Chapter 130
By the time Jiaming was finally almost recovered, three and three years had passed. Six years had passed since he had realized his dream. During these six years, he held the position of an imperial teacher, but actually did nothing, not even treating illnesses. He just stayed in his small room, unable to tell when the days passed like years and when he hated the passing of youth.
As the shadow gradually condensed, the shape of the figure could almost be seen, but Jiaming was the only one who could see it. This was normal. However, the face of the shadow, which was originally blurry, now looked more and more like a young man. Jiaming found it a bit strange, frowned, looked at him and asked, "Why do you look like this?"
The shadow said: "It's not that I want to grow up like this. No matter what I look like, it is all decided by you. The same goes for whether I exist or not. You decide my existence, so naturally you can also decide my appearance. You are thinking about him in your heart.
You wonder what he does, what he says, and whether this person knows what they did behind your back. If there is an order to be issued concerning you, can this person deny it? You also wonder if they are scolding you behind your back. You wonder if they can't speak normally so they don't see you. You think they should be very busy, but they shouldn't be.
It should be their job, not that they were not what they are now.
So many years have passed, everyone has changed except you. You are still the same as before, exactly the same as before. If there is someone who recognized you before, they will definitely recognize you when they see you again. However, when you see them, it is not certain. You know this in your heart, and you feel strange. They feel strange, and you feel strange too.
They are surprised at how quickly and how normal they become. And you are surprised at how you are not like them, right? I know that very well.
Jiaming said, "So what if I know everything? You said that your existence is determined by me. I can decide that you don't exist now, but then there will be no one to talk to me. It's unnecessary and meaningless. I also know that what you know, I know, and what you don't know, I probably know too. What is our relationship? Symbiosis? It's too weird.
This shouldn't happen.
I also know those things, why don't I know how to solve the problem? You know those things, so you can talk about them clearly. I don't like them, nor do I like you. I don't like those things, nor do I like the current situation. What do you say? "
The shadow said, "What a simple method. We can just die. Life and death are important matters. If we can't control our own life, then we can control our own death. If we can't control others, can we control ourselves?"
Jiaming said, "It's not impossible. However, it seems that there is something else to deal with. Do you remember what it is?"
The shadow thought for a moment and said, "Perhaps the six-year period has come to an end. You can go and discuss the current situation with the young man and explain your own situation, and then it will be over."
He clapped his hands and looked very happy.
Jiaming looked at him and nodded: "It seems so."
A man came to the door, looked at him and asked, "What's going on?"
Jiaming murmured, "Someone is coming?"
He turned around and saw that it was a young man. He breathed a sigh of relief, but with mixed emotions, he asked, "Are you free to come over today?"
The young man picked up the teapot, poured himself a glass of water and said, "Oh, I'm free. I can play today and tomorrow. That's great."
Jiaming asked: "Have you finished your work?"
The young man frowned and asked, "What's the matter?"
Jiaming smiled and said, "Isn't it just the things you are usually busy with?"
The young man said, "Those things are over long ago. After all, the famine is over. Although people are still worried now, it doesn't matter. The harvest season is coming soon. By then, it won't be like before, when not a single grain is left unharvested. It's just that some people are very annoying. This thing can't be done well, and that thing can't be done well.
Besides that, he is just good at talking. He knows there is something going on, but he doesn't deal with it. He has recently needed others to go out of their way to deal with things that he thinks must be dealt with today. It is obvious that he wants to be lazy and torture others. It didn't matter if he didn't do such things in the past, but he has to do it now? He is so self-righteous.
What's more, it's really annoying that such people don't even realize that they are adding burden to others.
If you scold him, it seems unreasonable, but if you don't say anything to him, he thinks he has done a good job.
Abominable.
hateful.
Dislike.
Absolutely disgusting! "
The young man said he was angry, and stood up and said, "How come people like this are everywhere? They are like cockroaches. If you don't know me, you would think I've entered a cockroach nest."
Jiaming smiled and said, "You didn't see the real cockroach nest. There are many cockroaches growing there, not just the two you saw."
The young man shouted, "But I saw more than two!"
Jiaming said, "When you see cockroaches, it means that every corner of your house is filled with cockroaches and there is no place for them to hide. Isn't it normal for you to feel disgusted?"
The young man snorted and sat back down. "Even though that's the case, they're still annoying. Cockroaches can be killed in one go. If you want to kill a person, there are others who can take their place. It just takes some time for them to adapt and make corrections. If you keep changing the style of a position, it might be hard for the people below to do their job. That's something to consider."
Jiaming asked: "Did you come here today just to see me, or to talk about those bad things?"
The young man looked at him and asked, "Then can't I just need both?"
Jiaming smiled and said, "Sure, sure, aren't you already doing it?"
The young man nodded: "Yes, but it's useless to just say it out loud. It doesn't make me feel better. It would be great if I could just kill them all."
Jiaming said: "That's probably only possible in dreams."
The young man thought for a moment and said, "Let's not talk about this. Is there anything you want? I plan to arrange for someone to go out for inspection soon. It would be a waste if I don't go. deceive me?"
Jiaming said, "That's right, but what do you want?"
The young man asked, "What do you like? What do you want? I can have someone bring one back for you. The extra ones are for inspection."
Jiaming said, "I don't want anything in particular. If you have the chance, you can give me a red long-legged wooden string doll."
The young man asked: "Can you describe it in detail?"
Jiaming said: "It is a small doll-like thing, only the size of a palm. It should not be very expensive, nor does it need to be very delicate. An ordinary one will do. The two legs and two arms are made of string-like ropes that extend out from the wood and fall down. It can sway and look very interesting. The body is colorful and made of wood, with a rough human figure outline.
That kind of wood will have a head and a face, a body and clothes, a neck and hair, and some even have hats. The hats are not made of wood, but small hats made of furry wool that can fit perfectly on the head of the wooden doll. "
The young man thought for a moment, "Well, I can go back and ask someone to help me look for it."
He snorted: "Come to think of it, I am obviously very different now than before, but some things are still the same as before. I can't do this or that. It's so troublesome."
Jiaming said, "It is very troublesome, but it is not a big deal. If it is not possible, then it is not possible. If it is possible, I would be happy if you are willing to help."
The young man yelled, "Stop!"
He muttered, "If you keep talking like this, you're going to say something like 'I'm very grateful to you'. I always feel like listening to this is like listening to you reading your own epitaph. It's cold and inexplicably funny, but it's not appropriate to laugh. If I don't laugh, I feel the atmosphere is cold and I feel like you're going to disappear when I'm not paying attention. I don't think that's okay."
Jiaming said, "If you want to laugh, I don't mind. Anyway, you will still talk to me after you finish laughing. At least you will leave after you finish talking. Who knows what you are thinking? If you don't tell me, I don't know. If you tell me, I won't be angry. By the way, did you see the thing over there? It's already moldy. Do you know what it is?"
The young man looked in Jiaming's direction and saw something that was indeed wet and had grown a thick layer of mold, like a blanket covering a sleeping person. He smiled and said, "It's quite nice, but I remember I'll have someone come in to take care of it for you later."
The young man looked at Jiaming and asked, "Hey, you don't need it anymore, right?"
Jiaming said, "That thing has become like this, why would I use it? The fact that it has become like this shows that I don't usually use it."
The young man nodded: "Yeah, that's good, that's one thing."
He looked at Jiaming and said, "I always feel that you have something else to say to me, so I haven't left yet. What do you want to say? Tell me. I won't laugh at you casually. You just said that you won't be angry. What can't you say? It's not like you want to rebel. Rebellion now is not a good thing."
The young man's last words sounded like a tease but also like a warning, yet somehow they also sounded sincere and earnest.
Jiaming didn't want to laugh at first, but after hearing what he said, he couldn't help but laugh and said, "It's not a big deal. I feel too bored here, and I don't have anything else to do later."
He paused, observing the young man's expression. Seeing that the young man was not angry, he continued, "I don't want to live here anymore, and I don't want to--"
He paused again, still without finishing his sentence, as if once he had said it, it would be irreversible and he might be asked why.
Whether the young man had no reaction at all or kept questioning him, that was not what Jiaming wanted to see.
He hesitated for a moment before saying to the young man, "Forget it. I won't tell you about this. But when you clean the bathroom, remember to clean the place where I rest as well."
The young man didn't understand what this meant at first. He just stared at Jiaming blankly, nodded, and reached for the cup on the table. Suddenly he reacted, frowned, looked at Jiaming, wanted to ask something, opened his mouth, but saw Jiaming turned his head away and ignored him, so he thought, it would be useless to ask, so he might as well not ask.
Anyway, it's not a good thing.
He took a deep breath, convinced himself in his heart, and said with a smile: "Okay."
Jiaming nodded.
The young man stood up and said, "Since you have nothing else to tell me, I will leave."
Jiaming nodded.
The young man asked, "Then I'll leave?"
Jiaming looked at him and nodded.
The young man opened the door and walked out. Jiaming watched him walk out. It was the first time that he knew the light outside the door was so dazzling. It almost made him unable to continue watching. His eyes felt a pain as if they were pressed by a warm and heavy flow of water. He squinted his eyes and tears squeezed out of his eye sockets. It was because of the broken faucet that he couldn't stop the tears for a while.
The next day, the young man came again. It was rare for him to come so diligently. The first thing he said was to ask about Jiaming's condition: "How are you?"
Jiaming said, “I feel very good.”
The young man hesitated for a moment and asked, "How about I find a doctor for you?"
Jiaming smiled and said, "You said that, have you found it? Found it, and it's still at the door? Since he's already waiting at the door, why are you letting him wait any longer? Let him in. If you don't know, you might think I want him to wait outside the door just for fun."
The young man smiled and said, "You know it with just one sentence?"
He nodded: "Then I'll let him in."
The young man waved outside, and a maid was talking outside. A doctor carrying a medicine box came over, stepped over the threshold, and came in with his head lowered, as if he thought that this was either a place where living people lived or where a young lady lived. He walked to the bedside and found that there was no one there, so he turned around and looked at the position of the young man and Jiaming.
For some reason, his eyelids twitched and Jiaming felt as if he could see the presence of a dark shadow.
That's even stranger.
Didn’t the shadow always say that others couldn’t see him?
What can doctors see?
Jiaming thought about it and thought that maybe it was an illusion. This person couldn’t see, but just seemed to see. In fact, it didn’t exist. He didn’t say that he could see or had seen it, so it didn’t exist. Just treat it as if he didn’t exist.
The young man gestured to the doctor and said, "This is the patient."
Jiaming nodded.
The doctor came over and looked at the young man with a serious expression after the examination. He seemed to want to say something, but he was afraid of being beaten, so he couldn't say it here. The young man waved his hand and said, "Since you have been examined, you can go out first. Others will arrange your place. You wait there for me. I will find you when I finish my work here. Remember to record it."
The doctor nodded hesitantly and left with his things.
Jiaming looked at the young man and asked, "You just let him come and then let him go?"
The young man nodded and said, "Yes, I am the owner of this place. I live here. I invited him here. I am not giving him money. He came here of his own accord. What's the big deal if I ask him to wait a little longer?"
Jiaming smiled and said, "You know that's not what I meant. I'm just wondering why you didn't let him say it here? Are you afraid that I'll beat him?"
The young man said, "I don't think so. I don't think so. I just think that if things are really bad, I should be prepared. The preparation is for me. You are already prepared, so I won't prepare you again. If you don't want to, I will ask someone to find another doctor to check in front of you and me, explain everything clearly, and then leave. How about that?"
Jiaming thought for a moment and said, "Forget it, it's a bother."
The young man smiled and said, "If that's the case, isn't it great now?"
Jiaming said, "Probably."
The young man stood up with a complicated look on his face and said, "Then I'll go see a doctor."
Jiaming said, "Okay, bye."
The young man nodded, walked out, and closed the door.
The doctor did not go far, and the young man soon saw him. When they met, they talked about Jiaming's condition. The doctor told the young man that Jiaming's body had been empty for a long time, like a rotten piece of wood, rotten inside, and looked intact on the outside, but it only looked intact, not really as bright and beautiful as the outside.
The young man frowned and asked, "Is there any way to remedy this?"
The doctor shook his head: "As far as I know, no."
The young man sneered and asked, "How long has this situation lasted?"
The doctor said, "If nothing unexpected happened, it should have started six years ago. If he had started treatment six years ago, there would still be a chance, but it has been six years. It is very good that he is still alive now. Although I don't know why he is still alive, his condition could turn into death at any time."
The young man's expression gradually disappeared. He was silent for a while, waved his hand and said, "You can go now. I know everything."
The doctor nodded and walked away with his things.
The room was empty. The young man sneered, "I thought it was something else. So it's like this. How come he got into trouble when I didn't? This is not fair. God damn it. What a piece of crap."
He hammered the table angrily and was about to ask someone to find a new doctor. He felt that things shouldn't be like this, but someone came to the door and said, "Oh no, that gentleman is dead."
That adult.
Which one?
Jiaming.
The young man stood up all of a sudden, not paying attention to the stool, which was knocked over. He gritted his teeth and kicked the stool, cursing, "You useless thing, idiot, idiot!"
The person outside the door didn't know what was going on. He shrank back, but didn't dare to leave. He could only whisper, "What should we do?"
The young man took a deep breath, but couldn't help but sneered, "I don't care how the fuck I deal with it!"
The person outside the door was so scared that he almost knelt down and begged for mercy.
The young man slammed his fist on the table and shouted, "Fuck it, throw that guy into a solitary ice cellar now. You want to rot before I die? Dream on!"
He was so angry that he paced back and forth in the room, chattering as he walked: "Fuck, I'm not dead yet, fuck, he died first? Fuck, I'm not a corpse collector, why should I clean up for him? I'm not a garbage collector, why should I? I'm not his subordinate, why should I listen to him? Fuck, I've seen a ghost. Fuck, fuck!"
The person outside the door wanted to ask more questions, but the young man shouted, "Don't you understand? I told you to throw him into an ice cellar and fill it with ice! Damn it."
The person outside the door answered immediately: "I heard everything. I'll go now."
The outside of the door was a little quieter, but the young man still couldn't get his temper. He said angrily: "What the hell! He's playing tricks on me? Who does he think I am?"
Abominable.
After venting his anger, he went to the room to look for the body. The people who were cleaning up said that the body was already underground. The young man went to the ice cellar to look for the body and found the body in a separate ice cellar. The underground was already dark, damp and cold, with ice blocks everywhere, making it even colder. The young man walked in front of Jiaming, took a big step but suddenly stopped, almost unable to stand still. He staggered and held on to the ice blocks at the side but slipped.
He held Jiaming down with one hand. Jiaming was already a corpse. Corpses are very easy to deform. When he pressed down like this, the shape of the corpse changed. The young man muttered, "It's all your fault. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be here. It's all your fault. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be here. Why do you treat me like this? I didn't let anyone kill you. Forget it, you don't listen."
He withdrew his hand and looked at Jiaming. When he saw the mark he had made, his face suddenly turned red. He couldn't tell whether he was angry out of shame or suddenly collapsed. He stared and said, "If you weren't lying here, I wouldn't be careless. I just stumbled. It's all your fucking fault, it's your fault! Wouldn't it be great if you didn't do this? You would have been fine a long time ago. I don't know what you are thinking.
Is there anything wrong with living a life of wealth and glory? Damn it, aren't all those damned people dead? You are not going to die, why are you joining in the fun? Or do you want to go with them? Oh, you are really going with them now, damn it, I provoke you and you frame me like this? Damn it."
He suddenly burst into uncontrollable tears.
"Fuck! Fuck!"
The young man squatted on the ground and burst into tears.
"On what grounds?"
The young man muttered to himself.
When he had almost finished crying, he wiped his eyes, put ice on his face, wiped his hair, went out to take a shower, wash his hair, change his clothes and shoes. It seemed that after washing, there was no bad luck or the smell of a corpse, and even this incident could be forgotten.
Leyuan came to his senses and found that he had returned to the third room, probably the third room.
He was a little dazed, not because the days were long, but because he felt like he was in another world. He squinted his eyes to adjust to the light in the room and saw a clean wall opposite. He walked over and touched it, but there was nothing there. He withdrew his hand, walked out, stepped over the threshold, and heard the servant outside shouting in surprise: "Great! Great! The door is open! We can go out!"
Leyuan asked, "How do we get out?"
The servant pointed ahead and said, "Look, that's the main door. It just appeared suddenly. I think maybe we can get to this door by going into three rooms and then coming out. If we open this door, we may be able to get out."
Leyuan blinked and nodded: "Then let's get out of here."
He subconsciously glanced around him. The black shadow had been beside him for too long. He couldn't tell whether he wanted the other party to appear or not at this moment. He also couldn't tell whether the black shadow would appear or not at this moment.
He was a little confused when he thought so, but the black shadow appeared beside him regardless, and the servant was still looking at the door, ecstatic, ran over and opened the door. He neither saw it nor cared. This was normal. It was the reaction and attitude that a normal person should have when he couldn't see the black shadow. However, Leyuan felt a little sad for some reason, perhaps because the black shadow had appeared.
The shadow whispered in Paradise's ear: "It doesn't matter. Anyway, they can't see it."
Leyuan glanced at him and smiled, "Yeah, they can't see it."
Walking forward into the amusement park, the servant had already opened the door. Behind the door was a ball of colorful light, as if hiding a hazy, humid mist with a strong smell like a gasoline leak, as if there was either a nuclear power plant or a gas station that was about to explode behind it, neither of which was very safe.
Leyuan frowned, but the servant didn't care. He also smelled the smell, and felt the unusual temperature and humidity. However, he said to Leyuan happily, "It doesn't matter. Maybe the other side is a fairyland on earth! I heard that the Queen Mother's Peach Festival was full of mist and fragrance, and colorful. Isn't this normal? How can ordinary people have such colors?"
Leyuan sighed inwardly and said, "Then go in."
The servant hesitated, but nodded and said, "Okay."
He stepped over in a flash, and the whole person seemed to be falling from a great height. He let out a cry, and waved his hands as if he was caught off guard. He was gone. He had already entered. The paradise could not just look at this door and do nothing, so he followed it in. The feeling was almost the same as he had expected. He seemed to be grabbed by the ankle by a hand, falling from a great height, landing in a soft, white cloud and mist.
He rubbed his eyes, and the servant stood up in the distance, waved to him and said, "Okay, we are out! Great! We can go find someone now!"
Le Yuan nodded and glanced around. The shadow was still there. The shadow opened a bright red gap towards him and smiled, "Don't worry. As long as you need me, as long as you want to see me, I will always be here. Even if I'm not here, there are others. But it won't be them."
Leyuan nodded and walked towards the servant. The servant looked on the ground, pointed in a direction and said to Leyuan: "This is it."
Leyuan remembered that he came out to look for someone. The servant walked in front of him, limping, as if there was a difference in the speed of time inside and outside the door. Leyuan saw that the servant's legs were almost healed, and he walked very fast without any problems. They arrived in front of a building that looked like a village. There was no door, and it was dark inside. There were many people, squinting their eyes and looking out.
Those eyes are not conspicuous in the darkness, but if you don't notice them at first, but discover them upon a closer look, they will scatter like birds and beasts in an instant, as if they are the ones who are afraid. In fact, when they are noticed, they are very worthy of others' fear.
Leyuan looked at the servant and asked, "Is this where you said the person I'm looking for might be?"
The servant thought for a moment, stroked his hair and said, "We're sure we can find clues here."
Paradise said, "Well, please come in."
The servant said, "Oh."
He walked in, uttered a cry, and soon disappeared. Leyuan stood outside the door, almost suspecting that it was a play to trick him in. He didn't hesitate for long when a man came out. He looked like he was wearing ragged clothes, with messy hair and a stick in his hand. He looked at Leyuan and said to him, "Come with me. Our boss wants to see you."
Leyuan followed him in. He had to go in. There were so many people inside, including servants. Sick Aga might also be inside. Even if Sick Aga was not inside, clues of Sick Aga's whereabouts might be inside. Now someone was asking him to go in. Unless he turned around and ran away, he would not be able to avoid this matter.
What's more, I have already come here, and I turned around and ran away. I don't feel embarrassed now, but I will not be able to sleep because of it in the future.
He didn't want to make things difficult for himself.
He followed him into the building.
There were people everywhere in there, lying on every patch of ground. Some were lying directly on the ground, some were sleeping on racks with their eyes closed, and some were sleeping on the edge with a layer of dry straw or rotten mats. When walking forward, you had to look carefully at the ground, for fear of accidentally stepping on one of them.
Tattered Clothes stopped and opened a door. There was a small room inside. There was a person sitting in the room. It seemed that he had been waiting inside for a long time. Looking outside the door, Tattered Clothes made way for it and Leyuan walked in.
It was much cleaner inside than outside. Rakuten found a seat, looked across and asked, "Are you the boss here?"
The other party nodded: "Yes."
Leyuan looked at him, but couldn't tell what he was talking about. He smiled at him and asked, "What do you want to talk to me about?"
The person on the other side said: "Yes, I heard you are looking for someone?"
Paradise said, “Yes.”
The person opposite smiled and said, "What's the name of the person you're looking for?"
Leyuan hesitated and said, "As far as I know, his name is Bing Ajia."
The person on the other side said, "Oh, then the person you are looking for is not here."
Seeing that he was about to call someone to send the guests away, Leyuan asked, "Then what do you want me to do?"
The person on the other side said, "I thought the person you were looking for was from here."
Leyuan said, "No, it's impossible. He wasn't before, he's not now, and he won't be in the future. But, there must be more than just these people here, right?"
The other person smiled and said, "Oh, so many people can become like this? You really know how to judge people."
Leyuan asked, "Are there other hidden spaces here? Are there secret passages? Can you get to places that no one else can find? What do you use those places for? Hold meetings?"
I don't know if it's the sequelae left in the third room, but when I look at the rooms now, I always feel that there should be secret passages and rooms leading to the underground. It's definitely not a coincidence that all these people are here. I'm afraid something has happened, and that something is probably related to the sick Aga and the servants.
Leyuan didn't wait for the other party to speak and continued to ask: "Do you know who I am looking for? Do you know that your people took away one of my servants? The person I am looking for is one person, and the servant who came with me to look for people is another one. They are both missing. I don't know where the former is, but the latter disappeared after he entered your room in front of me, and I also heard his voice.
He must be here. He was captured by your people, right? It's really boring to go around in circles. I don't know when the day will come. I have to go home quickly. I don't have the mood or time to waste time here with you."
The person on the other side laughed and said, "Okay. Since you are so anxious and seem to know everything, I will tell you something."
As he spoke, he clapped his hands, and the door opened. A group of people came in from outside, pressing down on a person. The person they were pressing down was the servant who had disappeared into the room. When he opened his eyes and saw that it was Paradise, he shouted in surprise and joy, "Master, save me!"
Leyuan glanced at the servant, then looked across and asked, "Is this the only one? The other one should be here with you, too. Don't deny it. If he wasn't here, he wouldn't have brought me here, and you wouldn't have let me in. At this point, it's ridiculous to say you're making trouble out of nothing."
The ragtag boss smiled and said, "Okay, I'll show you something else."
As he spoke, he stood up and twisted the vase. The vase turned and the wall opened. Behind the door was a passage. The ragtag boss gestured to the amusement park: "Please, if you want to see someone, follow me in. If you don't want to, forget it. Pretend I didn't say anything. But, if that's the case, none of you can leave here."
Leyuan stood up and said, "Let's go."
The shabby boss nodded with satisfaction.
Leyuan walked in front, the ragtag boss walked behind, and the group of people became three people, holding down the servant whose hands and feet were tied, and following behind. The road was very narrow at the beginning, and only one person could walk forward. The further they walked forward, the wider it became, gradually accommodating two people, three people, four people, until many people could stand here, and it was not crowded at all.
Leyuan saw a door and looked at the Broken Boss. The Broken Boss opened the door and the scene inside was completely different. The Broken Boss signaled Leyuan to take off the mask on the wall and put it on, and the others did the same.
The banquet hall is so huge that it looks like an underground ant queen's nest.
The decoration was gorgeous, the furnishings were expensive, the crowds were mixed, the accessories were dazzling, they wore exaggerated masks on their faces, arrogant smiles on the corners of their lips, there was a wild light in their eyes, they held blood-red wine in their hands, and they whispered like gentlemen and ladies at the most upper-class ball.
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