Chapter 21: Shadows of the Pear Garden (Twenty-One) "Why act like cowards..."

Several people quietly followed the two men, but they stopped talking about the Ye family. The square-faced man among them continued, "But it seems that one person is missing from those executed today."

"Yes, I remember that there were thirty-six people in total, according to the year and class, but only thirty-four have knelt on the execution ground recently." The round-faced companion paused, as if thinking, and then said, "I heard that a Qingyi singer died of illness... The one who usually plays the scholar doesn't seem to be here either."

Ah Yang clenched his fists, tears welling in his eyes, forcing himself to listen.

The few people around him, in the illusion controlled by Qinghuai, hid in the barrier woven by Ye Qingzhan. Those outside the barrier could not see them, but they could hear and see everything said outside the barrier clearly.

"I heard from the gossipy officials in the yamen that the scholar is the youngest son of the Xie family."

"Xie family? Chiyao Xie clan?" "

"Besides that family, which other family could it be? Everyone knew about their treason back then." The square-faced man said this, and suddenly sighed, "It's such a pity for General Xie Cang. He fought against the enemy for more than 20 years and was feared by all. However, the generals of the same batch have all risen to prominence and have everything they want in the capital, but he is the only one still in that small place called Chiyao, guarding the border and defending against the enemy. It is extremely difficult for him to see the emperor."

"Why?" asked the round-faced man, "Shouldn't it be like this with his military achievements?"

The square-faced man continued, "Didn't his military achievements get taken away by others?" He glanced around and said, "Everyone says that General Xie was beaten the most and the hardest, and was promoted the slowest and most difficultly."

As soon as he finished speaking, Ye Qingzhan in the barrier blinked and asked, "Is this the reason why Xie Cang treasoned?"

Li Zhixing folded his arms and nodded, then shook his head and sighed, "Things in this world are hard to explain! "

Outside the barrier, the round-faced man understood and stopped asking questions. He turned and said, "How was this young master Xie discovered? Hasn't the rebellion been over for more than ten years?"

"Because of a kind of medicine for wounds." The square-faced man replied, "A kind of high-quality medicine for wounds with a unique smell was given to General Xie by the late emperor. It is rare in the market, but it was found in the room of young master Xie of Suiheban."

After he finished speaking, the people in the illusion fell silent. They all knew about this medicine and had seen it. It was even used by Wen Gu.

Ah Yang's steps were clumsy, and he picked up his steps after a moment to catch up.

"It's a very good medicine, but it became a knife that takes lives." The square-faced man continued, "But it's strange. I heard that young master Xie went in and out of the Pear Garden all day long and had no intention of practicing. Doesn't General Xie dislike him? Why would he give him such a good medicine for wounds?"

"This..." The round-faced man could not answer, and only said, "It's hard to explain."

"A bottle of medicine ruined the entire Pear Garden. "The square-faced man sighed.

After the words fell, the two looked at each other and walked away.

Ah Yang, who was outside the barrier, clenched his fists and trembled all over. After a moment, as if he had made a decision, he turned around and walked towards the execution ground.

Ye Qingzhan and his group hurried to catch up, but after walking only a hundred feet, they all stopped. The tragic scene in front of them was shocking.

Thirty-four people, including young women and children, were all tied with ropes and knelt on the execution platform. Their heads were all missing and blood was flowing like a river.

Ah Yang's body was shaking more and more, and he didn't dare to take another step forward - Zhao Jinfan's head rolled on the execution platform, bleeding, and his eyes stared straight at him. He looked at her.

After a long time, he raised his trembling hand and wanted to move forward, but was stopped by someone. Then, the spectators who had not yet dispersed around the execution ground took out daggers from their sleeves, with cruel expressions on their faces, and approached him step by step. Afterwards, a large number of officers and soldiers rushed in from all directions.

The few people in the barrier were separated from the outside of the encirclement.

Ye Qingzhan was anxious and looked at Ayang. He saw that his eyes were red, but his sight was fixed on the distance. Following his gaze, she saw someone standing under the willow tree.

Qinghuai in the barrier was also looking at him, and said with hatred in his voice: "He is Dr. Fox."

The person under the willow tree had white hair and a white face, and a fox smile on his face. He was wearing a Taoist robe, with his hands clasped together and put in his sleeves.

It was the fox man seen in the gambling house that day.

Outside the barrier, the leading officer shouted: "The murderer Xu Qinghuai killed sixteen people from the Li Lian family of the Li family in Zhuxi Town. The evidence is conclusive. Now I have ordered you to arrest him! "

Ayang retracted his bloodthirsty gaze, slowly took out a dagger from his sleeve, and pointed the blade at the person who gave the order. In the fierce knife light, he forced a smile and said word by word: "Catch me?" His eyes were full of disdain, and he glanced sideways, his eyes swept over the people surrounding him one by one, "Just you?"

Before he finished speaking, the dagger in Ayang's hand chopped out. Before the person in front of him could react, he was stabbed in the shoulder. Pulling the knife out quickly, he stabbed out again like a gust of wind. The people around him immediately rushed up, but could not get close to him.

A trapped beast fights with its life.

The people in the barrier were anxious but powerless. Qinghuai said lightly: "He can win. "

I saw Ah Yang waving a dagger, with a fierce and sharp move, tearing a gash. When the officers and soldiers came to their senses, the dagger was already on the neck of the general who had just given the order.

The green clothes were cut by the people around him, and the black hair was scattered. Ah Yang's pale face was covered with blood, but his expression was extremely fierce, like a Rakshasa from hell. He said in a deep voice: "Retreat."

The blade gradually embedded into the flesh. After all, he was a coward. The general said in a trembling voice: "Listen to him. "

The officers and soldiers looked at each other and retreated.

When they retreated a few steps away, Ayang suddenly threw something out of his sleeve. In an instant, white mist flew in the air, disturbing everyone's sight. When the dust settled, the general was still there, but Ayang had disappeared.

The officers and soldiers were furious. Dr. White Fox, who had been watching under the tree for a long time, took his hand out of his wide sleeves and raised his finger. The officers and soldiers understood and chased in the direction he pointed.

As bystanders, several people in the barrier could also see where Ayang was going outside the white dust, and caught up with Ayang before the officers and soldiers.

Maybe because he was injured, Ayang was not walking fast. Seeing that the officers and soldiers were about to catch up, Ye Qingzhan said anxiously: "Ayang, you must not stop, the people behind are catching up soon."

Hearing this, Qinghuai smiled lightly and said: "He is going to seek death, and he is already very anxious. "

Everyone: "..."

Li Zhixing thought to himself: If you didn't want to live, why did you fight so hard just now?

Ye Qingzhan paused, blinked his eyes and said, "I didn't say anything."

Wen Gu on the side changed his indifferent attitude to the past, stared at him and asked, "Why do you want to die like a coward?"

"Coward?" Qinghuai still smiled and said, "Yes, I am a coward. I didn't avenge my mother, I didn't dare to resist the adults, I couldn't kill Dr. Fox, and I didn't... I didn't protect the people I wanted to protect. You're right, I am a coward."

Wen Gu glanced at him and said, "Only by living can I take revenge."

Qinghuai wanted to say something, but he swallowed the words when they came to his lips, and looked at Ayang who ran to the front of Zhuxi.

Ayang dragged his body with blood holes all over it, and stood staggeringly by the water of Zhuxi. Listening to the footsteps approaching behind him, his expression was like the calm surface of the water, calm without ripples. He asked, "Should I live? "

The clear stream remained silent, the wind rustling past his ears.

"None of the promises were fulfilled."

The young man, his long sleeves stained with blood, brushed the ground as he leaped.

"If only I were a shadowman."

The illusion was shattered, the barrier was broken.

Before the few people had time to sigh, the place where they landed became the stage of the Red Dust Inn. There were only two ghosts in the audience, one was Hu Sanniang, and the other was the waiter in the hall.

"Congratulations, everyone, I'm back safely." Sanniang opened her red lips and smiled brightly. This smile diluted the strangeness of her makeup.

Ye Qingzhan hurriedly said: "Thank you, Sanniang, is everything okay in Guanzhong? Did the ghost guests cause you any trouble?" As soon as she finished speaking, she looked up at the second floor. Ghosts of various shapes and appearances were also lying on the railings and smiling at her.

Their teeth were white and shiny, and their smiles were sinister.

When their eyes met Wen Gu's, they turned their heads in unison.

Sanniang smiled and said, "They are all very obedient."

The exiled immortal looked at her on the stage, stunned for a moment, then hurriedly took a few steps forward and asked, "Sanniang, how many days have you been in Guanzhong?"

Seeing the handsome scholar coming towards her, Sanniang's brows were raised with joy, and she also walked forward. After hearing what he asked, she stopped and said unhappily, "Two days."

Li Zhixing's brows relaxed after he finished speaking, and he stroked his chest and said, "It's okay, it's okay." After that, she walked towards Qinghuai, raised her hand and flicked him on the forehead, "Don't pretend to me next time." She quickly took out two things from her sleeve and stuffed them into his arms, "No, there won't be a next time!"

Qinghuai, who was beaten, was not annoyed. He lowered his head and looked at the two small shadow figures in his hands, and listened to Li Zhixing say again, "It stands to reason that things in the illusion cannot be taken out, but who says that this immortal has great magical powers and doesn't follow the rules."

Li Zhixing was actually very guilty when he said this. It was not because he had great magical powers, but because his "Wordless Snow Book" could contain everything. This time he was demoted, the world turned a blind eye and actually agreed to let him out.

Li Zhixing touched his chest, the book in his arms was still there. He breathed a sigh of relief, and suddenly remembered that Sanniang was still left by him in the audience. He wanted to ask about her injury. He turned around quickly to look for her - where was she?

Was she... angry and left? Li Zhixing looked at the little girl in the audience, but found that her empty eyes were staring at Ah Yang.

To be precise, it was the little shadow figure in his hand.

The girl looked for a while, then began to walk slowly, coming up the stairs on the side of the stage, and walked to Qinghuai. Looking at him, she suddenly asked: "You, you, you are, you are Ah, Ah Yang... Ah Yang?" She

spoke with difficulty, and her voice was hoarse like a broken gong, which made everyone's scalp numb.

Qinghuai raised his head and looked at her. After a moment, he suddenly staggered, and said cautiously with a trembling voice: "Master Jin, Master Jinfan?"

Ye Qingzhan and Ye Qingzhan exchanged a glance, the former in surprise, the latter in silence.

The exiled immortal was also startled, and stopped looking for Sanniang's figure, looking at the "two people" on the stage.

In the illusion, everyone was a silhouette. To be honest, none of them had ever seen Zhao Jinfan's true face.

The waitress's face had scars of varying depths, but it couldn't hide her heroic beauty. Her empty eyes suddenly brightened, as if touched by the beauty of spring, but a tear suddenly slipped from the corner of her eye and fell on the back of the hand of the person in front of her.

Qinghuai's heart was burned.

Zhao Jinfan held his hand and said in a hoarse voice: "You, you, you finally came to find me, I, we..." The ending tone was so light that it seemed to be swallowed. As the word "we" came out, she lowered her head.

"I, I, we are all, all dead... dead."

"Xie, Xie Zhi, Xie Zhiyan is lost, lost."

She spoke with great difficulty, but everyone and the ghosts listened patiently. Qinghuai's tears flowed silently, and she wanted to ask her if her voice was okay -

"I, I was, I was poisoned. My throat, my throat is damaged."

Li Zhixing couldn't bear it any longer and said, "Okay, don't say anymore."

Everyone felt sorry for Zhao Jinfan and wanted to know the sequel of the story. The interruption of the exiled immortal made the ghosts who loved to listen to stories dissatisfied, but they saw that he did not change his expression and took out something from his arms.

A book shaped like snow petals.

Li Zhixing opened it, tore off a page at random, crumpled it into a ball, handed it to her, and whispered, "Hold this paper in your palm. Protect your throat, say it in your heart, and the book will appear."

Zhao Jinfan did as he was told, speaking silently in her heart. The book was spread out, revealing line after line of words:

"I couldn't find Xie Zhiyan, couldn't wait for you, and went to the guillotine with the people in the class. After we died, resentment accumulated, and the people in the class attached their resentment to me. I became a fierce ghost and killed many people in the government."

"I was sent to the gates of hell, forgot my memories of my life, and became a waiter in an inn."

"The King of Hell said that when I see the knot of karma, I will remember my life." Zhao Jinfan grasped the little shadow figure in his hand, "Fortunately you came, otherwise, I would have forgotten everything..."

Qinghuai clenched his fists, burning with anger.

Wen Gu looked at him, but suddenly smiled and asked, "Do you regret dying?"

Before he finished speaking, Qinghuai looked over. Ye Qingzhan hurriedly covered Wen Gu's lips and said with an awkward smile, "He didn't say anything."

Wen Gu glanced at her sideways and did not resist.

Before Qinghuai could speak, Li Zhixing closed the book and looked up at the sky. The moon was full. He said to Qinghuai, "Now is not the time to argue." He looked at the ghost guests on the second floor and said loudly, "I forgot to tell you before that the time limit for crossing the Ghost Gate is seven days. If you enter the territory, do not delay on purpose. You must tell us when you remember."

The ghost guests nodded, not quite understanding.

Ye Qingzhan had been keeping an eye on Qinghuai. After thinking for a moment, he ran up to him and said to the hot-blooded young man, "You have already broken through the barrier. It's useless to get angry now. You might as well find out what happened to Master Zhao later so that you can find out where Xie Zhiyan is as soon as possible."

After a pause, Ye Qingzhan hesitated for a moment and said, "If possible, please ask for me, my parents...what happened to Mr. Ye and Jiang later..."

Qinghuai's anger dissipated a little. Afraid that she would think of sad things, he interrupted her and asked, "How can I force her to tell when she is like this now? She can't even speak--"

"Write." Wen Gu passed by his side with a cold voice, "Stupid." After that, regardless of the reactions of the people around him, he stepped up the stairs to the second floor.

Ye Qingzhan patted Qinghuai's shoulder and said, "Yes, even without the exiled immortal's book to help, Boss Zhao can also write slowly to tell you. Waiting for your good news." As soon as she finished comforting him, she lifted her skirt to chase Wen Gu, "Why did you suddenly go upstairs?"

Wen Gu looked at a closed room on the second floor with a deep look in his eyes and said, "A ghost is missing."

Li Zhixing was still standing on the stage. When he heard Wen Gu's words, he patted Qinghuai's shoulder and said with a smile, "Take good care of Boss Zhao and help Sanniang more." Hu

Sanniang, who was pouring wine alone behind the stage and drinking under the moon, couldn't hide the smile on the corner of her lips when she heard the exiled immortal's words, "You still have a conscience."

"Aqiu!" The exiled immortal, who was walking side by side with Ye Qingzhan, suddenly sneezed and missed a step.

When he was about to fall, Ye Qingzhan supported him and asked with concern: "Exiled Immortal, are you okay?"

Li Zhixing stood up and said: "I'm fine."

Ye Qingzhan withdrew her hand and suddenly heard a loud voice. She looked in the direction of the sound and saw that the door of the second floor room that had been closed just now opened.

Then, from the room came the sound of a loom.

Click - click -