Chapter 125 The Homeless Chase the Phantom

The figure gradually became blurred, and suddenly he sat up from the dream - waiting for the sun to set in the morning dew.

There is a sudden resounding sound, but there is still a breath left and then it passes away - the sad wind and the desolation.

A Noh opera performance was played on the TV that changed channels, with melodious singing and exaggerated makeup. Noh opera actors rose and fell on the big screen, like flowers and butterflies.

"For those of you who are gangsters, what are your future plans?" Lin Nian asked casually while lying on the sofa looking at the traditional Japanese art that he couldn't appreciate.

"Plans?" Liang stood by the refrigerator with a cold beer in his mouth and threw a handful of juice to the sofa: "What are your plans? Do you mean changing careers?"

"We generally refer to reforming evil and returning to righteousness. The work of the underworld is still crooked no matter how beautiful the family is. You should know this, right?" Lin Nian took the juice thrown by Ryoichi and iced his hands.

"The underworld is not a job, but a choice in life. Besides, washing hands in a golden basin is a taboo in our industry. Anyone who has this idea may end up dead on the street the next day." Ryoichi leaned on the refrigerator and looked at it. Penetrating through the telephone poles standing outside the window in the dark night, a few night sparrows fluttered and jumped among the bustling sparks in the distance.

"Tattoos can be washed away through photoelectric means." Lin Nian said.

"To be precise, 80% of tattoos can be washed away, but the remaining 20% ​​cannot be washed away." Ryoichi stretched out his hand and tugged on his collar to reveal the colorful colors underneath: "The longer it takes, the more it will settle. The heavier the color, the harder it is to get away from it.”

"What's the tattoo?" Lin Nian asked.

Liang Yi glanced at the closed bedroom door not far away, put the cold beer on the refrigerator and reached out to unbutton a few buttons. Lin Nian on the sofa could not help but widen his eyes slightly after catching a glimpse of the gorgeous and eye-catching drawings on the chest. The crazy scarlet and eerie green were reflected in his eyes.

"The picture of a red ghost traveling during the day to slay evil spirits." Ryoichi said: "The year I came of age, team leader Yilong took me to the tattoo master and gave it to me. In my family, only certain tattoo masters dare to get this kind of tattoo." Tattoos are given by the leader of the group, and they are followed to the 'pattern master' worshiped by the family. After bathing and burning incense, worshiping ghosts and gods, they can then get tattoos on their upper body and escape into the endless hell."

"Eternal hell?" Lin Nian chewed the word and smiled for no reason.

"Some things cannot be washed off after they are painted on. Forced washing will only leave ugly scars. On the day of the coming-of-age ceremony, team leader Yilong asked me three times if I was ready, and I always answered yes." Ryoichi said calmly. : "There is no reason for a person like me to refuse a hard-earned gift. After I escaped from the orphanage, I wandered the streets of Shinjuku, stealing people's wallets to make ends meet. At that time, I was killed by a group of gangsters in Ginza one day. There was a turf war, knives and guns were used. The scene was very tragic. It was also the first time that I knew that a person's body could hold so much blood, and that the faucet around his neck could not be turned off as soon as it was turned on. I knew that in this world, there is still a struggle for survival. I am a more miserable and ruthless person."

"That's when Team Leader Yilong came." Ryoichi recalled looking at the incandescent lights in the living room: "He got out of a black Honda without any entourage and without any weapons in his hands. The old man, who was over half a hundred years old, walked alone to the center of the battlefield. At that time, I thought he was looking for death, but when he walked between the two groups of gangsters, I realized that I was wrong. He was bleeding like a column, The red-eyed gangsters all stopped for no reason. When they saw Team Leader Yilong, they were like seeing ghosts walking in the daytime. They retreated and separated on both sides. The one in the east was bleeding in the east, and the one in the west was panting in the west. The old man Just one person cut this tragic scene in two, without even saying a word from beginning to end."

"So from that time on, I told myself in my heart that when I grow up, I will also be such a majestic person. I will wear a suit and drive a car. Everyone will know my name and everyone will respect me." After that, Ryoichi He said calmly and took a swig of beer into his mouth.

"It's a very reasonable wish." Lin Nian nodded and couldn't deny the concept: "No matter how dangerous this road is, you will continue to walk in the future. What about your sister?"

"Sister?" Liang Yi glanced at Lin Nian: "Oh, are you talking about Qianxun? She and I are from two different worlds. No matter how high I climb, she doesn't have to get involved in my affairs. For her, Just get into a good university, find a good job, and find a man you like to marry."

"While praying for a grand and domineering future, you are also giving your family the most ordinary and warm future?" Lin Nian sipped the juice: "You will probably not see her again after she gets married, right?"

"Not necessarily." Ryoichi raised his eyebrows: "If the boyfriend she is dating is a scumbag, maybe I will have the opportunity to build a fresh cement pillar for the Tokyo building."

"With a brother like you, Qianxun will probably have to let you sit at the father's seat when he gets married in the future, right?" Lin Nian smiled and raised the juice can to Ryoichi next to the refrigerator.

"It's meaningless to talk about things that are too far away now." Ryoichi also smiled, lowered his head, shook it, and raised his beer can to touch it slightly.

The future?

While drinking, Ryoichi recalled for no reason the first time he met Ayochi Chihiro. It was in a rental house that was not much better than the one he has now.

I still remember that day seemed to be Monday. After he received the task of placing orphans from his family, he came to visit with the procedures for the orphanage. At that time, he knocked on the door of the rental house and no one responded, so he had to use some tricks to unlock it. When I arrived, I found that there was no one in the room, and then I remembered that it was a working day and the school had classes. No matter how early it was, I would have to wait until four o'clock in the afternoon for anyone to come back.

He simply walked around the rental house. There was nothing special. The TV series in the living room were covered with a large layer of dust, indicating that the owner did not like to watch TV. There were no magazines to relieve boredom, and there was no game console that was popular among students on the market. , only a square cushion next to the low table in the middle of the living room still had dents on it.

Ryoichi sat on the cushion and looked up at the front door of the rental house. The clock hanging on the door was ticking in a never-ending circular motion. At that time, for no reason, he suddenly fell into the role and guessed the owner of the room. I spent all my free time in the house sitting like this, listening to the ticking sound of the clock and feeling the time flow through my fingers, letting the sun rise and set outside the window, until I felt sleepy and fell asleep on the table.

Boring and boring daily life, what can you expect from such a life? Ryoichi didn't understand.

He sat and thought, and after a while he actually fell asleep in the afternoon sun. He lay sleepily on the table and slept until the afternoon, until the sound of the door lock cylinder springing up woke him up.

At that time, before the sleepy Ryoichi could react, a girl's clear voice came from the door, and she said: "ただいま (I'm back)."

At this moment, Ryoichi realized what the girl was waiting for by sitting here over and over again. In a way, the girl and he were the same kind of people. They had both sat behind the door for a long time, pondered, and listened to the rain. The sound flowing on the railing outside the window chews the cold and slightly moist taste that evokes loneliness.

What they are waiting for is the boring future, but the impossible "ただいま" and the "おかえり" that they can never say.

Childish and unrealistic, but with great wishes.

‘おかえり’ (Welcome back).

That afternoon, Ryoichi, who had been an orphan since he was a child, spoke for the first time that unfamiliar line of dialogue that was destined to be familiar.

——So what if you give her a bright future? As long as you know that there is someone sitting behind the door waiting for you, I'm back, the welcome dialogue will never be boring, because there is always someone who will accompany you to play this unconventional game. .

There must be some support and reason to climb to the top of the underworld, so why can't this reason be hers?

Liang Yi smiled while drinking cold beer, his eyes full of tenderness.

On the sofa, Lin Nian, who was drinking juice, suddenly turned his head. The pupil reflected the ethereal light and flame.

*

The explosion was deafening. Ryoichi rolled out and couldn't tell the difference between the sky and the earth. He only felt his ears ringing and his eyes filled with blood. The whole world seemed to be spinning. He didn't stop rolling until the back of his head hit the ground and there was severe pain.

There seemed to be a gap in his memory. A moment ago, he was lost in thought by the refrigerator in the dormitory. At this moment, confusion and pain completely filled his brain, making it difficult to sort out his thoughts.

A violent coughing sound suddenly sounded next to Ryoichi. Lying on the ground, he tried to turn his head to look, only to see Lin Nian pressing Mandy and falling to the ground, raising a large amount of dust.

Lin Nian was disgraced and covered in blood. His exposed skin was cracked and cracked, and a large number of capillaries were broken. After seeing Ryoichi's gaze, he spit out blood and whispered, "I'm sorry, the situation is too critical. Five The moment of stepping up is still not fast enough.”

Liang Yi stared blankly at Lin Nian. The firelight falling from the sky made his face, which was rubbed and stained with blood, bright and dark. He suddenly seemed to notice something and climbed up with difficulty without expression. He looked up and saw the apartment. On the third floor of the building, flames and billowing smoke shot straight into the sky, and his shadow stretched very long under the firelight.

Standing alone under the billowing smoke, he looked like a stray owl, or like a poor man sitting by the window listening to the sunset, hearing the sound of the clock climbing to a climax but no one responded, and facing The closed door, which no longer opened, howled hysterically.