Stray Chapter 20: Horrible thoughts
Crossing the boundary between common sense and non-knowledge...
The air is rippling like a curtain of water...
The scene in front of me is also suddenly bright...
The orientation of the shrine does not seem to have changed, the huge Aeolus Lake is still next to it, and the afterglow of the sunset is still the same, but...it is already two completely different worlds, there is no doubt about it.
It is also on the mountain, by the huge lake, but in the corner of the city's outline that can be seen faintly below the mountain, there are uniform buildings, row upon row of skyscrapers, tram tracks in the distance... and so on, different. And the scenery of the feet has disappeared.
It was replaced by vast virgin forests, ancient villages with smoky smoke rising one after another, crops on the fields undulating with the evening wind, and waves of untidy fields like country roads separated by blocks The land...
There are many, many more farther away——
For example, a vast bamboo forest.
Like a foggy lake.
For example, I don't know if it's reflecting the afterglow of the sunset, showing a golden, dazzlingly beautiful sunflower field.
There is no longer the smell of red dust and fireworks in a modern city. It seems that if you have directly traveled to some ancient time and space, if it is not in the open space in front of the shrine, a banquet is being held lively, and the participants are all dressed in bright colors. The style is also very fashionable, not retro...
Then it may really give people such an illusion.
"No matter how many times I come here, I always think it's so magical..." Yukinoshita Yang Nao looked at the surrounding environment with interest, and sighed with great interest. "Sure enough, the world is only interesting if there are miracles and magic..."
"I thought you were used to it."
Yukinoshita Yukino said in a flat tone without looking sideways.
Although she is a little unwilling, she also has to admit that her sister is really good, she belongs to the kind of person who can shine no matter what the environment and any time, she is like a superman generally.
After all, it took her a while to gradually accept this magical world.
But as for Yono Yukinoshita, except for the day when she directly faced the broken world view, she unavoidably showed some delayed thinking and confusion... After that, it seemed that only one day later, she had already Directly adjust the world view in place.
It's like now, maybe Miss Yang Nai knows more about Gensokyo than her younger sister...
"How come, if I'm really used to it, Xiaoxue Nai, you'll be unhappy again..." Miss Yang Nai gave her sister a deep look, and said so if it meant something.
"Why should I be angry?" Yukinoshita-san frowned.
"Who knows, let's go, go and have a look-" Yukinoshita Yangnai chuckled and was about to step forward, but the words stopped abruptly.
"What's wrong?" The black long straight girl asked with some doubts, she subconsciously looked in the direction of her sister's gaze, and then narrowed her eyes slightly.
"This, why don't we..." Miss Yang Nai turned her eyes slightly hesitantly to look at her sister, wanting to say something, but found that her reaction was a bit slower, and Yukinoshita classmates have also seen it The scene over there.
"Nothing, let's just go right over there."
My eyes flickered slightly, but there was no special change in the expression of the long and straight black girl, she just said something lightly.
Huh? Xuenuo's reaction seems a bit strange... Miss Yang Nai blinked, is this the calm before the storm? However, it looks like it doesn't look like it.
Could it be that something happened during his absence that their trust level seemed to rise again?
……
……
"Actually, I know that this is unavoidable...but..."
Liu Mengli showed a sad expression, her eyes were flushed, and her eyes were filled with tears. As she said, she actually made up her mind that day to shoulder the responsibility and leave with her mother to serve the clan. When looking for a way out.
She already understands that maybe the parting on that day is forever, and there will be no day to see each other for the rest of her life...
It's just that I understand it. It's really hard to accept such a cruel thing emotionally, because she is not mentally prepared at all - who can know that what is destined to happen will actually happen not long after, has become an established fact.
"I understand, I understand... But Miss Liu, please wipe your tears first."
Xia Ran nodded repeatedly, comforting her in a low voice.
Actually, he also had a lot of emotions. After all, that was a person he knew and was familiar with. Of course, it was impossible to say that he really had no feelings, but now the focus is to appease Liu Qianjin's emotions first... because Something has been wrong since just now, and the atmosphere of the banquet scene has changed faintly.
All kinds of laughter and laughter can't be said to have disappeared, but they are obviously much weaker.
It seems that the air has unknowingly quieted down.
From all directions and even from the sky, all kinds of strange sights were cast on Xia Ran's body, as if they were going to burn him through. The emotions contained in them were profound and different, or Curious, or excited, or contemptuous, or thoughtful.
At this moment, there are probably only those girls who are indifferent to this, immersed in their own world, or the young girls who are ignorant, ignorant and innocent, who still don't care or don't find it. Subtle changes in the atmosphere of the scene.
The former is for example, the wind sees the fragrance, the Queen is just drinking to herself, looking at the scenery between the mountains from a distance, within three meters in diameter around her, it seems that she has always been low The air pressure covered it, and no one dared to approach.
The latter is a group of little loli headed by the strongest Gensokyo like Kiruno. They are ignorant of the world and innocent, and they are also only immersed in their own world and only pay attention to their own affairs, so they are still In the babble, chasing and playing with a smile.
It can be said that most of the laughter and laughter at the banquet scene are mostly made by these young loli girls.
But...
This did not effectively make up for the stiffness of the scene, but made it even more bizarre!
The magician's scalp is a little numb. He was actually worried about such a thing just now. Now it seems that he is not worrying too much, but it is really necessary! Facts have proved that it is not only human beings who have the heart of gossip, or the mentality of watching the fun.
"Liu girl..."
While taking the tissue from Charlotte, he carefully handed it to the sad-looking girl.
However, Liu Mengli didn't raise her head, she just lowered her head and wept silently. This incident hit her a little bit, or it was outrageous.
Suddenly like a dream, at the click of a finger, it is a thousand years of jade, and the voice, face and smile of former friends are still vivid in my eyes, obviously it is still not long ago... But now, in fact, it is a vicissitudes of life, things are different, things are different It's like a nightmare...
"Miss Liu, let me tell you, don't cry, okay? If others don't know, they think I'm bullying you..."
The magician sighed, he had never encountered such trouble.
He doesn't dare to turn his head to look around now, because he can know without thinking about it. At this moment, he doesn't know how many people are looking at him, with different expressions and eyes. The only thing in common is that Looking at the scum's contempt...
Well, of course, it is also possible that they are suspicious and sensitive, maybe they are just curious and watching? He only saves others by himself, so he feels that he is receiving strong onlookers at this time and everyone despise...
Xia Ran thought so with some guilty conscience, the self-comfort situation was not particularly bad.
He naturally understands that this is a very normal situation. After all, the current situation is really hard not to think of that aspect. After all, a girl looks sad and weeps sadly, while the man beside her cautiously She is talking, but the more she talks, the more mournful the girl will cry...
How can such a scene not make people think?
If it's not good, there may even be a small theater in the minds of many people, which has already begun to perform in the direction of the eight o'clock dog blood drama!
It's really too scumbag, it must be bullying! It must be so!
Thinking so wildly, Xia Ran couldn't help twitching the corners of her mouth. He looked at Liu Mengli, who had lost her soul. .
With a helpless sigh, he raised the tissue in his hand and put it on the girl's jade-like cheek—
"What happened?"
At this time, a calm voice came from the side.
The magician turned his eyes and glanced, and saw that a long straight black girl in casual clothes had come to the long table. Beside her, there was Miss Yang Nao who smiled so brightly that it was like a mask with a smile solidified on her face. , as the name suggests, it seems that wherever he goes, he exudes the light and warmth of the sun.
Although it is a protective color, although it is a mask for camouflage, if the mask is worn for a long time, it is actually a real face.
"Well, there are actually very complicated reasons for this..."
Xia Ran hesitated for a moment, then replied.
"Oh, then wait..."
Yukoshita Yukino nodded clearly, she took a step forward, stretched out a slender white hand, spread her palm up, and said calmly:
"Give me the tissue."
"Ah, no, no, I'm so embarrassed to bother you, Yukinoshita-san..." The magician raised his other hand and waved it humbly.
"You really don't need to bother me?" Yukinoshita stared at him calmly, her tone and voice unchanged, as flat as before.
“…”
“…”
"Oh, in fact, I just said a few words of kindness. I'm going to trouble you, Yukinoshita-san, please..."
Xia Ran coughed lightly, he finally reacted in time, and found that his actions seemed a bit inappropriate, so he gently placed the tissue he was holding on the girl's still flat palm .
Then, he looked in the direction of Miss Yang Nai next to him, and found that the elder sister's smile seemed to suddenly become brighter and brighter. After noticing his gaze, he also tilted his head, facing him. He blinked one eye slightly.
It seems that the relationship between the two people is as stable as ever, and Koyuki is also not stable enough. In fact, there is really nothing to worry about.
Miss Yang Nai breathed a sigh of relief in her heart, but at the same time she felt a little uncomfortable in her heart. In this case, wouldn't the role of her sister become less and less? The younger sister began to trust and depend on another person.
……
……
Soon.
Liu Mengli's mood has improved a lot, although the smile on her face is still too sad, her eyes are still a little red, and it will not disappear so quickly.
The Yukinoshita sisters also knew what was going on, and some of them didn't know what to say. This is indeed a very sad thing, no wonder this girl is so sad.
"Ms. Liu, you'd better look at it..." Yukinoshita Yangnai hesitated for a while, and said so comfortingly, even she was rarely at a loss for words, mainly because such a thing itself is a very heavy topic is coming.
If it's not about you, you can't empathize with it.
So no matter what outsiders say, it's meaningless. If you talk too much, there will be a suspicion of standing and talking without back pain... Besides, she is really not familiar with the other party, so she can only Said such dry words.
"Thank you, Ms. Yukinoshita... Actually, I know it, I already knew it when I left that world."
Liu Mengli gently wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes, revealing a somewhat sad smile.
"Perhaps the fate between people is doomed... When God is about to take it back, I won't wait a day or a minute... No matter how deep the relationship is, no matter how sincere care is, there will still be separation. One day... in the end, how can I survive the separation of life and death..."
"This..."
Yonuo Yukinoshita opened his mouth and suddenly smiled helplessly. Sure enough, this is the huge gap between himself as an ordinary person and these non-human beings?
It seems that the age gap between each other is not big, why does the other party have such a deep understanding of life! Miss Yang Nai is indeed far more mature and stable than most of her peers, but she is only "stable".
——But the other party's perception is simply "heavy"!
——How does this compare? !
"I'm sorry, I really shouldn't have said this..." Liu Mengli seemed to have reacted, she smiled and shook her head, and said softly.
"This is nothing..."
Ms. Yang Nai shook her head again and again, her heart swayed for a moment, this beautiful girl with a fairy-like appearance is really amazingly beautiful, especially at this moment, the red eyes and sad eyes, let me While that smile was beautiful, it was also really distressing.
Even though she is also a girl, she couldn't help but feel a heartbeat at the moment just now.
It's really foul!
"Speaking of which, is there any way to do this...?" Yukinoshita Yukino, who opened her mouth several times but didn't say anything in the end, finally couldn't help but ask such a question.
Her clear black eyes stared at Xia Ran.
I don't know when or for what reason the inexplicably formed concept made her subconsciously feel that this person seems to be omnipotent. No matter what kind of thing, he has a way to solve it.
"This is what happened in another world, and it's been thousands of years..." Xia Ran spread her hands, saying that this was indeed beyond her ability, "Although it is nothing to be resurrected from the dead It's difficult, but there are certain limitations."
"Isn't it difficult to come back from the dead...?" The corners of Miss Yang Nai's mouth twitched slightly.
Although she has long known that the inhuman world corresponds to all kinds of non-scientific things, all kinds of non-scientific cases, and even anti-logical phenomena are possible, but she still can't help it I think this person is going too far.
"Actually, there's no need to do this, Young Master Xia..." Liu Mengli shook her head, smiling with red eyes, "It's common sense for all spirits to rise and fall, and life and death are things of course, you don't need to do this, I just... just heard the bad news of the old man, and I have mixed feelings..."
"Is that so?" The magician gave her a deep look and nodded lightly.
In fact, people are irrational. They know this is the truth, but there are many people who can't accept it. If there is a chance to save it, then they will definitely follow their own hearts willfully instead of being rational.
From the day she drew her sword, Arturia knew that Britain would perish, and she thought she accepted it.
In the end, the day came when the rational king, the perfect king, broke down in tears, refused his own redemption, and determined to use the power of miracles to change history and reverse the tragedy, and he absolutely refused to accept such a destruction.
That's basically it.
The same is true for Liu Mengli, but she knows very well that this matter is indeed irreversible, and she doesn't want to embarrass herself, so that's why she said that.
After being looked at so deeply by the magician, Liu Mengli gave a bitter smile, and she said softly, "I'm sorry...I...I may be really in the mood now, so I'll go back first...Miss Ouyang, there's nothing I can do. I'll take care of you, but I'm still glad to see you again..."
"Well, I understand, Miss Liu."
Ouyang Mingzhu, who had not spoken all the time, nodded lightly, of course she could understand, so naturally she would not be unhappy.
To say goodbye to everyone with such a nod, the girl with a clear and dreamy temperament turned around and left the venue with a bitter look, her back looking lonely and desolate.
“…”
“…”
The atmosphere is slightly quiet.
"Aren't you going to send her off?" Yukinoshita Yukino looked back and asked in a low voice.
"No, what she needs most now is to be alone..." Xia Ran shook her head, then looked at the surrounding venue, and found that the atmosphere was still a bit strange. Quietness occupied most of the air, but at least it didn't seem like it was So stiff before.
None of the girls at the scene are ordinary people. As long as they have the heart, they can hear clearly across nine streets, let alone such a small distance.
So naturally they understood what was going on, and no one stared at Xia Ran with the eyes of scumbags.
It seems that the frozen air is slowly thawed again. Although the banquet scene did not become warm immediately, it did become normal again, not as weird as before—
Think about it, night falls and the evening wind blows. In the open space in front of the shrine, a large group of people are silent, just staring at the long table in the middle, listening to a girl's sadness... This is How strange the scene looks, it can really make people's scalp tingle.
"By the way, shouldn't I tell her this news..." The magician sighed and looked away.
"This kind of thing... In fact, it's better not to hide it." Miss Yang Nai shook her head, but her opinion was completely different.
"Maybe..." Xia Ran sighed again, then saw Mordred, who was a little uneasy, and walked towards him and others.
"Lord Father..." Mordred had been extremely uneasy and fearful from the beginning, because as the sun went down, the night gradually deepened, and the person she wanted to see the most still did not appear, which made She inevitably became more and more flustered.
If it wasn't for Xia Ran's side, she would probably have been unable to hold back, and would have come over to ask what was going on.
Does my father hate me!
Is it because she didn't want to see herself and didn't want to show up on purpose?
Whether it's not...
Of course, she couldn't hold back now either. As soon as she saw that Xia Ran was free, she came over immediately. There was inevitably a trace of panic in her calm voice, as if she was being A little girl abandoned by her parents.
"Father, Father, Father, Father—?!"
The pupils contracted suddenly, and Miss Yang Nai felt that her heart was about to skip a beat.
She subconsciously turned her head to look at her sister next to her, but found that the girl was biting her lower lip tightly, but it didn't seem to be the way she expected, such as disbelief, unacceptable, etc. , but more like a little annoyed that this happened, but helpless.
Wait, wait! No way!
Because it was too dark and the candlelight was not very real, Yono Yukinoshita was unable to see Mordred's iconic blond eyes who were walking a little far away. Almost instantly, a terrible thought popped up.
Could it be Yukino's...