up my body to refute his words: "This This kind of harm should stop! If necessary, I can identify them! I..."

"Shut up!" He interrupted me sharply, and looked around nervously. Of course, there was no one else in this ward except us.

I followed his gaze and saw no one else, but he seemed to pay special attention to the closed door.After staring at it for a while, there was nothing strange before he slowly retracted his gaze and sighed:

"'They' is not what you should ask, understand?"

"Huh?" I really don't understand.

"Those people all follow the orders of the Yuwu family. You know, on this island, the Yuwu family is the actual leader."

"Aren't they ordinary students? What are they doing?"

Zhu Bing took another deep breath, and then said word by word: "No, it is said that they are all priests, to be precise, they are candidates for priests."