【Summer Five】Iron City Wall

Reina hurried over with the dinner plate, paused in front of the door, adjusted her breathing, and made herself look as calm and upright as possible.

"Master," the maid said respectfully as she knocked on the door with her fingers, "it's Reina."

After a few seconds of silence, a lazy "come in" came from the room.

Reina pushed the door open, and met the young master who was sitting cross-legged on the big bed.She almost screamed, lowered her head hastily, put the tray on the table, turned around and left.

There seemed to be an unknown chuckle behind her, and Reina bit her lower lip tightly, almost running wildly.

Gojo retracted his gaze and ate his breakfast slowly.

The bedroom is thirty square meters, and the furniture is simple and elegant, so small that a paperweight is worth a lot.He sat on the head of the bed, covered with wine-red velvet sheets, immaculate from head to toe—minus the iron-gray shackles between his ankles.

It was slightly wider than the ankle bone, and it set off the whiter skin, showing a fragile and fragile beauty.

The tray was swept away in the blink of an eye, Wujo took a sip of water, stood up and walked around the bedroom a few times, weighing how far he could digest it so that he would not spit it out.

After standing for a while, he twisted the quilt into a thick knot and lowered it from the window, just enough to touch the ground.The desk provided an excellent starting point. After a little visual inspection, the five hands exerted force, only a crisp "click" was heard, and the ankle bound by the shackles dislocated and forcibly broke free from the shackles.

When the chain slipped off, the boy put the joint back on without changing his face, without frowning the whole time.The ankle bone that was subjected to violence immediately swelled, and bruises appeared under the skin, and it hurt like an electric shock with a little force.

Wujo looked at his feet coldly, carefully calculated his action plan for the future, finally sighed, and made a simple bandage with the remaining quilt and hanger to fix the loose joint.

He packed the belongings he had prepared into his backpack, turned over the desk, grabbed the "rope" and jumped down from the fourth floor.

When Andre returned to the bedroom, the first thing he saw was blood stains.

After that night, he almost had a stress reaction to the liquid of this color, as if he was once again in the evening wind of late autumn, with a large exploding exploding blood in front of his eyes.Once the illusion came out, his whole body was tense, and his right hand quickly reached his back to touch the gun, even though there was nothing there.

"Shh, it's me."

The silver-haired boy jumped down from the window sill and shook his hands in front of Andre's eyes: "Why don't you make a sound? Don't be scared stupid."

The young master who welcomed the uninvited guest quickly asked Wutiao to sit down, only to find that the blood came from the bottom of this person's feet - he was barefoot, his white and clean soles were covered with mud, and several lacerations were still oozing blood slowly. Every step he took, Just left a bunch of mottled plum red on the ground.

"What's the matter?" Andre was afraid that he would commit a crime, "You came here like this..."

Wutiao didn't even bother to tease him, so he cut to the chase and said, "Where is Jie?"

"What?" Andre seemed to have heard the name unexpectedly.

"You are well-informed, and there must be a bunch of old departments maintaining the intelligence network under your command-tell me where is he?"

The five items were shining brightly, and Andre saw bright hope from them.

He suddenly couldn't speak.The difficult words lingered on the tip of his tongue, and Andre couldn't help but look away, unable to restrain the pity that was close to empathy.

But Wutiao at least has the right to know, and he cannot remain silent.Moreover, the clause of "keeping secrets" was never added in the agreement, presumably that person had already expected that Wutiao would come to his door, so he deliberately let himself be careful.

The carved wall clock is ticking and swinging, its long tongue is beating on the clock wall, and the chime of the imitation cuckoo shatters the silence.

Andre finally said, about Xia You's recent situation, his life in State University in District [-], his parents who moved to District [-], and the deal that was far better than torture.

"He suddenly called and asked me for everything I knew about the Revolutionary Army." He whispered, "Jie was very... determined. He said he would do better than me, and he would keep going."

The air was almost stagnant.Wu Tiao's eyes were downcast, and his bangs were too long to cover his expression, casting a shadow over the bridge of his nose.

He opened his mouth softly: "What did Jie promise you? Let me guess—is it just to erase the evidence of 'Andre' and make this person cease to exist?"

Terrible tacit understanding.Andre nodded slowly.

"It's impossible." Wutiao just said to himself, his hands folded, his fingertips trembling slightly, "He just said not long ago that he wanted to draw a line with you, how could he do such a stupid thing?"

Andre just looked up at him with sadness in his eyes.

"It's not 'not so long ago', Wu, it's been almost three hundred days. People change. How can you be sure of his thoughts after you haven't seen him for so long?—Besides, if you know that he took me away What's the first thing a person does after..."

Wujo raised his head abruptly, and hurriedly asked, "What is it?"

The wall clock became more and more urgent, knocking on the wooden wall, the sound was like a reminder.

"Enlightenment, there is absolutely no lie," the blond young man pronounced the death penalty word by word, heavily, "he disposed of four corpses."

The doorbell rang, and Nanako and Mimiko looked at each other, neither of them was sure whether to open the door.

But the bell was still ringing persistently, and the girls held hands and walked towards the entrance, jumped up and looked at the cat's eyes, but couldn't see anything.

"It's okay, Master Xia You is amazing." Nanako said to Mimiko, as if emboldening herself, "No matter who comes, don't be afraid."

She opened the door, froze, raised her head in a daze, her neck was sore, and she managed to see the guest's face clearly.

"Hi, hello," Nanako stammered, "what's the matter?"

The man was behind the light, and the girls only saw short silver hair and a pair of unreal blue eyes.

Footsteps came from behind, and Xia You's tepid voice sounded: "What's the matter? Are there any guests?"

He walked up, and was about to utter the words behind, but was cut off when he raised his eyes to see the person coming, uncovering the old bloody wounds.

But the pause was only for a moment, and he quickly chuckled: "Long time no see, Wu."

The girls looked at this side, then at that side, and caught the light of relief in the silver-haired boy's eyes, as if the dust had settled.He was about to step forward to hug Xia You, but the latter avoided him before making physical contact, and said lightly: "It's not convenient here, let's go down and talk."

The child stayed at home, Xia You took Wutiao down to the coffee shop outside the apartment, and picked a booth by the window.

People come and go on the street, vehicles are speeding past, the sound of engines and the sounds of people talking are tangled into balls of wool, rolling from one treetop to another, densely surrounding the entire city.Reunited after a long absence, the scent of fresh drinks slowly overflowed, and the air of day and night thoughts lingered in each other's noses, and after a short look, they only felt cold.

"Recently... how is it?" Wutiao stirred the milk tea, suddenly feeling a little embarrassed like "being close to the hometown".He obviously had more things to ask, but he picked out trivial things without hesitation, as if he missed the other party so much.

Although the longing was real, the quietness changed him completely.

Xia You didn't answer, looked at Wu Tiao and frowned, and asked, "How did you get here?"

This sentence can have many meanings. Wutiao picked the most concise one and said: "I asked Andre to borrow shoes and a car. You know, there is a viaduct connecting the first district to other districts, so you don't need to go by water." Of course, it is the Champs. In exchange for a piece of land on Philippine Avenue.

Xia You looked at his feet subconsciously, and stopped her gaze after a while, turned her head half-sternly, and looked out of the window.

The wordless estrangement gradually permeated, and Wujo felt an inexplicable sense of panic in his heart.He had a premonition that some things would get out of hand, so he took advantage of the rising heat and said softly, "Andre told me something about... your deal."

"That was a joke, wasn't it?" He lost the confidence he had when he came here, so he could only stare at Xia You stubbornly, trying to find a little waver on his face, "You know that the Revolutionary Army itself is an unrealistic delusion. An obsession to deceive yourself and others—obviously, you wouldn't do that."

Xia You faces Wutiao Simu with very pale eyes.

He said, "I killed people, Wu. Four people, college students, killed with one blow."

Through the water mist, he saw five pupils constricted, and the five fingers holding the rim of the cup turned white.

"No..." Half a syllable got stuck in my throat and rolled down in embarrassment, "It's okay, they must have done some heinous things, as long as I don't violate the bottom line, I will—"

"What are you doing?" Xia You looked at him, "There is no arrow to turn back, and I don't plan to turn back."

"A year ago, I was still thinking that as long as the fangs and claws of the so-called 'tyranny' do not fall on me, it has nothing to do with me. I look at everything in my hands and feel grateful—as long as these things It's safe and sound, and I don't have to be a stupid idealist."

"Now that I think about it, I'm so stupid. The hammer is hanging over everyone's head at any time, and whether it falls or not depends on the mood of the helmsman; once the conscientious worker ants stop to breathe, the hammer will immediately fall, separating reason and law. Grind into meat. Isn’t the lesson of Ye Xiao and Johnny not enough? Living in the fifth district—living under others means walking on thin ice and being in constant fear. Even if you seem to have something, it’s just a high-ranking person It's just a whim of connivance, it can be taken back anytime and anywhere, and there is no residue left."

"Wu, I've had enough."

Xia You stopped and drank the latte in one gulp.

His tone was very flat, even though his words were fierce, his tone was always calm and clear, like a deep well without waves.Wujo couldn't speak, his always sharp brain almost shut down, and he made a hoarse and unpleasant clenching sound.

Finally, he squeezed out the words through his teeth: "You can't do it."

"I don't want to quarrel with you," he repeated in a low voice. "There are many loopholes in logic, and you're just getting yourself into it. Just calm down and think about it..."

Xia You tapped on the rim of the cup, and a fleeting irritability flashed in her eyes.

"Wu, you are always denying me, saying 'no one has done this kind of thing'. But you are the only one in the whole world," he gnawed on those few words, "Only you are not qualified to say that."

"If it were you, you could do it."

A sparrow flitted past the window, the branches swayed, and the shadows on the sidewalk dappled and flickered.

Xia You lowered her eyes and focused her attention, her forehead moved slightly, her brows and eyes were cold, like a Buddha statue without sadness or joy.Indifference makes his sharp outline deeper, black and white are distinct, and his facial features are so beautiful that he can sink in at a glance.

But the long and almost drowning silence that stretched across each other saw the file repeatedly on the flesh and blood, until the body was completely bruised.

"In that case," Wutiao lowered his head, and said slowly, "Anyway, you are all dead ahead, why don't I kill you now."

He counted on Xia You to refuse, reprimanded the harsh words, and laughed and scolded as usual.

But the black-haired boy just nodded with a smile on his face, and calmly said, "Please feel free, I respect your choice." He straightened his back, every strand of hair was defenseless, as if looking like he was about to kill.

The hand on the revolver on the back of the waist fell heavily, and Wu Tiao rose up, almost roaring: "Jie! What on earth are you trying to do—"

Xia You leaned forward, gently blocking the young man's slightly trembling ending voice.

Bitter, cold, a kiss with the breath of the sea.Like the mountain wind blowing through the willow branches, the incense in the ancient temple is dim, and the verdant peaks are so high;

He lingered between his lips and teeth, lingering indifferently and distantly, making people cry; when he stopped at the top, fresh snow fell, and what was buried was all unsaid words and unfulfilled promises.

He said goodbye to his lover, and he went to die.

He said, "Take care."

Xia You walked away, and his back melted into the sunlight, burning his retinas.

The wires lay bare in the air, and the sparrows fluttered away one by one, their shafts scorched hot by the sun, like a rigid and stubborn old man.Wutiao covered his eyes, his heart was empty for a while, and astringent for a while, like a towering tree being uprooted, the pain was so extreme that only empty and numb pain remained.

He leaned back against the seat, his eyes were hot, but he couldn't leave anything behind.

He knew what this separation meant, they both knew it all too well.

The revolution may cause storms, and its scale may be unmatched by no one, but in the end, it is like a mayfly shaking a tree, and a bamboo basket fetching water is in vain.No matter how good or how outstanding Jie is, the end point he is about to reach has already been drawn up.

Five is the best way to understand the iron city wall.The House may be able to endure it for a few years, but three to five years is not enough. What about 15 or [-] years?The day will come when patience runs out, when the fangs and claws that once guarded humanity turn their backs, when the flag snaps, and all the efforts of the rebel army will be meaningless.

No one cares about the process, and no one is willing to listen to the revolutionaries' spiel.Any feats, see-saws and struggles are just like flying sand and stones over the clouds and fields, fluttering across the history books, and may leave one or two ink stains.

Wu Tiao knows their differences, the fork in the road has existed since the first meeting with Yin; but Jin Jie resolutely stepped into the turbulent flow, leaving him to wander alone, to meet the whistling ending with confused eyes.

Only death is the only way to rest.

A few people came in from the front door, wearing neat suits with thorn bird thimbles pinned to their chests.They stood in front of the table, their bodies lined up into an impenetrable mountain, silently looking down at the boy.

Gojo slowly moved his hand away, raised his head and smiled.

"Don't worry, I won't run away." He said, his voice was a little hoarse, "...let's go home."