【Xue Xiao】Desolate City Crossing

On a miserable rainy night, a room in the inn was lit up all night.

People lying on the bed are no different from all living beings.But the other two people in the room knew that this figure in black with a broken arm was no longer a living person, if not for the silk thread of the soul-binding curse wrapped around his wrist, he wouldn't even have a real body.

The night before when Xue Yang was in severe pain, Xue Yang bit his lip hard. Xiao Xingchen hurriedly pried open his jaw and put his hand between his teeth. Fortunately, Chen Xibao was by his side and hurriedly found a clean soft cloth to replace Xiao Xingchen. hand, but a row of blood-colored tooth marks have been left on the fair complexion.

It hurts just looking at it, but Xiao Xingchen didn't feel anything, just focused on the unconscious ghost on the bed, finely adjusted the position of the soft cloth in his mouth, and issued a series of urgent calls.

Chen Xibao asked: "Prince Immortal, is the relationship between you and this ghost brother good or bad?"

He has been curious about this question for a long time.From Xifu Town to the present, this person and ghost sometimes look like old enemies, sometimes like close friends in the same industry, and sometimes... like the legendary relationship between Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji, which makes him unpredictable.

But, in any case, the origins run deep.

The rain outside the window kept pattering, and the continuous rainy night was the most suitable for telling stories and sorting out messy thoughts. Xiao Xingchen sat beside Xue Yang's bed and told the past, from the capture of people in three provinces to the The righteous city guards each other; from cuddling each other, to turning against each other;

There is also Xue Yang, who lost his finger at the age of seven, murdered at the age of eight, and lived a miserable and sinful life.

Without good eloquence in storytelling, Xiao Xingchen's description does not add any emotional color, and the journal generally only lists facts. Only when he talks about the young man in Yicheng, will he unconsciously reveal a trace of nostalgia, and his sad and clear eyes are full of tears. soft.

If it weren't for the fact that the storyteller seemed so elegant and untouched by the world, Chen Xibao would have doubted that such a bizarre story was made up by a storybook or a storyteller.

The disciple of the banished immortal from outside the world, and the evil boy from the market, these two characters are really very different.It's no wonder that the boy wanted to design a frame, if it wasn't out of pure malice, then it was out of another secret obsession.

It is easier to pull people into the water than to reach out and touch Jiutian.

Chen Xibao listened all night, heaving a long sigh, not knowing how to evaluate the lonely soul with the broken arm lying on the bed.

He obviously killed countless people, but after listening to the fairy elder in white, he didn't feel that this person was terrible, but he deeply regretted it. Even if there was a bit of hatred, he was angry that he went astray and ruined his own life and the lives of others at the same time.

The young man in white beside the bed looks young at first glance, but vicissitudes are faintly revealed between his brows, making it impossible to guess his age.A pair of eyes full of compassion was silently watching the ghost lying on the bed. Whenever the unconscious ghost trembled slightly or screamed in pain, he would frown and feel helpless, as if he was also in pain.

"Xianchang, how can I wake up Xiaoyou Xue?"

Xiao Xingchen thought about it and said: "Chang's family was only a small family of immortals before his death, and Chang Ping has passed away for many years, so his spiritual power will not be very strong. The illusion is easy to break every three hours. I have tried it for three hours, and now I can only After three days, I will be able to break this illusion."

With firm words and worried expression, Chen Xibao also knew that it was still unknown whether Xue Xiaoyou could be awakened three days later.

"Xianchang, you didn't sleep all night, and it rained again last night, why don't you go and rest for a while? I'll watch for you. If there is anything unusual about Xue Xiaoyou, I'll call you immediately?"

Unsurprisingly, Xiao Xingchen shook his head.

"Hey...then I'll go buy some breakfast. The fairy elder must take care of himself so that he can take care of others."

Xiao Xingchen lost his mind and didn't answer, Chen Xibao got up and went out to order food. When he came back, the figure in white was still guarding the bedside with the same concern attitude, reluctantly drank some porridge under his consolation, after that he drank some porridge all day long. Not in.

As midnight approached, Xiao Xingchen wanted to carry Xue Yang out again. Chen Xibao understood the reason, and seeing that it was still raining outside, he followed the two of them to help hold the umbrella.Xiao Xingchen wanted to refuse, saying that he was causing him trouble, but Chen Xibao insisted: "What if you get sick in the rain and can't take care of Xue Xiaoyou?" He still followed him back and forth.

Chen Xibao is as tall as Xiao Xingchen, and his appearance is also about the same age. Although Xiao Xingchen is honored as the head of the fairy, he has been by his side like a brother and a friend these three days.

Xiao Xingchen devoted all his attention to Xue Yang, except for remembering that he had to carry Xue Yang to the suburbs in the middle of the night to deal with the backlash, he would not eat three meals a day or night at other times.At night, he had to use the Qingfeng swordsmanship to block the grievances amidst thousands of swearing, and when he found out that Xue Yang was too weak, he had to give Xue Yang his spiritual energy. He was angry and pitiful for Xue Yang's past. I was physically and mentally exhausted, and after three days, I was visibly haggard to the naked eye.

If it wasn't for Chen Xibao asking about his health and bringing the hot meal to his side, he might also collapse in the next three days.

Xiao Xingchen only lay down on the bedside for a few days and took a few naps. He opened his eyes instantly when he heard Xue Yang screaming in pain, and called "Xue Yang wake up" repeatedly. Every time, he was always sadly disappointed, and the pain in his eyes deepened.

Chen Xibao comforted: "Don't be too anxious, Elder Immortal, it's not been three days yet, little friend Xue will definitely wake up then!"

In the third midnight, after Xiao Xingchen built the wind shield, he vomited a few mouthfuls of blood amidst the hoarse insults of hundreds of wraiths. In the morning, Chen Xibao carried Xue Yang on his back without any excuse and returned to the inn.

The autumn rain continued intermittently for three days. Chen Xibao carried Xue Yang on his back, and Xiao Xingchen stood beside them with an umbrella to cover them. He was exposed to the rain and drenched, his face was terribly pale, and there was still a smear of blood at the corner of his mouth.

"Sir, I don't know what people in the Taoist school say, but there is a saying in Buddhism that 'put down the butcher's knife and become a Buddha immediately'. It is better for Xiaoyou Xue to reform than to perish. Don't take the words of those resentful spirits to heart. I was blinded by hatred and irrational!"

Xiao Xingchen remained silent, and Chen Xibao couldn't say any more words of comfort, so he could only hold Xue Yang on his back and quicken his pace, so that Xiao Xingchen would be less drenched in the rain for a while.

I'm used to seeing Xue Yang's fierce or domineering appearance on weekdays, but seeing this ghost weakly struggling in a painful coma these days, I'm really not used to it.Chen Xibao felt the thin body on his back trembling and twitching, trying to make himself walk fast and steady.

So on the third day Xue Yang was trapped in the illusion, he was expected to wake up at [-]:[-] in the evening, and Xiao Xingchen was walking around the room restlessly.

"Brother Chen, did you tell the back kitchen to cook some delicious meals and deliver them later?"

"Yes, yes, I have already said it, and I went to remind you again just now."

"Well," Xiao Xingchen thought for a while, fearing that he might not be well-prepared, "He likes glutinous rice balls filled with black sesame seeds the most, and he also likes to put a lot of sugar..."

"Also ready," Chen Xibao said, "I don't worry about it, I'll go to the kitchen to have a look."

Only Xiao Xingchen was left sitting dryly by the bed, and when it was [-]:[-], he carefully observed the figure lying on the bed, but there was no sign of waking up.

Timing is very important when entering and leaving the illusion. If you miss it, you will have to wait for the next opportunity.

"Xue Yang!"

He wanted to pull Xue Yang up and shake him, but he didn't dare to touch him lightly, for fear that his whole body would hurt, so he bent down and called, "Xue Yang, wake up!"

After thinking for a while, he said again: "A Yang, I am the Taoist priest."

Xiao Xingchen put his hands between Xue Yang's eyebrows, and directly transmitted the voice into his spiritual consciousness with his thoughts, repeatedly and tirelessly.

Still do not wake up.The ghost has no heartbeat, no pulse, and it doesn't need to breathe, so it doesn't know how to determine whether Xue Yang is safe or not.

The figure lying on the bed did not continue to cry out in pain or twitch, it was so quiet that it made people flustered.

Lying like this is no different from a corpse or a dead soul.

"A Yang!" Xiao Xingchen didn't care about anything more, and forced Xue Yang to sit up, and shook him twice, only to see Xue Yang's head drooping limply, like a lifeless puppet.

how so?If you don't wake up for three days, do you have to wait another three days?But Xue Yang's spiritual body with incomplete souls and seven souls, can he survive another three days of torment?

Unknowingly, the original idea of ​​destroying Xue Yang's soul after returning to the world has long been thrown away. Now, he just wants to see Xue Yang return to that lively young man who makes troubles all day long and makes him angry, whether it's a human or a ghost.

"A Yang, wake up, Chang Ping has been reincarnated, and I won't blame you for his affairs, did you hear that?"

Xiao Xingchen embraced the unconscious man into his arms, his arms were tighter and tighter, and the wide sleeves of his white robe covered the thin and thin young man in black, so that there was no gap between the two of them.

"You already knew you were wrong, didn't you? If you knew it earlier, why did you..."

The house is quiet, only the sound of rain outside the window.

"cough……"

Finally, there was a hoarse voice next to my ear, as if I had exhausted all my strength to respond weakly: "I...didn't know that I would meet you, Daoist..."

"A Yang! You're awake!" Xiao Xingchen helped Xue Yang to confirm, and he was overwhelmed with great joy, and couldn't help but hugged the person in his arms even tighter, with both sadness and joy on his face, as if he was the one who survived the catastrophe. The person is him.

I don't know how long it took before he slowly let go of his arms, a blush appeared on his face that had been pale for three days, one arm quietly drooped and pinched the corner of his clothes, leaving only the other one barely supporting the person in his arms.

Xue Yang felt that this hug was infinitely beneficial, until the arm that was holding him was loosened, his posture remained the same, lying on Xiao Xingchen's shoulder, he said weakly: "What? Daoist took advantage of my coma... hug me... Wake up...would you be embarrassed?"

"I didn't—" Xiao Xingchen argued, and then realized that it wasn't time to say this, and helped Xue Yang to look him up and down: "How are you? Are you okay?"

"Not good... how long have I been like this?"

"Three days."

"No...it should be three years..."

Xue Yang complained with a bitter face, living in the illusion like years, after a lot of torture, he was much weaker, he couldn't even lift his head up.Xiao Xingchen let him lean against the head of the bed, picked up a bowl on the table and handed it to Xue Yang's chapped mouth.

Xue Yang looked at the liquid in the bowl and frowned inexplicably: "Blood?"

Xiao Xingchen said indifferently: "It's the blood that I have performed the surgery on. Your soul and mine are connected. This blood should help you recover your spiritual power quickly."

Xue Yang looked down and saw that Xiao Xingchen's white jade wrist was wrapped in a bandage, and there were two rows of teeth marks on the side of his palm. He immediately understood everything, kept silent, and turned his head aside.

Xiao Xingchen said calmly, "It's just half a bowl of blood, it doesn't hurt me."

Xue Yang said: "Isn't the monk's blood used to suppress evil spirits?"

Xiao Xingchen said: "If you have the intention to suppress, you will have the effect of suppression. Now... I just hope that you can take care of your soul."

The bowl was handed to his mouth again, but Xue Yang ducked his head and still refused to drink.His mind is full of the hateful face of "Xue Yang" in the illusion, gouging his eyes and tongue, cutting his bones and skin, lingering and killing, and the cruel screams lingering in his ears...how stupid he must be to be like Xiao Xingchen In this way, after being murdered, can he treat "Xue Yang" well?He really wanted to scold Xiao Xingchen a hundred times for being a fool, an idiot, and a soft-hearted idiot, but he didn't have any strength at the moment, not to mention the soreness in his throat, he was afraid that he would choke if he opened his mouth.

Xiao Xingchen didn't know anything about it, and said softly, "Are you afraid that it won't taste good? Be patient. After drinking this, drink a bowl of sugar water. I'll prepare it for you."

Another empty bowl with crushed sugar was on the table, and beside it was a jug full of hot water.

After escaping from Ling Chi's Purgatory, suddenly receiving such kind treatment, Xue Yang was unavoidably agitated, and all kinds of thoughts came flooding in, like a dike breaking.His eyes were blurred, and he blinked for a moment, and then became blurred again for a moment.

After being tortured for three days without begging for mercy, he had wet eyes at this moment. He could only turn his head to the side of the wall so that Xiao Xingchen could not see him.

Turning his head, the person sitting in front of the bed was still stubbornly holding the bowl of red liquid and beckoning him to drink it. There were still two indigo-colored shadows under his eyes, and his finely carved jade-like face was haggard. .

Xue Yang was still suffering from Ling Chi's pain all over his body. Every time he moved, his body was covered with sharp blades, his flesh and blood were exposed, and the cuts were painful. He drank half of the bowl of blood in one gulp from the edge of the bowl under Xiao Xingchen's gaze. Only then did I finally feel comfortable throughout the body, and every meridian was stretched.

The person in front of the bed picked up another bowl, poured hot water into it to dissolve the sugar, because the bowl of water was still steaming, Xiao Xingchen was afraid that he would be scalded, so he blew it cool one by one and carefully fed it to him. .

From the beginning to the end, Xue Yang stared at this person who took good care of him as a treasure, fearing that this was another illusory dream, and when he woke up, he would still be in the lonely Yicheng, or in a purgatory-like illusion.

After drinking a bowl of sugar water, his mouth was full of nourishing and light sweetness, Xue Yang gained some strength, grabbed Xiao Xingchen's wrist, and looked up at him.

"Xiao Xingchen, the me ten years ago, and the me these days miss you very much."

"Ok, I know."

"Do you really know?"

Xiao Xingchen nodded again: "I know." He put down the bowl and asked, "Do you want to get up and eat something, or take a rest?"

Xue Yang felt that Xiao Xingchen still didn't understand, and wanted to explain in detail what was meant by "me ten years ago" and "me these days".The comprehension in the illusion, and the sincerity that he failed to reveal to the other self in the illusion, all wanted to tell Xiao Xingchen, but the pain all over his body was replaced by comfortable warmth, and at the same time, the turbulent tiredness also surged up, and he felt his eyelids twitching, Head heavy.

After all, he appeared to be in a coma for the first three days, but in fact his spiritual consciousness was trapped in an illusion and he was sober and suffered three days of torture.

Xiao Xingchen helped him to lie down, covered him with the quilt, and made a decision for him: "Let's rest first, and eat after waking up."

Xue Yang asked with the last ounce of consciousness: "Will you go?"

Xiao Xingchen sat down by the bed and said, "I won't leave."

He smiled weakly, finally couldn't resist the tiredness, An Xin closed his eyes, still holding the bandaged wrist in his hand.