Am I the bird in the cage
This conjecture did not appear in Kou Dong's mind suddenly. On the contrary, his doubts began when he stepped into the study room full of his photos.
He remembered what was on the wall—it was full of him.
Young him, young him. From the period of babbling to the prime of youth. He was hung on the wall, in a photo frame, and he was probably smiling, with crooked brows and eyes full of uncompromising trust.
Kou Dong is very aware of himself, he is not a person who is easy to get close to. Not now, and never would have been.
Up to now, in his boundary line, there is only one person who has stepped in completely, and even Song Hong and A Xue are only loosely stuck on that line.
He heard his own breathing, clear and peaceful.
-Now.
The only person who crossed the line stood beside him.
The man was still wrapped in the heavy cloak. His jaw was tense, his eyes were half-downcast, and his thin lips were also pursed. This expression was somewhat similar to the arrogant Azai in Kou Dong's memory, but it was not the same. It's all the same—he looked at this person, and he was actually struggling to find the similarities between him and the figure in his mind, but what he saw were more completely strange shadows.
An unspeakable silence fell between them. This silence is rare, so it is all the more distinct.
After a long time, Ye Yanzhi whispered:
"You knew it was me."
This is a statement, not a question.
The young man on the opposite side did not deny it.
"Yes," he said bluntly, "I knew that earlier."
"How do you know?"
Ye Yanzhi asked in a low voice, and finally raised his eyes and looked straight at him. The color in those eyes is so deep, farther and wider than before, it almost pulls Kou Dong in, making him want to sink into the pupil.
But Kou Dong restrained himself, and did not waver because of this glance. He didn't answer directly, but threw the question back: "How do you think I found out?"
Ye Yanzhi stared at him. After so many copies, they also established a tacit understanding between ordinary people-only this time, Ye Yanzhi failed to read any thoughts from his eyes.
"Can't guess?"
The smile on the corner of Kou Dong's mouth gradually widened, and he clapped his hands lightly, "I'm slowly remembering."
I remembered.
There is no experience in this world that will not leave any traces. Even if it is wiped away, until nothing is left, there is still something deposited and accumulated in the depths of the human heart.
And at this moment, they all surfaced, revealing their dying, wet heads.
Time goes back to the day when he was imprisoned by a doll. That day, before going out, Kou Dong had already hidden the needle and thread in the doll's room. At the critical moment, relying on the pain of the needle secretly hidden in his clothes, he managed not to let himself be hypnotized by these dolls who are good at controlling people's hearts.
He was awake all the time, and the more he was awake, the more he remembered.
The white shadow guiding him in the corridor seemed to be a switch.
It opens up dusty areas.
He recalled the dream he had in the previous dungeon, which was also such a room full of dolls. He was crushed in the pile of these furry toys, and he could only hold on to the two rabbits at hand, barely maintaining his balance in the bumps and bumps like waves. At that time, a pair of hands comforted him from top to bottom, caressing the lips he had to open in a daze, and stroking the tip of his tongue.
What he couldn't remember clearly was his face, the heat and sweat seemed to melt him, and the fine fur of plush toys stuck to him stickily. He stared into their innocent black eyes, tense, but said nothing.
"Call."
In a trance, the person in front of him was coaxing him in a low voice.
"Don't hold back... shout out."
He was sweating all over his head and body, like an ice cream in a sunny day, limp uncontrollably. Then the bend of the leg was also lifted up, the man's voice was vague, wiping away the sweat dripping from his chin, "Good boy..."
It was this sound that made Kou Dong suddenly think of something.
Then he slowly remembered the figure of the person in front of him, the undulating shoulders, and the superior long legs.
size, voice.
All seem to have known each other.
Deja vu... Kou Dong couldn't even pretend that he didn't notice anything.
He knew that there was a second owner living in this house, that person would hug him in the doll room, hang his photos in the study room, he saw the shadow of his young self in the corridor, naked Step closer to open the door—that would also be to get on that person's knee and put your head on his shoulder to act coquettishly. He didn't want to think about it, but another idea became clearer in his mind.
The source of that inexplicable sense of familiarity, the relationship he couldn't easily explain, all of them have one and only one reason in common:
He really lived here.
He was raised here by himself.
This is the world built for him—those dolls were once his favorite toys, and there are traces set up according to his preferences everywhere; the twins are his loyal housekeepers, and he regards the young master who has grown up since he was a child as his own. the gods.
In this way, all questions have answers.
The other master here is the one who takes care of him, loves him, and puts all his affection on him.
"Guess," Kou Dong said calmly, "Who is that person?"
"..."
The man did not open his mouth, as silent as a statue standing here. His expression seemed to be a little hurt because of being jealous, but now Kou Dong can't feel pity because of his fragility.
He hasn't regressed.
"-Now."
"Right now, I want to hear your answer, baby."
He met the man's dark eyes.
Ye Yanzhi's lips were tightly pursed, as if he was facing a trial that was about to issue a result - but Kou Dong was also facing a trial.
They all became people at the table waiting for the verdict.
Kou Dong didn't even want to ask for a moment. If so how? He actually didn't want to think about it. He would rather be Ye Yanzhi as the little one he pulled out from the exchange pool, standing on his shoulder and pulling a lock of his hair, giving him serious advice with a sullen face no bigger than his thumb ——Kou Dong does not have the role of father in his memory, he really wants to have the relationship between father and son that he has built. So he once really regarded Ye Yanzhi as his own cub, even though the relationship between the two later changed somewhat and was no longer as pure as a family relationship, he still regarded Ye Yanzhi as his own cub deep in his heart, even seriously She thought about handing everything over to him to inherit.
Without Ye Yanzhi, Kou Dong would still be the loner who walked alone in front of death.
But what if even Ye Yanzhi betrayed him
Kou Dong looked around the house. It's well built, and every detail is well thought out and refined.
But it's just a house after all. It has a roof and walls—these things separate him from other things outside the house, making it a separate, quiet and undisturbed space that will not be disturbed by outsiders. He is the master of this space, But never his own master.
In intermittent dreams, he never stepped out of here.
Of course, where would there be traces of outsiders coming here
This is where he grew up day in and day out. He clings to the man wholeheartedly, becoming a pet sitting on his lap and being pressed into the pile of dolls, he can only wring his fingers and look forward to the arrival of the master.
No dignity, no common sense, no understanding of worldly affairs.
When he was raised by a man, what did the man teach him
Like a dog, relying on this so-called skin, relying on a hole of unknown depth, to please its master, to wag its tail
His chest was blocked, and there was a voice that couldn't wait to vent his anger.
— It's still a cage!
No matter how well and perfectly it is built, it is still a cage!
He was still kept in a cage, a bird without wings! !
What's the difference
In this way, what is the difference between Ye Yanzhi and those npcs who want to keep him forever? !
Kou Dong once thought that Ye Yanzhi was different. He witnessed his struggle with his own eyes, and he would rather be a worm crawling on the ground than a bird being fed by people—he thought Ye Yanzhi could understand him cutting off those coveted wings. Even if the tendons are broken, the bones are broken, and the blood is dripping all over the ground, he will still crawl out of the cage.
His independent and free will is higher than these things. Those perverted and deformed loves can never conquer him and keep him—he is born to be free.
He thought Ye Yanzhi understood.
When Ye Yanzhi cut off his wings with him and ran out of the psychology teacher's cage, he thought Ye Yanzhi understood!
Kou Dong didn't close his eyes again. The heavy disappointment stirred his internal organs, giving him a desire to vomit. He made up his mind that he must get this answer.
A muffled, almost hoarse voice surged in his chest, accumulating heavily, and it was about to rain heavily.
"Azai, I want you to tell me yourself."
"The man who raised me..."
"The one who imprisoned me here."
"Is he you?"
He - is that you
He waited for a long time, this period of time was long and difficult, every second was stretched extremely long, making his heart fluctuate up and down. After a long time, a word was spat out abruptly, and got into Kou Dong's mind.
"yes."
Ye Yanzhi opened his mouth and spoke slowly.
"… it's me."
At the same time, there was a sudden thunderbolt outside the window, and a bright gap was forcibly split in the dark sky.
Kou Dong didn't retreat. His eyes are still wide open, perhaps because of this, his eye sockets are slightly sore.
This long-awaited storm is finally about to fall.
At the same time, the gardener in the attic slowly got up and poked his head into the small, unobtrusive attic.
He finally saw clearly the white shadow that had just flashed by in his peripheral vision. It was a slender translucent figure, not tall, and looked about ten years old, holding a burning candle tightly in his hand.
He showed a translucent white that was almost pearly, with only a circle of blue gray around the edge—this unique color showed his identity completely different from the people present, and taught the gardener to almost loosen the hand holding the interlayer. The whole person almost fell from this height.
It's a ghost.
He was clearly aware of this, and could not help but glance down. The remaining two players were still gathered below. The maid helped him hold the ladder, raised her face with worry, and asked in a low voice, "How is it?"
The gardener couldn't speak, he just waved his hands at them, trying to hold down his breath, for fear of frightening the wandering ghost. That ray of soul turned its back to him, holding the candle in one hand, concentrating on it, as if it was hiding something in a dark corner.
The view from the attic is not clear, and the indistinct white shadows are particularly conspicuous on the dark base cloth. He bent over, his loose robe was slightly taut, revealing the shape of two slightly protruding shoulder bones.
The icy wind came from nowhere, and the ghost finally stood up and said to himself: "Okay..."
Holding a candle, he stood there blankly. After a long while, just then repeated: "Okay."
The gardener became more and more incomprehensible. Seeing that the ghost was motionless, he gritted his teeth and tentatively pushed his upper body into the attic, trying to talk to the ghost.
"you-"
He only uttered one word, but felt that the ghost turned his head in his direction, and slowly turned his entire face sideways towards him. The skin above the neck was almost completely transparent, and he could even see the cold and hard wall behind through the flesh.
Gardener's words suddenly stuck in his throat. He stared blankly at the ghost's turned face, unable to utter a word.
He recognized the face.
this face—
His heart was suddenly overwhelmed, and there were waves of violent wind and waves.
This is the young master's face!
This is the young master's face! !
The ghost seemed to see him, but also seemed not to be looking at him at all. The boy tilted his head, as if he was listening intently. Here he paced back and forth, turning in circles, hesitating repeatedly.
Immediately, he seemed to have made up his mind, and looked back at the corner again.
It was just a glance, but the gardener could really feel his struggle. He finally took another step and walked towards the gardener with heavy steps.
The gardener let go of his hand suddenly, and hurriedly climbed down to move a place for the ghost. But before he actually reached the exit, the young man was like a gust of wind that was blowing up silently, and the white shadow that was about to touch him suddenly faded, like water lines that suddenly faded, but in the blink of an eye, Then scattered a clean.
The gardener was stunned for a long time, and then finally climbed up slowly, mustering up the courage to turn over the corner where the boy wandered just now. The gray rabbit jumped up right behind him, following behind him, also staring at that corner.
There was a lot of miscellaneous things there, some other things were piled up, and underneath was a very deep big box. His fingertips touched the old fabrics and oil-stained lamps, and placed them one by one on the ground beside him.
A musty smell came over the surface, with a slight fishy smell and dampness. The gardener's hands trembled in front of his face, and he finally pushed away all the old things piled up on it.
"Open it."
The maid followed up at some point, and whispered, "Open—no matter where you go, it's better than standing still."
The gardener then stretched out his hand and opened the keyhole. There was a crisp sound of metal clashing next to my ears, and immediately, the box, which was deep enough to hold a person, was completely opened in the eyes of the two of them—
The gardener felt the maid's breathing suddenly became heavy, and her fingers pinched his arm hard.
skeleton.
A snow-white skeleton lay on its back inside the box, its empty eyes wide open, meeting their gazes.
He didn't know how long he had been lying there, and there was not a trace of skin and flesh left on his body, so clean that it made people want to vomit. He was lying in the soil of the box, but his hands were tightly formed to grasp something—but in fact, his hands were empty, holding nothing.
"Is he human?"
the maid asked softly.
"Or an NPC?"
They cannot judge. The gardener reached down and inserted half of his palm into the soil, trying to find out if there were other clues on his body. After a rough touch, nothing was found.
He couldn't help being a little discouraged, and wanted to stand up straight, but the gray rabbit jumped up, and started digging the dirt frantically with its two feet.
The gardener couldn't help but startled.
He glanced at the smooth-fur rabbit, gritted his teeth, and started digging himself. The box was extremely deep, and at the very beginning, all his hands touched was the soil that filled the entire wooden box—they devoured a person's nutrition, and it was incredibly fertile, and this kind of fertility vaguely made people feel sick.
But the deeper he inserted, the more he felt an inexplicable sensation.
hard.
— hard!
It seems to be hiding something!
He hurriedly lifted up the skeleton with his companions, and carefully placed it on the ground. The gray rabbit jumped out and watched them excitedly digging up the soil and digging down.
"Be careful… "
"Bring it up!"
A small suitcase gradually revealed its shape. The players wiped off the dust on its surface, and finally slowly picked it up from the suitcase, holding it in their hands like a treasure.
"Open it and have a look!"
The maid urged it repeatedly, and hurriedly fumbled for its keyhole. When touched, he couldn't help but let out a cry of disappointment.
— cannot be opened.
It's locked.
But buried in such a position, this must be an important clue. She regained her spirits and said confidently: "Let's find the key first, and it should be the key to pass the level."
The gray rabbit suddenly jumped forward, but shook its head, and moved its long ears back and forth, as if talking.
The gardener looked at it for a long time before realizing that it was pointing in the direction of the dinner party.
He couldn't help frowning, hesitating.
They had just escaped from that predicament, and now they have discovered what seems to be a very important clue. According to the gardener, one should avoid NPCs first, and find a place to solve this puzzle quietly.
But the doll's reaction...
Seeing that he hadn't moved for a long time, Gray Rabbit also seemed to become impatient immediately. Its head suddenly drooped down, and its round, fingerless palm was dipped in ash, and it wrote a few words on the ground with difficulty.
With the light drilled from the gap, the players could barely make out what those words were.
"give him."
give him…
give it back-
Master! ! !
"I don't regret it." At the same time, Ye Yanzhi said softly, uttering these four words slowly.
"I do not regret."
He even smiled slightly.
"Whether you are angry or not. Do it again, and I will still lock you here."
"Closed by my side... on my leg. I will tie an exclusive chain so that you can't even get up from my body. Your legs can only be hooked around my waist forever."
Kou Dong's eyes were a little red, and several veins on his forehead popped out, and he suddenly raised his fist towards the man.
"You fucking—"
Ye Yanzhi caught his fist and squeezed his wrist tightly. Just for a moment, Kou Dong seemed to see a different color from the man's eyes than the words he said - it seemed to be a flash of tears, transparent, covered with a layer of wet water, and quickly disappeared .
He almost thought that he was wrong, because the next second, Ye Yanzhi's expression became cold again, and he was so firm that he couldn't refute it.
His toughness became the last fuse. Kou Dong raised another fist and punched him recklessly—this time the man didn't hide. That punch hit him right in the face, making one of his cheeks turn bright red in an instant.
The young man did not restrain his strength, Ye Yanzhi tasted the bloody taste in his mouth.
He slowly licked that bit of blood, and swallowed it into his stomach with great care.
For everything this person has given, blood, sweat, tears... He is willing to give it all.
So those NPCs were never wrong. Ye Yanzhi is not a loyal dog at all, he is a wolf who drinks human blood. All their possessive desires are only from him, but no one can match him.
More paranoid than anyone else, he wanted to chew up and swallow the person in front of him.
He smiled even deeper against the swollen pain on his cheek.
"Why don't you use a bow and arrow?" He asked, "Afraid that there is a 20% chance of hurting me?"
"Nonsense," Kou Dong retorted with his chest heaving, "I'm afraid that there is an 80% chance that I won't be able to hurt you!"
Even though he said this, Kou Dong was also afraid in his heart.
He can't deny his heart, because bows and arrows are used as props, and the damage to NPC is irreversible.
He can't lie to himself, he can't do it.
What a fuck—Kou Dong thought bitterly, what good is this person after all!
I lied to him for so long, and imprisoned him for so long, teased and played with his will, dignity and emotions like a pet, and played him around. He clearly hated his teeth itching, but he couldn't help but think about this bastard.
Kou Dong even felt a little crazy. Is it true that after being a father for a long time, I can't even pull it out
"Do you fucking know what it's like to be locked up?" Kou Dong sneered, "Do you know what it's like not to be free?"
There was some inexplicable grievance in his heart, and his voice faltered.
"you-"
"Do you really think of me as a person?"
The smile on Ye Yanzhi's face completely disappeared.
His lips had just licked blood, and now they were unusually red, quite shocking. The eyebrows and eyes are as deep as ink, and the colorful colors burst into the eyelids.
"Kou Dong."
The man called out his name abruptly, saying every word clearly.
"Do you know what death—what it feels like?"