Volume 1 | North Bird Does Not Return
He buried his face in the blanket and shouted. He was truly disgusted with himself, too shy to see anyone again. There was nothing else he hoped for besides hitting his head against the bedpost and ending his life right now.
After midnight, Gu Yun was completely exhausted, initially he wanted to return to rest, but in the end, affected by Shen Yi’s words, his footsteps unconsciously changed towards the back quarter.
At the moment, there aren’t many lights that are still on in the capital. Chang Geng had been sleeping for a long time, Gu Yun did not disturb the old servants outside. He entered the room lightly, the reflected light from the snow outside the window served as his guide as he reached out and pulled a blanket for Chang Geng. But suddenly, he found that the boy did not seem to be sleeping soundly, as if being terrorized by a nightmare.
‘Not accustomed to living in a manor?’ Gu Yun thinks, his cold fingers are holding Chang Geng’s wrist.
Chang Geng was shocked, he took a deep breath then jerked awake, his gaze still stunned by fear and doubt, staring at the person beside his bed in a daze.
Gu Yun gently moved his wrist and softened his voice to ask, “Did you have a bad dream? What did you dream of?”
Chang Geng didn’t say a word for a while, his scattered gaze gradually found their focus once more. He looked into Gu Yun’s eyes that resembled two flames in the middle of the dark night, and suddenly hugged his waist.
Gu Yun still wore black shoulder armor, carrying him into the room with cold air in the early winter. Cold iron clings tightly to Chang Geng’s forehead. Suddenly, in the mist of fear, Chang Geng looked as though he had returned to a snowy night outside the city gate that year, with a bone-chilling cold. He shivered deeply, only now he gradually broke free from the clutches of the nightmare, he thought to himself, ‘I’m still alive.’
The gears of the home clock rustled as they spun, and the brazier that burned coal had also heated up. It was like a cauldron, placed in the middle of the room, a thin layer of white smoke emerged from the bottom, and was immediately swept away by pipes. Only warmth circulates comfortably around the room.
Embraced by Chang Geng so suddenly, Gu Yun was stunned for a while, a strange feeling filled his heart 一 for the first time, someone leaned on him with all their strength, almost releasing their mutual dependence on each other.
The reckless appearance of ‘I am invincible in this world’ which he shows every day is of course just a fraud. He was well aware of his own strengths and limitations. If the Marquis of Order is not very self-conscious, then after making several trips out of the battlefield, the grass in his grave might grow as tall as the person himself.
However, at this moment, Gu Yun’s heart suddenly created an illusion of ‘there is nothing in this world that I cannot do’.
Chang Geng’s bone structure has grown, but still contains the subtlety of a small child. Only by reaching out and tightening the hug, can a person touch the bone under his rib cage through thin clothing.
This thin flesh was strongly emphasized on him, Gu Yun thought, he had to take care of this child, so that he would grow as the Emperor wanted, protect and watch over him, so that he could live safely and healthily until he was hundreds of years old.
He was finally able to replace the incompetence and despair he felt towards A Yan’s situation that year.
Gu Yun removed the iron shield on his shoulders, hung it to one side, and climbed into Chang Geng’s bed still in his full clothes, he asked, “Do you miss your mother? 一 Ah, I mean your aunt.”
Chang Geng shook his head.
Chang Geng did not have deep affection for the Emperor, apparently he called the old Emperor as father only to honor Gu Yun. He asked again, “Do you miss Brother Xu?”
This time, Chang Geng didn’t deny it.
Over the years, Xu Baihu was the first good person he had ever met. Even though he is not a very talented man, he is generous and gentle. His stepfather used himself to set an example; for the first time, he had made Chang Geng understand that one could live life with such peace.
Only Xu Baihu was always full of military affairs and almost never returned, which created an opportunity for Gu Yun to come and fill this empty gap in Chang Geng’s heart.
Seeing the boy silently confirm this, Gu Yun tilted his head and faintly stared at the curtain of the bed above, suddenly unable to stop this unpleasant sensation in his heart. He involuntarily asked, “Brother Xu treats you better than me?”
Chang Geng gave him a surprised look, not understanding why Gu Yun was asking questions with obvious answers like that
This time, Gu Yun had miraculously understood his eyes, suddenly feeling as if an icy wind had swept his heart. He said flatly, “Well there is no other choice, the emperor’s orders are difficult to violate, you can only carry them out.”
Chang Geng, “………”
Gu Yun burst out laughing, Chang Geng could feel a slight tremor in his chest as he did that and was suddenly hit with an unfamiliar sensation. The left side of his heart felt that the distance between them now was rather unnatural, and wanted to move a little further from him.
But the right half hopes he can turn into a thin piece of paper, and stick it near him without the slightest gap.
These two ideas that fought without limits in his heart seemed to have torn them in two.
And when this decisive battle was taking place, Gu Yun’s bad habits began to kick again.
Chang Geng’s hair scattered on his back and unfortunately fell into Gu Yun’s hands. He began to involuntarily play with his hair, pull it and so on. He did not use force but gently pulled on his scalp.
Chang Geng immediately flinched, goosebumps spread everywhere. The blood in his entire body turned from flowing naturally into a rush like crazy, as if he could hear the rustling sound as they ran through his veins. An unknown source of heat entered all of his limbs and almost burned it from the inside out.
Chang Geng quickly got up and took back his hair. He instinctively said shyly, “Don’t fool around!”
Gu Yun was often sick when he was young and also late in hitting the acceleration of his growth, even at the age of twelve or thirteen, he still had the appearance of a child, which is why he also did not consider Chang Geng as an adult or at least realized his nature inappropriate of this situation.
He half-heartedly pulled his claws, put his hands behind his head and said to Chang Geng, “I’m not married, and of course, I also don’t have kids, I don’t even have brothers and sisters, so it’s really not can be avoided if I can’t really care for you.
“There are many things, which if you don’t tell me, it will be very difficult for me to know, so if you harbor any complaints or resentments, don’t hide them in your heart, okay?”
Her tone is deep and pleasant, perhaps due to exhaustion, with a hint of invisible ambiguity. The voice went straight into Chang Geng’s ear, making the boy’s neck stand up, a thin layer of sweat covering his back.
Chang Geng nervously thought to himself, ‘He only made a few casual conversations, why do I have to feel as if I am out on the battlefield?’
“Your Majesty must forgive me too,” Gu Yun said with a smile, patting the space beside him, “Come here, lie down, tell me more about your dream just now.”
When mentioning the dream, the anonymous wild fire that Chang Geng felt had regained his composure. He stared at Gu Yun for a few moments, forcing himself to resist the urge to reveal everything about the Bone of Impurity, he first tested the waters,
“Shiliu, in this world, is there any type of poison that can cause someone to go crazy?”
Gu Yun raised his eyebrows in dissatisfaction, “Who do you call Shiliu?”
He only reprimanded from the outside but actually did not really think about it. He continued to speak after the pause, “Surely there is, this world is big, especially in the regions of foreign countries, there are a lot of herbs and herbs that don’t exist in the Central Plains, not to mention all of their divine beings and gods that have been passed down from generation to generation. They have many secrets and tricks that we cannot explain. “
Chang Geng’s heart sank, his fingers gripping the broken knife in his chest.
Gu Yun felt this was rather strange, he asked again in reply, “Why do you ask about this?”
The tips of Chang Geng’s fingers were cold, the conflict inside his head suddenly ended, his voice filled with sadness, “It’s nothing. I dreamed that one day, I became a crazy person, and ended up killing many people.”
After that, without waiting for Gu Yun’s answer, Chang Geng interrupted, “Dreams are contrary to reality, I know.”
He finally decided to close the secret to the Bone of Impurity, with determination and will, Chang Geng refused to admit the possibility of losing. He must fight and hold the Bone of Impurity to remain sane until the day of his death.
However, even with great courage in his chest, he still did not dare to ask about what Gu Yun would think if he knew about what would happen.
Chang Geng thought, even if he was infected with extraordinary ulcers, his little Yifu would not leave him. But if he finds out that Chang Geng will eventually become a hysterical madman?
He instinctively avoided talking about it, he didn’t want to think about it any further and asked, “Have you ever had nightmares before?”
Gu Yun said a lie, “How is that possible?”
But after the words left his lips, Gu Yun quickly remembered Shen Yi’s words that told him to treat Chang Geng honestly and sincerely, he then felt that his lies were a bit too far, he covered it with a cough and said again, “No … Ah well, from time to time, when sleeping positions aren’t right, sometimes it can cause some troublesome dreams. “
Chang Geng, “What did you dream about?”
Gu Yun doesn’t like to talk about his feelings, because this whole process will be very embarrassing, like running on the road in front of people while being stripped naked, he carelessly answers only for the sake of it, “Only chaos that cannot be understood, I will forget all of it as soon as I wake up 一 Go to sleep quickly, the sky will be clear soon. “
Chang Geng is silent.
However, after a while, when Gu Yun sneaked a glance at him, he saw that Chang Geng’s eyes were wide open, staring at him. He finally could not bear the pain of his head.
“Alright,” Gu Yun sighed and tried to unpack his memory, then spoke in a tone to persuade the children to sleep,
“When I was little, I had a dream that I was locked in a place where I couldn’t even see my own fingers. The only thing I knew was that there were many animals around me, so I kept running. Maybe it was because My feet aren’t stretched. People say that if your feet aren’t stretched properly, you won’t be able to run fast in your dreams. the more I can’t move. “
Chang Geng asked, “Then what happens next?”
Then of course, I was scared and woke up with fear, what else could happen?
However, Gu Yun’s mouth refused to admit that he had woken up in fear, he made a blast that sounded like real, “In the end, I ran out of patience. I don’t know how I could draw a large knife carved with gold ropes, in one slash of mine wiping out all the animals that were chasing me, and I woke up satisfied.”
Chang Geng, “……..”
He really wanted to hear some serious words from Gu’s mouth, but this seemed too much to ask.
No one expected that Gu Yun would ask serious questions afterwards, “Do you know what to do if you have nightmares?”
Chang Geng hesitated, once again easily believing him, he shook his head curiously, waiting hopefully for Gu Yun’s answer.
Gu Yun continued, “The reason why you have nightmares is because there are little devils who walk around the house to play with you. All these little devils are afraid of poop, so from now on every time you have nightmares, remember to place the pot at the entrance of your room. “I guarantee it will frighten those creatures.”
Chang Geng, “………”
Chang Geng too quickly trusted others seriously, Gu Yun immediately found pleasure in teasing and screwing up the boy, laughing excitedly in the middle of the night.
Chang Geng had naively believed that his little Yifu had come to visit him out of concern. He now knew that this man had come purely to make fun of him to get his own entertainment!
He turned furiously with his back facing Gu Yun, two big words “Get out” written clearly on it.
Gu Yun does not immediately come out; he stayed until Chang Geng’s breath gradually stabilized, slowly pulling a blanket for him, then rose to leave.
Before leaving, Gu Yun took the shoulder protector he had removed earlier. But when he reached out his hand, he remembered a saying that said the reason why children were disturbed in the middle of the night was because of weakening and lack of Yang energy, thus attracting evil spirits. Better to place objects made of iron at the head of the bed.
Gu Yun has never believed in the nonsense superstition of ordinary people, but at this moment he suddenly felt that there might be some truth to that saying, or if not how could it possibly circulate for years?
He decided to leave the pair of iron shoulder protectors and walk away from Chang Geng’s bedroom with only his clothes on.
Marshal Gu may be a natural enemy of ghosts and evil spirits. Chang Geng was not bothered at all by these demons and slept soundly until morning.
•••••
It is unfortunate that after Chang Geng woke up, his facial expression was even worse than when he was not sleeping.
For a moment he sat on the bed, his face green, and when he raised the blanket to glance at a glance, he could not hold a deep sigh, the sound was rather like a sob. Chang Geng rolled and hugged his head.
This is the second time.
Chang Geng can no longer fool himself. Because this time his dream felt clear and real …
He had clearly and truly done things that were rude to his little Yifu in his dreams.
He buried his face in the blanket and shouted. He was truly disgusted with himself, too shy to see anyone again. There was nothing else he hoped for besides hitting his head against the bedpost and ending his life right now.
This time, even the destroyed knife couldn’t help calm him down.
Just when the boy was in confusion and suffering, the sound of a knock on the door almost scared him out of his skin.
His first reaction was to roll the sheets into a ball in a panic. He clenched his teeth, forced his mind to stabilize, then dragged his feet to open the door.
Unexpectedly, when he opened it, he was hit with a second shock wave.
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Fragrant Incense 8 