【Jiguo Brothers Rihei】Asagiri

A few days later, the snow stopped and the dark clouds dispersed.As the day passed, the sky gradually darkened, and the moon, which had not been seen for several days, slowly rose from the other side of the sky. Ji Guoyansheng stood in the courtyard and looked up at the moon, thinking that the sky was clear.

The town at the foot of the mountain will hold sacrifices on the first sunny day after the first snow falls in winter. Everyone wears masks and sings songs to worship the gods, thanking for the harvest of the year, and praying that there will be no disasters in the coming year.Standing in the courtyard on the mountain, you can already vaguely see the people and fire below the mountain, it must be very lively.

Today was also the day when the child was originally scheduled to go down the mountain to the town, but the child was reluctant as always.

Ji Guoyansheng handed over his own sun wheel knife to the child. This was the first time that the child held a real knife. Ji Guoyansheng asked him to use everything he had taught him so far.The child nodded in confusion, and pulled out the real blade, which was not as skilled as touching a real knife for the first time.

That's right, I've been watching by my side for so many years, and I can make some appearances by following the gourd painting.

The appearance of real swords and wooden knives waving in the air is completely different. Even the solar knives that have lost their brilliance also have the unique cold light of metal, and they look like a new moon when they cut through the air.

Ahh, that's enough——When Ji Guoyansheng saw the new moon that the knife pointed across, he felt that the heart that had been full of holes for seven years or even earlier seemed to be filled with something , I finally left something behind.

In this way, even if it is full of failures and emptiness, Ji Guoyansheng feels that his life will not be meaningless.

"Do you like swords?"

Ji Guoyansheng asked the child that, the child had hair that was neither long nor short, holding a knife, panting.The child has learned all the movements of Moon Breath from him, it’s just movements—the child is still too young and his body is not strong enough, so he can only use the breathing method when he grows up and his lungs are strong enough. At that time, he should be able to use it. Breathe the real moon.

But it was enough so far, Ji Guoyansheng felt that there was nothing to teach children of this age.

"...It's...not bad." The child is very honest, at least he won't lie to Ji Guoyansheng. The sword practice is very hard, and Ji Guoyansheng is a devil. He is so strict that he will die. He works very hard but also very hard. tired.The child looked at Ji Guoyansheng timidly, afraid that his answer would make him unhappy, so after thinking about it, he quickly added, "Moon Breath, I like it."

The child's answer made Ji Guoyan Sheng feel a little more relaxed, it's fine if you don't like it very much, after that, you have to follow a swordsman with a god-like realm, so as not to be hit.

"You will see better in the future, go learn that." As for the second half of Ji Guoyansheng's answer, he looked at the child's face, asked the child to sit over and took off the gauze for him. The only eye is still a ghost's eye, with black and red irises and golden pupils. Obviously without these, the child can look more like an ordinary human child.

"In the future, if such markings appear on the forehead or other parts of the body..." Ji Guoyansheng pointed to the markings on his forehead and chin, intending to teach the child something, "...don't practice swords. "

"?"

"Understood?" Ji Guoyansheng asked again.

"Ah...well..." The child nodded obediently. He listened to everything "father" said, but he didn't think much of it because he didn't practice swords. The same thing, but the injury on the chin after the fall has healed long ago, and there is no scar left.

Right, for a child like you who is not very smart and stupid, it is more important to live longer as the No. 1 life goal.

Fortunately, this child is obedient and has always been easy to raise. The ordinary child Ji Guoyansheng felt that he would not be able to support him. Now he did not expect to be able to raise this child until he is seven years old. He is not missing arms or legs. .

It is really hard for him to like this child. The child’s way of life is always erratic between humans and ghosts. Ji Guoyansheng wants him to learn to be more like a human being. It’s okay to imitate him. The child has worked hard, but After all, they are still completely different existences, and there will be a sense of disobedience wherever they go.

Ji Guoyansheng can't forget the appearance of this child when he was born, and his mood at that time, he can't say he likes this child, the problem may be on him... But now he can probably say to himself in his heart that he doesn't regret raising him It's so big, so he has the value of these seven years.

“……………………”

The child hangs down his hands and grabs the clothes on his body. He was a little happy when "father" helped take off the gauze just now. He also felt very happy when he held the sword all the year round and rubbed his callused hands over his hair and ears. It seemed that he hadn't been treated like this for a long time. "Father" has been in touch.But when he secretly raised his eyes to look at "Father", he felt a little uneasy again, for no reason, obviously "Father" still had the same expression and breath as usual.

The child has this feeling from time to time recently, and the reason cannot be found. The "father" has not changed, but there is a feeling that he will disappear soon. The child wonders if he has grown up and is about to be thrown away, but I dare not ask again.

Not long ago, he seemed to be having a dream. Children usually don't know how to dream. There is nothing in his barren head that he wants to see or feel in his dream.But not long ago, he had a very warm dream, a dream of being hugged by his "father" and sleeping together.

Of course, when he woke up, there was nothing but the firewood that was almost burnt out, the sound of snow and wind blowing together outside, and he was wearing the haori of "father".The half-awake child stared at the nearly burnt firewood for three seconds, then lay down again wrapped in haori, this was the first time he wanted to go back to sleep so much, and continued to dream.

It's impossible to continue the dream just by sleeping again, so he can only get up a little sadly, wrapped in haori, to find where "father" is.

——But the child has a feeling now, will he never have the chance to have such a dream in the future.

Ji Guoyansheng helped the child wrap the bandage back round and round. When it was wrapped up, he felt that his arm sleeve was caught. He stopped for a while and looked down. The child was holding his bandage with his hands. haori.This was something that had never happened before. This child always showed extreme insensitivity and sensitivity in strange ways. In the past, he always actively kept a distance of two steps from himself, and rarely approached him any further.

Ji Guoyansheng paused for a moment and continued with the action in his hands, and then said to the child, "You can start in a while."

He felt that the hand holding his haori tightened a little bit. He tried his best to concentrate on the gauze wrapping, not to look at the child's expression. After a while of silence around him, he heard the child's voice, and Usually the sound is very small, sometimes if you don't pay attention, you may miss or even not hear the sound.

"Don't go, can you...can you not go...please..." The child lowered his head lower and lower as he spoke.

Normally, Ji Guoyansheng might have agreed, after all, this kid rarely expresses his thoughts on weekdays, but today is no longer possible, the sky is clear, and the sun will come out when the sun rises.

"Go." No need to come back.

“………………………………”

"You take the knife too." Ji Guoyansheng tied up the gauze, and pinned his sun wheel to the child's waist. The knife was still too big for him, but at least it would not hang down to the ground. "Go to the fox man, and he will give you a new knife in the future."

"…………father……"

"No." Ji Guoyansheng interrupted what the child wanted to say next, trying to choke the address deep in his throat again, "You know, it's not possible."

"........." The child's voice just now and the expression now looks very pitiful. This expression probably wants to cry, but the tears can't come out, so he can only stare wide-eyed and hold tightly with his hands. Hold on to his haori.

Then the child asked as if in a final struggle, "Where are you going... Where are you going...?"

"It's far away." Ji Guoyan Shengxin didn't want to be that far away from him, but death was still too incomprehensible for children.

"I can't, go...? Can't... take me?"

"No." You are still so young, how can you get there?

"...Then...then, when...can...?"

"........."

"...When can I go...?"

"... When you live to be 80 years old, it will be fine."

Ji Guoyansheng thought to himself, 80 years old should be considered as long enough to live.

"Go." Ji Guoyan counted and this is the third time he said it today, but forget it today, he won't be angry, "Be obedient."

"..." The little struggle of the child is useless, he has always been obedient, he will listen to what Ji Guoyansheng said, especially he will always choose to listen to "father" compared to his own thoughts, In order not to be hated, he weakly let go of his hand.

"What about the reply?" Ji Guoyansheng was not angry, but was still using the most excessive and cruel methods to force the child to leave.

"……………………Um……"

The child finally turned around and walked in the direction of the town. He seemed to be walking very hard, as if he was holding back and did not dare to look back. In the end, he was very afraid of being hated by Ji Guoyansheng.In the end, the child disappeared in the distance of the forest, and he was relieved after leaving the range that Ji Guoyansheng could perceive... He didn't think about how to drive him away if the child insisted on grabbing him.

Seven years later, he finally became a person again, but unfortunately he couldn't relax in his heart, but that's fine, he shouldn't go to hell easily.

Ji Guoyansheng exhaled white air. Although the dark clouds had dispersed, it was still very cold in winter. He took out a small piece of paper strung with a string from his haori, and pointed it at the rising moon. In the moonlight, a blue dried flower was stained on the paper.

Not long ago, the child learned to make a bookmark made of dried flowers from a person wearing a fox mask who taught him so badly. I am afraid that one day the child wrapped his own haori and stuffed it in the inner pocket before going to bed. He had already found out but didn't say a word.

The dried flowers are really bad, the color is a bit dull, the flowers are deformed, too much glue was used when sticking to the paper, the bookmarks are all crumpled, the child is really clumsy.

"Stupid you, I didn't give you anything..."

"……Bye now,--"

Ji Guoyansheng stood in the snow and softly called a certain name that he had never told the child.

Ji Guoyuan wanted to think that the child came very late today, today is the day of worshiping the gods, and everyone in the crowd wore all kinds of masks, and he finally didn't feel out of place after mixing in it. The adults carried the candles and the children carried The lanterns illuminate the street at night very brightly, and it seems that someone is singing a song to worship the gods from afar.

As a day for worshiping the gods, the only thing that is not good is that tonight is not a full moon, but a sharp first quarter moon. Ji Guoyuan raised his head to look at the sharp moon like a knife. The moon that he usually likes is not known today. Why do you look a little uneasy.

The child who should have been sitting in the shop eating udon was a long time late today, and even the old man of the shop owner glanced outside the shop from time to time.When Ji Guoyuan saw the child, he was walking towards him at a slow pace almost as if he was moving, his face was ashamed, maybe he fell somewhere when he was going down the mountain again, not the same as usual The same is that today the child has been hanging his head, holding a knife in his arms.

Ji Guoyuan recognized at a glance that it was his brother's Rilun Saber.

Before the child came over, he hurried up and squatted down. He really wanted to ask why the child was carrying Ji Guoyansheng's Rilun Knife today, and whether something happened to his brother.But as soon as Ji Guoyuan squatted down, he saw the child's sad and sad expression. He was so stiff that he couldn't put on an expression, as if he wanted to express something, even Ji Guoyuan had to guess.

But now Ji Guoyuanyi doesn't need to guess, the child is obviously sad, sad to the point of despair, his body and pupils are shaking all the time but not a single tear can come out, just holding back like this feels like his heart is close to collapse.

"..." Ji Guoyuan was a little at a loss again. He took out a handkerchief and wanted to pass it to the child, but the child didn't move. One could only wipe the dirt on the child's face with a handkerchief, and then asked him what was wrong.

"...Father...Father...Dear...Father...Woo..."

"It's okay, speak slowly, it's okay..." The child's words were fragmented, and he couldn't make up a sentence at all. He could only hear him calling "Father" in a low voice. Ji Guoyuan had no choice but to try his best to comfort him Let him calm down, "Brother... what happened to your father? What happened?"

"Father... no, I won't take it with me..." The thing that the child feared most finally happened today, but it was useless for him to comfort himself today. He could only listen to "father" and go down the mountain to find the fox. People who don't know the reason at all.

Is it because he has grown up?Obviously he still looks similar to yesterday, right?The clothes didn't get shorter, the knife didn't get any better, and there were no new characters...why was he able to stay with "father" yesterday but not today, not tomorrow, and not in the future.

"Father... Throw it away... No, don't want me anymore..." The child didn't know what to do, he seemed to be irreversible now, and now his father must be gone when he goes back, he walked very slowly, his feet were faster than continuous Tired after driving all night without rest, "Where did I do something wrong? Father...is angry? I...I'm sorry..."

The child didn't know who he wanted to apologize to, and even though "father" was not there, he seemed to have nothing to say except apologizing. He felt as if something was spinning in his eyes, but it just couldn't flow down.

"No... no, brother won't do that kind of thing..." Ji Guoyuan could only comfort the child over and over again, even forgetting to change the title, he believed that his brother would not abandon him Child, this child is so young and helpless outside, it is impossible to survive, brother must know...so there must be something wrong.

"What else did brother say to you?" Ji Guoyuan reached out and stroked the child's hair and face. The child is usually afraid of being touched and always hides, but today it seems that he doesn't even have the strength to dodge. "You said Where are you going?"

The child shook his head indiscriminately, choked with sobs and said, "I don't know... say... you can't, take me..."

"Say, it's very far away... I can't go, don't take me with me... and said, let me find the fox, I will find you..." At this point, the child slightly raised his head to look at Ji Guoyuanyi, "You know... ...73 years, how many days will it take to pass...?"

"73... years?"

The child remembered that "father" told him that he could go to the place where "father" went when he was 80 years old. When he went down the mountain, he kept thinking about when he would be 80 years old. 73 years will be 80 years old, the child thinks it is very long, so he wants to know how many days it will take 73 years to pass, but the number is too big for him to calculate without paper and pen. Half of the numbers in my mind flew away.

"Tell me, please..." The person who the child wants to wear the fox mask is an adult, and the adult must know what the adult said, "Father, tell me, when I am 80 years old, I can go there..."

For a moment, Ji Guoyuan felt as if his body was frozen, and the bone-chilling chill seemed to freeze his heart. If the child didn't understand, he would understand... The child's "father", his elder brother...

It's me again, and I want to take something away from others... In the past, it was my mother's attention, my father's expectation, my brother's shelter, and maybe the dream of becoming the number one warrior in this country.I just rely on my natural strength to be stronger than others, but as a result, I know nothing but swords, and I can't see the mood of others, and I can't protect anything with a sword...

Now he wants to take away even the father of this child...

No, no, stop thinking about it. Ji Guoyuanyi... You didn't come here to give up on yourself.Countless days and nights have already counted how many things that are valued by others, how much they don't value what is important to others, and how many people and things they failed to protect.

He really came here because he wanted to apologize for the many things he had done and the many things he said. He really wanted to redeem something, but he was a little afraid that nothing could be redeemed in the end, so he kept standing still I didn't dare to do what I should do.

But now he has something to do, even if he can't save what he wants to save in the end, he must do something for this child...

"It's okay, it's going to be okay..."

As soon as Ji Guoyuan took off the fox mask on his face, he put it on the child's face, reached out his hand and tied the red string around the back of the child's head, the child didn't understand what he wanted to do, as if he couldn't even think I lost all my strength, and I didn't want to let go of Rilundao's hand, and I didn't even move the crooked mask. Now I can't see anything.

"It's okay, brother will not want you, he was never that kind of person, you are a good boy so you will never be hated."

A pair of callused hands that resembled "father" stroked the child's head, and what he could feel from the palms of the person in front of him was a temperature different from that of "father". He had always felt a little scared, a very hot temperature.

"...It hurts a little bit, bear with it."

The child's sight was covered by the mask and he couldn't see anything. After he heard the person wearing the fox mask say this to him, he felt a slight pain in his ear. After the left ear and then the right ear, they both hurt a little and then felt something. The thing is on the ear, with a sense of disobedience.But the child feels that the chest part is more painful today, and everything else feels indifferent.

"Afterwards, you can eat a bowl of udon noodles and go home. Go back to your brother's side... It's okay, my brother will definitely be where he was originally, and he won't go anywhere."

"You will always be with your brother...and your father."

The mask was lifted up, and then glanced to one side of the face, just covering the gauze, and after regaining his vision, the child finally reacted and looked up at the person wearing the fox mask.

"No problem, you and your brother will be happy."

Without the fox mask and the earrings in the shape of flower paper, a man with a face similar to "father" was smiling at him.