The next day Worship Hall side room, afternoon.
Qian Renxue was sitting by the window, not wearing palace clothes, just a plain white casual dress, with her blond hair tied up.
She was turning the golden feather in her hand, not playing with it, but waiting for it.
The base of Angel God Statue can be seen outside the window. The holy light leaks in through the window lattice, drawing streaks of light on the floor.
There are bells ringing in the distance, the last bell before the competition, muffled, as if coming from the bottom of the water.
The door shaft creaked softly, and Chen Jieqi walked in without announcing. There is no need to announce here.
He only held a roll of drawings in his hand, which was the design of the mine's third-layer fence.
After entering the door, I didn't sit down. I stood in the light spot. The Naaru Brand between my eyebrows was so faint that it was almost invisible in the afternoon light.
"After the finals,"
Qian Renxue spoke, his voice was lighter than the "Prince" should be,
"Grandpa wants to see you."
Chen Jieqi said "Hmm".
She said this in the secret room.
Qian Renxue Put the feather back into your sleeve and take out another piece from the other side.
It was smaller, with burn marks on the edges, as if it had been burned by something, and there was a very thin gold thread attached to the root of the feather, like a thorn that had not been removed.
"This is the emergency access key for the Worship Hall," she said,
"If you lose..."
"I won't lose."
"I know." She finally looked up, and there was light in her golden eyes, not holy light, but something else.
"But this is what I want to give you, not what you want to use."
Chen Jieqi looked at the feather and didn't pick it up.
"In what capacity are you giving?"
Qian Renxue's fingers paused.
The bell rang again, the second time.
"Qian Renxue." she said,
Not "Xue Qinghe", "I give as Qian Renxue."
Chen Jieqi took the feather, and her fingertips felt warm when they touched her palm.
He remembered that two years ago, "Xue Qinghe"'s hands were also warm because he had been holding pens all year round.
Now I know, it's not a pen, it's a feather.
"Also," she stood up, walked to the window, turned her back to him,
"I won't be in the stands during the final."
"Where?"
"Angel God Statue inside." She paused,
"If... if you need light, look up."
Chen Jieqi looked at her back, her plain white uniform was translucent by the holy light, like a piece of paper.
He didn't say thank you, put the feathers into Soul Tool, and turned to leave.
"Xiao Qi."
He stopped.
"That scar," she said, her voice coming from the window as if from far away,
"After the finals, let me see."
He didn't answer and opened the door and went out.
The moment the door closed, Qian Renxue pressed his forehead against the window lattice, the burn marks of feathers burning on his palms.
She didn't tell him that the feather was her own, broken off from Six-Winged Angel's wing.
It hurt when she folded it, but she didn't frown.
Shrek station, night
Tang San is sitting on the stone steps, holding the hammer handle of Clear Sky Hammer in his hand.
The hammer body was not solid, just a shadow, but he held it like a cane.
The dark red fifth Soul Ring rotates slowly under my feet, very slowly, like a rusty gear.
He didn't push it, he just let it turn, feeling the power that didn't belong to him flowing through his meridians, warm and smelling of blood.
Deep in his eyes, a scarlet glimmer flashed, and was immediately suppressed by him, like a flame that was bent by the wind for a moment, then straightened up again.
Xiao Wu came over, the footsteps were very light, but he heard it and did not raise his head.
She sat down next to him, a fist away from him.
Didn't speak, just sat.
The moon rose from the east, it was not high yet, it hung slanting above the eaves, its light was cold and white,
The shadows of the two people are stretched very long and overlapped very long, like one person.
Xiao Wu moved closer to Tang San,
"Third Brother," Xiao Wu said in a very soft voice.
"Do you remember Nuoding Academy's roof? It leaked, and you wrapped Blue Silver Grass around the tiles all night."
Tang San's shadow shook,
"Remember."
"The grass was soft then."
He didn't answer. The grass was soft, but not anymore. He crushed it with his own hands.
The shadow tilted for a while, Xiao Wu stood up,
"Third Brother."
"Hmm."
"Tomorrow, you play with the team."
Tang San didn't answer, Xiao Wu didn't wait any longer, turned around and left.
Tang San sat on the steps without getting up, looking at the place where Xiao Wu had just sat,
There is still a small piece of body temperature left, which is blown cold by the night wind and will be gone in just a few breaths.
He stood up and walked back to the room, his steps were steady and he stepped firmly on every step.
When the door is closed, no light leaks out from the crack.
At the same time Huangdou combat station,
Dugu Yan leaned against the pillar, arms folded across his chest, his hair flying in the wind.
She held a grass stem in her hand, turned it twice, and then it broke.
Chen Jieqi came back from the Worship Hall and passed her without stopping.
"Stop."
He stopped.
Dugu Yan threw the broken grass on the ground, walked over and handed him a water bag.
It's not wine, it's water, cold.
"Don't show off tomorrow."
"I'm not trying to show off." He took the water bag without drinking, "I just want to win."
Dugu Yan smiled, with the corners of his mouth raised and his eyes unblinking.
She looked at him for a long time, as if she were seeing him for the first time.
"When have you ever lost?"
Chen Jieqi did not answer.
He looked in the direction of Shrek. There were no lights over there, and it was pitch black, like a well.
"Yan Sister Yan," he said, his voice softer than usual,
"If I can't come back tomorrow..."
"You can come back." Dugu Yan interrupted him, his tone was very hard, like a stone hitting a stone.
"You said you would carry it for me, but you haven't finished carrying it yet."
Chen Jieqi The corners of his mouth moved, like a smile, but also like something else.
He hung the water bag back on his waist and continued walking. When he passed by her, his shoulder brushed against hers, very lightly, like a bird flying by.
Dugu Yan stood there, the wind blowing her hair to her face, covering her eyes.
She didn't push it away, just stood there until his back disappeared at the end of the corridor.
At this time, deep inside the Pope's Palace, Bibi Dong is sitting on the throne.
Outside the window, in the direction of Angel God Statue, a ray of light leaked in.
The white gold color is very light, like an untwisted wick. It doesn't burn brightly, but it doesn't go out either.
Bibi Dong looked at that ray of light and knew who gave it to her.
This scene reminded her of many years ago, when she had given away her innocence, kindness, and romance... etc.
She thought that was love, worth risking everything.
Later I found out it wasn't, or I later found out it was but it was given to the wrong person.
The light was still bright, and she felt more and more dazzling. She stood up and walked to the window.
The moonlight shone on her face, mixing with the candlelight, making it half-dark.
She looked at it for a long time, and then the candlelight died out and it was completely dark.
Then she turned around and walked towards the secret room. Gray-black mist seeped out from the crack in the door, crawled across the ground and wrapped around her skirt.
She didn't lower her head, she just walked step by step, one step, two steps, three steps...
The door closed behind her, and the light was still on.
In the early morning of the third day, Worship Hall
Qian Renxue is standing in Angel God Statue, not under the statue, but inside.
It is hollow, and wind leaks from the holes above the head, giving it the smell of accumulated dust over time.
She stood in the darkness, holding the gap left by the broken feather in her hand, and the gold thread was twisted into a circle in her palm, like a ring.
She prayed as "Qian Renxue" for the first time.
The lips are moving but there is no sound.
The content of the prayer is not revealed, only she knows it.
Probably "don't die", probably "come back", probably "if you can only choose one, choose him".
When the morning light first appeared, she walked out of the statue, and the sunlight made her squint.
She put away the notched feathers and put on the mask. It was not the human skin mask that Spirit Bone transformed into "Xue Qinghe".
It's the mask of "Qian Renxue", golden and expressionless.
The horn sounded in the distance, and the competition was about to begin.