ghost encounter

Tong Xin walked into the bedroom with a gun, and his heart was still throbbing. At that moment, he almost felt that he was going to lose Sheng Yang. It seems that he still hopes that Sheng Yang can exist in the form of life, even though he doesn't remember himself at all now.

Open the drawer of the cupboard, put the gun at the bottom, and then close it to ensure safety. Out of the corner of the eye, he glimpsed a picture book in the drawer. He still remembered that he also liked to draw when he was a child, but he had to give up this hobby because of poverty. He often heard people say that art is always divided into classes, and it requires not only talent, but also wealth.These words were deeply engraved in his mind, like a scorching iron brand.

Opening the album, he saw a very warm picture: an endless sea of ​​flowers, a warm sun hanging in the bright blue sky, a bench at the edge of the sea of ​​flowers, and a bright young man in overalls sitting on the chair. The teenager, wearing a beige peaked cap, curled up a black cat on his lap. The black cat looked out of the painting with two blue eyes, as if looking at childlike innocence.

"A Sea of ​​Flowers?" Tong Xin chanted the name of the painting, every time she saw it, she felt very familiar, very warm, and inexplicably moved.

After turning a few more pages, I lay down on the bed and fell asleep.

"Nocturne" undulates slowly, with the sound of bells in the wind and low cries, the childish innocence can't help but feel creepy, what is this sound?He opened his eyes, and a thin and slender figure stood in his field of vision.

"Who?" The man turned his head to look at Tong Xin, his surprised expression melted away, and he smiled, so gentle that people couldn't help but want to get closer.

"Where is this?" Tong Xin asked with a frown.

"Oh, it's you." The boy approached, "You actually came to my world."

"who are you?"

"I'm Qiao Ji."

"Qiao Ji? I've never heard of this name."

"It's okay, you don't know me, but it's good if I know you, sit with me for a while." Qiao Ji pulled Tong Xin forward, walked through the dark corridor, and suddenly entered an open birch forest, birch forest It is flourishing.

"What the hell is this place?"

"Didn't I tell you, this is my world." Qiao Ji looked back at him, "Have you heard the story of "Painted Wall"?"

"I have watched "Strange Tales from a Liaozhai Studio", so of course I remember this story."

"You should be inside the painted wall."

"What do you mean?" Tong Xin looked at him in surprise.

"I created this world, and you are in my painting. The name of this painting is "The End of the Birch." Qiao Ji's face was very pale, but it was extremely vivid, especially when he smiled, just like the world will So much more colorful as well.

"Meow!"

There was a meow, and before Tong Xin had time to react, a black cat jumped over and jumped into Qiao Ji's arms. Two cold lights shot out from its two ice-blue eyes and directed towards Tong Xin.

"Don't be afraid, this is my cat." Qiao Ji hugged the cat and smiled childlikely, "It's very good."

Tong Xin still didn't dare to approach, because those two eyes seemed a little familiar, "Can I ask you a question?"

"Ask." Qiao Ji hugged the cat and walked forward.

Tong Xin followed, stepped on the birch leaves, and made a crisp sound, "Have you ever painted a painting called "Flower Sea"?"

""Flower Sea"?" Qiao Ji narrowed his eyes, "It's considered painted."

"Huh? What do you mean even if you have painted?"

"That painting was given as a gift, but also to save people."

"who's that person?"

"Why are you asking this?"

"It's nothing, just ask casually. I've seen that painting, and there is also a black cat in it, which is very similar to this cat." Tong Xin glanced at the black cat. In fact, he wanted to say that there was also a gentle boy in it, just like him. .

Qiao Ji smiled, didn't speak, and strode forward with the cat in his arms, "Do you know what is at the end of the birch?"

"Does the birch have an end?" Tong Xin was asking Qiao Ji, and he was also asking himself. For some reason, a voice kept echoing in his mind: the birch tree has no end.

"Do you think so?"

"From a normal person's point of view, everything should have a beginning and an end."

"What's your point of view?"

"I always feel that maybe this birch tree has no end. I can't imagine what will be at the end of the birch tree."

"What do you want?"

"Of course it is a better scenery. If it is full of regrets, I would rather have no end."

Qiao Ji didn't speak, but continued to move forward, heading deeper into the birch tree.

Gradually, Tong Xin seemed to be getting farther and farther away from that Qiao Ji. He was obviously following him all the time, so why was he still getting farther and farther away?He yelled, "Hey—wait I—"

Qiao Ji didn't look back, didn't speak, and didn't stop for a moment.Suddenly, the melody of "Nocturne" sounded in Tongxin's ears, the sound of bells and high-pitched weeping, buzzing, he woke up from his dream, and found himself lying in a forest, which seemed to be a birch tree.He couldn't help but tremble, his expression shocked, could it be that he really ran to "The End of the Birch"?

He got up and held on to a birch tree with a thick bowl mouth, feeling very real, this was not a dream.

"Is anyone there?" Tong Xin walked along the only path in the birch forest.

"Tongxin, you're here." Someone called his name, is this voice so familiar?Tong Xin turned around and saw - Qiao Ji?He couldn't help opening his eyes wide, looking at the young man who was running towards him, and opened his mouth wide.

"Joe Ji?"

"Yeah, you're finally here! I've been waiting for you here for a long time!" Qiao Ji looked at him with a pair of beautiful phoenix eyes, as warm as a piece of beautiful jade.

"Did we know each other before?" Tong Xin asked tentatively.

"Yes, I saved you." Qiao Ji said, "It's just that I erased your memory."

"Why are you doing this?"

"To save you." Qiao Ji's originally warm eyes became cold.

Tong Xin was taken aback by his sudden change, "You brought me in? This is your painting environment."

"You're very smart!" Qiao Ji patted him on the shoulder, looking like an adult.

"What happened to me? Are you going to save me?"

"Secrets must not be revealed." Qiao looked at him very mysteriously and said, "Tongxin, do you know about 'soul sending'?"

"'Send Soul'? What is that?"

"I let you in because I want you to do me a favor."

"How to help?"

After a while, a black cat appeared in Qiao Ji's arms. The black cat looked at Tong Xin with ice-blue eyes, as if it wanted to say something.

"I drew this cat." Qiao Ji said.

"What? Can you dot the eyes of Jackie Chan? Or the magical brush Ma Liang?"

Qiao Ji waved his hand, "That's not the right way to say it, but I can't seem to find a better way to say it."

"What do you mean?"

"It's okay, you go somewhere with me."

Qiao Ji led Tong Xin to walk in the birch forest, walking and walking, almost from day to night, and from night to day. For some reason, Tong Xin didn't feel tired at all. Day after day, night after night, he was very curious , Why did he not arrive after walking for so long, so he asked, "Where are you going?"

"The end of the birch."

"The end of the birch?" Tong Xin muttered, "Is there an end to the birch?"

"Have."

After Qiao Ji finished speaking, he took out a paintbrush from his bosom and waved it lightly in mid-air. Immediately, the birch disappeared into the white mist, and in front of him was the boundless blue sea, surging and lurking with unknown energy.

Tong Xin stared at the sea in front of her in a daze, and exclaimed, "Although I have seen the sea of ​​the North Pole, the sea here is so pure."

"This is the end of the birch."

"What's in here?"

"A soul." Looking at the boundless ocean waves, Qiaoji murmured, her phoenix eyes sparkling with waves.

"The 'sent soul' you mentioned is referring to this place?"

"Before I met him, I never thought I had the ability to love someone." Joe said softly, as if speaking to the soul in the sea, "A long time ago, I didn't think I was loved. Then In [-], it snowed heavily, and the snowflakes swept over my life like a mat, which made me almost think that I would die with the snow. Lying in the snowdrift, my body was stiff and curled up, and my consciousness gradually became blurred. I couldn’t feel it. It was cold, and in the blur, I seemed to see a very good-looking man bent over and hugged me, sighed and said: "Oh, this little fool, you have been abandoned." When I heard it, tears welled up, and I lived Come here."

Hearing Qiao Ji's giggling laughter, Tong Xin seemed extraordinarily happy, and her eyes were shining brightly.

"Maybe it's destined, I will get the ability to love from him. I shivered, and drilled into the warm place in his heart, trying to absorb more warmth, the only warmth. But I heard the sweetest love in my life. A nice voice: "Boy, what are you doing? I don't have any milk to feed you!" At this moment, I blushed and froze, not daring to move. Just like that, I was hugged by him all the way back to his home.

"'Hey, you're not a child anymore!' The man put me down and looked at me with a very strange look. At this moment, I raised my head quietly, and met a pair of amazing eyes, pure as Child-like eyes, but he is a very masculine man. He looks so cool that he looks at me with his hips on his hips, like looking at a strange creature. I said: 'Who asked you to save me? I was originally intending to seek death.'

"He stretched out his hand and flicked on my head, 'what did the child say about dying, live well for me, you see I'm not dead yet, you are so young, why do you want to die?' I didn't take his words to heart , On the contrary, he wanted to take the opportunity to sneak away. But every time he saw the flaw, he had to stay at his house obediently.

"Speaking of which, he is really patient." Qiao Ji's expression was suddenly indifferent, staring at the turbulent sea, "I don't know why, when I get along with him, I feel that his back is bright and dazzling. He He always pulled me into the birch forest behind his house, and he said, "There is no end to birch, just like art has no end." I laughed at him, "You don't understand art!" He didn't speak, just laughed, and the sunshine From the east, shining on his back, a long shadow is projected forward, infinitely long in the boundless birch forest."

Tong Xin followed Qiao Ji's gaze, "Are you trying to prove something to him?"

"That's right, I said at the time, I can give you something. He didn't say anything, but I picked up the paintbrush and started drawing in front of him. What I drew with the brush was a black cat, and the black cat jumped out of the painting in an instant I thought he would be frightened, and even said in surprise: "How can you have such a magical ability?" But I didn't hear it, only heard a sigh. I looked at his back in despair, Feeling more and more out of reach.

"Shortly after, he died. I heard his voice in the unreachable space: 'Qiao Ji, I have to go, I still want to say that the birch has no end.' I started to draw like crazy, I want Keep him, you must keep him, because I have that ability. Finally, I managed to keep him in my painting, which is "The End of the Birch". There is his soul in the bottom of the sea, but he never speaks , nor come out."

"You think he hates you?"

Qiao Ji shook his head, "On the contrary, I think he loves me and is afraid of hurting me. Do you know? After I trapped his soul here, I found a secret room in his house, it was a private studio, The paintings in the room were all drawn by him. When I saw the paintings, I was not only shocked, but also ashamed. I even said that he did not understand art. In fact, I am the one who really does not understand art. I just have this It's just a magical ability, the so-called 'art' really has no end."

"What about those paintings?" Tong Xin asked.

"It disappeared from the studio overnight." Qiao Ji said.

"How?" Tong Xin was surprised.

"Even I don't know what's going on, I've been in that room, maybe too shocked, I've been in that room for three days and three nights, I fell asleep, and there it was, waiting for me to wake up When I was there, the house was empty, as if no one had ever lived in it, and even his used things disappeared.”

"Could he not be dead at all?"

Joe sneered, "No, he was terminally ill. I never knew it before. I only found out when he died. In fact, I should have seen it earlier. He was always pale and coughing non-stop during those days, but because He's fair-skinned and so active that I'd overlook the fact that he might be sick too—"

"Could it be that his paintings are the same as yours?"

"No, there is actually something else hidden." Qiao Ji said, "He is the sinner who came down to cross the catastrophe."

Tong Xin was startled, and the corner of his mouth couldn't help but smile, "Then you asked me to make me laugh? I'm just a ghost ferryman."

Qiao Ji said: "You are not an ordinary ghost ferryman, you have a deep relationship with him."

"how do you know?"

"Secrets must not be revealed!" Qiao Ji blinked, "After his death, I suddenly didn't know what to do. I just sat there every day, either hiding in paintings, or wandering around with my cat in my arms, until one day, I saw his last painting—right in the middle of your living room—”

Tong Xin was taken aback, "What? Why don't I remember that I have paintings at home?"

"His paintings are invisible and can't be seen by ordinary people unless they have the talent of painting."

Tong Xin rolled his eyes at him, "Are you saying that I have no talent?"

Qiao Ji smiled, "If you have to think so, then so be it."

"Really—"

"Actually, it's really because we have something in common." Qiao Ji said.

"What's in common?"

"The ability to draw."

"His paintings cannot be seen by others, only I can see them."

"Then why do I hang an invisible painting in my living room?"

"Obviously, that painting was not hung by ordinary people."

"Could it be he—"

"You and I wanted to go together, so I was wondering if he has something to do with you?"

Tong Xin suddenly realized, "Is that why you let me come here?"

"This is part of the reason, and more importantly, you are born with the ability to make people want to be close - kindness."

Tong Xin felt more and more uncomfortable, "As long as you don't mention this word, I will promise you." Now he can no longer look directly at the word "kindness".

"Okay, I won't mention it."