The footsteps outside the door recalled Han Ling's mind. He opened his clenched palms, wiped off the blood, and tried to calm down his breathing and heartbeat.
Realizing that he was covered in cold sweat, Han Ling picked up a clean face towel from the end of the bed, quickly wiped the sweat off his face, then picked out a robe from the package and put it on, listening carefully to the movement outside the door.
It was already getting late at this time, and some firelight shone dimly outside the door. The Mu Mansion has always been willing to entertain guests and build momentum. According to Qing Ni, the person who came today is probably someone who even Mu Yuntong is in awe of.
The dead branches in the courtyard were blown by the spring night wind, whining like ghosts crying, and the leaves were beating on Han Ling's window lattice, as if they were beating on his heart. Even so, the footsteps of the visitor were still clearly audible.
The servants of Mu Mansion are more or less skilled in martial arts. Although the footsteps of the visitor are not loud, they are heavy and undisguised. They are people without internal strength. Han Ling thought about it for a moment, and when he had the result, he walked to the door, opened it, and said with a smile, "Xiao Qingni?"
Qingni's face was already a little pale, but when she saw Han Ling's embroidered robe behind the door, she was so frightened that she almost dropped the food box she was holding on the ground.
Han Ling quickly held the food box with quick eyes and led Qingni into the house. He glanced at the person outside the door and closed the door behind him.
"Qingni, it's so late, what are you doing here?"
Qingni shook again and pulled the hair around her ears before she regained her composure. She didn't dare to raise her head and spoke quickly: "Brother Han, my aunt asked me to deliver food to you."
She put the food box on the square table and turned to leave. Then she thought of something and turned around sharply: "Han... Mr. Han, I didn't have the eyesight before, and I always said some stupid things to you. These are all my fault." ! I really know my mistake! Mr. Han Langjun has a lot of people, don’t worry about my mistakes..." She became excited when she said it. Although she had an expression on her face that she wanted to kill or cut into pieces at your disposal, her tears could not be stopped. It hit the ground drop by drop in a controlled manner.
Han Ling quickly waved his hands, supported Qingni who was about to fall, and pulled her to the seat to sit down.
Seeing Qing Ni crying and out of breath, Han Ling pulled a bench over to him, opened the food box, and put out several dishes one by one.
The lunch box has three layers. The first layer is for staple food. Corn flour steamed buns and white flour rolls are steaming with mouth-watering heat. Several small round pancakes dyed with vegetable juice and embedded with various fruits are piled on a plate, and there are also sweet fillings. some shortbread. The second floor is composed of pure vegetable vegetables, including stir-fried shredded lettuce, garlic water spinach, emerald cabbage soup, and stir-fried cowpea balls. At first glance, they look green and delicious. The soup was filled enough, and thanks to Qingni's hand, not a drop was spilled. As soon as the third floor was opened, the aroma of braised fish head hit his nostrils. Han Ling took out the fish head and saw a small bowl of vinegar-glazed pork ribs and a plate of eggplant with minced meat underneath. . Next to the eggplant, there is a blue and white porcelain bowl containing a braised lion's head cut in half.
At this moment, Qingni's crying also subsided, and her big tearful eyes stared straight at the lion's head. Han Ling raised his head and asked Qingni with a smile: "You haven't eaten yet, have you?"
Qingni nodded timidly. Han Ling took out a pair of chopsticks for her, and took out a pair himself. Without being polite, he immersed himself in eating the food.
Qingni took a peek at Han Ling and saw pairs of tableware and halved lion heads. Even the fool knew that Aunt Feng was taking care of her. She couldn't help but shed a few more tears as she thought about how Aunt Feng would reprimand her in front of others tonight and order her not to eat.
She was about to thank him, but Han Ling raised his hand to block her back. Han Ling took a bite of the steamed bun and said, "This is not the first day you have met me, so you don't have to be polite to me. If you really feel sorry for yourself, why don't you tell me what you experienced tonight?"
Qingni bit her lower lip and saw that Han Ling really didn't seem angry, so she took a sugar-centered sesame shortbread from the plate and said while eating: "I should have been waiting at the banquet tonight. But during the day Because I was lazy, Aunt Feng didn't allow me to enter the house. Even the food for Han Langjun was given to me in the kitchen." When she said this, she couldn't hold back her tears, and Han Ling quickly pushed the ribs to the In front of her, let her continue talking.
"However, when I walked out of the corridor, I happened to see the young man in blue during the day. There was also a young man in yellow next to him, who was also very noble. The young man in blue held his head high and had a straight face. The young master was always smiling. Even so, he was not an ordinary person. When I walked over, he covered his face with a fan and talked to the young master in blue without even looking at me. "
Han Ling's eyes widened and he asked, "The young man in yellow with a fan?" Realizing that his voice was a bit sharp, he hurriedly covered it up and said, "You are so arrogant, he sounds like someone who is not easy to serve."
Qingni didn't notice that he changed his words midway and nodded sharply in approval of Han Ling's words. She took a chopstick of green vegetables and put it in the bowl, and said, "Yes, I'm afraid he is a nobleman from a wealthy family. I saw that the young man in yellow was wearing two smooth yellow jade fish pendants around his waist. There was no sound at all when we got up.”
Han Ling nodded and poured himself and Qingni a cup of tea. He was still wondering about the identity of the young man in yellow. If the identity of the young man in blue in the morning was as he thought, then who should this young man in yellow be? He thought again of the topaz jade pendant mentioned by Qingni - few adults in the capital valued topaz, a cheap jade material. Since he was a high-ranking young master, he would not lower himself to his status. So, this topaz jade pendant must be with him. Family related. Thinking like this, the answer gradually emerged in his mind, and the possible name couldn't help but make his heart tighten.
Sikong Zuoxiang of this dynasty, his ancestor was a businessman who sold jade. Rumor has it that he has a second brother who doesn't appear often. Considering his age, he just happens to be crowned this year, so he'd better wear yellow.
Qingni saw that his behavior was as usual, silent, gentle and in a daze, so she was no longer afraid of him. She licked the cake crumbs on her hand and asked: "Brother Han, why did you...why did Aunt Feng call you Han Lang?" Jun, why did I bring you here?"
Han Ling's thoughts were interrupted, so he put down the teapot and said, "This is a long story, do you want to hear it? I have nothing to do now, but if you continue to stay here, Xiao Qingni, Aunt Feng will tell you later But I’m going to punish you again.”
Qingni pursed her lips: "Can't you tell me a little bit? I just want to hear some interesting stories to entertain myself."
The room fell silent, as if the invisible air had become a heavy burden, making people unable to breathe. The word "entertainment" is like a heavy hammer hitting the gong. The echoing sound of the gong is like a spreading uneasiness, silencing all sounds.
After a long silence, Han Ling laughed and said, "Do you want to hear it? Then I'll keep it short.
"Our master - Mu Yuntong, the leader of the martial arts alliance - he has great achievements and integrity. He is my biggest benefactor in this life."
There was blood in front of his eyes again - his father who was covered with bruises, his mother who had fainted on the ground... Broken arrows were scattered on the ground, and the grass blades were stained with blood, the blood of younger brothers and sisters. The blood was smeared in front of his eyes, making him Can't see anything clearly, can't do anything. In the remote woods, only the strange cries of crows and the fishy smell of blood were heard.
They just died like that?
Father? Mother? Xiaoqian?
Who will respond to me? Please...who will save me?
I don’t want to die yet, I don’t want to die!
Soon, he saw the light of the fire and a group of people wearing black clothes and covering their eyes.
He naively thought he had met his savior, and he saw Mu Yuntong among those people.
Is Brother Mu here to save me?
Soon, his blood ran cold.
Mu Yuntong stood among those people, watching these tragedies from afar and from above. Mu Yuntong, his father's chief disciple, was regarded as a family member.
He thought he was saved, but unexpectedly he fell into the abyss of eternal destruction.
Han Ling tried his best to stabilize his mind. When he opened his eyes, he saw Qingni falling to the ground with a pale face.
He sighed inwardly, knowing that his ferocious expression frightened her, so he forced a smile: "Qingni, I'm done eating, you can take the food box away." Qingni nodded quickly, picked up the food box in a hurry, Regardless of the soup spilling all over him, he ran away as if running for his life.
After Qingni left, the room became obviously colder. The person watching will definitely check Qingni's belongings before coming back. Taking this opportunity, Han Ling took off his robe, lit the oil lamp, and after making sure there was no one else around the room, he carefully took out a tattered book from his arms.
This book is quite old, and the cover is so damaged that the title cannot be seen, and only the word "Dian" can be vaguely discerned. The binding line of the book has turned yellow, but fortunately it is still very strong. Han Ling opened the book, took out a small piece of charcoal cut into the shape of a pen from his sleeve, thought about it again and again, and wrote a line on the title page.
He sat in front of the square table, watching the lights dance, but his heart was empty, as if everything as far away as tomorrow's martial arts competition had nothing to do with him.
After a while, a gust of wind blew in through the cracks in the window, making the pages of the book rattle. Han Ling lowered his head and saw that on the page, beneath the words he had just written with charcoal blocks, a line of red hairpin-shaped regular script gradually appeared.
"The variables are no longer at this time, the plan remains the same. Take care."
