Chapter 8 third quarter

"Warlocks are nothing to him. He means, I can be a wizard. Use magic. Not just witchcraft." "Oh, I understand." Rose said after a while, "but I don't understand why you ran away." The two let go of each other's hands. "Don't you understand?" Diamond was furious, because Rose didn't understand, and he didn't understand at that time either. "Wizards can't have anything to do with women or witches or anything like that." "Oh, I know. Not good enough." "It's not just a matter of not being worthy..."

"Oh, it just doesn't deserve it! I bet you have to unlearn every spell I teach you. Right?" "It can't be confused." "That's right. It's not a high art. It's not a mantra. Wizards can't let common words stain their lips. 'Incompetent as a woman's magic, so vicious as a woman's magic', you think I don't know what they say ? Then why did you come back here?" "To see you!" "why?" "Why do you think?" "During the time you were away, you never gave me any news, nor did you let me give you any news. I should just wait here until you get tired of being a wizard? Well, I can't wait any longer." She almost croaked Like a hoarse whisper.

"Someone came to see you?" he asked, unable to believe that she had turned her back on him. "Who is chasing you?" "Even if there is, it has nothing to do with you! You changed your mind first, and you ignore me first. Wizards can't have anything to do with me or my mother's actions, well, then I don't want to have anything to do with you, ever! You go !" Hungry, discouraged, and misunderstood, Diamond stretches out his hands to embrace her again, letting her body understand his, recreating that first deep embrace that has poured all these years of each other's lives.But he found himself taking a few steps back, his hands tingling, his ears ringing, and his eyes dazzled.Lightning danced in Rose's eyes, and sparks flew as she clasped her hands. "Don't touch me again," she whispered.

"Don't be afraid." Diamond said, turned around on the spot, and stepped out.A bunch of dried sage wrapped around his head and hung behind him. Diamond spends the night in his old den by the mound.Perhaps he had expected her to come, but she hadn't.He soon fell asleep due to exhaustion, woke up in the cold dawn, sat up and thought, examined his life under the cold light, and found that it was different from what he had previously believed.He walked toward the river that had given him his real name, drank water, washed his face, washed his hands, tried to look as good as he could, and walked across town to a large house on the Highlands that belonged to his father.

After a burst of exclamation and hugs, the servant and his mother immediately ushered him to the breakfast table and sat down.So, with his stomach full of warm food and his heart filled with a certain cold courage, he went to face his father.Father was out before breakfast to watch the lumber wagons drive toward Grand Harbour. "Ah, son!" The two touched each other's cheeks. "Did Master Hemlock give you a holiday?" "No, I'm leaving." Ah Jin stared at him, sat down after loading a plate of food. "left." "Yes, sir, I've decided I don't want to be a wizard."

"Hmm." Ah Jin asked while chewing, "You left voluntarily? Completely voluntary? Did the master agree?" "I left completely voluntarily, without the approval of the master." Ah Jin chewed slowly, his eyes fell on the table.The last time Diamond had seen his father look like this was when a forest manager reported an infection in the chestnut grove, and when he discovered he had been cheated by a mule dealer. "He wants me to go to Roke Academy and learn with the Summoner. He wants to send me there. I decide not to go." After a while, Ah Jin asked, still looking at the table: "Why?"

"That's not the life I want." There was another silence.Ah Jin glanced at his wife, who was standing by the window and listening quietly.Then he looked at his son.Slowly, the intertwined look of anger, disappointment, bewilderment, and respect on his face was replaced by a simple expression, a look of complicity, almost blinking narrowly. "I see." He said, "Then you decide what you want?" There was a silence. "Here," said Diamond, in a steady voice, looking neither at his father nor at his mother. "Ha!" said Akin. "That's it! I'd say I'm happy, son." He swallowed the tender pork pie in one gulp. "I always feel like being a wizard, going to Roke, stuff like that, it's not real, it's not real. And once you get there, to be honest, I don't know what it's all about, my career. If you stay Here, it's a good deal, see. It's a real deal. That's it! But listen, did you just run away from the wizard? Does he know you're leaving?"

"I don't know. I'll write to him," Diamond said in his new steady voice. "Won't he be angry? People say wizards have a bad temper. Very proud." "He's angry," said Diamond, "but he won't do anything." indeed so.Ajin was very surprised, and Master Hemshan returned two-fifths of the tuition fee exactly.The package was brought back by A Jin, the driver who transported the round timber to Nangang, and a note for the diamond was attached to the package, which said: "True craftsmanship requires no distractions." On the bottom there is a rune signed by Hemlock: Hemlock Tree, Suffering.

Diamond sat upstairs on his comfortable bed in his bright room, listening to his mother sing and move about the house.Holding the wizard's letter in his hand, he reread a short sentence and two runes in it.His cold, dull mind, born on the mound that morning, had learned its lesson.No magic.Never again.He has never paid attention to magic, it has always been just a game for him, a game played with Black Rose.Even if he had learned the name of the Word in a wizard's house, even if he knew the beauty and power in it, he could let it slip and forget.That's not his language. He can only speak his own language to Rose, and he has lost her and let her go.A distracted mind cannot have the truth.From now on, he can speak only the language of responsibility: earned and spent, expended and received, profit and loss.

Other than that, nothing.There used to be visions, little spells, rubble that turned into butterflies, wooden birds that flew briefly on living wings.Actually, there was never a choice.He has only one way to go. Ah Jin was very happy, although he didn't realize it. "The old man has got his baby back," the coachman said to the forest farm manager, "he is as sweet as fresh cream now." A Jin didn't know how sweet he was, and only thought about how sweet life was.He bought Ruiqi Tree Garden, which cost a lot of money, but at least he didn't let the old Lobo of East Hills buy it. Now he and Diamond can fully realize the potential of the tree garden.There are many pine trees growing among the chestnut trees, which should be cut down and sold as masts, logs, and small pieces of wood, and then replanted with small chestnut trees, and then grow into a pure chestnut forest like a large forest-the large forest is the core of his chestnut tree kingdom.Of course, much later.An oak or chestnut can grow tall overnight, unlike alder and willow, but he has time.Now I have time, the child is less than seventeen, and I am only forty-five, in the prime of life.He just felt a little old a while ago, but that's bullshit, he's in his prime.The oldest trees, which are barren of fruit, should be cut down along with the pine, from which some good wood suitable for furniture may be salvaged.

"Well, well, well," he used to say to his wife, "Look at you, you're flushing again, huh? Sweetheart is home again, eh? No more crying?" Tori smiled and stroked his hand. Once, she didn't agree with a smile, but said: "It's good that he came back, but..." Then Ah Jin stopped listening.Mothers are born to worry about their children, women are born to be dissatisfied.Why should he listen to Tori worrying about this and that, talking non-stop all day long.Of course she would have found the boy unworthy of merchant life, or even the throne of Havnor. "As soon as he finds a girl for himself, he'll be fine." Ajin replied casually, so as to be perfunctory for Tori. "You know, living with a wizard, like a wizard, puts him back a bit. Don't worry about the diamonds. He'll know what he wants when he sees it!" "I hope so," Tori said. "At least he didn't meet the witch's daughter again." Akin said, "This matter is settled." Then he realized that his wife no longer visited the witch.Over the past few years, they have been in close contact with each other furtively, ignoring his warnings, and now Chan never takes a step closer to the house.Women's friendships don't last long, he teased.He found her sprinkling moth-proof peppermint and insect-killing powder on boxes and closets, and said, "I thought you'd find that wise woman friend to curse the moths away. You're not friends anymore?" "No." The wife said in a soft and steady voice, "We are not friends anymore." "It's a good thing!" Ah Jin admitted, "What happened to her daughter? I heard she ran off with a juggler?" "Musician," Tori said. "Last summer." "The naming banquet," Ah Jin said, "children, you should play a little bit, listen to music, and dance. You're nineteen years old, and it's time to celebrate!" "I have to go to Dongqiu with Su Er's mule that day." "No, no, no need. Sue can handle it, you stay home and enjoy the party. You've been working hard. Let's hire a band. Who's the best around here? Terry and his gang? " "Father, I don't want a banquet." Diamond said as he stood up, his muscles shaking violently.He was now taller than Ah Jin, and he would startle people when he moved suddenly. "I'm going to Dongqiu." He said and left the room. "What's the matter with him?" Ah Jin said to his wife, but in fact he was asking and answering himself.She looked at him without saying a word or answering. After Ah Jin went out, she found the accountant's son in the accountant's office.She looked at the inside pages of the account book, one by one, a string of names, numbers, accounts and quotas, profits and losses. "Zuaner." She called, and he looked up.His face was still round and flushed, but his frame was getting stronger and his eyes were melancholy. "I didn't mean to break Father's heart," he said. "If he wanted to throw a party, he'd do it himself," she said.The voices of the two are similar, both high-pitched, but full-bodied, with a steady tranquility, self-control, and restraint.She sat down on the bench by the table beside him. "I can't," he finished, paused, and continued, "I really don't want to dance." "He's a matchmaker." Tori said solemnly, but with a doting tone. "I don't care about that." "I know you don't care." "The issue is……" "The problem is the music," said the mother at last. Diamond nodded. "Son, you don't have to," she exclaimed suddenly, "There's no reason to give up everything you love!" The two sat side by side, and he took her hand and kissed it lightly. "Don't generalize," he said. "Maybe I could, but I couldn't. I found out after I left wizarding. I thought I could do everything, you know, magic, music, father's son, love of roses... but the truth is It’s not. You can’t generalize.” "Yes, yes!" Tori said. "Everything is connected and intertwined!" "Maybe it's okay for a woman. But I... I can't have distractions." "Have other interests? You? You give up witchcraft because you know that if you don't give up, you will betray it one day!" It can be seen that he was shocked when he heard the word, but he did not refute. "But why did you," she demanded, "why give up music?" "I must have nothing else to do. I can't play the harp while I'm negotiating prices with donkeys; I can't compose ballads while thinking about how much I should pay fruit pickers so they won't be hired by Lobo!" His voice trembled slightly now; No longer sad, but angry. "So you cast a spell on yourself," she said, "just like the wizard cast a spell on you. A spell to keep you safe. To keep you with donkey farmers and fruit pickers." She slapped her hands contemptuously. Ledgers full of names and numbers, "spells of silence," she said. After a long time, the young man asked, "What else can I do?" "I don't know, dear. I do want you to be safe; I'd love to see your father happy and proud of you. But I can't bear to see you unhappy and devoid of self-respect! I don't know. Maybe you're right, Maybe there's only one thing a man can ever have. But I miss your singing." She was in tears.They embraced, she stroked his thick and shiny hair, apologized for her cruelty, and he hugged her again, saying that she was the most loving mother in the world.Then, she leaves.Halfway through, she turned around and said, "Let him enjoy the banquet, Zhuan'er. Let you enjoy the banquet too." "I will," he said, to reassure her. Jin orders beer, food, fireworks, but Diamond hires the musicians. "Of course I'll bring the band," Terry said. "I'm not going to miss this opportunity! Every humming cat in the western half of the world will be at your dad's party." "You can tell them that only you can get the money." "Oh, they'll come because they want to shine," said the harpist, a slender, long-jawed, squint-eyed man in his forties. "Maybe you'll play a song with us, huh? Before you started making money, you were pretty good at that, and if you put in the work, you've got a pretty good voice." "I don't think so," said Diamond. "The girl you like, Rose the Witch, I hear is going with Rabbit. Needless to say, they will come." "I'll see you then." The seemingly tall, handsome, and indifferent Diamond said, and left. "It's unattainable to even stop and talk now," Terry said. "Although I taught him how to play the harp, what is that to a rich man?" Terry's hostility had sharpened Diamond's nerves, and the thought of the party weighed him down.At one point he thought he was sick and hoped to avoid the banquet, but when that day came, he was there.Not as dramatic and ostentatious as my father, but there, smiling, dancing.All his childhood friends were there, all apparently married, but the flirting was still rife, and there were a few pretty girls around him all the time.He drank a lot of Brewer Quack's fine beer and found that he could only stand the music if he danced to it and talked and laughed.So he danced with all the pretty girls in turn, and continued with the one who showed up twice—every girl, of course, again. This is the biggest banquet in the history of Akin's family. The dance floor is laid all the way from Akin's house to the town green, a tent is used for old town people to eat, drink, gossip, and new clothes for children; there are also juggling and puppet troupe , Some applied for employment, some went on stage on their own, taking the opportunity to earn more money and enjoy free beer.Festivals always attract touring performers and musicians, it's their livelihood and they're welcome, even if uninvited.The narrative singer has a deep voice, hums the bagpipes, and sings "The Dragon Lord's Friendship" to a group of people under the big oak tree on the top of the mountain.While the harps, fifes, violins, snare drums, and other players of the Terry Orchestra stepped down to rest, catch their breath, and drink a glass of wine, the new band jumped onto the dance floor. "Hey, Rabi's band is here!" cried the pretty girl closest to the diamond, "Come on, they're the best!" Rabi is light-skinned and vulgar in appearance, and plays a double-reed wooden horn.With him were the violinist, the little drummer, and the fife-playing Rose.The first piece is a step dance, with a fast tempo that is simply too fast for some dancers.Diamond and his partner stayed on the dance floor, sweating and panting after dancing, everyone cheered and applauded. "Beer!" Diamond yelled, and was surrounded by a group of young men and women laughing and making noise. He heard the next piece of music playing behind him, a six-stringed violin solo, with a tenor-like deep and sad voice: "Where is the Lover?" He swallowed the entire glass of beer in one gulp, and all the girls around him looked at the strong muscles in his throat and laughed and quarreled while he trembled like a draft horse infested with flies.He said, "Oh! I can't..." and ran towards the dusk through the brewery stalls full of lanterns. "Where is he going?" one asked.Another interfaced: "He'll be back." Then they laughed and fought. The song is over. "Black Rose." Diamond called in the darkness behind her.She turned her head and looked at him.The two are the same height, she sits cross-legged on the stage, and he kneels among the grass. "Come here on the mound," he said. She said nothing.Labib glanced at her, lifting the wooden horn to his lips.The drummer strikes triple time on the snare drum and plays a sailor's jig. She turned her head again, and the diamond had disappeared. Terry returned with the band about an hour later, not thankful for the respite, and increasingly angry over the beer.He interrupted the playing and dancing, shouting at Rabi to go away. "Harp player, go play booger!" Rabi said, Terry was furious when he heard this, and the crowd took sides to support him. Taking advantage of the brief climax of the quarrel, Rose put the fife in her pocket and sneaked away. Far away from the banquet lanterns, it was dark, but she knew her way in the dark.Where is he.In the past two years, the willow tree has grown up, and there is only an inch of space between the green vertical strips and the slender hanging leaves. The music was played again, and it was heard from afar. The murmur of the night wind and the river blurred the music. "What are you going to do, Diamond?" "say." In each other's eyes, they are just voices and shadows. "Say it," she said. "I want you to leave with me," he said. "when?" "At that time. When we quarreled. I was wrong, I thought..." There was a long silence. "I thought I could keep running away, with you. And play music for a living. The two of us. That's what I was going to say." "You didn't say that." "I know. I said wrong, I did wrong. I betrayed everything. Magic, music, and you." "I'm fine," she said. "yes?" "I'm not good at playing the fife, but it's passable. You didn't teach me, and I used spells to prevaricate when necessary. The people in the orchestra are also good. Rabi is not as annoying as he looks, no one bullies me, and the income is good. That's right. I live with my mother in the winter and help her a bit. So I'm all right. How about you, Diamond?" "It's a mess." She opened her mouth to say something, but didn't say it. "I think we were kids then," he said, "now..." "What changed?" "I made the wrong decision." "Once?" she asked, "Or twice?" "twice." "There are only three things." The two did not speak for a while.She could vaguely discern his figure among the shadows of Fushu leaves. "You're bigger than ever. Can you still light a light, Diamond? I want to see you." He shook his head. "That's something you can do that I've never been able to. And you've never been able to teach me." "I didn't know what I was doing at the time," he said. "Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't." "Didn't the wizards of Southport teach you how to be smart?" "He only taught me my real name." "Why can't you do it now?" "I give up, Black Rose. I have to choose it and give up the others, or I won't do it. I must have no distractions." "I don't see the need for it," she said. "My mom cures a high fever, smooths out a labor, finds a lost ring—maybe it's nothing compared to wizarding or Dragonlord stuff, but it's not. Said she was totally useless, and she never gave up anything for it. Having me didn't stop her from being a witch, she got me so she could learn how to deliver! Just because I learned to play music from you, I had to give up reading Curse? I can lower my fever too. Why do you have to stop one thing so you can do another?" "My father," he replied, after a pause, as if laughing, "money and music, they don't go together." "Father, and the witch's daughter." Black Rose said. There was another silence between the two.Willow leaves flick. "Black Rose, are you willing to come back to me?" He asked, "Will you come with me, live with me, and marry me?" "I don't want to live at your father's house." "Anywhere. Let's elope." "But you can't have me without music." "Or music without you." "I would." "Does Labi want a harpist?" She hesitated, and smiled: "Unless he doesn't want to keep the fife player." "I haven't practiced since I left," he said, "but the music is always in my head, and you..." She held out her hands to him.The two knelt face to face, and Liu Ye fiddled with their hair.The two kissed, starting cautiously. In the years since Diamond left home, Jin has made more money than ever.All transactions are profitable, as if good luck is sticking to him, and he can't get rid of it.He became very rich. He did not forgive his son.The matter could have ended happily, but he didn't want to.On the name day night, he ran away with the witch's daughter, never said a word, left unfinished business, became a wandering musician, a harpist, singing, playing and laughing for a few cents... For Ajin, the whole There is nothing but shame, pain and anger.So, he had his own tragedy. Tori, who has long shared the tragedy with him, can only see the diamond by lying to her husband, which she finds difficult.When she thought that Diamond might starve or sleep warmly, she wept sadly, especially in the cold autumn night.As time passed, she heard people mention that he had become Diamond, the bel canto singer of West Havnor, and Diamond who played and sang for the Lord in the sword tower, and her heart gradually eased.Once, when Ah Jin was going down to Nangang, she and Ah Chan took a donkey cart and drove to Dongqiu, listening to Diamond sing "The Ballad of the Vanishing Queen". Rose sat beside them, and little Tori sat on Tori's lap.If not everyone's happy, but real joy, after all, there is nothing else to ask for. Lover's whereabouts (light and smooth) Wherever my lover is going, I will paddle with him. Wherever I go, I will go with him. We'll laugh together and we'll cry together He lives and I live and he dies and I die