Ye Xuici has a secret.
It is true that she likes secrets...this kind of love seems to be innate. The process of exploring and excavating it will give people a subtle pleasure, just like the military counselor deciphering the enemy's secret message, the stone gambler uncovering rare jade, and the tomb robber digging up priceless burial objects. She is interested in all things whether good or evil in nature.
But this is limited to other people's secrets, she doesn't like her own. Not out of distaste for the event itself...but the conservative process. She knows better than anyone else that there is no airtight wall in the world, and a secret is no longer a secret if the second person knows it. But having said that, if one party treats it as a secret without authorization, and the other party does not know about it, whether it is said or not, it is also a secret to the former. It was such a secret that she carefully treasured. It is not difficult to keep it, as long as you keep silent and refuse to acknowledge it. But it is buried deep in my heart, like a red-hot iron, glowing faintly red even through the soil. Sometimes, it makes her panic, and she really wants to find a pen to write it down, or catch a deaf person to spit it out. However, nothing written or spoken can be called a secret. Just like a fine wine that has been aged for many years, if the lid is opened midway and even a grain of dust falls in, it will only become dregs.
Yes... the pen holder for writing and drawing, the torn and burned paper, the conscious or unconscious listener hidden in the corner, it may not even be a living thing - everything will betray the secret, because this is her Ways and means to obtain secrets. She buried the only thing she could call a secret deep in her heart, and it has not faded even after more than ten years. Still like fine wine, the longer it lasts, the more mellow and intoxicating it becomes.
She almost fainted.
When Ye Xuici was born, he held the fragment of Yun Wai Jing - of course, the secret was not this, although the matter itself was bizarre enough. The small fist holds a sharp, copper fragment, which is terrifying no matter how you hear it. Holding such fragments, the baby's delicate skin was not scratched. Across her little hands, my mother's belly was intact. It was just because she felt awkward after knowing this. She always said that after giving birth to this girl, her mouth had a rusty taste. Of course, this is just a psychological effect. She wouldn't have felt that way if the midwife hadn't told her.
At that time, no one would think this fragment was a mirror... they would only think it was a fragment of bronze. At any time, the complete picture of unknown things cannot be guessed with just three melons and two dates, just like the story of the blind man and the elephant. The fragment was initially stored in my mother's sewing box and forgotten by the family. When Ye Xuici grew up and had his own jewelry box, he moved it in.
Speaking of which, although her father was also a member of the Ye family, his seniority was to the point where he could not be included in the family tree. However, her father and her brother both used this surname to run business with the family, and they lived a good life.
It stands to reason that her family has never treated her badly in life, but she has always been prone to petty theft, perhaps just because she was pursuing excitement as a child. After all, she had long been tired of playing with things like Cuju, shuttlecocks, rubber bands, and floral threads. What's clever is that when she took my wife's finger for the first time, no one noticed it. By now, the ring finger had been left somewhere, but after that she was out of control. In addition to finger rings, there are also pendants, hairpins, and bracelets that can be grasped. Then there are things that can be hidden in sleeves: pens, inks, paper and inkstones, rouge and gouache... and things that can be hidden in clothes, such as account books.
If his parents found out from the beginning, Ye Xuici would definitely be beaten. But since she hasn't been discovered, she will naturally keep doing it. Does she really lack those things? Not necessarily, it’s just a fresh picture. Until one day when her brother was curious about where she got all these gadgets, she mentioned it casually and didn't take it seriously. The elder brother was naturally very surprised, but after careful consideration, he did not tell his parents. It turns out that he can be considered an ambitious person, and he always felt that his parents were too self-reliant. Those who worked with them at the same time, even if their surname was not Ye, climbed to high places with various cleverness, but their parents were so honest and contented. Since this good teenage sister has such abilities, it's not bad. She will definitely not suffer the same consequences as the older generation in the future.
So, his brother set up a trap to let Ye Xuici sneak away an important account book without anyone noticing. He made some modifications and handed it over to his parents. They knew this and were too surprised to speak. But the family was eager to find the origin, so they found reasons to hand it over, and passed the responsibility to others according to what their brother said. In this way, they achieved great success and received many rewards. The old couple who originally wanted to scold the brother and sister had worked hard all their lives, but after tasting the benefits, they remained silent. After that, she and her brother became even more unscrupulous and did whatever they wanted.
Whatever Ye Xuici wanted, there was nothing she couldn't get. Even if it was the pearl on Kuotai's neck who was surrounded by guards, she could easily get it by design. What's more, she was just a child at that time. She was a well-dressed child, so no one would doubt her. The scapegoat who was wrongly accused often took the blame, and she had no real sense of it. Even if the convicted man surrendered in front of her, she would just watch indifferently. After all, they are too stupid, everyone is. Important things are not stored in a sufficiently hidden place, and those who should be guarded are neglecting their duties; the group of people who arrest and interrogate people are indiscriminate, and those who are unjustly accused are stupid and do not know how to excuse themselves. In addition, their luck has never been as good as theirs. Didn’t you say that? Luck is also part of strength.
In the Year of Cardamom, something unexpected happened. This matter may not be big or small, but it is enough to become a secret that she has kept in her heart for ten years.
It was dusk, and a woman was standing on the edge of the lotus pond near her home. The lotus flowers in this season have all faded, and there are only a few scattered ones left, all half dead and floating feebly on the water. The woman just looked into the pool silently without saying a word. She has white hair and red clothes. Looking at her back, she looks like a section of clouds coming down from the horizon. Ye Xuici watched for a while and was not in a hurry to go home. As if being bewitched by something, Ye Xuici took a few steps forward and stood by the pool with the woman, no more than a foot apart. She was more curious about the identity of this woman than the scenery, because she lived nearby but had never seen such a person with hair as green as frost.
A breeze blew, causing ripples on the water. A petal fell off the lotus and floated to the water's edge in the wind. At this moment, the woman suddenly pulled out the long knife from her waist with lightning speed. That moment was too fast and too sudden. By the time Ye Xuici reacted, the tip of the knife was already pointing at the tip of her nose. She was stunned in place, wondering why the woman suddenly took action against a child.
The strange thing is that the woman has no expression. Ye Xuici finally saw her face clearly - she was indeed a beautiful woman, worthy of the fantasy brought about by her back. What is even more amazing is this strange scimitar. Ye Xuici had seen many swords, guns, swords, halberds, axes, hooks and forks, but he was not interested in any of them. But at this moment, she actually felt that this knife was so special and so beautiful that it captured her soul. The sword energy passed through her body, and she didn't feel any killing intent, only an indescribable aroma.
aroma? Is it from the sword or the woman? To this day, she's not sure.
Let's talk about the knife again. The blade is light and translucent. It's hard to tell if it's made of mica or some other material. In the dusk, the warm sunset could almost pass through it, projecting the colorful light spots into her eyes and her heart.
The woman moved the tip of the knife to her chin and raised it higher.
"A useless little girl... so boring," she said.
"Do I know you?" Ye Xuici asked, "Or do you know me?"
"I threw the fragment of Yun Waijing into the stream of reincarnation, but what it was attached to was just such a poor girl. It's impossible to say that I won't be disappointed..." the woman said to herself, "The fragment is still there On you? It's very boring, it can only be used by you. Why not kill you and let it choose its master again. Is this the kind of fun that folk call gambling on stones?"
Ye Xuici didn't know what she was talking about, but he instinctively felt dangerous. She didn't understand what the woman just said about Yun Waijing, but she could still understand that she wanted to kill herself. She wanted to run, but the belated fear tied her feet like shackles, preventing her from moving. Although this woman was good-looking, she was exuding a terrifying aura that was inconsistent with her appearance, which only made people feel weak and fearful.
"Are you embarrassing the little girl like this?"
A male voice. She and the woman looked over at the same time and found a dignified and elegant young man standing there. She didn't know when he came. He was carrying something covered with cloth, probably a piano. He has a black cloth over his eyes. Is he blind?
"What does it have to do with you?" the woman sneered. But it sounds like the two of them know each other.
Ye Xuici had no memory of what happened after that. He only remembered what the young master talked to the woman, and the woman put her knife away and left. Maybe she was persuaded by the young master, or she felt bored. When it got dark, the young master asked him if he knew the way home. His voice was nice and his attitude was kind. But she was so frightened that she ran away and returned home quickly. How can a blind man see clearly the road in front of him? Ye Xuici, who was still a child, thought that although he was good-looking, he was too strange.
After returning home, she suddenly had a high fever that lasted for three days. His face wasn't red, just bluish. The family invited several doctors, and they all said it was poisoning, but no one could tell what kind of poison it was or how to cure it. Besides, there aren't any poisons near my home, so I can't guess. On the night of the fourth day, it was his brother's turn to keep vigil for him. She was still lying in bed, dreaming and waking up. While unconscious, she heard the melodious sound of the piano and asked her brother what the sound was. At that time, her brother went out to fetch water, but she didn't know about it. She opened her eyes and saw not her brother, but the face of a young man with a handsome face.
He had a pair of light-colored eyes that she had never seen before, and were breathtakingly clear and piercing.
He smiled at himself, stretched out his hand, and brushed Ye Xuici's face with his soft bamboo-scented sleeves. She closed her eyes quietly.
The next day, her illness was cured. But no one, not even her brother, heard the sound of the piano, and only said that she was dreaming. Speaking of such a person again, she was ridiculed by her brother again. He only said that when he came back from fetching water, her fever had gone away and she was sleeping soundly.
