In the bumpy carriage, Ouyang Rong's skirt knife was placed horizontally on his knees.
There was a look of concentration on his face that was listening attentively.
Inside the carriage, there were only the sounds of horse hooves hitting the ground outside and the roar of the riders.
Only Xie Lingjiang's clear and melodious voice was left.
Xie Lingjiang did not hide anything from Ouyang Rong.
Except for her sudden confession in the main hall of Donglin Temple in the morning, and the fact that Tu Qiongdeng scared someone away, the two of them tacitly agreed not to ask or mention it, pretending that it never happened.
other things.
The two of them gradually returned to the normal tone and atmosphere of how they got along as brothers and sisters.
It seemed that someone showed her the profile of a man who was familiar with listening attentively and attentively, and seemed to encourage her.
Xie Lingjiang continued to recount today's events in the tone of a junior sister.
He even revealed all the secrets of the Skirt Knife without hiding anything in his heart.
As Ouyang Rong listened, his somewhat rough palms couldn't help but quietly let go of the original round white jade handle, and retracted his hand.
In response to this, the noble lady Xie, who was speaking with her lips slightly opened, did not look away and seemed not to see it.
I don’t know how much time passed.
In the carriage, the woman's clear voice slowly stopped.
All that was left was the silence between the two people's eyes, illuminated by a few dim lights that occasionally slipped in through the car window, and their respective faces that flickered in and out.
"It seems that I have wronged my junior sister today."
Ouyang Rong showed a look of guilt on his face: "If I hadn't left at that time, nothing would have happened later..."
Xie Lingjiang suddenly shook his head and interrupted:
"It's senior brother who has been wronged. I... I'm sorry, senior brother."
"That's why. Besides, if you hadn't taken action at the last moment this afternoon to stop that counterfeit, the consequences would have been disastrous."
Ouyang Rong shook his head with a serious face, then turned to smile bitterly: "Junior sister's performance this afternoon... I didn't even have time to praise you, so why should I apologize?"
Xie Ling Jiang Te bit her lower lip, her eyes silently staring at the safe and sound man in front of her who was comforting her.
After hearing her senior brother's laughter, she slowly shook her head, and after a long time, she trembled her lips and spoke.
It's a pity that the light is dim, and someone who doesn't have spiritual energy cultivation can't see clearly at night, so he can't see the rich expression and true feelings on her face in that moment:
"Junior sister is still stupid. I was just suspicious before. It wasn't until I was at Penglangdu Pier, after watching the counterfeit ship leave, and belatedly sensed the movement of the knife on your side, that I suddenly realized that the person on the ship was not
伱, the moment I was completely sure, my whole person was...all..."
The girl in the car gasped and closed her mouth tightly again, her lips a little pale.
After I suddenly woke up, in an instant, I felt like my breath was suffocated, as if someone was strangling my neck, and I felt like I was standing in the bright sunshine of the day, but only felt darkness in front of me, and the feeling that the whole world was falling apart.
.
Coupled with the emotions such as disbelief, regret, and even fear, etc., flooded her head... Even if it was later confirmed that the real senior brother was okay and still alive, and there was still feedback from the skirt knife, her heart still felt like being cut with a blunt knife.
Xie Lingjiang never wanted to have this kind of experience again in his life.
Even though most of the day had passed, until this moment, there was still a look of deep fear on her face.
"What's wrong with the whole person?"
Seeing that his junior sister was suddenly silent, Ouyang Rong couldn't help asking and shook his head:
"You can't blame me for this, junior sister. No one would have thought that the Liu family would play such an off-the-charts trick. Who gave them the courage?"
His brows were condensed and his eyes were staring at the knife in his lap.
"Nothing." Xie Lingjiang tried her best to hold back and did not go into detail about her breakdown at that time. She smiled at Ouyang Rong, who was looking thoughtful, and continued to murmur softly on her lips:
"I'm just a little worried about senior brother... However, I felt that senior brother used the skirt knife to kill people, and at least two people died under the skirt knife.
"Immediately I sensed that my senior brother was running with a skirt knife, towards Penglangdu where I was at that time. The distance was getting closer and closer, and his footsteps were hurried...
"Brother's hand grasped the handle of the knife with great strength, and seemed to be in a hurry...but then the direction changed again, and it seemed to be heading upstream towards Di Gong Gate.
"I guessed... I was even somewhat certain that senior brother should have seen through the conspiracy, but he was too far behind to catch up with us, so he had to rush directly to Di Gong Gate to stop the counterfeiters."
Having said this, Xie Lingjiang took a deep breath. Through the open window, the night wind slipped into her throat, making her feel a little bit cold in her throat, making her feel like drinking ice in summer.
Ouyang Rong looked at her with shining eyes and couldn't help but praise after hearing this:
"Junior sister is smart, um, she still trusts me, senior brother... So at the dock, you asked Liulang to take people back to Dagushan to find me. You decisively turned around and chased the ship, keeping your plan close to the impostor, wanting to see behind it.
What kind of conspiracy did this person set up during the ribbon-cutting ceremony, and then was destroyed in one fell swoop, right?"
Facing the senior brother's questioning, Xie Lingjiang did not nod or shake her head. She stared at the face of the man in front of her and asked:
"Senior brother, don't you blame junior sister? It's obvious that you may still be in danger and may be hunted down later, but I didn't go to you immediately and was absent from your side..."
She paused, then silently lowered her eyes to look at the skirt knife, and added with a happy heart:
"This... feeling of not being taken seriously by the other party, doesn't Senior Brother feel a little bit uncomfortable in his heart?"
Ouyang Rong no longer holds the jade handle, but instead holds both hands on the white sandalwood scabbard.
He sat upright, his eyes as bright as stars, looking at her.
Xie Lingjiang, who often sits on the roof and watches until dawn these days, feels that the bright eyes in front of him are more like the morning star on the indigo sky before dawn.
Ouyang Rong said softly to Xie Lingjiang:
"Junior sister, it is false to say that I don't feel any loss in my heart, but I am more understanding and happy. This is also true.
"I understand the choice Junior Sister made at that time. I am very happy that you did not let your emotions get the better of you and turn around to find me in vain. Instead, you learned to think about the situation calmly and chose to catch up with the ship, monitor the counterfeiters, and protect Mr. Shen and the others.
.
"If you choose the former, I will feel uncomfortable and angry...
"So now, I am really happy, junior sister, you have really grown up."
Ouyang Rong sighed, with a smile on his face.
Xie Lingjiang stared at the eldest brother's somewhat pleased expression and suddenly asked:
"What if, what if you encounter danger again on the road, what if it's because I didn't turn around to look for you immediately and stay by your side that you, senior brother, are still killed by the gangsters...
"I made that so-called rational decision. Is Senior Brother also happy and expects me to make such a choice?"
Ouyang Rong was stunned, lowered his head and grasped the scabbard tightly, and pursed his lips tightly.
He lowered his eyes and said seriously: "Junior sister knows the answer."
Yes, Xie Lingjiang knew the answer, but she asked it anyway.
Sometimes, meaningless nonsense doesn't make the world stupider, but makes it more complicated.
During the pause when Xie Lingjiang was silent, Ouyang Rong suddenly raised his head, with a bright smile on his face, and said to her:
"In case I die, you have to chase the boat without looking back. Don't cry. It was like this yesterday, it will be like this today, and it will be like this tomorrow. Do you understand?"
Xie Lingjiang saw that the man in front of him was pointing in the direction of Zhiyi Canal and Duke Di Gate outside the car window. He said seriously:
"You must protect our unfinished business. This is not only my unfinished business, senior brother, but also your unfinished business. It is also the unfinished business of Rokuro, Ashan, and even everyone who is committed to water control in Dragon City.
"It should be, and is, more important than me.
"Even if I die, leave, and no longer exist in this world, as long as the disaster relief camp is still there, the Dee Gong Gate is still there, and the Broken Wing Canal is still there, the people of Longcheng are still relying on them to have enough food and clothing, work and create, and live an endless life.
"Then your senior brother, I am still here, and will always be here. I am not just a casual mention or a few drops of ink in the big county annals in the Yamen."
Xie Lingjiang, who was still wearing red clothes in the dark car, opened his mouth and looked blankly at the senior brother with a bright smile in front of him.
She was speechless for a long time.
Suddenly he turned his head and glanced at the night sky above the carriage.
Tonight, the moon is pale and the stars are hidden, and the sky is pitch black.
It is conceivable that even if she goes up to the roof to keep vigil tomorrow morning, she may not be able to see the morning star.
However, Xie Lingjiang felt otherwise.
It's right in front of you.
Not long after.
"Junior sister?"
The carriage came to a halt with a clang, which conveyed the inertia of the people in the carriage to lean forward, and the call of senior brother awakened Xie Lingjiang, who had been in a daze for the second half of the journey.
"Ah." She suddenly came to her senses and responded.
Ouyang Rong looked at the pretty little junior sister with a slightly dazed face, and couldn't help but laugh:
"We're at the place. What are you thinking about? Get off the car quickly and go back to rest first."
On Luming Street, the carriage driven by Liu Ashan stopped in front of the low-key gate of Su Mansion without stone lions.
"oh."
Xie Lingjiang glanced outside but did not move. He turned around and asked:
"What about you, senior brother? Are you still busy at night? I won't leave to accompany you. I can't be negligent anymore. I have to protect senior brother's safety outside."
Ouyang Rong had no choice but to think about it for a moment. He glanced at Xie Lingjiang, who was already much more mature, and said truthfully:
"I'm going to settle down a place for Master Shen, Master Wang and others later, and then I'll go to the county government office to finish up some things left over today.
"By the way, there is also the matter over at Dagushan. We have to send someone there...
"In addition, there is a county-wide public trial tomorrow. We have to strike while the iron is hot and nail the coffin boards of the Liu family thoroughly."
"Then senior brother will be busy again tonight, will he have to make the bed and quilt in the county government hall again?" Xie Lingjiang couldn't hide the distressed look in his eyes.
Without thinking, she said: "Then let's go together. Just in time, I will go to the prison to guard the alchemist. It's not safe enough to seal the spiritual energy."
Ouyang Rong thought for a while, nodded and said:
"Okay, but now I'll go back and tidy up, have a meal and rest for a while. Let's meet up in half an hour and go there together."
"good."
Xie Lingjiang nodded vigorously.
Meilu Garden and Su Mansion were adjacent to each other, so they got off the carriage together.
In front of the Su Mansion, Xie Lingjiang did not move immediately.
Two big red lanterns hung in front of the door, casting the light of the red candles on the young county magistrate who was standing quietly and slightly tired not far away.
Xie Lingjiang turned her head and looked up and down carefully at the senior brother who was watching her come in.
The latter seemed to understand her look.
He shrugged helplessly, lifted up his sleeves, and turned around in a circle under the alert eyes of his little junior sister:
"I'm really fine. I don't have any serious injuries on my body. I'm not trying to find a reason to send you away, and then I'll silently huddle in the corner and lick my wounds like a cat or a dog."
Xie Lingjiang looked at the wry smile on his tired face, nodded slightly, and turned around to go in.
"Wait a minute, junior sister." Ouyang Rong seemed to have remembered something and shouted. He lowered his head and silently untied something from his waist, holding it in both hands and preparing to pass it forward, "You forgot to take your skirt knife..."
The latter raised his head and asked, "What's wrong?"
Under the red lantern, a girl dressed in red dressed in men's clothing said without turning her head:
"The words you taught Junior Sister on the road just now, saying that our unfinished business is more important, sometimes even more important than... one person's life, Junior Sister feels that what Senior Brother said is right, but...
"Maybe it's because I'm still very stupid. I can barely do the 'Don't cry' part, but the 'Don't look back' part is actually quite difficult to do."
She paused, sniffed, curled her lips, and pretended not to care:
"Eldest brother, don't think too much. It's not that someone is special, but that I have a sentimental temperament. If something happens to a close friend from the same family around me, and my life or death is uncertain, I will always be impulsive and worried."
Ouyang Rong frowned slightly: "Junior sister, actually we..."
Xie Lingjiang tilted his head slightly from behind and interrupted: "But."
"But what?" Ouyang Rong asked blankly.
"But it's not impossible to solve it. Just like today, if you carry my skirt knife with you, I can vaguely sense your presence, so I can relax a little and chase the boat without looking back...
"Whether it's life or death, Junior Sister, I can at least confirm it. It's better than being tempted by some illusory hope, messing up the situation and ruining Senior Brother's big event... Senior Brother, what do you think?"
Ouyang Rong opened his eyes. He actually didn't quite understand the logic of his junior sister. However, it didn't stop him from responding. He felt that what the junior sister said was not too problematic:
"This...is not bad."
Xie Lingjiang nodded straightly: "Let the skirt knife continue to be placed where you are. It will be used as...an insurance policy. You are not allowed to let it leave your body in the future."
Ouyang Rong thought for a while, then reluctantly tied the skirt knife back to his waist: "Okay."
But what he didn't see was that the corner of the mouth of a young junior sister with her back turned slightly curved.
After putting on the sword, Ouyang Rong raised his head and called to Xie Lingjiang: "Wait, there is one more thing, the red rope that Master Shandao gave me this morning..."
Xie Lingjiang suddenly asked: "Red rope? What red rope?"
Before Ouyang Rong could say anything else, she raised her hand without looking back, shook off her wide red sleeves, exposed a lotus-rooted arm, and raised her white, white wrist in a gesture.
Xie Lingjiang also held a marriage bamboo stick in his hand.
Her curious tone came:
"Didn't we just ask Su Xiaomei for a lottery ticket this morning? What are you talking about, senior brother?"
"..."
"gone."
The girl in red waved her hand and walked in gracefully.
Ouyang Rong watched with a daze on his face.
After a while, he rubbed his face, turned around and left, leaving behind a muttering:
"Junior sister has really grown up... In other words, is this a feeling of admiration and dependence, or is it... true love?"