Chapter 7 7. Explore the deserted village again

After reading the autopsy report, Jiang Xiaolou didn't say anything, lit a cigarette, and smoked silently while leaning on the back of the chair.Liu Momo lay on the opposite side of the desk with his chin in his hands and looked at him, "Why don't you talk, Detective Jiang?" "Sudden death caused by cardiac arrest, what else can I say." "The cause of death is the same as that of the deceased named Cui Bo." Liu Momo said. "Naturally, they came back from Fengmen Village together." Liu Momo put away his smile and said, "Do you really believe that their deaths are related to that village?"

"you do not believe?" "But what killed them--frightened to death, exactly?" "If I know, is there still a need to investigate the case?" Liu Momo stuck out his tongue, "Okay then, in order to help you solve the case, let me provide you with some personal information about the deceased." Without waiting for Jiang Xiaolou to answer, he cleared his throat and continued, "The name of the deceased is Liang Xueli, 29 years old this year, a native of Shanghai, once studied at Xuyou City University of Science and Technology—you can be regarded as your senior sister, but she dropped out of school in her sophomore year. The specific reason is not sure. It may be related to a local businessman. She lived with this businessman—this is the information provided by the informant, saying that Liang Xueli has been taken care of by this businessman for several years, but this businessman still has a home in Jiangsu, and he only gets together with Liang Xueli every year when he comes over for business trips For a period of time, Liang Xueli lived alone most of the time, and all her daily expenses were provided by the businessman..."

Jiang Xiaolou interrupted her with a sneer, and said in a joking tone: "For the joy of just a few days in that year, he bought villas for people and raised them for a long time. This businessman is really rich." "What's this?" Liu Momo said without being surprised, "Many rich people spend tens of thousands of dollars for a meal, and it's a piece of cake for them to support a lot of people, and they might even pay for it. Not just one." Jiang Xiaolou smiled and said to her: "Then it means that I am rich, and I will support you too." Liu Momo shot him a look: "I don't want to be small, I just want to be big." After speaking, he covered his mouth and smiled for a while, "Okay, let me continue to tell you that Liang Xueli doesn't have many friends, even if she walks closer The few people nearby don't know much about her situation, except for the eighth woman who reported the crime. We also contacted her parents. We don't know anything about her situation outside the past few years. The only possible clue is the businessman. Yes, he said that Liang Xueli had a lover in Xuyou City, but he didn't know the origin of her identity. He was too lazy to care about Liang Xueli's personal affairs, and she wasn't his wife anyway. As long as he came here every year, Liang Xueli could be with him every day. That's it—this is his exact words. We asked the informant, and the eighth woman didn't know that Liang Xueli had such a lover, so we can't contact this person at all now."

"We must find it." Jiang Xiaolou raised his head to look at her, and analyzed carefully: "Although there was no trace left by the second person at the scene except Liang Xueli herself, there was no prying mark on the anti-theft door, which means that the murderer It should be the door that she opened with her own key—it is impossible for Liang Xueli to lock the door alone at night. If this is the case, the murderer is very likely to be related to her lover, because she will definitely not give her key to anyone. , unless it is your closest person." Liu Momo tilted her head and thought for a while, then said, "Maybe she opened the door for others?"

"It's also possible, but in the same way, if someone knocked on the door in the middle of the night when you were alone at home, you wouldn't rush to open the door if the person was not very familiar, right? You also said that Liang Xueli doesn't have many close friends, so she That lover is still very suspicious." "But... didn't you just say that her death was related to Fengmen Village?" "This is all speculation, and the two are not contradictory. For example: the murderer who came out of Fengmen Village wanted to kill Liang Xueli for some reason. If he wanted to do it without anyone noticing it, the best way was to use the simplest Sneak into her room to commit the crime, because the time when a person's defense consciousness is weakest is when he is asleep, so the murderer found her lover, or lured her, or threatened, or stole, and got the key to Liang Xueli's house... the rest of the matter we will Already know."

Liu Momo stared at him for a long time, gave him a thumbs up and praised, "Xiaolou, you are really talented!" "Don't praise me, I'm already proud enough." Jiang Xiaolou smiled, "And this is just my speculation, not necessarily the truth. I just want to prove that Liang Xueli's murder must have something to do with her lover." Liu nodded silently, "But according to what you said, the thing that came out of Fengmen Village...isn't it a ghost? Can't ghosts pass through walls? Can they still use keys?" Jiang Xiaolou narrowed his eyes and looked at her: "Who told you that thing is a ghost?"

"That friend of yours said—" "Let me tell you, if you want to be a good policeman, you must first not believe in evil..." After get off work, Jiang Xiaolou left the unit alone, and did not take the bus of the unit as usual, because he was not in a hurry to go home, he wanted to go to a place first, a place he didn't need to go to, but he had to go place. He never doubted that he was a good detective. He has an easy-to-use brain, not only is he smart, but more importantly, he is calm and calm when encountering situations. From childhood to adulthood, he has almost never had the experience of getting angry. Even if he had, it passed in an instant like fireworks blooming. After that, he will calm down and use his powerful logical thinking ability to think about this matter—if this matter is complicated enough to need to think about.

This can be said to be a talent, but the reason why he is today depends more on his acquired learning and training - he was born in a police family, and his father was the police chief of Xuyou City before he retired, so his family It is filled with all kinds of books and materials related to criminal investigation, detective science, psychology, etc. Thanks to Jiang Xiaolou, he was able to read these books when he was a child. He pondered and analyzed a complicated case in the book. These professional books accompanied him throughout his childhood and youth. He dabbled in various aspects of knowledge, including music, literature, history, philosophy, spirituality, and even theology. But the most important point is: he did not give up playing and experiencing life because of reading, because He knew that an excellent detective should not be an idiot who only has professional skills but does not understand life and society at all, so it is no different from talking on paper.

Therefore, even though Jiang Xiaolou is rich in book knowledge, he has never been regarded as a nerd by the people around him. On the contrary, in the eyes of many classmates and friends, he has always been a romantic and talented image. There is no question that he cannot answer. , and there is no game he can't play.This is why Liu Chao has always admired him from the bottom of his heart.In the eyes of many friends, Jiang Xiaolou is almost omnipotent, especially in criminal investigation, there seems to be no problem that he cannot solve. But recently, Jiang Xiaolou has indeed encountered problems that even he finds difficult, and there are more than one. Of course, this refers to the case of the serial disappearance of girls and the case of Fengmen Village. He took care of it, but he has always had a problem that he had to solve the problems once he had dealt with them himself. So recently, he investigated the latter case in the unit during the day, and used his spare time to investigate the previous case after get off work in the evening. He gave up leisure time and spending time with his wife, but if there is sacrifice, there will be rewards. He really found out something, so after get off work today, he decided to go to that place to find out. If his analysis and secret investigations are correct, Then he will definitely gain something from this trip.

There are more than a dozen large mobile company business offices in Xuyou City. The one Jiang Xiaolou visited today is a medium-sized one. It is located in the south of the urban area. There are more than a dozen employees in it, all of whom are women, and they are young girls. As soon as Jiang Xiaolou arrived at the sales counter, a beautiful woman came up to her and asked in a sweet voice: "Does the handsome guy want to buy a mobile phone? What price do you want to buy? Let me recommend one for you." Jiang Xiaolou looked around the counter and asked, "Are there any mobile phones worth more than four or five thousand yuan?"

The salesperson's eyes lit up: "Of course, wait a minute, I'll take it for you." After speaking, he turned around and walked quickly to the office next to him. To take out what you want, you have to feed him a little bit of what he wants first.This is an eternal truth. The beautiful salesperson came back soon, holding a high-end mobile phone in her hand, and handed it to Jiang Xiaolou very enthusiastically, and then began a long introduction of functions, anyway, it was blowing. Jiang Xiaolou pretended to like this phone very much, played with it over and over for a while, and said: "This phone is not bad, I will think about it, if there is no problem, I will withdraw money to buy it tomorrow." "Okay, just come to me tomorrow." The salesperson smiled at her. "By the way," Jiang Xiaolou scratched his head, "Do you have a salesperson named... Xiaomei, she is my friend, I heard that she recently applied for a job in your store, is she here now?" Jiang Xiaolou gestured to look left and right. "What's her full name, please?" "Full name...we don't use full names when we play together, um...you just tell me if there are any new salesmen in your store in the past two months, and I will know, just to help people get mobile phone cards. kind." "I came here in the last two months... oh, there is one. I just applied for the job last month. It's called Zhang Mingxing. I know what her nickname is. Is she your friend?" "Oh, it should be, is she in the store now?" "She resigned last week." Jiang Xiaolou's eyes flashed, and he said, "Then I'll contact her later, thank you, I'll buy a mobile phone tomorrow, bye." "Okay, please remember my appearance, just come and find me tomorrow!" "Don't worry, you are so beautiful, I will remember." Jiang Xiaolou smiled at her, turned around and walked out of the business hall, and then called his boss Gao Fei while walking, asking him to look up this name Zhang Mingxing as quickly as possible. "If the information is false, then you can arrest her immediately." He finally said. "What are you doing, boy? Who is this man?" "Don't ask so many questions, my leader, you are right to believe me. When the results of your investigation come out, I will tell you everything." Gao Fei was silent for a moment, and said, "Okay, then I'll arrange someone to investigate tomorrow." "Not tomorrow, just now!" "What the hell are you... well, I'll trust you once, and I'll send someone to investigate. If there is no gain, Jiang Xiaolou, you have to write me a letter of self-criticism!" "It's not so easy to get my self-criticism." Jiang Xiaolou laughed easily. He should be laughing at this time, because although the investigation results have not yet come out, he is already sure that he must have found the wrong person this time. Once it becomes clear, things will be easier to handle in the future.He finally saw the dawn of solving the case. Xiaori Temple is an empty temple with only Buddha statues but no monks. Based on the number of spider webs wrapped around the Buddha statues, Liu Chao and his wife deduced that this temple must have been left unattended for too long, but they don’t know why Will it become an empty temple? The temple is not too big, and the two walked around from the front to the back, but found nothing special, and they didn't see a single one, so the two had to leave. After leaving the temple, Liu Chao proposed to go back to the hotel first, and go to China and Japan tomorrow temple. "Why?" asked the old horse. "I'm not in the mood." Liu Chao put his hands in the pockets of his jeans, and walked back along the way he came. The old horse silently caught up and said, "Are you still thinking about what happened in that village just now?" Before Liu Chao could answer, he continued, "Can't you see that the old Taoist priest is a magic stick?" "But what he said seems to be right, we are indeed..." Liu Chao opened his mouth, but did not continue. "I'm afraid it's nonsense." The old horse patted him on the shoulder, "Don't think about it anymore, it's useless except to increase the psychological burden on yourself, let's focus on other places, we need you right now There is still much to do.” "I think it's useless. Let's take today as an example. We spent so much effort to come to this temple. What happened? What did you find?" The old horse shrugged, "I didn't expect there to be no one in the temple. I don't know what the Zhongri Temple will look like." "Go back and ask the hotel owner. I don't want to run away in vain." After Liu Chao finished speaking, he walked forward, and when he occasionally raised his head, he found that the sky was getting gloomy. He remembered what the old Taoist said, and his mood It also dimmed like the sky. Everything was safe that night, and nothing happened—it seems a bit strange to say that, since the story of Fengmen Village began, there have been horrific and bizarre incidents almost every day, and occasionally a day without incident seems abnormal. In the morning of that day, the two of them got up early, went into the mountain again, and headed towards the Dari Temple.They had already inquired clearly from the hotel owner last night that the Zhongri Temple was also an empty temple, which was similar to the Xiaori Temple in all aspects, and there was nothing special about it. Therefore, the two of them gave up their plan to go to the Zhongri Temple after discussing it, and the Dari Temple Although it is also an empty temple (it should be a Taoist temple), but because it is not far from Fengmen Village, the two of them must go. Near noon, the two of Liu Chao finally entered the Xiaoyao River Valley, and the scenery in front of them became familiar. It was still so desolate, as if it was a wild land forgotten by human civilization.As Liu Chaoyue walked forward, his spirit became more and more tense. He knew that Fengmen Village was not far away. Thinking of his terrible experience of staying in Fengmen Village last time, his heart suddenly rose in his throat.He quickly took two steps to catch up with the old horse, and asked, "Are you sure we can make it back before dark?" The old horse glanced at him: "It should be fine." "What if we can't?" "Then go back at night, don't worry, we won't get lost this time." Liu Chao couldn't say anything more, so he continued on his way sullenly.About an hour later, the two came to the fork in the road that led them astray last time. The old horse stopped, looked at the map and said, "It turns out that the road on the right is going to Dari Temple, and there are still about five or six miles to go. Let's hurry up, we'll be there in half an hour." Liu Chao glanced at the mountain road on the left, and then ran to the road on the right as if fleeing. This time, he hoped that he did not go the wrong way again. The scale of the Dari Temple is not large, but it is still quite large compared to the Xiaori Temple. It is not a Buddha statue, but a Taoist Sanqing. That is to say, it is indeed a Taoist temple rather than a temple.The two observed from the inside to the outside very carefully, and found two problems. One was that both the courtyard wall and the hall were all built with blue bricks and bluestone slabs. Second, although the courtyard is dilapidated, the hall is fairly clean, at least not covered with cobwebs like in Xiaori Temple, even the Buddha statues are covered with cobwebs. In addition, there are traces of repairs in several places in the hall. The building is also made of blue bricks, but it can be seen at a glance that it is different in color from the original building. It can be seen that this Taoist temple is usually taken care of by someone. The old horse spread out the map on the ground in the yard, looked at it and pointed to a place on it, and said: "Look here, there are five or six small villages about ten miles away on the left side of the Dari Temple. Maybe these villagers usually come to offer incense and make wishes. , probably they are taking care of this Taoist temple. But I just looked carefully, and there is no incense burner offering in front of the statue, which means that no one usually comes, which is really contradictory..." "Maybe it's somewhere else, I'll go in and look for it." After Liu Chao finished speaking, he turned and walked into the hall. At a glance, the front of the three statues was really empty, not to mention the incense burner offerings, even the incense tables where these things were placed. No.Is it in another room?Although Liu Chao thought it was unlikely, he still lowered his head and walked into the side hall on the right side of the main hall. After checking, he found nothing, so he planned to go back to the courtyard. Unexpectedly, the lintel of the side hall was too low, and he was tall, "Gudong "It hit the top with a sound, and the impact was too strong. Liu Chao squatted down and covered his head and moaned softly.The old horse walked into the hall a few steps, and asked in surprise: "What's wrong with you?" Liu Chao didn't answer, the severe pain had already made him speechless, he squatted on the ground for a long time before recovering, when he looked up, he found that the old horse was also squatting opposite him, holding something in his hand, looking at it with fascination, His face was full of astonishment. "What's going on?" Now it was Liu Chao's turn to be surprised. He got up and took two quick steps. He looked into the palm of his hand and opened his mouth. Something, a wooden sign!Another wooden sign! The two stared at each other with wide eyes for more than ten seconds, and then looked at the wooden sign at the same time. On the front of the wooden sign, there were two seal characters that they didn't know before but are now very familiar with: Maoshan.Turning to the back, there are still those four sentences: the method of Maoshan, up and down techniques, in order to seek the way of immortality, the door is closed. "This...how did this thing appear here?" The old horse straightened up and looked up at the lintel. "It was originally placed on top of it, but you bumped it like this and it fell off." "Why is there such a thing on the door frame?" "I don't know, but one thing is for sure... this Taoist temple must be related to Fengmen Village!" The old horse frowned, "I'm just wondering whether the earliest source of this wooden plaque was Fengmen Village or Here, do you understand what I mean?" Liu Chao nodded: "No matter where it comes from, this is not a good thing. You'd better put it back where it was." The old horse stared down at the wooden sign for a moment, then placed it on the top of the door lintel, bowed his head and walked out of the main hall. Liu Chao rubbed his head before following him, and found that the old horse had not left the temple, but was standing in the middle of the yard, staring blankly at a bluestone slab on the ground in the corner, so he asked curiously what he was doing. "I seemed to hear something just now... a strange sound came from under the stone slab." "No way?" Liu Chao glanced at the stone slab again, "It seems to be a manhole cover, but I don't know if there is still water in the well below." "Whatever," the old horse turned and walked out. "Maybe I got it wrong, let's go." When he left the temple gate, Liu Chao couldn't help looking back at the manhole cover, and suddenly heard a strange sound coming from under the manhole cover, as if something was moving under it, but what could be in the well?Maybe he heard it wrong, Liu Chao comforted himself while keeping up with the pace of the old horse. On the way back, the two of them were thinking about their own thoughts, and they didn't speak for a long time.When he was about to walk out of the Xiaoyao River Valley, the old horse suddenly said: "How about we enter the village tomorrow?" "Enter the village?" Liu Chao's heart trembled, of course he knew which village the old horse was referring to. "Yes, I thought about it. It's impossible for us to find anything amazing just by wandering around like this. Even if we find something, we can't figure out the secret. Just like we found the wooden sign just now, but we didn't even Its origins are unclear." Liu Chao only nodded. "That's because we don't have a clear goal at all. We say it is to explore the secrets, but what is the secret and where is the answer, we don't know at all, and we don't even know what we are doing here." "That's why we should go to the village. The last time we went at night, we didn't stay in the village for too long. I guess there are still many things we haven't discovered. Besides, since the so-called secret of Fengmen Village, the answer to the secret must be here. The village, so this trip is a must, as long as you take precautions, I don't think there should be any danger." Everything he said made sense, Liu Chao sighed lightly, and said, "Then shall we set off tomorrow morning?" "Yes, the sooner the better." Walking out of the mountain road, when the hotel could be seen from a distance, Liu Chao found a person standing under the hotel, a tall and thin woman, wearing a red windbreaker and black trousers, although she was too far away to see her face, Liu Chao still It was his intuition that he could feel a lonely aura exuding from her, and his intuition also told him that this woman was waiting for him, so he pouted in the direction of the woman standing, and said to the old horse, "If I If I guess correctly, this woman is Song Qing." "Song Qing?" "It was the woman I met on the Internet. Her boyfriend died accidentally while exploring Fengmen Village." Liu Chao paused and continued, "Didn't I tell you? She called me yesterday to inquire about the progress, and I said we When we got here, she was going to come to me, but I refused to listen to my advice, so I gave her the address of the hotel." The old horse said in disbelief, "We can't hide even if we want to, but she is asking for trouble?" "From our point of view it's asking for trouble, but maybe she's just asking for peace of mind." The old horse looked at the woman and nodded, "So, she is a good girl." Getting closer and closer to the hotel, Liu Chao quickened his pace, while sizing up this woman suspected to be Song Qing. Judging from her appearance, she was indeed only in her twenties. Her appearance was not very outstanding, but she looked very pleasing to the eye. The big eyes seem to be bottomless, making people feel that there must be infinite thoughts hidden in her heart. She was also staring at Liu Chao, until he came close, and then asked in a tentative tone: "Are you...Liu Chao?" "You are Song Qing." Liu Chao nodded to her, "Are you standing here to wait for us?" "That's right, I heard from the shop owner that you have gone out, and you have nothing to do in your room, so you just come out and wait." Liu Chao nodded and said with a smile, "I didn't expect you to come." Song Qing also laughed, very palely. "From the first time I called you, I knew that I couldn't live a peaceful life anymore. This is what I owe him. If I don't do something for him, I won't be at ease for the rest of my life." Of course Liu Chao knew who he was, and could understand her feelings, hesitantly said: "Then... Your husband doesn't object to you?" She lowered her head slightly and said, "I told him clearly that he didn't want me to come, but he didn't stop me." Liu Chao nodded. He felt that this man had shown great generosity. After a moment of silence, he felt that he should change the topic, so he glanced at the old horse who had been unable to intervene, and introduced the two sides. "Hello." Song Qing extended her hand generously and shook hands with the old horse, who also politely smiled back at her, "Come on, let's talk first." After ordering dinner at the counter, the three of them came to Liu Chao's room together, and as soon as they sat down and chatted for a while, Song Qing couldn't wait to ask where the two of them went after they came here and if they found anything. Super honestly: "I didn't find any valuable clues, so we decided to go to the village tomorrow to take a look." Before Song Qing could speak, he continued: "I advise you not to follow, because..." "I understand what you mean." Song Qing took a deep breath, then exhaled forcefully, and said quietly: "But since I'm here, I must go. I know it's dangerous to do so. I said I'm not afraid of you and neither are you." Believe me, but...you know what I mean, don't you?" Liu Chao nodded. Not only did he understand, but he was also very moved. If he were to be her, he really didn't know if he had the courage to "know that there are tigers in the mountains, but go to the mountains with tigers". After all, Li Pu's murder was a lesson learned. This is not a joke, so although he doesn't know what kind of terrible things will be encountered in tomorrow's operation, it is precisely because of this that Liu Chao feels even more terrifying-the horror comes from the unknown.He had read this sentence in a suspense novel, and he thought it was right. "By the way, I brought you something—" Song Qing said suddenly, and looked around the room, "Is there a computer here?" "I brought a laptop, but no network cable." Lao Ma replied. "It's fine if you have a computer." Song Qing stood up, took out a USB flash drive from his pocket and handed it to the two, "I found an article from his blog that he hadn't finished writing, which recorded some experiences in Fengmen Village. It may be helpful to your actions, do you want to take a look?" "Of course!" Liu Chao yelled excitedly, and quickly ran to the desk, turned on the computer and asked, "Didn't you say that the data on the hard disk of the computer was lost? How can I still find this article?" "I accidentally found it in the draft box of his blog. Since you contacted me, I have been trying my best to find the documents he left behind. This article has not been written yet, it is saved in the draft box." "Oh, it's really thanks to you, most people would think of looking for information in the draft box." Connect the USB flash drive to the computer and open the text document Song Qing mentioned. The content is not long, and Liu Chao carefully read it word by word: The article ended here, and Liu Chao felt a sense of emptiness that was worse than reading a novel and seeing the highlights without the next part. After thinking about it, he turned to Song Qing and asked, "Why didn't he finish writing?" "I remember that day, he had been sitting in front of the computer writing something, and then he seemed to have something urgent, he went out without saying hello, and then never came back..." Song Qing lowered her head, something seemed to flicker in her eyes with. "But, how do you know that this article was written that day? Did you read it at the time?" This question was asked by the old horse. Song Qing shook her head: "The draft shows the date and time when he saved this article, so I concluded that this is the last article he wrote-of course I will always remember the date of his disappearance." The old horse pondered for a moment, and said: "According to this, he didn't know that he was about to be in danger at the time, otherwise he would never have left this half-finished article." Song Qing lowered her eyes and said, "He really wanted to continue writing after he came back, but..." Seeing this situation, Liu Chao had no choice but to comfort in a soft voice: "It's been so long, don't be too sad, there is a saying that is very vulgar, but it has a certain truth - turn grief into strength, we should do it now , trying to uncover the secrets of Fengmen Village, can be regarded as fulfilling his last wish." "You are very good at talking." Song Qing looked at him and forced a smile. "I'm an honest person and tell the truth." Liu Chao glanced at Li Pu's final article displayed on the computer screen again, and said, "I suspect that after he heard the rumor, he must have discovered something new when he entered the village again. , It's a pity that I haven't had time to write it..." The old horse nodded in support, "If he didn't find out, it means that the rumor is unfounded, and he probably wouldn't have spent so much pen and ink writing this rumor. Just as we enter the village tomorrow, we will follow the article and go to the back of the village to take a look. Bar." Liu Chao frowned, and said hesitantly: "It's been so many years, even if the trees were cut down, can there be any traces left?" "I can't guarantee this, but I remember that the forest near my hometown was cut down seven or eight years ago. When I returned home last year, new trees had grown up and formed a forest again. You can still see a lot of tree stumps now, but I don’t know how many years this situation will last, anyway, we are going to enter the village, so it doesn’t matter if we go to the village to have a look.” "If...there are traces of being felled, does that prove that the rumors are true?" "That's not proof." Before Liu Chao could speak, the old horse patted him on the shoulder and said, "Don't think about it so much now, it's useless. Let's talk about it after entering the village." Liu Chao only nodded. "Since we are going into the village, we must prepare something, right?" "I'm ready," Song Qing said, her voice flat and emotionless. "Before I came, I was ready to enter the village. Even if you don't go, I will go in because... I suspect that he died in Fengmen Village. I want to try my luck and see if I can find him—— " "It's been two years, even if the body is still there, it's already..." Lao Ma couldn't bear to continue. "It doesn't matter, just want him, I will definitely recognize it." Looking at the sadness and determination in her eyes, Liu Chao secretly sighed. In the middle of the night, without knowing what time it was, Liu Chao went downstairs alone with his mobile phone and cigarettes. When he thought of going to Fengmen Village tomorrow morning, his nerves became tense, and he couldn't fall asleep at all, so he simply went outside to get some air. .He was carrying his mobile phone and wanted to make a call to someone, but after walking around in front of the hotel several times, he still didn't make the call. If I don't even have the courage to make a phone call, what right do I have to like someone?In the end, Liu Chao told himself this repeatedly, and without giving himself any time to hesitate, he quickly called up her number from the phone book. Just as he was about to dial out, the phone suddenly rang. Look, my heart suddenly lifted—— She actually called herself! Did she think of something with herself?Or do you have something else to do with yourself?Liu Chao anxiously pressed the answer button. "Are you... are you okay? After hesitating for a long time, I decided to call you." Qin Nalan said hesitantly, her voice was low, as if she couldn't say what she said next, but she said it anyway: "The things I told you on the phone last night...you don't have to take it seriously, We are still good friends." Liu Chao's heart sank, and he asked lightly, "Why? Do you regret it?" "No!" After a moment of silence, Qin Nalan said in a secluded tone as if he had made up his mind, "You may not believe me when I say it, but I have liked you since I first met you, and of course more The important thing is your performance in many things, let me know that you are a kind and simple person... It's just that too many things happened during that time, which suppressed this feeling, but I want to say, after moving to your house In the past few days, I slept very soundly, because I knew you were upstairs. If I was in danger, I just yelled your name, and you would come down to rescue me immediately, but during the two days you left, I slept every night I can't sleep, I don't have any sense of security now, I just realized that I am to you... So, I couldn't help but say that on the phone yesterday, but can we really be together? " "Why not?" Liu Chao's voice began to tremble because he was moved. "I... am not worthy of you." Without waiting for Liu Chao to answer, she went on to say, "You may laugh at me for being feudal, but standing in front of you, I really feel very small. Your family is too rich. I've got money, I'm afraid I can't afford it, this obstacle alone is enough for me to overcome, so, Liu Chao—" "You're not right," Liu Chao interrupted her, his mood became agitated, and he said quickly, "I'm afraid you won't believe me when I say it. In fact, I have always just wanted to be an ordinary person and rely on my own ability to earn money to support me." I have my own career and pure love—that is, pure love. People cannot choose what kind of family they are born in, but they can choose the path they want to take. I know that I am a mediocre person and have no extraordinary skills. , I can't even compare to Jiang Xiaolou's one percent, but I also want to make a career out of myself, instead of living in the shadow of my father all day long. As for family background and money, I don't need anything , do you believe it? I only want myself." He said it in one breath, feeling very happy—these words have been held in his heart for too long, and he has been wanting to say it but he can’t find the right person—the main reason is that he is afraid that others will not believe it, in today’s society where money is paramount Well, if someone says that he doesn't love money, he might be rated as the number one joke of the year.However, this is indeed his voice. Today, at this moment, Liu Chao feels that he has finally found someone to confide in. Although Qin Nalan hasn't spoken yet, he feels that she can understand him, because she is the person he likes—no matter the past or the future , at least at this moment, it is enough that he likes her and can get her understanding. Qin Nalan seemed to really understand, and said quietly: "But your father...won't he oppose us?" "Maybe he will object," Liu Chao didn't want to lie, "but what does our matter have to do with him? As long as he wants, he can give his property to anyone. I won't frown, as long as I can do it." That's enough for what I like." "You are good at talking." ——This is the second time someone said this today, and Liu Chao still replied the same: "I am an honest man speaking the truth." After a pause, he tentatively asked: "Now... what else do you want to say?" "Say the same thing as yesterday." Her voice became visibly lighter. "I... will wait for you at home." Hearing these words, Liu Chao suddenly felt that all the flowers in the world were blooming, that spring was here, and all the worries and troubles disappeared. He left all the Fengmen Village and the man in black behind.还是照旧，但只要有这一瞬间的美好，对刘超来说已经足够了，也是在这一刻，他明白了自己对秦纳兰的感情并不是突然产生的，也许正如她所说，最近一些事情的发生占据了他们的思想，连自身的感情也忽略了，现在两地分开，各自落寞，才突然想起对方，原来一直都是喜欢着的。这种感觉实在奇妙，也实在美好。 “其实，真应该感谢你这次远行。”秦纳兰声音中充满了欢乐，她也是开心的，因为之前一直压在她心上的石头被搬走了，她可以毫无阻碍地放肆地去表达自己的感情。 “如果我们天天见面，我是绝对不会首先对你表白的，而你又是个榆木疙瘩……” 刘超傻笑了两声，说道：“这种事情我经验也不多，不过现在知道也还不晚，不是吗？” “嗯，才刚刚开始。” 刘超咧嘴笑起来，突然，眼前浮现起一个熟悉的人的模样来，心里顿时有点担心，一番犹豫之后他对秦纳兰说道：“对不起，我之前骗了你，蒋小楼实际上是我最好的朋友，没有之一，毕竟你跟他曾经……是吧，我担心他知道我们的关系后，会不会生气？” “你连你老爸的家产都不在乎，还在乎别人的看法？” “这个……说的也是。”刘超恍然大悟。 “再说蒋小楼绝不会生气，他一定会祝福我们的，他不是小气的人。” 刘超用力点了点头，“我相信！” 与亲爱的秦纳兰结束通话，刘超还处在异常兴奋的状态中，他恨不得马上给蒋小楼打去电话，告诉他这件事情，让他分享自己的快乐，但考虑了一下还是忍住了——这件事应该在自己回去后请他喝酒时说起。 他回到自己房间，老马已经睡着了，眉头微皱，一脸疲惫表情。 看到他，刘超的心情才慢慢沉淀下来，仿佛从浪漫的月宫缓缓降到了地球上，回到了冷冰冰的现实之中。 明天就要去封门村了。刘超深吸了一口气，握紧拳头，暗暗发誓不管明天在封门村会遇到什么可怕的事情，自己都要好端端地回到许由去，因为，那儿还有个人在等着自己。此时此刻，刘超感到自己虽然人在异乡，心却已飞回了家里，他仿佛看到秦纳兰那双如水清澈的眸子，在黑暗中忽闪忽闪，那是在对他召唤。 当一个人爱的时候，他整个人都会疯狂起来。这话说的不假。但一个人人生中若无一次这种疯狂的体会，又怎能算是完整的人生呢？ 次日清晨，三人整装出发。 是日艳阳高照，但当一上午过去，他们进入逍遥河谷时，天色却逐渐阴沉下来，明明是中午，天空却呈现出一种黄昏时才有的灰暗，刘超抬头仰望着灰蒙蒙的天空，无不担忧地说道：“不会是要下雨吧，那可糟糕了。要不……咱们先回去，等明天天晴了再来？” 这个提议立刻遭到宋青的反对，“都到这里了，现在回去多可惜，而且我看这天也不像一时就会下雨的样子。” “我也是这个意思。”老马接着说道，“咱们加把劲走快一点，天黑之前争取赶回去。” “你是怎么找到这条近路的？我记得以前从水库那边走，要一两天才能到达村子。”宋青说。 老马晃了晃手中的地图，“多亏这东西，给我们省了不少力气。” 宋青张了张嘴，似要说话的样子，但眉头突然间皱了起来，接着伸手扶住额头，吸了口气说道：“我脑袋突然有点疼……” 刘超忙问：“怎么回事？” “不知道呢，没关系，快赶路吧。”说完又迈步向前走去，只是那只扶在脑门上的手却没有放下来，刘超走在她旁边，偷眼看见她额头上沁出了一层细密的汗珠，猜不透究竟是热出汗还是疼痛所致，但从她微微泛白的脸色来看，她的脑袋肯定疼得不轻。 再次来到那个岔路口，三人不约而同地停下来，互相望了望，都没有说话，然后陆续默默地踏上了左边那条路——那条通往封门村的路。 约半小时后，封门村那些建筑在山坡上的低矮房屋遥遥在望了，刘超感到自己全身的肌肉都变得紧绷绷的，心也跳个不停，他想看看同伴的表情，一扫眼赫然发现宋青的脸色不知什么开始变得像纸一样白，脸颊上海水涔涔，一副痛苦难耐的表情，当下惊道：“你怎么了，头还在疼？” “没事，我还撑得住……”她连说话声音都颤抖起来。 “这怎么行，要不坐下休息休息？”刘超作势要去扶她，她却快步向前走去，走了一段路，回头递给二人一个苍白的微笑：“愣什么，快跟上呀！” 刘超与老马互望了一眼，都从对方的目光中看出一样东西：震撼。就拿刘超本人来说，他实在没有想到宋青那看似弱不禁风的身体内，竟然有着如此坚强的灵魂。大概是信念的作用吧——她已逃避两年，今天终于鼓起勇气想要为亡人做点事情，别说是头疼，刘超相信即使是无法走路，她爬也是要爬过去的。 刘超叹了口气，走上前扶住她一只胳膊往前走，老马很快也赶上来，扶住另只胳膊，三个人就这样并肩走向了那个看似普通、却代表着神秘与恐怖的地方——封门村！ 一切都没有改变，村口的两尊石像还在，那个没脑袋的将军还是提着剑，身姿挺拔地站在村口，像一个忠诚的卫士。 “这是明朝的雕塑。”宋青面对石像幽幽说道，转头瞅见两人吃惊望着自己，眉头皱了皱，“你们不知道吗？” "have no idea." “这是李溥告诉我的，他上大学时就对这方面有点研究。”她指了指将军像，“他说，从这两座雕像的穿着服饰来看，肯定是明朝早期的人。” 刘超分别瞅了瞅两座雕像说道：“我只是奇怪，村口为什么放这两座雕像呢？难道有什么特别意义？” “这个就不知道了，只有第一次进村时他告诉我一些事情，之后就再也不跟我提这方面的话题了。”宋青说道。 老马点点头，突然问道：“你头疼好了？” 宋青回头望了眼来路，皱眉道：“不知道为什么，一进村就没事了。” 老马目光闪了闪，没说话。 越过石像，几人沿着村子的主干道往里走，不多时便来到村子正中间，四周一片静悄悄的，连昆虫的叫声都没有，仿佛它们也对这个村子避之不及，不肯迈进一步。 “现在怎么办？”刘超一边环顾四周一边紧张问道。 “先去村后看看有没有树林。” 绕到村后，山腰处远远可见一片白杨树，树冠虽高，但却都是只有碗口粗细的小树，刘超第一个走过去，赫然发现树林中到处遍布着一墩墩砍伐后留下的树桩，顿时惊叫道：“果然有树桩！” 老马蹲下摸了摸一个树桩，说道：“这肯定不是二十年前留下的，最多五六年，我敢保证。” “五年？怎么会呢，五年前这里早成一座空村了，谁会来到这里砍树呢？” “这也不稀奇，杨树是很好的建筑木材，周边村子的人或许会过来砍树回去盖房子，问题是……这片杨树肯定不是自然生长的，也许是早先封门村的人种的，传闻中说的树林指的应该就是这里了。” 宋青插话道：“那咱们应该找找看，有没有二十年前砍伐的树桩，不过即使有我也不认得。” “我试试吧。”老马说着挨个查看起树桩来，刘超有些不可思议地看着他，实在不知道他竟然还有这方面的本事，联想到一无所长的自己，不禁有些自卑。 一根烟的工夫过后，老马直起腰来说道：“全都是近几年砍伐的，没有更早的了。” “这么说……传闻是假的了？”刘超问。 “也不一定，我先前说只是那么一说，二十年前的树桩想保留到今天是很困难的，别的因素不说，特别在这种山地上，只要一次局部塌方就能把所有树桩湮没。所以这项调查到此为止吧，咱们还是去村里看看。” 天气更加阴沉了，加上村里的房屋本就低矮，从外头看进去几乎就是一个黑洞，什么都看不见。老马找出事先准备好的手电筒，几乎每经过一间屋子都要进去看看，刘超和宋青就在外头等着，就这样一路来到村子的右侧，这里是他们上次没有来过的地方，在一片低矮的土坯房之后，赫然出现了一套大院子，内有一座青砖红瓦的二层小楼，在周围那些矮房的衬托下，这套楼院真算的上一座宏伟建筑了，只是从内到外透着一股古老的神秘气息。 几人正对面的院墙中间，有一道四扇开的大门，历经多年风雨侵蚀，如今其中两扇门已经不见踪影了，从敞开的门洞望进去，可见一片用青石板铺就的庭院，内有围墙和拱形门，那栋小楼就座落在拱形门后的二进庭院中。 “这里本来该有一块牌匾的。”老马走到院子前，指着门楣上方一块长方形横条说道，上面灰蒙蒙的一片，看起来十分别扭。刘超试着想象上面镶着块牌匾的样子，感觉还真是搭配妥帖，不禁暗自佩服老马的观察能力。 “这房子是干什么的？”刘超问。 “是祠堂。”宋青说，“我们上次也到这边来了，几个男生进去了，我没敢进，出来他们告诉我这是祠堂，里面供着牌位什么的。” 听到牌位二字，刘超的心不由紧了紧，正想问要不要进去，老马已经打着手电迈进了院门，他只好跟上。 一进院子里有一座杂草丛生的圆形花坛，旁边地上平铺着一块四方形的青石板，好像很厚重的样子，刘超看见这东西皱了皱眉，对老马说：“我怎么看这石板跟大日寺里的差不多？难道下面也有一口井？” “可能吧，过去的井盖都是用这种石板，没什么好奇怪的。” 老马说着走进了二进院里，也许是多了几间房的缘故，这里比外头的院子显得略小一些，左边是一排三间平房，都没有门，里面黑洞洞的，似有一丝凉气不断从屋内透出来，吹得刘超后背有点发麻。 老马率先走进左边第一间房，刘超与宋青互看了一眼，一同迈步走过去，刚到门口，老马突然窜了出来，一脸紧张地看着他们，低声说道：“屋里有一口棺材。” 刘超心一下提到了嗓子眼，颤声说道：“怎么会……” “要不要……打开棺材看看？” 刘超愣了愣，连忙摆手，“里头不管有什么，跟我们都没关系，还是到楼里去吧。” "makes sense." 一直走到小楼跟前，刘超的心还在怦怦跳着，他控制不住地去想那口棺材里究竟藏着什么，是一具已经化成白骨的尸体，还是什么更加可怕的东西？突然，他有一个十分恐怖的猜想——躺在棺材里的就是那个穿黑袍子的人，白天他躺在棺材里休息，晚上则自己推开棺盖，爬出来祸害世人…… 楼里漆黑一片。 老马打亮手电，小心翼翼地往前走，宋青紧跟在他后面，刘超则走在最后面，其实他很想走在中间，这样不管危险是来自前方还是后方，都有个人替自己垫背。 他当然不想真的有人给自己垫背，只是一种潜意识的想法而已了，但是为了保护队伍中唯一的女性，他只好把好位置让出来。走在最后还有一个不好的地方是：他总是觉得背后有人跟踪，甚至感觉自己只消回过头去，便可以跟这个人脸对脸…… 这种假想令刘超浑身僵硬，却又不敢回头去看，正举步维艰之际，突然听见老马一声轻呼：“你们看这里！” 刘超连忙凑上去，但见手电的亮光触及之处，有一道道红色的印记，仔细一看竟然是汉字，刻在一块石碑上的楷体汉字！ 老马一边移动手电，一边缓缓念出了碑文： “……余追随凉国公往来征战，戎马半生，封妻荫子，不意洪武二十六年秋，为凉国公案所累，罪祸抄家，钦命未到，友舍命快马告之，夜携家眷遁至荒山，隐匿世外已五年余；菜蔬水果，自给足之；粮食家用，金帛兑之；惟不谙世间烟火，封门绝户，以保全身……” 后面字迹开始模糊起来，无法辨认，只能隐约认出最下行右边的落款：大明京卫指挥使指挥佥事梁宝虎于洪武三十三年立。 老马一边抚摸碑文，一边喃喃说道：“原来封门村是这么来的……” “这个什么……指挥佥事是很大的官么？”刘超问。 “应该是正四品以上吧，不小了。凉国公就是蓝玉，当时蓝玉案一共牵扯了一万五千多人，是从古到今牵涉人员最多的案子，蓝玉的十族全被牵扯进来——九族加上师族，也就是他的学生，无一人被赦，这家伙运气不错，竟然找到这么个地方躲起来。哎，对了——”老马突然睁大眼睛：“这个梁宝虎是个武官，碑文里也说自己曾追随蓝玉打过仗，会不会……村口那个雕像就是他？” 刘超恍然大悟地“哦”了一声，想了想说道：“也许是他后代为了纪念他立的，旁边那个女人可能是他妻子。只是不知道他们当时带了多少家眷过来，后人竟然能形成一个村子。” “这不奇怪，”宋青抢着说，“古代的贵族——尤其是官宦人家的仆人是很多的，况且这个人还是个四品官，家眷起码也有百人以上吧，这个村子也不过百来人。” “那……他们就这样一代代繁衍下来？” “不可能，前面几代还好说，越往后大家都是亲戚，近亲结婚的后果你们也知道，是很可怕的。” 这时老马说道：“但这村子的人的确一直不跟外界来往，更别说通婚了。这样做其实我能理解，明朝的法律十分严酷，即使过了几十上百年，一旦知道逃犯的下落甚至他后代的下落，朝廷还是不会放过他们，况且他们最初躲进来时才是明朝初期，三百年之后才改朝换代，在这三百年间，这些人担心身份暴露，当然不敢冒险跟外界来往，可是就像宋青说的，三百年的时间足够延续十几辈人了，如果他们一直都是靠近亲通婚来延续香火的话，不用朝廷追捕，他们自己也早就灭亡了，所以在这期间，他们肯定找到了既不用跟外人通婚、也不用近亲结婚便能延续后代的方法，并且一直使用这方法到当代——直到二十年前整个村子的人集体失踪。” 刘超与宋青面面相觑，片刻，宋青怯怯说道：“照你这么说，那只有一个办法——抱养别人的孩子，但是……这实际可行吗？” “当然可行，他们抱养一批小孩，等他们长大结婚，生的孩子因为互相没有血缘关系，可以通婚一两代人，然后再抱养一批，所以大概……”老马算了算，说道：“一百年里只用抱养一两批小孩就够用了。” “从哪里抱养呢？假如明偷的话，一次偷那么多小孩肯定会引起骚乱，官府严查起来，他们很容易暴露的。” “你说的没错，但忽略了重要一点：他们没有必要在一个时间段内连续作案，比如今年弄几个小孩，明年再弄几个，这村子人本来不多，所以需要小孩的数量也不会太多，如果偷不到的话，还可以找万恶的人贩子帮忙，所以说这事情并不难办。” 宋青愤愤说道：“这样做也太可恨了！” “本来就不是什么光彩的事。”老马站起来，手扶着石碑走了一圈，突然说道：“真是奇怪，一般像这种石碑往往都会立在室外，建个平台什么的把它围住，弄得好看一点，可这石碑为什么建在这一点光亮没有的黑屋里？” “也许……是为了怕外人发现？”宋青猜测道，“虽然平时没有外人进来，但为了保险起见，村里人当然不愿意石碑立在容易被发现的地方，何况石碑上什么都写明了，在明朝时期被人看见就完蛋。” 刘超觉得她分析的很对——石碑既然是祖先留下的东西，当然不能毁掉，但上面记载着村子的秘密，不能被外人发现，最好的办法就是放在室内，尤其像祠堂这样的地方，两进院子都可以住人，自然是再安全不过了，可是……他突然又想到：在明朝时期，村里人担心被朝廷发现自己是逃犯的后代，不敢暴露身份也就罢了，可明朝灭亡之后，他们逃犯的身份自然也就不存在了，这个梁宝虎的后人们为什么还要坚持不与外人来往，甚至不惜干出偷窃或买卖小孩的勾当来维持所谓的“封门绝户”的规矩呢？ 刘超将这个问题提出后，老马和宋青都皱起了眉头，片刻，老马缓缓说道：“那就只有一个原因——这个村子还有别的不能被外人知道的秘密！” 刘超愣了愣，问道：“什么秘密？” “我不知道，”老马无奈地摊了摊手，片刻又说道：“咱们不知道的事情岂止这一件，简直太多太多。” 这句话真没有说错，刘超暗暗叹了口气，想到那块给自己带来无限烦恼的木牌，它明明是道教的东西，为什么会出现在封门村？还有那些来去无踪的黑衣人，他们与封门村又是怎样一种关系？他们……到底是什么？ 没人知道这些问题的答案，至少自己不知道，老马、宋青都不知道。 石碑所在房间的后方，有一架通往二楼的木制楼梯，宋青告诉二人，那些牌位就摆在二楼上——这是李溥告诉她的，宋青实际并没有上去过。 老马上前试着踩了踩楼梯，顿时发出一阵“咯吱咯吱”的声音，于是回头说道：“这楼梯有年头了，怕是受不起我们三个的重量，还是我一个先上去看看，有什么发现再叫你们。” 刘超点点头：“那你千万小心！” 老马冲他摆了摆手，踏上了楼梯，身影很快消失在转弯处的黑暗中。紧接着，刘超感到头顶上方的顶棚上响起一串轻悄悄的脚步声——老马已经上到二楼了。刘超不免有些紧张起来，仔细听着楼上的动静，老马已经停下步子，再没有一点声音了。不知道他究竟发现了什么，除了宋青所说的牌位，楼上是不是还有别的什么东西？ 就在他胡思乱想之际，楼上老马的脚步声再次响起，向楼梯方向一点点移动过来，看来他是准备下楼了。刘超一颗心放了下来，然而就在这时，他突然觉出一丝不对劲来——楼上的脚步声似乎过于沉重，仔细听，居然好像不止老马一个人在走路！ 虽然两个脚步声几乎完全重叠在一起，但刘超还是听出来了，他眼前顿时浮现出这样一幅画面：黑暗的空间里，老马一步步往前走着，他并不知道自己身后有个人在跟着他，他抬起左脚，那个人也抬左脚，他走一步，那个人也走一步，节奏只比他慢那么一点点，只有一点点…… 耳边突然传来宋青刻意压抑的声音：“上面有人……” 她也听出来了。刘超一颗心“扑通扑通”跳了起来，就在这时，楼上突然响起“咕咚”一声，紧接着一个人影从楼梯上滚落下来，一直跌到转弯处，方才有呻吟声响起，是老马！ 两人连忙上前将他扶起，“怎么回事？”刘超问。 老马靠在墙上喘了一阵，说道：“好像有人在背后推了我一下，一不小心就摔倒了。” 刘超与宋青互望了一眼，然后两人不约而同往二楼望去，黑漆漆的一片，既然有人藏在里头也看不见。 “你们看什么？”老马有些紧张地问。 “没什么。”刘超决定不告诉他——两个人担心总比三个人都担心要好一点，而且关键是他怕说出来被楼上那个人听见，会更加不放过他们。 他低头看了看老马，“你伤到没有？” “右脚崴了一下，”老马吃力地站起来，刚走一步便吃痛得倒下了。他把鞋子脱下，揉了揉右脚，抬起头一脸无奈地看向二人，“脚脖子肿了，怕是得等消肿以后才能走路了。” 刘超张大嘴巴，一半是为老马的伤情担心，一半是为他们不得不留在这地方而担心——这地方到处潜伏着看不见的危险，现在白天还好些，可是假如老马的脚一直不能消肿，那么他们是不是要一直在这待到晚上？一想到可能要在这村子里过夜，刘超的心就一阵抽搐，更何况此时此刻，祠堂二楼上很可能就藏着什么东西…… “这屋里太闷，先到院子里再说吧。”宋青提议，刘超明白她的意思，她也不愿意再在这种地方待下去了。 扶着老马回到院子里，老马就着亮检查了一下脚腕处，果然肿得老高，刘超看着不禁暗皱起眉头。这时已是下午两三点钟，再过几个小时天就要黑了，有过上次在这里过夜的经历，刘超明白，天一旦黑下来，这里将不再是属于他们人类的世界。 宋青突然拉了拉他的衣角，说道：“你去找根树枝一类的东西过来，要粗一点的。” "What are you doing?" “给老马当拐杖用。咱们不能留在村里，即使回不去，也得出村找个安全的地方过夜，你快点去，咱们时间可不多。” 老马叹息道：“有拐杖我也不一定走得动。”