[Short Stories in Troubled Times] Caiwei

He supported his mother who was covering her face and crying, her face was pale, and blood was bleeding from her lower lip.

Officials went door to door to arrest young men.Two "Military Masters" pushed and shoved his father out the door, and pushed him into another desolate world full of bones.

What to do.His younger sister shrank behind him, so frightened that he forgot to cry, he gritted his teeth and straightened his body, leaving her a thin but calm back.In the June weather, there was the sound of cicadas chirping, but he tried his best to suppress the trembling all over his body.

The sound of horseshoes had already gone away amidst the flying catkins, and the heroic figure who had been relying on since childhood was gone.

Yelling "Let's Go", Uncle Jun turned his head and nodded his chin towards the door.

"This kid?"

"Let's pull it down. His father is the only one. How old is he? Fifteen? Sixteen? He's too small, and he can't even carry a flag. It's fine if this household is handed over to a male."

"It's cheap for them. Eh? Yo, there's a little girl here..."

The big pliers-like hands dragged the younger sister out from behind.The thirteen or fourteen-year-old girl turned pale with fright, her hair was grabbed, and she raised her head, crying and calling "Brother" repeatedly, her voice trembling unbelievably.

Blood rushed to his forehead, he forgot everything, and threw himself on it: "Go away!! Don't touch my sister!!"

He screamed and pulled the hand that grabbed his sister's skirt, trembling to no avail, he screamed desperately: "Let go!! Don't touch my sister!!"

"Damn it, you son of a bitch is in the way!"

That hand grabbed his collar violently, and waved vigorously——

There was a sharp pain in front of his eyes, and then a blood red.

He knelt down on the ground and covered his left eye, blood dripping from between his fingers.

The blade in the official's hand was stained with blood.

"Just watch it! How could it hit the knife!"

"Let's go, let's go, bad luck, don't kill yourself..."

The collected jade materials were scattered all over the place.

Blood red dripped on it, and flowed along the depression to fill up the notches on it—"Plucking weeds and picking weeds, wei just stops. The day returns to the day, and the year also stops. Sorry, I can't do it."

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Mo Xingtian and Gongsun Chongwu sat side by side with the coach, chewing the hard old weed cabbage indignantly, filled with righteous indignation.

"The first half of the warrior army is dead, and the beauties are still singing and dancing under the tent!" The coach slapped his thigh fiercely.

"Master used it to scold our general! You used it wrong! Besides, the three of us have always taken the lead and never done that!" Gongsun Chongwu also slapped his thigh fiercely.

"You, Rhubarb, know a lot! Just understand that Master is saying that the court is too chaotic! Don't worry about the details!" Mo Xingtian also slapped his thigh fiercely.

Patting and chewing, gnashing teeth, as if chewing the meat of those corrupt officials thousands of miles away.

The fifth year of garrison.The two brothers and sisters who learned together with their master back then have reached their thirties together.The wind and sand in the frontier fortress have long been used to - it is said that the court has been in chaos recently.

It is said that a fire at the city gate brought disaster to the fish in the pond.The location of the station was changed again and again, and it was the same lifeless scene wherever it was changed.Food and grass are still scarce, and the important ministers above should have made a lot of money in this area.Who cares about the life and death of these invisible people.

worried.His brows have been locked for a long time, and a faint "Chuan" character is reflected between the two sharp sword eyebrows. He, Mo Xingtian, feels that he is no longer the heroic figure he used to be.

I don't know when I will return home.

I hope Xiaosong can still recognize his face mixed with the wind and frost of Shuobei.

There seems to be a pulling force coming from the belt.As soon as Mo Xingtian turned his head, he saw that Gongsun Chongwu had already leaned over across the coach's knees, stretched out his hand and picked up the smear of blue and white on his waist, and looked carefully: "Hugh is embarrassed in front of me, Er Hei, you are content. Xiao Song gave you this, as soon as I begged him to engrave something for me, he offered the money as soon as he stretched out his hand! I thought he was a money lover at a young age, and he dared to show love to others!"

The slightly cool sapphire lay in the palm of Gongsun Chongwu - the safety buckle made by Qin Song's hands.

Gold inlaid jade was carefully made on the jade, and concentric knots were tied on the tassels.

Peace and concentricity, the yang energy of gold dilutes the air-conditioning of jade—the tiny wish of a young man.

Even Chong Wu didn't know that he had an agreement with Qin Song.

Qin Song was only 15 years old when Mo Xingtian left home.

Not only Xing Tian who grew up with him since he was a child, but also Chong Wu and his teacher and father who had been acquainted for five years.Qin Song, who has always been fond of talking and laughing, has lost the frolics of the past. All day long, he silently looks at the "children, fathers, mothers, husbands and wives" in the village, or helps the three masters and apprentices pack their luggage, with clear eyes full of joy. Complex emotions inappropriate for age.

Mo Xingtian has always been a seldom talker, and at this moment he is even more clumsy and doesn't know what to say. Gongsun Chongwu leans over and squeezes out a smile, trying to make a few jokes as usual, but he opens and closes his lips a few times, but he doesn't say a single word. not out.The coach, who was still in his prime, stepped forward, pulled them back, rumpled Qin Song's hair with his big hands, then patted the shoulders of the two apprentices, and the three of them ran to Qin Song's house to eat together.

The table was set up in the courtyard, and Qin Song's mother tried her best to bring out a table of fragrant human fireworks from the not-so-rich kitchen. Gongsun Chongwu thanked with a smile, in exchange for Qin Song's mother's eyes water light.The four of them were standing or sitting with their rice bowls in their hands, only the sound of the clashing of bowls and chopsticks could be heard.There is no Xingtian and Chongwu two rhubarb and two blacks who hurt each other, stealing the last piece of potatoes for whoever eats them, and disgusting each other for their ugly looks; there is no coach holding a glass of wine and proudly describing how he won in the army. The head of the local general Xiangshang, coupled with Gongsun Chongwu's support, made Qin Song stunned for a while, and Mo Xingtian held his forehead with one hand and made a blocking gesture with the other, sighing whether he could be more modest.There are no laughter from a few family members with different surnames, and there is no illusion that this peaceful life seems to remain unchanged for a lifetime.

If possible, I really hope that after the three of us, master and apprentice, won the battle five years ago, we would go back to our respective homes and find our respective mothers.Sometime after drinking a few glasses of wine, Chong Wu, who was slightly tipsy, shook his glass and sighed to Mo Xingtian behind Qin Song's back.I really hope that five years ago...my master and I didn't go back to this village with you, and didn't...see Xiaosong.

The once lively and extraordinary five years are gone forever.Together with Chongwu, they took Qin Song over the wall and went out for a stroll. The three of them wandered around the town for a long time without doing business. When they came back, they were scolded by their master and father respectively, and they met again the next day. Sticking out his tongue helplessly, he worked overtime to make up for it.When practicing martial arts with the coach, the applause from Qin Song sitting on the wall, or holding Qin Song's tender but novel jade pieces, not pretending to understand but sincerely admiring... Gone forever.

Sister Qin Songyang made a villain with the words "Xiao Xun" written on it.The little boy had a preliminary understanding of national hatred and family hatred.

The agreement with Qin Song was at the time of parting.

"Just send it here, please go back, both of you." At the entrance of the village, Mo Xingtian clasped his fists at Qin Song's parents in front of him, "Xing Tian thanked uncle and aunt for taking care of them all these years."

"Oh, that kid Xiaosong, I don't know where he went..." Qin's father sighed, and turned to look at the empty dirt road behind him, "Forget it, I won't be sad when I see you... Xing Tian, ​​take care of yourself, we will wait for you good news."

Master and Chongwu left first.Mo Xingtian was delayed for a few days because he had to deal with the matter of a military official who wounded someone in a family during his conscription, and when he was about to get on his horse and set off, Qin Song, who had promised to send him off, disappeared.

It was raining in the sky.Wet catkins, heavy, unable to fly again.The bones of tens of thousands of people merged into a chaotic tomb slope. Once you go there, you really don't know when it will be the return date...

Feeling up and down, Mo Xingtian suddenly saw the figure in front of the horse, and Mo Xingtian hurriedly reined in the horse.Before the horse had gone far, when he saw the person who stopped him - he was stunned for a moment, Qin Song did not break the appointment!

Panting, he rushed to the front, reached into his arms with one hand, and pulled out something.

A touch of familiar bluish white drew an arc from Qin Song's hand, and Mo Xingtian raised his hand to catch the thing he threw - it was the safety buckle that Qin Song worked so hard for many days.

"It's done, I just tied the tassels." Qin Song raised a flushed face, and smiled tremblingly, "I took a shortcut and came over by the carriage, so I managed to catch up!"

"For me this?"

"Yeah, I said I would engrave something for you to take with you, it's just a thought!" Qin Song's lips were trembling, his throat was a little choked, but he was still smiling and said, "Xing Tian, ​​remember that Xiao Song is waiting for you at home... ...you will definitely win!"

Rubbing the round jade stone in his hand, Mo Xingtian looked down at the young man beside the horse, and turned thousands of words into a short word: "Okay!"

"Go, show off your ability to defeat a hundred enemies with one enemy!"

It was raining fast.In the densely slanted rain curtain, Qin Song climbed up the raised low hill, and the willows swayed in the rain, with bright blue eyes full of eyes. He looked at the heroic back of the horse riding away, took a deep breath, and put his hands around his mouth. , exclaiming:

"Xing Tianwu's relatives, fierce ambitions are always there!! Xing Tian——I'll wait for you to return home—"

Mo Xingtian looked back from afar on horseback.With a sharp rein in his hand, the horse raised its front hooves, and a long hiss cut through the rain curtain.There was a thunderstorm in the sky, and then, it rained cats and dogs.

The road ahead was instantly engulfed in mist.