rootless

strangeness?This is--

Lin Xiyan, who was aimlessly following the people ahead, stopped suddenly.

He looked around, but found nothing.

"What's the matter, Xiyan?" The man in white in front noticed that he had stopped, so he also stopped and waited for him.

Xi Yan?Did I tell him my name?Lin Xiyan frowned and thought about it, but found that it happened just now, but he couldn't remember the details.

Well, maybe I'm too worried.Lin Xiyan shook his head, then remembered the reason why he stopped just now, so he asked, "Mr. Xu, did you hear anything?"

"Sound? What sound?"

Does that mean he didn't hear it?Lin Xiyan paused and continued, "At the beginning, it was the sound of the whimpering flute. I thought it was someone practicing the rhythm, so I didn't pay attention to it. But halfway through, the sound turned into a woman's singing, which was full of joy and sorrow. It’s a dreamlike trance, after listening to it for a long time, it really makes people feel like they don’t know where they are.”

With a sound of 'shua', the man in white opened his folding fan again, "I have traveled this distance more than a thousand times, and I have never heard any strange noises. And—" the man in white covered himself with the fan a little narcissistically. With half of his face, he looked at the sky with his exposed eyes, "Don't say it's a human being, even the moon girl in the sky that day would hide behind the clouds after seeing this young master. Well, Xiyan, the time is short." Wait for someone, there is still a place to go later, we'd better hurry up." After speaking, the man in white walked again with big strides.

Lin Xiyan, who fell behind, did not follow immediately, but closed his eyes and listened to the erratic music with all his heart. At this time, the music seemed to have reached its peak, and besides the previous female voice, another song was added. The men's voices are thick and thick, and they can't hear what they are singing, but it just makes people feel a sense of sadness in all kinds of things in the world and the impermanence of fate.

"Alas—" Lin Xiyan sighed for a long time, then opened his eyes, his eyes were clear.

He slowly saluted with fists in the direction where the voice came from, and after getting up again, he stopped lingering and strode to catch up with the man in white in front.

After walking again for about half an hour, the sky gradually became brighter, and there were scattered hawkers' cries on the street.

"Hot Lantern Festival, freshly cooked Lantern Festival! Guest officials who have walked all night can come and have a look!"

"Selling lanterns! Goldfish, lotus, all kinds of lanterns! Hey, sir, it's the Lantern Festival, do you want to buy a lantern for your sweetheart?"

Today is Lantern Festival?Lin Xiyan looked at the row of red and festive stalls, and was a little dazed.

I still remember that when I was ten years old, it was also at this time, amidst the festive and lively voices, he and Xi Ye were being chased into the car by someone who had taken a prostitution contract, while their parents were a little guilty through the fence of the car Gaps watched them.

In a blink of an eye, so many years have passed.

"Xiyan, why are you so dazed, hurry up, I won't be able to catch up." When he was in a daze, Xu Shu's voice came from afar.

Lin Xiyan quickly regained his senses, and walked a few steps along with the white-clothed man, "Sorry, Mr. Xu, I just remembered something from the past.

Xu Shu waved his hand along with him, expressing that he didn't care.

"I don't know, where are we going now?" Lin Xiyan asked after thinking about it.

"The population market." Xu Shu replied lightly.

"What?" Lin Xiyan thought he had heard wrong.

"A place where people are trafficked. Xiyan, you heard me right."

"Ridiculous!" Lin Xiyan stepped forward and grabbed the man in white by the collar, "Ten years ago, the new emperor ordered the abolition of human trafficking. The owner of the market you are going to is going to eat a leopard?"

"Xiyan, calm down, you're hurting me." Xu Shu looked at him pitifully.

"Don't let go, make it clear." Lin Xiyan refused to let go.

"Here," the man in white raised his hands in surrender when he saw that Lin Xiyan was really angry, "Okay, I'll explain the whole thing to Xiyan right away, can you let go first?"

Lin Xiyan's impulsiveness just now was mainly because he remembered the pain he and Xiye had been betrayed by their parents. At this moment, seeing that Xu Shu was indeed turned pale by him, he let go of him.

After the man in white was put down by him, he straightened his clothes first, and then made a gesture that made Lin Xiyan a little dumbfounded——

The sleeves were rolled up high, the hem was pulled up and tied to the waist, and by the way, the precious fan was also inserted into the belt on the back.

One, two, three - let's go!

"Hey! It's really getting late! I made an appointment with the seller for the handover point of Chenshi and Sishi! If you want to ask me, just follow me! Xiyan!"

When Lin Xiyan wanted to understand the meaning of the somewhat nonsensical and unrestrained words above, the man in white had already run away, leaving only a white shadow.

Then, just listening to "Crack——", for the first time in Lin Xiyan's [-] years of life, he heard a sound that seemed to be cracking somewhere in his heart.

***

In front of a stall in the official population market in Taisho.

An anxious woman holding a child about eight or nine years old panicked and said to the stall owner, "Zhou, Boss Zhou, it's almost time, why isn't Mr. Xu coming here, right? Is it because he doesn't want to sign my family's Ye'er anymore? If it's true, what should I do? The head of the family is still on the hospital bed. If it wasn't for Boss Zhou, you can guarantee that Master Xu has taken a fancy to Ye'er at a glance. , I wouldn't send Ye'er here overnight, and Ye'er caught the wind and cold. Now if Master Xu really breaks his promise, what can I do—"

The man whom the woman called Boss Zhou was a short man with a red face.

Compared with the woman's anxiety, the boss Zhou's expression can be regarded as calm and relaxed. He took a sip of tea slowly, and then he said in relief, "I'll be here soon, isn't it not here yet? Auntie, Don't worry. According to my understanding of Master Xu, he will definitely not break his promise, maybe it was delayed on the way, let's just wait for a while."

Just when Boss Zhou’s words fell——

"Oh, I'm so sorry, I was delayed on the way, Boss Zhou!"

"Xu-shu! Stop!" Two male voices sounded almost at the same time.

"Here, Master Xu, who is this?" Boss Zhou looked at Xu Shu who was fanning slowly, and then at Lin Xiyan who was kicking like a cow with a flushed face behind Xu Shu, feeling a little confused.

"It's nothing, it's nothing." Xu Shu smiled and took a fan to cover Lin Xiyan's palm extended towards him, bowed his head and said something quickly in his ear, "Don't hurry to teach me, Xiyan, just take a look at that woman." The person in the arms of a person, see if there is a sense of familiarity."

Lin Xiyan frowned slightly because of his approach, and instinctively took two steps back.

After listening to Xu Shu's words, he did not immediately follow suit, but carefully looked at the situation of the stall——

It is a bit inaccurate to say the stall, because the house in front of him has obviously been exquisitely decorated, and there are still some famous calligraphy and ink hanging on the interior walls. It is really different from the "population stall" he imagined. It is said to be a scholar's study. Not too much.

Thinking carefully about the shops he saw when he ran over, it seemed that he didn't hear any cries?

what on earth is it?

Although he has been imprisoned in the general's mansion all year round, he is not a three-year-old child who knows nothing. He still knows a little about the imperial city, but why has he never heard of this place now?

In the midst of these miscellaneous thoughts, he casually cast his gaze in the direction of the woman holding the child——

"Xi Ye!" Almost as soon as he shouted, he ran towards the woman.

"Ah—" the woman was a little startled, but because Boss Zhou beside her shook her head quietly, the woman suppressed her panic and tried her best to calmly stand in the original place with the child in her arms. Nothing moved.

Lin Xiyan didn't notice the interaction between the two of them. At this moment, only the young boy with slightly flushed face and shortness of breath was left in his mind.

At this moment, the boy struggled to open his eyes. After two seconds of confusion, those clear eyes met Lin Xiyan, and the next second the boy mouthed—"Xiyan, I came back'.

After speaking, the boy seemed extremely tired and closed his eyes again.

It's Xi Ye, it's really Xi Ye!Lin Xiyan was instantly ecstatic.His gaze was firmly fixed on the boy in the woman's arms, and he was not willing to leave for a moment.

"Well, this young master—" the woman finally couldn't help but speak.

It was only at this time that Lin Xiyan noticed the woman's existence. He looked at Boss Zhou next to him and the surroundings with some doubts, and was stunned.

At this time, Xu Shu came over, put his arms around Lin Xiyan's neck, and apologized to the woman and Boss Zhou, "Oh, I'm so sorry, both of you! This is Lin Xiyan, the orphan of my distant uncle's clan, A while ago, my uncle wrote to trust me to take care of him. He originally had a younger brother who was about ten years old, but in the accident that took the lives of his parents, his younger brother also passed away. I have also met Xiyan’s younger brother. , looks very similar to this aunt's child, and even the name has the word 'night', and I signed the bookboy this time because of him. Please rest assured, Xiyan The most gentle thing, but this gaffe probably reminded him of his younger brother, and he had some feelings for it, if it is true that your child will come to Xu's mansion to be a schoolboy in the future, Xiyan will definitely take good care of him."

Hearing this woman's expression changed to a deep understanding, "Oh, yes, this is the way of the world. It is either a natural disaster or a man-made disaster. Human power is really beyond reach."

"This aunt is absolutely right." Xu Shu nodded in agreement.

The woman started to talk, so she turned the topic to Boss Zhou, "However, I still want to thank His Majesty the Emperor for this new 'population contract' decree, which is different from the previous 'absolute sale' and 'population contract'." "Selling alive" is a completely different contract signing plan, so we ordinary people finally see a little light."

"That's right," Boss Zhou said happily when he saw the harmonious atmosphere, "It is said that this set of bills was proposed by Mr. Changfeng, the wife of General Shen. I have seen that Mr. from afar. He is very handsome. He is really handsome and kind." good man."

"That's right. I have seen the general's wife. It is said that the general dismissed many other sons who were sent by others for many years, and doted on him alone. He even refused the marriage offered by His Majesty ten years ago. Really. Envy others!"

What is she saying?What decade?Wasn't it just last month that the general resisted the decree and refused to marry?

Lin Xiyan suddenly remembered the dreamlike melody in the alley that followed Xu Shu through the corner——

Just a short journey, I came to ten years later?

Could that road be the road to hell?

So I'm a human now, or a ghost?

Just when Lin Xiyan's heart was shaking to the extreme, he was suddenly kicked in the waist with a small force.

He followed his strength to look over——

It was the little boy being held by the woman.

It is also his Xi Ye.

Looking at it, Lin Xiyan suddenly laughed, very brightly.

It is not good?It doesn't matter if I am a human or a ghost now, and it doesn't matter what kind of spirit or god that Mr. Xu who brought him is——

The important thing is that God finally returned his most important treasure.