"Brother Xie? Brother Xie, are you back? I just bought a bunch of shells at the market. It's really hard to find seafood here. I've been traveling all this way, but it must be worth it to be able to see Brother Xie. Eh? Brother Xie?"
The waiter was changing the bed covers and towels in the room. When he saw Luo Jiujiang push the door open, he stepped forward and saluted, rubbing his hands and saying with a smile: "You don't know, the master in this room checked out a while ago."
Luo Jiujiang was stunned when Feng Xue opened the door from the next room. With her eyes half-closed, her expression regained some of the indifference she had when she was on the verge of death. "Xie Chuncan is gone. He asked me to say goodbye to you on his behalf and also left a coat for you."
"Excuse me." Luo Jiujiang closed the door and turned to walk into Feng Xue's room, his face still filled with astonishment. "Brother Xie...why did you leave without saying anything?"
Who says that after warming up by the fire, frostbite will hurt even more when going out into the snow? Feng Xue thought to herself: Xie Chuncan's desire for revenge is almost boiling over from his stomach to his throat. Although he doesn't show it on his face, his obsession won't let up at all. With his friends around for a day, he can't let go of his hands and feet, and he can't vent his hatred. It must be very hard to endure.
Feng Xue finally figured this out after she said goodbye, but she couldn't say that to Luo Jiujiang. She and Xie Chuncan rarely agreed on one thing: it was best not to involve Luo Jiujiang in this long and dangerous journey of revenge.
Feng Xue pretended to be stupid and said, "He may have things he wants to do alone. Jiujiang, just like you must have things you want to do alone."
She repeatedly emphasized the two words "alone," and Luo Jiujiang's expression gradually calmed down from confusion. He cast his gaze on a white robe on the table: "Is this the robe Brother Xie gave me?" After receiving Feng Xue's confirmation, he stepped forward and shook out the robe. Looking at the blood-red words on the inside, he sighed, "As expected of Brother Xie, it's Shuqi."
"Shu Qi?"
"Thank you for the family's unique skills." Luo Jiujiang unfolded the coat and saw clearly what was on it.
"I wish to be a frivolous boy of Wuling, born in the Zhenguan and Kaiyuan eras. I will spend my life fighting cocks and running dogs, unaware of the safety of heaven and earth. *1"
Although the dress had been kept here by Feng Xue, she had never touched it before. When she read the poem, she was slightly taken aback: "...Does he think this poem suits you?"
It's no wonder she asked this question. Written on her clothes was the phrase "Three lives swallowed in one gulp*2", while written on Xiao Ren's clothes was the phrase "I have fought in battles across three thousand miles, and my sword has been used to defeat millions of soldiers.*3" The gifts they both received were similar to their own, which made her develop a fixed mindset.
Luo Jiujiang asked for the poems of Feng Xue and Xiao Ren and took a look at them. He did not speak for a moment, but just traced the handwriting with his fingertips.
The poem's content was elegant, but the handwriting was stagnant and clogged, and several times the pen was about to break off: "Thank you, Brother, for giving Sister Xue and Xiao Ren clothes so they can be used in future battles. You didn't give them to me for this."
"Um?"
"He gave me this dress only because I'm his friend. I wanted to give Brother Xie a string of shells, but not so he could throw them and hit someone on the head when fighting an enemy."
Luo Jiujiang took off his robe, which was stained with dust and blood, and put on a new one instead. He carefully smoothed the wrinkles on the cuffs before sighing, "This poem wasn't written by me, but by Brother Xie himself. If there was a second choice, Brother Xie himself would also prefer to be 'unaware of the safety and danger of heaven and earth.'"
This piece of clothing had nothing to do with any kind of combat aid, nor was it some subtle guidance. It simply stemmed from a deep, unresolved feeling in someone's heart, so they left a note to share it with their friends before leaving.
The young man was handsome, and even with his black robes replaced by white clothes, he was still as charming. Xie Chuncan's blood-ink had been processed in some way, but from the inside, the ink was thick and didn't bleed. From the outside, even the white clothes didn't show through at all, and instead, Luo Jiujiang's waist stood out straight.
"I'll go see Brother Xie off."
Seeing Luo Jiujiang hurriedly turning around and walking outside, Feng Xue hurriedly stopped him: "Xie Chuncan has been walking for a long time, and you are going in the wrong direction. That is the way up the mountain!"
"I guessed Brother Xie had already left. I just wanted to climb up high and look far into the distance, hoping I could get lucky enough to see Brother Xie and send him off from afar in my heart."
…
The inn is built against the mountain. Coincidentally, the mountain was originally called "Songke Mountain", but was changed to "Welcomeke Mountain" after the inn was built. On the big stone with the inscription at the foot of the mountain, you can still see the old traces of the word "Song" being painted over with ink.
Luo Jiujiang climbed up to the grass pavilion on the mountaintop and repeatedly glanced in the direction of the two teleportation arrays in the east and west of the city. He had been with Xie Chuncan for so long that he was quite familiar with him. Although his perception became blurrier as he went further away, Luo Jiujiang quickly locked onto Xie Chuncan's figure.
From the naked eye, the other party was just a black dot no bigger than a sesame seed. When the perception was vaguely cast on Xie Chuncan, the other party's eyebrows and eyes could no longer be seen clearly. Only the general outline and the fresh ink words on the clothes could be vaguely felt.
Luo Jiujiang couldn't make out the specific handwriting, but he was amused that Xie Chuncan had also written on his own before leaving. Perhaps he noticed something, but Xie Chuncan quickly turned his head, as if he was observing the movements of the people behind him.
After looking back for the third time without success, Xie Chuncan seemed to realize who was looking at him, and his whole body relaxed as if ice had melted. He turned around and stood facing Luo Jiujiang, bowing upright in his flowery clothes with words written all over them.
Luo Jiujiang returned a salute from a distance.
Luo Jiujiang straightened up and reached into his pocket to retrieve the shells, but he had forgotten that he had changed into new clothes. In the end, he only took out the three dice that Xie Chuncan had placed in his pocket. He was slightly stunned by the three dice in his palm, and then laughed out loud.
Very good, thank you Chuncan.
With a flick of his finger, three dice were thrown into the sky, and quickly fell back into Luo Jiujiang's palm. On Luo Jiujiang's open palm, three sixes were neatly pointed upwards: "Leopard, great luck and fortune, thank you brother for turning danger into safety and turning disaster into good fortune."
In her perception, Xie Chuncan had already set out on the journey again. The syllables of his slow chanting were vaguely that of the poem "The flowers in the forest have faded their spring red, too quickly...", while Luo Jiujiang stood upright under the setting sun, and did not move for a long time until the sun was half sunken.
Take care of yourself at this time, my heart is sending you thirty miles away. *4
The author has something to say: *1Quoted from "Phoenix Mountain" (Song Dynasty) Wang Anshi
*2 Quoted from "Fisherman's Pride" (Song Dynasty) by Lü Weilao
*3 Quoted from “Song of the Old General” (Tang Dynasty) by Wang Wei
*4 Adapted from Wang Fuzhi’s poem from the Qing Dynasty: “Take care of yourself. My heart will accompany you for thirty miles.”
Thanks to Suofengnongyue for the mine x1
Thanks to Jiushan for the mine x1
Thanks to lovejue for the mine x1
Thanks to the boring guy for the mine x1
Thanks for the silent mine x1
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