Chapter 6 Chapter Five Two Handprints on the Table

I smiled wryly: "Ruan Yao, you and Dr. Le Sheng, we all know why we don't dig down." Ruan Yao said, "Because of Professor Tang's death?" Neither Dr. Le Sheng nor I expressed anything special.That's not to say that we disagree with Ruan Yao's words, but because that is the obvious and only reason, and there is no need to make any special statement. Dr. Le Sheng frowned: "I think, yesterday, when Professor Tang stood on that stone slab and tried to lift it up again, he must have the same experience as what we just experienced. impulse!" Ruan Yao and I nodded, and Dr. Le Sheng added: "We can generalize it and prove that wherever there should be danger marks on Rollo's map, people will have the urge to explore once they stand on it!"

Ruan Yao and I nodded again. It is actually very simple to prove Dr. Le Sheng's deduction. There are nearly twenty danger marks on the Rollo map. We can stand on another ground with danger marks by just taking a few steps. However, we did not try again, but rather believed in Dr. Le Sheng's inference. It's not that we are timid. Facts have proved that there is no danger just standing on the ground with danger marks, but we are all unwilling to try it. That is naturally because everyone has tried it just now.That kind of sudden impulse, without any prior assumptions, the sudden thought, just like another person entered his brain in an instant, replacing his own thoughts, making him People have the feeling that they are no longer themselves. At the time, they didn't feel much about this feeling, but when they thought about it afterwards, it caused a chill in their hearts, and they didn't dare to try again.

After the three of us remained silent for a while, several servants beside us looked at us with very surprised eyes, not knowing what we were doing at all. Ruan Yao suddenly shouted again: "Professor Tang died of a heart attack!" Dr. Le Sheng said: "Or, but before he died, he gave us the most practical advice!" Ruan Yao said stubbornly: "That's the nonsense he said before he died, it's unbelievable." I shook my hand: "Forget it, I see, even if we dig it down, we won't find anything, just like Tang Yuehai opened up that stone slab, and found nothing, but it may bring danger, why should we do this?" something meaningless?"

Ruan Yao rolled his eyes, he might still be a little unconvinced, but he couldn't think of words to deny my opinion, he just stared at me. At this moment, several barks came from far and near, and as the barks approached, a huge long-haired shepherd dog ran over quickly, sniffing at Ruan Yao's feet. , Pushing and rubbing. Ruan Yao suddenly said happily: "Yes, this dog likes digging holes in the ground to bury bones. The soil here is very loose. Tell him to dig a hole and see what's underneath." That dog was Ruan Yao's pet dog, and Ruan Yao obviously still didn't believe Tang Yuehai's warning before he died.

In fact, it would be incorrect to say that Dr. Le Sheng and I have already believed Tang Yuehai's warning.I don't know exactly what Dr. Le Sheng was thinking. As far as I am concerned, I just feel that this matter, from the beginning to the present, can be said to be full of mysterious meanings, and almost everything is inexplicable.In a cloud of fog, Tang Yuehai's warning before his death, although not credible, still had its weight. At that time, Ruan Yao said that, and Dr. Le Sheng and I hadn't expressed any opinions. He had already walked forward, kicked the grass with his feet, and kicked the grass and dirt into the air. At the same time, he scolded the head dog.

The long-haired shepherd dog barked loudly, and immediately understood what its owner wanted it to do. It squatted on the ground and began to use its front paws to dig vigorously on the ground. I, Dr. Le Sheng and Ruan Yao all took a step back, watching the shepherd dog crawling on the ground. The shepherd dog crawled and dug very vigorously, making noises while digging, and the mud clods kept flying out, splashing on our crotch and feet. Never before had I seen a dog take such an interest in digging holes in the mud.At this time, I couldn't help thinking, is this dog, like us, when it comes into contact with the land marked with danger marks, it will also have the sudden urge to explore?

This is of course just my idea, and this assumption cannot be confirmed.Because of the thoughts between humans and dogs, there is no communication. We kept watching the dog, and it kept digging. After about fifteen minutes, a round hole with a diameter of one foot and a depth of one and a half feet appeared in the ground, but there was nothing but soil. Find. I said first: "Enough, nothing!" Ruan Yao was a little dissatisfied: "Why is there nothing? There should be something down here!" In order to lighten the mysterious atmosphere, I deliberately said: "What do you want buried in the ground, a bag of diamonds?"

Ruan Yao became angry, and said loudly: "I have a bag of diamonds, I already have them!" Ruan Yao glared at me again, and then said, "Don't dig any more!" As he spoke, he leaned over, grabbed the long-haired shepherd dog by the neck, and lifted the dog's head up.The shepherd dog let out a burst of barking, as if it still had more to say, until Ruan Yao yelled loudly again, it barked all the way, and ran away all the way. We looked at the hole again, and there was nothing in the hole. In the tidy grass, there appeared such a hole, which seemed very obtrusive. Ruan Yao said to the servant standing beside him: "Cover up this hole." !"

I also said: "It's getting late, we should go back!" Ruan Yao hurriedly said: "Wesley, if you weren't angry because of what I said just now, you don't have to go back so eagerly." I laughed: "Who is angry with people like you!" Ruan Yao said happily: "Then let's talk again. To be honest, no matter what the cause of Professor Tang's death is, why the great explorer Rollo drew my garden into a map is also worth studying. I hope to get to the bottom of it.” Dr. Le Sheng smiled and said, "Then we can only ask Luo Luo underground. If we hadn't burned everything about him, or we could find a clue in his work notes. But now, what? None exist, who can answer this question?"

I sighed: "If everything was burned at that time, nothing would happen, but that map was left behind at that time!" While we were talking, we walked towards the house, and when we came to the small living room, we sat down together. Ruan Yao said: "Rolo doesn't come to me very often, and he never told me that there is anything worthy of special attention in my garden!" My heart moved: "He never mentioned your garden to you? Think about it!" Ruan Yao immediately said: "No!" But then, he said: "Wait a minute, yes, I remembered!" Dr. Le Sheng and I stood up straight. What kind of relationship between Luo Luo and Ruan Yao's garden used to be? It is really important to this matter!

Ruan Yao said: "Yes, one time, Luo Luo was with me, and there were some irrelevant people. I was holding a reception that day, and Luo Luo suddenly asked me, which generation of my ancestors started to buy this piece of land. " I hurriedly said, "How do you answer him?" Ruan Yao said: "I said, I don't know anymore. If you must know, among this large group of buildings, there is a place that I never go to. It is the family library. All the materials about our family are available in kept in this library." Dr. Le Sheng also asked anxiously: "At that time, what did Rollo react to after hearing it?" Ruan Yao smiled wryly: "I can't remember anymore, because I didn't take this matter to heart at all." I said again: "The family library you mentioned is still there?" Ruan Yao said: "Of course it is, but no one has gone in for many years. The one who is most interested in it is my grandfather. I remember when I was a child, I would look for him. Eight out of ten times, he was there. Later my grandfather After his death, my father didn't go there often, and after my father died, I almost never went there." My thoughts were very chaotic, and I suddenly thought of a few questions. These few questions may have nothing to do with the whole thing, but they may also have a great relationship with the whole thing. I asked, "Ruan Yao, both your grandfather and your father died in their prime, didn't they?" Ruan Yao frowned: "Yes. When my grandfather died, he was only fifty years old, and my father died at the age of fifty-two." I asked again: "So, what about your great-grandfather? Do you know what he did and how he was?" Ruan Yao glared at me: "What's going on? Suddenly I checked my family tree?" I said: "Please forgive me, maybe this is my curiosity, or it may have something to do with the whole mysterious thing. Ruan Yao, in your grandfather's generation, your Ruan family was already rich, and your Ruan family Where did such a huge fortune come from?" Ruan Yao blinked: "I don't know, what I inherit is inheritance, I don't understand anything except money." I asked again: "Where is your father? He is also the recipient of the inheritance. Where is your grandfather?" Ruan Yao was a little annoyed: "In my memory, I have never seen my grandfather do anything." I stood up: "So, in which generation of your great-grandfather did your family start to make a fortune? If so, why do you know so little about the great-grandfather who started the business?" Ruan Yao became more annoyed: "Are you implying that my ancestor's fortune was obtained through dishonorable means?" I laughed: "Don't be nervous, even if I really mean it, it has nothing to do with you. The Morgan family in the United States, everyone knows that they are descendants of pirates, so what does it matter?" Ruan Yao said angrily, "Nonsense!" Seeing that we were about to quarrel again, Dr. Le Sheng hurriedly said, "Stop arguing, what's the point?" I sat down again: "I mean, since Rollo has paid attention to the source of this large estate, we should also pay attention. I think Rollo may have entered Ruan Yao's family library." Ruan Yao said: "I didn't know there was such a thing?" I looked at him: "If you have no objection, I would like to look up some information, which may be helpful to solve the whole matter." Ruan Yao was very straightforward, and immediately agreed: "Of course!" Dr. Le Sheng seemed to disapprove of my approach. After both Ruan Yao and I stood up, he was still sitting. Ruan Yao said: "Doctor, please go together!" Dr. Lesheng hadn't stood up yet, at this moment, he heard footsteps, and a servant hurried over. Ruan Yao was a little annoyed, and scolded, "What's the matter?" Only then did the servant burst out a sentence, "A Yang, A Yang is dead!" Dr. Le Sheng was originally sitting, but when the servant yelled out such a sentence, he stood up suddenly as if he had been stabbed by someone, and Ruan Yao and I were also stunned. We all know who "A Yang" is, and "A Yang" is the long-haired collie.This kind of shepherd dog is the kind that is responsible for rescuing people in the snow-covered mountains of Switzerland all the year round.The vitality of this long-haired shepherd dog is far above that of human beings. Of course, the long-haired shepherd dog is also going to die, but less than half an hour ago, it can still be called alive and kicking, and half an hour later, it died, how is this possible! I looked at Dr. Le Sheng and Ruan Yao, their faces became surprisingly pale, and they couldn't even speak a word, so I naturally knew what they were thinking. What they were thinking, as I was thinking, was that Tang Yuehai died because he lifted a stone slab; the dog died because he dug a hole. Both of these places have danger marks on Luo Luo's map. Before Tang Yuehai died, he warned us that the danger marks are real and we must not take any more risks. What would happen if it was Ruan Yao who dug the hole on the ground? When I thought of this, I turned to look at Ruan Yao, the muscles on Ruan Yao's face were moving involuntarily, which shows that he is feeling great fear in his heart. The servant was still panting with his eyes wide open, so I asked first, "How did Ah Yang die?" The servant said: "It first barked wildly, and the sound was very strange. It died after barking for less than two minutes." I came to Ruan Yao: "Ruan Yao, let's go look at this dead dog." Ruan Yao's voice was trembling: "Want to see... a dead dog?" I pressed his shoulder: "If you're nervous, drink some wine. It's fine if you don't go to see the dead dog, but I must go and have a look." Dr. Le Sheng took the opportunity and said, "I don't want to go either." I looked to the servant: "Where is the dead dog?" The servant said, "It's in the back yard." I walked out with the servant, and when we were about to reach the yard, the servant asked me in a very mysterious voice: "Mr. Wei, what happened? How did the dog die?" I frowned and said, "I don't know either." The servant's face was always full of doubts, and I quickened my pace. When I arrived at the yard, I saw several servants surrounding me. I pushed the two of them away and saw the dead body of the dog. The dog is undoubtedly dead, curled up, I brushed the long hair on its face, I don't know why I did this, maybe I was thinking, when it was dying, would it be with the dog? Like Tang Yuehai, she felt an extreme sense of fear. But my efforts were in vain, because I couldn't see the dog's expression, I stood up, all the servants looked at me, I took a breath: "No scars?" A servant said: "No, it has always been healthy, why did it suddenly die?" I still didn't answer the servant's question, I just said: "The garden of the fish pond, don't dig and tear it up, be careful, don't forget my words." An older servant said in a voice full of fear: "Mr. Wei, is there a ghost there?" I hurriedly said, "Don't talk nonsense, there's just something we don't understand, it's best you don't mess around." After I finished speaking, I was afraid that they would ask me difficult questions again, so I hurried back again. When I walked back to the small living room, I saw Dr. Le Sheng and Ruan Yao holding wine in their hands, but the wine obviously didn't calm them down much, their hands were shaking. Ruan Yao asked me incredulously, "How is it?" I said: "It died without any wounds at all. I didn't order the servant to bury it. I want to ask a veterinarian to dissect it and study the cause of its death." Dr. Le Sheng said: "It's useless, the real cause of death cannot be found." I sighed, poured a glass of wine for myself, and drank it in a big gulp. Ruan Yao kept saying, "What's the reason? What's the reason? Actually, there's no danger at all in that place!" I said loudly: "We will definitely find out the reason. I think it is necessary to continue our topic just now. Please take me to your home library to have a look!" Ruan Yao raised his head and fixed his gaze on me. I repeated: "Since Rollo has paid attention to this problem, I hope to find some clues in your home library." Ruan Yao sighed: "Wesley, do you know? You are as stubborn as a donkey." It's not the first time Ruan Yao used such words to deal with me. Of course I won't get angry because of this. I just answered him coldly: "There are many things that other animals can't do, but donkeys can do!" Ruan Yao had nothing to do with me. Judging from his expression, he seemed very unwilling to let me visit his family library. He looked at me, and then at Dr. Le Sheng, with a look of asking for help. Dr. Le Sheng patted me on the shoulder: "Forget it, I don't think you will gain anything from Ruan Yao's family library, and many wealthy family libraries contain their family materials. Outsiders are not welcome to visit!" When I heard what Dr. Le Sheng said, I couldn't help being very happy, because I could tell that Dr. Le Sheng, on the surface, advised me not to go, but deep down, he was clearly encouraging Ruan Yao to take me there! Ruan Yao is not a shrewd person. Dr. Le Sheng said this, and I will add a few more words. At that time, even if Dr. Le Sheng and I don’t want to go, he will force us to go! so.I immediately patted my forehead like a play, and said to Dr. Lesheng: "Look at me. Why can't I remember this? Yes, in many such situations, there will be some ulterior secrets. I am too ignorant Already!" As soon as I finished speaking, Ruan Yao shouted loudly: "Let's go, let's go!" I almost couldn't help laughing out loud, Dr. Le Sheng blinked at me, while still asking solemnly: "Go? Where are you going?" Ruan Yao gasped and said: "Go to my family library and tell you that my family has no secrets, and you can't find anything!" I finally couldn't help laughing: "Ruan Yao, you don't have to be so angry!" Ruan Yao stared: "Actually, my hesitation just now is because we have a family rule that non-children of the Ruan family are not allowed to enter that place—" He paused for a while before saying : "But it doesn't matter now, because I am the only one left in the Ruan family. I am the head of the family, and I can change the family rules at will. Come, I will take you there!" Seeing Ruan Yao's situation, although it was what I expected, I felt somewhat guilty in my heart. Dr. Le Sheng and I didn't say anything more, but Ruan Yao had already walked out, and we followed behind him. As I have said before, Ruan Yao's house occupies such a large area that although it is in his house, a small electric vehicle is used to go from one building to another. We took this kind of electric car, passed several buildings, crossed a lot of grass, and finally passed through a gate lane among the two buildings, and stopped in front of a house. In the moonlight, the house was really old. It was a one-story house made of red bricks with a pointed roof and almost no windows. It gave people a very gloomy feeling. Moreover, the vicinity of this house is obviously rarely visited by people, because it is overgrown with weeds, which is completely different from the orderly arrangement of other places in Ruan Yao's house. We got out of the car and went all the way to the door of the house. Ruan Yao said: "It is said that this house was built by my great-grandfather. Electric lights were only installed in my grandfather's later years. I still remember that when the electric lights were installed, My grandfather came to oversee the work every day, and he was very nervous. In fact, there is nothing in it except books, and I rarely come here!" I had come to the door, and saw a solid door with a huge lock on it. I looked at the lock: "I don't think you know how to carry a key, so you have to go one more time!" Ruan Yao had already walked up, holding the lock, and I saw clearly that it was a combination lock. Ruan Yao turned the number key on the lock, and within a minute, there was a "click", and the lock was locked. It bounced off. Dr. Le Sheng smiled and said, "Ruan Yao, you actually remember the number to unlock the lock, it's not easy!" Ruan Yao smiled and said: "I will never forget, the year, month, and day of my birth, when added together, is the unlocking number." I was stunned for a while: "This method is very clever, maybe you came up with it!" Ruan Yao said: "Don't go round and round and call me stupid. Indeed, I didn't come up with that. When my father was around, the number to unlock the lock was his birthday. When my grandfather was around, it was his birthday!" There was another doubt in my heart. This family library undoubtedly plays an extremely important role for the Ruan family. Otherwise, it would never be so serious that every generation of masters uses his birthday to as the unlocking number. At this time, Ruan Yao had already pushed open the thick oak door. Ruan Yao was right. I guess he hasn't opened the door for at least three years, so when he opened the door, the chains at the door made a terrible "screaming" sound. This kind of sound, coming in the silent middle of the night, made people even more uncomfortable. After the door opened, Ruan Yao walked in first, and Dr. Le Sheng and I followed behind. Inside the door was an entrance hall, and Ruan Yao had already turned on the light.Probably due to the lack of ventilation, the dust in the house is not very thick, but only a thin layer. After passing through the entrance hall, an antique door inlaid with stained glass is removed, and there is a living room. Ruan Yao turned on the lights again. In this living room, the furnishings are all very old. There are many calligraphy and paintings on the walls, many of which are exquisite, but obviously Ruan Yao doesn't take them seriously at all. Oddly, I can't see the book. I looked towards Ruan Yao and asked, "Where are the books?" Ruan Yao said: "The entire library is all below, this is just a lounge!" He walked forward, and we followed, and when we left the living room, we saw a spiral staircase descending.Ruan Yao walked all the way forward with lights on all the way, and when we came to the stairs, he had already turned on the lights. The building of this house is really weird. The strangest thing about it is that the second floor of an ordinary house is regarded as the first floor, while the first floor is underground. We stood on the stairs and looked down. , Below is a very large-scale library, surrounded by bookcases, which are full of books, there is a large desk in the middle, and there are comfortable chairs in front of and beside the desk. As soon as Ruan Yao turned on the light, he walked down, but he stopped abruptly after only taking two steps, and cried out, "Look!" When Ruan Yao walked down, we followed behind.In my heart, ever since I came to the front of this house, I have had a strange feeling, and at this moment, this feeling is even worse! However, I haven't seen anything wrong with it yet. Until Ruan Yao suddenly called out and pointed down again, Dr. Le Sheng and I stopped together. Ruan Yao pointed to the huge desk. Under the light, we all saw a layer of dust accumulated on the desk, but there were two handprints, and dust was also accumulated on the two handprints. than the dust on the table.It is thinner, so although the ground is the same gray, there are also differences in depth, which can be seen at a glance! Ruan Yao's voice became very sharp: "Someone has been here!" Indeed, no matter how thoughtless people are, seeing such a situation, they can also know that it was after the house was closed for a certain period of time, someone entered and pressed their hands on the table, so there are such fingerprints left behind of.And judging from the fact that there is a thin layer of dust on the fingerprints, this person has been here for quite a while now! I hurriedly said: "Don't be nervous, this person has already left, let's go down and have a look first!" Ruan Yao's expression was very excited, he walked down the table, and when he reached the table, he shouted again: "It's Luo Luo, Luo Luo has been here before, and the fingerprints on the table are left by him!" Dr. Le Sheng and I also came to the table and looked at the two fingerprints on the table. Originally, it was very difficult to determine who had been here based on the two fingerprints on the dust. However, when Ruan Yao said that it was left by Luo Luo, Dr. Le Sheng and I immediately agreed with him, and we both lost our voices at the same time: "Yes, Luo Luo has been here before." The reason why we can affirm this right away is very simple. Rollo, an explorer, was bitten by a venomous lizard on the ring finger of his left hand when he was traveling in the desert in the Australian outback.At that time, fortunately, he immediately met the local natives, who healed him with witchcraft, and he was able to escape from the gate of hell.But since then, his left ring finger has been bent and cannot be straightened. As Rollo's old friend, we all know this. But now, the right hand of the two handprints on the table is no different from ordinary people, but the ring finger of the left hand is surprisingly short, and the part between the fingertip and the first joint is broken, that is to say, the handprint on the table For a person, the ring finger of the left hand is bent and cannot be straightened. Therefore, although his hands are pressed on the table, his ring finger cannot fully touch the table. The three of us looked at each other, Ruan Yao was very angry and blushed: "Rolo, this guy is really not enough friends, how can he sneak into my place?" I approached the table and observed carefully: "Ruan Yao, Luo Luo is dead, there will be no answer to your question, let's study it, what exactly did he do here!" As I spoke, I pressed my hands on the two handprints. My figure is about the same height as Rollo. When I put my hands on it, I found that I could only stand, and standing like this, with my hands on the table, I could only do one thing, that Just with his head down, he must be looking at something on the table with great concentration. And at this moment, I found that between the two fingerprints, on the dust on the table, there was another faint trace, which was a square trace. At that time, Rollo pressed his hands on the table, and he couldn't understand what he was doing. There must have been a piece of paper in front of him at that time, and he was looking at the things on that paper. Since the paper is relatively light, the traces left are also relatively shallow, and it has been a few days, so they are naturally not as obvious as the fingerprints. You have to observe carefully to see them. I straightened up: "Look, Rollo is here, and he once read some documents very attentively." Ruan Yao was still angry, he clenched his fist and waved it: "I really didn't expect Luo Luo to be so despicable!" I frowned and said, "I think there must be a reason for Rollo to do that. I would like to know what Rollo found here that made him feel so interested!"