Birdseye

The night before entering the Garan Pagoda, Ji Huaizhou made all the arrangements in the mansion. Xingru would not come back until some time later, and he left everything he could to him.

He has been up all night for the past few days, and he has exhausted all his efforts. He has used all his life's calculations, schemes and schemes on this matter. He only hopes that Xingru will not be unhappy for the rest of the year after he leaves.

Xingru is not good at communicating with people, and has no other friends except himself. He thought that with these, he should be able to live well when he is gone.

Thinking of this, Ji Huaizhou couldn't help but smile a little more on his face, but his left eye was no longer there, leaving a black bloody hole, it was a bit scary when he laughed, he stared at himself in the mirror for a while , Then found a white silk cloth and covered his left eye.

He was under house arrest in the Prince's Mansion, and it took a lot of effort to go out. When the night shrouded the silent capital, he wore a black cloak and was escorted by several subordinates to the observatory. .

On the observatory, the national teacher stood under the moon, holding a dust whisk in his hand, with a cold expression, like the fairy who cut off love and love in those stories.

There are no stars and no moon in this night, and the clouds in the sky are piled up there, layer by layer, until they reach the ninth heaven.

Under the clouds, there are hidden fireworks in the world, the mountains are undulating in the distance, and the river is surging.

The observatory stands in the east of the imperial city, adjacent to the Buyu River. To the west of it is Dayin's palace. There are emerald clothes and red sleeves, the lights are dim, and everyone is laughing. They don't know the way back.

Dayin's prince will enter the Garan Pagoda tomorrow to pray for the people, and he will never come out again for the rest of his life.

The national teacher was wrapped in a white robe. When he turned his head, he saw that Ji Huaizhou's left eye was wrapped in a white cloth. He was quite surprised and asked, "Your Highness, your eyes?"

Ji Huaizhou didn't want to mention it, but smiled lightly and said, "It's nothing."

The national teacher didn't ask any more questions, he shook the whisk in his hand, and asked in a deep voice: "Your Highness is going to enter the Garan Tower tomorrow, so I don't know why you came here late at night?"

"I agreed to the matter mentioned by the national teacher the day before yesterday, but I have a request."

"Please speak, Your Highness."

Ji Huaizhou took off the hood on his head. His face was pale and haggard, not a sign of longevity. He glanced back at the Dayin Palace behind him, and quickly turned his eyes back, looking into the distance. He didn't know where he was looking. who.

After a long time, he slowly said: "In my life, my mother and queen died early, and my brothers and sisters all regarded me as a bandit, and I wished I could eat my flesh and blood. My father still has Jiaer in his heart, and I am just a pawn in his hand. I have nothing to worry about, only my little friend, Gu can't rest assured, after Gu leaves, I hope the Master of the National Teacher can take care of Gu."

His face was calm, but when he talked about that little friend, there was a slight smile on his face.

The national teacher asked: "Is it Xingru son?"

"Exactly."

The national teacher nodded and said: "Don't worry, Your Highness, since I have taken your things, Pindao will naturally take good care of Mr. Xingru."

"So, I'm here to thank the national teacher."

That was his last wish before he left. He handed over all his flesh and blood, and only hoped that Xingru would be safe and well in this life.

He is not in good health, his foundation has been corrupted over the years, and he may not live long after entering the Garan Tower.

On the second day, the aged emperor led a hundred officials to send Prince Qinghe into the Garan Pagoda.

There are prohibitions in the radius of Jialan Tower for tens of miles. It was left by the master Kuji who was sitting in the golden lotus in the previous dynasty.

……

For Ji Huaizhou, the poor days in the Garan Pagoda were not sad. There was no one around here, and even the birds seldom stayed there. There was only a mirror lake, and when the spring breeze passed by, it burst into greenery.

At that time, he would think of Xing Tathagata.

He stayed here for a few days, and one day when the sun was setting on the western mountain, he suddenly saw fireworks in full bloom on the west side of the Garan Pagoda. He was slightly taken aback, and stood in front of the window and watched it with a smile for a long time.

For several days after that, he would see the fireworks that the man set off at the same time.

So every evening, when the twilight falls, standing in front of the window and looking to the west has become a new hobby of Ji Huaizhou.

He didn't know who set off the fireworks and who they showed them to.

When watching the fireworks, he often thinks, where will Xingru be at this time?

He is so naughty, has a bad temper, and likes to play around, will everyone he meets be like him, and be more tolerant of him?

Will he think of himself too?

……

It was the third day of March in the 16th year of Ximing. As usual, Ji Huaizhou sat under the altar and listened to the master preaching scriptures to the monks.

Today we are talking about the Shurangama Sutra, which tells the story of Ananda, a disciple of the Buddha, and the Matangi girl. He listened to it with great fascination. There is a big difference in what they say.

Those romances are only fabricated by mortals after all.

The weather outside is excellent, with gentle breeze and clear blue sky. The hibiscus tree by the Jinghu Lake seems to be two feet taller than the previous few days, and there are a few small white flowers among the green trees.

Ji Huaizhou played with the tassels of the jade pendant in his hand, thinking that before Xingru took shape, he often hid in his hat and went out with him secretly. He was so small, fluffy, chubby, round, , would seem to be ejected from a slingshot, and crash into his arms;

He thought that when Xingru was older, he would often sit under the moon in a daze, pointing to the moon and telling him that he had seen himself there in his dreams;

Thinking of that night when there was heavy rain, lightning, and thunder, he dug out the coffin with his bare hands. From then on, the little monster in the coffin has been with him for the rest of his life...

He thought a lot, but he didn't expect that his star would stop on this day.

They told him that Mr. Xingru went to the palace to assassinate the emperor, but he failed and was executed.

A few words are not difficult to understand, but it took Ji Huaizhou a long time to understand the meaning of these words. After a long time, he came back to his senses and asked softly, "Where is the national teacher?"

The expression is calm, neither sad nor happy.

"National teacher..." The man paused, "The national teacher has been expelled from the imperial capital by His Majesty."

Ji Huaizhou trembled, and supported the stone pillar at the side to stabilize his figure. He planned so much and for so long, in order to let Xingru live well after he left.

But none of them protected his Xingru well.

Not long after, the emperor sent someone to send a bunch of feathers. It was Xingru's feathers. He could recognize it at a glance. It was also Xingru's because it was stained with blood.

A sharp and thin voice sounded beside Ji Huaizhou's ears: "Young Master Xingru has committed a serious crime of regicide. Your Majesty thinks that he has a relationship with your Highness, so before destroying the traitor, I will leave it to Your Highness." After picking up these things, I will keep them in my mind, and I hope His Highness will cherish himself in the Garan Tower."

The voice could no longer be heard clearly, and Ji Huaizhou tightly held the feather in his hand. For some reason, the smell of blood suddenly became stronger on the feather.

He raised his head in a daze, and those isolated voices, like thousands of insects and ants, suddenly penetrated into his heart with an irresistible force.

There is no way for him to avoid it, and there is nowhere to hide.

He finally clearly understood that Xingru was gone.

In an instant, Ji Huaizhou felt great pain in his heart. He only felt that his internal organs were being torn apart, and he convulsed in pain. His body was bent like a dying shrimp, and he staggered and fell to the ground.

The monks hurried over, helped him up, and shouted: "Your Highness! Your Highness!"

But none of these voices belonged to Xingru.

He panted violently, trying to call out Xingru's name, but his voice was already broken, and when he looked up, the gray monk's robe, the golden Buddha statue, and the dark dome above his head... could no longer be seen clearly.

There was a bloody smell in his throat. He covered his mouth, but the bright red blood continued to drip from between his fingers. , to infinity.

His star is like...

Ji Huaizhou's eyes were plunged into darkness, and he lost consciousness the next moment.

When he opened his eyes again, the moon was already in the sky.

The shadow of the candle flickered, and the monks in the pagoda knelt on the ground, and the sound of chanting continued in his ears, and he no longer had the heart to listen.

He knew in his heart that his life was not long, and it would be difficult to leave this body behind after death.

The candlelight in the room was dim, a lacquered gold Buddha statue stood on a corner of the table, and green smoke rose slowly from the incense burner.

The Buddha lowered his brows and eyes, showing immeasurable compassion.

The outside world is still the same as yesterday, he used to think that even if Xingru traveled thousands of miles, even if they could never see each other again in this life, as long as Xingru is still there, it will be fine.

Now, everything is false.

Under the moonlight, the white rocks all over the mountains and fields are quietly dormant on the upper deer hill. When everything is silent, there is a thunderous boom, and the showers rush to the window lattice, and the sound is like a drum.

Ji Huaizhou vaguely glanced out the window, pushed aside the heavy rain, and saw that there were still fireworks blooming under the thick ink-like clouds. For some reason, the fireworks came very late today, and they were not as gorgeous as before.

The corners of his mouth curved slightly, which was fleeting, and then he staggered to his feet, and with the support of the monks, he came to the window.

Outside the window, lightning and thunder flashed across the dark sky, and it seemed that a winding fire dragon rose into the sky. The fire light was charming, making Ji Huaizhou's face extremely pale and his lips bruised.

Only sporadic brilliance remained in his eyes.

In a trance, there was a Sanskrit voice coming from the ethereal sky. Ji Huaizhou put his hands on the window sill, tapped out a weird tune with his fingers, he closed his eyes, and after a long time, he said softly, "If there is an afterlife..."

The master clasped his hands together and asked Ji Huaizhou, "Your Highness, if you have any other wishes, please tell them."

His lips moved slightly, his weak breathing was no longer smooth, and blood continued to overflow from the corner of his mouth, but he didn't care much.The master bent down, and could only faintly hear a few intermittent words: "If there is an afterlife..."

What if there is an afterlife?

If Xingru is still a rakshasa bird, he would like to be a tree in front of the grave. The sky and the earth can always accommodate them, a tree and a demon. They cuddle up to each other and stay together forever.

The thunder outside the window was louder, and the sparks fell from the sky, like a huge rain of fire.

When he opened his eyes, he saw Xingru sitting not far from him, tilting his head, smiling at himself, it was still the same as before, he could touch it just by stretching out his hand.

But his Xingru is no longer there.

So in the next moment, Xingru shattered together with the mighty lightning, he was startled for a moment, and the Sanskrit sound in his ears disappeared without a trace.

Under the black clouds, electric light and fire light intertwined and intertwined, sparks poured down, rumbling thunder came one after another, and heavy rain extinguished all the fireworks in the sky.

There is no more afterglow.

Ji Huaizhou lowered his head and gently stroked the blood-stained feathers in his hands.

After a while, he pursed his lips and smiled.

The brilliance in the eyes dissipated instantly.

If there is an afterlife...

I only wish my star to be healthy and happy every year.