Opposite the entrance hall

Ji Si and the others arrived at the border of Kashgar in the evening. After entering this area, the surroundings began to become popular. On the way, they met many people dressed in weird clothes. It was not completely weird because their clothes were the same as their own. It is different, to be precise, it is different from Dajin’s toga with long sleeves. Men are mostly dressed in short shirts, showing powerful arms, and wearing hats wrapped in cloth scarves on their heads, while women are mostly dressed in short shirts and skirts. It is very cool and cool, with jingling accessories around the neck, the sound it makes when walking in the wind is very pleasant, and the patterns embroidered on the clothes are mostly grass and wood patterns.

This attire is slightly different from Dajin's attire, but it is not entirely like Nandian's style, it tends to be in between, and it has a special charm when you look closely.

The group of them looked out of place in their outfits, and they received a lot of attention along the way. The first day of the junior high school rode a horse and followed them, looked around, and asked in a low voice, "My lord, what are those people doing?"

Following the direction he pointed, Ji Si looked up and saw a group of men and women in short shirts and trousers following behind an old man in a long robe. The old man staggered, holding a black cane carved He is wearing some incomprehensible patterns, and in the other hand is holding a necklace of round beads. The shape of the beads is different from ordinary beads, and they are uneven, but because they are too far away to see clearly, his leather robe is full of beads. It's colorful feathers, it looks like the feathers of some kind of bird.

A group of people followed behind the old man with their heads blowing. They circled the trees in the woods not far from them. The old man opened and closed his mouth, as if muttering something, and then took out something like lime from the jar beside him. , and threw it into the air vigorously.

There was something in the white ash, and just as it was thrown into the air, suddenly, many birds flew out from the forest and hovered over the heads of this group of people. It was a bit shocking to see from a distance.

Ji Si stared at it for a while, then replied in a flat tone: "They are carrying out the burial."

"The burial?" The first day of the junior high school was a little surprised, and the expression on his face was full of puzzlement.

When Kong Lingqiu heard the sound, he also looked over.

"This is the custom of Nandian," Ji Si explained: "Nandian was formerly composed of sixteen Fangguo. Although they have been in constant turmoil, each Fangguo believes in gods, respects nature, and fears the emperor of heaven. The child of the gods, there is a legend mentioned in "Nan Xu Lun". It is said that the land of Nandian was originally full of high mountains and mountains, each of the sixteen kingdoms occupied one side, and the mountains and forests were full of beasts and birds. It is also like a beast, but one night, a golden light appeared from the gray sky. The light was very dazzling, illuminating the whole world at an extremely fast speed. Nandian's current holy land, Tianshan."

Ji Si took a breath, glanced at the group of people, and they began to bow down a tree, and then continued unhurriedly: "It is said that the child wrapped in that golden light looks just like ordinary people , there is a pair of feathers on the back alone, and the feathers worship Wu Xie with a golden light without a trace of variegation, wrapping the naked child tightly. The first Da'an of Nandian, so the people of Nandian who feared the heaven and the earth believed that they were the people of God. Totem, the people of Nandian believe that body and soul are given by nature, and should be returned to heaven and earth after death, but the succession of the superior always has a bit of legend, which seems to obey the destiny, as if granted by heaven, but in fact, where do so many come from? The ghosts and gods are all fabricated by powerful people, so just listen to it as a story."

The first day of junior high school is half a year old, and I love to listen to this kind of legendary story, and I don't blink my eyes when I listen to it, and I asked blankly: "Isn't this life given by my parents? How can it be born?" Tianyang, besides, how can we return it to heaven and earth when people are dead?"

"Have you seen what's in that jar?" Ji Si raised his chin toward that place, "The ash in there is made by grinding the dried bones of the owner of the tomb after death, and three green incense is added to the ash when it is ground , and then mix the five grains in it, so that when it is sprinkled into the air, the smell of the three-green fragrance is the favorite taste of the birds. Bring the nearby birds over, and they will eat the ashes-stained grains, and this will be returned to heaven and earth, which is called the sky burial of birds. Kashgar has been governed by Nandian for a long time, so it is normal to learn the customs of Nandian."

Thinking about the scene of grinding the bones, I felt a chill behind my back on the first day of junior high school, and my bones ached faintly. I didn't even have the courage to take a second look, and whispered: "What a strange custom this is."

Kong Lingqiu smiled and said, "Ji Shilang even knows the customs of Nandian, he really has a lot of experience."

"I just saw it in a book, but it's the first time I saw it today," Ji Si replied with a smile, "The book says that this kind of sky burial varies from person to person, and not everyone is qualified to use this kind of burial. Most of them are high-ranking officials and aristocrats, and it varies with different classes. I think the scale is not small, and it may be a local aristocratic family."

"Don't stay any longer, it's getting late," Kong Lingqiu didn't answer, but avoided the topic, "Let's go first."

Ji Si rode his horse and followed behind them, tightened the reins and looked back, with a serious expression on his face, and then followed quickly.

They did not enter the city of Kashgar, but went straight to the west.

Kashgar is located in the middle, bypassing Kashgar to the west is Baimaxia. As the name suggests, Baimaxia is a canyon with mountains on both sides. Because of the high terrain, it is foggy and cool all the year round. The high mountains tower into the clouds, the light in the valley is dark, and the vegetation is more humid and lush than other places. Most of them are potholes and sinks. Few people build villages nearby.

Across the Baima Gorge is the entrance of the Greenwood Forest. This forest is lush, and you can see beasts, snakes and ants everywhere in the forest. You can also see more rare animals and birds. The mountains are endless and there are many trees. If you are not familiar with the terrain If you enter rashly, you will either get lost in it, or become a dish of wild beasts, or die under the miasma.

Speaking of this miasma is really interesting, and I don’t know why it started. Dajin has not found the source so far, but it lingers all year round, with a faint green color, and it looks layer upon layer from a distance. It will fester all over the body, starting from the internal organs and six lungs, rotten in the body bit by bit, and finally die of pain. This miasma is like an invisible barrier in Nandian, blocking all external dangers here.

Nandian is far from being as vast and numerous as Beiyan and Xiqiang. Calculated carefully, the land that people can live in is only half and half of Dajin. They are all mysterious lands, but so far no one has been able to capture them because of the Cyanwood Forest.

The Great Jin had a big fall in the hands of Nandian, and the emperors of the Li family were all good-faced. They dreamed of earning this face back. Since its establishment, the Xiaocai Army has existed to check and balance Nandian. It has been a hundred years. However, the hero Cheng Zhong, now leading the Xiao cavalry army is the Xiao family, Xiao Changyu and Xiao Changsheng, father and son soldiers, killing the enemy's brothers, and guarding the White Horse Gorge for so many years without any slack.

Ji Si and the others went to Xiaoqi barracks.

The farther you go to the west, the less people there are, but you can see flags fluttering in the wind everywhere, with big Xiao characters written on them, and the road gradually widens. Through the forest, there are three or five people standing vaguely at the end, all dressed in Dark red armor, all riding on tall horses, although there are not many people, but with a murderous aura, it seems that wherever you stand, there will be a copper wall and an iron wall, which is very intimidating.

These people are too conspicuous to be ignored.

The person standing at the front also saw them from a distance, so he rushed up to meet them, dismounted handsomely, clasped his fists and saluted with a light smile: "The last general Xiaoqi Battalion is guarding Zheng Cheng, and he was ordered to wait for the two adults again for a long time. The journey is far away, and the two adults are invited to rest in the camp at the end of the day."

Ji Si and Kong Lingqiu glanced at each other, exchanged polite greetings and followed Zheng Cheng to the camp.

The camp of the Xiaoqi Camp is behind a mountain. It is a vast hilly plain with good terrain and a wide field of vision. There are sentry posts around and patrolling soldiers can be seen everywhere. After entering the camp, the number of people gradually increased. The tents were arranged in an orderly manner. No one took a second look as they walked past, as if they didn't exist, which showed that the military discipline was strict.

No one is more familiar with this kind of place than Ji Si. When he was in Shuzhou, he followed his father in the Eighth Battalion of Apocalypse when he was a child. General Zhu and the others watched him grow up. The lieutenant general, the general, and the guard followed behind him for fun, and some pretentious voices could be heard in the entire Tianqi camp. It was very funny, and Ji Si missed it suddenly.

Zheng Cheng led a few people into a tent, and saw that the layout looked like a Chinese military tent. There was not much space inside but a few chairs and some tiger skin wood carving decorations, and a row of weapon racks were placed beside it. Other than that, there is nothing else, and the overall look is very simple. After a few people sat down for a long time, someone brought tea and took it in without haste.

"My lords take a break, the general will be here soon." Zheng Cheng laughed and poured tea for them and said, "This small place doesn't have any good tea for you two, don't be too disgusted."

Kong Lingqiu picked up the teacup and sniffed it. The tea smelled a bit bitter. It was very old tea. He took a sip without changing his complexion, and replied gently, "Although it's not good tea, it's good enough to quench your thirst. Thank you. "

Ji Si glanced at him, didn't make a sound, just held the teacup and smelled the fragrance of the tea, then put it back heavily, the tea in the cup spilled out and wet the table, he frowned and said: "Mr. You came all the way from Lin'an, following the emperor's orders, you generals will treat us with these things, fresh tea and cold water, you really don't care about the emperor!"

The sound of the teacup knocking on the table was not small, which made Zheng Cheng's heart tremble. When he picked up the person, the general had informed him in advance: The servant of the household department here is a master who is not easy to mess with. Generally speaking, that person's temperament must be to show off his authority so that he can live more comfortably in Kashgar. If this is the case then let him go, don't bother with him, more things are worse than less things, Save yourself the embarrassment.

Zheng Cheng kept these words in his heart, seeing that Ji Si was really angry, but he was not angry, and he still smiled back, "Where did Ji Shilang say this, let alone the last general, the entire Xiaoqi battalion is loyal to Dajin , loyal to His Majesty, as for Ji Shilang's negligence, that's really a misunderstanding. Although this Kashgar is mountainous and forested, it really can't grow tea, just so little, from the time we sent people from a few years ago Lin'an brought it back, he was reluctant to drink it on weekdays, and used it to entertain Ji Shilang, how can this be called neglect."

"You..." Ji Si was blocked by his words and didn't know how to reply, but still felt angry, and said again: "What do you general mean by hanging us here so that we won't come here for a long time?" , although we are lower than him in terms of official rank, but we are still the Beijing officials personally sent by the emperor, so he is a little too arrogant, isn't he afraid that the official will return to Beijing to participate in the next book!"

"Why is Ji Shilang so angry?" A deep and pleasant male voice came from outside the tent, the voice was full of internal strength, so it reached the ears of several people in the tent, with a bit of coercion, their ears buzzed , "Anger hurts the liver, it's better to be kind."

Hearing this, everyone's eyes turned and fell outside the account.

Just as the conversation faded away, a person walked in from outside the tent. He was not wearing an armored military uniform, but a pair of commoner trousers, with a pair of straw sandals on his feet, and his hair was tied up with a cloth belt instead of a hair tie. Together, the trousers are pulled up to the knees, revealing a pair of lean, wheat-colored calves. This man has a very upright appearance, with sword eyebrows and starry eyes, and his whole body is full of righteousness, as if he can sweep away all the injustices of time. , such a chivalrous spirit, except for some ruthlessness in his eyebrows and eyes, which has been accumulated over the years of killing on the battlefield.

Ji Si didn't even need to guess to know who this person was. Xiao Changyu, the general of the Xiaoqi Battalion, and Guo Jingyi, the general of the younger generation, was the top of the list. They have already started guarding the border of Beiyan with the old general, and their current reputation has been accumulated little by little. Only Xiao Changyu can be compared with him.

Xiao Changyu is very interesting. The Xiao family came from a reckless family. What they did was robbing houses. Fortunately, they did not casually kill people. The government failed to suppress bandits several times, so they just turned a blind eye and closed their eyes. follow them.

But who knows that Lin'an issued an order to track down the local bandits. At that time, the deceased Zhang Lao led the Xiaoqi camp. It is also quite a legendary story that the Xiao family changed from reckless to a generation of famous generals.

In Xiao Changyu's generation, the Xiao family's reputation has increased instead. When mentioning this person in the past, Pei Zhan's tone was full of admiration, and even Qi Ran admired him. Therefore, although they could not get to know each other, Ji Si turned to him. People know a lot, and they can't help but look a little more in their eyes.

Xiao Changyu also looked at Ji Si who was sitting in front of him. He looked a little coquettish. To put it bluntly, he was born with a restless face. Because the tails of his eyes were drooping, when he looked up at people, he had a feeling of saying no. The charm he produced was similar to the traitorous official he thought of as a flattering and powerful official, but the strange thing was that his temperament was a little different. There were some complicated and contradictory existences, which attracted people's attention, and Kong Lingqiu looked gloomy on the side.

"What's the meaning of General Xiao?" Ji Si raised his chin and spoke out first, "Is it the etiquette of your cavalry camp to leave us here? You really answered that sentence."

He paused for a moment, stared at Xiao Changyu's eyes and smiled with his lips curled up, and finished the rest of the sentence word by word, "The mountain is high and the emperor is far away, and the monkey has become the overlord."

"Ji Shilang misunderstood. When you came, I was loosening the grain and soil in the field. The soil all over my body had to be cleaned up so as not to stain your eyes, so I was late." Xiao Changyu waved his hand to signal the people behind him The man stood aside, walked up to Ji Si with his shoes on, and didn't dislike him. He picked up the tea he drank and drank it down in one gulp. It's a pity that it doesn't suit Minister Ji's heart, so don't waste it, I'll just drink it for you."

At first glance, this action is not a problem, but it is full of provocation after careful taste, so Ji Si's face is a little ugly, "General Xiao, don't go too far!"

"Excessive?" Xiao Changyu looked blank, "Where did Ji Shilang say this? Didn't you think the tea was not good? Why did I solve it for you? It's your fault. If you don't dislike me, you can do it. "

"you……"

"General Xiao," Kong Lingqiu said, easing the tense situation with a few words, "Although this trip is on order, it will take a long time to trouble you. In the future, you will need to rely on Xiaoqiying to handle the matter of Kashgar together. I heard that General Xiao likes tea, so I specially brought some six-leaf sprouts for the general to taste."

While talking, Kong Lingqiu reached out to take a wooden box from the guard of the Kong family behind him, and handed it over. The wooden box was made of dark fragrant wood, and the picture of a tiger walking was carved on it. It looks lifelike, and it is not ordinary at a glance.

Xiao Changyu's complexion was normal, but he was secretly sizing up Kong Lingqiu in his heart. Seeing him handing over the box, he took it politely. He lifted the child and twirled some light green tea leaves and chewed them lightly in his mouth. The sweet tea fragrance immediately filled his mouth, which surprised him a little.

"Good tea."

"As long as General Xiao likes it." Kong Lingqiu smiled.

It is natural for him not to be sarcastic when he has a three-point smile on everyone, Xiao Changyu also smiled, "I just like this, since Kong Shilang has this kind of heart, if I evade it to the point that I don't know what to do, then I will accept it." , It’s a long journey from Lin’an to Kashgar, I guess I didn’t rest well on the way, the tents have already been prepared, why don’t you two go to rest first, the specific matters can be discussed after resting tomorrow.”

"Then trouble General Xiao."

Ji Si still kept a displeased expression on his face. When he got up to leave the tent, he waited fiercely for Xiao Changyu's look, and then walked away angrily.

When the people were almost gone, the somewhat casual look on Xiao Changyu's face disappeared, replaced by a dignified and majestic expression. He walked to the main seat and sat down, waved to let the other generals go out, and then put the box Putting it on the table, it looks a bit complicated.

The lieutenant at the side was his confidant, and he couldn't help asking, "What's wrong with the general? But is there something wrong?"

"What do you think of these two people?" Xiao Changyu didn't answer, but asked this question instead.

This lieutenant general was cultivated by Xiao Changyu. His name is Zhao Guangping. The two of them have come to this day step by step. Naturally, their relationship is different from others, and their conversations are not so restrained. Listening to his question, Zhao Guangping pondered for a while and said: " That Minister Kong has a gentle temper and behaves decently. I heard that he is a child of Qu Ding Kong's family. No wonder his words and deeds have the cultivation of a child from a big family. It seems that he is a capable and virtuous minister, but that Minister Ji is not the same as the rumors. There is no difference, maybe it is not easy to deal with."

Xiao Changyu looked at him and smiled, neither saying yes nor no, with an inscrutable look, poured two cups of tea on his own, and passed one of them over.

Zhao Guangping couldn't figure out what his own general meant, so he took the tea in a daze, and didn't drink it while holding it in his hand.

"It's true but it's not true," Xiao Changyu played with the teacup, "These two people, one is the man of King Liang, and the other is the man of the crown prince, neither of them are good friends. Although I am no longer in the capital, It is clear what the current situation is in the court, the emperor is seriously ill and those parties can't stand it anymore, it is not a good thing for Xiaoqiying to offend anyone, let alone there is Kashgar, we are now This is a dilemma."

"The general is worried..." Zhao Guangping didn't say the rest.

"The booklet I handed over brought that matter to the past in a few words. Although I was confused, do you really think the emperor is stupid?" Xiao Changyu continued, rubbing his brows: "We captured the Nandian frontier guard alive. It's fine if you don't take advantage of the victory to pursue, and let the person go back, Master Lin'an, if you don't say it on the face, you might be suspicious in your heart, it's difficult."

After thinking about it for a while, Zhao Guangping figured out the stakes involved, and his face was a little anxious, "Then if we let them know that we suppressed the matter, this..."

"No chance, send me someone to keep an eye on them." Xiao Changyu squinted his eyes as he stared at the teacup in his hand, a gleam of ruthlessness flashed in his eyes, "Kashgar is now my Xiao Changyu's territory, Every bird has to pass under my nose, and it's not their turn to dictate!"

The voice was mixed with the shouts of the soldiers training in the school field, with bursts of murderous air, which shocked people's hearts.

Ji Si withdrew his gaze from the sweating soldiers in the school grounds. The roars resounded throughout the world, and his ears were a little buzzing, so that he could still hear the echo even though he was far away.

Zheng Cheng took them to the quietest corner of the camp. The camps in the army all looked similar with minor differences, and they didn't care too much. In terms of comfort, they couldn't compare to Lin'an's high beds and soft pillows. Most of the soldiers in the camp were There are more than ten or twenty people crowded together in the whole shop. Ji Si has slept in it before. With a look of disgust, "Can people live in this broken place?"

"I'm really sorry Ji Shilang." Zheng Cheng still had the same attitude of beating and scolding, "The extra tents in the camp have been distributed, and these two places have been cleaned up in a hurry. Knowing that the two adults are coming, the general will come soon. Now I told us to tidy it up. I am worried that you are not used to living here. The utensils and bedding inside are all new, and the quality is the first in the camp. It is only in the Chinese military tent. If Ji Shilang is not satisfied, he can only do it. Wronged and wronged, I went to the camp of the Chinese army to make do with the general."

After he finished speaking according to Xiao Changyu's instructions, he saw that Ji Si's face was half dark, and he didn't even bother to say a word. He angrily opened the curtain and walked in, and the first day of the junior high school also rushed in.

Zheng Cheng showed a disdainful smile, the smile was fleeting, then he turned sideways and pointed at the other tent not far away, and said, "Mr. Kong, this way please."

"Thank you." Kong Lingqiu smiled lightly.

When they were far away, Chuyi moved away from the edge of the curtain lightly.

"Are you leaving?" Ji Si asked, looking at the furnishings in the tent.

"Well," Chu Yi suppressed his voice, "My lord, what's wrong with these people?"

Ji Si patted the hard bed, lifted the lid and looked at the empty teapot on the table, sat down unhurriedly after a while, and asked, "What do you think?"

Sitting opposite him on the first day of junior high school, he propped his chin in thought for a long time before replying uncertainly: "That General Xiao seems to be approachable and easy-going, and he is tolerant even when adults make troubles. I have heard some of him when I was in Xiangzhou with Mr. It shouldn't be a treacherous person, why should my lord be on guard against him?"

"I didn't do this scene for him to watch."

"Who is that for?"

Ji Si looked up at him, just smiled and didn't answer, but asked again, "Since your husband mentioned Xiao Changyu to you, then you naturally know the fact that the Xiao family led the Xiaoqi Battalion They are two brothers, Xiao Changyu is the commander-in-chief, and the other is Xiao Changsheng, the deputy general. You love this younger brother very much, so the relationship between the two must be good. It stands to reason that there are people from the capital, and they are two third-rank officials, and they are carrying the emperor's order. Anyone with a military rank in the army should be present. You Did you see Xiao Changsheng just now?"

I frowned and thought about it on the first day of the lunar new year, but I saw a person with the rank of deputy general, but that person looked a little older than Xiao Changyu, and he didn't look like brothers, so I found something wrong. "Isn't this Deputy General Xiao not in the camp?"

"Who knows," Ji Si tilted his head, "Xiao Changyu is not a treacherous person, but he is certainly not an easygoing person. If I guessed correctly, he must have hidden something, maybe it's not a trivial matter. .”

Ji Si tapped his fingers on the table and hooked his lips, "I'm a little curious."

Baimaxia is too far away from Lin'an, across the distance from the north to the south, it will take six days to travel quickly. The only thing that is closer is the bright moon in the sky, hanging high in the sky, as if what you see is not the moon, but the transparent moon. After that moonlight, I didn't look at the person under the moonlight.

Qi Ran raised his eyes and stared at the moon, as if he was recalling something, then he retracted his gaze and continued with the work in hand. He was making a wood carving. Although it hadn't formed yet, the general outline could already be seen as a human figure. Qi Ran The carving was very serious, half of the cheeks were hidden in the dark, and every time the knife was cut with precision, a lot of sawdust piled up on the table after a while.

It was very quiet at night, and the cicadas singing one after another in the grass made the tranquility more lively, but these quietness and noise had nothing to do with him.

"Admiring the moon is not called a brother, it's not interesting."

Qi Xu's voice suddenly came from behind, Qi Ran paused, put down his things and stood up, "Brother."

Qi Xu walked over with a smile, his eyes naturally saw the unfinished wood carving on the table, his eyes were filled with emotion, and he asked with a smile, "I haven't seen you carving for a long time, what's the matter today?"

He is much older than Qi Ran. He is also a brother and a father. This younger brother looks calm and stable on the surface, but in fact he has deep obsessions. He will not turn back when he is determined to break his head. It has indeed been a long time, and I feel a little emotional for a while.

When Li Si died of illness, Qi Ran seemed to be insane. His insanity was calm and calm just like him. He didn't cry or yell or look for death or life. He still looked like a breeze.

Li Si's funeral was in early spring in Japan, but it was snowing heavily. Qi Ran didn't go. He stood in the courtyard of Qi Mansion and looked in that direction, as if he was perceiving, meditating, and grasping the last trace of snow. When it was small, it fell on the clothes and was melted by the body temperature, deepening the color of the light-colored robes.

The sky was getting darker, and the wind blowing on his face carried a hint of coolness, Qi Ran raised his head and looked at the gray but endless sky in a daze, everything in his eyes was white, everything in his eyes was nothing, a piece of snow drifted down in the corner of his eyes, The snow melted into water, forming a tear, which slowly slid down and left a water mark, and this tear fell into the bottom of his heart.

At that moment, he suddenly realized the fact that Li Si was dead. From now on, there will be no such person as Li Si in this world, so direct, so clear, and so profound. All his senses were devoured, leaving only sadness.

"Boom".

In the heavy snow, he fell backward heavily, the tears in the corners of his eyes were covered by the snow, as if he had never appeared before.

Qi Xu stood under the eaves and watched, witnessing his pain and despair.

After a long period of time, Qi Ran carved a lot of wood carvings, laughing, crying or angry, with the same face. It was really a long time. I see.

Hearing the question, Qi Ran picked up the wooden carving on the table, gently removed the sawdust on it, looked up at the crescent moon in the sky, with a smile on the corner of his mouth, his tone was gentle and nostalgic, with all kinds of tenderness, "I It's just that I miss him a little."

The moonlight is as quiet as water, and I am thinking of you.

The author has something to say:

small theater:

Reader cutie: Lost horse, lost horse, lost horse!

Handsome author: Arrangements are made!

The plot unfolds:

One day, Lord Ji and Lord Qi rode horses together, and because the speed of the car was too fast, they fell off the horse and died, it was over.

Reader cutie: ? ? ? ?

ps: At the end of the writing, I found that Qi Ran's love is forbearing and profound, and his mind is full of the lyrics. A young man who doesn't know how to love and hate is the most heart-moving in his life. Li Si is his life's heart-beating. If this book is not reborn, then Qi Ran will be I will go through this life with this heartbeat, but only a few decades, but there are still a few decades.