Ji Ke is dead.
He hanged himself in the mourning hall, his long tongue sticking out of his mouth, his hands that were strangling himself fell limply on both sides of his legs, his toes swaying slightly in the air.
"Ji Ke! Why are you so depressed?" Uncle Wang stood beside the hanged body, his face full of grief. He shouted: "I only said that your crying was not sincere! You really want to die!"
Everyone saw Ji Ke hang himself, so what he said seemed to be true.
The sadness between the lines made Uncle Wang's voice tremble. He climbed onto the bench and stretched out his hand to move Ji Ke's body down, but it was too difficult for him to do it alone. "Why are you all standing there? Come and help!"
The sticky blood seeped out from the gauze, hit the ground, and splashed a small blood flower.
The players raised their heads one by one, watching the scene expressionlessly, their eyes numb and cold. They went up to help, except for—
Tang Ning cried silently and trembled.
He stood up with difficulty and wanted to walk towards Ji Ke.
Ji Ke's life was saved by Grandpa Ji with his own life. Grandpa Ji's body was properly collected, and Ji Ke should lie in the coffin.
Ji Lianyun placed his slender hands on Tangning's shoulders and spoke softly in the funeral hall, "I'm not in good health and can't help, but you and Ji Ke are still a family, why are you just standing by and watching?"
As Ji Lianyun said this, the villagers of Jijia Village slowly moved. They walked to Uncle Wang and worked together to carry down Ji Ke's body.
Uncle Wang, who had just been lamenting “How can you be so young and yet still not be able to think positively”, shut his mouth and stared coldly at Ji Lianyun across the crowd.
"Where is the coffin?" asked the people from Jijia Village.
There are ready-made coffins in the village, and Han Yunian's body is still placed on a wooden bed. Some players go to help him make a coffin. Now the time is precious. If they are not afraid of being cursed by the villagers or being punished, the players even want to roll up Han Yunian's body with a straw mat and throw it out.
"Borrow some wood from other families, and let Ji Ke make a coffin and carry it away." "Oh, okay." "What a pity, such a young person is gone." "This is the third one, right?" The villagers who were still shaking their heads and sighing suddenly looked at Tang Ning with strange eyes: "Who will be the next one?"
Ji Lianyun stood in front of Tang Ning. Tang Ning lowered his head and knelt on the mat in silence.
He was dressed in white, with a white mourning band tied across his forehead. Although the corners of his eyes and nose were red, and there were traces of tears mixed with blood on his face, his complexion was as clear as if it were translucent.
Guests came and went in the mourning hall, and Tang Ning knelt silently, like a beautiful picture.
Tang Ning was very good at keeping silent. It was one of the few things he was good at. He could stay quiet all day long. The loud wailing in the mourning hall had stopped, as if a rainstorm had finally ended, but the air was still filled with invisible mist.
Sadness lingered around him for a long time, tears flowed from his eyes, and only in his little world was it still raining.
Ji Lianyun had been standing beside him. He could smell a mixture of blood and medicine on Ji Lianyun's body. Tang Ning closed his eyes, not wanting to think about anything. However, even though his mind was empty, sadness still lingered over him, devouring him like an invisible monster.
Don't feel so bad anymore. It's very harmful to your body. You need to conserve your energy so that you can prepare for tomorrow's funeral. It's a tough battle. You have to be clear about it.
Tang Ning's mind warned his body.
But his body was still so weak that he couldn't drive away the monster that was occupying his chest.
Tang Ning stretched out his hand, bent his fingers, and tapped his own Tanzhong acupoint vigorously according to the method Ji Lianyun taught him.
it hurts.
When Ji Lianyun hit him quickly, he just had to endure it, but when he hit a certain part of his body, he had to overcome the psychological barrier of inflicting pain on himself.
It hurts so much. It hurts so much.
Tang Ning frowned and pounded his chest again and again. He knew that he had to be extremely resolute now in order to drive away the bad guy who represented sadness and pain.
Ji Lianyun grabbed the hand that was exerting force. Ji Lianyun held his wrist tightly and stopped him from hitting his chest. Tang Ning looked up blankly at Ji Lianyun beside him.
"Xiao Ning, I'm very tired and need to rest." Ji Lianyun admitted.
Ah, he's very tired.
Tangning frowned, tears streaming down her moist eyes, "But, I need to stay here."
"Let's take a break." Ji Lianyun squatted down, took out a clean handkerchief from his pocket, and gently wiped Tangning's face. "What do you want to eat? I'll make something delicious, okay?"
He wanted to eat cake, but it couldn't be made in the small village.
Thinking of this, Tang Ning's nostrils twitched. He shook his head and rejected Ji Lianyun's kindness.
"Your legs must be numb after kneeling for so long, right?" Ji Lianyun's voice became even gentler. He held Tangning's face and made her look into his eyes. "Can I give you a massage?"
Tang Ning wanted to shake his head, but Ji Lianyun held his head still.
He said to Ji Lianyun: "Not good."
He knew that his bad temper had come up again, and he always relied on Ji Lianyun's human gentleness to vent his unhappiness, because he knew Ji Lianyun would forgive him.
As expected, Ji Lianyun revealed a guilty look. She hugged him and rested his head on her shoulder. Her slender hands stroked Tang Ning's back again and again as if she was comforting a child. His back trembled slightly, expressing the lingering pain.
"Don't cry, don't cry, Xiaoning." Ji Lianyun's voice was so gentle.
Tangning said something.
He didn't want to pay attention to anyone, didn't want to care about anyone who didn't have the amulet for him. He thought he was really tired. He was the kind of person who gave up easily. He clearly felt that he was very strong yesterday, that he could get better and better, and that he could last until dawn.
He missed his kitten.
The cat he raised was called Kaixin, and that kitten was his "medicine".
He needs to be happy.
Happy. Snoring.
He left the snoring Kai Xin all alone in that small house. He was often too busy to go home and could not stay with Kai Xin the whole day.
From the beginning, he shouldn't have raised a child. A person like him is not suitable to bear any living expenses.
How can he take care of happiness if he can't even take care of himself
Suddenly, his world began to stagger upward.
Ji Lianyun picked him up.
Tang Ning felt a little bit unbelievable. He raised his eyes to look at Ji Lianyun. The other party's expression was very reluctant. Ji Lianyun was so weak that he was not suitable to hug anyone, even if Tang Ning was so light.
— "He'll let me down in a minute."
Tangning thought calmly.
Ji Lianyun took two steps with great effort while holding Tang Ning. Tang Ning was a little worried that he would be in pain if he fell down. He should struggle to get down now. After all, Ji Lianyun was very strong and he could easily get rid of her.
But his body was too tired, so tired that Tang Ning didn't even want to move a finger. He curled up coldly in Ji Lianyun's arms, his ear pressed against Ji Lianyun's chest. He seemed to be able to hear the other's heartbeat which was rapidly accelerating due to exhaustion.
It’s amazing, a person looks so small, but the key heart is so small. Once the heart stops beating, even the strongest body will collapse.
So when will Ji Lianyun fall
"Xiao Ning seems too tired now. I'll take him back to the house to rest." Tang Ning heard Ji Lianyun say to the other players.
When Lin Yun saw them, he stood up and walked over to help, but was rejected by Ji Lianyun, who was too sick. He said, "I will take good care of Tang Ning."
But the voice sounded so weak that he couldn't even take care of himself.
Tang Ning was still quietly in Ji Lianyun's arms. He wanted to see how far Ji Lianyun could hold him.
They staggered out of the mourning hall, out of that place filled with sorrow and pain. A breeze blew across their faces, drying the tears on Tang Ning's face. Ji Lianyun's hands, which were holding his, began to tremble uncontrollably.
Tang Ning was very familiar with the sign of exhaustion. He heard Ji Lianyun's rapid breathing, like the exhausted sound of a broken bellows being forced to work.
This scene seemed strangely familiar to Tangning.
It's like I've experienced it somewhere before.
Where
Tang Ning was in a daze, the world around him swaying and moving. Everything in front of him seemed so familiar. The roads he had walked on and the people he had met all seemed familiar.
Tangning suddenly remembered.
If night falls, it will be the same scene he experienced last night while carrying the unconscious Ji Lianyun on his back, except that day and night are reversed and the roles are swapped. Last night he carried Ji Lianyun on his back, and today Ji Lianyun is holding him.
Ji Lianyun walked with such difficulty, just like he did last night. How could he be so strong? Was he that person
Tang Ning was in disbelief. He couldn't imagine that he had to walk such a long distance while being chased by a staggering evil spirit.
It's strange. Why did he collapse after walking for so long last night, but suddenly he has strength today
Tang Ning stretched out his hands and hugged Ji Lianyun's neck, his soft hands wrapped around Ji Lianyun like vines.
Ji Lianyun lowered his head, smiled at him, and whispered, "We'll be there soon." He gasped several times for just this short sentence.
The house was indeed almost there. Tang Ning hooked his arm around Ji Lianyun's neck and quietly looked at the dilapidated old house.
It was a very old house, with a very old door. Ji Lianyun kicked the door open, revealing an equally old bed in the room. There were many, many quilts on the bed, so many that even when Ji Lianyun laid him down on it, he did not feel much discomfort.
He lay quietly on the bed, the sunlight penetrated the glass and seemed to shine into the mud belonging to the light. Tang Ning saw many tiny dust particles floating up and down, they were like elves trapped in the light.
He stretched out his hand and touched the beam of light.
Ji Lianyun took out a medicine bottle, sat on the edge of the bed, and skillfully rolled up his trouser legs to ask him to apply the medicine.
The finger covered with ointment touched the wound and Tang Ning gasped in pain. The smell of herbs lingered in the small space, as if many new plants had sprouted in the forest after a rain, small and tender green. In his heart, he kept saying some ambiguous words.
Tangning closed her eyes and moved her soft lips. She couldn't help but say what was hidden in her heart, "I did save him."
"Ji Lianyun, I don't need it very much?"
The smell of herbs became stronger, as if something was growing wildly, passing through the gaps between his limbs, taking root in the painful soil, and absorbing the sad rain.
"In my heart, Xiao Ning is a very gentle person. Because she is too gentle, she is too soft."
“Like a clam, it has a protective shell that always keeps the home out.”
Ji Lianyun's voice is very gentle.
“But it’s very good.”
"Because if someone can walk into your heart, it will be easy to let go of the pain."
Tang Ning curled up on the bed in agony. Growing is always painful. His roots penetrated the soil, but the painful soil could not speak. It seemed like he could not do anything. There was so much pain that was about to drown him. He just wanted to shrink into his little world, not contact anyone, not touch other people's kindness, so that he would not have the pain of disappointment.
No, he said to Ji Lianyun in his heart.
He was not gentle at all. He just had a seemingly nice face, but Tang Ning knew that he was a very cold person, cold and cowardly.
Just like he knew that Lu Yingxing loved him very much, he knew it, he knew everything, but he was too afraid of pain, so he would never think about anyone, not think about anyone who would save him even if his soul was torn to pieces.
He had done similar responses too many times, and he did it just as Ji Lianyun said, including to Ji Lianyun.
He relied on Ji Lianyun and was close to Ji Lianyun, just to let Ji Lianyun protect him well.
He always wants to work hard and be strong, but a little bit of pain can easily knock him down and make him shed useless tears.
Just like him.
"But, Xiao Ning..." Ji Lianyun stretched out his hand and caught Tang Ning's tears, like catching beautiful pearls one after another.
So fragile.
And so beautiful.
“For a oyster to produce pearls, it needs a long and painful struggle.”