Ark, they don't revolve around you

【Mission accomplished, 8/12】

The system was still cold, as if this was a trivial matter.

But how could it be a small matter? Of the twelve fragments, only the eldest brother, the second brother, Ling and Xi are left. The revival of the year has begun!

This is the source of Xi's uneasiness. She has been urging Zhuang Ning to leave because a towering existence has descended here invisibly.

That was the age that Zhuang Ning had seen before!

With the same indifferent gaze, like a towering mountain or a turbulent ocean, He looked down upon His subjects, just like an ancient gentleman raising his own banner and returning to his homeland.

Zhuang Ning vaguely thought that this was not a coincidence. The beast was making its presence known after he arrived.

He was looking at himself. In the void, the invisible monster that traveled through eternity was looking at him coldly.

Xi was stunned and almost lost his strength and fell to the ground.

The hem of her skirt was stained with ink, and the white on it disappeared bit by bit. Her hands drooped down and she smiled bitterly.

In her eyes, the scrolls sealed in the boxes jumped up, the ink spirits in the paintings were no longer calm, A Yao, Dian Jing, Zi Zai... were all madly agitated.

It has nothing to do with my second brother. They were inspired by the years and flowed out from the ancient scrolls, dragging the undried ink and moving forward bit by bit.

"Ah..." This was the first time that Xi's face was filled with despair, "Did you betray me too?"

"You guys, don't you recognize me?"

Mo Liang looked at them coldly without answering, and moved closer to the encirclement.

The situation was urgent, and Zhuang Ning could not show weakness, so he waved his hand and grabbed Xi, holding her under his armpit.

At this moment, Xi had lost his former pride and became like a helpless child. Although he still tried to struggle, his resistance was very weak.

"PhD."

"I don't quite understand what's going on." Zhuang Ning swallowed his saliva. The plan was slightly out of sync, but he was very excited. "I just know that we should run."

"Can't run away."

"Don't be discouraged, Miss Xi, what did I tell you before? I will not give up if I want to save you."

His expression was righteous, but his body was very honest, and he retreated in small steps little by little.

Heavy rain.

The moment he stepped out of the door, Mo Liang rushed forward. Zhuang Ning kicked the wall hard, and walked away without looking back.

He ran very fast, like a bird flying through the woods, but Xi didn't have time to be surprised, as she saw her house collapsed because of that kick.

She felt inexplicably sleepy and sentimental.

"Miss Xi, your house..."

Zhuang Ning wanted to explain, but then he heard a faint snoring sound. It was hard to imagine that someone would fall asleep while running away.

Zhuang Ning seemed to be thinking about something, his expression gradually disappearing. He changed the way he held her and looked back for the last time before leaving.

Lightning exploded, and a huge dragon rose up under the extreme white color, its scarlet eyes flashing with anger and humiliation.

But He did not pursue.

Zhuang Ning ran quickly and stepped into the next line.

Everything started to speed up.

……

When Xi opened her eyes, she found herself in a cave.

The cave was very small and could only accommodate two people. Zhuang Ning had blocked the entrance, leaving a small hole for ventilation.

The rain hadn't stopped yet, so she curled up.

"Ms. Xi, I think you should explain." Zhuang Ning said softly.

"What do you want to explain?" Xi Ming asked knowingly.

"Your painting, and... that dragon." Zhuang Ning whispered, "There are also Mo Liang. Do you think they will hurt people?"

Huiqi Mountain is not big, and there are several towns at the foot of the mountain. If Moliang runs down the mountain to attack people, it will inevitably cause quite a bit of unrest.

"No, Mo Liang just didn't listen to my advice. They are the creatures in the painting and cannot leave Huiqi Mountain."

Xi was much weaker, "As for the dragon... age, don't worry about it, you can't control it."

"Have you forgotten why I came here?"

"What does your coming here have to do with me? I don't want to explain." Xi was still stubborn.

Zhuang Ning was helpless: "Okay, let's change the subject."

He was silent for a while, then asked softly: "--If your second brother does nothing, will you disappear too?"

Xi was stunned.

"Yes." Her weakness disappeared, and she nodded calmly, waving her weak limbs: "If I were a threat, he would have attacked me long ago. The reason I'm still alive is because he didn't think it was necessary to attack me, right?"

"Why?" Zhuang Ning speculated, "Could it be that when the Year Beast revives, you will be the first to disappear?"

"Since you have guessed it, why bother asking me? I am a dying person." Xi said coldly, but Zhuang Ning knew she was just afraid. "Yes, the younger generation will be assimilated one after another. I guess there are less than five of my brothers and sisters left. I will be the first to disappear. How can I escape?"

When the nest is overturned, no egg can remain intact. Xi is destined to be the first sacrifice.

"But why, even if your sister was still alive, why did you disappear first?"

Xi was quiet for a few seconds.

"Calligraphy and painting have the same origin." She suddenly opened her lips and spoke to herself.

“Do calligraphy and painting have the same origin?”

"We brothers and sisters all come from the age of 19, but we had no names at first. How could a nameless person define himself?" Xi's voice became lower and lower. "It was Jie who gave us names. From then on, our human side could be defined."

It’s Jie again. This giant beast that disappeared the earliest seems to be a lingering ghost.

"She can make every word a prophecy, but where do words originate from? They are nothing but paintings. As the Yan people say, the saints looked up at the heavens and the earth, looked down at all things, and made words based on the shapes and meanings of all things."

"But I am a painter. My paintings are closely connected with her calligraphy, although I don't want to admit it. After all, calligraphy has long since departed from pictograms."

Zhuang Ning was unable to react at first, but when he thought about it carefully, it was because Xi and Jie were close to each other?

So after Jie disappeared, Xi should have been the second to disappear, but the second brother made trouble in advance and killed many Sui. He was a shrewd man, and he did not kill his youngest sister, not out of mercy, but because he calculated that even if he did not do it, as long as Sui revived, Xi would be the first to be devoured.

"Isn't that all?"

Zhuang Ning murmured, "Years is using your paintings to complete myself little by little."

He remembered the panic he felt at that time. The huge shadow in the painting was staring at him quietly. The ancient Sen'ao's eyes were like the flowing sun. As early as two years ago, the giant beast had slowly returned from the endless darkness.

Xi was silent, and Zhuang Ning spoke no word either. There was only the sound of rain pouring down, the howling of the wind, and the roar of thunder and lightning.

After a long time, Xi stood up and looked at Zhuang Ning at an extremely close distance. They were so close that Zhuang Ning could see the girl's delicate face and the confusion and fear in her eyes that could not be erased.

But the girl still had a stern face: "You know everything, why don't you leave? Do you want to watch me disappear? But I don't want anyone to watch me!"

“You’re scared.”

"I'm not afraid. How dare you define me? I knew this a long time ago. It took me nearly a thousand years to accept this fact!"

"But what does that have to do with you being afraid or not?" Zhuang Ning sighed with pity. Although it was summer, the cave was incredibly cold.

He unconsciously held the girl's hand.

She dodged it, curled up her body and didn't dare to look at this mere mortal.

"You're right. I shouldn't have given you the painting at that time. My paintings are unconsciously labeled as old." Xi buried her head in her knees, feeling so lonely. "Actually, I shouldn't be angry. You were fascinated by my paintings, which proves that you are special. You may have felt the age earlier than me."

"That doesn't matter anymore." Zhuang Ning said. It really doesn't matter anymore.

"How can it be unimportant, Zhuang Ning? I don't like your attitude!" Xi gritted her teeth, "I said it has nothing to do with you, why are you still here? You should leave Yan immediately, then Sui might let you go!"

"But I don't want to leave."

"why?"

"Because you're still here." He said softly.

For a moment, Xi stood there in a daze, as if she was looking at a fool. She bit her lip, almost making her lower lip bleed.

"You're still here, so you can't run away, right? I also have dreams." When she heard the man sigh helplessly, Zhuang Ning looked directly at the girl. In this dark night where her fingertips were about to freeze, the breath she exhaled turned into wisps of white mist that rose up and shattered without a trace when it hit the rock wall.

They were the only ones who were alone in the same space, so close to each other, even if there were giant beasts outside that could devour the entire village, even if lightning in the dark night lashed the heaven and earth like a whip, even if the pouring rain seemed like the heaven and earth were crying for some existence.

But at this time, only they can rely on each other. Xi looked into his eyes and recalled the day when they first met. Nian arrogantly put the contract in front of him. Dr. looked at himself and lowered his eyelids.

"It's not impossible to add another pair of chopsticks."

"How can you say that about my sister, Doctor? She's the best painter in service!"

"Painting? But what does painting have to do with Rhodes Island?" Zhuang Ning stood up and walked in front of the girl. She realized that the man was not very tall and could even be said to be thin.

At that time he stretched out his hand, smiled gently and said: "Your name is Xi, right? Great painter."

She leaned against the stone wall and shed tears. Zhuang Ning was right. How could anyone be willing to die without dignity? Of course she wanted to live.

In fact, death is nothing, just treat it as a dream. They are just a dream of the years, right? When the dream is over, people will naturally disappear, like the morning breeze and the waning moon, and the passing years will rush by.

If there were no shackles, anything would be fine. I could paint and write on weekdays, but why did I listen to Nian and come to Rhodes Island at that time?

To the point that even her determination to die was shaken, how could she be at ease... Xi didn't want Zhuang Ning to see her humiliating appearance, so she pretended to mock him: "What is your dream? It can't be to find a woman, right?"

"Of course not. I have big dreams. Confucian scholars say that we should bring peace to the world for eternity, but I am not interested in the law that will last for eternity. Where in the world can there be a strategy that will last for eternity?" Zhuang Ning shook his head. "I want the law that will last for one lifetime. Before I die, I want to see the world united and the country at peace."

He turned his head away and smiled slightly: "But the most urgent thing is Miss Xi's life and safety. This is the top priority and must not be ignored."

Xi avoided his gaze. A law for the whole world? It really sounded like it had no pattern, and was far from the heroic spirit of bringing peace to the world for eternity. It was just a calm statement of an established reality.

"You are a fool."

"Whether you are a fool or an idiot, I don't mind, just like I don't mind what you think." Zhuang Ning became tough at this time, "Let's talk about the next plan."

"I don't think I need to listen." Xi still resisted.

"But if I say so, you must listen." Zhuang Ning didn't want to argue, so he coughed and stared at her majestically, "I don't want you to feel that way, I just want to save you!"

Overshadowed by this aura, Xi seemed to be a head shorter, like a child who had done something wrong.

"Your Inklings are out of control, they're chasing you?"

"If they chase me, you can't hide. They deliberately let you and me go."

"But that dragon's bite hurt me...Did you abuse it before?"

"You are the one who abuses me." Xi's lips trembled slightly. She didn't expect that the man would still joke at such an awkward moment. "Maybe Sui feels that the recovery is too slow and wants to speed it up."

Zhuang Ning couldn't help but smile: "Although you don't believe in the Great Yan court, but now apart from the Simaitai, we have no other solution. At least go to Yumen to find your eldest brother. The court has studied the Sui beast for thousands of years, so they must have countermeasures for this."

"Do you believe in the court?"

“I believe in hope.”

At this time, the rain finally stopped. Zhuang Ning stood up and smiled at Xi: "Let's leave here first."

He said solemnly in a swearing tone: "Miss Xi, I will save you. At least I won't let you get hurt before I send you to your eldest brother."

"Because I am a partner of justice." He grinned.

……

At the foot of Huiqi Mountain, there is an inn.

There are usually not many people here. The shopkeeper yawns and watches TV with boredom. On the screen is an old Colombian war movie.

Suddenly, the door was opened with a slight force, and a man and a woman rushed in, getting drenched by the rain and looking very disheveled.

"A room, a pot of wine, and three pounds of braised beef... Never mind, let's skip the last one," said the man.

The shopkeeper's eyes flashed with a strange look, and he nodded slightly, but made a gesture to the waiter. The waiter understood and stepped forward to greet the two of them.

Zhuang Ning took Xi to a corner of the hall, thought for a moment and said his plan: "Thinking carefully, the court really can't be trusted, so we will leave the court behind and act alone, by water."

"Do you know that in the movies you will definitely encounter an ambush? If it was Nian, we would have been attacked in this inn?" Xi curled her lips.

"A movie?" Zhuang Ning was stunned. "You're still watching it?"

He remembered that he had sneaked a peek into the room and indeed saw the projector, but there was clearly no electricity in Kexi's mansion.

Years old is really amazing.