Blade and Poetry

Immediately after I had walked a certain distance, I started running—I am not sure which of my words got the man's mind momentarily overwhelmed by the suspicious aspects of the whole incident, such as why I sneaked in the dark. The house - after he finds that the furnishings in the house have been moved, and then opens the cabinet to check, I will probably have to start a career of being hunted by the whole city.

And worst of all, I forgot to put on my ring when I went out in the heat of the moment, allowing the man to see my naked self.

I hastily packed up my remaining belongings at the hotel, changed all my clothes into new ones, and destroyed my old one.He also took a knife to cut off several clumps of slightly longer hair and kneaded it into a rough hairstyle that is more common among homeless people.Thinking back to the inspection route of the patrolling guards, I ran out of the center of the Ninth City in one breath, and buried the black box under an uninhabited tree on the way.

Inexplicably, I felt that the atmosphere in the city was different; but the news of the stolen box had not yet spread to where I was now, and the night in the outer city was still shrouded in lively smoke.A few vagrants were sitting around the flowers with their heads bowed, with a few pianos behind them, and star playing cards, dice and a pile of coins in the circle.

"I'm going to lose." I watched the game from a distance for a while, then walked behind a child and said.

He rolled his eyes back at me curtly, and his two companions jostled him, grinning.

"Don't meddle in your own business, idiot." He growled, shook the hands of his companions, and threw two cards in his hands.After a few rounds of receiving and receiving cards, a few drops of sweat broke out on his forehead, his fingers tightened his grip on the cards, and the number of cards left in his hand became less and less.His two companions began to glance at me from time to time.In the end, the child slammed his fist on the ground dejectedly, and discarded all his cards.

"Fox," his companion taunted without hesitation, "your luck has been confirmed by the evil star behind you."

I nodded to him and said, "You lose second."

The man stopped the conversation, and continued to play cards with the only one left.When it was time for another third round, the man finally showed his cards hesitantly, and then hung his head very dejectedly.The two losers were probably in the same mood at this time, and they both stared at me rather displeased.

I took out a handful of change and threw it in the circle, and smiled at them: "Why don't you add me?"

"You can do it?" The winner hesitated to make room for me.

"I win every gamble," I said, just in time to catch a glimpse of the bluebell next to me--its veins under the leaves are glowing faintly from the base, and the bright blue will soon spread to the tip of the leaf, "I bet that flower will bloom within ten seconds."

The three children stared at it, and then all opened their mouths wide.

"We didn't agree to bet on this." One of them suddenly muttered, gathering the pile of coins in front of him.

"Yeah," I said, "I'm just here to play poker."

I've been playing Stars since I was a kid, first against Redmonton and later against Ord.Generally speaking, the rule is that the total number of stars on the card holder's face reaches a value, and the value is determined by the number of stars thrown by everyone.The principle is a bit complicated, but those who understand it can often follow a set of rules.

It's obviously ineffective for me to gamble with a few half-grown children here, but at this time I have to abandon the face of the elderly, force myself to be an itchy gambler, and simply play a few games with them plate.At first I weighed wins and loses, and made a few small sums of money in and out, and then my boast of "every bet is guaranteed to win" was declared bankrupt.They laughed a few times around the topic, but then focused on the cards.Our stakes got bigger after a few rounds; they let their eyes slip past me inadvertently, as if trying to figure out how much money was left in my pocket.

"If you win this round, it's all yours." I said, "I want a violin."

"The violin's worth more than that," said one kid with a twinkle in his eye. "I'm not betting you on that."

"But I only have this amount of cash left, and the total amount is quite a lot. Small money is too boring, and there are so many in my hands every day-I didn't complain about losing more than winning! Most of my luck was wiped out by your courage. I lowered my voice and said, "Want to gamble? If you don't gamble, leave."

I figured the checkpoints going out of the city would be very tight in the last few days—even though I had enough money left over to buy a ticket, I still planned to wait until the limelight passed before embarking on my return journey.The roving guards may go door-to-door to check hotels and residential houses, but the identities of these inconspicuous wanderers on the streets of the outer city are a better layer of concealment.And just now, I got something that I can't buy at this moment, but that every homeless person always has.

I took a piano and left the small gambling circle, and there were faint complaints from several children behind me.As I walked, I thought about the place where I would sleep in the open tonight, and I plucked lightly on its piano body.The trembling of the string revealed a layer of gentle sound, which dissipated in this misty night.

In the past few days, I have heard rumors in the streets that the central area of ​​the Ninth City is under martial law.There are also more and more patrolling guards outside, and I saw them posting my portrait.The details in that painting are really vivid, my facial features have been extended almost in the same way, the clothes of the day are written in small characters below, and the reason for wanting is attached: "Stealing the Crown".

However, I knew in my heart that no matter how I looked at it, the things contained in the flat box could not be as heavy as a crown.

It's a good thing I still have the ring; it's enough to keep my face in the street now and then for a while.I spent the past few days relying entirely on the dry food in my bag, slowly groping for the black market and the white market here, not daring to try it out.After curfew, I did what most homeless people do, huddled under the long brick wall of Gray Lane and fell asleep slowly.During this period, some colleagues came to chat with me, most of them were meaningless jokes about the weather.

My luck was not too bad, until the night of the third day I happened to bump into the trip of the "Redemption Society".

That day I went to Gray Lane as usual.Perhaps because it had rained earlier, not many people gathered at the foot of the gray wall that day.It was not time for bed yet, so I just nodded against the wall and dozed off.At this moment, I suddenly heard a thin sound of jaw opening and closing, and then realized that it came from a girl beside me.Her slightly curly blond hair was trembling against her sharp chin, faintly revealing half of her handsome and pale side face.

I followed her line of sight and saw a line of gray burqas approaching in the distance.They were almost the same as the patrolling guards of the Liyi Society during the day, but they walked more slowly and with lighter steps, like a thick cloud covering the sky.What they held in their hands looked like preaching scepters at first glance, but they were extremely similar in appearance to knives and halberds.There was an extra rope tied around their waists, which was a few thick hemp ropes twisted into a rough knot, and the end of the rope hung down to their insteps.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

The girl's lips turned white, and she couldn't tell why for a long time.It was someone in Gray Lane who took the bait for her: "It's the Redemption Society."

"What about redemption?" I said.I still don't quite understand what the word means.

"They judge and kill. Or they don't," continued the wanderer. "God's right."

I saw that he closed his eyes, as if he was praying silently.

The people in Gray Lane walked halfway quietly, and the few remaining people leaned weakly on the spot, resigned to their fate.It would be too conspicuous for me to leave now, and the distance between the Redemption Order patrolling guards is no longer as far as it was in the beginning.

The girl next to me was still trembling, as if held in place by fear.I guessed that she might have some kind of feud with the church, so I touched her lightly and said to her, "Get behind me."

I took a step to the side, exposing the half-man-wide gap behind me—I used to pile things there when I slept, and then blocked them with my back, in case they disappeared the next day, I never thought about today Might come in handy.

The girl seemed to have noticed me now, and turned her head to my side.But the fear in her eyes seemed to deepen at that moment, and she looked like a beast cub retreating to its lair.I realized immediately that she didn't want to trust me.

"To be honest." I quickly whispered to her, "If you have any serious conflicts with those gray men, I suggest you temporarily avoid their sight—at least I won't do anything to harm you right now. "

I turned my body slightly, indicating that she still had time to use my cover to do something.The girl hesitated for a moment, and finally hid in the shadow behind me.

Fortunately, those members of the Redemption Society only briefly scanned our faces with their lights as they passed by, comparing my portrait with both spirit and form, and turned to another street without staying too long.As the tail of the line disappeared around the corner, I heard an old vagabond sigh, and the shoulders of those who had sat stiff on the ground slumped.

I let the girl out; she was pressed against the wall next to me, and she seemed calmer, at least not trembling.

Only then can I take a closer look at her.She seemed to have green eyes, a very pretty face, and a young age—though she was oddly dressed, in an oversized shirt and ill-fitting trousers, and not generally dirty.He doesn't have a piano on his back, and judging from the lines of his hands, he is not a hard worker.I guessed that she might have run away from home or somewhere and picked up this outfit in a hurry.

"Do you need help?" I asked.

I had intended to get out of here as soon as possible.The inspection of the Redemption Society just now gave me a bad feeling, as if even the outer walls of Hui Lane were stained with a layer of mournful gloom.But seeing her still in shock, I couldn't help thinking that I had to say something before leaving.

"If you don't need it, I'm leaving now," I said.

The girl looked at me with eyes still full of suspicion.After shedding that obvious layer of cowardice, her whole emotions, thoughts, and actions seemed to be shrunk in that pale body, bound together by vigilance and determination.I shrugged, thinking that my question was probably unnecessary, so I tied my bag and walked out.

"Wait." Someone behind me suddenly said.

I looked back, scanning back and forth hesitantly.Most of the people in Gray Lane had their eyes closed, either dozed off, or fell into a deep sleep.Among the awake people, there was only one person looking at me.I was finally able to confirm that it was the person next to me who spoke to me last moment.

I couldn't believe it—it was a teenager's voice I just heard.

"You're a man—" I blurted out, and then I saw his face darken, "—well, come out once in a while?"

I touched my nose.Like me, he skipped this meaningless question, not intending to answer it at all.I can feel that he still has something to ask me, and it lies between his mouth, he is indecisive and at a loss.

He stared at me for a moment, but took a slight step back.

"Can you take me?" he said.