Chapter 2 Chapter 1 The Old Gentleman Behaving Weirdly

I have never been to such a strange place. Everything that has happened so far is like a novel, not like what should happen in real life.However, it happened to me again. I have to start from the beginning: it was a Lunar New Year's Eve. Every New Year's Eve, I always like to spend the whole afternoon and evening, huddling around in several lively streets, watching the people who are in a hurry to buy new year's goods. This is better than the New Year's Day. A deep Chinese New Year taste.Because on the first day of the new year, you can only experience joy, but on New Year's Eve, you can still see sorrow.

That year, I also slipped into the dark, and the red, green and green neon lights made the faces of passers-by on the street fluctuate from red to green, which was very interesting.And I stopped in front of a store that specializes in selling old porcelain, looking at the various porcelain displayed in the window. I have taken a fancy to the embossed Longquan gallbladder bottle on the mahogany shelf in the shop. That gallbladder bottle is green and lovely, and it is still in blue, with a touch of emerald green, which makes the whole color look like a Angry in spring.I am a layman in porcelain, but this bottle, even if it is a fake, has its own value, so I decided to buy it.

I opened the door and walked in, but as soon as I entered, I saw that the clerk had carefully lifted the vase off the shelf. I couldn't help being stunned for a moment, thinking to myself, could that clerk actually see through my mind?Of course it was not the case, because the clerk held the bottle in front of an old gentleman. The old gentleman knocked, touched and looked at the bottle carefully.Because I didn't like other vases, I stopped by the old gentleman's side, planning to buy it if the old gentleman failed to buy it. The old gentleman looked at it for more than ten minutes before he raised his head and said, "It's from Ge Kiln?" The old gentleman asked the Dharma in this way, which showed that he was an expert.

The clerk hurriedly said: "Exactly! Exactly, you have a good eye!" Unexpectedly, he flattered him, and slapped the horse's feet backwards. The old gentleman's expression darkened, and he said, "It's a good thing you can speak!" He turned around, leaned on his walking stick, and walked out. I'm just hoping he doesn't buy it.Because I like that vase very much, I hurriedly said to the stunned clerk, "Guys, how much is this vase?" He shouted: "Don't buy it!" I turned around and his cane almost touched my nose! Older adults, like young children, are not immune to strange, unexplainable behaviors at times.

However, I have never seen a very well-educated old man make such a weird behavior.For a while, I couldn't help but froze and couldn't make a sound. At this moment, a fat middle-aged man came out, smiling all over his face, and said, "Old man, what's the matter?" The old man hummed, and said, "No, I won't allow you to sell this vase!" What he said was very serious, and there was no sense of joking at all. The fat man's complexion was also very ugly, and he said: "Mr., we are in business──" I never imagined that I would encounter such an embarrassing situation because of buying a vase; just as I was about to persuade the old gentleman, the old man suddenly raised his cane angrily, and pointed at the vase in the clerk's hand, Knock it over!At that moment, both the shop assistant and the fat man turned pale with shock.Fortunately, I was right next to me, so I immediately raised my arm and moved towards the cane.

With a sound of "slap", the old man's cane hit my arm, so I naturally didn't feel any pain, instead, I lifted the cane upwards and flew straight up, with a "ping-pong", it shattered lamp. The fat man was sweating profusely, panting, and shouted, "Call the police! Call the police!" I quickly said: "No need, the vase is not broken." There was still lingering fear on the fat man's face, and he said: "It's okay if it's broken, I have no choice but to jump into the sea and die for you to see!" I smiled slightly and said, "So serious? How much is this vase worth?" When I said this, I planned to buy it immediately and pay cash when he told the price of the vase.

The fat man looked at me and said a number. In an instant, it was my turn to be embarrassed. The large number completely surprised me.Of course, it's not that I can't afford it, but if I'm asked to buy a vase for the price that I can buy a perfect yacht, I won't. I hurriedly said: "Oh, so it's so expensive." Not to mention the ugly face of the fat man, he said coldly: "Originally!" I took the old man's arm, picked up the walking stick from the ground, and walked out of the shop. Pulling the old man around the street corner, so that the pain in the back will not be as painful as a needle prick.

I stopped and said, "Old man, luckily you didn't break his vase, otherwise it would be troublesome..." I just thought the old gentleman would feel the same way.Because looking at the situation of that old man, he may be a multi-millionaire, but I have never seen a multi-millionaire who is willing to spend money like this. Unexpectedly, the old man said coldly: "It's broken, so what, the worst is to pay him one. I have another one, which is exactly the same as this one. They turned out to be a pair." The more I listened, the more strange I became, and I said, "You said, that vase in the store was originally yours?" The old gentleman hummed, and said, "If the ancestors hadn't been an official in Longquan County, who would have such a vase in their family?" Such a good celadon?"

As soon as I heard what he said, I understood something in my heart. It must be this old gentleman. His family background was very well-to-do, but now it has gradually declined, so that he even sold his beloved vase to other people. However, when I thought about it again, I didn't think it was quite right.Because he said just now that he still has the same vase at home. According to the current price, if he sells it, it will be enough for him to spend a very happy old age.Maybe he has something else on his mind. I was aroused by this strange old man's curiosity, and asked with a smile: "Old man, why did you break that vase when you were in the store just now?"

The old gentleman looked at the vehicles and pedestrians on the street, and said, "I don't understand why—" The old man suddenly stopped talking here, glared at me, and said, "Who are you, why should I tell you about me?" I laughed and said, "Sometimes, even if we have known each other for decades, we may not be able to become confidants." , but because of fate, we just met each other and became irresistible. I think the old man is worthy of admiration, so I took the liberty to ask." The "high hat" sent it over, and the other party nodded again and again, saying: "By the way, for example, I don't even understand my own son..."

I thought wisely again in my heart: "It turns out that the old man has a prodigal son, which is why he is so sad." The old gentleman said: "Let's move forward, I haven't asked your Gao surname yet." I walked forward together with him, and I know that a twists and turns of a story may be discovered from everyone, but what is discovered from this old gentleman may be more common than others. Its moving and more twists and turns. When I heard him ask my name, I said, "Don't dare, my surname is Wei." The old gentleman was obviously a very impatient person, and he said quickly, "My surname is Wei? Well, I heard people say that your family, There's one named Wesley, who's amazing." I couldn't help smiling, and said, "Wesley is me, so I'm afraid it may not be so." The old man stopped immediately and looked at me, with an eager expression suddenly appearing on his face, he stretched out his hand and grabbed my hand, I felt his arm trembling slightly. I don't know why he was so excited in an instant, and hurriedly said: "Old man, what's the matter with you?" He said: "Good! Good! I was going to look for you, but unexpectedly I met you here, very clever, very clever!" When I heard what he said, the boss was shocked. His tone seemed to be seeking revenge on me, and he was suffering from not knowing my whereabouts, but it happened to be on a narrow road!I hurriedly said: "Old man, you want to find me, what's the matter?" As I said this, I was already preparing to use my strength to shake off his arm. The old gentleman suddenly sighed, and said: "The old man has never begged anyone in his life, so he wanted to see you several times, but he was too embarrassed to come to the door. Now that I have met you, I have to talk about it." The old gentleman said: "How about going to the house for a long talk?" I breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that he was asking for something from me, and hurriedly said: "Then, please tell me." Today is the night of New Year's Eve, originally, I planned to spend this night with Bai Su.But I heard the old man's language, and I was very anxious, as if no one else could help him except me.So I just thought about it for a while and said, "Okay." The old man stood still and waved his cane, only to see a "Rouss" car driving up and stopping in front of him. That expensive car had already been following us. The driver in uniform got out of the car and opened the door. I looked at the license plate number, and then took a look at the old man. I suddenly felt that his face was very familiar. This is a face I saw inadvertently in the newspapers from time to time. I just thought about it After thinking about it, he said, "So it's Mr. X!" Here I use "Mr. X" instead of what I called this old gentleman at that time. From now on, I will use "Zhang Hailong" to represent his name.I cannot write his real name, because it is a name known to many people. The old gentleman nodded, and said arrogantly: "I thought you should have recognized me earlier." I thought of the fact that I thought he was in a bad mood just now because his family had fallen, and I couldn't help laughing to myself. He has so much property up to now, I'm afraid even he himself can't figure it out! We got in the car, Zhang Hailong told the driver on the intercom: "Go to the place where the young master lives!" The driver's voice came over, and one could tell that his meaning was terrifying, and he asked, "Go to the place where the young master lives?" Zhang Hailong said: "Yes!" He "slapped" off the intercom and leaned back on the sofa without saying a word.I can't help feeling very strange.Why did the driver feel so terrible when he heard that he was going to "the place where the young master lives"? Because not only did I hear the horror in the driver's heart from the driver's voice just now, but at this moment, looking through the glass, the driver's face was also very ugly, and even his fingers holding the steering wheel were trembling slightly! I looked towards Zhang Hailong, only to see that he opened his eyes slightly, and he didn't intend to talk to me. I decided not to ask him, because I know that sooner or later I will know what incredible things happened. The car drove forward, and after 15 minutes, it left the urban area. After reaching the suburbs, it drove for another 20 minutes before turning into a narrow, empty road that was only passable by cars. At this time, it was already far away from the urban area. , it seemed extremely quiet. After driving on the small road for another five minutes, I stopped in front of a big iron gate. There was still a road behind the iron gate. That night, the weather was abnormal, very humid, and the fog was thick. Where to go, but it is not very clear. The car stopped in front of the iron gate, the driver got out of the car, Zhang Hailong opened his eyes, took out a bunch of keys in his pocket, found one, and said: "Go to open the iron gate!" The driver took the key and said, "Master...you..." Zhang Hailong waved his hand and said: "Go and open the door!" The driver's complexion, under the light of the headlights, was even more ugly, he took the key with trembling hands, and walked to the front of the iron door. All of a sudden, there was a loud sound, the bunch of keys fell to the ground, and the driver ran back with a pale face, and said, "The lock on the iron door...is...open...open..." At this time, the strangeness in my heart reached the extreme. The foggy night, the desolate suburbs, the well-known rich man in the society, the driver who was so surprised that his face turned pale, plus myself as an uninvited guest, but I have no idea what will happen! There is no other environment more full of mystery than the current situation. Zhang Hailong was stunned when he heard this, and said: "Bring it." The driver took out a telescope from the car and handed it to Zhang Hailong. Zhang Hailong looked at it for a while and murmured: " The fog is very thick, but there seems to be a light, drive in!" The driver nodded helplessly, stepped forward and pushed open the iron door, picked up the key, returned to the car, and drove through the door.During that period of time, Zhang Hailong handed me the telescope. I looked through the binoculars and saw a large bungalow among the big trees in front of me and within a row of walls.Covered by thick fog, it was hard to see clearly, but there was light shining through the bungalow. The car drove forward, getting closer and closer to the bungalow, and you can see it clearly without a telescope. The walls and walls of the bungalow are full of "creepers", but apparently no one has trimmed them for a long time. I couldn't bear this mysterious atmosphere, turned around and said: "Mr. Zhang, but does your son have a mental illness or other problems?" Zhang Hailong didn't answer me. The car quickly drove into the wall and stopped at the gate. Inside the wall, weeds are also spreading, and it is very desolate. Lights are shooting from the hall downstairs, and there are bursts of music coming out.It was Schubert's Serenade. However, when our car stopped at the door, the music stopped. Zhang Hailong opened the car door and got out of the car, I quickly followed behind, he walked up the stone steps, knocked heavily on the stone steps with his cane, and said loudly: "Ajuan, is that you?" Until this time, I still had no clue about everything. Now, I finally know one thing, that is, the person in this house is a woman. Sure enough, a woman's voice was heard from the hall, saying, "Father, it's me." Zhang Hailong walked up the stone steps. As soon as he arrived at the door, the door opened, and he saw a girl of twenty-two or three years old standing in front of the door. When she appeared, she looked at Zhang Hailong with an expression on her face. There was a little pity on her face, but she saw me immediately, raised her head, trembled with short hair, but her face was covered with a layer of cold frost. From their names, I knew that the girl was Zhang Hailong's daughter, and Zhang Hailong said: "Ajuan, why are you here?" The girl supported Zhang Hailong, walked inward, and said, "I know you I must come, so come and wait for you first." Zhang Hailong sighed and said: "You go back, I invited a Mr. Wei to come and talk to him if I have something to say." Ms. Zhang turned her head and gave me a cold look. There was almost hostility on her face, and she said, "What's your matter, you can tell outsiders, but you can't tell your daughter?" Zhang Hailong shook his head and said, "Mr. Wei, don't be surprised." Even if I am offended, at this time, if you want to drive me away, you can't drive me away. I must find out the truth of the matter. We entered the hall, and the layout in the hall was a little too gorgeous.Zhang Hailong asked me to sit down and said: "Ajuan, this is Mr. Wei, Mr. Wesley." The girl just nodded to me, and said: "Father, why are you always so determined? Every year, you have to be sad once, and even after a year, you can't be happy!" Zhang Hailong said: "You don't know, I met Mr. Wei this time, I'm afraid there is hope." The girl didn't sneer, but the look of disdain on her face was very embarrassing. She turned around and walked away, sitting alone on a sofa in the corner, "Shu shua " Flipping through a magazine.In front of her father's guests, her behavior like this was really rude. Did she think that being young, beautiful, and rich in family meant she could not even be polite? I was very disgusted with this young lady in my heart, I bowed my body and said: "Mr. Zhang, what's the matter, you should talk about it." Zhang Hailong held his head and was silent for a while. Zhang Hailong said: "Mr. Wei, do you know that a young man returned from studying abroad, he doesn't gamble, he doesn't prostitute, and he doesn't have any bad habits, but within a year, he used up the two million dollars in savings under his name. , and was forced to steal something from the house to sell it, and the vase was... sold to him!" When I heard Zhang Hailong say such words, I couldn't help being angry and funny! When Zhang Hailong solemnly invited me here, there must be something extremely important.Unexpectedly, it was for such a thing.What he said was clearly his son. He said that his son does not gamble or whore, but now, which father dares to say that he fully understands his son?The deposit of two million dollars, of course, all turned into water in gambling and whoring! I tried my best to maintain a smile, stood up, and said, "Mr. Zhang, I'm very sorry. I haven't studied the psychology of prodigal sons." The girl suddenly raised her head and said, "Do you think my younger brother is a prodigal?" I turned her back fiercely and said, "Miss, I am a guest invited by your father, not an employee of your father's enterprise!" The girl stood up and said: "My brother is not a prodigal, if you say he is, that is an insult to our family!" I bent down and said coldly: "Noble lady, I think it is your noble son Your father will invite me when the family is in trouble!" The girl's complexion became very ugly. Zhang Hailong hurriedly said: "Ajuan, don't talk too much." As he said, he turned his head again and said, "She was born half an hour earlier than her younger brother, they are twin sisters." I really didn't want to delay any longer, so I hurriedly said: "Mr. Zhang, I really can't do anything about your family affairs!" Zhang Hailong's face twitched, and there were tears in his eyes, and said: "Mr. Wei, you must help, because He has been missing for three years!" There was a shock in my heart. The disappearance of a billionaire's son could mean a great crime.But I still said: "Then you should go to the police, or find a private investigator." Zhang Hailong said: "No, I am not a person without brains. What I can't solve, let alone a private detective. And I don't want to call the police, because relatives and friends only think that he works in a laboratory in the United States, and they don't know that he has disappeared. gone." I felt the matter was very funny, and said: "You want me to find your son?" Zhang Hailong held his cane tightly and said: "That's naturally the best, but I hope to at least understand what he did after he returned from studying in the United States, and why he disappeared!" I shrugged and said, "Even you don't know, how would I know?" Zhang Hailong said: "This is where I want to borrow from you. Come with me, and I will show you a place and some things. Along the way, I will briefly tell you about his personality." I started to realize again that things are not as simple as I thought. I thought about it for a while and said: "Okay." The girl said: "Are you determined to expose the secrets of our family, the secrets of my brother, to outsiders?" Zhang Hailong looked very excited, and said: "Before the matter is clarified, this is a secret. But I believe that after the matter is clarified, all the actions of Xiaolong will definitely bring honor to our Zhang family, not shame. All outsiders will know the truth of the matter." The girl didn't say anything, and said, "Do you want me to go together?" Zhang Hailong said: "No need." The girl sat down on the couch again, glancing at me one more time before sitting down.Apparently, this beautiful girl expressed extreme disgust at my presence. I ignored her, and Zhang Hailong and I went out of the hall, bypassed the big bungalow, and went to the back garden.In the back garden, there is a square concrete building, like a warehouse, with a lock on the iron gate. Zhang Hailong fumbled for the key and said: "Xiaolong is a good young man, because he sleeps in it 360 days a year, he can become a very promising scientist!" I pointed to the door and said, "What is this?" Zhang Hailong said: "This is his laboratory." I asked again: "What does he study?" There was a muffled roar from inside the iron gate. As soon as I heard the roar, my whole body shook, and I couldn't help but took two steps back. There was a time when I liked hunting very much, and I spent a time in the forests of South America. And just now, there was a burst of roar from Zhang Xiaolong's "laboratory", although it seemed that there were many obstacles, it was inaudible.But I can recognize that it is the unique roar of the American panther!The American black panther is the king of the king of beasts. It is simply a black ghost. It comes and goes silently in the forest. Any vicious native or skilled hunter will turn pale when they mention it. And here, the roar of the American black panther can be heard, this is really an unbelievable strange thing! In an instant, I didn't know how many possibilities came to mind, I even thought that Zhang Hailong might be a serious psychopath, he made up a story and lured me here in order to feed me to that American panther! When looking at Zhang Hailong, he was inserting the key into the lock as if he had never heard the roar. I hurriedly took a step forward, stretched out my hand, and grasped Zhang Hailong's wrist.At that time, because I was very angry in my heart, I used a little bit of strength. Although Zhang Hailong is a very tough old man, he couldn't help me to use a little bit of strength. The key in his hand fell to the ground suddenly, and he also turned his head and looked at me with an extremely astonished expression. Although beads of sweat had already oozed from his forehead, he did not make a sound—he What an extremely stubborn old man, I thought so at the time.I looked at him for a moment, and then said: "Mr. Zhang, what does this mean?" Zhang Hailong said: "Please...please let go." I shrugged, let go of my hand, and said, "Okay, then you have to tell the truth, what exactly do you mean." Zhang Hailong rubbed his wrist that I had held tightly just now, and said: "Mr. Wei, this is a very strange thing. I have already told you about it in the room just now, and I want to take you here. The purpose of taking a look inside is—" As soon as I heard Zhang Hailong's speech, it was so rambling, I was even more unhappy, before he finished speaking, I said: "Zhang first, did you hear the roar from that door just now?" Zhang Hailong nodded and said, "Of course I heard it." My voice was extremely stern, and I said, "Do you know what animal made that?" Zhang Hailong's voice didn't seem special, and he said, "Of course I know, it's an American black panther." I immediately said: "You took me to a cellar with American panthers, what does that mean?" Zhang Hailong was stunned again, and suddenly laughed "haha"! The laughter I gave him made me a little embarrassed, Zhang Hailong smiled for a while, patted my shoulder, and said: "It's well-deserved, you are really very alert, but you misunderstood me, how can I treat you Will there be malice? This black leopard is the strangest leopard in the world, it is vegetarian, and to be precise, it eats grass." I looked at Zhang Hailong with the strangest eyes.This kind of vision, it seems that Zhang Hailong is not a person, but a monster—a black panther eating grass! Is there anything in the world more ridiculous than this sentence? One doesn't have to have seen an animal like the panther kill to know that the American panther is one of the most ruthless carnivores in the world.To say that panthers can eat grass is as nonsensical as to say that all fish live on land.And people who say this kind of thing must not be quite normal. On the evening of Chinese New Year's Eve, I was with someone who was not normal, and I felt the need to leave immediately.Therefore, I stopped arguing with Zhang Hailong, just smiled and said: "Okay, Mr. Zhang, I'm very sorry, I really want to leave." Zhang Hailong said: "Mr. Wei, if you really want to leave, I will naturally not be able to stay longer." When he finished speaking, he paused for a moment, looked directly at me, and said, "But, Mr. Wei, I can assure you on my honor that what I have told you is the truth." I had already made up my mind to leave here. But when I heard this sentence, I couldn't help but hesitated. As I said above, Zhang Hailong is a person of great reputation in this society, there is really no need for him to come and joke with me.And a stubborn person like him must regard his reputation as extremely important, let alone guarantee one thing with his reputation easily! I smiled wryly, spread my hands, and said, "Okay, American panther eating grass, okay, open the door, I want to take a look." Zhang Hailong leaned over, picked up the key, inserted it into the lock, turned it around, and with a "slap", the lock was unlocked. He reached out and pushed the door open. I immediately took a step forward and looked inside the door. go. Inside the door are stone steps one by one, leading to the underground.That situation is not like a laboratory, but like a very secret basement.I looked at Zhang Hailong and said, "Why did your son build the laboratory like this?" Zhang Hailong replied: "Before he returned to Hong Kong, he asked someone to bring the drawings and asked me to build them according to the drawings. I don't know what he means." I nodded and thought to myself, if Zhang Xiaolong is studying atomic physics or the latest cutting-edge science, then there may be a huge political conspiracy hidden behind this matter.However, Zhang Xiaolong is a student of biology. Could it be that he cultivated bacteria that can kill all human beings in this basement? To be honest, up to this time, my heart is still full of doubts and it is difficult to explain myself. I followed behind Zhang Hailong, walked down the stone steps, and after a while, I came to the end, and there was another door at the end. The structure of this door is completely different from ordinary doors. Generally speaking, only people use this kind of door in vaults, or in submarines, buildings of atomic reactors, or places of extreme secrecy. .This kind of door can be seen at a glance, and it must not be opened from the outside. Although my doubts increased, I simply stopped asking Zhang Hailong any more. Zhang Hailong stretched out his hand, pressed a button twice, and faintly heard a bell ringing from inside the door. I couldn't bear it any longer, and said, "Mr. Zhang, is there anyone else inside?" Zhang Hailong nodded and said, "Yes, there are two." I couldn't help saying angrily: "Mr. Zhang, what right do you have to imprison two people in such a place?" Zhang Hailong sighed and said: "Mr. Wei, when you see them, you will understand." I was about to say something more when I saw the door slowly opened. As soon as the door opened, I immediately took two steps forward. And when I took two steps, I was in a place I had never been to. As I said at the beginning of my article, I had never been to such a strange place. Of course, the so-called "strange" is not the place itself.There is nothing strange about the place itself, it is a very large, well-ventilated basement.About two hundred square meters in size. What made me dumbfounded and almost speechless was the furnishings in this basement. In a corner of the basement, there is a small thatched hut. This hut seems to be lived by primitive people. (I really can't figure out why such a thatched hut is built in such a basement──) And in front of the thatched hut, there is a totem carved out of a log about six inches in diameter and five feet high, painted with red and blue oil paint. For a while, it was difficult for me to see clearly what was listed on the totem. What? But next to several electric lights in the basement, there was a dead animal, or a chicken, or a cat, or a dog, or even a mouse.Those dead animals gave off a strange smell, but it wasn't rancid. Judging from the situation, it seemed like a sacrifice to the electric light. Seeing all this, it reminds people of the ancient times, or everything in the virgin forest. However, in the other corner of the basement, there is a large laboratory table, densely packed test tubes, various strange-shaped bottles, and many medicines, which are the crystallization of modern civilization. All of this is not enough to make my strangeness reach its peak.And it was these two things that made me feel such a strange encounter in my life: one was that there was a black panther crouching next to that hut. The color of that black panther's coat is really like a black gemstone, with a pair of big eyes shining with green light, it is simply a black devil, the embodiment of ferocity and cunning. However, this black devil fell on the ground, stretched out its sharp claws, grabbed a bunch of hay, stuffed it into its mouth, and chewed it with relish, like a cow or a sheep. And beside that black panther, there was another person. The man sat on the ground and looked at me strangely.But I believe that the way I look at him must be much more strange than his. His stature is very short, only about 130 centimeters.The complexion is reddish brown.The body is covered with a piece of animal skin, the hair is yellow and black, and there are two red oil paints on the cheeks. For a while, I couldn't be sure where he was from, but I could vaguely guess that he was either a South American or a Central American Indian.This person is the same as the one who opened the door for us.The one who opened the door for us looked like a woman, all dressed and looking the same.But shorter, only reaching my chest.The red man who opened the door bowed to Zhang Hailong and saluted. She saluted very stiffly, obviously not their original etiquette.I stayed for a while before turning around and saying, "Mr. Zhang, what does this mean?" Zhang Hailong said: "These two people were brought together when Xiaolong came. Do you know where they are from?" I asked both of them in Inca a word, and the two just stared at me.I asked them the same sentence in another language that people in South America are used to. The two men looked at me for a while, and the man also said a sentence to me in a strange language.