The Burning Chronicles Chapter 8

Deep at night, everything falls asleep, only the sparse light of stars flickers.

When Piper Xiao fell into a deep sleep, Luke Lu sat in front of her bed, drew a meditation mantra in front of her forehead with his fingertips, and then grabbed in front of her eyes with his five fingers. When he walked out of the room, his hands were empty.

"Piper Xiao agreed to lend me his eyes." Luke Lu smiled. Piper Xiao was a kind child. Although he was confused, he agreed without hesitation when he heard that Luke Lu needed a pair of eyes.

Luke Lu teased Piper Xiao, "Aren't you afraid that big brother is a monster that eats people's eyes?"

Piper Xiao said as a matter of course, "Big brother and Brother Zane are friends, how could he borrow the eyes and not return them?"

Outside Piper Xiao's room, Luke Lu said to the anxious Grace Qi, "Old Madam, close your eyes."

Grandma Qi did as she was told and covered her eyelids with a warm hand, which she brushed gently, but she felt nothing.

"You can open it now."

Grandma Qi slowly opened her eyes and looked around. Except that her vision was much clearer than before, there was no difference. She was holding a bundle wrapped in taro leaves in her arms and was a little at a loss.

Luke Lu opened Piper Xiao's door a little and said, "Old Madam, you can see Zane from here..." After that, he suddenly stopped talking, and then pricked up his ears to listen carefully. After a while, he whispered, "Listen, Zane is back."

The words "He's back" were like a stone thrown into a lake. Grace Qi excitedly looked through the crack in the door.

A breeze blew quietly.

Then, outside the beige window paper, the crabapple branches were swaying slightly, and the rustling sound was endless. Not long after, a figure climbed up along the branches...

"Knock, knock, knock."

Three gentle knocks.

After a while, a clear voice asked outside the window, "Quinn Xiao, are you asleep?"

---He was asking about "Quinn Xiao" instead of "Piper Xiao". Hearing this, Grace Qi covered her mouth and cried in silence.

It turned out that he had always mistaken Piper Xiao for Quinn Xiao.

The one he was thinking about in his heart was always the young Quinn Xiao.

There was no response from inside the house. The shadow tilted his head, and then pushed open the half-closed window.

---In an instant, the light was dazzling.

A young man in red was sitting on the lush crabapple branch on the other side of the window.

He was wearing a bright ivory-red shirt and fluffy knickerbockers of the same color. He was tall and slender, half of his body was hidden behind the pink branches, and his long flowing hair was entangled with the flowers.

He was smiling, with perfect features, upturned eyebrows, a high nose, and a gentle curve at the corner of his mouth. He had a pair of extremely delicate brown eyes, the pupils of which were a few centimeters larger than those of ordinary people, crystal clear and soul-stirring.

This handsome young man sat on the tree in a lazy posture, with slightly shiny flowers on his hair and shoulders, and a lantern emitting faint light in his right hand. The lantern was painted with colorful ghost patterns, and colorful tassels hung from the four corners.

The dim light was sometimes green and sometimes blue, and from time to time bright filaments slowly emerged from it. The face of the young man in red was illuminated by the light, and his body was wrapped in a faint white light, sandwiched by the blue-green light of the lantern, making people who saw it mistakenly believe that this beautiful young man was a fairy transformed from the crabapple flower.

Grandma Qi looked at this extremely beautiful young man in amazement. The dazzling light burned her eyes, and she was reluctant to even blink.

When the young man on the tree saw that the girl in the house had fallen asleep, he first shook his head helplessly, then kicked off the branch with his bare feet, and lightly jumped into the window with the flying rain of flowers.

"Quinn Xiao..." He placed the lamp beside him, leaned down, and stared at the girl on the couch gently and carefully.

The girl trembled her long eyelashes restlessly.

Zane's slender fingers gently brushed Piper Xiao's forehead, and he leaned close to the girl's ear and whispered, "Quinn Xiao, your illness will be cured soon... Look, what did Brother Zane bring you?" He took a handful of green herbs tied to his belt and placed them next to Piper Xiao's ear.

The herb has broad leaves, with a small white flower in the middle, five petals and light yellow stamens. It looks simple, and no one would believe that such a herb that can be seen everywhere in spring is a magical herb that can bring back the soul.

"You must get well soon and grow up peacefully...Brother Zane will never be able to visit you again." The young man smiled slightly when he said this, but his eyes were filled with infinite sadness.

The room was filled with a sad and beautiful light. The boy leaned against the bed, held Piper Xiao's hand, and stared at her intently. After an unknown amount of time, the boy suddenly bent down and gently K!ssed the girl's pink face.

His long hair fell down and landed on Piper Xiao's neck. The itchy touch made Piper Xiao laugh in his sleep.

Without saying anything more, the young man in red stood up, without even looking at Piper Xiao again, he turned and walked towards the window, jumped onto the windowsill, and leaped lightly down. Only a streak of long black hair passed by. Except for the lamp that Zane had left on purpose, the young man's figure was no longer visible in the room.

"Zane... Zane!" Grace Qi seemed to realize something and suddenly lost her mind. The staggering old woman hugged the package tightly and stumbled downstairs!

Luke Lu watched her run down desperately without stopping her.

Zane had just fallen down the tree trunk, brushed off the petals on his body, and was about to leave when he heard a childish voice behind him calling, "Brother Zane!"

He shuddered all over and turned around instantly. The door was suddenly pushed open and a little child ran out.

She was wearing a maroon coat, had two pigtails, big eyes and a pointed little face.

The child, holding the package, suddenly stopped after rushing out the door. When she saw the tall boy standing under the tree had not left yet, she smiled broadly.

Zane stared at the child who suddenly appeared, stunned for a moment, then narrowed his eyes and called softly, "Quinn Xiao? You are Quinn Xiao."

The little girl nodded vigorously, walked closer, raised her face, and handed over the package in her hand, "Here."

The big taro leaves spread out during the running just now. The child raised his hands high, and Zane saw a few plump white spring rolls sticking out from inside.

"For me?"

"Yeah! I remember that Brother Zane likes to eat this. I specially packed your favorite dishes in it. The road back to the mountains is so long, you won't be hungry with it..." As soon as the voice fell, Quinn Xiao felt her feet leave the ground, and a warm breath instantly hit her face---Under the canopy-like flower tree, the thin and tall boy hugged her, his arms tightly around the child. He leaned his head on Quinn Xiao's shoulder, closed his eyes and said, "I knew...you won't forget me, you definitely won't forget me."

He carried loneliness alone for nearly sixty years, wandering in the world. He was hated by the world and laughed at by monsters, but he remained firm. Everything he gave was not in vain.

"How dare you forget all this?" The child's eyes were filled with sorrow. "I will always remember you, even in my coffin and in my next life. Quinn Xiao thought, in this life, and in the countless reincarnations to come, the only one who can bring me light at night is Brother Zane, right?"

The boy was speechless, but his arms tightened even more.

Quinn Xiao felt a dampness on his shoulders - it is said that spirits have no heart, so they have no tears. If spirits shed tears, it means that they have cultivated human hearts and have seven emotions.

Finally, the young man in red held the spring pancake in one hand and touched Quinn Xiao's hair with the other, then turned around and walked into the rolling mountains.

"Brother Zane, Quinn Xiao has lived a good, smooth and peaceful life!" Looking at the boy's figure walking away, the child suddenly put his hands to his mouth and shouted, "You must also take good care of yourself, don't get hurt again, and don't... trust anyone in the world again!"

The young man, whose back had become blurred, raised his hand and shook it, meaning that he heard it.

He never looked back again.

Under the cover of night, a light drizzle began to fall again.

The man in white leaned against the windowsill, silently watching the red spot disappear between heaven and earth, then he raised his hand and snapped his fingers. The movement of his hands caused the silver rings on his wrists to collide, making a jingling sound.

At that moment, everything in the world remained the same. The spring rain silently moistened the quiet Qingshui Town. The distant mountains appeared an ink-black color, and the pink and beige crabapples nearby were crowded and lively. Everything was normal, but it was indeed different.

In front of a nearby door, an old man was hunched over, looking up at something in the distance. In the distance, an ugly little monster was biting a package, walking slowly into the depths of the dense forest with scars all over its body...

---Luke Lu used a small spell to make them say goodbye to each other in the most beautiful way.

We met each other at the best time and said goodbye in the best way. Isn't it supposed to be this way?

Luke Lu looked up at the blue sky, narrowed his eyes, and smiled slightly.

Requiem for the End

"Big brother, where do you think Brother Zane is now?"

After a night of spring rain, the weather cleared up unusually the next day. The sun was shining brightly, illuminating the flowers above and casting fine golden rays of light.

Piper Xiao took a bite of the fragrant roasted taro and asked with his head raised.

At this moment, the girl was nestling in the arms of a young man, while the man was leaning against a tree trunk, resting his head with one hand and dozing with his eyes closed.

"Big brother? Are you asleep?" Piper Xiao blinked his big eyes and turned his head.

Luke Lu only lazily replied at this moment, "In a place called 'Reincarnation'."

"Reincarnation? Is that the name of his hometown? Is it a town or a city?"

"It's my hometown, the hometown of all the monsters." After pondering for a long time, Luke Lu gave a definition.

Soul-Returning Grass is a magical herb that only spirits can find. However, this medicine is so rare that even spirits who are good at finding medicine may not be able to find it after going through a lot of hardships. Spirits with lower skills often die from hard work. This mysterious herb is a life-for-life herb for many spirits.

Zane was already seriously injured, and if he went to look for grass again, he would surely die.

"So, Brother Zane won't suffer there?" Piper Xiao smiled so hard that his teeth were showing.

"Yeah." Such a kind creature will definitely get good results.

"Big brother, since you came, grandma seems to have changed a lot. She also helped me clean the big glass lamp left by brother Zane. Although brother Zane is gone and the lamp no longer shines, grandma said that it is the only thing he left behind and we should keep it well! I also saw grandma shed tears when she said this, but she told me that there was sand in her eyes... Big brother, you are really amazing. You can make grandma accept brother Zane. Are you a god sent from heaven?"

Rustle, rustle... The wind blows, and the treetops make a crackling sound.

After a long silence, Luke Lu finally opened his eyes. He picked up a petal that had fallen on the child's head and asked, "Piper Xiao, can I teach you a song?"

"What song is it?"

"Requiem..."

The sky is black, the water is turbid, and life falls and turns into ashes.

The water is turbid, there are phosphorus bones and fire, and there are thousands of deserted graves.

Phosphorus-bone fire, with no place to live, sleeping beside the wind as the moon sets.

May your soul rest in peace and be reborn. Your words are in my heart.

In this floating world, yin and yang separate us. Without mentioning you, your smile passes by.

Hidden deep in my heart, the love and promise are buried in a coffin and lie in my arms.

Story 2: "Sound of the Sea"