Logically speaking, no little girl should live alone in such a deserted place.
She looks about thirteen or fourteen years old, which is when she has lost her childishness. Her face is still a little plump, with two lovely blushes. The red dress on her body is bright and beautiful, like a burning cloud at dusk.
Take it off, cut it into pieces and wear it on your body. The hem and cuffs are decorated with a few balls of white fluffy cotton, like white fluffy cumulus clouds. She steps into the wooden clogs with cotton socks and jumps nimbly, as light as if she can move at any time.
Can float.
The dry and cracked earth is devastated, and she is the only flower in full bloom.
The little girl lived in a dilapidated courtyard. There was an adobe house that was so old that it was about to collapse. The thatch on the roof was rolled up too much, and daylight leaked in sparsely. There was a well in the yard, which was dry, but
The towering tree on the side is still alive. That tree draws from deeper underground water. It has lived for a long time, so long that it can’t count its growth rings. Its root system firmly clamps the gray-yellow soil, just like its crown.
It is so huge that it almost covers the entire courtyard. It is five or six feet tall. Even if it is bare now, it is not difficult to see the majestic tree.
The little girl was jumping back with a bucket filled with water. Logically speaking, the bucket full of water was heavy, but it felt as easy as an empty bucket in her hand. But she was a little reckless.
Water was spilled all the way, and when she pushed the door open, there was less than half a bucket of water left inside. The spilled water was quickly absorbed by the thirsty soil, leaving no water stains.
"Huh? Aren't you here..."
The little girl scratched her head and took a few steps back outside the house. She looked around, and finally found the strange man on the only tree. He didn't know when he got up, and he was sitting very high. He stood blankly.
He stood there in a daze, not knowing what he was thinking.
"Hey, why are you here?" The little girl put down the bucket and put her hands on her hips, "I just said it was heavy on my head."
The man suddenly woke up from his daze. He nodded to her and jumped down from the tree without any injuries.
"Drink some water? You've been feeling very lethargic. It's been three days and you haven't eaten anything. Is it really okay?"
"I think it's okay. Thank you for your trouble, Miss Kapok. Thank you very much for your trouble."
"Um……"
The girl called Kapok walked around him, sniffing up and down.
"Humans will be very lack of energy if they don't eat for three days. Although you are also very lack of energy... you can still climb trees. In fact, you are a monster, right? Only monsters can be in good condition without eating for such a long time."
"Do you think I'm in good condition?" The man smiled bitterly, "That's a good thing. But I thought Kapok girl had noticed long ago that I'm actually not a human being."
Kapok nodded slightly.
"At first I thought you were not human - no one would come here. It is very dangerous here. Although it is vast, there are many restless people lurking there. But you have a very strong smell of human beings. I have known it for a long time.
I've smelled it before, so I'm pretty sure. But you haven't eaten for three days, and you're either wandering around the yard or in a daze in the house. I don't think you're human anymore."
This little monster is very talkative. She probably hasn’t talked to anyone for a long time, so once she sees a living thing, all the words she has been holding back will come out. When I met her on the first day, she chattered a lot. Men probably count
A good listener, he had something on his mind, but Kapok didn’t know what it was. So from the next day, he pestered him to talk about a lot of outside things, and he didn’t feel bored even after talking all day long.
There was nothing special about him.
Maybe it's mixed with some painful memories.
"I knew you were a monster at a glance. This is really strange. I must not have recognized you before. At most, I thought it was strange that a little girl lived alone in a place like this." The man said.
Kapok blinked and looked at him.
"So are you a human? Are you a person with evil spirits, or a powerful monster? I heard that those big monsters are very strong and can hide all their evil spirits, just like a mortal without any flaws."
The man was thoughtful and silent for a while before answering her: "Not really."
"Why?"
"No matter how powerful a demon is, it can't imitate the aura of a person. It can only make itself infinitely close to non-existence. If you are blind, you can tell whether the person approaching you is a human or a demon. And the demon that hides its aura,
As long as your steps are light enough, you won't notice."
"You know so much."
"I only found out later... I have traveled to many places and many things have happened."
"Then you continue to tell me? I can only be here all year round and can't leave. It's very boring. Wait, you haven't answered my question just yet-" Kapok suddenly grabbed his sleeve and said,
Questioningly, "What on earth are you?"
"……I have no idea."
This question seemed to have been something he had thought deeply about, and Kapok had been looking forward to it for a while. After receiving such a disappointing answer, she naturally let out a sigh. But soon, the man said again:
"But both humans and monsters call me half-demon."
"I've heard of it," Kapok said thoughtfully, "but it doesn't sound good. What about the name? There must be a name, but you never told me."
The man said hesitantly that he didn't like his name. But because of the favor of half a bucket of water, he told her anyway. In fact, he was a little unexpected, but Kapok girl kept urging him to tell a story, so he declined.
The sentence made her throat feel dry. She never imagined that she would really find water from this barren land.
"Long Miao? It doesn't sound bad."
"You do not understand."
"What don't you understand?" Kapok put his hands on his hips again and said loudly, "I have lived for hundreds of years, but I understand!"
"...How should I put it? The family who gave me this name treated me badly. Have you actually lived for so long? Have you lived alone for these hundreds of years?"
Long Miao asked her this. Then Kapok sighed, showing some maturity that did not belong to this kind of appearance.
"No. I used to have many brothers and sisters here, and they were all flower demons. This area was very lively, and there were also some humans living with us. But about twenty years ago, everyone disappeared."
"Why?"
"I don't know." Kapok said calmly.
"I don't know? But haven't you never left here in these years?"
The two walked into the house. Kapok dug out a cracked bowl, rinsed it with water, poured some more in, and handed it to Long Miao. After he took it, Kapok answered him.
"There are two water sources within the scope of my activities. One is closer and is an endless river. I stayed away from the body for too long and became thirsty, so I drank some river water. When I went back, there was only
I'm alone."
"puff--"
Long Miao squirted out the water he just drank into his mouth.
"Oh, what are you afraid of? This bucket is underground water, and it is also the place where tree roots draw water. It seeps out from a crack further away, and accumulates a small pool in a low-lying area. This water is no problem
"That's the problem with the river water. It's blood yellow in color and a little red. You can tell it at a glance."
Long Miao's surprise made him unable to close his mouth: "How dare you drink this kind of water? It's red..."
"I'm red too." Kapok confidently unfolded her long sleeves and fanned twice.
"...Okay. But what happened to the river that caused such great changes to the earth? Was it a forbidden spell?"
Kapok frowned and thought hard for a while. Finally, she said that she actually didn't know. Because there was no problem when she drank the bowl of water, but Kapok gradually discovered that she could no longer remember many broken memories. She
She knew that she had many sisters, but she had forgotten some of the details of how they got along, and almost forgot what this place was like. Most importantly, she couldn't even remember the reason for this situation.
Long Miao's eyes were a little apologetic, but he felt that she didn't need comfort. So he reached out and touched Kapok's head. She didn't seem to hate it.
"Then you...miss your family and friends?"
"I should be thinking about it. Although I can't remember many things, a group of people is always more lively than me alone. What about you? Do you have any other brothers, sisters, or close friends in your family?"
For a moment, Long Miao didn't know which family to answer. It would be better to say that neither of them counted. He hesitated again and again and said hesitantly:
"Now...there is one brother left. He is a monster. He always pesters me and wants me to become a complete monster. I don't like it, so I always avoid him. Girl Kapok, I'm sorry that I can't stay here too long.
Otherwise, he might find you here and cause you a lot of trouble."
Kapok seemed to understand and nodded reluctantly. Naturally, she felt it was a pity, but she didn't stop her. She was more curious about another question, which was "Don't you want to become a monster?"
"Maybe I thought so at first... But I met Liudao Impermanence - the kind-hearted Impermanence. They hope that I can give up my identity as a monster, become a truly reborn person again, and live a good life."
"Six Paths of Impermanence?" Kapok thought for a while, "Ah, I do have an impression of this. I should recognize who... In my knowledge, he shouldn't be a bad person. I was earlier, that strange person
We met on the bank of the river.”
Long Miao was a little excited: "Who is it? What does it look like?"
"forget."
She said confidently, and Longmiao was discouraged again. Kapok couldn't bear it, so she comforted him and said:
"How about... I take you for a walk by the river again? Ever since I drank water randomly, I haven't dared to go alone for a long time."
Long Miao felt that this was an idea. Although the hope was slim, he agreed. He followed Kapok for a long distance, and the scenery beside him did not change at all. No matter where he went, there was cracked soil. The vastness was like this.
The theme of the earth.
The two of them were silent along the way, and no one spoke first. Until they saw a strangely colored "belt" in front of them from a distance. The closer they got, the more they discovered that it was not as simple as thin and long, but very thin.
It is a wide, gentle river. You can hardly see the other side at a glance, and the water flows very slowly, making it almost invisible.
Although the color of the river water is strange, it doesn't have any disgusting smell.
At this time, Kapok suddenly grabbed the corner of his clothes again and pointed to one end of the river with a surprised expression. Maybe it was upstream, because Long Miao also noticed that something was floating down. But there were no waves in the river.
No speed.
"what is that?"
"Like, like a person..." Long Miao was a little nervous, "Should we... get it up?"