(Today and tomorrow three days together, three in one chapter)

In a closed cell deep in the dungeon, Paladin was cowered in a corner in shackles, his joints already crushed and a little deformed.

Because of the poor sanitary environment, many rashes and abscesses grew on his skin, emitted a foul smell, and his eyes were hollow and distracted, if not blinking, and looked like a corpse.

During this time of captivity, Paladin was tormented, both physically and mentally, for he was a shameful traitor in the eyes of everyone except Chino, like Baiza.

After Chino and Solandale captured the palace, the prison guards brutally abused Paladin in order to curry favor with the new regent.

Every day, the jailers thought of various ways to humiliate him, and when they encountered the slightest unpleasant thing, they would find him angry, beat and scolded him at every turn, and beat him all over his body.

If you are in a good mood, you will enjoy some stinky rice, which is packed in a basin, and it is full of feed for animals, which is sour and rotten, and the pigs are disgusted.

When he was in a bad mood, he deliberately starved, and let him catch insects in prison to satisfy his hunger, and sometimes he couldn't even catch insects, so he could only throw mud powder on the wall to satisfy his hunger.

In the face of these insults, Paladin endured it without saying a word, and he had only one thought in his heart - he could not die.

Baiza can sacrifice his life for righteousness, and that is because he is alone, without scruples, and he can give up at most one life, but he can't

He still has his wife and daughter, and if he dies, his two relatives will lose the breadwinner of the family and will find it difficult to survive.

Therefore, Paladin did not resist when he was beaten, and he ate anything, as long as he could live.

He was well aware that this

Some of the jailers could beat him, scold him, and insult him, but they would never have the courage to kill him.

There is only one person who can really decide his life and death - Chino.

If you want to say who knows Chino best in the world, no one dares to say that they are ahead of Paladin.

It is precisely because of this that Paladin has been extremely terrified during his days in prison.

Paladin realized his current situation early on, knowing that Chino would not let the truth about Baiza's defection come to light, and that he was the only surviving person to know.

So what is Chino's attitude towards him now?

Nian has worked hard in the past few years, give him a way to live?

Or in order to seal off all risks, choose to extinguish?

He didn't know

Paladin followed Chino for many years, cautiously, walking on thin ice, and using his ingenuity to overcome countless difficulties, but in the end he still stepped on the edge of the abyss.

He was like a sinner waiting for trial, all he could do was try to live and then pray.

Pray that his companionship for so many years will be able to impress the demons

"Click, click, click" Suddenly, the sound of soft footsteps sounded, followed by an enticing smell of food.

The long-term hunger had already made Paladin's heart haggard, and he could be happy for a long time when he caught a bug, but at this time, when he smelled the smell of food, not only did he not rejoice and urgency, but his face became even paler.

"Squeak—"

Shangguan Xue opened the cell door and walked in, placing a whole plate of hot food in front of Paladin.

Creamy mushroom risotto, topped with medium-rare roasted brisket and a layer of cheese, were his favorite foods in Twilight.

…

The delicious food is fragrant and inspiring

The index finger moves, but in the dark prison, which is more like the declaration of death.

Paladin's stomach tumbled to the ground with intense fear, and he fell to the ground trembling and nauseating, and he was about to vomit bile, and he reluctantly closed his eyes, and his index finger clenched tightly, leaving ten desperate blood marks on the floor tiles.

Shangguan Xue didn't feel good in her heart at this time, how could it be that Chino had already made a decision, she could only say silently: "Eat, finish eating and go on the road." ”

Paladin sat motionless, with his head down, like an old dog with a broken spine.

Shangguan Xue didn't say much, it's a good colleague, if he can't die generously, then do it quickly and minimize his pain.

"Huh-" Shangguan Xue pulled out the long sword at her waist, and the cold light illuminated Paladin's face.

At this moment, Paladin suddenly opened his closed eyes and looked directly at Shangguan Xue.

Shangguan Xue's expression froze, and he found that Paladin's eyes had changed, and there was no fear of death in his eyes, only an unspeakable determination and madness.

Late that night, while Chino was in the study with his eyes closed, a winged beast cavalry walked in, handed over a flying book, and said, "Lord Regent, take the secret spy flying book, Paladin's family has been controlled, please give further instructions." ”

Chino opened his eyes and looked at the flying book wordlessly, he was silent for a long time before picking up the quill on the table.

When the tip of the pen landed on Feishu, Chino's hand stopped again, and the ink was in contact with the paper for a long time, constantly smudging, but always moving further.

I don't know how long it took, but Chino sighed silently and drew a murderous fork on Feishu.

The person next to the pillow is often the closest to the secret

If you want to get rid of them, you can only get rid of them all.

The winged beast cavalry understood and was about to leave, when the sound of hurried footsteps came from far and near, Shangguan Xue knocked on the door and walked in.

Chino asked lightly, "Done?" ”

Shangguan Xue shook her head and whispered, "No, I didn't kill him."

Chino frowned slightly, and looked at Shangguan Xue suspiciously: "You didn't understand what I meant?" ”

"I understand, it's just that Shangguan Xue's expression looked a little strange, and he said cautiously, "Paladin doesn't seem to be quite right, when I went to the dungeon to look for him, he suddenly went crazy. ”

The news came as a surprise to Chino, who had the impression that Paladin was a smart man and that he was by no means vulnerable.

Shangguan Xue sent the last meal of severed heads, and Paladin should have understood after seeing it that his life was over, and any struggle was in vain.

In Chino's vision, Paladin should die calmly, and no matter how bad it is, he will cry, crying and begging to spare his family.

Crazy? Chino never thought it would have anything to do with Paladin.

But Chino didn't think much about it, and said directly: "Crazy or not, what does it have to do with whether you can do it or not?" Can't you kill a madman? ”

Shangguan Xue hurriedly lowered her head and explained: "If it's just crazy Salai, of course I can do it, but Paladin is very abnormal, I think I should report the situation first."

Chino: "Anyway, what's unusual?" ”

Paladin hissed and cried on the ground without mentioning it, and he kept saying it in his mouth. Shangguan Xue pursed her lips, and her voice became a little empty: "He has been saying. Himself is Baixa. ”

…

Chino sat up from the chaise longue and looked at the bewildered table

It can be seen that he is also confused.

Paladin said he was Baixa?

Baiza was dead, and his flesh had been cut by Niko's knife, and even his skeleton had been smashed, which was the news that the guards had just returned, and he had verified it himself.

To be dead is to be dead, there is nothing to bring the dead back to life, and it is even more nonsense for the dead to possess something.

What is Paladin's condition now?

Crazy Talk? Really crazy?

Or is it said.

Chino continued, "Did Paladin say anything other than saying that he was Baixa?" ”

Shangguan Xue nodded: "Yes, he said that he wanted to see you for the last time, and he wanted to atone for your sins in front of everyone." ”

Chino was stunned, he sat there, his vision was out of focus several times, and gradually, his pupils continued to dilate due to the adrenaline rush, and the whole person stood up suddenly, startling Shangguan Xue and the winged beast cavalry.

Chino took the flying book of the winged beast cavalry and threw it on the table, and then looked at Shangguan Xue, those amber eyes seemed to have flames burning: "Gather the palace ministers, newspaper officials, and all the intelligence officers in the royal city overnight, and then escort Paladin to the main hall, and I will personally interrogate him." ”

"What's the matter with the Lord Regent calling us so late?"

"I heard that Paladin was going to be tried for defecting with Baiza."

"What is there to judge this kind of person, just kill it."

"I don't know, I'll wait for the regent to decide."

In the main hall of the royal palace, the ministers of all levels who served in the court, the scribes in charge of writing official newspapers and magazines, and the intelligence officers who were responsible for delivering news were all summoned here overnight, because of the large number of people, in the huge hall

The head of the person is black.

Soon, Solandelle and Chino arrived, and the whispering of the crowd stopped.

Solandale sat on the throne, and Chino stood beside her and commanded downward, "Bring Paladin in." ”

The cold and crisp sound of the shackles colliding came, and under the gaze of everyone, Shangguan Xue dragged the ragged Paladin in, and when passing through the aisle, the people nearby couldn't help but cover their noses, trying to block the sour smell of living in the dungeon for a long time.

When Paladin was pushed to the front of the temple, as soon as he saw Chino, it was as if he had suffered some great shock, and he fell to his knees in a helpless manner, his forehead pressed against the ground, and the sound of frightened breathing continued to come from his mouth.

Now, countless pairs of eyes were staring at Paladin, observing his every move.

Chino said lightly: "Paladin, I heard that you are crazy in the dungeon. ”

Paladin didn't respond, his body trembling and muttering something.

Everyone listened with bated breath, only to realize that he was crying, muttering something: "Sugar rain, seven-sided cakes, pine nuts strolling around the two fires. Woo. Panicked muffins, yellow wheat, autumn gray nine apple halls"

Paladin kept saying something illogical, and everyone was confused, which was obviously a little mentally abnormal.

However, only Chino was keenly aware that if the numbers in Paladin's crazy words were extracted and arranged in order, it would be the sum of last year's Twilight City's financial revenue, and the unit was even accurate to the tiniest Iron Moon.

…

"Looks like it's really crazy." Chino made up his mind, then changed his mind and asked slowly, "Do you still recognize me?" ”

Paladin woo

Swallowing and saying, "Recognize. I. I'm sorry for you."

Chino: "Why are you sorry for me?" ”

Paladin: "I betrayed you. I'm guilty."

A hint of color flashed in Chino's eyes, and his voice became dark: "There are more people who have betrayed me, which one are you?" ”

Paladin grabbed his hair and kept beating it on his head, as if he was extremely remorseful, and the next words made the ministers exclaim:

"It's me. It's me Baiza, I've betrayed you."

Whispers sounded in the crowd, and everyone's expressions were stunned, not knowing what the situation was, wasn't this Paladin? How did it become Baiza?

The corners of Chino's lips swept over a dangerous arc, and he looked directly into Paladin's eyes and said, "Baixa? Isn't Baiza dead, and the dead will enter reincarnation under the ferrying of death, how can they return to the mortal world? ”

Paladin trembled and said, "I can't get by. I can't get into reincarnation."

Chino: "Why can't you get in?" ”

"Too many people died, they were all in the Grim Reaper, Roman Lugo, they all stopped me."

"Death wants me to come back here. To His incarnation on earth—" Paladin raised his head, his eyes wide open to Chino's gaze, and a roar resounded through the hall, "Atonement!!!! ”

The aftermath echoed and settled, the entire hall was as dead as a tomb, everyone recovered from their stupor, cold sweat had soaked through their clothes, and the coldness emanated from their hearts to their whole bodies, and they didn't even have the courage to raise their heads and look directly at the figure beside the throne.

Depressed, frightened, suffocated. It seemed like the air was under heavy pressure.

In an instant, fear,

The double emotions of awe came like a tidal wave, converging into the triple shackles of Chino.

"Click, click, click" The sound of cold footsteps broke the dead silence.

Chino stepped down from the temple and came to Paladin to look down on him, and his voice seemed to freeze everything: "Baiza, what sin do you want to atone for?" ”

Paladin shuddered and sobbed, "I'm greedy Andrei promised me a lot of monthly coins. You want me to betray you. You want me to betray everyone."

"Smack." Chino slapped him in the face lightly and asked faintly, "You betrayed me for a little moon coin?" ”

Paladin cried out in terror, "And more! And the land! He promised that after the end of the war, he would give me an infinite territory, bigger than Twilight. The horses can't run for an hour."

"He promised me the same title as Lorna. You want to make me a prince with a different surname. To be on the royal roll is to keep my name in the history books forever."

"He promised too much, too much, too much. I was overwhelmed by Lugo in Twilight, and I was not reconciled, so I just. Woo."

At this moment, the truth was finally revealed.

Everyone was still secretly speculating before, why did Baiza, as the first subordinate to follow Chino, suddenly rebel? I thought it was some bitter and bitter hidden secret, but I didn't think it was just worldly interests.

Mortal.

Soon, the sound of the pen nib rubbing against the paper sounded, and the scribes present had already begun to record the main points, preparing to write them down when they returned.

As expected, Baixa

The true inside story of the rebellion is about to turn into a flying book, which will spread like a bird to all parts of the kingdom, and even to every populated corner of the world, and will be nailed to the pillar of shame in history forever and ever.

…

Chino was speechless for a long time, just looked at Paladin with an unfathomable gaze.

After a long time, he crouched down and pinched Paladin's chin, looked directly into those empty eyes, and asked another question: "What about Paladin?" How much did Andrey give him? ”

Paladin knelt down and said blankly, "He has as much as I do."

Chino: "Now that you've come back to take Paladin's body, where has he gone?" ”

Paladin: "He has been taken away by the Grim Reaper, and he and his family have been taken away by the Grim Reaper."

A sharp edge appeared in Chino's eyes, and his voice became more and more terrifying: "Why did the Grim Reaper take his family away? ”

Cold sweat continued to flow down Paladin's forehead, blurring away the dirt on his skin, leaving traces of dirt: "He's the same as me. It is no longer enough to punish him for his sins, and death will take his beloved away and punish him together."

Chino leaned slowly into Paladin's eyes, so close that the warm breath swept over the dirty face, like a beast tempting its prey:

"Will death allow them to step into reincarnation and go to the afterlife?"

Paladin's eyes reflected the deadly amber eyes, and suddenly tears welled up.

He trembled under Chino's increasingly hot breath, and his voice was full of twisted wails: "They. . . They will not have an afterlife. Death punishes Paladin and

His family wanted them to be destroyed. The Grim Reaper will make their existence disappear."

"Gone !! Forever"

The moment Paladin's words fell, his eyes became glazed, and his gaze moved beyond Chino to a higher position.

It was only an empty roof, but as if he had glimpsed some indescribable presence, he let out a twisted and crazy howl: "Ahh!!h Death!!! Death is coming for me!! Ah!!!.h

Paladin fell to the ground in complete madness, sobbing and screaming, gnawing at the shackles with his teeth, striking his head against the ground, as if there was something in his body that brought endless pain, trying to strip it away with all his might.

The crowd was so frightened by this madness that they retreated one after another, keeping a long enough distance from Paladin for fear of being pounced on by him.

"Death is coming for me! Death!! Creak!!! Paladin tortured himself to a blur of flesh, most of his teeth were knocked out, his mouth was covered with blood, the fingers of his left hand were severed by himself, twisted like the roots of an old tree, and his cheeks were swollen from the impact, almost human-shaped.

Chino stood there, motionless, silently watching it all.

Finally, amid the frightened cries of the crowd, Paladin opened his mouth and reached into his mouth with his right hand to grab his tongue.

"Babble!!. babble!!" Paladin let out a twisted wail, blood gushing from between his fingers, and he pulled his tongue out with a scalp-tinging tearing sound.

From this moment on, Paladin lost his ability to speak forever

Force.

Paladin held his severed tongue and fell to the ground with uncontrollable twitching, his face covered in snot and tears, blood sticking all over his face, his expression contorted with severe pain, but he still cried and laughed madly.

Everyone had now retreated to the corner, and the center of the hall seemed empty, and the master and slave who had been with each other for many years faced each other, as if they had returned to the old days.

…

Only this time, the two people next to them were gone.

After a long silence, Chino finally looked at the panicked crowd and said silently, "We always say that a person is made up of body and soul. ”

"Now that the soul in the body has been taken away by death, all that remains is the ownerless body, so let this skin remain in the world and rot."

Everyone looked at each other and bowed their heads in unison, not daring to have any objections, and there would be no objections.

There is a mountain range on the outskirts of Wangcheng, with lofty mountains and thousands of ravines, as if a statue has been carved for thousands of years, and the magic of nature has retained the most primitive style here.

At this time, the long night has passed, it is dawn, the sky is sprinkled with the morning sun, the laurel flowers are blooming proudly, and the white petals are sprinkled all over the mountains.

"Whew—" In the currents of telekinesis, Chino descended down a low slope and lowered Paladin to the grass.

Paladin's wound had been treated to stop the bleeding, but the pulled tongue could not be recovered in any way, and he was still crazy, sometimes crying, sometimes laughing, crawling around on the grass like a dog, grabbing the flowers and plants and stuffing them directly into his mouth.

Chino walked over to Paladin and crouched down, spreading his palms to reveal what he was holding.

Seeing what Chino was in the palm of his hand

For a moment, Paladin's madness came to an abrupt halt, and he knelt stiffly, his dilated eyes finally having the same luster as before.

It was a space ring, lying quietly in Chino's palm, reflecting the light of the morning sun, full of raw colors.

Chino looked into Paladin's eyes and said slowly: "There are three transformation props in this space ring, three new citizenship certificates, enough monthly coins, and a lot of compressed food, purified water, and medicine that will not spoil. ”

"It can give you and your family the rest of your life. Hassle-free. ”

Paladin's pupils fluttered, and the morning sun shining in it also rippled, and the tears that flowed out were like brilliant crystals in the light, and he trembled his hands and held the space ring tightly.

Chino looked into the distance: "This mountain road goes down to Luming Town, I have sent someone to take your wife and daughter there, take them away, and live this life safely." ”

Paladin wept silently, fell to his knees and kowtowed to Chino nine times in a row, and then got up and ran the mountain road, facing the rising sun towards a new beginning in life.

What was Paladin thinking when he left?

has been with Chino for so many years, and my heart is full of reluctance to part?

Or do you want to escape from this evil that has brought misfortune as soon as possible?

Will he dream of the past in the dark nights of the rest of his life?

What he dreams of will be the town of Shilin, where life is ordinary, the lights are on, and he sings about wine with his brothers?

Or will you dream of gold bottles of fine wine, jade plates of delicacies, surrounded by high friends, following the splendid glory of the nobles?

The answer to everything is known only to him.

Laurel flowers bloom in the mountains, and the morning sun sprinkles them

The flowers and leaves are covered with a layer of pale golden brilliance, and the breeze blows slowly, setting off waves in the morning light.

"Paladin." Chino stood in the sky full of flying flowers, looking at the departing back, and his voice was extremely rare gentle, "Goodbye." ”

It's just that Paladin didn't stop to look back at him from beginning to end.

The mob full of evil died of goodness,

The hero with justice in his heart fell in the mud,

The original companion left in the end and returned home.

The story of Chino's first arrival in this world, the first to follow him, and the story of the ups and downs left by the three of them also came to an end.