Today is the Lantern Festival, and the street market has been open since dusk. There are sugar-blowers, candy-blowers, opera singers, fire-breathers, and those selling velvet flowers and masks. The stalls will be open until the fourth watch. sky. All kinds of lanterns were hung along the street, and the lampshades were painted with flowers and birds and inscribed with characters.
Tang Shiqi bought a lantern and held it in his hand. He found a run-down noodle stall and ordered a Lantern Festival. He sat down and tasted it slowly. Tourists have gone to set off lanterns, there are not many people in the stall, and the seats are empty. After a while, another person sat down behind him, turned his back to him, and ordered a gouache dumpling.
Tang Shiqi saw that no one was paying attention to him, he stroked his sleeves, and a ball of paper slipped down his arm into his hand. He handed it back and sent it to the palm of the person behind him. He leaned back slightly and said in a low voice, "Jia Lan is going to move Shen Jue, the time and place are written on the top, but the guarantee will change. If there is any change, I will find a way to notify you."
In the middle of the road, there was a man on stilts, and there were three circles of people watching, and the applause drowned out his voice, and only the people behind him could hear him.
Xia Houlin's voice sounded, "How many knives?"
He replied in a low voice: "Three, Garuda, Kinnara, and Gandharva. Garuda seems to be a quick swordsman, you have to be careful."
Xia Houlin's voice paused for a while before he said, "The last time you told me your love for books, what happened?"
Tang Shiqi scratched his head and said, "I don't know exactly what happened. He defected before and was caught by Garan, but his whole person changed when he came back. He is very angry with you now, and Garan is the most active when he arrests you. , sharpen the knife every day."
"Why?" Xia Houlin asked.
"Because..." Tang Shiqi murmured, "He said that you killed the heart to avenge your own personal revenge, so that the entire Galan would be saved from redemption, and let all the assassins accompany you to death... Then, I hated it." Tang Shiqi sighed. With a sound, "I can't blame you for that. Didn't he defect at the beginning? Who knew he was caught again. If he was here, you would definitely not have killed the heart."
This time Xia Houlin stopped for a long time and didn't speak. Just when Tang Shiqi wanted to turn his head to look at him, Xia Houlin said, "No, you are wrong, I will still kill Murder. Kill Murder, destroy Murder. Galan, that's my original purpose."
Tang Shiqi didn't know what to say, he lowered his head and ate a few mouthfuls of Lantern Festival. Tourists came and went around him, and the halo of the lanterns went on and off in front of his eyes. He swallowed a mouthful of Lantern Festival, covered his mouth with a handkerchief, and pretended to be chewing something, "I have something to tell you, that Shen Jue..."
There was too much noise around, Xia Houlin didn't hear him, but he heard Xia Houlin say: "Do you want to eat anything else? Besides this dumpling, there are also cold cakes and so on, but I don't know if you like it or not. ."
Tang Shiqi turned his head and saw a man sitting across from Xia Houlin, wearing a power fence, with a black sarong covering his face, and was using a spoon to deliver dumplings under the black veil. The wind blew and blew off a corner of the black veil, and he saw the man's white chin.
It's Shen Jue. Tang Shiqi was startled.
"It's too much to eat." Shen Jue threw the spoon into the bowl.
"I can eat as much as I can, and I'll take care of the rest." After Xia Houlin finished speaking, he asked him in a low voice, "What did you just say?"
Tang Shiqi smiled dryly and said, "It's nothing, it's nothing. It's just that you should follow the supervisor and work hard. They tell you to go east and never go west. They let you go to bed, ahem, go to the sky, and never go to the ground."
Xia Houlin frowned, "What a mess, tell the truth." He paused, and said, "I checked the bliss fruit before, and I secretly hid a box, enough for two people to consume for the rest of their lives."
Tang Shiqi said in shock, "You can't touch the boss's thing!"
"It's not for me, it's for you and the book... Forget it, let's protect you first, let's talk about it." Xia Houlin said, "After the assassination of the governor by Galan is over, you will come to the East Factory to work. Son. Dongchang can keep you, so don’t be afraid of Jialan.”
Tang Shiqi was so moved that he wanted to cry, and he said with tears in his eyes, "Boss, in my next life, I want to be reborn as a woman. I will marry you to repay my kindness."
Xia Houlin felt disgusted, "Fuck you."
Tang Shiqi wiped away his tears and prepared to leave after eating the Lantern Festival. Before leaving, he threw a copper plate on the table, Yu Guang glanced to the side, Shen Jue was propping his head up and waiting for Xia Houlin to finish the soup dumplings, and his lazy appearance was really not like the decisive killing he had heard on weekdays. factory supervisor.
He shuddered and smeared the soles of his feet. That's all, he saw that his boss was quite enjoying it, anyway, Shen Jue was a eunuch, and he had grown into such a fairy, he didn't know who took advantage of whom! His boss is fine.
——
Chi looked at the lights on several cases, the glass cover covered the flames, and a few small caterpillars that survived the cold winter fluttered their wings and slammed against the lights. Duan Jiu was buzzing about something, but he didn't hear a word. He looked at Xiaoxue outside the Xuan window, and the snowflakes fell like white moths flying in the air. He thought that there were still a lot of things to do, Xie Xin explained to him, what Xiao Rong wanted to do, and what he wanted to do himself, but the time was running out.
Today is the Lantern Festival, and fireworks are being set off outside. Yunxian Tower is particularly lively, men don't want to go home to face the yellow-faced woman, they prefer to come here to listen to music and have fun. There are women's charming smiles everywhere, sweet and smooth, like honey on silk. He listened to the sounds outside, and his thoughts gradually flew away, like a small mayfly, drifting to the distant clouds and mountains.
"Tired." Duan Jiu was calling him.
He raised his head ignorantly and responded.
"This time, you will be the chief swordsman in the assassination. Kinnaro and Gandharva are your deputy, waiting for your dispatch." Duan Jiu pointed to the file of Chi Yan, "Open the file, Chi Yan, it will tell you yours. What kind of person the prey is."
Chi Yan lowered his head, his eyes fell on the file in front of him, the first two words were written in a red pen: Shen Jue.
Gandalf gritted her teeth and said fiercely: "You should let me take the lead, it's not reliable to hold on to it."
"Assassins who have lost their knives are like tigers who have lost their fangs. If you can't control even a tiger without teeth, how can you control you bloodthirsty leopards?" Duan Jiu said slowly, "What's more, you are not Garan yet. The strongest assassin, Gandalf, you haven't yet learned how to control the thread, but you can already handle three."
Gandalf looked like she had been stepped on her tail, and her forehead jumped suddenly, "What's the point of pulling the wire, swordsmanship is the right way! Do you trust the stuff that Xia Houlin made so much?"
Duan Jiu shook his head and chuckled, "Of course one or two pulling wires are nothing, but what about a net?"
"A net?" Gandalf repeated in a low voice.
"That's right," the candle flames danced on the cases in front of Duan Jiu, illuminating his face uncertainly, "You haven't seen the killing formation that Xia Houlin set up to kill his heart, but I have. It was a net of heaven and earth. Fifty-six puller wires were used. Gentlemen, any one of you who walked into it, including shiba, would become a fly on the cobweb. You would be cut into pieces by the puller wire, each piece of meat. With only such a big fist, even if your relatives and friends find you, they will not be able to put you back to the way you were."
"Is this the form of death by heart-killing?" Jin Nara, who had been standing in the shadows, stepped out, revealing a pale face. There was a scar on the side of his face, which was covered by bangs, so it was hard to see clearly. He is already a man, seeing this face, no one will think of the cowardly scholar back then.
Jin Na Luo turned his head to look at Chi Yan, Chi Yan still had a blank face, no expression.
"Yeah, it's really a ferocious revenge." Duan Jiu sighed, "It's a pity that this killing technique is good, but the threshold is too high. The threads are connected into a net, and the whole body is moved by a single hair. Unpredictable. Therefore, if you want to cultivate this killing technique, you must learn the 'Nine Numbers', know the number method to evolve, and become mysterious, so that you can weave such a complex killing formation. But you haven't even read the "Book of Calculations", and I How can I ask you to form a net and form an array."
Gandalf snorted coldly and said, "I can kill him with just a knife."
Duan Jiu laughed lightly, and the sparse mustache on his mouth moved, looking like a mockery.
"Don't underestimate Shen Jue, boy. His name has been on the Killing List of Jialan for eight years, and no assassin has been able to bring back his head. However, since he ascended the position of Dongchang Factory Director eight years ago, His eagle dogs hunted our dark piles and assassins all over Daqi. For the past eight years, he has continuously infiltrated his minions into the interior of Garan. Four years ago, most of our dark nests were uprooted and almost destroyed. If not for bliss If his minions are willing to surrender to Garan, we will be slaughtered."
"I'll go alone." Chi said with disgust.
Duan Jiu frowned, "I just finished speaking..."
"Chiyan, are you afraid that we will hold you back? Are you underestimating us?" Gandalf squinted at him.
Chi Yan didn't answer, just silently covered his ears.
"You! What do you mean!"
Gandalf was furious, waving her fists and wanting to step forward, she stepped forward to stop him, and said sternly, "Don't die? Dare to be presumptuous in front of Mr. Duan!"
Duan Jiu shook his head and said, "You are so discordant, how will you kill Shen Jue? I will give you three days, and I want to see you as close as brothers, otherwise the Fruit of Bliss next year will not be sent to you again. Take a good look at the dossier, children, you can win every battle if you know yourself and your opponent."
Jinna Luo and Gandalf bowed their heads and sent Duan Jiu open the door to leave the hut. Before leaving, Duan Jiu looked back at Chi Yan, the child was still looking at the snowflakes fluttering outside the window, his eyes were empty, as if apart from the fluttering white snow, there was nothing here. Everything has nothing to do with him.
Kinnaro and Gandhar were gone, and Chiyan was the only one left in the room. This room is actually a water pavilion on the pond of Yunxianlou. The prostitute of Yunxianlou had a very good idea. She set up a pavilion on the ice and held a banquet. Men and women chased and made trouble on the ice. The women were not afraid of the cold. Cold light.
In fact, he didn't quite understand why they were so happy. He seemed to have the greatest joy in the world when he drank wine and hugged a woman, but it was clear that wine was hard to drink and women were ugly. He wants to be Xiaolin, and Xiaolin will tell him the origin of everything.
"Brother Jihan!"
A person suddenly appeared under the window, and Chian's eyes shrank, obviously startled.
Bailiyuan looked at him with a smile on her chin, she was dressed up beautifully today, with a golden cicada, jade leaf and silver foot hairpins on her temples, and a gold inlaid jade gourd pendant hanging down from her ears, lining her snow-white face. , like a finely polished porcelain doll. It's just that the eyes are too dark, and there is always a cold air when looking at people.
"Brother, we haven't seen each other for fourteen days, five hours and three quarters. Do you miss me?"
He shook his head in disgust, "No."
"You're wrong, you have to say 'think'." Bailiyuan picked up a snowball and hit him, "Then how are you doing these days?"
"pretty good."
"You're wrong again!" Bailiyuan rubbed a bigger snowball and smashed it on his case, saying word by word, "Chill, you should say: 'No, good'!"
The snowball shattered on the file, and the charcoal fire in the room was very warm. The snowball melted into water, soaking the writing on the file. Chi Yan thought silently, he hadn't had time to look at it yet.
"Hmph, my brother is a villain, I'm ignoring you!"
Bailiyuan stuck out her tongue, turned around and ran out, and suddenly heard Chiyan calling her behind her, she turned her head happily, and saw Chiyan standing behind the window, staring at her blankly.
She waved at him, "Brother come out and play!"
"Baili, you are bleeding." Chi Yan said.
"Ah?" Bailiyuan was stunned for a moment.
"foot."
Bailiyuan looked down and saw blood seeping out of her trousers, and blood stains fell on the snow. The blood was still flowing, and she felt a pain in her stomach, as if something was twisting in her stomach.
She walked to the bottom of the window in a daze, and Chiyan, one tall and the other short, looked at each other with big eyes and small eyes.
"Am I going to die, Chian?" Her voice was thin, as if it was about to be dispersed into the wind.
For the first time, Chi Yan saw her overwhelmed, like a normal child.
He shook his head in disgust, "I don't know."
She stayed for a while, then suddenly laughed, "Brother, are you happy? Heart killing asked you to kill me. Now that I'm going to die, your goal has been achieved."