【Light Cut】Playing hard to get

Chapter 9

When people get old, they tend to drowse less, not to mention that Qingming is restless early in the morning, always feeling that something will happen today.

"Don't worry about it, Lord Qingming! With Xiaobai around, nothing matters." The white fox brought a bamboo basket full of persimmons to Qingming's hand, squatted on the spot, and rubbed the old man's forehead with his forehead. Finger, "The mother-in-law who sells fruits on the street calls them 'lantern persimmons'. They are big, sweet, slippery and soft. Xiaobai wants to ask Lord Qingming to eat them first!"

But it can be said that "whatever you are afraid of", Qingming has not yet responded to Xiaobai's hospitality, a distraught monster stumbled into his room, "Ghost cut!" Qingming dropped the red and fat persimmon in his hand in shock , "Aren't you going to take Lai Guang back to Dajiangshan? What's the matter, what happened?"

Onikiri was like a ball of fluff that had been pulled out of a cotton-padded jacket, and he slumped on the ground softly, "I...he..." The big demon's eyes were straight, his face was as white as paper, and the words he spit out were vague and confused, and his lips were full of words. It's the hideous bloodstains from being bitten, "He...he doesn't want me...he would rather commit suicide than go with me...Lai Guang hates me, he wants me to die."

The old man, who is well versed in the ways of the world, guessed the whole situation immediately. He instructed Xiaobai with his mouth, "You go out first, and I will persuade him", then slowly stood up, and approached Onikiri with a slight stoop, enduring his knees He was suffering from rheumatic pain, sat down slowly, and sighed next to the big demon who was about to cry, "I reminded you before, Laiguang has no father and no mother, and he was a wandering child since he was a child. He is a very assertive and strong child. He works so hard from morning to night to not succumb to the fate of being abandoned, and what he desires most is to control his future life with his own hands."

"But you, Onikiri, rashly broke into his life, and arbitrarily trampled on his carefully cultivated fields. In his view, your actions are a kind of provocation. You are plundering his family, suppressing his will, Force him to do something he doesn't want to do."

"If you were Laiguang, a little orphan who misses people, suffers all kinds of hardships, and has a heart full of defenses like a nine-fold city, you will obey a monster who lives a plain life in just a week, and you are willing to follow him to leave the world of human beings." Homeland, go to Dajiangshan, where ghosts are rampant?"

Seimei's stern words were better than a whip, Onikiri's face flushed red in embarrassment, and then quickly turned pale, he stammered like a little monster who just learned to speak human language: "But, but I will tell him Good! Others harmed him and abandoned him because they hated his looks and despised his origin, but I, I am different! I, I am very... I like, I like, I like... I like him! I have everything Can give him! Whatever he wants, I can-"

Seimei interrupted him by shaking his head again and again, "No, Onikiri, your thinking is too one-sided. Raikou treats you not so much as 'what you want', but as 'what you don't want'. Remember, you What you forcefully give him is 'what you want', if he insists 'I don't want', you must not use brute force to force him to accept it. Otherwise..."

Qingming stretched out his wrinkled hand like old tree bark, gently patted the big demon's shoulders that had collapsed due to frustration, and said gently in an elder's unique kind tone: "Raikou today is a bit like you back then, It’s just a little hedgehog who is suspicious, afraid of being alone, stern and bluffing, he will first erect the spines all over his body when he sees everyone, and then he will talk about other things.”

Seimei made a "shh" gesture, indicating to the embarrassed Onikiri to listen to him first, "In my opinion, you are a fierce and resolute demon-slaying blade, and you will always stop killing by killing on the battlefield. You Being strong doesn't require you to have much patience. What's more, all along, you have been with adults day and night, which makes you have no experience in dealing with human children."

"However, lack of patience and experience is a big taboo in taking care of human children. I guess you have nothing to do with a stubborn and awkward child like Raikou, just like Minamoto Raimitu had nothing to do with you back then. But Fortunately, Raikou is both like Minamoto and not like him. Minamoto is soft and hard, but Raikou is soft and not hard. In Raikou's opinion, if you treat him well for a day or two, don't It counts, one or two months does not count, but one or two years, it will start to count. If you treat him well for a long time, even if you take him to the purgatory cave, he will be willing."

"A week ago, you said the word 'playing hard to get' to me, which scared me a lot, but now it seems that you didn't do it, Onikiri." Seimei smiled and bent his arms, pressing his elbows Reaching Onikiri's arm—this is one of the little tricks Yuan Boya liked to do to others during his lifetime. "To achieve 'playing hard to get', the first thing you need to do is to have patience. If you want to play hard to get with Laikou, you need an extraordinary strength Be patient. Raikou rejected you today, but what will happen tomorrow, what will happen next spring, and what will happen in three years are all unknown."

Seimei withdrew his hand, looked deeply into the daemon's pupils with glowing blue eyes, and solemnly asked in a prayer-like low tone: "Do you have the patience to wait until the day he accepts you, Onikiri? He has no yin and yang eyes, no memory of the past, lost the power to wield a blade, and lost the qualification to stand side by side with you, are you still willing to wait for a weak and embarrassed child to grow up slowly?"

Seimei could see the turbulent vortex in Onikiri's eyes, so he lowered his tone, stretched out his hand again, and stroked Onikiri's fluffy hair, "You are a big demon, you have many choices, if you don't want to lower your figure, don't It’s okay to waste your time, I will arrange it. I will treat Laiguang as my little friend and deal with everything before I fall asleep..."

Qingming's voice was like pure flowing water, but Onikiri did not listen to the persuasive consolation of Onmyoji. Instead, he stared blankly at Qingming's withered hands, his thoughts drifting farther and farther in the warm sun of early winter—he thought of Minamoto Raimitsu's hand.

He also fluttered his nostrils slightly, sniffing Seimei's smell in the room, and then recalled the breath of Origin Raiko.

In Minamoto's last few years, his hands were the hands of an old man who would tremble unconsciously, and his breath also has a special description called "old man's smell".

"You smell so bad, I smelled it all over Dajiangshan." Onikiri came here uninvited because he missed him, but when he came, he realized that he really couldn't come up with a high-sounding reason, so he had to confuse the audience with bitter sarcasm, " I just want to tell you this time, take a bath! Old and ugly stupid human beings."

At that time, Minamoto Raimitsu sat alone on the futon under the porch, with a bowl of bitter medicine that had already cooled down in his hand.He slowly raised his face, and fixedly looked at Onikiri, with ravines around his eyes, his face was like a withered eagle, but his eyes were still hale and hearty, reflecting the flames of the old battlefield. "Onikiri, insincerity is not a good habit. As a samurai, you should have the courage to speak your heart out. If you really want to lie, you should teach your eyes to lie too—you come from a family, just because you want to see this old and I'm ugly, right?"

Minamoto Raimitsu made the big demon's face red with a "bang", and he immediately retorted hoarsely, but it was trying to cover up the obvious, and the more he smeared, the darker it became.

Amid Onikiri's scolding, Minamoto Raimitsu picked up the medicine bowl with his old scarred left hand, but again, because of the uncontrollable hand tremors of old age, he sprinkled a few drops of the medicine on his front.The silver-haired old man stretched out his right hand calmly, holding the bowl with his left hand, barely stabilized the dangerously shaking liquid level, and passed the rim of the medicine to his lips.

Minamoto Raimitsu's throat rolled, and the volume of Onikiri's cursing gradually decreased.The big demon stared blankly at his former master, seeing his strong hands that were once able to compete with the ghost king, but now holding a porcelain bowl is shaking like chaff, and his figure seems to have shriveled, far less tall than when he was in his prime And tall and straight, like a white crane with plump wings that once stood proudly in the crowd, now only a layer of skin and bones are left.

He almost wanted to rush forward and hold Minamoto's hand with his own, but his ridiculous reserve made him speak with a thorn in his words: "Hey, old man, why do you need to drink medicine? When you saw me before, you would stand up and walk towards me, but why are you sitting today? Are you finally too old to walk?"

Minamoto Raimitsu clearly heard his harsh words.The old man put down the medicine bowl, wiped his lips with his finger, and said nothing.But Minamoto Raimitsu didn't answer. Onikiri actually knew about it. He knew that the former master wore heavy armor to preside over Genji's ceremony a few days ago, and walked down the Shinto as a general. , I sprained my ankle accidentally on the steps.

At that time, he was hiding in the top of the tree beside the road and peeping, and he clearly saw Minamoto's painful expression.But the fragile crack was fleeting, Minamoto Raimitsu took off the saber from his waist, cut the ground with a boy, moved his steps as if nothing happened, and went down another step.

As the patriarch of Genji, a wealthy family in Kyoto, he cannot reveal his weakness. Even if the old wounds accumulated from years of fighting are regurgitating, and every joint is moaning due to damp and rust spots, he must maintain the appearance of being old and strong.

He walked down the Shinto step by step, Onikiri watched him walk down the Shinto step by step, his battle armor was as radiant as yesterday, his silver hair fluttered like he was when he was young, and his back was still the perfect Patriarch.He was followed by the Genji people, as if they were all under his shade, comfortable in the broad road he opened up, in awe of his title of "ghost slayer", and believed that if it was him, he would be immortal and transcend human numerology, Heroes live forever.

He deceived the entire family with a single back view, but failed to deceive the eyes of the monster of Dajiangshan.His old favorite sword was trembling on the canopy of the tree, and wanted to rush to him after landing countless times, supporting him instead of Tong Ziqie, but the big demon suppressed his breath, always waiting for him to speak first.

Da Yao thought, if that guy shows even a little bit of "I need you, Onikiri", he will go crazy and rush to his side in the next instant even if he travels across mountains and rivers——

But Minamoto Raikou didn't fulfill his tiny wish until he stopped breathing forever.The general who lived his life in the army asked for a simple burial, leaving him with even fewer things. He even stole all night with shamelessness, and then dug out the medicine bowl, medicine stove and Tangshao, along the way, stole some sets of Yuan Laiguang's clothes, and when Yuan Boya questioned him the next day, he looked indifferent, pretending that he had nothing to do with him.

It's hard for him not to feel remorse and regret, because when Minamoto Raimiko was alive, he chose to wait, and he waited until Minamoto Raimiko disappeared, and finally there was no one to wait for.When he collected the medicinal materials Minamoto Larimitsu had used according to his memory, boiled the brown bitter juice, and poured it into a white porcelain bowl, he held the bowl with both hands, and licked it with the tip of his tongue, imagining that he hadn’t He hesitated, but actually held Minamoto Raimiko's trembling hands and helped him drink the painkiller.

When he poured it into Minamoto's old clothes with the smell of medicine all over his body, he imagined that he had never said the rude words "You are old and ugly and stinky, I don't bother to look at you".He fantasizes that he honestly expresses the fiery enthusiasm in his heart: "You smell like blood and flowers, which makes me addicted. Although you are old and don't have Ebisu's beard, you are still the most handsome among human beings! "

But the fantasy born of remorse turned out to be illusory, Minamoto Laiguang's hands had only one phalange left, and the breath left on those old clothes also disappeared soon.On the third day when he couldn't smell the scent of flowers in blood, he finally got up from the couch, put on Minamoto Yorimitsu's black unlined clothes and white hunting clothes, put on the shawl and armor, and wrapped himself in clothes that didn't fit at all. He stepped down and slowly walked out of his hut in Dajiangshan.

The gurgling stream reflected his clothing and appearance, but what he wanted to see was not his own face.When he summoned his long sword and put it on his waist, he imitated Minamoto's old strides and strode forward. The stride length and pace were exactly the same, and the frequency and strength of his arm swings were exactly the same as Minamoto's.If he hides the horns on the top of his head and wears a pair of clogs with a higher heel, his reflection will be like Minamoto Raimitsu still in the world.

But he is not Minamoto Raimitsu after all, the cunning human has already abandoned him, and chose the end and the distance that belong to human alone.When he looked down at himself reflected on the water, he did not see Minamoto Raimitsu's arrogant and confident expression, but a big face with tears streaming down his cheeks. He is unparalleled in the world, no matter how hard he tries, he can't imitate him.

If he could, he hoped that he could go back to the day when Raimiko Minamoto walked down the Shinto path, and he would no longer pretend to be reserved and wait.If he was given another chance, he would choose to jump down, rush to the old man, kick away the useless boy Qie Angang, and let himself be his crutch, his support and support.

"——I can't wait, I don't have time to wait." The moment Onikiri escaped from the memory, he said to Seimei like a cannonball, "Minato Raimitsu can wait for me, but I can't wait for Raimitsu, because I am the sword, and Raikou is a child of human beings. The sword can be recast, and it is born to die, but the son of man will grow up at a speed that the sword cannot catch up with. Raikou will grow old, hunched over, and unable to walk move, and die again, eaten away by scavengers, and that's what I'll always be."

"Minato Yorimitsu once taught me the art of war. He said, 'The strategy of playing hard to catch is very mysterious. However, the world is full of monsters and the world is at stake. It is better for us warriors to make a decisive decision'. He also said, 'We will try again when the time is right. It's not too late'—I wanted to use a strategy against Raikou that he had always wanted but never used, but now I have changed my mind."

"Fuck his 'playing hard to get'! I don't want to let go of Raikou, he can't leave me a step! I want to capture him, arrest him, smash all his attempts to commit suicide, let him only live, not die! He doesn't want to go to Dajiang Mountain with me. I still remember how to go to the land of the underworld. I want to lock him there, tie him firmly with the chains that Minamoto Raimiko used to bind me, and I want to wash away his body. The memory of being the son of a man, I will also plant a blood bond in his heart, I will make him a child of monsters, my child—he is mine!"

The moment Onikiri stood up, Seimei yelled, "Speaking Spirit Bind!"

The old big onmyoji rushed forward and slapped Onikiri so sharply that his ears began to buzz, "Are you crazy, do you know what you're talking about?!" Seimei was so angry that his voice changed, The age spots on the face distorted angrily along with the wrinkles, "The realm of the underworld? Washing away memories? Blood contract? You want to push Raikou into the fire pit you have experienced? You want to take those things that Minamoto Raimitsu used? To kill a child who can't even wield a knife in such indiscriminate means? You actually lived like Minamoto Raimitsu you hate the most! Do you still deserve to call yourself the great demon guarding the mountains and rivers, Onikiri !"

The old man who was burning with anger chanted curses at a fast speed, formed seals with faster hands, and cast circle after circle of restrictions on Onikiri, "Stupid boy, stay here honestly and reflect on yourself! I will personally Go look for Laiguang and send him far away, and you! Without my permission, you are not allowed to take a step closer to Laiguang!"

The Great Onmyoji flicked up his sleeves, and a gag talisman flew out from the sleeves, and stuck to Onikiri's mouth impartially, suppressing his crazy rhetorical questions and resistance. "I will not hand over the reincarnation of my friend to a dangerous guy like you. You have to correct it humbly, or give up with all your heart. You can only choose one of the two, Onikichi."

Completely ignoring the big demon's unrepentant struggle, Qingming put on a straight face and left with his hands behind his back, but the moment he opened the sliding door, he almost bumped into two heavenly evil spirits who were rushing forward.

"Woo! It's Master Seimei!" The ghostly ghost, who was knocked into the air, got up from the ground in a blink of an eye. He leaned close to the half-opened sliding door and looked in cunningly, "Boss Onikiri is here? Is he there? Is he there? Isn't it? We brought Boss something nice to cheer him up!"

Instead of falling down, he knocked Qingming on the forehead. The aching Tianxiegui Chi let out a low growl twice, echoing Tianxieguilu vaguely: "Okay, good, good stuff!"

Seimei was completely baffled by these two uninvited little demons. He rubbed his forehead with his fingertips and said with a headache, "I recognize you, the two Heavenly Evil Ghosts who live in Dajiang Mountain. Ever since Onikiri rescued you, you I always wanted to be his little follower, follow him from time to time, and always do stupid things that make him irritable... What's the use of you two coming to me? As you can see, I'm in confinement, don't even think about helping Your boss escaped from prison."

Qingming unceremoniously kicked away Tianxie Guilu who was pulling the door open, and the little demon clutched his butt in an "Aww" and yelled dissatisfiedly, "Who are you talking about being stupid! Are you talking about me? Are you talking about you? Are you talking about him? Ghost cut Boss? Humph! Anyway, I’m not stupid! I met Onikiri Boss on the way, and seeing him bowed his head unhappy, he was saying something like 'Raimitsu doesn't want me', 'Men Raimitsu doesn't want me', 'I want to kill I'll let him repay what he owes me'——ho! Then the Onikiri boss ignored us and left by himself! But I'm not stupid, I know the boss is unhappy, and I'm not happy either, of course I Find a way to make Boss Onikiri happy!"

Tianxie Guichi howled twice immediately, and said inconsequentially: "Minaramitsu! Kill! Boss Onikiri! Happy! Repay! Repay! Repay!"

The uneasiness in Qingming's heart immediately climbed to the top, but Tianxie Guilu's subsequent laughter made all his luck fall to the bottom, "I'm not stupid, I know 'Men Raimiko'! I've heard of it! That's the boss's enemy , is a very bad guy! He cut off the ghost king's right arm, and blasted the boss's left eye with miasma! Woowawawa, hateful, hateful! Is he very bad, isn't he? No? Isn't he? Yes I just took off his right arm and left eye and brought it to the boss to cheer him up!"

Tianxie Guilu jumped up and down smugly, completely unaware that he had confused the truth of the great river and mountain battle.Standing beside him like a red hill, Chi Ze, the evil ghost, roared "Repay! Repay! Repay!" He untied the cloth pocket around his thick neck, shook a piece of blood from the dirty cloth, and shook out a slender Tiny arms, and an eyeball with a red iris—

There are a total of two human isolates that also exude warm breath.

Qingming stared at the gradually spreading pool of blood at his feet, with his small arms like lotus root joints and his eyes like glazed beads, he raised his hand and tightly clutched the front of his clothes, "No..." His old heart was beating so fast, As if he was about to burst out and kill him on the spot, he endured the extreme angina, and whispered the name of his old enemy in a dry voice, "...Raiko, Raiko."

The old man passed the two evil spirits in the next instant, and started to run like he did when he was young. He shouted to the sky: "Master of Mengshan, come quickly!"

"Master Qingming!" His white fox spirit fell to his feet in an instant, arching him on his back, "Xiaobai, smell the blood on my body, go find Laiguang! Quick! Quick!"

The white fox jumped up, and jumped out of the courtyard with a few leaps. The graceful posture of the big monster made the eyes of the two evil ghosts who were watching behind him straighten up, "Wow, you can fly, you can fly! Boss Onikiri He can't fly, but he can fly!"

The two little monsters raised their short and thick necks and put their hands in front of their eyes, trying to see clearly the figure of the Lord of Dream Mountain on the cloud, but a loud crash of kneeling on the ground exploded behind them, scaring them to turn around quickly , "Who is who, who is, who is, the boss Onikiri!"

Tian Xie Gui Lu and Tian Xie Gui Chi Jian Guiqie knelt on the ground, lowered their heads, looked at the two "good things" they brought, and thought that their beloved demon could finally show a happy smile, but unexpectedly—"Ahhhh Ahhhhhhhhh!"

In their minds, the big monster who was second only to the ghost king actually wailed heart-piercingly, or was he facing those two "good things"?

They watched the big demon tearing his hair, grabbing the ground with his head, slapping himself, and scratching his neck so bloodshot—"Why is Onikiri boss even more unhappy? Could it be that Isn't the bad guy paying back enough?"

Tianxieguilu and Tianxieguichi looked at each other, and complained to each other inwardly: I knew that one eye and one arm were not enough, so I should have dug out both eyes and cut off both arms of "Yuan Laiguang" !

Maybe if they make up a pair, it will be considered "repaying enough", and after "repaying enough", the Onikiri boss will be happy?