Am I the bird in the cage?

This conjecture did not suddenly appear in Kou Dong's mind. Instead, his suspicions began as soon as he stepped into the study filled with his pictures.

He remembered what was on the wallit was full of him.

Young him, young him. From babbling to youth. He was hung on the wall, in a photo frame, where he was mostly smiling, his eyebrows curved, and his eyes were full of uncompromising trust.

Kou Dong knew very well that he was not an easy person to approach. Not now, and never would have been.

As of now, in his boundary, only one person has stepped in with all their tails, and even Song Hong and A Xue are just stuck on that line.

He heard his own breathing, clear and calm.

Now.

The only person who crossed the line was standing beside him.

The man was still wrapped in that heavy cloak. His jaw was tensed, his eyes were half-drooped, and his thin lips were pursed. This attitude was a bit the same as the arrogant cub in Kou Dong's memory, but not the same. All the same - when he looked at this man, he was actually struggling to find the similarities between him and the figure in his mind, but what he saw was more of a completely unfamiliar shadow.

There was an unspeakable silence between them. This silence is rare, so it is all the more pronounced.

After a long time, Ye Yanzhi said in a low voice:

"You already knew it was me."

This is a declarative sentence, not a question sentence.

The youth on the opposite side did not deny it.

"Yes," he said flatly, "I already knew that."

"How do you know?"

Ye Yanzhi asked in a low voice, and finally raised his eyes and looked straight at him. The color in those eyes was so deep, farther and wider than before, it pulled Kou Dong in almost at once, and taught him to sink into those pupils.

But Kou Dong restrained himself and did not waver because of this sight. He didn't answer directly, but threw the question back: "How do you think I found out?"

Ye Yanzhi looked at him. After so many copies, they also established a very tacit understanding between them - but this time, Ye Yanzhi couldn't read any thoughts from his eyes.

"Can't you guess?"

The smile on Kou Dong's mouth gradually widened, and he clapped his hands gently, "I'm slowly remembering."

I remembered.

There is no experience in this world that leaves no trace. Even if it is wiped off and wiped clean and nothing remains, there is still something that settles and accumulates in the depths of people's hearts.

And at this moment, they all surfaced, revealing their dying, naked heads.

Time goes back to the day he was imprisoned by the doll. That day, before going out, Kou Dong had already hidden the needle and thread in the doll's room. At a critical moment, relying on the stinging pain of the needles secretly hidden in his clothes, he managed to keep himself from being hypnotized by these dolls who are good at controlling people's hearts.

He was awake, and the more time he was awake, the more he remembered.

The white shadow that guided him in the corridor seemed to be a switch.

It opened up the dusty area.

He remembered the dream he had in the previous copy, which was also such a room full of dolls. He was crushed into the pile of fluffy toys, and he could only hold the two rabbits in his hand, barely maintaining his balance in the wave-like bumps and bumps. At that time, a pair of hands comforted him from top to bottom, rubbing his lips that he had to open, and stroking the tip of his tongue.

What he couldn't remember was his face, the heat and sweat seemed to melt him, and the fine hair of the plush toy stuck to him sticky. He stared at their innocent black eyes, and did not say a word.

"Call."

In a trance, the person in front of him was coaxing him in a low voice.

"Don't hold back... call it out."

He was sweating profusely, like an ice cream placed in a sunny day, and slumped uncontrollably. So the bend of the leg was also lifted up, the man's voice was blurred, wiping the sweat dripping from his jaw, "Good..."

It was this sound that made Kou Dong suddenly remember something.

Then he slowly remembered the figure of the person in front of him, the undulating shoulders, and the superior long legs.

Body shape, voice.

All seem familiar.

It seemed familiar... Kou Dong couldn't even pretend that he didn't notice anything.

He had long known that the second owner lived in this house, who would hug him in the doll's room and hang his photos in the study. He saw the shadow of his younger self in the corridor, naked. Feet approached to open the door - that would also have been over the man's knees, leaning his head on his shoulder and acting coquettishly. He didn't want to think about it, but another thought became clearer in his mind.

The source of that inexplicable familiarity, the connection he can't easily explain, they all have one and only one reason:

He really lived here.

He is here, raised by one person himself.

This is the world built for him - those dolls were his favorite toys, and there are traces set up according to his preferences everywhere; the twins are his loyal butlers, and the young master who sees him from childhood is regarded as own god.

In this way, all questions are answered.

The other master here is the one who takes care of him, loves him, and puts all his feelings on him.

"Guess," Kou Dong said calmly, "who is that person?"

"..."

The man did not open his mouth, and was silent like a statue standing there. His expression seemed to be hurt by suspicion, but Kou Dong couldn't feel pity because of his frailty.

He didn't step back.

"Now."

"Right now, I want to hear your answer, cub."

He met the man's dark eyes.

Ye Yanzhi's lips were pursed tightly, as if he was facing a trial with an imminent result - but Kou Dong was also facing a trial.

They all became the people at the table awaiting sentencing.

Kou Dong didn't even want to ask for a moment. What if so? He didn't really want to think about it. He would rather treat Ye Yanzhi as the little one he pulled out of the exchange pool, stand on his shoulders, pull a strand of his hair, and give him serious advice with a face that is not as big as his thumb. ——Kou Dong does not have the role of a father in his memory, and he really wants to have a relationship between father and son that he has built up. So he once really regarded Ye Yanzhi as his cub, even if the relationship between the two later changed somewhat and was no longer as pure as family affection, he still regarded Ye Yanzhi as his cub deep in his heart, even serious He thought about handing over everything to him to inherit.

Without Ye Yanzhi, Kou Dong was still the loner who walked alone in front of the god of death.

But what if even Ye Yanzhi betrayed him?

Kou Dong looked around the house. It is well built, and the decoration in every place is appropriate and exquisite.

But it's just a house after all. It has a roof, it has walls—these things separate him from the rest of the house, and teach this place to be a separate, undisturbed, quiet, undistinguished space of which he is the master , but never his own master.

In intermittent dreams, he never stepped out of here.

Of course, where can there be traces of outsiders coming here?

It was here that he grew up day in and day out. He clings to the man with all his heart, and becomes the pet that sits on his lap, pressed into the pile of dolls, and can only wait for his master with his fingers crossed.

No dignity, no common sense, no world affairs.

When he was raised by men, what did men teach him?

Like a dog, relying on this so-called skin, relying on a hole of unknown depth, to please the owner, to wag its tail and beg for mercy?

His chest was blocked, and there was a voice that could not wait to vent his anger.

- This is still a cage!

No matter how well constructed and perfect it is, it is still a cage!

He was still kept in a cage, a bird without wings! !

What's the difference?

In this way, what is the difference between Ye Yanzhi and those NPCs who want to keep him forever? !

Kou Dong once thought that Ye Yanzhi was different. He witnessed his struggle with his own eyes, and he would rather be a worm crawling on the ground than a bird that is raised by people - he thought Ye Yanzhi could understand that he cut off those coveted wings. Even if the tendons were broken, the bones were broken, and the blood dripped all over the floor, he would still crawl out of the cage.

His independent and free will is higher than these things. Those perverted loves could never conquer him and keep him—he was born to be free.

He thought Ye Yanzhi understood.

When Ye Yanzhi cut off his wings with him and ran out of the psychology teacher's cage, he thought Ye Yanzhi understood!

Kou Dong didn't close his eyes anymore. The deep disappointment stirred his internal organs, making him feel like he wanted to vomit. He made up his mind to get this answer.

There was a dull, almost hoarse voice surging in his chest, accumulating in a deep, impending rainstorm.

"Chai, I want you to tell me personally."

"The one who raised me..."

"The one who imprisoned me here."

"Is he you?"

He - is that you?

He waited for a long time, and this period of time was long and difficult, and every second was pulled extremely long, making his heart sway up and down. After a long time, a word was spat out abruptly and entered Kou Dong's mind.

"Yes."

Ye Yanzhi opened his mouth and spoke slowly.

"……it's me."

At the same time, there was a sudden thunderclap outside the window, and a sharp gap was cut into the dark sky.

Kou Dong did not retreat. His eyes were still wide open, perhaps because of this, his eye sockets were slightly sore.

This long-awaited storm is finally coming down.

At the same time, the gardener in the attic slowly stood up and poked his head completely into the small, unobtrusive attic.

He finally saw the white shadow that flashed past in the corner of his eye. It was a slender and translucent figure, not tall, and looked like he was only about ten years old, and he was holding a burning candle tightly in his hand.

He showed a translucent white that was almost pearly, with only a circle of blue-grey on the edge - this unique color somewhat showed his very different identity from the people present, and taught the gardener to hold the interlayer's hand almost loose. , the whole person almost fell from this height.

This is a ghost.

He clearly realized this, and his eyes couldn't help but glance down. The remaining two players were still gathered below, and the maid helped him hold the ladder, raised her face with worry, and asked in a low voice, "How is it?"

The gardener was speechless, just waved at them, trying to hold his breath as low as possible, for fear of scaring the wandering ghost. That ray of soul turned its back to him, holding the candle in one hand, concentrating on it, as if it was hiding something in the dark corner.

The view from the attic is not clear, and the shadowy white shadow is particularly conspicuous on the dark base cloth. He bent over, and his loose robe was slightly taut, revealing the shape of two shoulder bones that were slightly raised.

The icy wind that came from nowhere passed by, and the ghost finally stood up and said to himself: "Okay..."

He held the candle and stood there blankly. After a while, he repeated: "Okay."

The gardener became more and more ignorant. Seeing that the ghost was motionless, he gritted his teeth and tentatively pushed his upper body into the attic, trying to talk to the ghost.

"you"

He uttered only one word, only to find that the ghost turned its head in his direction, slowly turning its entire face sideways towards him. The skin above the neck was almost completely transparent, and he could even see the cold and hard wall behind him through the flesh.

The gardener's words suddenly got stuck in his throat. He stared blankly at the ghost's turned face, unable to utter a word.

He recognized the face.

this face-

His heart suddenly turned upside down, setting off waves of strong winds and waves.

This is the face of the young master!

This is the face of the young master! !

The ghost seemed to see him, but also didn't seem to be looking at him at all. The boy turned his head sideways, as if he was listening intently. He paced here and there, spinning in circles, hesitating and hesitating.

Immediately, he seemed to have made up his mind and looked back at the corner again.

It was just a glance, but the gardener could really feel his struggle. He finally took his steps again, and walked heavily towards the gardener.

The gardener let go of his hand suddenly and hurriedly climbed down to move a place for the ghost. But before he actually walked to the exit, the young man was like a gust of wind that quietly stirred up, and the white shadow that was about to touch him faded in an instant, like a water pattern that suddenly faded, but in the blink of an eye, It scattered cleanly.

The gardener was stunned for a long time, and then he finally climbed up slowly, plucking up the courage to turn over the corner where the young man was wandering. The gray rabbit jumped up right behind him, following behind him, staring at the corner as well.

There are assorted things there, with a few other things piled up, and underneath is a very deep big box. His fingertips touched the old fabrics and oil-stained lamps, and placed them on the ground next to them one by one.

A musty smell came from the surface, with a slight fishy smell and wetness. The gardener's hands trembled in front of him, and finally he pulled away all the old things piled up on it.

"Open it."

The maid also followed up at some point, and whispered, "Open - no matter where you go, it's better than standing still."

The gardener reached out and opened the keyhole. There was a crisp metal collision in the ear, and then, the box deep enough to hold one person was completely opened in the eyes of the two of them—

The gardener felt the maid's breath suddenly become heavy, and his fingers squeezed his arm.

Skeleton.

A snow-white skeleton was lying on its back in the box, with its empty eyes wide open, meeting theirs.

He didn't know how long he had been lying there, but all the flesh on his body was gone, and it was so smooth that it even made people feel sick. He lay in the dirt of the box, his hands clenched tightly into something—but in reality, his hands were empty, holding nothing.

"Is he human?"

the maid asked softly.

"Or NPC?"

They can't judge. The gardener's hand reached down and inserted half of his palm into the soil, trying to find out if there were any other clues on his body. Roughly touched it again, found nothing.

He couldn't help being a little discouraged and wanted to straighten up, but the gray rabbit jumped up and started to dig the dirt frantically with both feet.

The gardener was startled.

He glanced at the smooth-furred rabbit, gritted his teeth, and started digging himself. The box was extremely deep, and at the beginning, all his hands touched was the soil that filled the whole wooden box-they devoured a person's nutrition, and it was incredibly fertile, which was vaguely disgusting.

But the deeper he inserted it, the more he felt an inexplicable touch.

hard.

- Hard!

It's like something is hiding!

He hurriedly lifted the skeleton with his companions and carefully placed it on the ground. The gray rabbit jumped out and watched Baba next to them, watching them excitedly dig up all the soil and keep digging down.

"Be careful……"

"Come up!"

A small suitcase gradually revealed its shape, players patted off the ash contaminated on its surface, and finally slowly picked it up from the box, holding it in their hands like a treasure.

"Open it up and see!"

The maid hurriedly groped for its keyhole. When he touched it, he could not help but let out a cry of disappointment.

- Can't open.

It's locked.

But buried in such a location, it must be an important clue. She regained her spirits and said with confidence: "Let's find the key first, which should be the key to customs clearance."

The gray rabbit jumped forward abruptly, but shook his head, his long ears a little forward and backward, as if talking.

The gardener looked at it for a long time before realizing that it was pointing in the direction of the dinner party.

He couldn't help frowning, hesitating.

They had just come out of that predicament, and now they found clues that seemed very important. According to the gardener's intention, you should avoid the NPC first and find a place to solve this puzzle quietly.

But the doll's reaction...

Seeing that he didn't move for a long time, the gray rabbit also seemed to be impatient. Its head suddenly dropped, and its round, fingerless palms were dipped in ashes, and they scribbled a few words on the ground with difficulty.

With the light coming up from the gap, the players barely made out what those words were.

"give him."

give him……

give it back-

Master! ! !

"I don't regret it." At the same time, Ye Yanzhi whispered, spit out these four words slowly.

"I do not regret."

He even smiled slightly.

"Whether you're angry or not. One more time and I'll keep you here."

"Closed by my side...Closed on my leg. I will make a special chain, so that you can't even get up from my body, and your legs can only be hooked on my waist."

Kou Dong's eyes were a little red, and several blue veins burst out on his forehead, and he suddenly raised his fist towards the man.

"You fucking—"

Ye Yanzhi caught his fist and squeezed his wrist firmly. At that moment, Kou Dong seemed to see a different color from what he said in the man's eyes - it seemed to be a flash of tears, transparent, covered with a layer of water, and quickly disappeared. not see.

He almost thought that he was wrong, because the next second, Ye Yanzhi's expression became cold and hard again, and he was firm and could not be refuted.

His toughness became the last fuse. Kou Dong raised another fist and hit him desperately - this time the man didn't hide. The punch hit him right in the face, causing one of his cheeks to turn red in the blink of an eye.

The youth did not restrain his strength, Ye Yanzhi tasted the blood in his mouth.

He slowly licked that bit of blood, and swallowed it into his stomach.

For everything this man gave, blood, sweat, tears... He was all happy.

So those NPCs never got it wrong. Ye Yanzhi is not a loyal dog at all, he is a wolf who drinks human blood. Their monopoly desires all stem from him, but no one can match him.

More paranoid than anyone else, he wanted to chew and swallow the person in front of him.

Against the pain in his cheeks, he laughed even deeper.

"Why don't you use a bow and arrow?" he asked, "I'm afraid there is a 20% chance of hurting me?"

"Nonsense," Kou Dong retorted with his chest heaving, "I'm afraid there is an 80% chance that it won't hurt you!"

Even though he said this, Kou Dong was actually afraid in his heart.

He couldn't deny his heart, because bows and arrows were used as props, and the damage to NPCs was irreversible.

He can't deceive himself, he can't start.

What a fucking shit - Kou Dong thought bitterly, what else is there to do with this person!

He lied to him for so long, locked him up for so long, and played with his will, dignity and affection like a pet, and played him around. He clearly hated his teeth, but he couldn't help thinking about this bastard.

Kou Dong even felt that he was a little crazy. Could it be that you have been a father for so long that you can't even pull it out?

"Do you fucking know what it's like to be locked up?" Kou Dong sneered, "Do you know what it's like to have no freedom?"

There was some inexplicable grievance in his heart, and his voice froze.

"you"

"Have you ever thought of me as a person?"

The smile on Ye Yanzhi's face completely disappeared.

His lips had just licked blood, and now they were unusually red, which was rather shocking.The eyebrows on the top of it were as thick as ink, and the bright colors overlapped and broke into the eyes.

"Kou Dong."

The man called out his name abruptly, word for word.

"You know what it's like to die—what it's like?"