Reaper Yama and Han Ye were led upstairs by the waiter. After walking about 20 to 30 steps along the stairs on the second floor, they finally stopped in front of a door with a " E " sign. The waiter pushed the door open enthusiastically and rushed into the room before Reaper Yama to clean up the room.
Han Ye looked at the room and saw a large window at the entrance. There was a round table and three round stools in front of the window. On the left was a clothes rack, dressing table, desk, and an arhat bed. On the right was a wide bed that could sleep three people. Of course, in order to improve the quality of the restaurant, there were often a few fake calligraphy and paintings hanging in the room.
"Please sit, please sit!" The waiter touched the round table with a towel and arranged for the demon and Han Ye to sit on the round stool. After a while, the waiter was done and asked the demon respectfully,""Sir, is there anything else you need me to do?”
? The demon waved his hand and said," I'll call you if there's anything. Go out."”
"Yes, yes." The waiter nodded as he left the room. In the end, he did not forget to say,"Sir, our hotel provides hot water all day long. If you want to use it, just go to the counter and inform us!”After saying that, the waiter closed the door and left.
Once the waiter left, only the demon and Han Ye were left in the room. The demon had nothing to say. He picked up the teapot and teacup on the round table, poured a cup of cold tea, and drank it by himself. Han Ye did not have the leisure like him. He lowered his head and stole a few glances at the demon from time to time. He wanted to say something but hesitated.
The demon had already noticed Han Ye's actions. He snorted and put the teacup back on the table. He pretended to be nonchalant and said,""I haven't seen you speak since we were upstairs. It's not like you, kid.”
Han Ye was silent for a moment before he finally spoke. He opened his clear eyes and carefully said to the demon,""I'm sorry…I caused you trouble just now.”
At that moment, it was just a short apology. It looked ordinary, but it was sincere and sincere. It was extremely precious to the demon. The demon was touched when he heard it, but on the surface, he only relaxed his brows and said,"Hmph, it's good that you know you're in trouble. It saves me the trouble of scolding you personally.”
The demon was about to stand up and hang the Dragon Spring Sword on the hanger when he heard Han Ye say,""Also…my father said that gratitude should be repaid…thank you for helping me today.”
This time, the demon really couldn't stabilize his emotions. In this world of mutual deception and scheming, he had never seen such a sincere person. The little boy would say sorry for causing trouble. The little boy would say thank you after receiving a favor. Although this was related to a person's family style, in the eyes of the demon, these things were especially rare. Others could not understand why this eight-foot-tall man turned around, why he closed his eyes, and why his body was faintly trembling. However, they saw him frown and say," No need to thank me. I didn't help you in any way, and I will continue to do so in the future…"
"But you said you didn't help, but you've been helping me.”Han Ye frowned slightly and stared at the demon's tall and proud back with his watery eyes. He said in a daze,"" Actually, I'm not stupid. In the past, when the bandits wanted to harm me, you were the first one to protect me. Today, when the shopkeeper wanted to hit me, you scolded him without saying anything, and…"
"Enough! How annoying!" The demon angrily slammed the table, stood up, opened the door, and quickly walked out, leaving Han Ye staring blankly at the open door.
"Damn it!" As the demon walked up the stairs, he cursed in his heart,""What nonsense are you talking about! Teaching you martial arts means that you're already one of us. Do you need to say so much nonsense!”With that, the demon went downstairs.
Time always passed quickly. In the blink of an eye, it was late at night.
For some reason, when Han Ye slept in the grassy cave outside a few days ago, he always looked forward to sleeping on the soft bed. Now that he was lying on the spacious soft bed, he couldn't fall asleep no matter what.
Han Ye tossed and turned for a long time before he finally sat up and shifted his gaze to the door. Han Ye had left the door open the whole time. The person who should have come in did not come in. The faint light from the corridor shone into the door, reflecting the boy's eyes and falling on the boy's heart.
Although Han Ye didn't understand why the demon slammed the table and left, he at least knew that he should go out and find the demon now. So he got out of bed, put on his boots, and walked out of the room gently.
After leaving the room, Han Ye glanced at the corridor on the left. There was only a distant lamp and a guardrail corridor leading to the darkness. Han Ye looked to the right and saw the demon. It turned out that the dark-skinned man was leaning on the guardrail not far away. He was drinking while staring at the tables, chairs, and counters downstairs in the dark. The shop was already closed at this time. What was there to see when the demon was thinking about something?
Seeing that the demon was not far away, Han Ye finally felt a little more comfortable and at peace. He quietly approached the demon, but the demon seemed to have noticed his existence long ago. He glanced over and immediately withdrew his gaze. He said,"Why didn't you rest in your room? Why did you come out?”
Han Ye shook his head as he approached the demon.""I-I can't sleep."
" Strange..." The demon raised his head and drank a mouthful of wine he bought from the wine cabinet."Didn't you always say that you wanted to sleep on a soft bed? Why can't I sleep now that I have a bed?”
Han Ye looked up at the demon's side profile and said," Maybe I'm not used to it…"
"Oh?" The demon put down the wine jar and turned to look at Han Ye, asking,""Are you not used to the environment here?"
"No." Han Ye shook his head and said slowly,"" My parents have told me since I was young that there are many poisonous snakes and ferocious beasts outside. There are also many bad people who are worse than poisonous snakes and ferocious beasts. Therefore, I have always been afraid of staying outside..."
It was rare for the demon to listen to Han Ye's confession, so he asked,""What about now?"
"Now?" Han Ye stared blankly at the guardrail that was as tall as him and said," I don't know if I'm afraid now. I only know that I can't sleep without someone by my side, just like my sister…" As he spoke, he experienced the past and said,""I've been sleeping in the wild for the past ten days, and I can sleep very peacefully because I know that at least there's someone by my side. If any wild beasts or bad people come, he'll chase them all away…Even if, even if that person isn't a good person, I won't be in danger with him.”
When the demon heard Han Ye's words, the wine jar in his hand trembled unconsciously. He raised his eyebrows and his eyes dimmed as he muttered,""Is that so…"
Han Ye didn't continue the previous topic. Instead, he brought up what happened tonight and said,""Were you angry with me when you suddenly went out earlier?”
The demon smiled darkly and shook his head. After a moment of silence, he suddenly asked,""Little brat, do you want to hear a story?”
Children loved to listen to stories, and Han Ye was no exception. He nodded without hesitation."Yes."
Thus, the demon turned around, leaned against the railing, and placed his hands on it. He faced the lamp on the wall and said,""There was a man whose parents died suddenly when he was three years old. No one supported him, so he could only beg on the streets. However, because he was dark and ugly, the people on the streets despised him. Some people who were dressed luxuriously even spat on him. In order to survive, he could only fight for food with chickens and dogs, and he could only find food from garbage dumps. As he ate the cold and rotten rice, he looked at the rich people coming and going on the street. At that time, he thought that he must be rich when he grew up, so that he would not be looked down upon by others.”As he spoke, the demon's dark face revealed a trace of hatred. After a while, his hatred turned into gratitude. He said," Later, a handsome man in a blue robe appeared in front of him. Seeing that he was pitiful, he took him in as his disciple, took him to bathe and change his clothes, and ate a good meal. He also taught him some martial arts and mental cultivation techniques. In the end, he gave him a lot of money and told him to learn martial arts well and earn his own living so that he could realize his dreams in the future.”
Han Ye was entranced as he listened. His delicate eyes looked at the demon's tall shoulders and asked,""What happened after that?"
The demon continued," After that, that handsome man left. I heard that he was a cultivator on Mount Shu and had lived for almost 200 years.”
"Two hundred years old?" Han Ye was so shocked that his mouth was wide open. He said,""To be able to live for so long, you must be a demon if not an immortal.”
? The demon smiled faintly and continued," Although Master left, that child never forgot his instructions. He practiced martial arts wholeheartedly. When he was 16 or 17 years old, he had some achievements and came out to roam the Jianghu." One day, he met a middle-aged man who was fighting with dozens of aggressive martial artists outside the city. He saw the injustice on the road and drew his sword. He originally wanted to beat those people away, but they were too entangled. Besides, swords had no eyes, and fists and feet were merciless. In the end, he accidentally killed a few of them.?Due to the strong killing intent, those martial artists were scared away when they saw this. He was also a little afraid and worried. At that moment, the middle-aged man slowly walked over and patted his shoulder. He said something like,'Young man, you did the right thing. They all deserve to die.'?It turned out that the middle-aged man was not an ordinary person. He was actually a senior disciple of the Eight Trigrams School called Chen Yaohai. At that time, the Eight Trigrams School's sect master had died of illness. In order to compete for the position of sect master, he was chased by another group of people in the sect.”
"Since you saved her, there should be a reward, right?" Han Ye asked.”
" I don't know if that counts as thanks…" The demon said sadly,"" Chen Yaohai quickly roped that person in. That person was still young at the time and did not know what was right or wrong. After being lured by someone, he followed Chen Yaohai and helped him kill many martial artists inside and outside the sect. One of them was Zen Master Hui Ming from Shenwu Temple. After that, Chen Yaohai finally sat on the position of the sect master, married, and had children. He did not want to have any contact with that person anymore. He found an opportunity and gave him a few hundred taels of silver to chase him away. At that time, that person knew that he was just a chess piece in Chen Yaohai's hands.”As the demon spoke, his eyes dimmed. He closed his eyes and said,""After that, some disciples of the Eight Trigrams School were indignant because Chen Yaohai killed their fellow disciples, so they got together with some martial artists to force him to give up his position…Brat, do you know what Chen Yaohai said?”The demon looked at Han Ye.
Han Ye was ignorant and only shook his head.
The demon coldly snorted and said helplessly,""Chen Yaohai pretended to be sanctimonious and said that he was forced to do so. It's all his fault for raising an assassin. After that, Chen Yaohai took the lead and led his disciples to pursue the assassin. He said that he wanted to put righteousness above family, but in reality, he wanted to protect his own interests and silence the assassin. Many martial artists who did not know about it or had selfish motives joined in this act of righteousness.?When the killer saw this situation, he was disheartened and gave up on himself. He began his real life of killing. He thought, since he had already left a bad name and would die sooner or later, it would be better to collect some money and live out his life.”
"This is wrong." Han Ye shook his head." If I were to encounter such a situation, I would definitely think of a way to make them all acknowledge me and expose Chen Yaohai's shamelessness. It's useless to run away and lose heart."”
The demon smiled lightly and took a sip of wine. Although he knew that Han Ye's thoughts were very ignorant, he still said,"" In today's martial arts world, the monks of the Divine Martial Temple are upright, the ladies of the Blue Water Palace are chivalrous and soft-hearted, and the disciples of the Dali Sect are forthright. However, the Eight Trigrams Sect, the Giant Kun Sect, and the Snow Hawk Sect, these three sects are good to people on the surface, but they secretly want to destroy the other party and elevate themselves. When they kill someone, they push the blame on the killer. As time passed, the martial arts world changed color when they heard about it.”As he spoke, the demon suddenly sighed,""One day, a fairy-like woman in purple robes found the killer who had given up on herself. She said that she was Cang Yue, the wandering elder of Mount Shu, and that she had recently become Changkong's wife. The killer was very excited after hearing that. He asked his master what had happened to Changkong, but Cang Yue simply said," Cang Yue is still alive, but Changkong is dead." Then, the killer learned from Cang Yue that Cang Yue knew that the killer had committed too many sins and had repeatedly tried to get rid of him. However, Chang Kong was kind enough to persuade Cang Yue not to do so. Before he died, he even asked her to pass on a message saying," A selfish person will not have a good ending." " Cang Yue said what she needed to say and flew away without looking back. But she would never understand that the killer could never turn back…" The demon said and closed his eyes sadly. His scarred face was filled with sadness.
At this moment, he heard the child beside him say excitedly,"You're wrong! Even if he was unpardonable, as long as he was good, he could turn back at any time! Although I don't like you very much, I think I can help you.”
The demon turned his head and looked at Han Ye in surprise, only to see that his delicate eyes were filled with determination and faith. The demon could not help but frown when he saw this. He took a deep breath and said slightly angrily,"I can still turn back like this?"
"Yes!" Han Ye said firmly," Father once said to me that with sincerity, metal and stone can be separated. As long as there is sincerity, there is nothing in this world that cannot be done!" When I go back, I will definitely explain it clearly to Father and Uncle so that they won't misunderstand you. As for the mistakes you've made, I will help you make up for them. As long as you don't lose heart, you will definitely be able to turn back!”
When the demon heard this, he smiled slightly and took a sip of wine. Although he knew that Han Ye's thoughts were a little naive, just the fact that this child cared about him was enough to make him feel gratified.
"Oh, right." As if remembering something important, the little boy hurriedly asked,""I still don't know your real name.”
"My name is Zhang Kuo," the demon said indifferently.”
The little boy nodded, memorizing Zhang Kuo's name. Zhang Kuo took a sip of wine and exhaled. He looked at the wall and said,""Brat, if I told you that the wine I gave you was not poisoned and that it was all because I wanted to keep you by my side, would you still stay?”
In fact, the demon knew that this might make the boy leave, but he didn't want to hide anything from the boy anymore. Just when he thought Han Ye would be surprised, he heard Han Ye say calmly,""I knew it long ago. After you gave me that wine, you didn't change the wine in that wine bag. If it's really poisonous, even if you have a way to detoxify it, there's no need to keep drinking poisoned wine, right?”
When Zhang Kuo heard Han Ye's words, he was stunned at first, then he smiled and said,""Actually, you're not stupid at all. You're as meticulous as your father.”As Zhang Kuo spoke, he raised the doubt in his heart and said,"Brat, since you know I'm lying to you, why don't you find a chance to slip away? I remember that you had plenty of opportunities to escape.”
Han Ye raised his eyebrows slightly and said," I was so far away from home at that time. It was easy for me to get lost in the wilderness alone. I didn't have the ability to deal with bandits and wild beasts. I didn't know how to cook, and I didn't have money…"" Moreover, I didn't want to leave you at that time. Although I often wanted to go against you on the surface, in my heart..."
Zhang Kuo fell silent after hearing Han Ye's words. Feelings were sometimes more terrifying than any weapon. Facing Han Ye, the dark-skinned man did not know what to say. He could only pick up the wine jar and drink to his heart's content. When he drank, Han Ye asked,""By the way, when I was practicing this morning, you promised me that you would not kill anyone again.”
Zhang Kuo knew that Han Ye wanted to help him turn over a new leaf, so he put down the wine jar and said solemnly,""I, Zhang Kuo, rarely go back on my word. Don't worry!”
Usually, the feelings between men would not be easily revealed. However, Zhang Kuo had a vague feeling that something would happen later, so he talked a lot with the little ghost that night.
That night, Han Ye slept very soundly because he kept looking at the dark man lying on the Luohan bed before he went to bed. All his uneasiness and anxiety were gone.
" Father, Mother, Sister, Yun Meng, I'm sorry. I think I might be late. Please don't be angry with me…" Han Ye couldn't resist his sleepiness and fell asleep.
What a pity. I wonder if this child's parents can hear him in the netherworld?
……
The noise outside and the warm sunlight finally woke a little boy from his deep sleep. It was already the next morning.
"Ha!" Han Ye stretched and sat up. He looked at the Arhat bed and found that Zhang Kuo was no longer on it. He looked at the round table and found a basin with half a basin of water and a towel on the edge of the basin.
" I prepared something to wash my face, but I didn't prepare anything to rinse my mouth. Seriously…" Han Ye complained as he wiped his face with the wet towel in his hand. In fact, he understood that this was not his home, and he was no longer the young master who had to eat and wear whatever he wanted. It was impossible for someone to prepare everything for him.
After washing his face, Han Ye decided to look for Zhang Kuo. Firstly, he felt that Zhang Kuo didn't wake him up as usual, which was a little abnormal. Secondly, he was hungry and wanted Zhang Kuo to make him some breakfast. So, Han Ye pushed open the door and walked along the corridor to the first floor. As soon as he went down, he saw Zhang Kuo standing in front of the counter and talking to the shopkeeper.
Zhang Kuo took out a silver ingot with his right hand and slapped it in front of the shopkeeper. Then, he took out a wine bag from his waist with his left hand and waved it at the shopkeeper."Shopkeeper, fill it up."
Using a small bag of wine to exchange for a large ingot of silver, who wouldn't do such a cheap deal? The shopkeeper immediately accepted the silver with a smile, then took the wine bag from Zhang Kuo's hand. He waved at the waiter not far away and handed the wine bag to him, saying,"Little Fifth, fill it up with high-quality wine.”
The waiter called Little Fifth naturally knew the shopkeeper's intention. He hurriedly carried the candle dragon wine bag and ran into the inner hall. He was not in a hurry to greet the other customers.
Han Ye saw the waiter pass by him like a gust of wind and couldn't help but glance at him. He then walked to Zhang Kuo and tugged at the corner of his shirt. He raised his head and asked,""Hey, I'm hungry. When do I have breakfast?”
"Still eating breakfast?" Zhang Kuo glanced at the little boy beside him and said with amusement,""Go outside and take a look yourself. It's almost noon. It's time for lunch!”Seeing the boy's stunned expression, Zhang Kuo continued,""I wanted you to rest well today, so I didn't wake you up so early. Have you washed your face?”
"Yes." "But I haven't rinsed my mouth yet…" Han Ye scratched his head.
"Can't you just rinse your mouth with tea?" Zhang Kuo said disdainfully.”
"No, no, no!" Han Ye quickly waved his hand." Mother said to rinse your mouth with chrysanthemum water. This way, you won't have bad breath and won't get angry easily."”
Zhang Kuo was getting impatient and said,""Hmph, spoiled brat."
Han Ye said unhappily," How dare you scold me? You don't rinse your mouth every day. You have bad breath!"”
Zhang Kuo couldn't help but smile when he heard Han Ye giving him such a nickname. His thick eyebrows relaxed as he said to Han Ye,""Where did I not rinse my mouth? Can't you see that I rinse my mouth with alcohol every day? I don't have bad breath."
"You still say you didn't!" Han Ye pinched his nose and pretended to be disgusted.""You smell it yourself. The moment you open your mouth, it stinks of alcohol.”
"If you insist on calling the wine smelly, what can I do to you?”Zhang Kuo looked away helplessly, not planning to pay any more attention to Han Ye.
"You're so thick-skinned. I can't do anything to you!”Han Ye turned his head and turned his back to Zhang Kuo.
The two of them stopped arguing, but the shopkeeper was anxious. He gritted his teeth and thought,"This damned Little Fifth! He couldn't even do a thing properly. It was just a small bag of wine, and he hadn't packed it up after going in for so long! There were so many guests waiting outside!”
After waiting for a long time, the waiter finally came out of the inner hall, wiping his sweat and panting. He handed the wine bag to Zhang Kuo and said breathlessly,"Hu, hu, customer, your wine is ready.”
Zhang Kuo took the wine bag and shook it by his ear. He said lightly,""It's not full yet, but I won't make things difficult for you.”As he spoke, Zhang Kuo put the wine bag on his waist and patted Han Ye's shoulder.""Let's go, little brat."
"Leave?" "Aren't we going to have lunch here?" Han Ye asked in confusion.”
Zhang Kuo didn't say anything and just looked at the counter. Han Ye also looked over. He saw that the shopkeeper was grabbing the waiter and scolding him!
"Trash! You trash! Does it take so long to fill a small bag of wine?" The shopkeeper pointed his finger at the waiter's head and scolded.
"No." The waiter lowered his head and said with grievance," I don't know what that wine bag is made of. I put two big vats in it, but it's not full yet. If you don't believe me, you can go to the inner hall to take a look…!"”
"Nonsense!" "Who are you trying to fool?!" The shopkeeper spat out his saliva and scolded. That wine bag was so small, could it hold two jars of wine? You must have stolen our wine and sold it again! Let me tell you, don't expect me to give you this year's salary!”
Han Ye was smart. After a few glances, he looked away and said to Zhang Kuo,""Let's go."
"Alright." Zhang Kuo naturally grabbed Han Ye's hand and asked,""What do you want to eat this time?"
" Hmm..." Han Ye thought for a while and said,""I want to eat mutton this time."
"Alright, I'll bring you there now." Zhang Kuo pointed at Han Ye and said,""But I'll make it clear in advance that you're not allowed to call me a stinky ghost in the future.”
Han Ye thought for a while, but he opened his clear eyes and said proudly to the demon,""You want to bribe me with a meal? No way!"
Seeing the little boy's appearance, Zhang Kuo became more and more friendly. Gradually, the two of them left the guest house, and the shopkeeper behind them was still cursing his waiter...
Note:
?" Arhat Bed "-- From the Tang Dynasty to the Five Dynasties, Han Xizai's Night Banquet Painting, through the paintings of the past dynasties, one could often see the scenes of the ancients treating guests with a couch or an arhat bed as the center.
This book comes from：m.funovel.com。