Weird show

Chapter 52 Return to the dust

※one※

The coffin was a high-quality coffin purchased by Qin Songfeng. The heavy coffin lid covered Bai Zhi—or "Song Bai" engraved on the tablet—the skeleton that had been lying alone in the cave for 13 years.

A pair of thin, wrinkled, brown-spotted hands rested tremblingly on the lid.Mrs. Song stubbornly braved the severe cold and came to Yongping Mansion in person, to the place where her beloved grandson was buried.Before the coffin, she did not shed tears, but her expression was more terrifying than crying.

It was a kind of ashes-like numbness.

The angry boy from the Heaven's Punishment Sect, the greedy old Nanxiangzi scoundrel, the cruel Sumen killer, and the shameless Chisumen traitor have all "gone".The murderer was gone, and her last hope in this life was also gone.

Mrs. Tang of Chisumen walked in with a crumpled note, and seeing Mrs. Song's face, she couldn't help showing sadness, and couldn't bear to be disturbed, so she quietly handed the note to Qin Songfeng and backed out.

Qin Songfeng opened the note and saw the huge and clumsy handwriting on it. His heart was a little heavier than before, and he silently passed the note to Ji Shuliu, Sun Chengxiu and Xiao Jiu to watch.

It was a letter from Fang Heng, the new head of the Yanshan School. The letter said that when he saw the old head Yuan Lei for the last time, his master was still worried about the mysterious disappearance of the Heaven's Punishment Sect and his old friend Shangguan. He has passed away, and he hopes to fulfill his master's unfulfilled wish. If any friends in the world know anything about the Heaven's Punishment Sect, they must tell him.

The letter stopped when it reached Xiao Jiu's hand. Xiao Jiu stared at the letter with an unusually heavy expression.

A hint of confusion flashed across Qin Songfeng's heart, but Mrs. Song staggered suddenly, and the young people in the room rushed to help her up. Xiao Jiu also put the letter aside and walked over.

Qin Songfeng supported Mrs. Song, and asked her softly if Bai Zhi should be buried in the ground or sent back to her hometown.

Mrs. Song's stiff expression suddenly broke, and she sneered tremblingly: "Song has no home when he lives, and no ancestral grave when he dies, so he can only be buried in the ground. This... this unfilial thing, has nothing to do with his dead ghost grandfather and his missing Just like my father, whoever dies will be a lonely ghost!"

Qin Songfeng lowered his head, not knowing what to say.

Mrs. Song grabbed Ji Shuliu's arm, stepped back a few steps, and sat on the chair next to her.It wasn't until this moment that her posture and demeanor that she had propped up broke suddenly, like a vulgar and ignorant old woman in the country, she patted her thigh and cried bitterly: "My grandson is all caused by me...Why doesn't God take me away together?" Well, what hope do I have for living? His ass temper, which caused trouble to the upper body, was all dragged down by me. Back then, we were orphans and widows, and we always met people with malicious intentions. The more he retaliated fiercely, the more I praise him...

"When he was young, I was also wishful thinking. I always hoped that his father would come back one day, and I liked this son. I made him recite all the rules left by the Heaven's Punishment Sect, and let him go out to learn martial arts from a teacher... I have to How stupid! The Heaven's Punishment Sect was so powerful back then, and they all ended badly. I dare to let my grandson know about this..."

Xiao Jiu did not know when she appeared behind Mrs. Song.She stretched out her hand, as if she wanted to pat Mrs. Song on the shoulder, but in the end she only pulled her sleeve, and said in an unusually soft but firm voice: "I was fortunate to meet Mr. Song a few times before he was killed. He didn't Fearing the strong-violent, not bullying the weak, never going with the world, even if he is an enemy of everyone, he has never violated the morality in his heart, and he is even unwilling to duplicity. He has the character of a chivalrous man sent by Heaven’s Punishment, if your son knows that, he will be very pleased to have such a son. You did not teach him wrongly, it’s just that the world of Hero Town did not allow a true hero.”

Both Ji and Qin were a little surprised.Even when talking about the most unbearable encounter, Xiao Jiu always had a cynical and sarcastic look on her face, but at the moment she looked upright, even her words were polite, almost no longer like herself.

Pan Ziyun was not good at speaking in front of strangers, so he stumbled and added: "My wife was also very grateful to him when she was alive."

Mrs. Song didn't pay attention to Pan Ziyun's words, she grabbed Xiao Jiu's hand tremblingly and asked, "Have you seen him? What did he look like at that time, how tall was he, and whether the beard on his face was heavy..."

Xiao Jiu didn't break free, with a quiet gentleness on her face, she gestured with the other hand to place a head taller than herself: "He is about this tall, very young, but has a thick beard, and his accent is a bit southern ..."

"That's him, that's him." Mrs. Song slowly stopped sobbing, but tears still flowed slowly from her cloudy old eyes, "This kid, he started growing a beard when he was only ten years old, and his cheeks are full. His face is all over, I am always worried that if he looks gangster like this, he will scare away all the young girls in the future..."

She started to babble about Bai Zhi's childhood, Xiao Jiu didn't say anything, just looked at Mrs. Song tenderly.It was dusk, and the setting sun turned the window paper red, and it also cast a layer of warm color on Mrs. Song and Xiao Jiu, who was being held by her.

※two※

Mrs. Song is indeed a very stubborn old man, no wonder she brought out a young man like Bai Zhi.

She had deceived people all her life, and her heart was stronger than that of ordinary women, so despite her old age and frail body, she was not overwhelmed by grief as everyone feared.After Bai Zhi's burial, she insisted on going to see the place where Bai Zhi's body was found, and after seeing it, she insisted on "seeing" the hero town that devoured her grandson.

Naturally, the rivers and lakes in Hero Town are no longer what they were more than ten years ago. The rivers and lakes that were polite to each other, crowded out heretics, peaceful on the surface and cannibalized on the inside disappeared together with Lao Nanxiangzi, and the rest of the rivers and lakes were destroyed by the Unyielding Gang. Turned upside down, the people in the rivers and lakes here are rough and uneducated, hugging a girl with a full head of flowers, a face like chalk, and lips like blood, and provocatively applauded the "Nizi Biography" loudly.

There is nothing worth inquiring about in Jianghu, so Mrs. Song inquired about Bai Zhi's former residence and went to look for the remains of her grandson.

Bai Zhi lives in a small courtyard next to a merchant's house in the town that is rented out to outsiders. Now the tenant of the small courtyard has been replaced by a poor man, but after hearing about Mrs. Song's identity, the mistress who is over fifty years old ordered The maid took out a large package that was piled up in the utility room, saying that it was all things that Bai Zhi had no time to pack, and they had been keeping it for them.

There was nothing of value in it, but a few faded clothes and a bedding, and some trivial sundries.

The hostess had no way of knowing about Bai Zhi's death, and thought he was just leaving in a hurry and didn't have time to pack his things.Anyway, Bai Zhi was young and indeterminate, with ambitions in all directions, and often said that he wanted to make a name for himself and live up to the ancestors under the nine springs.

It wasn't until she saw Mrs. Song's unstoppable tears that the hostess realized that there was something hidden in it, and asked about the death news tactfully.

Most women are soft-hearted, let alone mothers, how can they not understand the grief and despair of a white-haired man sending a black-haired man!The hostess shed many tears with Mrs. Song, and asked Bai Zhi, "What's wrong with you?"

Mrs. Song cried and said: "It's not a disease, he is too hot-tempered, he offended someone, and asked someone to kill him! He was dead for more than ten years before he was found, and only his bones are rotten..."

The hostess was shocked and said: "Brother Bai is not very irritable. Back then, there lived a hot-tempered old man across the street. He made a fuss, smashed doors and beat people. Brother Bai just scolded each other and never fought back. Sigh Alas, Brother Bai is also very talkative, but he is actually very kind, such a good young man is rare, the world is really ruthless, and good people don't live long."

Xiao Jiu frowned slightly, and sighed inaudibly.

The hostess left her seat and stroked Mrs. Song's back and asked, "The people in our town didn't do it, did the murderer get caught?"

Xiao Jiu said: "The murderer has... subdued the law."

The hostess said repeatedly: "The sky has eyes, good and evil will be rewarded, the sky has eyes, good and evil will be rewarded..."

Xiao Jiu slowly exited the outside, staring at the sky beyond the eaves, silent.

Pan Ziyun lowered his head and walked out the door thoughtfully. Xiao Jiu suddenly stretched out an arm to stop him: "I heard that you wrote several plays in the town, and all of them have something to do with revenge."

Pan Ziyun was in a daze for a moment, then nodded in embarrassment. He was still not used to admitting this in person, so he seemed a little shy.

Xiao Jiu said solemnly: "Please excuse me, I have something important to discuss with you."

Sun Chengxiu just heard it, poked her head out from the door, and asked in a low voice, "Ajiu, what's the matter?"

"I have something to tell Brother Pan," Xiao Jiu said, "Don't worry, he will tell you about it in a few days."

Sun Chengxiu asked curiously: "What can't you tell me directly, but let him relay it?"

Xiao Jiu patted her on the head like a coaxing child: "Okay, okay, in a few days, Brother Pan will tell others, but I won't tell you. I will tell you directly."

"...Huh?" Sun Chengxiu stayed where she was in a daze, and Pan Ziyun was also taken away by Xiao Jiu in a daze.

※three※

It was too late to wait until "a few days later", Mrs. Song set off to return home.

When she came out of her hometown, she was alone and had nowhere to ask for help. Although she was escorted by someone when she went back, her figure seemed even lonelier.

Both Qin Songfeng and Ji Shuliu felt that they had the responsibility to escort her, but Mrs. Song insisted on refusing to do so. In the end, she couldn't justify it, so she agreed to Xiao Jiu and Sun Chengxiu to accompany her.

After seeing them off, Pan Ziyun also became a little strange, shutting himself up in his room every day, a little more withdrawn than usual.When Ji Shuliu delivered the meal, he quietly paid attention, and found that although there was no pen, ink, paper and inkstone on the table, there was a strong fragrance of ink in his room.

In a few days, it will be the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month.

There is a custom of eating Laba porridge in Yongping Prefecture, and the folk customs in Hero Town are very warm.On Laba day, not only ordinary people cook porridge separately, but also many rich households give porridge to poor people on the street. Walking on the street, the white gas of hot porridge is everywhere, and some beggars squat on the side of the street to drink porridge together. After drinking one's drink, he went to drink another's, his face was beaming.

Before dawn that day, Pan Ziyun came out of the house, went to the kitchen to cook some porridge, filled several jars, and prepared to give it to Xi Yuanyuan.When the porridge was ready, it was just in time for sunrise, and the warm red morning light in the east shone on him, and his face seemed not as pale as usual.

Before going out, he whispered to Ji Shuliu: "There is something on my desk, please take a look for me. You read more books than me, maybe you can correct something."

Ji Shuliu hurriedly said: "How dare you, I only have admiration for you."

"Don't overdo it." Pan Ziyun paused, "This is actually written by Miss Xiao, you will understand after reading it."

Ji Shuliu was puzzled: "Miss Xiao?"

"When I come back from Yuanyuan, you should have finished reading it, and it won't be too late for us to talk about it in detail then."

Pan Ziyun nodded to Ji Shuliu in the morning light, then bent down to lift the wooden barrel containing several cans of porridge and other offerings.

"Wait," Ji Shuliu saw that Pan Ziyun seemed to be in a particularly good mood today, so he couldn't help but take the opportunity to send out an invitation, "It's almost Chinese New Year, how about you come back to Qiyan Villa with us to celebrate the New Year? I think you might as well go out for a walk more in the future, okay?" Whether you are a hero, or you have experienced the world, come back every once in a while to see Miss Xi, and tell her what you have seen and heard. Anyway, now that her enemy is dead, you can tell her something new, and she will listen. I'm also happy. In case you encounter something interesting, you can write it into a drama..."

Pan Ziyun's eyes were blank.Ji Shuliu was slightly disappointed, and felt that he might not be able to persuade him, but Pan Ziyun kept bending over to carry the bucket for a long time, then suddenly lifted the bucket, straightened his waist, and showed a faint but heartfelt smile: "That's fine. "