Shadow trail of the beautiful world

Chapter 390 24. The past is like smoke. The old house

"I won't take your car next time."

Merlin, who was bombarded by bad music all the way, opened the car door, and he handed a few banknotes to the hippie smiling Dupont, and he said in a blunt tone:

"You've lost a guest forever, Dupont, and I hope this teaches you a lesson."

"Come on, Mr. Merlin."

Dupont didn't count the money, he took the banknotes and put them in his pocket casually. He winked at Merlin and said:

"We're friends, aren't we?"

"I believe that next time you will sit in my car with a smile on your face. Speaking of which, I still need your help, Mr. Merlin."

Under Merlin's gaze, the driver brother quickly said:

"My friend Chas has been acting weird these days. He's always wandering around places that are said to be haunted. I heard that he lived with a charlatan before. I suspect he may have been tricked, or more Oops, joined some horrible cult."

Dupont said to Merlin with some concern:

"Can you help him, Mr. Merlin."

"Why are you looking for me?"

While moving his fingers, Merlin manipulated Ruiwen to get out of the taxi, and said to Dupont:

"How can you be sure that I can help? You see, I'm just an ordinary person working in a government structure."

After the power seed sublimated to the semi-demonic stage, Merlin became more comfortable in manipulating the black mist, and the use of puppetry became very easy and skillful. For mutants like Ruiwen who are not good at energy projection, Merlin can easily achieve coercion. manipulation.

"After I learned about Chas, the first thought that popped into my mind was that Mr. Merlin could help."

Dupont said to Merlin honestly:

"I grew up with the right feeling. When I was a child, I relied on my feeling and found my grandfather's lost wallet. Anyway, I trust my feeling."

"You must be able to help."

The driver brother said firmly:

"Also, I feel that you will help Chas, because you are a very decent and well-meaning person, Mr. Merlin."

"Well, your compliments are really simple."

Merlin rubbed his forehead, and he said to Dupont:

"Okay, I'll help, but I have a request."

"Next time, when I'm in your car, no music is allowed! If you promise me, I'll help. It's not a difficult request, is it?"

Merlin said to the frowning driver brother in a seductive tone:

"You just have to suppress your slightly perverted...well, music-sharing desire to save your friend...Look, he's in some pretty shitty stuff right now, seriously, Don't you want to help him?"

"Du Pender, ask yourself, are you really that kind of cold-blooded person? Will you let your friends fall into the abyss because of your stubborn habit of keeping yourself?"

"Promise, Dupont, promise me, it's easy."

Before he knew it, Merlin had already used the spiritual induction of the Yaxi Seal.

Dupont frowned under the interference of will, and finally, he nodded reluctantly:

"Okay, Mr. Merlin, I promise you."

"very nice."

Merlin flicked his fingers happily, and said to Dupont:

"You're a good man, too, Dupont."

"Don't worry, I'll go see Chas after I finish my business, he's also my friend...Okay, let's go, I won't bother you to make money."

Watching Dupont drive away, Merlin glanced back at Mystique standing beside him like a puppet, and said:

"Why were you so silent all the way? You've been so silent...uh, I forgot, sorry, you can't talk."

Merlin snapped his fingers apologetically, and the invisible trace of smoke sticking to Ruiwen's cheek dissipated.

Her expression became very lively at this moment, she glared at Merlin, and she said:

"Evil wizard! Let me go!"

"A woman who almost killed hundreds of people has the face to say that I am evil? You should be glad that I am not a real dark wizard... Otherwise, hehe, a woman like you who can change her shape at will will be a great study Material."

Merlin sneered and walked towards the college gate behind him, Rui Wen followed behind him stiffly, he said:

"Charles has been emphasizing to me that Raven is a neutral person who is not a threat. Obviously, he is here to protect you. But from what I have seen, Raven, what you have done is not neutral. No. In my opinion, you are neither as tough as Magneto nor as wise as Charles...you are just a coward who has no position."

"I didn't, I just made the right choice."

While fighting hard against the power to manipulate the body, Ruiwen replied with a cold face:

"Those mutants were mistreated by humans, and you have seen it with your own eyes. There is hatred and repressed anger in their hearts. They are not suitable to join Charles. They will only bring trouble to Charles...Charles this person , everything is fine, but too soft-hearted."

Ruiwen watched Merlin in front of her release the Unlocking Curse and opened the closed gate of the manor. She looked at Xavier Castle under the night with a little nostalgia, and she said calmly:

"He and his academy will be dragged into the whirlpool by those hateful mutants. I'm protecting him, that's all. What's more, no ordinary person will be injured by this, right?"

"It's just that no one was injured for the time being! Besides, what about Lorna?"

Merlin stepped into the manor. He looked at the lawns that still had the traces of the attack, and the filled holes, like ugly spots, all over the beautiful manor. He asked:

"Little girl Lorna has no resentment in her heart. She is just a child, and you have the heart to hand her over to the dangerous Magneto? Don't you know how crazy you will be if Magnit's extreme thoughts will destroy her? ? Will you treat a child like this?"

"Lorna was originally Eric's daughter!"

Raven says:

"Shouldn't a daughter stay with her father? Eric assured me that he wouldn't spread his ideas to that kid. In fact, Eric has a soft side that you don't know. He treats all of his The children are very well protected...especially after Anya's tragedy, he would rather stay alone in his inner loneliness than destroy his children's peaceful life."

Mystique sneered, and she said to Merlin mockingly:

"You don't know anything, Lord Merlin, you just rely on your own senses to define other people. In my eyes, Eric is not a bad person. Everything he does starts from his love for his compatriots. ...you can't understand that sacrifice without going through what he went through."

"I have no intention of discussing these good and evil rights and wrongs with you."

Merlin says:

"I still understand the reason why he is a hero and I am a thief, but there is a good reason to cover up and go crazy to do bad things that hurt others. I don't think a good person would do this...you know, these things How many ordinary people and mutants have died because of Magnit in years?"

"In my opinion, he should have gone to hell long ago!"

Merlin said in a cold voice:

"The extreme confrontation thought he represents is the source of the turmoil that you mutants cannot integrate into human society... But he has protected the world anyway, so we will not kill him. We and you always make decisions based on emotions After all, mutants are different, we have a system, and we can clearly distinguish good things from bad things."

"Why should we integrate into your society?"

Raven retorted:

"Your control is disgusting, Mr. Merlin, but I can understand that you're a government agent and you always think in official terms. But trust me, it's wiser to look at things from the other side every once in a while. , when you learn to look at this issue from the perspective of a mutant, I think you might not be so stubborn."

"Good point! But I also have a question...why should I think about it from a mutant's point of view?"

Merlin looked back at Ruiwen, with an undisguised sarcasm on his face:

"After all, I'm not a mutant!"

"So, you ordinary people who talk about equality and freedom..."

Ruiwen also smiled contemptuously:

"The hypocrisy is disgusting!"

"No, no, no, Raven, you haven't understood yet."

Merlin stood where he was, and he turned around and pointed at the city behind him. Under his manipulation, Ruiwen was also forced to turn around and look at the city behind him.

Merlin says:

"Tell me, Raven, look over there, what do you see?"

"A city."

Raven replied:

"A city of hypocrisy and evil."

"You are so superficial!"

Merlin stood beside Ruiwen, and he said softly in an indifferent tone:

"When I look there, I see order! I see rules...it's not something everyone can see, but it's the foundation of this city, this civilization, and without it, there would be nothing like this. "

"It's a framework, a system, Raven."

Merlin put his arm around Ruiwen's slender waist, and he whispered in Ruiwen's ear:

"You want liberty? Equality? Your power?"

"can!"

"But you have to enter this framework first, instead of blindly rejecting it, or even trying to destroy it... Do you think that relying on you mutants can fight against the framework of the world? Don't be stupid..."

"The professor is the wise man among you. He, like me, saw the basic rules that make up civilization. He tried hard to push you people into the framework. Yes, this will make you bound, but it comes with the bound Yes, that's the freedom you want..."

Merlin smiled, and he said meaningfully:

"In this world, there has never been absolute freedom... You don't understand this, do you?"

"That's your rule."

Ruiwen said stubbornly:

"not ours."

"Then find a way to create one for you."

Merlin let go, patted Ruiwen on the shoulder, and said:

"If you don't like the system, let's make you one that you like...Provided, don't try to fight it, don't try to destroy it, it won't do us any good."

"Riwen... the rules can coexist, but I doubt that a paranoid person like you will understand this truth."

Merlin seemed impatient with this topic, he waved his hand, and continued to walk towards the castle in front of him, he said:

"Mutants have no culture, no inheritance, no system, and no rules. This is your most fatal weakness. The professor has been trying to make a rule for you, but Magnit has been destroying it...Who is right? of? Who is wrong?"

Merlin pulled a mocking smile on his face, and he said:

"Think about this problem yourself. After all, this is a problem for you mutants, and it has nothing to do with me. Let's change the subject, Ms. Ruiwen, I heard that this was once your home? You are in this castle Spent the best ten years of my life, right?"

"Ah."

Rui Wen followed behind Merlin, she had given up fighting against the energy attached to her body.

As a well-informed mutant, Ruiwen knows that this is an effect similar to magic. Only magic can resist magic, and only energy can destroy energy... Unfortunately, her hand-to-hand combat skills are very good, and melee confrontation Not necessarily weaker than Merlin, but she is not good at magic.

"Tell me."

Merlin took Raven across the lawn at night, and he said:

"I'm a little curious about the stories between you, the professor, and Magnit. I heard that you still have a weird love triangle relationship? The parting of the professor and Magnit is said to have something to do with you ?”

"Who did you hear the gossip from?"

A trace of displeasure flashed across Rui Wen's face, she said:

"It's all bullshit."

"Charles and Eric's breakup was purely a matter of disagreement and had nothing to do with me. As for the relationship between me and Charles...it's true, it's complicated."

Raven sighed, and she said:

"To be honest, I don't know what kind of feeling that is. Maybe, maybe there is love."

"Tell me."

Merlin slowed down and said:

"It's about 5-10 minutes before we enter the castle. Is it enough to finish a story?"

"Why should I tell you?"

Raven says:

"Does prying into other people's privacy make you very excited? You pervert!"

"I just want to hear stories."

Merlin said calmly:

"Don't look at me with a fake smile on my face now, that doesn't mean I won't check your memory forcibly, and it doesn't mean I won't turn you into a fool. To be honest, I'm in a bad mood right now... you Better not mess with me, Ms. Raven."

"If your story is exciting enough, maybe I will consider reducing your sentence... After all, you didn't hurt anyone, you just stole something that shouldn't be stolen."

"Say it, don't make trouble for yourself."

Ruiwen felt the impatience in Merlin's words, she breathed a sigh of relief, and said softly:

"I came to Charles' house when I was 10 years old, it was one night, I was cold and hungry, I was thrown by the side of the road by my parents, it was natural. After all, no one would like a blue skin, with a long hair Horny freak."

Her tone was calm, as if she was telling someone else's story.

"I ran into Charles's house... this manor, I have never seen such a beautiful house before, when I first came in, I felt ashamed, this is not a place for a person like me to come. In short, I Sneaking into Charles' kitchen, I found some hard bread, which I hid in a corner and ate."

Riven looked at the castle in front of her, and she said:

"At that time, I was about the same age as Lorna. I was very afraid of people judging my appearance. At that time, like many mutants, I hated my abilities. But Charles is not someone who would hate me."

"I finished eating the bread and wanted to leave this warm castle, but when I turned around, I saw Charles who was about my age, wearing pajamas, and holding a baseball bat taller than him."

Speaking of this, Ruiwen seemed to think of the past, she smiled, and said:

"He was so cute, with blond hair, like a doll. He was just holding up the bat and looking at me, and we were all terrified. I tried to run away, but Charles stopped me."

"He took me to the restaurant and asked the servants to cook me a warm dinner."

Raven closed her eyes and said softly:

"It was the most delicious food I've ever eaten in my life... and it was the beginning of the story of my tangled life with Charles."

"Snapped"

Right after Ruiwen finished speaking, the door of the castle was pushed open in front of her and Merlin.

Sitting in a wheelchair, the professor in pajamas stopped at the door. Under the slightly dim light, his old face was covered with a warm smile, just like the smile of the child who accepted her decades ago in Ruiwen's memory exactly the same.

The professor looked at Ruiwen in the distance, and his voice rang in Ruiwen's mind the next moment.

Very gentle, very warm.

"Welcome home..."

"Raven."

Merlin felt Mystique's mood change. He turned his head and saw unstoppable tears streaming from Ruiwen's eyes, like a wanderer who had been away from home for too long and finally returned to a warm home .

Oh...

Merlin nodded slightly.

It turns out that this lunatic woman who almost ruined everything also has feelings...

(End of this chapter)