Chapter 18 Chapter Seventeen

The moonlight was beautiful that night.A full moon... an almost crazy moon. Ke Yun thought of the letter that summoned her - Youwei also said that that kind of paper can only be used by families above the elders, and ordinary people can never get it.Youwei didn't seem to be lying.So, is it a trick planned by Duo Liang?But it's also hard for Ke Yun to imagine that Duo Liang is the kind of person who can set traps and conspiracies.According to his first impression, if Duo Liang wanted to treat him as a prisoner, he would probably not set any traps, and would drive him out of the village without any evidence.It would be a different story if it was the old and cunning Serisuki, but the murdered Yuanchen was the grandson of Seratsuki.

On the night of salary, after the crow commotion——back to the dormitory, what is Yuanchen doing?Two hours later, someone saw him.Everyone else has already gone home, what the hell is he doing in the dormitory alone? ...Could it be with the prisoner?Also, why was Yi Gu killed?Is it because he makes dolls?Or because he is an outsider?Why was Ke Yun framed?Because he is an outsider? Everything seemed quite unusual.But is it really all that?Ke Yun is involved in the boring disputes of Shangdi and East-West politics, sometimes able to act, sometimes unable to act.Unsettled, half-baked—it's the same as before.For the past twenty-eight years, he has always cared about his younger brother and Mao Zi's eyes, but pretended not to notice anything, and lived in a daze.Maozi... that's right.For Maozi, this must be a very difficult blow, right?It's all because of my half-baked personality.

Mao Zi is his wife.But when Ke Yun saw her at the bookstore, things were different.She was the lover of Ling Ling at the time - although the relationship between the two was gradually deteriorating at the time. Did he approach her because of this?When he found out that his younger brother's girlfriend was working in a nearby bookstore, and when he saw the two of them set up in front of the station—everyone just used him as a tool to contact Yingling.In order to change this, he had to win a victory... Was that what he thought at the time?Ke Yun didn't understand, but it led to the worst ending.The younger brother did not snatch Maozi, it was Ke Yun who snatched her from younger brother Fengzhong, and was snatched back in the end.What is Caesar's will be Caesar's - and he probably knew that already.He won only briefly.When he introduced Maozi to his family for the first time, seeing his younger brother's surprised and distressed expression, he felt instant pleasure and intoxication.

After that, however, he retreated steadily.He may have had a premonition that things would fall into a quagmire, but he didn't realize that what he did was just torturing Maozi. "You should have liberated her earlier, you shouldn't be so obsessed with it." The pine insect beside him whispered.The moonlight shone on her right cheek, creating a bewitching phantom. "But I want to win him, even once." Ke Yun stared at her pearly skin and moaned softly. "That was my dream." "You may have seen your younger brother's expression, but did you see Mao Zi's expression at that time?"

"..." "You like her because she is your brother's girlfriend?" Ke Yun could not respond to the other party's cold accusation.Why can't I respond?He didn't like Maozi for this reason - he wanted to yell like this, but he couldn't make a sound.His throat won't work.The brain has clearly issued an order, but the mouth cannot utter a single word.He couldn't help reaching out to scratch his throat, but only scratched the skin. Pineworm looked at him with emerald-cold eyes, as if scorning his pitiful posture. "Don't look at me with that look." Ke Yun knelt on the floor and begged. "Now... now the most important issue is not Maozi." "I don't want to hear it." Pineworm said coldly.

"you listen to me!" However, Song Chong just stared at the corner of the warehouse without even looking at Ke Yun. "How can you understand the pain of Ling Ling and the reason why he stepped into another world?" "I know... I understand deeply. I am also suffering from the same pain. That's why I will return it to my brother—" "Then what are you looking for here? Since you already understand his feelings, there is no need stay here." "Keding's younger brother was killed. I have an obligation to find the culprit. I caused my younger brother and Maozi to suffer, and I must make amends."

"Indeed." Pine Worm nodded. "But you should already know who the prisoner is?" "I know?" Hearing this unexpected question, Ke Yun couldn't help staring at Song Chong and asked back.But Pineworm doesn't seem to intend to elaborate.A smile appeared on her upright face, as if she knew everything. "Tell me." Ke Yun asked several times. "The answer is in your heart, it's just that you haven't found it." "Not found? Is the person who killed my brother really from this village? Is it someone I have met before?" "Don't worry, you will know the answer sooner or later. And it will be in the near future."

She held out her fair hand and smiled softly. "Because only you know best in your heart." After she finished speaking, she kissed Ke Yun's lips.Her lips are quite soft. They kiss for only about ten seconds.When Pineworm moved his lips away and was about to continue speaking, there was a sound outside.The sound that seemed to be moaning and sighing was carried by the wind, and it was very clear. "Why are you crying? Why are you so sad? Am I not here to accompany you? I will always be with you." Ke Yun asked the already cold pine worm.Then the voice stopped suddenly, as if in reaction to his words.

"Pineworm..." "Who's there!" A deep voice came, and the candlelight shone directly on Ke Yun's face.He felt blinded and couldn't help covering his eyes with his hands. "Ke Yun!" When Ke Yun's eyes got used to the bright light, he realized that it was Tou Yi standing in front of him. "Why are you here? What are you doing here?" Touyi lost his usual calmness in his voice.He approached Ke Yun, and the thin wooden boards on the floor creaked with his footsteps. "Because I heard voices..." He temporarily found this reason as an excuse.

"Sound? How can there be any sound!" "Of course. Didn't you hear that? I just heard what sounded like a sigh." "I didn't hear it." Touyi should have heard it too.Or is that sound only you can hear?But Touyi clearly showed a distressed expression, and the candle in his hand was trembling. "Probably you are hallucinating." Touyi approached Keyun, and the candlelight also illuminated the pine insect beside him.Touyi saw the pine worm emerging from the shadows, was taken aback and stopped. "How did you find this..." His voice was more excited than before.

"This is Miss Pineworm's doll, right?" "Uh...that's right." Now that she was discovered, Ke Yun decided to take this opportunity to ask for clarification.He stood up and asked, "This doll is her relic, why was it discarded in such a narrow and dark place?" "That is……" Touyi was speechless. "That's... nothing to do with you! It's very late now, go back to the house quickly." "Mr. Touyi—" Ke Yun wanted to ask further, but Touyi said in a rare high-pressure tone: "Did you hear that? Go back!" and pushed Ke Yun towards the stairs.His palm is quite strong and does not allow any resistance. "Mr. Touyi!" Ke Yun turned around and wanted to continue asking, but Touyi remained silent and even avoided Ke Yun's sight.He stood there like a frozen black bear, waving a candle to signal Ke Yun to leave. Probably won't be able to ask any answers tonight...Ke Yun had no choice but to follow the instructions. The next morning, Ke Yun came to the warehouse and found a strong lock on the door.This is probably the lock installed by the head instrument, right?The purpose is of course to prevent Ke Yun from entering. There must be something wrong... Last night Touyi's behavior and the lock in front of her made Ke Yun more convinced of this.The doll as a relic should be placed in the house as a souvenir, but for some reason it was locked in a dark warehouse, mixed among the sundries and no one heard about it.When Ke Yun's intrusion into the warehouse was discovered, he was isolated with a big gray lock.Ke Yun felt that all this had more significance than Dajing's ban. Logically speaking, he is not qualified to intervene in the private affairs of Qianben's family.He is just a foreigner who has been here for two weeks.If it was something else, Ke Yun probably wouldn't interfere, and would even forget the doubts in her heart after a while.But that doll is a pine bug.Since the dusty pine worm was abandoned in the warehouse, he was obliged to question it - he was so sure of it. There must be something wrong... Ke Yun caught Ge who was going home to rest at noon in the entrance, and asked him about the pine insect doll.Judging from the situation last night, even if he pressed Tou Yi, he probably would not get any results, and the other party would only respond to him with a silent back.A big lock on the door is the best answer.But if it was Ge, who had a gentle personality, as long as he was pressed repeatedly, he might tell the truth.Moreover, Ke Yun had helped Chanzi before, and the other party owed him a favor. Ge didn't seem to hear his father mention what happened last night.So when he found out that Ke Yun knew about the existence of the doll, he was quite surprised at first.But just as Ke Yun expected, he stammered "I'm sorry, this matter is a bit..." and planned to flee the scene.This attitude deepened Ke Yun's confidence. "Tell me, why was the pine worm abandoned in the warehouse?" Ge Zheng reached out to the doorknob, but Ke Yun quickly stood in front of him. "Mr. Ke Yun, this is a problem with Qianben's family..." "I know that very well. But I want to know the answer anyway." "Even though you said that... I still have to ask my father first." "If you don't want to tell me, I can only ask Chanzi." Of course Ke Yun didn't intend to really do this.He also knew that this would hurt the cicada who had gradually recovered.He knew that this was a despicable method, but if he didn't threaten him like this, Ge would probably be ready to run away immediately. "Please, don't do this..." Ge blushed, begging Ke Yun with puzzled eyes. "So……" "Let me tell you." Ke Yun heard a hoarse voice, looked back and saw Mino Xuwu standing outside the door. "Mr. Minoxuya!" Ge shouted in surprise. Ke Yun was equally surprised. "I heard from this man that the cicada is getting better, so I came here to take a look." After explaining with a kind expression, the old man said, "Hey, Ge. Everyone knows about this, and you can't keep going. Keep it a secret. He'll hear about it sooner or later." "Ok……" "But it's too embarrassing for you to say it yourself, so leave it to me here." Ge was silent.The old man's gaze shifted to Ke Yun. "Hey, Ke Yun. Can you take a walk with me, an old man?" "I see. Since Minoya-san said so——" Ke Yun's purpose is not to torture Ge.If you continue to question him, even you will feel heartache.So it would be great if the old man would tell him. "How is it? Ge." "...Then I will trouble you." Although Ge's attitude was not hesitating in every possible way, he still bowed his head and begged the other party. The weather is a bit gloomy.The cold wind of early autumn blows over the water surface of the mirror river covered with reeds.This may be the old man's daily walking path. I saw him crossing the puddles that can be seen everywhere on the ground with light steps, and he didn't look like he had poor eyesight at all.Ke Yun walked behind silently, secretly admiring the old man's physical strength and spirit. When the children playing by the river saw Ke Yun, they hid in the woods sullenly, probably because they had been warned by their parents.The majestic and majestic child king is also hiding in the shade of the tree with everyone at this moment, watching Ke Yun and the old man. Ke Yun felt the curious and fearful eyes of the children, but now he only stared at the back of Minoya walking in front.He waited patiently for the old man to speak and tell him about the doll. Not long after, the gentle sound of Jingchuan water suddenly became passionate, and the echo echoed among the woods spreading to the river.When he looked down, it turned out that the protruding rocks in the river split the water in two, forming a violent torrent.There are no children to be seen around here.At this moment the old man finally stopped. "The pine worm is a devil." The old man turned his head and spit out such a sentence amidst the sound of the rushing river.His expression is as sad as when he lost Yi Gu.The white foam slightly wets the old man's shoes. "Devil..." This sentence deeply stimulated Ke Yun.He just heard about a cruel history related to devils yesterday.He was listening to Mercator in Nagarjuna's collapsed house.But he didn't expect to hear these two words from Suo Xuwu's mouth again. "Miss Pineworm... is it a devil?" The old man nodded quietly.His appearance is reminiscent of a puppet. "Although it's pitiful, it's something that can't be helped." "No way... what do you mean?" The old man remained silent.When he walked along the river, he should have thought twice about what to say next, but he still seemed hesitant.The Nagarjuna family was exterminated because their son was a devil. Even if they were elders like the Sugahira and Fujinomiya families, the disaster could not be avoided.From this, it is not difficult to deduce the answer to Ke Yun's question.But he was reluctant to admit it. "Why is Miss Pineworm a devil? What exactly is a devil?" "Devils are not human beings." The expression of the old man's speech was almost like that of Seratsuki or Chitoin. "Inhuman...how should I put it? Does she have horns on her head?" In Japan, twins were also considered a bad omen in the past.Does this village also have similar special rules?But whether it is twins or horns on the head, it should be recognizable at birth.However, the sons of Song Chong and Nagarjuna's family were not recognized as ghosts until they became adults.So what is it that makes them devils...? These questions kept running in Ke Yun's mind like sparks. "Devils can see things we can't see." The old man answered with his wrinkled mouth open. "Something you can't see?" "I don't know what they saw, but only devils can see a world different from ours." People with superpowers... This stupid idea first flashed through Ke Yun's mind.Clairvoyance, predictive dreams, yin and yang eyes - in Ke Yun's world, there are also many people who claim to be able to see things that ordinary people cannot see. "What did Miss Pineworm see?" "Delusion." "Delusion?" "That is a illusory world that violates the natural principles of the Great Mirror. The illusory world exists on the far side, and we absolutely cannot peek into it. Only the power of the Great Mirror can swim and see it." "But Miss Pineworm saw it—that's why they called her a ghost." "It's a pity." The old man nodded deeply. "The Pine Worm possesses cursed power beyond what a human being can do. And that cursed power will destroy the world." "Sorry? But Dajing can also see the Paradox, can't he? So, Ms. Song Chong is the same as Daijing—" Since she can see the world that only gods can see—since she has that ability—doesn’t she have the same or similar status as gods?No matter what the delusional world is, Ke Yun thinks so.But before he finished speaking, the old man retorted excitedly with trembling lips. "The pine worm is not a big mirror. Ke Yun, I understand what you want to say. But according to the legend, people who peep into the Paradise will be confused by phantoms and lose their minds. Only a large mirror can gaze at the Paradise with a normal mind. And once humans Once you see the Paradise, you cannot return to being a human being." "...What is there in Paradise? Why is there the power to destroy this world?" Ke Yun couldn't help feeling a little anxious when she heard Minoxuwu repeatedly emphasize the word human, but she still asked patiently.However, the other party's answer was ambiguous. "I don't know either, I only know that it is a cursed power." "Did Song Chong herself say that she saw the Paradise?" "No." Minoya's answer was no. "Then how do you know that Ms. Songchong really saw the Paradox Realm? Since Paradise defines the world that no one can see or understand, it is impossible to know whether anyone has seen the Paradise Realm. Could it be that Da Jing personally gave the instructions? " "No, it's not the instructions of the big mirror. Although we can't see the delusional world, we can know that the devil has seen the delusional world. No one thought she was a devil before, but after she made the commemorative doll, Things fell apart." "The commemorative doll refers to..." "That's right, it's the commemorative doll that Matsumi made for her marriage, and it's the doll you saw in the warehouse. That's it, let everyone know that Matsuko is a devil. That doll is the hideous evidence to prove the identity of the devil, I I thought they had already burned it...but probably they would be reluctant. It is the only memorial to record the image of the pine insect before it was alive, and it is understandable for parents to keep it." "...that's why they hide the dolls." There is nothing special about the puppet on the surface, it just makes Ke Yun miss the pine worm... But the old man in front of him said that it was the fuse that caused the tragedy. "But why did that puppet become the proof of the devil?" "You are an outsider, so you didn't notice it." But the villagers knew it at a glance. "It's true that Pine Worm is a devil." Ke Yun couldn't help but feel a little disappointed when he heard this answer.In the final analysis, these people do not have a specific basis at all.In this isolated small village, there are only absolute norms that are acquiesced by everyone in the name of God-ignorant beliefs, sacrifices under taboos.If there is a false world, then it should refer to... "...What happened to Miss Pineworm? She didn't die of illness, did she?" Ke Yun can guess the answer without asking.The Nagarjuna family who gave birth to the devil was wiped out.Although the Senbon family still exists, the "devil" Song Chong is no longer alive.The answer was obvious, but he still had to ask. The old man stared at Ke Yun with his dark pupils, and licked his lips, as if he wanted to relieve the hunger in his heart.Then he whispered: "According to the custom in the village, devils will be buried after taking medicine." "custom……" "This is recognized by Dajing—no, it was decided by him—the rule." "Does Dajing allow killing?" Ke Yun wanted to reach out and grab the old man's hand, but she stumbled on the sole of her foot, and her hands slid across the air in vain. "Devils are not human beings, but cursed beings." The old man took a step back and continued.Facing what happened to his former lover Song Chong, the old man didn't know how he felt.Ke Yun really wanted to reprimand loudly, but seeing the other party's eyes that seemed to give up everything, she couldn't speak again.There is only infinite unwillingness and remorse in his heart. "Here...is this something that cannot be changed?" "..." Hunting witches, hunting heretics, hunting heretics—in many countries, there are killings in the name of gods.God needs only Himself, no competitor or companion.And this principle is no exception here, even in a sharper form. Mercator also revealed the brutal message yesterday.Although Ke Yun understood it in her head at that time, she didn't have such a deep feeling like now. "I heard that Nagarjuna's family also suffered the same fate." "Well," the old man nodded. "Did you hear the man who mentioned it yesterday?" "yes." "...that was a most tragic event." The wrinkles at the corners of the old man's eyes were trembling, and he stopped asking or opening his mouth after saying this.Ke Yun was also unable to ask any questions, and could only listen to the sound of the turbulent water. "How? Do you want to continue walking with me for a while?" "No." Ke Yun declined the invitation, and turned back to the way she had come.His shoulders felt weak.Not long after he left, he saw the previous children playing.When they saw Ke Yun, they ran into Lin's hands as quickly as before. Are there devils among these innocent children?The devil was suspected by the whole village and was destined to be killed.A child who faithfully abides by Da Jing's teachings and believes in his friends, but he doesn't know that he will be betrayed one day... It's better not to have this kind of thing happen...Ke Yun looked at the water and thought again. Ke Yun returned to Qianben's house and saw Touyi standing at the entrance waiting for him.He crossed his arms as thick as a log and looked down at Ke Yun. "Ke Yun, don't mention this to Chanzi." Ke Yun didn't know how long Touyi had been waiting for, but he seemed to be waiting here just to say this sentence. "I know, and I don't want to make you feel bad again." Touyi finally let out a sigh of relief.Ke Yun left Touyi and went back to her room.When he closed the paper door, tears welled up in his eyes.