His past
Bai Linchuan asked, "Did anything else happen at that time?"
This time the old man looked at Bai Linchuan warily: "Young man, why are you asking so many questions?"
Bai Linchuan introduced himself, "I'm a disciple of Lingzhong Mountain. I've come here to exorcise demons. A leopard demon has appeared here."
Bai Linchuan searched the Xuanzhu Hall for a long time and finally found a demon case from several years ago, but the record was not detailed. It only mentioned a leopard demon, and the subsequent records were not detailed, but the task was marked as completed.
In addition, the demon spirit was not in the records, so Bai Linchuan suggested going down the mountain to check it out.
The old man said, "That's impossible. Although we're not far from the border, the amulet is very strong. I haven't seen any monsters since I was a child."
Bai Linchuan asked, "Did anything strange happen at that time?"
The old man recalled, "Now that you mention it, I seem to remember it. That night, my wife couldn't sleep well. She heard a scream and looked out the window. She caught a glimpse of a dark figure that was emitting a green light. But it was late at night, and it was the middle of the night. I was sure she was talking nonsense in her dream."
Bai Linchuan was surprised: "On the night before the person died?"
The old man slapped his thigh and said, "That's why I said it. Her eyesight is not very good. Once she opens her mouth, she talks nonsense. Old Wang from the east of the village even said that he dreamed of a green light."
Bai Linchuan looked back at Mo Xue. He was staring at the chicken, trying to see who could stare longest, as if he didn't care at all about what he asked.
There is no such thing as coincidence in the world. Bai Linchuan continued to ask: "Are there any others?"
The old man suddenly realized, "Other things... Oh, yes, later on, my family's pigs, every time I raised one, I lost one. Maybe... this is retribution for burying Old Liu. It's bad luck."
"..." Bai Linchuan was embarrassed, fearing that he could not get anything out of the old man. After the old man finished speaking, he went back to the house, and the chickens followed behind him with a clucking sound. Only the big red rooster that was staring at Mo Xue was still showing its unyielding and arrogant attitude.
After the old man finished spreading the yellow rice, he went into the house. Another voice came from inside: "Why are you telling them this... Have you forgotten about the child..."
The door creaked shut and the sound disappeared.
Bai Linchuan frowned and turned to look at Mo Xue, full of suspicion. "Is there anything you want to tell me?"
For example, what is his relationship with this family?
Mo Xue smiled and said, "The pigs raised by his family are indeed delicious."
He stared at the rooster, his eyes flashing coldly, "This chicken... is quite fat."
Bai Linchuan stood there in a daze. He looked at Mo Xue quietly. Very good, a doubt was answered.
The rooster finally sensed the danger. After the old man left, no one supported it, so it clucked back, flew over the fence, and ate the few remaining grains of rice on the ground.
Bai Linchuan dragged Mo Xue back, fearing that he would really catch the chicken. "Why did you steal the old man's pig?"
Mo Xue's dark eyes lit up and he smiled, "I'm hungry..."
Bai Linchuan stopped and Mo Xue stood in the pitch-black night. Suddenly, he felt a trembling sensation in his heart.
"What would you like to eat tonight?" he asked.
Mo Xie said, "Sweet and sour pork ribs from the inn."
"Is it tasty?"
Mo Xue put his hands behind his back and replied leisurely: "I haven't eaten it before, it looks good."
Bai Linchuan paused for a moment. When they arrived, the inn was empty. When had Mo Xue ever seen anyone eating sweet and sour pork ribs? He might have squatted in the corner and watched others eat it.
After returning, Bai Linchuan ordered a table of sweet and sour pork ribs. Mo Xue widened his eyes and looked at Bai Linchuan in surprise. Bai Linchuan looked away uncomfortably.
But after taking two bites, both of them suddenly put down their chopsticks, and Bai Linchuan closed his eyes.
Mo Xue didn't give up, and took two more pieces from another plate, sighing, "It's really... each one tastes different..."
How can it be so sour and sweet, yet also full of bitterness and saltiness, and even a fishy smell? The chef must be a talented person to have made it like this.
Bai Linchuan said, "I'll go get something else."
Mo Xie shook his head: "No wonder."
Bai Linchuan: "No wonder what's wrong?"
Mo Xie: "No wonder no one finished this dish."
"Then what?"
"Then," Mo Xiu raised his eyebrows, "I went up to ask for more after they left, but the waiter dumped the dish on the ground. There were six pieces of it."
Bai Linchuan's breathing stopped again, and his heart was filled with sadness again. He suddenly pulled Mo Xue up and said, "Let's live somewhere else."
Mo Xie held him back: "Hey, this is the only inn here, where else can you go?"
Bai Linchuan looked at him. Mo Xue had no expression on his face. He just kept stirring the braised pork with chopsticks.
Bai Linchuan suddenly felt a little regretful. Why did he bring Mo Xue back to uncover his many scars? However, if he left now, he would never be able to see into Mo Xue's heart, and he might regret it for the rest of his life.
"Did you grow up wandering around here?" Bai Linchuan asked.
"What else?" Mo Xue's eyes were as deep as a black pool. He raised his eyes and looked at him dimly. "Knowing the truth will cost you a price, Xian He'er."
Bai Linchuan looked at him quietly, his brows as firm as glaciers, "I want to see you."
Mo Xueshou paused for a moment, "I'm not right here?"
Bai Linchuan continued: "The real you."
Mo Xue suddenly lowered his head and smiled. Bai Linchuan stood stubbornly opposite him, wanting to get into his heart without resistance. He understood what the other party was thinking and knew that the other party was soft-hearted, but Bai Linchuan had no idea of his inner thoughts and intentions.
This wasn't fair. Mo Xue looked up at him with a smile, "I see. Then what? What if I tell him I've killed someone?"
Bai Linchuan's breathing stagnated, and he tried his best to control his expression as he fell into deep thought.
Mo Xue looked at his troubled face and smiled even more happily.
Bai Linchuan was a modest gentleman, of high moral character and integrity, and his principles were uncompromising... All living things were living beings, and should not be killed lightly. If what Mo Xue said was true, how would he face him then?
He exhaled coldly and said, "Impossible."
Mo Xue raised his eyebrows and smiled at him indifferently.
Bai Linchuan stood quietly all night, while Mo Xue lay on the bed with his head facing inward. A plan slowly took shape in his mind, and he fell into a deep sleep in the second half of the night.
The truth is often more cruel than lies, but at the same time, only the truth can bring comfort to people.
When Mo Xie woke up again, he got Bai Linchuan's reply: "Okay."
Mo Xue stood in front of him, looking at him in surprise, "Do you really want to know about my past?"
Bai Linchuan's eyes were filled with frost. He was determined to tear off the veil of truth with his own hands and nodded, "That's right."
Mo Xie smiled and shook his head, muttering, "You are so weird." After he said that, he suddenly stepped forward and kissed Bai Linchuan. The loud kiss made his ears red.
Bai Linchuan turned his head away, his eyes flickering as he said coldly, "I won't be soft-hearted this time."
Mo Xie and Bai Linchuan went downstairs. Bai Linchuan let out a breath and was about to leave when Mo Xie said, "Why not start from here?"
Bai Linchuan turned his head to look at the innkeeper, and Mo Xue tilted his head to signal him.
Bai Linchuan stepped forward and asked tentatively, "Shopkeeper, do you still remember the Liu family in the south of the village?"
The shopkeeper looked up at him, then quickly lowered his head, counting on his abacus. "I don't remember."
Bai Linchuan placed five spirit stones on the table. The shopkeeper hesitated briefly, then reached out and took them. He glanced around guiltily. The tables and chairs were still empty early in the morning.
He said, "How could I not remember? It was a big deal back then, definitely a murder. If you're asking me, you've got the right person to ask. I was the one who broke the door open. But no one wants to talk about it, for fear of retribution."
Bai Linchuan glanced at Mo Xue and handed over five more spirit stones. "What happened then?"
The shopkeeper carefully took it and put it in his sleeve, saying seriously, "When we walked in, Liu Wen was lying on the ground with a sword stuck in his chest." He pointed at the sword on Mo Xue's back, "Yes, it was a sword this long, stuck straight into his chest, and blood was all over the floor. Luckily we found it early, otherwise it would have been terrible in the hot weather and the stink would have been terrible."
"Who is the murderer?" Bai Linchuan asked.
The shopkeeper suddenly hesitated and shook his head, "We haven't found the murderer yet." He then advised, "Master, listen to my advice. Don't investigate this matter anymore. It's been so many years. How can we tell who is right and who is wrong? This is just a mess."
Bai Linchuan looked at the shopkeeper's guilty expression and asked, "Do you know who the murderer is?"
The shopkeeper quickly shook his head. "I don't know, and no one wants to check."
"Liu Wen has enemies?" Bai Linchuan thought for a moment and said.
The shopkeeper simply said, "You know a person's face but not his heart. Who knows that?"
"What about his wife and children?"
The shopkeeper was suddenly startled. It seemed that this immortal knew a lot. He just said, "Dead."
Bai Linchuan frowned. A family of three, all dead in one day. "How did they die?"
The shopkeeper said, "His wife is dead, and the child... is almost dead, a walking corpse, simply..." The shopkeeper frowned, really not wanting to think about it and continue.
Bai Linchuan nodded. The shopkeeper kept blinking. Bai Linchuan had a hunch that he hadn't told the whole truth, so he asked, "Did anything else happen afterwards? For example, the demon..."
As soon as the story was brought up, the shop owner suddenly grabbed Bai Linchuan's arm and said, "Yes! Something really weird happened afterwards. Since then, my shop has been on fire quite often. It's happened six times!!!"
Bai Linchuan rolled his eyes and glanced at Mo Xue. He leaned against the wall, raised his eyebrows at him triumphantly, and smiled evilly and arrogantly.
The shopkeeper continued to complain, "And every time, right after it was repaired, it would catch fire again on the first day of opening. Six times, six times." The shopkeeper pounded on the table. "I thought it was a ghost. I asked a master to perform a ritual, but it was useless. After all these years, can the immortal still catch this person?"
Bai Linchuan withdrew his gaze and pushed the shopkeeper's hand away, "Sorry..."
After saying that, he grabbed Mo Xue and strode out the door.
The shopkeeper stood there in a daze. Sorry? He was completely puzzled.
Bai Linchuan dragged Mo Xue to the middle of the street. He looked coldly at Mo Xue, who had a smirk on his face. He opened his mouth to speak but closed it again.
The two walked along the street, and Mo Xue suddenly stopped. Bai Linchuan followed his gaze and saw a mansion with a plaque on the door.
Mo Xue said, "When I was little, I often asked for food here because the food there was the best. However, they often didn't give it to me, but I still managed to eat it. Guess how I did it?"
Bai Linchuan asked, "Stolen?"
"No, they have a little son at home who can't beat me."
"So you threatened him to bring you food?" Bai Linchuan asked.
"Hmm." Mo Xue raised his eyebrows proudly.
As they were talking, the door opened and a young man in brocade walked out. He saw two strangers at the door looking at him strangely.
One of them raised his eyebrows slightly, and the other one looked apologetic.
He shuddered strangely and muttered something under his breath: "You're sick."
Mo Xue and Bai Linchuan continued walking forward. He pointed at a wooden house with a small courtyard and said, "I hate this house."
Bai Linchuan looked over and saw an old lady feeding a dog in the yard. The dog barked at the two of them, and the old lady smiled embarrassedly.
Mo Xue said calmly, "The lady inside is kindhearted. Every time I take a walk first, and if I'm still hungry, I come here. As long as you pretend to be pitiful, say nothing, and stand far away opposite the door, the lady will always kindly give you some food. If it's a rainy day, it will be even more effective."
Bai Linchuan asked doubtfully, "Then why do you hate it?"
Mo Xue frowned and said, "Because it tastes too bad, I'm giving it to stray dogs!"
...Bai Linchuan paused and couldn't help but touch his head.
Mo Xue stared at him with his dark eyes, and Bai Linchuan put down his hand again and turned to look elsewhere.
Bai Linchuan passed by other households and asked, "What about these families?"
Mo Xie shook his head, "You're too timid. Every time I stand in front of the door, they give you food."
Bai Linchuan raised his eyebrows in surprise. It seemed that the people in the village were indeed nice.
"But later they learned to play dead and not open the door."
Bai Linchuan asked doubtfully, "Why are you pretending to be dead?"
Mo Xie said calmly: "Maybe it's because I have a knife in my hand."
…Bai Linchuan fell silent again, his brow furrowed. No matter how he looked at it, it seemed as if this village had suffered the most.
The two walked all the way to Liu Wen's house at the end of the street.
The wooden door of his house was tightly closed, with a rusty lock hanging in the middle. It had been eroded by wind and rain for many years and had long been mottled. When the wind blew, the wooden door creaked, leaving a narrow gap in the middle, opening and closing and shaking.
"What about this one?" Bai Linchuan asked.
Mo Xie said slowly: "The most annoying!"
Bai Linchuan looked at him and said, "You threatened them with a knife too."
Mo Xue gritted his teeth and said, "That's about right."
Bai Linchuan pushed the door but couldn't open it, so he had to look inside through the crack.
"Hey, young man, why are you here again?" the old man behind shouted.
Bai Linchuan asked, "Master, do you still remember the sword that killed Liu Wen?"
The old man slapped his head and said, "Oh, I don't remember. Who would want that thing? It might have been thrown away in a corner somewhere."
Bai Linchuan pointed at the lock and asked, "Has no one come back since then?"
The old man smacked his lips and sighed, "His son, where else would he live? But later on, that child disappeared too."
"No one is looking for you?" Bai Linchuan asked again.
"Who is looking for it?" said the old man.
Bai Linchuan sighed silently and said, "That's right. My mother is dead, my father is dead, and I'm an orphan. Who cares about me?"
The old man said, "I poured two buckets of water in there and it was cleaned out a long time ago. There's nothing left. I locked it myself in case something got lost."
Bai Linchuan looked at the old man quietly, "Do you have a key?"
"Do you know this family?" asked the old man.
Bai Linchuan shook his head.
"Then I can't give it to you."
Bai Linchuan continued to look at the old man quietly, thinking about how to bribe him. When he had no expression, his face was cold and ferocious. The old man groaned, turned around and walked away, "What key? My ears don't work well..."
The old man walked towards the other end of the village, and when he turned around, he happened to bump into Mo Xue.
Mo Xue supported the old man and smiled, "I'm sorry..."
The old man was stunned for a moment, then quickened his pace.
Bai Linchuan sighed slightly, and suddenly, there was a ding sound. He looked up and saw a key dangling in front of him, and behind the key was a pair of smiling eyes.
"You..." Bai Linchuan was surprised, "When did you get it?"
As Mo Xue unlocked the door, he said, "Just now."
Bai Linchuan blinked and tactfully didn't ask why Mo Xue had such skills.
The door opened, and the stale wind blew the past in, and the thick smell of dust hit my nose.
Bai Linchuan covered his nose and coughed twice, while Mo Xue walked forward on his own.
The interior was very simple and cozy, with a square table in the middle and four wooden stools around it, on which were placed dusty tea sets. Walking into the house, there were two small rooms, each with a couch, one large and one small.
In the large room, there was a dressing table opposite the bed, on which were placed rouge and hairpins.
Mo Xue silently picked up the wooden comb and brushed off the dust.
Bai Linchuan's voice sounded behind him, "Are you familiar with this family?"
Mo Xie smiled and said through gritted teeth, "More than cooked."
Bai Linchuan thought about it and asked, could it be that he was good friends with Liu Yun's son?
The two searched everywhere but couldn't find the sword.
When I went out, I happened to meet a few elderly ladies whispering in the opposite yard.
"Let me tell you, two strange people came yesterday and were checking the house across the street."
"Could it be that he is back?"
"Don't... maybe he's caused trouble again."
"What kind of demon are they asking about?"
"Monster, there is no monster here."
Bai Linchuan listened to a few words and stepped forward to ask, "May I ask who you are talking about?"
The old ladies' expressions changed and they looked Bai Linchuan up and down.
The one in the middle, wearing a red flowered jacket, said, "That's him."
The man in the green robe on the right glanced at Bai Linchuan and suddenly smiled and said, "How old are you, young master? Are you married?"
Bai Linchuan paused, "They're getting married."
"Oh..." The women nodded with a lack of interest, "Where are you from?"
"People here." Bai Linchuan stepped forward with his head held high.
"Oh, whose family is this? I've never heard of anyone marrying such a good husband and not showing off." The one on the right joked.
Seeing that Bai Linchuan's ears were getting redder and redder, the middle lady nudged the one on the right and took the initiative to say, "My dear, you want to ask about the family across the street."
Bai Linchuan nodded slowly, "That's right."
The ladies looked left and right, and the middle one said, "It's really hard to say what's going on in their family."
The person on the right said, "Why not? In my opinion, it's all his own fault. Liu Wen is a piece of shit, so his fate is understandable."
Bai Linchuan raised his eyes with a serious expression.
"But I think they loved each other very much back then," said the one on the left.
"That's what I said too. They have been married for so many years, it's not necessary to kill his wife." said the lady in the middle.
"Wait! What do you mean by murdering your wife?" Bai Linchuan suddenly frowned. No wonder Mrs. Liu Wen died but no one investigated.
The one on the right said, "That's right. The night before that, I just came down from the mountain and saw Liu Wen and his wife on the mountain. They were very close to the barrier without fear of death. I was just about to step forward to warn them when I saw Liu Wen suddenly say "my mother" in a very fierce way. But it was too far away, so I didn't hear what he said clearly.
Liu Wen put one hand behind his back and pulled the child's mother down the mountain. When Liu Wen saw me, his face changed and he suddenly smiled at me twice, as if he had no temper at all.
If it weren't for the disgusted look on his face I just saw, I would have thought I was seeing things. After they left, I saw something flash behind Liu Wen. When I looked closely, I saw that he was holding a knife!
"Okay, you've said this so many times."
"I haven't finished yet. When Liu Wen died, it was that long knife that was stuck in his body. It was only two days ago."
"So... it was Liu Wen who killed his wife?" Bai Linchuan suddenly spoke from the side.
The lady in the middle was afraid of getting into trouble: "We're not sure. After all, no one has found the lady's body."
"What are you unsure about? She must be dead. Otherwise, how could a mother not come back to see her child for so many years? Otherwise, the child wouldn't have killed his father."
Bai Linchuan was suddenly startled again, "Wait, who killed Liu Wen?" A huge amount of information rushed into his brain, and he couldn't react for a moment.
"I told you to stop talking nonsense." The man in the middle pushed the lady on the right.
"What am I talking about? This is not something the child himself admitted."
"How old is that kid? Six or seven, maybe. Most kids would have just started school, and we don't even know if they're alive or dead. I guess he just saw his father kill his mother, so he stabbed him like that."
"So that's how it is..." Bai Linchuan said in amazement.
The father killed his wife, and the son killed his father!
No wonder no one in the entire village tracked down the murderer and was reluctant to talk about the matter. It turned out that there was such a hidden story behind it.
He sighed and shook his head, and all the words in his heart turned into a sigh.
Did Mo Xie already know all this? What role did he play in this? Bai Linchuan was cautious, as he couldn't trust everything Mo Xie said.
He asked another question: "Did you know that many years ago, there was a child here who was good friends with the Liu Wen family?"
"Child? Liu Wen's child is a loner and has few playmates." said the lady in the middle.
Bai Linchuan frowned, "Is there a homeless child in that village?"
"A wandering child? My dear, you've come to the wrong place. Apart from this one family's misfortune, there's no other family in our village that has been torn apart like this."
"How is that possible?" Bai Linchuan frowned tightly. He was about to turn around and ask Mo Xue for questioning, but there was no sign of Mo Xue.
"Where is the person behind me?" Bai Linchuan asked hurriedly.
As soon as he said this, the three ladies suddenly got goose bumps. The sun was emitting a dazzling and cold prism.
The one in the middle mustered up his courage and said in a trembling voice, "It's broad daylight, my dear, you haven't seen a ghost, have you? You have been alone all this time..."
Bai Linchuan suddenly came to his senses. It was impossible. Mo Xue had been following him all the time. He was still there when he entered Liu Wen's room just now. He must have run away when he wasn't paying attention.
He muttered, "Liar!"
Bai Linchuan ran out without knowing how much he had lied to him.
The remaining three ladies were puzzled. The one on the left said sadly, "It's a pity for Mo Yumei... She was a beauty back then, and at such a young age..."
In an instant, Bai Linchuan suddenly stopped, his robes fluttering. He froze, his head slowly turning around, his body still fixed in place, "Who are you talking about?"
The old lady was frightened by his cold eyes, "Liu Wen's wife, Mo Yumei, doesn't your husband know?"
Bai Linchuan stood there in a daze for a long time. When the sad story came into reality, the pain that the people who experienced it would feel was so unforgettable that no one could imagine it, and no one could compare to it.
He opened his lips stiffly and asked, "Then...what's his child's name?"
The ladies looked at each other, their eyes full of confusion. The one in the middle replied, "My surname is Mo, and my given name is Xie."
“Ming——”
A sharp roar rang in Bai Linchuan's ears, and his mind went blank.
The woman on the right continued to talk: "It's strange that he actually took his mother's surname. The villagers discussed it for a long time at the time. At that time, we thought he was in love with his wife. Now think about it, he might not even want to acknowledge this child..."
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