After midnight

Lin Xuanfeng covered his heart, it hurt so much.

He opened his hands, which were clean without a trace of blood, and then his body fell limply and uncontrollably.

Seeing this scene, Yin and Song Xinjun's breathing stopped instantly. Yin ran over as fast as he could, and Lin Xuanfeng was embraced by the panicked Song Xinjun. Song Xinjun lost his color and hugged him tightly, not knowing what to do.

"Let him go, I said let him go first!" Yin never knew he could yell at someone so loudly.

Song Xinjun let go of him tremblingly, which allowed Lin Xuanfeng's weak voice to come out.

He said with difficulty to Yin who was kneeling beside him: "Ajiu...An Yan...Ajiu..."

"Don't worry, Lin Xuanfeng, don't worry, I will take good care of them. I will definitely take good care of them for you. I..." Before Yin finished his words, the pain and reluctance in Lin Xuanfeng's eyes stopped abruptly.

"I swear!" Yin roared, and Lin Xuanfeng closed his eyes and lowered his head.

Yin's eyes instantly turned red, and Song Xinjun cried bitterly. His cries kept echoing in Yin's ears, getting louder and hoarser. For a long time afterwards, Yin looked at the endless darkness and didn't know what he was thinking, nor how much time had passed.

"Song Yu!" Suddenly, Song Xinjun's gritted teeth roar broke the sky.

Yin was frightened by him and shrugged his shoulders unconsciously. He shook his head to clear his mind a little and tried to stand up. His legs had been pressed on the ground for too long and were a little limp. He propped himself up and looked around. It was empty and cold. He then looked at the horizon, which was filled with a thin white light.

"I have to tell An Yan about this in person." Yin took out the pen and paper he carried with him with his cold fingers, and when the pen tip was about to touch the smooth paper, he took it back. He couldn't bring himself to write, and finally he hardened his heart and wrote down four words - something happened, come back quickly.

"Song Xinjun, get up, we have to send Lin Xuanfeng home." After calming down, Yin said in a deep voice.

"Lin Xuanfeng died because of me. I shouldn't have invited him to dinner tonight. I'm such a fucking beast!"

Yin didn't say anything, letting Song Xinjun curse him to vent his emotions. After letting Song Xinjun do it for two or three minutes, Yin leaned over and tried to pick up Lin Xuanfeng's body, but Song Xinjun dodged him. He stood up and carried Lin Xuanfeng on his back, then passed Yin and walked forward step by step.

Zhou Chen arrived late, and when he saw Song Xinjun staggering towards him with Lin Xuanfeng on his back, he stood there in a daze, his eyes wide open, at a loss.

'Something happened, come back quickly.'

It was too ominous. An Yan had never been so frightened before. When he received the letter, it was just dawn, the sky was still shrouded in darkness, and the morning star was fading. An Yan knocked on Su Ziling's door, and they left Luocheng before the sun cast its first ray of sunlight.

The letter was written by Yin to him. If he didn't specify the location, it was basically certain that the incident happened in Xindu. But the matter in Luocheng was about to end, and he and Su Ziling were about to rush back to Xindu. What else did Yin need to write a letter to urge him? Moreover, the letter only had four words, and even the characters and events were not mentioned. It was really unlike Yin's style.

Is there anything that Yin is afraid to tell him, something that is difficult for him to talk about?

An Yan racked his brains and thought about it all the way. He admired himself for being able to analyze so calmly at this moment, because all the abnormal behaviors mentioned above showed one problem, that is, the person in trouble had a great relationship with the person he was going to write a letter to, that is, him.

Ah Jiu? Xiao Su? Lin Nuan? Lin Xuanfeng?

Lin Xuanfeng.

An Yan locked onto this name in an instant.

"An Yan, why did you stop? We are about to reach Sand City."

An Yan suddenly stopped, and Su Ziling, who was walking next to him, noticed it immediately. He looked at him and saw An Yan's face was pale.

"An Yan, what's wrong with you?" Su Ziling asked immediately worriedly.

"...It's okay." An Yan took great effort to say these two words steadily.

Su Ziling's expression changed after hearing this, and he immediately stepped forward and held An Yan's hand. An Yan's palms were sweating, and his mouth was trembling. "An Yan, let's go quickly, we can reach Xindu in two or three hours. Things may not be that bad, right?"

Su Ziling was panicked. He didn't dare to ask An Yan what he had figured out, just as An Yan didn't dare to ask Yin for confirmation.

An Yan looked up at Su Ziling's anxious and worried face. After just one glance, he immediately withdrew his hand without saying a word, and then just walked forward. He didn't dare to look at Su Ziling again, for he was afraid that he would cry in front of him.

As they were in a hurry, they arrived in Xindu at only two or three o'clock in the afternoon, which was the warmest time of the day. Climbing up the hanging window, An Yan grabbed Su Ziling and said, "Let's go find Ah Jiu."

Su Ziling's heart skipped a beat. Could it be? Su Ziling didn't dare to utter a word. He picked up a pen and wrote down the address of Lin Xuanfeng's home on the screen: No. 107, Xiangyang Road. He wrote Xiangyang Road correctly, but the numbers were all distorted no matter how he wrote them. He erased them as soon as he finished writing, and repeated this several times.

"I'll do it." An Yan wrote down the handwriting, which was angular yet elegant, stroke by stroke as usual.

The hanging window was reached, and pedestrians were still coming and going on the street in front of Lin Xuanfeng's house, but Su Ziling inexplicably felt that the door of Lin Xuanfeng's house was so quiet, so quiet that his eyes were wandering, and he didn't dare to look at the door, let alone An Yan.

He hesitated for a moment and walked forward. An Yan was faster than him and knocked on the door.

Zhou Chen stared blankly, he seemed to notice and yet he didn't notice Yin brushing past him. He stared and blinked, he was still familiar with Lin Xuanfeng's appearance, even though he closed his eyes and looked lifeless.

He felt a stinging pain at the corner of his eye and reached out to touch it, only to find cold water.

He wiped it with his sleeve and used his arm to block the dry wind, and a red hue appeared in the pale sky.

Zhou Chen turned around silently and followed Song Xinjun. He saw Yin stopped Song Xinjun. "You should take him home. Don't forget, there are people waiting for him at home."

Song Xinjun was stunned for a moment. He looked at the forked road in front of him and avoided the road leading to Xindu Building that he originally wanted to go. He was a little confused. His best brother Lin Xuanfeng had an apprentice and a junior brother. And these two people were the ones he missed the most before he died.

"Is your injury serious? Why don't you go and get it treated? I'll take Lin Xuanfeng home." Yin said again.

"No need, I'll do it." Song Xinjun sniffed.

Ah Jiu was still deep in his sleep. The wind was strong last night, making the windows whistle. He woke up several times in the middle of the night, and each time he had to toss and turn for a while before he could fall asleep again. In the morning, he woke up in a daze and went to the toilet in his slippers.

After going to the toilet, he came to Lin Xuanfeng's door, but his master had not returned yet.

He rubbed his eyes, and suddenly there was a deep knock on the door. Ah Jiu was startled. Is the master coming back now? He went to open the door, but he never thought that the master was used to taking the key with him when he went out, so why would he need to knock on the door when he came back?

The door opened quickly and suddenly. Inside the room, the curtains on the balcony were drawn, and the light was still dim. Ah Jiu did not turn on the lights, but he saw his master at a glance. Lin Xuanfeng was carried on someone's back, with his head down.

"Is my master drunk?" Jiu asked naively.

Song Xinjun widened his eyes, fell to his knees with a thud.

Ah Jiu was startled, and so was Yin. Yin had not expected Song Xinjun to kneel down to Ah Jiu so directly. Even though Ah Jiu was Lin Xuanfeng's apprentice, he was still just a child. It seemed that Ah Jiu's words really hit Song Xinjun's heart, and Yin turned his eyes away reluctantly.

Yin turned his head and said nothing, and Song Xinjun didn't say anything either. This was too strange. But Ah Jiu still chose to step forward and help Song Xinjun up. He touched Lin Xuanfeng, who was tightly held on Song Xinjun's back, and then retracted his hand reflexively. How could it be so cold? How could the master's body be so cold?

Then Ajiu saw the broken wounds on Song Xinjun's body and the faded bloodstains of varying depths.

Ajiu's face turned pale all of a sudden. He looked at Yin helplessly, and subconsciously asked for help from someone he was more familiar with. Yin looked at Ajiu painfully, and there was no better way to say it. It would be better to tell him the most direct reality than to think about it ten thousand times.

"Ajiu, your master passed away last night. I'm so sorry."

The crueler the words, the calmer they were said. Yin said the cruelest words he had ever said to a child. After Yin finished speaking, he immediately rushed forward and hugged Jiu.

Ah Jiu cried out in pain, "Let me go! Let me go!"

Yin tried hard to control Ajiu's resistance, and Ajiu was held tightly in his arms.

Whether crying, biting, kicking or kicking, it was all to show Ah Jiu's accusation. He didn't accept it, how could he accept it.

"Master! Master! I told you to let me go!" Ah Jiu cried, holding on to his body and reaching out to reach Lin Xuanfeng who was still lying on Song Xinjun's back. It was only a tiny distance away, but Ah Jiu couldn't reach him no matter what.

Jiu was driven to desperation and bit Yin's neck. Yin gasped but hugged Jiu even tighter.

This was the weird scene Zhou Chen saw when he followed in. Song Xinjun was kneeling on the ground, holding Lin Xuanfeng on his back and refusing to let go, even though his head was lower than Lin Xuanfeng's. Yin was hugging the child named Jiu, and he would not let go no matter how the child struggled.

Zhou Chen sighed, extremely annoyed. He first went up and knocked Ah Jiu unconscious with a palm, and then tried to pull Lin Xuanfeng off Song Xinjun's back. "I beg you, let Lin Xuanfeng rest in peace, he is already dead!"

Song Xinjun did not answer or make any move. He let Zhou Chen pull Lin Xuanfeng, but Zhou Chen tried for a long time but failed to peel Lin Xuanfeng off Song Xinjun. Yin picked up Ajiu and announced to the two of them: "No one can touch him before An Yan comes back to see Lin Xuanfeng for the last time."

Zhou Chen was very angry after hearing this, but before he lost his temper, Song Xinjun stood up obediently. He carried Lin Xuanfeng back to his room, and Yin also turned around and sent Jiu back to his room.

"Are you all fucking crazy? Okay, I'll do it. I'll go make the most shabby coffin for Lin Xuanfeng!" Zhou Chen said as he slammed the door and walked out, making a loud noise.

After Zhou Chen left, the world returned to silence. After a while, Yin said, "I know you don't want to leave. I found someone to treat your wound."

"Thank you."

After treating Song Xinjun's wound, neither of them spoke again for a long time. This tacit understanding lasted until there were knocks on the door again and again, breaking the suffocating silence in the room and stirring up the emotions that had calmed down.

After opening the door, Song Xinjun immediately held his breath and dodged subconsciously. "An...An Yan."

Yin stood up and hurried to the door. He stopped, and An Yan's cold eyes seemed to penetrate the whole room. After opening the door, the situation in the room was clear at a glance. Maybe Song Xinjun and Yin didn't know yet, but astonishment, surprise, pain, guilt... these expressions had already covered their entire faces.

The air in the entire living room was thin, dull and depressing.

Facing An Yan's gaze, Yin swallowed his saliva, his throat ached. He wanted to speak but suddenly found that he couldn't open his mouth, as if sewing his mouth shut wasn't enough and he needed to add a thousand-pound weight to make him close his mouth. An Yan stared at him, and in just three seconds, Yin's breathing became faster and faster. He was nervous and scared.

Unexpectedly, An Yan's eyes quickly shifted away from him. An Yan didn't ask him or Song Xinjun a single question. He walked directly to Lin Xuanfeng's room without hesitation or any hesitation. Yin slightly widened his eyes, and An Yan's resolute look was deeply imprinted in Yin's pupils.

"Brother..." Su Ziling's voice was full of panic. When Yin looked back at him, all the emotions in his eyes had not disappeared. Su Ziling was stunned. He hurriedly caught up with An Yan, but he only dared to stand at the door and did not dare to go in.

Lin Xuanfeng was lying on the bed, covered with a dark grey quilt, which was the same colour as the bed sheet, so he looked particularly relaxed. He lay there stiffly, his eyes closed forever.

Su Ziling watched An Yan walk over, watched An Yan not sit down or touch him, watched An Yan stand straight and stare at Lin Xuanfeng. He stood straight with his legs, only staring for two minutes but it seemed like a long time.

An Yan moved, leaned down to hug Lin Xuanfeng, and then pressed his forehead against Lin Xuanfeng's forehead. An Yan's legs were still straight, but his back was bent. An Yan closed his eyes and let the tears flow freely through Lin Xuanfeng's eyes, nose and mouth.

Such silent crying deeply shocked Su Ziling.

Su Ziling wanted to leave, but found that he could not move his body and could not take his eyes away from An Yan.

An Yan still maintained that posture, as if time had stood still.

Suddenly, Su Ziling's nose twitched, and the short, crying sound startled him. Before An Yan looked up, Su Ziling walked away quickly, wiping his tears with his sleeves as he walked. He rushed out of the room, walked into a random street, and then stopped to cry without disguising himself.

If Su Ziling had stayed, he would have seen An Yan clenching his lips with red eyes, he would have seen An Yan burying his face in his thin hands and then staggering out, he would have seen An Yan walking to Ajiu's door with his nose awake.

An Yan didn't knock on the door, he just pushed it open and walked in.

Ajiu had woken up. He stared at the ceiling stupidly, his eyes red and swollen.

"Silly Ajiu, if you don't go and see your master off, you'll never see him again."

Upon hearing this, Jiu started crying again. An Yan lifted the quilt and held Jiu in his arms.

"Why?... He was fine last night." Jiu leaned on An Yan's shoulder and cried breathlessly.

"I also want to know why, but this world is so unreasonable, Jiu."

"Why... I don't understand why. I have already lost Xiaoqi and grandfather, and now I have to lose my master? Is this world so unreasonable only to me?" Jiu cried even more miserably.

"This world is unreasonable to everyone, Ajiu, without exception. Do you remember what Brother Anyan told you? We are all orphans who have lost our loved ones. But we came to this world not to lose them, but to love them. Every day I lose them, I love them a little more. I love them, forever."

"I love Master too, forever."

Jiu's crying became quieter. Although he was still sad inside, his emotions were miraculously calmed down by An Yan.

When Zhou Chen returned to Lin Xuanfeng's door with the coffin, An Yan was walking out holding Lin Xuanfeng's body. A Jiu, Su Ziling, Yin and Song Xinjun followed behind him. Zhou Chen stopped An Yan and said, "An Yan, let him be buried peacefully. This is the only thing I can do for him."

An Yan looked at Zhou Chen, and Zhou Chen's grey eyes showed the same pain as everyone else.

"Thank you." After saying that, An Yan walked forward and placed Lin Xuanfeng's body into the red lacquered coffin.

"How dare you not tell me! How dare you!" On this street, Fang Hao was standing five meters away, shaking with anger. He strode over, his face pale.

"Go away!"

Zhou Chen and Song Xinjun, who hurried forward, were stopped by Fang Hao's shout. They were so scared that they stood still and dared not move.

Fang Hao swung his powerful arms, causing his sleeves to rub against each other. He yelled again, "Get out of my way!"

Zhou Chen and Song Xinjun stepped aside, and An Yan also stepped back unconsciously. Fang Hao came to the coffin. Who else could it be if the person lying quietly in the coffin was not Lin Xuanfeng? Fang Hao stretched out his hand tremblingly to touch half of Lin Xuanfeng's face. He touched it but bounced away quickly. Fang Hao turned his hands behind his back without saying a word and walked away.

Behind him, An Yan slowly pushed the coffin up. Every time he took one more step, the sound became weaker.

When the voice is gone, it is a farewell forever.