Leaning against the old gray tree that had lost all its leaves, Hua Xiong stared blankly ahead. A circle was made of stones around the old tree. Countless dead leaves were piled on the ground around Hua Xiong.
He sat on these dead leaves, stretched out his hand, and took out a dead leaf. There was a thin layer of frost on the dead leaf. He put the dead leaf in the palm of his hand, and the palm of his hand gradually became moist. The gray dead leaf was the only one that had ever seen it.
Evidence that this old tree once flourished.
"This old tree can still live again..."
Hua Xiong whispered. Dong Bai, who was busy in the distance, did not hear clearly. She raised her head in surprise, "Husband?"
She asked, Hua Xiong ignored her, he just stared at the dead leaves in his hand. A gust of wind passed by, and the dead leaves in his hands flew up and disappeared from his eyes. Hua Xiong pursed his lips and looked solemnly, looking at the dead leaves.
He disappeared and gradually leaned against the old tree again, closing his eyes slightly.
Dong Bai looked at him worriedly. Since the last time Hua Xiong went to chase the thief, his whole person seemed to have changed. Dong Bai was very worried about him. Hua Xiong became less like himself. He sat around all day.
Here, he was in a daze, lost in thought, always talking to himself, saying words that no one else could understand, with almost no mood swings. The most important thing was that he had not had a sip of wine for six days, which was very uncomfortable.
Normal, especially for Hua Xiong.
"Husband, it's better to find a doctor..."
"I'm fine. My waist doesn't hurt like before... It's okay... Back then, I..." Hua Xiong started, but paused, lowered his head, and did not continue speaking. Dong Bai had no choice but to
Sitting next to him, holding his hand, he said with a smile: "Then get well soon, how about I make you your favorite rice noodle tonight?" Hua Xiong raised his head and nodded with a smile.
nodded.
Dong Bai didn't know what Hua Xiong was thinking in his heart, nor why he was sad. What she knew was that Hua Xiong was not happy. He seemed to have lost all his happiness in one day.
Man, why do you become like this?
At dusk, the two of them sat together and ate dinner without saying a word, and were extremely silent.
Suddenly, someone knocked on the door.
Dong Bai hurriedly stood up and walked towards the door. Hua Xiong didn't like keeping slaves, and there were no slaves in his family. Dong Bai basically had to do everything. However, Dong Bai didn't feel tired or dissatisfied.
, On the contrary, she enjoyed such a simple life. When Dong Bai opened the door, there were six people standing outside the door, all led by the young man in the middle, surrounding him.
The young man in the middle looked very handsome and majestic. When he saw Dong Bai, he was not surprised. He smiled and said, "But in front of you? I'm here to find Uncle Hua. Is he in the house?"
Dong Bai was very satisfied with the young man, especially the name he gave him. She opened the door with a smile, let everyone in, and called into the house: "Husband, my nephew is here!"
Hua Xiong was stunned for a moment, then slowly raised his head and saw the person coming. Hua Xiong stood up hurriedly, but felt a sharp pain in his back. He did not show the pain, and bowed his hands and said: "Greetings to Your Majesty!"
Hearing this sound, Dong Bai turned pale with fright. Did she just receive the emperor's bow? She hasn't returned the bow yet? She quickly followed Hua Xiong's bow and lowered her head. Liu Xi smiled and said quickly: "My uncle is my uncle."
Elders, it doesn’t have to be like this, and aunties too... but there’s still food?”
Dong Bai nodded and quickly went in to serve the meal.
Liu Xi sat in front of Hua Xiong and asked: "A few days ago, I heard that my uncle was injured. I was worried, so I came to visit. How is your uncle?"
Hua Xiong shook his head and said, "It hurts a little, but it's still bearable..."
"Uncle...it seems like you have something on your mind?" Liu Xi asked doubtfully.
Hua Xiong frowned and pondered for a long time, and then said: "Your Majesty, I want to go back to my hometown. I'm a little homesick and want to go and see..." Liu Xi was silent for a moment, nodded and said
: "Okay, I will send someone to send my uncle to Liangzhou... Treat it as a holiday so that he can rest for a while..."
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
"Uncle, don't do this."
The two chatted, Dong Bai served the food, and Hua Xiong and Tianzi continued to eat. The two of them ate for a long time, and Liu Xi was the one talking all the time, while Hua Xiong listened carefully. The two of them completely changed places.
, looking at the loneliness on Hua Xiong's face, Liu Xi felt indescribably depressed, especially depressed.
Finally, the emperor was about to leave. Liu Xi said goodbye to Hua Xiong and his wife, turned around, and just walked to the door. Suddenly, Hua Xiong shouted: "Your Majesty!"
Liu Xi turned around and looked at Hua Xiong.
"Princes value talent more than virtue...perhaps it is wrong."
Liu Xi was a little surprised, why did Hua Xiong suddenly talk about this?
At night, the sky is still gray, the night is very dark, there is not a trace of moonlight, it is pitch black, darkness covers everything, and people can't feel the slightest light.
In the inner room, Dong Bai and Hua Xiong were lying on the bed. Hua Xiong was already asleep, but Dong Bai was staring at Hua Xiong beside him, unable to rest. Hua Xiong was lying sideways, with a particularly ferocious look on his face.
He murmured in his mouth, sometimes clenched his hands into fists, sometimes trembled, and let out unknown roars. Sweat rolled down his forehead. Dong Bai didn't know what he was dreaming about, but he didn't dare to wake him up. He held Hua Xiong tightly in his hands.
Even if it hurts from being pinched by him.
"ah!"
Hua Xiong sat up suddenly and exclaimed. Then, he started crying like a child. This was the first time Dong Bai saw Hua Xiong so sad. She had never seen Hua Xiong's face look so sad.
Feeling sad or a little lonely, she quickly hugged Hua Xiong. Hua Xiong cowered in her arms, covering his head and crying, and kept murmuring: "I want to go back to Liangzhou...back to Liangzhou
..."
"Go back tomorrow. I will accompany you back tomorrow..."
Under Dong Bai's coaxing, Hua Xiong calmed down again and fell asleep.
The next day, just after dawn, a carriage drove slowly out of Luoyang City Gate. On this day, the officials in Dibao Mansion also learned that Hua Xiong was going to rest for a while.
Chen Lin will be in charge of everything for the time being.
The climate in Liangzhou is not very good at this time. Strong winds often blow by. Occasionally, you can see the yellow sand in the distant sky. It is extremely bleak and chilling. What surprised Dong Bai is that Hua Xiong did not
He did not take her back to his home. Hua Xiong had no home in Liangzhou. He just took his wife and rode a carriage through some remote wildernesses in Liangzhou. In these wildernesses, there was only the lonely wind and nothing else.
.
Hua Xiong stood here with a smile on his face, lost in his own memories.
Dong Bai gradually understood Hua Xiong's purpose of coming here. On the ground, he could always see some broken and decayed swords, or arrows that had been discarded somewhere. There were also some ruins, and a few bare pieces of wood were nailed there.
, time has left countless traces on its body. It is said that this was once the camp of the Xiliang garrison of the Han Dynasty, but it has long been abandoned because there are no enemies outside the wall and the border has been pushed a lot.
At the end of the trip, they returned to Hua Xiong’s hometown, Zhangye, which was also the closest place to his former camp.
"I want to go for a walk alone... Just wait for me at the inn... Also, I sent someone to notify Changsheng... If he comes, you tell him to come to the old place to find me.
He'll know where to find me..."
Hua Xiong gave the order and ignored Dong Bai's dissuasion, limping on crutches and walking on the streets of Zhangye.
Zhangye is not as desolate as it used to be. People are coming and going on the streets. However, these people are walking so fast and do not stop to look at the surroundings for a moment.
Hua Xiong walked alone on the streets here, watching people coming and going. The center of the county town was an extremely luxurious winery. It was also a post station built for merchants. The merchants rested here.
Drinking and eating here, and later, even some rangers and scholars began to come to this place to drink and have fun. Of course, drinking together was a serious crime in the Han Dynasty, so what they sold here were fruit wine brought from outside the Great Wall.
, this is not illegal.
Countless young people flock here, especially at night. After the curfew was lifted, this has become the place where they can have the most fun.
Hua Xiong panted and walked slowly. A group of young rangers appeared in front of him. They were shouting and their faces were full of excitement. As they walked past Hua Xiong, one of them accidentally bumped into Hua Xiong's shoulder.
On the top, the crutch in Hua Xiong's hand fell to the ground. The young man turned his head suddenly and looked at the old man in front of him. He looked unkind, but did not say anything harsh. He just glanced at the old man and dropped it to the ground.
crutches, turned and left.
Hua Xiong watched him leave, pursed his lips and said nothing.
He lowered his body and tried to pick up the crutches on the ground, but his back felt severe pain, unbearable pain.
Only then did Hua Xiong realize that he couldn't even pick up a crutch on the ground.
He looked ahead blankly. In front of him was the most prosperous wine shop in Zhangye.
The young man just now walked into the wine shop excitedly. Soon, he went upstairs and sat at the window. Various noises came from the wine shop, and musicians were singing, praising the present day.
In the prosperous times of the 19th century, the beauty of maiko was eulogized. Young people excitedly raised their wine glasses, hugged the girl who was walking from the side, and drank heavily. People came and went, and it was extremely noisy.
Hua Xiong stood on the edge of the street, staring blankly at the scene in front of him.
The young people were still partying, and no one turned around to take a look at the poor old man on the street.
In front of Hua Xiong, there were countless noises,
"Drink! Come on, I'll punish you with three more drinks!!"
"Beauty, where are you from? What a coincidence, my wife is also from your place!"
"Hahaha, I went to Xizhou yesterday and exchanged some goods. I sold them for tens of thousands of dollars. Hahaha, I'll treat you today!"
"Oh, look at the old man outside the door and you are stunned. He becomes a thief when he gets old!"
"Ha ha ha ha!"
Hua Xiong stood here silently, like a dividing line. In front of him was the noise, but behind him was a different world, a world of iron and blood.
"Captain!! The enemy is coming!!"
"Changsheng!! You lead the knights to protect Zhangye!! Don't let the Qiang people come in!!"
"Hua Manzi! Kill me!! Behind us are the people! If they want to pass by, they must step over our bodies first!!"
"Kill!!!"
"Brother Hua...I...can't do it anymore...bury it with my own hands..."
"Ah!! Dog thief!! Come on!!!"
Hua Xiong looked in front of him blankly. The bursts of noise once again broke his memories and disrupted the world behind him. Everything disappeared. In front of him, all he could see were those who were reveling and the spilled food. Good wine and the dissolute laughter of the showgirl.