In the blink of an eye, three days had passed in the mirror.
Mo Xi sat in a side room of a small inn in the suburbs, silently looking at the water drop by the window.
According to Jun Shang's request, he should be on his way to the North today, but he didn't leave. He raised his hand and looked at his palm, which had a translucent color — in fact, it wasn't just his palm, the color of the grass and trees in this world had begun to fade in the past few days.
This was a sign that the power of the Space-Time Mirror was weakening.
In the real world where Murong Chuyi and the others were, time passed very quickly. Perhaps only Murong Chuyi or Jiang Yexue were casting spells or chanting spells on the outside, but a few days had passed in the mirror.
According to this situation, Mo Xi estimated that in two or three days, he and Gu Mang would completely leave this world, so he didn't care if Jun Shang found out that he didn't go to the North, he just wanted to know more secrets before that.
Another drop of water fell.
The scale of the water drop was getting closer and closer to noon. Mo Xi got up and walked to the bronze mirror, raised his hand to cast a simple disguise technique on himself, and then pushed the door open and walked out.
"Let's go, let's go to the East Market to see the beheading!"
"Deputy General Lu is going to be beheaded, I really didn't expect that. Every dog has its day, alas …"
"He killed so many people because of a moment of rashness, I think he deserves to die!"
Along the way, the crowd was bustling, and they were all rushing in the direction of the East Market. Some of their faces were expectant, some were happy, some were sighing, and some were fearful. But no matter what kind of mood they had, the East Market was like a hot steamed bun of human blood, tempting vultures to stretch their necks and squeeze towards the beheading platform.
Mo Xi didn't say a word as he followed the crowd forward.
Soon, he arrived at the East Market. The place was already full of people in charge of the execution, and a group of spectators. They were like transparent dumpling skins, tightly surrounding the platform.
Lu Zhanxing was wearing a white prison uniform, barefooted, sitting on the guillotine. His expression was very calm, without the slightest panic of someone who was about to die. The executioner brought him wine and meat, and he thanked him with a grin. He pulled a drumstick from the plate, revealing his canine teeth as he chewed and swallowed.
He finished the meat in no time and began to drink the wine. He drank a cup of wine that could swallow mountains and rivers.
In the end, he wiped his mouth with his sleeve. "Sir, your little wine pot is too unique. What a sissy. Can you just give me a jar?"
The executioner looked at him strangely. "Why are you still eating so happily when you're about to die?"
"That's right." Lu Zhanxing grinned like a wolf dog. "It's the last meal of my life. Do you want me to cry and finish it?"
The executioner stared at him as if wondering how shameless this person was to be able to laugh like this after causing such a huge mess.
"I don't have a jug of wine for you," the executioner said stiffly. "This is the only way to make your last meal. I won't continue after you finish it. "
Lu Zhanxing sighed. "That's really a pity. I could have been drunk on the road. "
The executioner sneered. "So you're not free and easy. You just want to drink to boost your courage so that you're not afraid of the pain when you're beheading."
"That's not it." Lu Zhanxing clapped his hands and laughed. "Beheading is just a scar the size of a bowl. I want to go to the Yellow Springs drunk and see the beautiful scenery on both sides of the River of Forgetfulness. Maybe I can even write a poem or two that will be famous in the underworld."
"…" The executioner was speechless. Just at this moment, a clear voice came from the noisy platform.
"What poem do you want to write? Is it two orioles singing in the willows, one uglier than the other, or is it natural for me to be useful, singing every night not a dream? "
Everyone turned their heads, and Gu Mang appeared outside the crowd. He was wearing a Chong Hua military uniform. He took off his military rank tassel, but his legs were still long and his waist was thin. His appearance was dignified. His two slender fingers were hooked on a hemp rope, and the rope was tied to a jug of wine covered with mud. Facing the scorching noon sun, he walked towards the guillotine from a distance.
"Aiya, it's Marshal Gu …"
"Pei pei pei, I'm wrong. It's not Marshal Gu, it's Gu Mang, Gu Mang."
The crowd slowly separated, and many pairs of eyes curiously stared at the two of them.
Everyone knew about Lu Zhanxing and Gu Mang's life and death friendship. Everyone also knew that because of Lu Zhanxing's death, Gu Mang fell from the top of tens of thousands to the bottom of the valley, becoming a trash who spent all his time in brothels.
They finally met face to face at this moment, how would they react to each other?
Would Lu Zhanxing feel ashamed in front of Gu Mang?
Would Gu Mang curse his former best friend out of anger?
There was nothing more interesting than a jealous businessman divorcing his wife, or brothers turning against each other. Although the first two could not be seen, the brothers turning against each other could be counted on. Thus, the noisy guillotine gradually quieted down.
The surroundings were too quiet. Mo Xi, who was hiding in the crowd, could even hear his own heartbeat. His eyes followed Gu Mang's figure, the tall and handsome figure wearing an old Chong Hua uniform.
Today, Gu Mang was not dispirited. He looked like a beautiful bamboo in the breeze, as if the rotten days in the past six months had not eroded his strength of character.
In this silence, Gu Mang walked up to the guillotine alone.
Originally, he was surrounded by hundreds of people, but now, he was the only one left among the 100,000 soldiers. The others were sacrificed, and the others were restrained. He could not bring more people. There was only one person, a jar of wine, and a military uniform without the military rank. Their former glory was like a golden millet dream, and now there were only a few pitiful remnants left.
Lu Zhanxing raised his head and looked at him. After a moment, he grinned.
"Mang 'er, do you still remember the poems I wrote?"
Gu Mang lowered his eyelashes, and the thick eyelashes cast a hazy shadow on his eyelids. He sat down with the wine jar and said, "Your writing is too bad. I can't forget it even if I want to."
Lu Zhanxing laughed and scratched his feet. Then he said, "I knew you would come to see me off today."
Gu Mang snorted, opened the seal of the wine jar, took a sip, and then pushed it to Lu Zhanxing, "Drink."
"Oh, the fifteen-year-old white pear flower of Swan House."
"You know the value."
Seeing that these two people did not fight as expected, and did not fight with each other, let alone the audience, even the executioner was stunned.
Lu Zhanxing was already a prisoner on death row, but Gu Mang had not betrayed the country at that time. Although he did not have the military rank, his power was still there. Therefore, the executioner was not willing and did not dare to publicly embarrass Gu Mang.
He hesitated, "Gu … cough, you see the standard rules of the last meal …"
"Anyway, we are brothers. I came to see him off." Gu Mang raised his head, "I'll have to trouble you to make it convenient."
No matter what, Gu Mang was the beast of the Chong Hua, the ever-victorious God of War. No matter what, Gu Mang did not do anything wrong when he was in the limelight, and there was no personal hatred.
The messenger was gradually defeated by his black jade-like eyes. Finally, he sighed and retreated to the side.
The sundial grew higher and higher with the sun, condensing the reflection of the night that was thicker than ink.
Lu Zhanxing drank wine and talked with Gu Mang with a smile. It was probably because people were about to die, and it was useless to talk about hatred. Neither of them mentioned the defeat at Feng Ming Mountain.
The time of execution was getting closer and closer. Even though the sun was blazing white, the air was filled with the smell of death. The audience looked at the sundial and swallowed. They were a little nervous. And the people who were the least nervous were the people who were about to die and the friends who were sending them off.
The wine was finally finished.
Gu Mang asked, "Do you have any other wishes?"
Lu Zhanxing smiled and said, "Too many."
"Which one can I help you with?"
Lu Zhanxing said, "Taste more white pear flower for me."
"Okay."
"See more beautiful scenery for me."
"Okay."
Lu Zhanxing thought for a moment. Finally, he raised his hand and stroked Gu Mang's military uniform. "Mang 'er, don't wear this uniform in the future."
The charcoal in the brazier on the execution ground crackled. Gu Mang lowered his eyelashes. His expression was somewhat gloomy, but also somewhat meaningful. Almost everyone present couldn't understand why he had such an expression.
Except for Mo Xi.
Mo Xi knew that Gu Mang was determined to rebel at this moment. Lu Zhanxing's dying wish was originally in the hope that Gu Mang could disarm and return home, no longer being involved in the bloody storm.
But Lu Zhanxing did not know that Gu Mang would indeed never wear Chong Hua's military uniform again. But Gu Mang would change into the black armor of the Burning Country, and then walk on a bloody path of no return.
Gu Mang did not immediately say anything. He lowered his head, his eyelashes fluttering.
Finally, he smiled faintly and said, "Okay. I'll never wear it again. "
Lu Zhanxing's eyes brightened, and then he smiled.
"Are you serious?"
"When have I ever lied to you?"
Lu Zhanxing laughed. "You've loved to coax people since you were young. You've coaxed me until I grew up." As he laughed, the smile that stretched out like spring leaves at the corners of his eyes faded a little.
Gu Mang said, "Is there anything else you want to say?"
"…" Lu Zhanxing's eyes flowed with some gentleness. This was a gentleness that Mo Xi had never seen on this tiger-like face.
Lu Zhanxing said, "Mang 'er, start a family soon."
Gu Mang, "…"
"You're always noisy, but we've been brothers for so many years. I know that you've always wanted to have a place that truly belongs to you." Lu Zhanxing pointed out, "You're not young anymore. If you've had enough fun, you should stop early … this way, I'll also …"
Before he could finish, he was interrupted by Gu Mang. Gu Mang asked, "Uncle Lu, how old are you this year?"
Lu Zhanxing widened his eyes and curled his lips: "I'm just concerned about you, why don't you know what's good for you."
Just as he was about to say more, he suddenly heard a sharp whistle. The cultivator on the turret raised his head and blew the yak horn. The sound of the horn shook the sky. The herald raised his voice and shouted: --
"The time has come!"
The hour is almost here.
The glaring sun had already risen to the center of the Dome Hut. The white rays of light shone upon the dazzling masses, upon those who were about to leave and those who were about to part ways, upon the vast expanse of spectators.
This was the last of this pair of brothers.
Gu Mang looked at Lu Zhanxing calmly, as if the two of them were going to be separated for strategic reasons, but they would meet again sooner or later.
"Let's go," Gu Mang said.
Lu Zhanxing smiled. "Consider my words."
Gu Mang looked at him deeply and finally said: "… Okay, I will."
After he finished speaking, his long robe dragged on the ground, and he went down from the narrow high steps of the execution platform.
The executioner stepped forward and raised his hand to pick up the copper awl wrapped in red cloth. As the bell rang, the sound of metal colliding was clear and distant. The executioner raised his voice and sang: "The time has come. Ready!"
It was not like in the legends, where a rider of the imperial army raised an arrow of command and shouted: "Spare the prisoner!" There was also no violent resistance from Lu Zhanxing, and no rescue from the prisoner.
In this world, there were not so many things that could be saved from death. There were only a few people who could get the favor of the heavens.
Lu Zhanxing and Gu Mang, one on the stage and one below the stage, looked at each other. Both of them could not help but think of a sentence that Lu Zhanxing once said when he joined the army many years ago:
"I don't want to die at all. I just want to be a thousand-year-old tortoise. I want to marry a few women and have a bunch of children. That life is called a free and happy life."
Gu Mang laughed. "You are now on the battlefield. Your head is on your belt. What else can you do to be a thousand-year-old tortoise?"
Lu Zhanxing was not afraid at all. He touched his chin and said half-jokingly and half-seriously, "That's true. Then I might as well think about how to die a worthy death."
"How do you think it's a worthy death?"
"The best is that I am in a country burning illusion. In the illusion, there are all peerless beauties chasing me and wanting to have sex with me. It would be impolite for me to refuse. In the end, I die of exhaustion." Lu Zhanxing smiled wretchedly and shook his legs. "Oh, what a wonderful ending."
They were really fearless and untrustworthy. The matter of life and death was like a joke to them.
"Or I will be killed by a peerless beauty. The best is that she likes me. I swear that I won't obey her. She will rape me and then kill me. Wow, it's so exciting."
Gu Mang laughed and scolded, "Can't you say something normal?"
"What's the point of normal?" Lu Zhanxing licked his lips and smiled. "At most, I will die in the battlefield. A group of friends will surround me and cry miserably. Two lines of tears. It's scary to think about it. "
But who knew that the worst ending that Lu Zhanxing could think of at that time was much better than his real future.
It turned out that as a soldier, his final ending was not to die in the battlefield. Instead, he would be ashamed and useless to die on the Chong Hua guillotine with guilt.
No one cried. No one mourned for him. Two lines of tears.
The so-called friends, in the end, only Gu Mang was left.
The executioner with the wide scimitar took a step forward and raised the shiny scimitar in his hand high.
Lu Zhanxing's messy hair was blown by the wind. He looked down at Gu Mang below the stage and smiled in relief.
"Kill!"
With a word, from now on, they were strangers.
The author had something to say:
Lu Zhanxing: Do you still want a small drama today? I've already died. Bun-Hit-Dog only wrote a small drama to express his grief when someone died. (Actually, it was to be lazy = =)
Gu Mang: Didn't you die a long time ago? You have already died since the first word of this article.
Lu Zhanxing: (Touching his neck) Oh … That's true.
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