Master Wang's sacrificial team has a solemn appearance, and the halberd is approaching far away. From the imperial capital all the way to the east, Haohaotangtang goes to the direction of Huanhunyuan.
This journey takes about three days, and in the evening of the first day, they arrived by the mallard water. The servants began to set up camps and housed the lords, while the nobles were called to the king's tent to eat.
When Mo Xi entered, most of the nobles had already arrived. There were more than 100 seats in the huge tent supported by magic. The maid led him to his place. Like all the descendants of the aristocratic family who visited the shrine, Murong Lian was also dressed in sacrificial clothes. The complicated royal blue sacrificial robe was embroidered with bat pattern totems, and he was wearing a blue and gold scarf, which made his face pale.
Wangshu Mansion and Mo Family, they are both famous and distinguished families with outstanding talents. Murong Lian’s ancestors are blessed. He is qualified to wear a one-word scarf. Whose descendants have ruined the blood of their ancestors, everyone is clear.
When the people came one after another, Jun Shang said: "After a day's journey, you are all tired. Pass the dishes."
Gong E floated in with a dish in hand, knelt in front of the corresponding noble with a slender posture, and began to pour wine and vegetables. They were on their way, and although they didn't eat much, they had four cold, four hot and one staple food, but they were all cooked very delicately.
The four cold dishes are crystal meat, mixed with crispy three silks, sweet osmanthus cinnamon, and creamy fish soup. The four hot dishes are fat sea bass with four gills in scallion oil, fried eel with shrimp, steamed crab dipped in vinegar, and stir-fried in lotus pond. As for the main dish, it is the crab noodles Xiao Long Bao, which is a specialty of the royal chef.
Mo Xi had a quarrel with Gu Mang yesterday, and he was in a bad mood. He couldn't eat anything at all, but he drank a few more glasses of wine than usual.
In fact, Chonghua's annual tail sacrifice is not so much a worship, but an explanation to the deceased - this year, he has won a few more battles, what kind of magic weapon has he obtained, and whether it is a national peace and a people's security.
If the past year has not been smooth, then the atmosphere of the end of the festival will be very heavy, and if the country is prosperous, it will be more like a consolation to the heroes and martyrs in the sky, and everyone in the banquet will be happy.
"This year, I stopped fighting and recuperating. Although there were ups and downs, it was a good year."
"Haha, yes, the East Territory has recovered a piece of lost ground before, a happy event."
Yue Chenqing pestered his little uncle not far away: "Four uncles and four uncles, this sweet lotus root is your favorite. If it's not enough, I'll give it to you too!"
His father, Yue Juntian, had returned to the city not long ago, so he naturally came this time. Seeing that his son was pestering Murong Chuyi to please him again, his face couldn't help but he couldn't help it, he coughed twice, and gave Yue Chenqing a warning look.
Mo Xi caught a glimpse of this scene, and couldn't help but think of the first time Gu Mang participated in this kind of sacrifice. At that time, Gu Mang had just been sealed by Lao Jun, and he was so high-spirited that he even made an exception to allow him to participate in this ceremony, which originally only relatives and nobles could travel together.
Back then, Gu Mang was too happy for this honor. His seat was right next to Mo Xi. He couldn't help being excited and kept talking to Mo Xi. At that time, like Yue Chenqing, he cheerfully said, "This fish is really delicious. I heard that it is made of fresh carp fished out by the royal chef from the mallard water. Do you like it?"
Mo Xi closed his eyes, the spirits poured into his throat.
Until the end of the banquet, he didn't move the Shuangtian fish sauce on the table.
Returning to his camp area, Mo Xi was about to rest and sleep, but he saw the captain of the guard who brought him nervously walking back and forth in the wind. As soon as he saw him, he immediately greeted him and said in a panic, "Lord!"
Mo Xi raised his eyes and said, "What's wrong?"
"I... Manager Li ordered me to look at Gu Mang and give him medicine. But I just went to his tent to look for him, and he couldn't find anyone. He didn't even have dinner with us, and I don't know where he went... "
Mo Xi wasn't too nervous, the Suo Nuhuan was worn on Gu Mang's body, and he could sense that Gu Mang was here. He sighed and said, "Give me the medicine pot, go and rest."
"Yes, but you..."
Do you want to take care of such trivial matters yourself
Mo Xi didn't want to say more, he just repeated: "Go ahead."
Since he has already said so, the captain of the guard will not say more even if he feels inappropriate. He respectfully handed the medicine pot to Mo Xi and left as ordered.
At night by the mallard water, the wind was very turbulent, Mo Xi stood there for a while, woke up from the residual rhythm of alcohol, and then walked around this place that belonged to him.
Gu Mang was still here, sitting behind a Metasequoia tree, curled up in a ball and fell asleep.
Mo Xi lowered his eyes and stared at him for a while, then slowly lowered his body and half-kneeled in front of him. The anger from last night had not completely subsided, and the atmosphere before the two was very embarrassing. Mo Xi was silent for a long time before he said: "... I woke up. Go back to the tent and sleep."
He really didn't understand why everyone had a tent, all of which had been set up, but Gu Mang had to run under the tree and use the sky as the ground as a seat.
"wake up."
After calling several times, Gu Mang didn't move. Mo Xi couldn't help being a little upset, raised his hand and pushed him.
But with this push, Gu Mang fell straight to the ground like a scarecrow. The moonlight shines on Gu Mang's face through the scattered needles of the cedar forest—
His face was completely covered with a morbid flush, and the originally pale skin seemed to have evaporated in the warm mist. His eyes were tightly closed, his long eyelashes were trembling, and his wet lips were suffocating because of the breathlessness. He gasped slightly, his brows furrowed subconsciously.
Mo Xi was startled: "Gu Mang?"
He raised his hand to probe his forehead, which was surprisingly hot.
He hurriedly helped Gu Mang, who was in a coma, and carried him all the way to the small tent that belonged to Gu Mang. Fortunately, the location of the Xihe Mansion was too far, and the people who brought it also stopped. This scene was not seen by anyone. Mo Xi opened the curtain and put Gu Mang on the bed.
Gu Mang regained some consciousness. He opened his blurred eyes and glanced at Mo Xi almost hazy.
Suddenly, he seemed to realize something, and he struggled to get up, about to roll over and get out of bed. Mo Xi pressed against him with one hand, while suppressing the anxiety in his heart, he gritted his teeth and whispered, "Lie down. What's the trouble?"
Gu Mang bit his wet lower lip, and the blue in his eyes seemed to turn into water vapor and overflow. When Mo Xi looked at him like this, his heartbeat suddenly accelerated, he could not help pinching his fingers, straightened up, and opened the distance between him and him.
But Gu Mang still stared at him in such a dazed way, or maybe it wasn't him. The luster in Gu Mang's eyes focused more on the silk belt that Mo Xi was wearing.
The sick person opened his mouth and wanted to say something, but when he really opened his mouth, he didn't know what to say.
Then he bit his lip again, and after a few moments, he suddenly wanted to get up again.
Mo Xi held him down: "What are you doing?"
Gu Mang's whole body was burned out and confused. He grabbed the hem of Mo Xi's clothes, so stubbornly he wanted to climb down, wanting to go up to the ground.
Mo Xi said sharply, "Gu Mang!"
His name seemed to bring back a bit of his consciousness, Gu Mang shrank, his figure became more stooped, it could even be called wretched. He was almost like a mass of mud, tumbling off the edge of the bed.
But he was stopped by Mo Xi, and he was stopped by Mo Xi.
He stayed where he was for a while, and suddenly muttered: "You let me go down... Please, let me go down..."
"You have a fever. Lie down."
"Put me down, I don't want... I don't want to be here..."
Mo Xi's heart hurt, hated, annoyed and hot. He straightened Gu Mang again and tried to make the man lie down, but Gu Mang didn't listen. His forehead rested on Mo Xi's waist.
"I don't want to sleep here..."
The cervical vertebra that never wanted to be really low now seems to be broken at any moment.
Gu Mang was lying on top of him, and his consciousness was blurred. He wanted to push Mo Xi away, but he felt as if he was hugging something warm, like a person drifting in a glacier suddenly hugging a driftwood. . He pushed, but in the end it became a helpless hug.
Gu Mang hugged Mo Xi's waist, his face pressed against Mo Xi's waist, and whispered hoarsely, "Your bed... is too clean..."
Mo Xi was startled: "What?"
Gu Mang suddenly choked up: "I'm... dirty..."
Mo Xi only felt that his chest cavity was hit hard by some blunt object, and the pain was so severe.
But the man who was holding him was still shivering intermittently and indistinctly, whether it was because of the pain of the heat, or because he was afraid of something else, he was holding him, his voice was almost a broken whimper.
"I don't know... don't know how to sleep... so I don't... get dirty... so..."
"Let me go... let me go... go... "
Mo Xi said softly, "Where are you going..."
Gu Mang seemed to have been asked this question, as if he had been hit. He widened his eyes blankly, and the voice in his throat almost whimpered: "I, I don't know..."
Mo Xi's throat seemed to be choking on a bitter olive. He looked down at him, but couldn't say anything for a while.
I'm dirty and dirty, and I don't know where to go.
I don't know where to go...
Mo Xi's heart throbbed, and he lowered his head to look at Gu Mang. From this angle, he could vaguely see half of Gu Mang's cheek, and vaguely the blush he slapped himself yesterday—he really didn't hold back the slap in the face.
"Do you know how dirty you are!"
The sound is still in my ears.
Do you regret it
no no. His heart was already rock solid. He has no regrets.
only-
I just don't know why a bright smile suddenly appeared in front of me. It was a certain year when they were both young.
At that time they had not developed any soft love. Just a common comrade-in-arms.
He was in an ambush, trapped in the belly of the enemy, suffering reinforcements.
After waiting for a long time, until he was about to die, finally the sky and the earth were scarlet, it was his senior brother Gu Yinjia Zhaori, his armor was shining in the sky, and Hu Chen was riding towards him.
Gu Mang got off the horse and hugged the injured junior brother tightly in his arms. Mo Xi's body was covered in venom from the Liao Kingdom's evil beast. His dry lips were opened and closed, and he said in a hoarse voice, "Release..."
"Senior brother!"
Mo Xi gasped, "Don't touch me, my body is... dirty... all poisonous blood..."
Dirty, it will stain you too.
It will make you sick as well.
You and I are just fighting together. It's not a relationship, so why should you... hurt me together.
But what did Gu Mang say to him at that time
This dusty, long-standing memory that he never wanted to look back on boiled over like madness.
Gu Mang said, "Don't be afraid. Senior brother will accompany you."
There will always be someone who has to fear life and death to get you out of the poisonous blood.
It's okay, I'm not afraid. Since I have chosen this path, since I have embarked on the battlefield, I have no intention of coming back healthy. Whether it is a nobleman, a slave, or a commoner, you and I are in the same robe, and I will share life and death with you in this calamity.
I, Gu Mang, belong to a slave. This is the first time I have the opportunity to dissect myself. I'm not afraid of death. I just want to let Chonghua see it, let the emperor see it, and let you understand... Even if it's a lowly slave, Same as you.
He has the same blood and heart, and talks about the righteousness of life and death.
I'm worthy of you calling me a brother, and a brother.
Put blood on me, give me your hand.
No matter how dirty, I will hold you.
No matter how painful, I will be with you.
No matter how far, I will take you home.
Mo Xi's heart seemed to be grasped by an invisible sharp claw, torn apart indistinctly with flesh and blood—one side was national enmity, and the other was deep grace—why? Why is it the same person who gave him the most pain and love? ! !
He was cornered and he couldn't breathe.
In the dim candlelight, he stared at Gu Mang's face with such hatred, so much love, so... so...
Then life is better than death.
Hold me, it's okay, I'm not afraid.
I'm not afraid.
Mo Xi closed his eyes abruptly, almost dead silent, suddenly the lights flickered, he leaned over and hugged Gu Mang horizontally, walked out of the small tent, and walked into his tent.
He gently placed Senior Brother Gu, who was not sober, on his spacious and soft big bed covered with a thick snow fox velvet mattress.
He raised his hand, hesitated for a moment, and finally touched Gu Mang's hot cheek.
With such a light touch, Gu Mang seemed to be afraid of being hit by the slap yesterday. He closed his eyes slightly, and instinctively shivered.
"..." Mo Xi slowly put his hands down. He sat on the edge of the bed and buried his face between his slender palms for a while. The lights were flowing in the tent, and his figure was so tired, as if he was about to be torn apart by countless heavy but contradictory feelings.
After a while, Gu Mang couldn't hold back and fell asleep. Mo Xi turned his head to look at the man who was curled up beside him, and froze for a long time.
He felt like he was going crazy.
Sacrificial Ceremony... Sacrificing the heroic soul of sacrifice. Sacrifice those undead who died under Gu Mang's hands.
But myself... what is this doing.
Taking care of a traitor
He closed his eyes, got up, and walked out of the tent. The medicine pot was still at hand. I originally wanted to let Gu Mang drink it just now, but now... I'd better wait for Gu Mang to sleep for a while before giving it to him...
Mo Xi stood outside and blew the night wind for a while, making a mess in his heart. Although he didn't want to have any softness with Gu Mang, he still couldn't forget that the captain of the guard said that Gu Mang hadn't even eaten dinner.