Ning Hangyi: A game that must be fouled

Chapter 14 The Return
"I have photographed ghosts in the Tower of London with an old-fashioned camera through my spirit; I have recorded the cry of the dead with a phonograph; I have seen countless supernatural phenomena in my travels around the world-but-for This incident, I have never heard of it, and I find it difficult to explain. Perhaps, this is the most mysterious thing that I have encountered in my life."

——Professor Zuo Na, a supernatural researcher
一
I am Araki Shune, a 46-year-old writer of suspense novels.The story I'm about to tell - sorry - was probably depressing from the start.In the process of listening to this story, you may feel nervous and anxious, and even have a sense of suffocation from the abyss of despair.Followed by, there is deep fear.

But there's no way, I've been driven to this point, and there seems to be no choice but to tell this story that I have never published in any form.

You need to be mentally prepared.

The protagonist of the story—no, actually this man cannot be called the protagonist.The reason is that there will be several important characters in this story, and I can't tell which of them is more important.Maybe they are both protagonists.All in all, this is a special story.I can only tell in the order of appearance of the characters.

A father and son.The father's name is Xia Lan, and the son's name is Xia Qing. "Blue out of blue" - the origin of the son's name and the hope placed in it couldn't be more obvious.Father Xia Lan is 46 years old (coincidentally, just the same age as me).And his son Xia Qing is only six years old.This kid is an angel, and I bet he's the smartest, sweetest, sweetest little boy you'll ever meet.Not one, but the only one - at least for Xia Lan and his wife, absolutely.

Xia Lan is not an ordinary person.He is the president of a consortium named after himself, worth billions.How he got rich is not the point of our story.I can only tell you that this is a smooth sailing and invincible man.In the first 40 years of his life, there was only one thing that was a dull pain in his heart and the only regret.

He was diagnosed with a rare form of primary azoospermia - the only completely untreatable congenital disorder of male infertility.

For a man with such a successful career, this blow was fatal.It is the next best thing to have no successors in the family property.The point is, life is incomplete without a child—Xia Lan always thought so.

He couldn't believe that he was really hopeless.In order not to leave any flaws in their lives, Xia Lan and his wife have traveled almost all over the world, receiving diagnosis and examinations from dozens of the best reproductive doctors in the world.In the end, they finally despaired.The examination results of all the doctors are the same, and the words are also the same-there is currently no cure for this disease in the world, and the patient is doomed to have no children in his life.

Xia Lan and his wife could only accept this cruel fact. For a time, they were depressed and negative, thinking that life had no hope.

However, in 2006—the year when Xia Lan was 40 years old, a miracle happened.His wife, Shangguan Yun, is pregnant.

Moreover, this child is definitely his, there is no doubt about it.This child is Xia Qing, who is now six years old - he looks almost exactly like his father.

Apart from calling it a "miracle", Xia Lan really couldn't find any other explanation.Why he suddenly became fertile is a complete mystery.However, Xia Lan didn't want to go into details, he thanked God, thinking that this child was undoubtedly a gift from God.And—as already mentioned—the boy was smarter, lively, and sweeter than any little boy he had ever seen.On the day the boy was born healthy, Xia Qing almost went crazy with joy.He forgot the identity of the president, forgot to be steady and reserved, and danced with everyone around him, including the bodyguards and Filipino maids around him.After that, Xia Lan donated 3000 million US dollars to charity, expressing gratitude to God and all things in the world.

Xia Lan and Shangguan Yun, who can be regarded as old-age sons, naturally cherish and care for this belated son.Especially Xia Lan, he is willing to give everything for his son, everything.

However, fate always loves to joke with people, and this is an extremely cruel joke.Only six years after God sent this gift, He wanted to take it back.

June 2012.Something unexpected happened.

two

Here, I have to make one point - no one can guard against the occurrence of this incident.In a peaceful life, there is such a danger hidden, which is something that human beings could not have expected.

One day in June 2012.a simnple day.The only unusual thing - that day happened to be Xia Qing's birthday.

It was after five o'clock in the afternoon, except for the housekeeper, bodyguards and Filipino maids, only father and son Xia Lan and Xia Qing were at home in the luxurious and extravagant big house.Shangguan Yun was going to celebrate his son's birthday with him, but the mother's nanny called and said that the old lady's old problem was broken.Shangguan Yun had to visit his mother, and before leaving, he told his husband to accompany his son well.

In fact, there is no need to remind at all.Xia Lan probably loves her son more than Shangguan Yun.Today, he specifically turned down all the entertainment, just planning to have fun with his son for a day.In the morning, they had already had a good time at the biggest playground in the city. After eating high-end western food and ice cream, they went to the toy city to choose gifts.At three o'clock, the son said he was a little tired, so Xia Lan took him home and slept for a while.After getting up now, Xia Qing rubbed his eyes and called out "Dad."

Xia Lan let his son sleep in the big bedroom he and his wife shared.When his son was sleeping just now, he opened the safe in the corner of the room, which contained his collection of gems and jades worth hundreds of millions.Xia Lan likes to keep these things by his side, not because he wants to save money, but because he likes to appreciate these beautiful treasures made by combining nature and artificial skills from time to time—a kind of high-level enjoyment.

It was only when Xia Qing called "Dad" for the second time that Xia Lan turned around.He was fascinated just now by looking at a piece of radiant and ingenious dark green emerald.At this moment, he smiled gently and said, "Qingqinggou (Xia Lan's nickname for her son), are you awake?"

Xia Qing lifted the luxurious Roman silk satin quilt, got off the big bed, walked to his father, sat on his father's lap naturally, and said, "You're looking at these stones again."

"These are not ordinary stones." Xia Lan said with a smile, holding up the dark green jadeite. "is it beautiful?"

"Pretty." Xia Qing nodded seriously.

Xia Lan took out another artwork made of pure natural black agate from the safe, and asked her son, "What about this one?"

"This one is more beautiful! Daddy, give it to me."

Xia Lan teased her son. "No, it's too expensive."

"What does 'precious' mean?"

"It's worth a lot of money."

"It's worth a lot of money so you can't give it to me? Dad is so stingy." Xia Qing pouted.

Xia Lan laughed loudly: "My dear son, all the gems in this safe will be yours from now on!"

"Ah...Really?" Xia Qingtian really opened his eyes wide. "This pile of precious stones is all mine?"

"Of course it's true!" Xia Lan kissed her son's cheek. "These are gifts from your father."

"Oh! That's great." Xia Qing hugged her father's neck, "I love my father the most!"

Xia Lan looked at her son's lovely face. "Really? You love daddy the most? Mommy comes second now?"

Xia Qing thought for a while, blushed and nodded, then blinked ghostly. "But you can't tell mom."

"Hahaha, no." Xia Lan hugged her son extremely contentedly, feeling extremely happy.

At this time, Xia Lan's cell phone rang.He took it out and glanced at the caller ID. It was the vice president of the consortium.Xia Lan sighed, originally he didn't want to talk about any work matters today, but the vice president called at this time, there must be something important... He could only press the answer button.

"President Xia, I'm sorry to bother you."

"What's the matter, tell me."

"It's like this. The chairman of Weidun Pharmaceutical Group, which has cooperated with us before, called this morning and said that the company is planning to develop a new drug recently. It is said that this drug has great commercial value. I hope we can Invest in this project..."

Before the vice president finished speaking, Xia Lan said impatiently: "Is this kind of thing urgent? Can't we talk about it tomorrow?"

"Mr. Xia, as far as I know, the market prospect of this drug is indeed very promising. I worry that if they don't reply for too long, they will consider other investors."

"How much do they need?"

"The first installment will be $5000 million."

Xia Lan frowned. "What medicine? Need such a large investment?"

"Mr. Xia, if you are not too busy right now, I can give you a brief introduction..."

Xia Lan realized that this was an important matter for the consortium.At this time, the son who was sitting on his lap intervened inappropriately: "Dad, show me the other treasures in this cabinet!"

Xia Qing picked up his son with his arms, put him down from his lap, and said, "Qingqinggou, Dad answers the phone, you can play for a while."

Xia Qing said, "Then come back and play with me soon."

Xia Lan nodded with a smile, left the bedroom, and went to the study next door to answer the phone.

In the big bedroom, only the six-year-old boy was left alone.

He lay down on the Persian rug, and took out a few more gems and jades from the safe to watch and play with.But the novelty of the child passed in a while.His attention shifted from the jewelry in the cabinet to the large safe.

Xia Qing observed the iron cabinet for a while and found it very interesting.This cabinet is different from other cabinets at home - there is a small cover on the door, and when the cover is lifted, there is a numeric keypad like a telephone, and some other buttons.Xia Qing pressed these buttons with her little finger with great interest, then entered a few numbers on the keyboard as if making a phone call, and played with the safe like a toy.

Suddenly, Xia Qing thought of a fun idea.By the way, I used to play hide-and-seek with my dad at home, why didn't I think of hiding in this cabinet?He estimated that this cabinet should just fit him.Haha, that's great, I'm kidding my dad.When he comes back in a while, let him find out where I hide!
Thinking of this "wonderful" idea, Xia Qing was very excited.He got into the safe, unaware that death was approaching him.He just thought happily - he can really hold me!Quick, hide it before Dad comes back!

While thinking this way, he closed the door of the cabinet from the inside, and with a "click", the safe was locked.

Almost at the same time, after finishing the phone call, Xia Lan pushed open the bedroom door. As soon as he stepped into the room, he heard a crisp "click".

Where is the son?Xia Qing looked around the room. When his eyes rested on the closed safe, he heard the "click" just now and suddenly realized what happened.

"Ah!" Xia Lan exclaimed, rushed to the safe, and shouted loudly, "Xia Qing, are you in there?"

God, it was really Xia Qing's voice in the safe! "dad!"

At this time, Xia Qing in the dark and small space felt that this matter was no longer fun.A six-year-old also instinctively senses the shadow of death.He yelled in panic, "Dad, let me out!"

Xia Lan's whole body trembled and she broke out in a cold sweat.Trying to stay calm, he shouted to his son in the locker, "Don't be afraid, Daddy will let you out immediately!"

Saying that, Xia Lan quickly opened the lid on the safe door, trembling, and entered the seven-digit password on the numeric keypad.

The cabinet door did not open.

The alarm system prompts: the input password is wrong.Three wrong codes will activate the automatic alarm system.

There was some sort of explosion in Xia Lan's mind.No, how could it go wrong?This password is my birthday!

Did I accidentally make a typo?Two more chances, try again?or……

Suddenly, Xia Lan realized something. He yelled at his son in the safe, "Xia Qing, did you press the combination lock just now?!"

Inside the cabinet was Xia Qing's small sound made by passing through the steel plate. "Yes, Dad! Let me out, I'm so scared!"

God!All the blood in Xia Lan's body rushed up.Holding the safe, he yelled, "Xia Qing, what was the password you set up just now? Which numbers did you... press?!"

Xia Qing's crying voice in the safe began to weaken. "Dad, I can't remember! I clicked randomly! Dad, I'm afraid, I'm afraid..."

A red curtain appeared in front of Xia Lan's eyes, and the world began to spin and shake before his eyes.

Xia Qing accidentally changed the password of the safe.

The password is seven characters.

Now no one knows what those seven numbers are.

There are billions of possibilities for permutations and combinations.

This safe has no key, and the combination is the only way to open it.unless……

Xia Lan, who was about to faint, struggled to stand up, rushed out of the bedroom like crazy, and shouted downstairs: "Butler Jin! Li Jing (Chinese bodyguard)! Gail (American bodyguard)! Chen (driver)! You... ... hurry up!"

In less than 10 seconds, Butler Jin, who was in his 40s, two burly bodyguards, and Xia Lan's personal driver - several people hurried to the corridor on the second floor.Obviously, they all realized that something extremely urgent happened.Butler Jin asked, "Sir, what happened?"

"Xia Qing! He locked himself in the safe!" Xia Lan said as she rushed to the bedroom with a few people. "And the password has been changed, so I can't open it!"

"Oh my god..." Butler Jin and the others rushed to the safe, they were all so frightened that they didn't know what to do.

"You guys immediately lift the safe into the car!" Xia Lan ordered the two bodyguards.

Lee and Gale were carrying the safe together in a second.

"Where are we going?" the driver asked anxiously.

"Where we can pry or open this safe, we'll go there! Quick!"

Several people hurried downstairs.After the driver drove Xia Lan's luxury car out, Li Jing and Gail opened the door as quickly as possible and put the safe in the trunk.Several people jumped into the car quickly, and the car shot out like an arrow.

"Quick, quick! Help me think...the nearest place...where can I open this safe!" Xia Lan's throat was dry, her head was sweating profusely, her whole body was trembling, and she was so nervous and anxious that she could speak incoherently.His body was hot for a while, and then cold for a while, as if he was in a hell with two heavens of ice and fire.Never in his life had he felt such fear and despair.How long the air in the small safe could last, he didn't dare to think about it, he could only pray to God to let his poor son last.

"Is there a way to open the place where the safe is sold?" Jin Butler asked hurriedly.

"I don't know, try it... Hurry up, hurry up!" Xia Lan kept urging.At this moment, his mind was so confused that he could only follow the housekeeper's advice.

The driver ran five red lights at a speed close to that of an F1 racing car, and finally found a safe store.Before the car stopped, Xia Lan jumped off and ran into the shop.He grabbed a clerk by the shoulder and asked, "Electronic password safe, I forgot the password...how do I open it?"

The male clerk was obviously a little scared, and said tremblingly: "What type of electronic password safe? Different brands, different series, different models of safes, how to open..."

Xia Lan didn't have time to wait for him to finish, so she grabbed the clerk's arm and led him to the trunk of the car.The driver has opened the trunk.Xia Lan said anxiously: "This is it! As long as you can help me open it immediately, I will give you 100 million! 1000 million is fine!"

When the male clerk saw this stretched luxury car worth tens of millions, he could already estimate Xia Lan's identity.Coupled with the anxious expressions of these people, he seemed to have guessed what happened, so he didn't dare to neglect, and immediately went to him to observe carefully for a while, and said: "This is the world's top French Cooper safe. It's a pity , sir, once you forget the combination, no locksmith in the world can open it."

Xia Lan's heart felt as if it had been hit by a heavy hammer, and he tried his best not to faint. "You mean... I'll never be able to open it?"

"No, there is a factory code on the safe. As long as you contact the manufacturer and get the management code, you can open it."

Xia Lan saw hope. "Then help me contact the manufacturer quickly!"

The male clerk had a troubled expression on his face. "Sir, your safe is from the Cooper company in France. I don't know how to contact them. And, even if I did...do any of us speak French?"

Xia Lan's eyes turned black, he grabbed the clerk by the shoulder and said, "No matter what, you can help me... Please..." He almost wanted to kneel down with the clerk. "As long as you can save my child, I promise you anything."

The male clerk gasped - the facts were exactly as he had guessed.He also became anxious and walked towards the store: "Sir, I will check for you on the Internet right away..."

Suddenly, he turned around and said blankly: "Sir... I remembered one thing. Even if you find the manufacturer, you need to verify the management code of a certain safe. They can't give the password casually Tell anyone. You must show proof that you are the owner of this safe..."

Hearing these words, Xia Lan shook twice, almost collapsing to the ground.Two quick-sighted bodyguards hurried over to support the boss.Xia Lan could see that it was impossible to open the safe through this method, at least not within today.

Moreover, he did a rough calculation.Half an hour has passed since Xia Qing was locked in the safe.Not to mention such a small space, even if this safe is as big as a wardrobe, a living person would be suffocated inside it.

Besides, a safe is not a wardrobe.This iron box made of cold steel has no gaps.No one can stay in it for more than 5 minutes.

Xia Lan closed his eyes in despair, tears swirling in his eyes.The clerk reminded him if he understood what he said.But all Xia Lan could understand was that he was thrown into the abyss by this world and torn to pieces.

The housekeeper, bodyguard and driver beside Xia Lan were actually aware of the current situation.But they may be trying to comfort their boss or make a last-ditch effort.Butler Jin said: "Sir, let's not waste time here! There is a 4S shop nearby, there may be a way to pry open the safe there. Let's try it!"

Xia Lan stood there dumbly, without saying a word.Butler Jin asked two bodyguards to help the boss into the car with his eyes.The driver kicked the accelerator and sped towards the 4S store in front.

When they arrived at the 4S store, Xia Lan, who was sitting in the co-pilot's seat, remained motionless like a body whose soul had been taken away.Butler Jin jumped out of the car, went to the store to find the person in charge, and asked if he could help open the safe.The answer was - there is no such service here.Moreover, the various tools used to repair cars cannot pry open something as strong as a safe.

Five and ten minutes have passed.Xia Lan's heart was ashamed.Now, anyone with common sense understands that it is impossible for Xia Qing to still be in this world.

My son, my lovely Qingqing dog, is now...

Hot tears fell from Xia Lan's eyes, burning him like sulfuric acid.He couldn't see anything, couldn't say anything.At this moment, he was only thinking about one thing.

If only I could die instantly.

Why did the car drive so fast just now and there was no accident?
God, since you have taken my son, take me with you.

let me die.

I beg you.

three

After leaving the 4S shop, the five people in the car all remained silent.

The car drove aimlessly on the road, like driving in a boundless wilderness.

The reality was so cruel that even the two bodyguards who accompanied Xia Lan, these two iron-blooded men - couldn't help crying after seeing the appearance of the boss.

Xia Lan's body is alive, but her heart is dead.Those sitting next to him could not feel his breath of life.

Now, Butler Jin must think instead of the boss what to do next.Obviously, Madam was to be notified.And what kind of tragedy this is, he dare not imagine.Besides, the dead body of the child always has to be retrieved somehow, but how to do it...

After a while, Butler Jin tentatively asked: "Sir, we have already driven to the suburbs. There is a cutting factory ahead, do we want to..."

Xia Lan didn't say a word, maybe he didn't hear anything.Butler Jin sighed and said to the driver, "Go to the cutting factory first and ask."

When the car drove to the cutting factory, Butler Jin saw a row of chairs at the gate of the factory.He called two bodyguards to lift the safe out, helped Xia Lan out again, sat on the chair, and said to the driver: "I'm going to contact Mrs. Shangguan now, and you go and bring her here right away. It looks like Mr. My vitality is badly injured and I'm devastated, I need to ask Mrs. Shangguan to decide on some matters."

The driver nodded to show that he understood, and drove towards Shangguan Yun's mother's house.

More than 40 minutes later, the driver brought his wife here.As soon as Shangguan Yun, whose eyes were empty and his lips moved, got out of the car, Steward Jin immediately went up to him and said, "Ma'am, this has come to an end, please give me your condolences. I just want to remind you now that Mr. People's spirits are all broken. Please don't blame him anymore, after all, no one can expect such a tragedy to happen. If you provoke him again at this time, I'm really worried that he will..."

Shangguan Yun stumbled towards the cutting factory before Butler Jin finished speaking.She passed by her husband, but neither of them seemed to see the other.Shangguan Yun saw the safe on the ground at a glance, kneeled down as soon as his legs gave up, hugged the safe and cried loudly, calling out his son's name in pain.

The pain of bereavement was so tragic that everyone present was heartbroken.Shangguan Yun cried so much that she almost passed out. Butler Jin stepped forward to help her up, but he couldn't say anything to comfort her. He could only ask Gail to help his wife to the door and sit down temporarily.

Butler Jin wiped away his tears, took a long breath, and asked an old technician in the cutting factory: "Can you cut this safe? Money is not a problem."

The old technician sighed, walked to the front of the safe and studied it carefully for a while, and said: "This safe is made of the best quality carbon alloy steel plate. The thickness of the steel plate is estimated to be 6 to 8 mm. It is the strongest safe. It is also difficult to cut with a high-speed steel saw blade milling cutter. Moreover, there is no gap between the cabinet door and the door frame, and it cannot be pried open."

Butler Jin said: "Then...is there no way to open it?"

The old technician thought for a while: "There is a way. If you use laser cutting, you can cut it. But..."

"but what?"

The old technician looked at Butler Jin and swallowed. "Laser cutting, in addition to cutting open the safe, the body of the child inside will also be cut into pieces... That would be very cruel. If you see the body of the child dismembered like that, I'm afraid you won't be able to accept it..."

Butler Jin tried to imagine the terrifying scene of Xia Qing curled up inside being cut into several pieces, and he shuddered.He shivered and shook his head again and again: "Yes... this is too cruel. Sir and Madam are already heartbroken, if they see such a terrible scene again... No, no, this is absolutely impossible..."

"Then do you have other ways to open the safe?" the old technician asked.

Butler Jin said anxiously: "I heard from the clerk who sold the safe that if you can contact the French manufacturer, you may be able to open it. However, this is a rather troublesome thing, and it may take several days... It is hot now. In June, the child's body was inside, and it would rot soon, and if it was taken out at that time, it would be equally horrible..."

The old technician lowered his eyes, shook his head and sighed.When he looked up, he saw a man with a vacant expression and empty eyes standing behind Butler Jin.

Butler Jin turned his head and saw Xia Lan.He didn't know when the boss stood behind him, and whether he heard those cruel conversations just now.He asked: "Sir, you..."

Xia Lan pressed the shoulder of the conscientious butler, signaling him to stop talking for now.After standing silently for a moment, he said, "Butler Jin, there is no need to find a way to open the safe anymore."

Butler Jin shook his head, not understanding what Xia Lan meant.

Xia Lan walked up to the safe, knelt down, hugged the safe with both hands, and put her face on it—as if hugging his dear son.For a long time.

Everyone who saw this scene, including the old technician, all burst into tears.

After more than ten minutes, Xia Lan stood up, closed her eyes, let out a long breath, and said, "Butler Jin, please make arrangements to choose a place in the best cemetery to bury Xia Qing."

Butler Jin said hesitantly: "Sir, the child...you haven't taken it out of the safe yet, how can you bury it?"

Xia Lan said slowly: "Didn't I just say that there is no need to take it out. Bury it together with the safe."

Butler Jin couldn't help opening his mouth. He approached Xia Lan and reminded him in a low voice: "Sir, this safe contains precious stones and jade articles worth hundreds of millions..."

Xia Lan looked into the distance, her voice contained endless sadness. "As I said, these things are all his..." He choked up. "It's just that I didn't expect to give it to him so soon."

Xia Lan's throat was blocked, and tears fell down again.

Steward Jin stared at Xia Lan, nodded lightly and said, "Okay, I understand. Sir, I'll do it now."

When they said these words, the old technician standing a few meters away listened carefully.Although the voice was a bit small and he couldn't hear it clearly, he guessed the general meaning.

Afterwards, according to Xia Lan's instructions, Butler Jin contacted a cemetery very low-key.Then, with almost no one knowing, together with Xia Lan's family, they secretly buried the special "coffin" containing Xiao Xia Qing's body—this safe containing hundreds of millions of treasures.

Naturally, on the day of the burial, there was another grief and sorrow that moved the world.I can't bear to describe it any more.

Butler Jin handled this matter very carefully and cautiously.

He knew very well what the consequences would be if people knew that treasures worth hundreds of millions of dollars were buried in a certain part of the cemetery here.

Therefore, Xia Qing's name was not even written on the front of Xia Qing's tombstone, and of course Xia Lan and Shangguan Yun's names were even less likely to appear.There are only a few words engraved on the tombstone——

Buried here is an angel.

Now, he's back in the sky, blinking at us.

I know you love us.

We will always love you too.

Everyone who saw this text on the tombstone did not shed tears-although they didn't know who this text was in memory of.

Except for one—the old man who guards the grave here.

He was buried looking into the safe.He knows what's going on.

Xia Lan asked Butler Jin to pay the old man who looked after the tomb.This number is the sum of the wages of the old man who has worked in the cemetery for 100 years.There is only one requirement - be optimistic about this tomb.

It's not that I'm afraid that the treasures inside will be stolen or lost, but I just don't want the poor child to be in peace underground.

The old man who watched the tomb received this huge sum of money and almost died of a heart attack.Never in his life had he imagined seeing so much money—let alone owning it.Immediately, he promised (almost an oath) in front of Xia Lan and Butler Jin that from the day of the burial, he would visit the cemetery at intervals of one hour every day—regardless of day or night—to make sure nothing was lost.

Butler Jin said, this is the best.

This story comes to an end here.Next, there are other people's stories.Their experiences are closely related to what happened before.

What they did triggered a series of horrific events that followed.

four

The beginning of this story is about a tragic father and son.What I want to talk about now is a special pair of master and apprentice.

The special thing is that this is a pair of thieves master and apprentice.People in this business generally don't use their real names, and always use their code names to commensurate. Often in the end, they forget their real names and real names, and only remember their names.For these two people, the master's name is Lion's Head Eagle; the apprentice's name is Falcon.

Gryphon is an old man in his sixties.Been in this business since I was a teenager.From a street thief to the current Jiangyang thief, the theft technology has long been perfected.There is no lock in this world that he cannot open as long as it has a keyhole.It can be said that anyone's home, he can freely enter and exit like visiting the back garden.But until now, Gryphon has long lost interest in these petty theft.He is now the top spot in the thieves world, and he only picks difficult and challenging "projects" to do - stealing paintings, stealing treasures, and robbing tombs - every vote is a big deal.

Specializing in "big business", in addition to hindering the reputation of the king of thieves, there is another reason - the lion headed eagle is old after all, although it is still quick thinking and vigorous, but it is always almost [-] people. It is somewhat powerless to "live".Now he is planning to be the last one to make a big deal, quit from now on, take the money he has stolen all his life, find a paradise-like island abroad, and enjoy the rest of his life.

Falcon, Gryphon's apprentice, is a 24-year-old young man.Gryphon has only had two apprentices in its life.The eldest apprentice is his real favorite student, who has learned almost all the skills of the lion headed eagle.But when he stole a bank vault, he was shot dead by the guards on the spot.Gryphon was a little disheartened at first, and planned not to teach his apprentices again.But eight years ago, he chanced upon a 16-year-old boy - and found the boy to be nothing short of a prodigy.Therefore, he almost rushed to ask this child to be his apprentice, and took a sum of money to the apprentice as a gift in an extremely unruly manner.

This boy, of course, is the current one—Falcon.

Having said that, Gryphon is actually a very proud person.I don't know how many little thieves worshiped him with money and gifts, hoping to be his apprentice, but he refused all of them - except for the big apprentice he liked very much.Then why did this 16-year-old boy arouse his great interest?
The reason has to start with the lion headed eagle.

As I said before, Gryphon can open almost all the locks in this world.However, he is an old-fashioned person after all, and he seems a little powerless when it comes to some new things that appear now, such as high-tech electronic combination locks.

The current electronic combination lock is very ingenious in design.Passwords generally have six to eight characters. Except for those who know the password, trying to guess what the password is is almost like dreaming.Moreover, the password is only allowed to be entered incorrectly twice. If the password is entered incorrectly three times in a row, the automatic alarm system will be activated.Generally speaking, thieves are afraid to use this combination lock.Gryphon is no exception.In the first 50 years of his life, he always believed that the electronic combination lock was a minefield, or blind spot, in his theft career.

However, after meeting Falcon, Gryphon was pleasantly surprised to find that the boy could open the door for him.

This is because Falcon has an almost supernatural perception ability-he can sense the "number" he wants to know through his mind.

To be more specific-a set of digital passwords, Falcon can "guess" what this set of passwords is just by induction.Of course, there are also certain chances and luck factors, and there is no guarantee of [-]% accuracy.But he can "guess" correctly within three times, which is quite powerful.

A person with this special ability is like a born king of thieves.When meeting him, how can Gryphon not feel like a treasure?
What's rare is that Falcon is also interested in the industry of thieves, and is willing to join this industry as Gryphon's apprentice.This made the Griffin even more feel that it was God's will.

In eight years, Gryphon did not teach Falcon any stealing techniques, but used Falcon's special ability to cooperate with him to successfully steal safes and safes with electronic combination locks.Strictly speaking, they cannot be regarded as a pair of mentors and apprentices, but a pair of collaborators.But Falcon is a smart man, and he never takes credit for himself.He also knew in his heart that without the information about the Gryphon and the lock-picking technology, he might not be able to get close to the safes containing the treasures.Therefore, he always respectfully address him as "Master" and obey him.This made Gryphon even more happy, treating Falcon as his own, almost as his own son—or grandson.

Lion-headed eagles are unmarried all their lives, neither wives nor children.He made his fortune by "craftsmanship", lived in a rich life, and lived in a big duplex-style house.Ever since he met Falcon, he brought the child to his house, where he lived and ate together.In the eyes of outsiders, this is a pair of grandparents.No one knew that this was a pair of master and apprentice thieves.

On weekdays, when there is no "work", the life of the master and apprentice is similar to that of ordinary people.Falcon has the same hobbies as ordinary young people - surfing the Internet, playing games and so on.The old ones are just like ordinary retirees, walking birds in the park, playing cards and chess.On the surface, it is leisure, but in fact, it is through contact with different people to obtain various information-information worthy of their "work".

Recently, Gryphon got a piece of information from a bird friend that made him very excited.

五

When Gryphon came home in the evening, Falcon was upstairs in his room playing computer games.Hearing Master's voice, he came downstairs and shouted respectfully: "Master, you are back."

"Hmm." Gryphon is a short, lean old man, and the furrowed wrinkles on his face record his experience and vicissitudes.At this moment, with a flushed face, he sat on the sofa and said to Falcon, "Come here, I'll tell you something."

Compared with the old one, the young one is a big boy with delicate features, white and beautiful.Seeing Master's expression, he knew that there was another "big deal", and immediately sat next to Master.

Gryphon looked at his apprentice, his expression hinted that what he was going to say next was very important. "I was in the park this morning and heard something from an old man who kept birds."

Falcon listened intently.

Gryphon continued: "I heard that a month ago, something happened at the home of the president of the Xialan Consortium - his 6-year-old young master was accidentally locked in the safe while playing. As a result, the child was bored died inside."

Speaking of this, Griffin stopped talking as if deliberately whetting his appetite, as if he wanted to see if the apprentice could guess what happened next.

Falcon's imagination is obviously not rich enough to complete the follow-up.After a few seconds of pause, he asked, "And then?"

"The president was too sad and couldn't bear to take his son's body out of the safe, so he ordered someone to contact a cemetery. The safe was buried together with the child's body."

Falcon frowned, a little confused. "Can't bear to take it out? Master... what do you mean? Can't the safe be opened?"

"Yes. The child may have changed the password randomly while playing, and then hid in. As a result, no one knew what the password was - he just suffocated to death inside."

"Is it an electronic combination lock?"

"Yes." The Gryphon stared into the Falcon's eyes.

Falcon opened his mouth and nodded slightly, as if he was somewhat aware of the relationship between this matter and himself.He rolled his eyes and thought for a while, then asked, "Then there should be other things in the safe besides the child's body?"

"Of course." Having said that, Gryphon's eyes lit up. "It is said that there are gems worth more than 1 million yuan inside!"

Falcon gasped. "[-] million? That's a lot! Then the CEO never thought of any way to open the safe?"

"I thought about it. They found a cutting factory and originally planned to cut the safe, but considering that the child would be brutally dismembered, they gave up the idea—the safe was used as a coffin, and the jewelry was buried with them— And so buried in the cemetery."

Falcon opened his mouth wide, as if he was a little dumbfounded.After a while, he asked, "Master, is this reliable?"

The Gryphon glared at him. "Of course it's reliable. Do you doubt my ability to judge?"

Falcon scratched his head. "Don't dare...just, how do you judge the authenticity of this matter?"

Gryphon said: "The bird friend told me that this incident was told by his friend—an old worker in the cutting factory. And that old worker experienced this incident himself."

Having said that, Gryphon stood up, with his hands behind his back, and while pacing the house, he said: "Besides, in order to verify whether this matter is true, I have already gone to investigate this afternoon."

"Did you go to the cutting factory to ask the old worker for verification?"

Gryphon laughed. "You, after all, you are still young - if you do this, then if you track it down in the future, won't you find me right away?"

Falcon blushed. "Then...Master, what do you mean by investigation?"

The Gryphon stopped and looked at him. "I guess, when a family member of this kind of rich dies, he will definitely choose the largest and best cemetery in the city. So I went to Shuanglong Cemetery in the afternoon-of course, I bought a bunch of flowers, pretending to mourn my relatives. I observed it carefully all afternoon, and found that there was indeed a clue.”

Falcon opened his eyes wide, looking interested.

Gryphon went on to say: "I found out that there is an old man who looks at the cemetery. Every hour, he will go around the cemetery in the northwest. His regularity is very strong, almost like a clock. Time will turn around. And in the whole cemetery, he doesn't care about other places at all, he only pays attention to the one in the northwest—think about it, why is that?"

Falcon understood. "The young master's tomb is buried in the northwest. And obviously, someone paid the old man to visit the tomb—the purpose is to prevent the tomb from being stolen."

"Yes!" Gryphon held out a finger. "But they overlooked one point. The more strict precautions are taken, the more suspicious it will be. The behavior of the old man watching the tomb is tantamount to telling us the exact location of this tomb!"

"Master, do you already know which tomb it is?" Falcon asked happily.

The Gryphon smiled slyly. "Of course, I took a closer look at the tombs in the northwest when the old man wasn't on the tour. I found that within that area, there was only one tomb that was special—I was almost certain that it was' The location of the safe coffin'!"

"What's so special about that tomb?"

The Gryphon blinked its eyes. "There is a very new tombstone—the names of the deceased and family members are not written on it. There is only a eulogy engraved, and it looks like it was written for a child—not here, where else?"

Falcon said in admiration: "Master, you are so powerful! In just one day, you have figured out the bottom line."

Gryphon smiled with a bit of complacency.

Falcon thought of something again at this time, and asked: "Master, last time I heard you say that you want to do something big in the end, and then stop doing it from now on. So, this tomb robbery is your finale." work?"

Griffon raised an eyebrow and said, "Boy, don't be so ignorant. What kind of tomb robbery is this? It's not an ancient imperial tomb—it's just treasure robbery."

Falcon said with some confusion: "Master, then I don't understand. If your purpose is just the gems in the safe in the cemetery, if we choose a jewelry store to start, the harvest will not be less than this trip, right? "

Lion Head laughed a few times and said, "You don't understand that."

Falcon said respectfully, "Master please teach me."

Gryphon stopped laughing and said solemnly: "Everyone in any profession has the pursuit of this profession. Your master has never seen or experienced anything in this profession? What is an ordinary jewelry store? But Stealing the safe from the cemetery and taking out the treasure inside is a new thing. I stopped doing it in the future, and it is also an anecdote to tell my disciples and grandchildren about it. It can be regarded as enriching my career as a thief. "

Falcon nodded repeatedly.

"I also tell you that every line has its own rules." Gryphon continued to teach his apprentices. "Take what we plan to do as an example. The tomb watcher is actually just a dry old man, and he is not equipped with any powerful weapons. Let alone the two of us, it's just me. If you want to overthrow him, It's also easy. But boy, remember, we are thieves, not robbers - we can only steal, not rob. If we are found out, we will knock people unconscious and kill them - what kind of skill is that? That's third-rate It's something that can only be done. Your master, I have been stealing all my life, and I haven't been caught once, let alone attacked anyone. The last vote can't be lost at the end of the day. Boy, do you understand?"

"Understood." Falcon nodded, and complimented without losing the opportunity, "Master's stealing is no longer purely for money, it is a kind of self-realization, which is admirable."

Unexpectedly, Griffin dismissed Falcon's flattery, and sighed: "Don't put it so nicely - a thief is a thief, and he always does dirty things. It's not a professor, a scholar, or self-realization - just Do a good job, and I can boast about it later."

Falcon's brains turned quickly, and he immediately said: "In short, Master attaches great importance to this last transaction, that's right."

Griffin nodded and said, "That's the point. Then, let's discuss the detailed plan now."

Falcon said, "Master must have already figured out a plan."

The lion headed eagle smiled slightly. "You're clever. Then I'll just say it - this treasure robbery is very challenging. I calculated that from removing the tombstone, digging out the safe, and taking out the jewelry - the total time should be controlled within half a day." within an hour."

"Half an hour? Master, didn't you say that the old man who watched the tomb only visited every hour? We should have an hour."

Gryphon shook his head and said: "That was when nothing happened, he came out every hour. But I observed carefully this afternoon, where the old man who looks at the tomb lives, you can see the cemetery in the northwest from the window Even if we are acting in the dark, it is difficult to ensure that we will not be seen by him. Besides, in the middle of the night, everything is silent. If he hears movement, that's a bad thing."

Falcon felt the difficulty of this matter and asked, "What should I do then?"

Gryphon said: "I thought of a way. Let's buy a small tape recorder and record some random sounds. Put this tape recorder in the southeast direction, which is the opposite direction from where we work, and a little farther away from the old man. Son. When the tape recorder sounds, the old man will definitely be attracted by the sound, arouse his vigilance and go out to see. In this way, on the one hand, he can be lured away; We just need to put the tape recorder in a hidden place, and it will take at least ten minutes for the old man to find it. Then, it will take another ten minutes for him to walk back——in this case, we can Gave us nearly half an hour."

"Tune the tiger away from the mountain. Wonderful, master!"

"Do you think this plan is feasible?" Gryphon asked cautiously.

Falcon thought about it seriously: "Is the tombstone so easily removed?"

"No problem. I checked—they probably used ordinary marble tombstones in order not to attract attention, and they were placed directly above the tomb. The two of us can move it together."

"Then it was digging the grave with the shovel and digging out the safe."

"Yes, if you hurry up, 10 minutes is enough." Gryphon stared into Falcon's eyes. "Next, it's up to you."

Falcon nodded slightly.He knew it was his job to open the electronic safe.

"How about it, can it be finished within half an hour?" Gryphon asked again.

Falcon thought carefully for a while, and said to his master, "If there are no accidents, there should be no problem."

"Then it's settled." Gryphon made a decision, "We'll make preparations tomorrow and act the night after tomorrow."

六

Shuanglong Cemetery is located in the outskirts of the city, facing the river and backed by green hills. It is a treasured place of geomantic omen.Since it is not Qingming and Chinese New Year, there are not many people who come to visit the grave, and there are less than thirty people here and there.

Among the thirty people, one old and one young were dressed in formal attire, wearing sunglasses, holding lilies in their hands, with solemn and solemn expressions—they were the griffins and falcons pretending to be worshippers.

They came to the cemetery in the afternoon, found a random tomb, and pretended to worship.After that, the two quietly hid in the forest behind the cemetery without anyone noticing.

Now, all they have to do is wait for the dark, wait for the opportunity.

Gryphon's scheduled time was 11:30pm - that's when people are at their most exhausted and it's easy to let your guard down.

By six or seven o'clock in the evening, the cemetery was basically deserted.Only the old man who watched the tomb was left alone in the hut next to the cemetery.

Griffon and Falcon hid in a bushy and very hidden place on the back mountain. They took out dry food and water from their satchels, and after eating and drinking, they lay down on the grass to recharge their batteries.

The cemetery at night is eerie, and any slight movement of grass can trigger all kinds of fearful associations.Most people dare not stay in this environment at all.But this pair of mentors and apprentices are not ordinary people. Their professional characteristics determine that they must adapt to this dark and deep environment.In the words of Gryphon, this is one of the basic qualities of a thief.

For a few hours, the master and apprentice took a nap alternately.By 10:30, the preparations for action began.

Gryphon took out the small tape recorder that recorded all kinds of weird sounds from his satchel.He has profound skills, and he can almost walk in the mountains without making a sound, so he went to set up the lure himself.

The Griffon tiptoed around from behind the old man's house to the tombs in the southeast.As he walked, he estimated the distance (the tombs cannot walk in a straight line, they can only go around like stairs), and when he walked for about 15 minutes, he stopped and hid the tape recorder in a very hidden place. place - under a large cluster of flowers in front of a tombstone.He set the time and volume, and let the recorder go off just before 11:30.He was convinced that the eerie noises would be enough to make anyone feel haunted.After setting the trap, the Gryphon returned the same way.He checked his watch - exactly half an hour back and forth.

Before the action, the master and apprentice left the previous hiding place and hid near the grave watcher's hut.They had to make sure the old man was lured out the door after hearing the noise.

At 11:30, the tape recorder hidden in the southeast started working.The magnetic tape inside it spins.These carefully recorded sounds are loud and quiet, and the purpose is to make it difficult to judge the distance.The first sound, which was intended to attract attention, was louder - "thump" - like the muffled sound of something heavy falling to the ground.

This sound is a signal to prepare for action.Now the Gryphon and the Falcon were watching the door of the hut with bated breath, to see the old man's reaction.

Looking at the tomb, the old man is a very dutiful and down-to-earth person.The grave sweepers occasionally gave him a tip of tens of hundreds of yuan, and he was very grateful and devoted himself to his duty.Now that he accepted such a huge sum of money from Xia Lan, he was simply terrified.The old man vowed to do a good job of guarding the tomb - on the one hand, to make himself feel a little more at ease; May have to be forced to return.So even though Xia Lan and Butler Jin didn't ask him to go around every hour, he was very strict with himself.The old man bought an electronic alarm clock and set the time for every hour. Even when he went to sleep at night, he had to get up on time to check around, and then went back to sleep again—for fear of mistakes.For him, in order to keep the money, he must keep the tomb.

At eleven o'clock, the old man had already gone around the tombs in the northwest direction.After returning to the hut, I just lay down for a while, before I fell asleep, I heard this "thump".The old man's heart also thumped.Since receiving the money, he has become a hundred times more sensitive than before.The slightest movement can arouse his vigilance.Now, he sat up abruptly, judging the source and possibility of the sound.

A few seconds later, there was another sound.The old man sensed something was wrong, he got out of bed, picked up the flashlight and police electric baton beside the bed (provided for him by Butler Jin), opened the door, and searched for the direction of the sound.

Gryphon and Falcon, who were hiding in the dark, were delighted when they saw the old man coming out, knowing that the plan had worked.And the old man was indeed a simple-minded person, he only wanted to do his duty, and he didn't realize that the tomb robbers would set traps.Now, he has gone towards the southeast direction where the sound came from.

A minute after the old man walked out, Griffon and Falcon came out like ghosts.Holding the folding steel shovel used for digging graves in their hands, they walked quickly and silently to the northwest.After walking for a few minutes, the lion's head eagle found the target with keen memory.He whispered to Falcon, "This is the tomb."

Falcon looked at the tombstone with his eyes trained to see in the dark.He saw the inscription—

Buried here is an angel.

Now, he's back in the sky, blinking at us.

I know you love us.

We will always love you too.

For a moment, Falcon suddenly felt as if his heart was touched by something.The complicated feeling that followed was something he hadn't expected at all before.

A poor child... suffocated to death in a safe.But now, we're going to open his grave, take away his funeral objects, and maybe... leave him in the wilderness.

Would this be too cruel?

Seeing that the apprentice was in a daze, Griffon touched him with his elbow and whispered, "What are you doing? Why don't you hurry up and work?"

Falcon recovered from his trance, but suddenly, he felt an inexplicable chill all over his body—it seemed to be a strange feeling after reading this inscription.Falcon shuddered, looked at the Gryphon and said, "Master, I suddenly have... a bad feeling. Or, let's forget about it this time..."

The Gryphon's eyes were about to pop out of their sockets, and he lowered his voice and said, "What nonsense are you talking about! We have already achieved this step! As long as we follow the plan, in half an hour, we will be able to carry hundreds of millions of Yuan's jewelry left. You stand over there quickly and remove the tombstone with me!"

Falcon didn't dare to resist, so he had to bite the bullet and do what his master said.The two stood on both sides of the tombstone, and with all their strength, they moved back together—moving the tombstone away.

Gryphon picked up the shovel on the ground and handed it to Falcon. "Dig quickly, we don't have much time!"

The two began to dig the grave quickly.During the process of digging, Falcon felt chills from time to time-this was something he had never experienced in his previous thieving experience-and this feeling seemed to be unique to him, not to the experienced master at all.Falcon faintly felt that something was wrong with this matter, as if digging up the tomb would cause some terrible consequences...but he didn't dare to bring it up again.The current situation does not allow him to discuss or discuss with Master.This is the end of the matter, we can only continue.

After the upper layer of soil was dug up, Gryphon tried it with a shovel, and said excitedly: "The shovel touched a hard object with steel texture, it must be the safe. Now let's be careful and walk along the safe." Dig the cabinet, as long as a large part can be exposed, we can carry it up!"

Falcon didn't say a word, and looked a little anxious.But the master didn't notice at all, just urging him to hurry up.Falcon had no choice but to continue working.

After more than ten minutes, more than half of the safe was exposed from the soil.The lion headed eagle said to the falcon: "There is no need to dig, let's hug it up together."

The master and apprentice squatted on the ground, hugged the safe from both sides, pulled it out of the soil, and carefully placed it on the ground next to it.

"Okay, now it's your turn." Gryphon stared at the apprentice.

Falcon looked at the safe, and for some reason, his heart became more and more frightened.But he didn't dare to say it, he could only ask, "How long has it been?"

Gryphon glanced at his watch: "It's been 10 minutes, and there are still 10 minutes, it should be enough..."

Having said that, Gryphon suddenly stopped and opened its mouth wide, as if remembering something important.

Falcon was frightened by Master's expression, and asked, "What's wrong, Master?"

The griffin looked at the falcon suddenly, and said, "Oops! I just now remember that we have overlooked a problem. If the old man finds the tape recorder in the southeast direction, he will immediately understand what is going on! Of course he will not Then walk over at the usual speed, and run over immediately! That is to say..."

"The half hour we counted is actually not that long?" Falcon's cold sweat broke out from his back.He looked at the safe. "Master, then... shall we continue?"

Gryphon bit his lips tightly, and said fiercely: "It's all come to this point, I'm going to take a gamble no matter what!" He grabbed Falcon's shoulder. "Boy, it's up to you! You have to open the safe as quickly as possible!"

Falcon didn't dare to neglect, now his heart was beating wildly, and he couldn't tell whether it was caused by the inexplicable anxiety before or the tension now.He has no time to choose and think.

Falcon closed his eyes tightly, clenched his teeth, and exposed the veins on his face—this is his special performance when he uses telekinesis numbers.

Gryphon knew that the apprentice had begun to use supernatural powers.He held his breath, not daring to interrupt—this was the last link, but also the most important one.No mistakes can be made, otherwise, all previous efforts will be in vain.

"0..." Falcon closed his eyes and said the first number.

Gryphon hurriedly opened the cover directly in front of the safe, and pressed "0" on the numeric keypad.

"0".

"The second number is still 0?" Gryphon asked suspiciously, a little afraid to press it.

Falcon's expression was very painful-this is always the case when he used supernatural powers-he nodded quickly.

Gryphon pressed it without hesitation.

“1……2……3……6……8……”隼一字一顿地说出了七位数字。狮头鹰逐一输入密码。

However, the safe did not open.

The alarm system prompts: the input password is wrong.Three wrong codes will activate the automatic alarm system.

The Gryphon's head exploded with a buzz.The password that Falcon sensed was wrong.

Falcon opened his eyes, sweating profusely.He saw that the door of the safe didn't budge, and he knew he had failed.In order not to disappoint Master, he said: "There are two more chances, I will try again."

"No... there is only one chance left." Gryphon said sadly, "If the password you sensed this time is wrong again, the alarm system will activate and the safe will make a harsh sound... We have completely failed. "

"Aren't there three chances in total?" Falcon asked puzzled.

Gryphon shook his head: "Think about it, that child is locked up here. Would his family never try to enter the password once? They failed once, and you failed again just now... there is only one last chance left .”

Falcon was stunned, not knowing what to do.

Gryphon seemed to be really planning to fight this time. He raised his head, stared at the falcon, and said, "It's okay, try again! Don't worry about other things, just focus on sensing!"

"Master, if this time..."

"Stop talking, there's no time, hurry up!" Gryphon looked forward nervously. "I seem to have heard the old man's footsteps!"

Falcon dared not say any more.He closed his eyes tightly and entered the induction state again.

“0……0……1……2……3……6……”隼用手按住额头，再次说出了六个数字，但是跟之前完全一样。

Gryphon had already pressed these six numbers, and his heart was half cold.

When the last number was reached, Falcon actually stopped and did not speak for a long time, as if feeling that the last number was extremely difficult, and the pain on his expression was several times that of just now.

Gryphon's heart was about to burst out of his chest.At an extremely urgent juncture, Falcon actually got stuck on the last number-this has never happened before!What was anxious was that he didn't dare to urge him, for fear of affecting Falcon's induction.Beads of sweat oozed from the Gryphon's forehead.

Finally, Falcon opened his eyes and said the last number at the same time. "6!"

Gryphon quickly pressed down.

There was a crisp sound of "snap".The safe was opened.

The lion headed eagle almost jumped up with joy - at the last moment, it finally succeeded!He couldn't wait to open the cabinet door, and said to Falcon: "My boy, you really have it! Let's quickly get the gem..."

Suddenly, his movements stopped, and he stared blankly into the safe.

Two successive inductions made Falcon exhausted.Sitting slumped next to him, he felt relieved when he saw the cabinet door open, but he found that Master's appearance was wrong.

At this moment, the Gryphon's eyes were almost cracked, its mouth opened to an unbelievable extent, and its lips moved up and down.He seemed to be unable to move, he could not even make a sound, his body shook violently like sifting chaff, he backed up involuntarily, and finally fell to the ground, his right hand tightly grasped the heart, and his mouth opened and closed. A few times, the whole person is like a dead snake, completely motionless.

"Master...Master!" Falcon knew something was wrong, but he didn't understand what happened.His whole body was cold and his back was numb.The huge change and fright made his mind go blank.While helping the master who didn't know whether he was dead or alive, he subconsciously glanced at the safe.

what?
Falcon's blood froze, and his hair stood on end.What he saw made his stomach clench.

Seven

Seeing that the old man of the tomb followed the strange voice to the tombs in the southeast, even though it was creepy, he still had to bite the bullet and investigate.When he found a small tape recorder under a bunch of flowers, he slapped his thigh suddenly, shouted "Oops!" and then ran to the northwest - the young master's tomb.

He knew he had been tricked, but he didn't know that he had given the two thieves more than 20 minutes to find the source of the sound.

When the tomb-watching old man rushed to Xia Qing's tombstone with a flashlight and electric baton, panting, the scene in front of him made his head explode.He slumped to the ground, transfixed.

He couldn't understand what was going on here, couldn't comprehend everything in front of him.

The young master's tomb was dug up—this didn't surprise him—the strange thing was that the safe was wide open, and there was no young master's body inside!And right in front of the safe, lay another corpse—the corpse of a lean old man.

Seeing the tomb, the old man was completely dumbfounded.The death of that strange corpse was horrifying and frightening.And it looks like he just died.God, what the hell is going on here?what should I do?
After staying there for a while, the old man watching the tomb realized that he had no other choice now, and he couldn't handle this situation.Trembling, he took out his mobile phone from his trouser pocket and dialed the police.After hesitating for a moment, he made another call to Butler Jin.

It's all over...but I...can only tell the truth.

The thoughtful butler Jin left his mobile phone number to the old man who watched the tomb, and told him to call him immediately if there was any unexpected situation.Now, the phone rang suddenly after twelve o'clock in the morning. He glanced at the caller ID and felt a little bit in his heart—something went wrong.

After answering the phone, Butler Jin managed to understand what had happened from the trembling and incoherent tomb-watching old man.His back was soaked in cold sweat immediately.Cursed in my heart, damn it!damn it!
Butler Jin quickly got out of bed and got dressed.He thought about it for a while, and felt that the matter was of great importance, so he could only notify the husband immediately.

Butler Jin lived on the first floor of Xia Lan's big house, but he didn't go upstairs to wake up Mr., but called to tell everything.

A few minutes later, Xia Lan rushed out of the room with a horrified expression on his face. While buttoning his shirt indiscriminately, he asked eagerly, "How did this happen? And now where is Xia Qing's... corpse? !"

"Sir, the old man who looked at the tomb was so frightened that he couldn't explain what happened. I'm afraid he doesn't even know what happened. We can only rush there immediately."

Xia Lan clenched her jaw, and quickly walked out of the door without saying a word.Butler Jin had already notified the driver and bodyguard, and the car was waiting at the door.Several people knew the seriousness of the situation, jumped into the car, and rushed to Ssangyong Cemetery.

For the time being, Xia Lan did not tell his wife, Shangguan Yun.One was because it was late at night, and it was best for a woman not to go to a place like the cemetery; the other was because she was afraid that Shangguan Yun would cry again when she arrived at the scene, which would add to the chaos.

The police arrived first.When Xia Lan and his party came to Xia Qing's tombstone, several policemen were taking pictures and investigating the scene.Xia Lan saw the adult body covered with a white cloth on the ground, and then raised her eyes to see the safe that was dug out—and the door of the safe was open!His mind was also stunned for an instant, and he could no longer keep calm.He walked up to the police quickly and asked, "What happened here? Where is my son's body?!"

The old man watching the tomb shivered and hid behind the police.Several policemen looked at Xia Lan, and a middle-aged male policeman who was somewhat bald said, "Are you a relative of the owner of this tomb?"

"Yes, I am the president of the Xia Lan Consortium." Xia Lan knew that it would be useful to reveal her identity at this time. "Buried here is my son who died unexpectedly two months ago."

The policemen looked at each other.The bald policeman looked at the scene and said: "This is a cemetery, but now I see safes, jewelry, and fresh corpses that died half an hour ago. President Xia, you came just in time, maybe you can tell me what is going on with all this .”

Xia Lan stared at the policeman. "you ask me?"

"Of course I will. At least you can explain to us what happened to the safe buried in the tomb."

Xia Lan closed his eyes, he had to go back to the day when the tragedy happened again. "Two months ago, my son and I were at home..."

Suppressing the sharp pain in her heart, Xia Lan briefly described the cause of the incident.The bald policeman nodded sympathetically after listening. "It's heartbreaking and regrettable. So your decision to bury the safe in the cemetery with the jewelry and the dead body of the child was done in secret. But now it looks like it's been leaked." Bald The policeman glanced at the old man in the tomb, and said meaningfully, "Then, who leaked the news?"

Hearing this, the old man who watched the tomb turned pale with fright, and quickly argued: "Officer, and the boss... I never told anyone! I can swear to God, this secret, even in my hometown. My wife never said anything!"

Xia Lan stepped forward quickly, grabbed the arm of the old man watching the tomb and asked, "What happened tonight?! Where did my son's body go?"

Seeing the tomb, the old man's feet were weak, and he said tremblingly: "Boss, I really don't know, I was also calculated... When I came in a hurry, it was already like this."

Xia Lan stared and asked, "Who have you been tricked by?"

The bald policeman pulled Xia Lan away, and then said to the old man watching the tomb, "Don't worry, tell the whole process slowly."

The old man who watched the tomb nodded and swallowed. "Since the young master was buried here, I have been visiting his tomb every hour every day. At 11:30 this evening, I heard a strange sound outside the house..."

The old man told the story of how he had been tricked.After listening to his narration, the police went to the place he said and found the small tape recorder.When Xia Lan saw this thing, she gritted her teeth and said, "This was done by tomb robbers with a plan and premeditation!"

"That's the only way to understand it." The bald policeman looked at the corpse covered in white cloth on the ground. "It seems that the person who was scared to death is a tomb robber."

"Is this person scared to death?" Jin Butler asked.

The bald policeman said, "Would you like to see this body? See if he is someone you know."

Xia Lan and Butler Jin glanced at each other, and the two walked forward.A policeman gently lifted the white cloth, exposing the upper half of the body.Xia Lan took a look and took a breath in her heart.The policeman was right—the terrifying appearance of eyes wide open, mouth and nose wide open, and hands covering his heart, did seem to have died of a heart attack after being extremely frightened.

The policeman covered the white cloth and asked Xia Lan and Jin Butler, "Do you know him?"

The two shook their heads together.

"It seems to be an old thief trying to steal treasure." The bald policeman said, "Our preliminary judgment is that this person died of myocardial infarction after being strongly stimulated or frightened. Of course, whether this is the case still awaits further forensic examination. "

Xia Lan didn't care about the dead old thief, he asked again: "Where is my son's body? Where is it?"

The bald cop shook his head. "This... is the weirdest part of this case." He looked at the old man watching the tomb again. "When you reported the crime, you said that when you came here, you saw that there was no body in the safe?"

The old man nodded repeatedly. "It's absolutely true...I only saw this man's body lying next to it. In the safe, there is really nothing...ah, no...there are many gems and jade objects."

The bald policeman turned his head and said to Xia Lan: "When we arrived, we also saw that there were only gems and jades in the safe—this is strange—the purpose of the tomb robbers was obviously the jewelry in the safe, but he opened it. What exactly did he see behind the safe that caused him to be scared to death? Obviously, what he saw could not be just these jewels and jades, right? And if there were only ordinary corpses in the safe, it would not be logical to analyze Scaring people to death—those who are planning to rob graves are not even mentally prepared for this, right?"

At this time, a white-gloved policeman next to him said: "Also, I have checked carefully. If there is really a corpse in this safe, and more than a month has passed, the corpse should have decayed out of shape long ago. But not only is there no trace of rotting corpses inside the safe, even the gems and jades are clean, and there is not even a trace of rotten smell."

The bald policeman nodded slightly. He paused for a while, and suddenly pointed out sharply: "Mr. Xia, where is the body of the child you mentioned? Where is it? What is in this safe?"

Butler Jin couldn't bear it anymore, jumped out and said: "Officer! Please consider the feelings of a father who lost his child! Don't you think Mr. Xia Lan is lying? Who would take his son's life as a joke? It has been more than a month , Mr. Xia Lan is so emaciated that everyone around him is worried about him. You still say such things now!"

Facing Steward Jin's condemnation, the bald police officer turned a deaf ear and did not respond at all.He just stared at Xia Lan, watching his reaction.

Xia Lan stood there blankly, no one could guess his thoughts.

After more than a minute, Xia Lan suddenly grabbed Butler Jin's shoulder and said, "Butler Jin, there is no Xia Qing's body in the safe!"

Butler Jin nodded inwardly without knowing it: "Yes, sir...you...?"

Xia Lan let out a moan that seemed to be crying but not laughing, tears streaming down her face. "Could we have made a mistake, Steward Jin? What do you think? Xia Qing didn't die, did he? He didn't hide in the safe that day, did he!"

Butler Jin looked at Xia Lan dumbfounded, not knowing what to say.

The bald policeman stood beside him, frowned, shook his head, and said, "Forget it, you go back for now. We will investigate this case further. If your cooperation is needed, we will naturally notify you."

While consoling Xia Lan, Butler Jin beckoned to two bodyguards to help the husband back into the car.Just as he was about to leave, the bald policeman yelled, "The gold, silver and jewelry in this safe should be worth a lot, right? You don't want it anymore?"

Butler Jin glanced at Xia Lan, who was tearful and distracted, and knew that his mind was not on these jewels at all.He said to the police: "Thank you, officer, I will ask someone to carry the safe back."

"Wait, you can take away the contents. But this safe is an important item, we have to take it back to the bureau for careful study." The bald policeman said.

Butler Jin thought for a while and said, "Okay." He took a plastic bag for evidence collection from the police, and packed the gems and jade in the safe like loose biscuits and took them away.After thanking you again, I got into the car.

The car drove away from the cemetery.

No one knew that there were two grave robbers.Police recovered only a folding shovel at the scene.

That little thief named Falcon—where has he gone?

This is for a later story, so I won't show it for the time being.

Eight

After Xia Lan returned home, she was in a trance and lost in thought.What he had experienced in the past two months had completely crushed this man who was so majestic in the business world.Since the death of her son, Xia Lan has not been to the company once, entrusting the management of the consortium to the vice president.He stays at home all day, hiding in the house alone - dazed, brooding, talking to himself.Especially after Xia Qing's tomb was stolen, he was like crazy, crying for a while, laughing for a while.No one knew what he was thinking, or even how to persuade and comfort him.

Compared with the father, the mother was even stronger.Although her son died, she has been living in grief and longing.But she understands—the matter has come to this point, and it cannot be undone.Seeing her husband's deteriorating mental state, Shangguan Yun was very worried.She knew that if this continued, her husband would have a nervous breakdown one day and go completely crazy.She had lost her son and could not lose her husband.

After Xia Qing's tomb was stolen, Butler Jin told Shangguan Yun in detail after he came back.Shangguan Yun was also puzzled by this matter.But reason told her that no matter what, her son was dead—this was an unchangeable fact.As for the tomb robbers who were frightened to death, and the disappearing corpses—she didn't think these were important anymore.The most important thing now is the husband's mental and physical condition.She wants to save her husband and save this family.

Before going to bed at night, Shangguan Yun decided to have a good talk with Xia Lan.She handed her husband a glass of warm milk, and sat down in front of him, looking him in the eye.

Sitting on the sofa in the bedroom, Xia Lan took the milk brought by his wife dully, but didn't drink it, just held it in her hand, and continued to be in a daze.

Shangguan Yun said softly: "Drink it, milk can soothe the nerves."

Xia Lan nodded, and drank the whole glass of milk in one gulp, as if it was a dose of traditional Chinese medicine - all he could taste was bitterness, or nothing at all.

Shangguan Yun brought the cup over and put it on the small glass coffee table next to it.She stared at her husband again. "Xia Lan, look at me."

Xia Lan slowly turned her head and looked at his wife.

"You can't go on like this."

Xia Lan nodded slightly. "I know."

Shangguan Yun was pleasantly surprised. "Are you going to cheer yourself up?"

"I've always wanted to cheer up." Xia Lan said with a weary look, "but I don't know how to do it. I seem to be suffering from obsessive-compulsive disorder, thinking about something every day, every hour, every moment. Unexpectedly The answers to these things, I can't cheer up."

Shangguan Yun closed his eyes and sighed. "What are you thinking? You should tell me."

Xia Lan stared at her. "I'm afraid that if I tell you, you'll get obsessive-compulsive disorder too."

"No, I won't. I'll try to find an answer, or a reasonable explanation. I won't let a question haunt me, and you."

"Okay." Xia Lan began to say, "I was wondering if what happened that day—you know what day I'm talking about—was really an illusion?"

"I don't understand." In fact, she understands. "What's the meaning?"

"I didn't see Xia Qing get into the safe with my own eyes! I just heard the sound of the safe closing when I returned to the room. Then, I didn't see Xia Qing, so I subconsciously thought that he hid in the safe. "

"But you heard Xia Qing talking in the safe. You said it yourself. He was very scared at the time and shouted for you to let him out!"

Xia Lan closed her eyes tightly, and that scene happened again, right in this room.He tried hard to control his emotions and said, "Yes, that's what I said. But now I'm not sure if I really heard Xia Qing's voice. I mean, what if it's just a psychological suggestion? You I know, sometimes, after being misled, people will have illusions..."

"Stop talking." Shangguan Yun interrupted him, tears streaming down his face. "Then tell me, our son, if he's not dead... where is he now?"

"I don't know!" Xia Lan suddenly became irritable. "That's what's bothering me—he's not where he should be! How do you explain that the safe was opened and there was no... body in it?"

"I know you've been struggling with this. Let me tell you now, I know what's going on."

Xia Lan looked at his wife in surprise.

"This is a very cruel inference, but it may also be the closest to the truth - after the grave robber took out Xia Qing's body...and abandoned it somewhere. He wiped the cabinet and the gems inside with a towel, intending to Take it. However, before he could take the jewelry away, he suddenly had a heart attack and died..."

"No, it's impossible!" Xia Lan shook her head again and again, showing a painful expression. "If the tomb robbers dumped Xia Qing's body somewhere nearby, how could the police not find it until now? You said he cleaned the cabinet and jewelry, that's even more impossible. How could he have enough time to do it? These things? And, why is it necessary?"

Shangguan Yun said: "Do you know that the old man who watched the tomb is telling the truth? Maybe he is in collusion with the thief! Xia Lan, do you know? Butler Jin has brought back the gems and jades in the safe But he said that some jewelry was lost. In terms of value, it should be about 500 million less!"

Xia Lan opened her eyes wide and looked at Shangguan Yun. "Why are you telling me these things now?"

Shangguan Yun shook his head and said, "You've been looking out of your wits these past few days, do you care about such trivial things as whether the gems are lost or not?"

"Of course I would care! It's not the jewels I care about, but - as you say - it might mean that the grave-watcher isn't telling the truth! If that's the case, then..."

Having said this, Xia Lan was stunned, her expression froze.

Shangguan Yun's tears rolled down from his eyes again. "Do you understand? In this way, everything can be explained... And this also proves another point, our son is indeed dead... He can't still be in this world." She hugged her husband , "No matter how cruel the conclusion is, you must accept it. Xia Lan, you can no longer indulge in missing and fantasizing about your son all day long. You have to be strong, for me, for this family, you have to cheer up! "

Xia Lan remained motionless and let his wife hug her, as if what she was hugging was just a big tree.It's just that the tree is weeping, bleeding, withering and dying.

Shangguan Yun felt that what she said had dealt a heavy blow to Xia Lan, and she didn't want her husband's psychological condition to worsen in exchange for tonight's conversation.She had to give him hope and encouragement. "Xia Lan, don't continue to be sad. Have you thought about it, as long as you and I are still here, we can start over. We... can have another child."

Xia Lan stared blankly at his wife, and smiled. There was no joy in that smile, it was all sorrow. "Is it possible? In fact, after Xia Qing was born, we also tried to have another child. But, I can't make you pregnant again. Xia Qing is a miracle, the only miracle..." The corner of his mouth tasted To the bitter tears that slid down his cheeks. "Also, I want to tell you that Xia Qing is irreplaceable. Even if we have ten more children, I will still miss him... my cutest son."

Shangguan Yun's heart cooled down like extinguished charcoal.She felt a deep despair.

nine

Xia Lan pessimistically believes that the birth of his son Xia Qing is the only miracle in his life.But he was wrong.

Miracles will come again.

This day was the third night after Xia Qing's tomb was stolen.

Since Xia Qing's death, Xia Lan has had dreams almost every night.All he dreamed about was his son Xia Qing.It is not surprising that I think about it every day and dream at night.But the content of the dream in the past three nights is a bit special.

The dreams of these three nights seemed to be connected.Every time after waking up, Xia Lan clearly remembered the content of the dream with tears in her chest.

On the first night, he dreamed that Xia Qing was standing alone in a barren hill.He screamed his son's name in his dream, begging his son to come back to him.At last he awoke with a cry;
The next night, Xia Lan dreamed that her son was walking alone in the city.He yelled hundreds of times in his dream—finally, his son heard his voice and walked towards him!Xia Lan was ecstatic, and when she was about to run to hug her son, the dream woke up again;

On the third night, Xia Lan dreamed that her son was walking in the dark, like a lost child.He can see his son, but the son cannot see him.He could only scream again.The son in the dream seemed to be walking towards him following the voice, getting closer and closer... Finally, he actually stood at the door of the house.At this time, the dream woke up.

Xia Lan opened her eyes, but her excitement seemed to be still in a dream.His heart was beating wildly, he was panting heavily, and strangely, his throat was on fire, as if he had really shouted with all his strength for a long time before.This feeling...is too real, too incredible.

After the excitement, there was a deep loss.

Is all this because I miss my son?Why is the son in the dream so real?
Xia Lan glanced at his wife next to her, she was still asleep - this proved that she was indeed only shouting in her dream before, and did not make a sound in reality.Otherwise, it is impossible for the wife not to be awakened.

Xia Lan sat up from the bed, covered her face with her hands, and let out a long breath.After sitting quietly for a few minutes, he felt that his throat was really dry, so he got out of bed gently, walked to the bathroom in the bedroom, and took a cup of filtered pure water from the water pipe.After drinking two cups in a row, my throat felt a little better.

Xia Lan soaked the towel in hot water, washed her face, and dried the sweat from her neck and back.Then, he lay back on the big bed and closed his eyes, hoping to see his son again in his dream.

After closing her eyes for a few minutes, Xia Lan heard a soft call while staring in a daze.

dad……

Falling asleep so quickly... But why am I still so awake?
dad……

There was another faint cry.Xia Lan opened her eyes.He judged what was going on.Not a dream, but an auditory hallucination?
dad……

The third call.Xia Lan heard it clearly and clearly!This is really Xia Qing's voice!He shivered all over, and sat up suddenly from the bed.

"Cloud, cloud!" Xia Lan shook his wife beside her, "Listen! Did you hear that?"

Shangguan Yun rubbed his sleepy eyes and asked, "What did you hear?"

"I heard Xia Qing calling me, calling me Dad!" Xia Lan said excitedly.

Shangguan Yun turned on the bedside lamp and looked at her husband. "Xia Lan, you're drowsy."

At this time, Xia Lan heard her son's call again, so close that it seemed to be right next to her ear!His whole body trembled, and he shouted, "Listen! Such a clear voice! It's Xia Qing, he's calling Dad!"

Xia Lan suddenly turned over and jumped off the bed, searched around the room, and shouted at the same time: "Qingqing dog! Where are you?"

Shangguan Yun stared at her husband dumbfounded, and suddenly came up with a terrible conjecture that almost made her faint——Xia Lan's longing for sickness, has she gone crazy?
Xia Lan walked up and down the room, calling out her son's name loudly, turning her head to her wife from time to time and saying, "Yun, I heard it again! It's really Xia Qing!"

Shangguan Yun couldn't hold back his tears.She said as if begging: "Xia Lan... Please, don't do this."

Xia Lan walked up to Shangguan Yun, staring at her eyes. "What's the matter with you? Really didn't hear?"

Shangguan Yun shook his head sadly. "Of course I can't hear... how could I hear it?"

Xia Lan took a few steps back dumbfounded, and said in disbelief: "Impossible, I obviously heard it, how could you not hear it?"

Shangguan Yun got off the bed, grabbed her husband's hand and said, "Xia Lan, don't do this again. Go to sleep, I will accompany you to see a doctor tomorrow..."

Xia Lan broke free. "You suspect I'm crazy?"

Shangguan Yun didn't know what to say, so he could only cry silently.

Xia Lan stepped forward and grabbed his wife's hand: "Yun, listen to me, I'm not crazy, I really heard Xia Qing's voice! You have to believe me, I have a strong feeling now that he is nearby! "

Shangguan Yun shook his head sadly. "So, where is he? Where is our son Xia Qing?"

Xia Lan was speechless for a while.Suddenly, he remembered his dream tonight, whispered "Ah...", quickly turned around, opened the bedroom door, and ran downstairs.

"Xia Lan, Xia Lan!" Shangguan Yun was startled and frightened, so he could only follow after him.

Xia Lan had already arrived downstairs, and stood blankly at the gate, not knowing what to do.

The sound of Xia Lan and Shangguan Yun rushing downstairs woke up Butler Jin who lived on the first floor.He came out of the room in a hurry in his pajamas, and saw Xia Landai standing at the gate, and Shangguan Yun standing worriedly at the top of the stairs. He didn't know what happened, so he could only ask, "Sir, what is this..."

"Hush..." Xia Lan put her index finger near her mouth, signaling that no one should speak.

The whole big house was silent, eerily quiet.

Xia Lan closed her eyes, took a deep breath, then held her breath, and opened the door.

He opened his eyes.

The world stopped turning at this moment, and time seemed to be frozen.

There was a man standing at the door.

A boy - 1.2 meters tall, with a cute little mouth, big bright eyes, and short black hair.He was wearing an orange cartoon T-shirt and sky blue shorts with the face of Mickey Mouse printed on it-this was the new clothes that his father bought him on his birthday... everything was the same as that day.It was the same as Xia Lan recalled.

Xia Lan looked at the boy for a full minute.At last he could see nothing clearly, his eyes were completely blurred by tears.He squatted down, opened his arms, and took the boy into his arms.

At this moment, Xia Lan didn't want to think about anything.If this is a dream, then never wake up.

Son, my dear Qingqinggou, you have come back to me.

Ten

Shangguan Yun and Jin Butler couldn't believe their eyes.Both of them stopped breathing for an instant.

The moment the door opened, Shangguan Yun only vaguely saw a person standing at the door—a child.When she walked forward and saw the child's face, she was stunned, and the blood all over her body rushed to her face.

Oh my god, it's really my son, it's Xia Qing!

Shangguan Yun was both surprised and happy, and she didn't care about thinking so much. She rushed forward and hugged her husband and son, crying and laughing at the same time, every tear contained gratitude and joy.

Butler Jin rubbed his eyes, and after confirming that this was really the young master, he couldn't hold back his excitement.He opened his mouth and was speechless for a long time, and then shouted out of joy: "God has eyes! Bring back Master Xia Qing!"

Shangguan Yun held his son's face in his hands, and then held his little hand - almost touched his whole body.She didn't feel relieved until she was sure that her son was intact and there was nothing missing. She said with tears, "My dear boy, you really came back safely. Where did you go? Do you know how much mom and dad miss you?"

Xia Qing didn't speak, but just looked at her mother indifferently.

"Qingqinggou, call me mother." Xia Lan hugged her son and looked at him with tears in her eyes. "And me, why don't you call me Dad?"

Xia Qing still didn't speak, and there was no expression on his face.He didn't even turn his head to look at Dad.

Xia Lan and Shangguan Yun looked at each other, both showing confused and worried expressions.Shangguan Yun held his son's hand again and said, "Qingqing's hand... and body, why are they so cold?"

"Of course it will be cold. It's midnight now." Xia Lan hurriedly carried her son into the house.Butler Jin closed the door and said, "Let's take a hot bath for the child first, and I'll run the water."

Xia Lan sat on the sofa, hugged her son tightly in her arms, and warmed him with her body.Shangguan Yun sat next to him and couldn't help asking: "Qingqing, why didn't you say a word? Where have you been for more than a month? What happened?" Tears came down again as he spoke.

"Don't ask now." Xia Lan whispered to his wife, "The child must have been frightened and stimulated, and his mind is not very clear. Let's talk about it after he takes a bath, sleeps, and recovers. Anyway, Our son can come back, we should thank God!"

Shangguan Yun nodded and stopped asking.It's just that Xia Qing's frosty expression and silent situation always gave her a strange feeling, and her heart felt cold.

After a while, Butler Jin came out of the large bathroom on the first floor and said, "The hot water is ready, let the young master take a good bath."

Xia Lan and Shangguan Yun stood up together, planning to help their son take a bath together.But at this moment, Xia Qing in Xia Lan's arms suddenly stretched out a finger and pointed at his mother.

Both Xia Lan and Shangguan Yun were stunned, not knowing what the son meant.The two asked together: "Qingqing, what's the matter?"

Xia Qing didn't say a word, just pointed at his mother with a cold expression.

When Shangguan Yun caught his gaze, he couldn't control his trembling, feeling an inexplicable sense of fear.

Xia Lan looked at her son and then at her wife, feeling puzzled.He thought for a while, and asked tentatively, "Qingqing, don't you want your mother to help you take a bath?"

Xia Qing put his finger down, then nodded, still staring at his mother.

The tears that Shangguan Yun had finally suppressed came out again. She shook her head in disbelief and said, "Why, Qingqing? Why don't you want a mother?"

Xia Lan took a step forward, approaching Shangguan Yun's ear and said, "The child is not conscious yet, we will take him to the hospital for a comprehensive examination tomorrow. Don't worry about him now, let him do everything." Said A man carried his son into the bathroom.

Butler Jin followed to the bathroom, and there was already warm hot water in the ceramic bathtub.He asked: "Sir, do you need help from me or Amiya (Filipino maid)?"

"No, I can do it myself. You go out first."

Butler Jin left the bathroom and gently closed the door.After he came to the living room, Shangguan Yun immediately stepped forward and said, "Butler Jin, please help me contact Dean Ni of Ren'an Hospital in a while, and ask him to help me arrange it. Tomorrow... no, it's today, we will Take your son for a comprehensive examination. Dean Ni must arrange for the best doctor in the hospital."

"I see."

Shangguan Yun sat back on the sofa, looked up and let out a long sigh.Thinking of Xia Qing's eyes as cold as lake water when she looked at her, her whole body twitched like a spasm, with indescribable worries and worries in her heart, as well as an indescribable sense of fear.

Shangguan Yun's mood at this time was extremely complicated and chaotic.She tried to use the time between her husband and son to bathe to clear her mind.

The son is back.Thank God.But everything seemed very strange.

That day, Xia Qing was locked in a safe... What happened?He really wasn't locked in?If so, where has he gone?Where has he been and what kind of things have he encountered in this more than a month?Now, why did he come back suddenly?Moreover, after returning, why does it make people feel...something wrong?

Shangguan Yun's two eyebrows knit together.A series of questions made her puzzled, but she fell into deeper anxiety and uneasiness.

She sat on the sofa for a long time, thinking about these troubling questions.Suddenly, she looked at the wall clock on the wall, and realized that her husband and son had been in the bathroom for more than half an hour.

Does it take so long to take a shower?

Shangguan Yun stood up and walked towards the bathroom.

She came to the door.The bathroom door is translucent frosted glass, and now you can only see the fog inside.Shangguan Yun pushed the door and found that the bathroom door was locked.

"Xia Lan," she called from the door, "why did you lock the door?"

no respond.

Shangguan Yun knocked on the door and raised the volume again. "Xia Lan, have you finished washing?"

Still no answer.Shangguan Yun was a little anxious.Nothing will happen, will it?

At this time, Butler Jin also came to the door of the bathroom, and he asked, "Ma'am, what's the matter?"

Shangguan Yun frowned and said, "The bathroom door is locked. I knocked on the door and called them, but there was no response."

"When I first came out, I just closed the door lightly, it wasn't locked." Butler Jin said wonderingly, "So it's Mr. who locked the door?"

"He's taking a bath with the child, why lock the door?" Shangguan Yun felt more and more wrong, "Besides, why can't I even hear the sound of flushing water?"

Butler Jin also felt a little strange, he knocked on the door and shouted, "Sir!"

Shangguan Yun couldn't hold back any longer. She almost slammed on the glass door, as if she was going to shatter it, and at the same time shouted loudly: "Xia Lan! Xia Qing! What are you doing inside? Hurry up..."

The bathroom door opened.Xia Lan only opened the door a little. He looked at Shangguan Yun and blocked the door with his body.

Shangguan Yun looked at her husband dumbfounded, and then looked inside tentatively - he couldn't see what Xia Qing was doing."We've been knocking on the door for so long, why are you opening it now?" she asked.

Xia Lan was silent for a moment, then said, "It's nothing."

Shangguan Yun looked at him suspiciously. "Where's the son?"

"inside."

"Why are you blocking the door?"

Xia Lan glanced back into the bathroom, moved two steps to the side, and got out of the way.

It's almost as if there is some secret in it.And it needs to be hidden from me.Shangguan Yun walked into the bathroom suspiciously, and saw Xia Qing standing beside the bathtub, wrapping his whole body with a large towel, only his head was exposed - still with that expressionless expression.She went forward to carry her son upstairs to get dressed.But just two steps away, Xia Lan moved over to block her and said, "Yun, don't hug him."

Shangguan Yun asked in astonishment: "Why?"

Xia Lan didn't answer. Facing his wife and Butler Jin, he said in a very tough tone: "Remember, Xia Qing—only I can touch him in the future. No one else can have any physical contact with him." touch."

Shangguan Yun and Jin Guanjia stared at Xia Lan dumbfounded, and were so shocked that they couldn't speak for a moment.After a while, Shangguan Yun asked in astonishment: "Xia Lan, what do you mean? Why can't I touch my son?" At the same time, her intuition prompted her to ask, "What happened in the bathroom just now?"

Xia Lan walked up to his wife and said word by word: "Yun, do as I say, don't ask why. Everything about Xia Qing will be decided by me in the future, do you understand?"

Shangguan Yun opened his mouth wide and looked at her husband in disbelief.Xia Lan put both hands on her shoulders, fixed her eyes on her, and asked again: "Do you understand?"

Shangguan Yun nodded subconsciously.Over the years, she has known her husband very well - as long as Xia Lan speaks to her in this tone, it means that this is a very important matter.Xia Lan's tone seemed to be asking, but it was actually an order.They have a tacit understanding, in this case, don't ask and say more.

Xia Lan turned around, picked up her tightly wrapped son, walked upstairs, and said at the same time: "Tonight, I will sleep next to him in Xia Qing's room."

Shangguan Yun couldn't help but said: "I asked Steward Jin to contact Dean Ni of Ren'an Hospital, and asked him to arrange the best doctor in the hospital to do for Xia Qing..."

Before Shangguan Yun could finish speaking, Xia Lan interrupted: "Please contact Dean Ni again and tell Steward Jin that the appointment has been cancelled. Xia Qing doesn't need to do any inspections." She carried her son upstairs without looking back.

Shangguan Yun stared at Xia Lan's back in astonishment.At this moment, she met Xia Qing's gaze again.She vaguely saw a cold smile hidden in those eyes, which made her shudder.She lowered her eyes unconsciously, not daring to look at him.

"Bang" - Xia Lan walked into her son's room and closed the door.Shangguan Yun clearly heard the sound of locking the door.She stood there sluggishly, standing in the empty hall, as if a certain part of her body had been pulled out of her body.

God, what the hell is going on here?What happened to my husband and son?
Is this boy who came back tonight really my son Xia Qing?

eleven
It has been a week since Xia Qing came back.During these seven days, he stayed in his own room all the time, except for his father, he did not contact anyone—to be precise, no one even saw his face.Even the meal was prepared by Xia Lan himself for his son, and then asked the Filipino maid to bring it upstairs and put it on a small dining table at the door - he could not enter Xia Qing's room.

On the second day after Xia Qing returned home, Xia Lan announced a series of unbelievable rules at home——

First, the master bedroom was relocated downstairs.In other words, only Xia Qing lived on the second floor now.

Second, the housekeeper, servants, including Shangguan Yun - no one is allowed to enter Xia Qing's room.

Third, everyone in the family can't talk about everything related to Xia Qing at home or outside.

All these regulations are completely mandatory and there is no room for negotiation.This is clearly hiding something.

Shangguan Yun wanted to communicate and reason with her husband.However, Xia Lan hardly wanted to talk to her now.She didn't understand why her husband—and this returned son—excluded herself?Why is my current status the same as that of a housekeeper and a servant?Aren't we family?All this, why?
Shangguan Yun looked at her husband every day, as if looking at a stranger.And the son upstairs is far away from him, it seems that there is no such person at all.

This situation is even more painful and sad than the death of his son.Shangguan Yun felt as lonely and helpless as if he had been abandoned in a deep mountain valley.Her heart was bleeding.

Who lives upstairs?Is it really my son?Or a shady monster?

Shangguan Yun looked at the second floor in a daze every day, asking himself in his heart, and felt chills.

Even so, she still misses her son very much, who pushed her away thousands of miles away.She wanted to see him, to talk to him, to know if he was healthy.But there was no chance, Xia Lan almost returned to her own room except when she was sleeping at night, and stayed in her son's room the rest of the time, as if she was guarding something.

Moreover, Xia Lan did not allow Shangguan Yun to ask any questions about his son, as soon as he mentioned it, he would immediately go out and live in his son's room.As a result, Shangguan Yun didn't dare to speak at all, so he could only hold back his sadness and doubts, swallowing his tears.

This is so abnormal.Shangguan Yun was very clear.This son who returned mysteriously changed her husband and everything in the family, as if... secretly manipulating something.There must be something wrong here.However, she didn't know what to do.

A few days later, the situation has not changed at all.Shangguan Yun realized that this could not go on, and she had to take action.

Recently, she had observed that her husband would always be away for an hour or so every day—it could be morning, afternoon, or evening.The time is not fixed.I don't know what he went out to do, but every time he came back, he would bring back a gift for his son.The gift was in a black pocket, and it was impossible to tell what it was.

Shangguan Yun didn't want to care about the gift for now.What she wants to use is the time when her husband is away from home.

What Shangguan Yun is most concerned about now is his son's health.She hadn't heard a word from him since his return—nor, in fact, had seen him again.She also doesn't know what her son's spirit and sanity are like.In particular, she always remembered - when Xia Qing just came back, when she hugged him, she felt his body was cold - this kind of cold was not the usual cold from the wind, but... a lifeless cold.

It's really... scary.However, I have to figure it out.

Shangguan Yun came up with a plan.She quietly contacted a personal doctor.

One night, Xia Lan went out after eight o'clock, apparently to buy gifts for her son again.After her husband left the house, Shangguan Yun immediately called the private doctor and asked him to arrive within 5 minutes as agreed before.

Be prepared in advance, and the private doctor waiting nearby will soon come to this mansion.

Shangguan Yun greeted the young male doctor in his 30s at the door and led him into the house.She didn't dare to delay for a minute, saving unnecessary greetings, and said: "Doctor, you only have 1 minutes at most. I hope you can finish my son's physical examination in the shortest possible time, and then go downstairs immediately. After returning home , please tell me the result over the phone. In terms of cost, it will be calculated as three times your usual outpatient visits, please."

"Okay, no problem." The male doctor was carrying a large medical kit. "Is the child on the second floor?"

"Yes, I'll take you to his room right now."

The two walked towards the stairs and were about to go upstairs when Butler Jin suddenly appeared from the side. "Madam Shangguan."

Shangguan Yun was taken aback, she hadn't noticed Butler Jin was in the living room at all before.After a brief moment of thought, she understood. "Butler Jin, Xia Lan told you to stay here and not allow me to go upstairs?"

Butler Jin lowered his head. "... Ma'am, please don't embarrass me."

Shangguan Yun pondered for a while, and said to the doctor, "Please wait for me." Then he pulled Butler Jin aside, and said, "Butler Jin, after so many years, I know that you are very loyal and dedicated to this family, especially Mr. However, I believe you also feel that something is wrong with what happened recently, don't you? Xia Lan is very abnormal now. Butler Jin, if you really think about our family, you should let me save him, and Not helping him blindly, protecting him. What do you think?"

Butler Jin clenched his jaw and frowned deeply.

Shangguan Yun said in an almost begging tone: "Don't say anything else, even if it's because I, a mother, haven't seen my son for more than ten days...let me see him. As long as you don't Say, I won't tell, Xia Lan won't know." She pointed to the doctor behind her, "This is my personal doctor, he will come down after the physical examination with Xia Qing. Butler Jin, I just want to know Is your son healthy, please!"

"Madam Shangguan, please don't say that, how can I bear it?" Butler Jin finally compromised. "Hurry up and go up. Hurry up, sir, you don't know when he will be back!"

"Okay, I know." Shangguan Yun cast a grateful glance at Butler Jin, and led the private doctor upstairs.

The two came to Xia Qing's door.Shangguan Yun knocked on the door and shouted, "Xia Qing."

no respond.This is what Shangguan Yun expected.She didn't waste any more time, took out the room key she had prepared, and opened the door.

As soon as she pushed the door open, she froze for a moment.Xia Qing stood in the middle of the room, looking straight at her with eyes as cold as stone.

Shangguan Yun tried to get closer to his son, trying to force a smile on his face: "Qingqing, it's mother, I'm here to see you."

Shangguan Yun opened his arms, intending to hug him.But Xia Qingchao took a few steps back, and stretched out his finger like last time, pointing at his mother.That means clearly—don't get any closer.

The finger pointing at him pierced into Shangguan Yun's heart like an ice pick.She stopped where she was, weeping. "Son, what's wrong with you? Don't you remember your mother? You look at me carefully and think about it, I am my mother..."

Shangguan Yun tearfully talked to his son for a long time, but he couldn't move him at all.Like an ice sculpture without any emotion or body temperature, Xia Qing kept pointing coldly at the woman in front of her.There was obvious alertness and hostility in his eyes.

Finally, Shangguan Yun realized that all this was meaningless.She wiped away her tears and said to Xia Qing: "Son, it doesn't matter if you don't accept mom for the time being, take your time later. But now mom wants to ask an uncle doctor to come and check your body. As long as you are healthy , Mom is satisfied, okay?"

Xia Qing didn't respond to these words, Shangguan Yun could only understand that he acquiesced.She turned around and said to the private doctor waiting at the door: "Please come in. My son may be a little bit resistant, I hope you can find a way to get him to cooperate with the examination, please."

The male doctor said confidently: "No problem, I am very good at coaxing children to have a physical examination. I will make them feel like they are playing a game."

"That's very good. Doc, please hurry up."

"I know. Please wait for me downstairs." The male doctor walked into the room and closed the door.

Shangguan Yun stood at the door for a while, and heard the doctor say like a kindergarten teacher, "Little friend, look, uncle brought you a lot of interesting toys..." After waiting for a while, there was no voice of resistance.Shangguan Yun breathed a sigh of relief, and walked downstairs slowly.

She checked the time, and it was 25:10—a delay of 45 minutes.Before [-]:[-], the physical examination must be completed, and the doctor must leave before Xia Lan returns.

Shangguan Yun sat in the living room, waiting anxiously.Butler Jin stood aside, equally worried and restless.Both of them kept looking at the wall clock on the wall, counting the time.

45:[-] came quickly, but the doctor did not come down from the second floor.Butler Jin couldn't help but said, "Madam Shangguan, do you need me to call him?"

Shangguan Yun stood up and sat down again. "Wait another five minutes."

At [-]:[-], Shangguan Yun couldn't bear it any longer. She walked quickly to the second floor, followed by Butler Jin.

Coming to Xia Qing's door, Shangguan Yun knocked on the door. "Doctor, are you all right?"

Waited for a moment, no response.Shangguan Yun suddenly had a very bad feeling, and she pushed the door open suddenly.

"Ah!" She exclaimed, covered her mouth with her hands, and her brain exploded.

The young male doctor was lying motionless on the ground at this moment, with his eyes wide open and his mouth open. It seemed that he was—dead!
What was even more shocking was that Xia Qing squatted next to his corpse, nonchalantly playing with the equipment in the medical box.Seeing Shangguan Yun and Jin Guanjia standing in front of him in utter horror, he just glanced at them lightly, with mockery and provocation in his eyes.

Butler Jin took a few steps forward, observed the doctor carefully for a while, then turned his head and exclaimed palely: "Oh my God...madam...something really happened! He's dead!"

Shangguan Yun's legs were weak and her hair stood on end. She shook her head violently and looked at her son in fear. "Xia Qing, what... did you do?"

Xia Qing ignored her at all and fiddled with the stethoscope in his hand.A corpse with a horrible death was in front of him, it seemed to him just a puppet.

This is not my son.Shangguan Yun looked at the child in front of him, and his buzzing mind could only come to one conclusion.I was right, he really was a monster.

Butler Jin walked up to Shangguan Yun and said in horror, "Madam, what should we do now? Sir...maybe soon..."

Having said that, he stopped with his mouth open, his eyes staring straight ahead.

Shangguan Yun turned his head and saw Xia Lan standing behind him.

Xia Lan stared at Shangguan Yun for a few seconds, then at Butler Jin, and then moved his gaze to the corpse on the ground. After a few seconds, he became furious and shouted, "What did you do!?"

Shangguan Yun and Jin Guanjia were shaking with fright.Shangguan Yun was already speechless, so Butler Jin had no choice but to bite the bullet and explain: "Sir, madam invited a private doctor...to examine Xia Qing, but...he..."

Xia Lan quickly glanced at the dead body on the ground, as if he wasn't surprised at all.He just stared at Butler Jin and said, "Didn't I tell you? When I'm not around, no one is allowed to enter Xia Qing's room! Butler Jin, why don't you listen to me?"

Butler Jin lowered his head and murmured, "It's... sir, it's all my fault..."

"No, I begged Butler Jin to let me come upstairs." Shangguan Yun walked up to Xia Lan and stared at him. "Yes, we violated your regulations. But Xia Lan—" She pointed at the corpse on the ground, and suddenly the blood all over her body rushed up. "This doctor died in our house! In Xia Qing's room! Why are you not surprised at all? You told me not to ask anything related to Xia Qing. But now that someone is killed, you want me to ignore it ask?"

Xia Lan looked at his wife, and gradually lowered her gaze, speechless.

"Look at me." Shangguan Yun held her husband's face. "Tell me, what is going on here?"

Xia Lan shook her head and turned her face to the side.After a moment's pause, he said, "Let's not talk about that now, let's deal with this corpse first."

Shangguan Yun shivered, and asked in horror, "What do you mean by 'handling'?"

Xia Lan sighed. "Where did you go? I mean, tell Butler Jin to call the police and take this corpse away."

"How do you explain it to the police?"

"There is no need to explain. He died of a sudden myocardial infarction, which is not our responsibility."

Shangguan Yun stared into her husband's eyes. "How do you know he had a myocardial infarction?"

Xia Lan didn't even avoid his wife's gaze.He also looked directly at her. "I can't explain it to you. But you should know about it—why did I tell you not to come near this room?"

Shangguan Yun suddenly felt a chill down his back. "You mean... you know, people who get close will..."

"Stop talking." Xia Lan turned her head and glanced at Xia Qing who was still playing with medical equipment.He looked at his wife again, and after looking at her for a long time, he approached her ear and said softly, "Yun, remember—if you want to survive, just do as I tell you."

Shangguan Yun met Xia Lan's eyes again. She couldn't read anything, but felt a chill.

twelve
The accidental death of the private doctor was finally classified as a sudden myocardial infarction—exactly what Xia Lan said.Although there is no legal responsibility, but out of humanity, Xia Lan paid the family member of the private doctor 100 million yuan as a pension.

No one knows the secret behind this incident.Except for Shangguan Yun and Jin Guanjia.

They knew very well that the doctor could not have died of a heart attack by chance.

His death must have something to do with Xia Qing.

It's a terrible secret.However, after this incident, Shangguan Yun was almost a stranger to her husband.Xia Qing's secret lay between them, making them no longer have warmth and trust.And out of fear, Shangguan Yun didn't dare to intervene or ask about Xia Qing anymore.She had to pay attention to what Xia Lan reminded her of.

Shangguan Yun endured it, the current life is a kind of torment for her.What she feels now is that not only has her son not returned, but her husband has also been lost.There was nothing she could do about the current situation, except to ignore it and pray that disaster and misfortune would not come to this home that had been shrouded in terror.

But it didn't take long before something went wrong.

Xia Qing has the habit of eating late at night.During the period when he just came home, his three meals including supper were all prepared by Xia Lan himself.Later, Xia Lan handed over this right to the Filipino maid Amiya, but strictly instructed that Xia Qing's food must be cooked separately.There is also an even weirder requirement - when cooking Xia Qing's food, especially when supper, the kitchen door must be closed so that no one else can see the cooking process.

Shangguan Yun had doubts about this matter for a long time, but just like all other doubts - she could only keep it in her heart and dare not ask it.

It has been more than ten days since Xia Qing came back. He has to eat supper every night, and the time is also very fixed, around eleven o'clock.After amiya is prepared in the kitchen, it is served on a large plate and covered with a metal lid.After carrying it to the second floor, put it on a trolley and push it to Xia Qing's door.

Every detail was arranged and explained by Xia Lan.

Amiya, the Filipino maid, would repeat this incident every night, and she was used to it.

But this night, the situation was a little different from the past.

When Amiya pushed the dining cart filled with supper to the young master's door, she was surprised to find that the door was slightly open.

She felt a little surprised—for more than ten days, the door of this room was closed, and it was the first time she saw the door open.

Amiya stood at the door, hesitating for a few seconds.According to Xia Lan's regulations, no matter whether the door is open or closed, she must come down immediately after delivering the snack to the door.However, Amiya also has curiosity after all, she really wants to know what this enigmatic young master is doing in the house every day.

She stared at the door that was only opened less than 30 degrees, and swallowed.Just take a look, I just take a look at the door.

Amiya quietly approached the door, gently pushed the door open with her fingers, and tentatively stretched her head inside to look around.

no one.Xia Qing was not in the house.

The young master went to the bathroom?Amiya thought to herself.She glanced at the bathroom at the end of the corridor on the second floor.should be.

Originally, she planned to retreat like this, and then went downstairs.But the moment she retracted her head, she suddenly smelled a smell - a disgusting stench - which clearly came from this room.

Amiya frowned, judging what the stench might be coming from.But she couldn't think of it for a while, and stood there in a daze.A few seconds later, she walked into the room as if possessed.

Take a look, I just take a look.Her heart was pounding.Eyes searched the house, nose sniffed around, trying to find the source of the smell.

More than ten seconds later, she stood in front of Xia Qing's wardrobe.She put her nose close to the closet door, took a deep breath, and frowned at the stench emanating from it—obviously, the stinky thing was inside.what is it then?

At this moment, Amiya obviously couldn't control it anymore.Anyone with the slightest curiosity would probably be impossible to leave at such a time.She opened the closet door.

Amiya's mind exploded with a buzz.Her eyes turned black, like a snake that stepped on the grass, she quickly bounced back, then covered her mouth with her hands, and let out a horrified scream from her throat. "Ah, ah... ah——!"

She had only seen the things in the closet in nightmares—there were countless dead animals!Stray cats, dogs, mice, snakes, and maybe... rabbits?Some were decomposed, and some looked like fresh corpses that had just died.She saw that there were still some small things moving inside... hadn't breathed out yet?Or... God, she didn't dare to look any further.He put his hands over his mouth desperately to keep himself from screaming or throwing up.

God, I want to... get out of here!Amiya couldn't stay there for a second.She closed the closet door in fear and planned to get out of the room immediately.But turning away, she froze.

Xia Qing was standing at the door, staring at her coldly.And at some point, the door of the house was silently closed.

The moment Amiya met Xia Qing's eyes, she suddenly felt unable to move, like a frog stared at by a snake, powerless to resist.Her body was cold and erect, and her legs were weak.

"Master Xia Qing... I brought you a midnight snack... here, at the door." Amiya couldn't help trembling.She is an adult woman in her 30s, but the sense of fear and oppression brought to her by this six-year-old boy made her tremble with fear.

The corner of Xia Qing's mouth moved.Is he laughing?Amiya wasn't sure.She only knew that the boy was approaching her step by step.She instinctively felt the shadow of death attacking herself.

Just when Xia Qing was about to approach Amiya, there was a sudden "bang", and the door was pushed open.Xia Lan stood at the door and shouted, "Xia Qing! No way!"

He quickly ran to Xia Qing, hugged his son, and kept repeating: "No, son... this can't be done..." He raised his head and shouted to the stunned Amiya, "Get out!"

Amiya walked around them in a panic, and ran downstairs as if fleeing for her life.

Omg this is horrible...I have to...get out of here now!Amiya's instinct told her that she had just escaped from death, and she must not stay in this place anymore!She rushed to her room, pulled out a large suitcase, stuffed a few clothes and belongings in it, and planned to flee immediately.

She walked to the living room with a big suitcase, and was about to open the door to go out, when someone shouted from behind: "Amiya!"

Amiya trembled all over, and the bag in her hand almost fell off.She turned her head tremblingly, and saw the owner standing at the top of the stairs - Xia Lan.

Xia Lan walked into Amiya, staring at the luggage in her hand. "Are you leaving here?"

Amiya begged: "Sir, I beg you...let me go..."

Xia Lan waved her hands irritably, signaling her to stop talking. "If you want to leave, I won't stop you. But you should tell me, right? Don't you want this month's salary?"

"No, no... Sir, as long as you let me go, I will be grateful." Amiya said pitifully.

Xia Lan sighed on her back, and took out a bank card from her pocket. "Amiya, I know that you really want to go back to the Philippines, your hometown, and live a prosperous life with your family. Now, I fulfill your wish. There is 80 on this card, and the password is unmodified The original passphrase - 123456. You take it and never come back."

Amiya looked at Xia Lan, as if she couldn't believe it was true.She hesitated for a moment, then reached out to pick up the card.

Xia Lan's hand holding the bank card suddenly shrank back, staring at his Filipino maid. "But remember, you can't tell anyone what happened tonight."

Amiya nodded hurriedly.

"Also, the food you prepare for Xia Qing every night is also a secret." Xia Lan stared at her sharply. "If you let others know about these things, it will definitely cause me trouble. If such a thing happens, I will also trouble you, do you understand?"

"I understand, I understand... Sir, I will fly back to the Philippines tomorrow and will never come to China again."

Xia Lan nodded slowly, handed the bank card to Amiya, and watched her open the door and disappear into the darkness.

thirteen
Shangguan Yun went to bed early last night, she didn't know what happened.When I woke up in the morning, I was surprised to find that the Filipino maid Amiya was not there.She went to the living room to ask Butler Jin, but Butler Jin said that he didn't know what was going on, but he just heard from Mr. Xia Lan that he wanted to change to a Filipino maid.

Shangguan Yun planned to go back to the room to ask Xia Lan, but she stopped after walking a few steps.

Change Filipino maid?Amiya did a good job, why change it?Besides, even if you want to change, it's impossible to fire her at night, right?
Shangguan Yun suddenly realized that something must have happened last night.

wait.She sits on the sofa.I have to think about it.Xia Lan is so anxious to let Amiya leave overnight, there is only one possibility...

What secret did Amiya discover about Xia Qing?
Yes, there is nothing wrong with that.Shangguan Yun thought of the supper every night, which was cooked by Amiya and delivered to the door of Xia Qing's room.She frowned slowly, thinking of many possibilities.

After thinking for a moment, Shangguan Yun raised his head and glanced at the wall clock. It is now 09:30 in the morning.If Amiya left last night, she shouldn't have gone too far now.

She decided to keep Xia Lan in touch and get in touch with Amiya.

Shangguan Yun walked to the bedroom.Xia Lan was sitting on the bed with her back facing her, as if thinking about something.Shangguan Yun deliberately didn't mention Amiya's affairs, but lied that he was going out to buy something.Xia Lan didn't seem suspicious.

Shangguan Yun quickly changed his clothes, put on his makeup briefly, and left home in a hurry.When she got outside, she took out the phone from her purse and dialed Amiya's cell phone.

It took a long time for the phone to be picked up.It can be seen that Amiya has considered for a long time whether to answer this call.Her voice also expressed deep unease. "Hello, Mrs. Shangguan..."

"Amiya, where are you? Why did you leave?" Shangguan Yun asked eagerly.

"nothing……"

"Amiya, tell me the truth. Why did the sir fire you?"

The other party hesitated for a long time. "...it's not that my husband wants to fire me, it's me who wants to leave. I want to go back to my hometown in the Philippines... Ah, Mrs. Shangguan, the plane is about to arrive, I can't say any more..."

Shangguan Yun was taken aback. "Airplane? Are you at the airport now?"

Amiya obviously wanted to end the call immediately. "Yes, sorry, I have to turn off the phone..."

"Wait, wait a minute, Amiya!" Shangguan Yun quickly stopped her, "Don't hang up the phone. Listen, I have to meet with you, right away. You refund the plane ticket, and I will pay you for the loss."

"Ah, no, Mrs. Shangguan, I'm really sorry, I'm leaving now..."

"Okay, wait..." Shangguan Yun tried his best to reassure her, and his mind turned quickly. "Amiya... tell me, how much money did your husband give you?"

There was silence on the other end of the phone.

Shangguan Yun knew that she was right, she grasped the other party's psychology and said: "Amiya, as long as you meet with me now, I will give you the same amount of money. How about it, isn't it bad? It will only delay you for a while Hours. Think about it, Amiya."

After a full half minute of silence, Shangguan Yun almost thought that she had hung up the phone, and Amiya finally spoke. "Okay, Mrs. Shangguan, I'll wait for you at the Starbucks next to Jinghai Airport."

"Okay, I'll be there soon."

Shangguan Yun hung up the phone and took a deep breath.I guessed it right, Amiya was sent away overnight by Xia Lan because she knew something - there must be something wrong with it.

Shangguan Yun didn't dare to waste another second, she immediately drove her Porsche sports car out of the garage and drove straight to Jinghai Airport.

After finally grasping a clue, nothing can let it slip away.

Half an hour later, Shangguan Yun met Amiya in the Starbucks coffee shop outside the airport.

Amiya has already ordered a cup of coffee for her.Shangguan Yun said "Thank you", held the coffee cup, and asked straight to the point: "Okay, Amiya, tell me now, what happened last night?"

Amiya showed a very embarrassed expression: "Madam Shangguan, I... promised Mr. Xia Lan that I will not tell this matter."

Shangguan Yun stretched out his hand to compare, and said: "I understand, but Amiya, you must also know that this matter is very important to me. I am the mistress of this family, but Xia Lan keeps everything from me. Now , I don't know anything about my own son. Amiya, you can understand how I feel, right?"

"Yes, I can understand...but Mrs. Shangguan." Amiya bit her lower lip and pondered for a long time. "Mr. Xia Lan hinted that if I tell what I know, he won't let me go."

"Xia Lan...he actually threatened you?"

Amiya lowered her head and said nothing, looking very uncomfortable.

Shangguan Yun held Amiya's hand. "Don't worry, Amiya. Xia Lan is just scaring you. You are going back to the Philippines soon, and you can buy a house in a beautiful small town in the Philippines and live happily with your family. Xia Lan can't really Come to you—he can't find it either. No one can bother you."

Amiya raised her head, seemingly convinced by Shangguan Yun's words.She hesitated for a moment again, and said, "Okay, Mrs. Shangguan, I will tell you what happened last night."

Shangguan Yun nodded, a little nervous.

"Last night at eleven o'clock, I made a midnight snack for Master Xia Qing as usual, and delivered it to his door..." Amiya told what happened last night in detail. The first time I stopped because of fear, and it took more than ten minutes to finish describing the matter.

Shangguan Yun's reaction was also one of the reasons why Amiya stopped.When she heard Amiya say that Xia Qing's closet was full of dead animals, she covered her mouth in horror, her stomach churning.The terrifying feeling that Amiya described when Xia Qing approached made her feel even more horrified.After Amiya finished speaking, Shangguan Yun froze.

"Madame Shangguan, that's how it happened. I was really...frightened."

Shangguan Yun took a deep breath, as if she couldn't breathe before, she opened her eyes wide, and asked in disbelief: "How come there are so many... dead animals in Xia Qing's room? Where did he get them? "

Amiya shivered, and those disgusting pictures seemed to appear before her eyes again. "I don't know, ma'am." Looked uncomfortable.

Shangguan Yun thought for a while, and suddenly remembered the presents Xia Lan brought home for his son every day.Could it be... goosebumps all over her body.

After a pause, Shangguan Yun asked: "Amiya, you said that when you found Xia Qing standing behind you and slowly approaching you, you felt a threat of death. Are you sure that your feeling at that time was correct? Is it? Xia Qing is just a six-year-old child."

Amiya put her hands on her shoulders, her face turned pale.It seemed that this was what she was most afraid of compared to finding dead animals. "Yes, ma'am... I don't know what's going on. I know I'm just a six-year-old child in front of me, but the feeling of fear in my heart..." She shuddered. "It still makes me feel cold. I believe my intuition is correct... If Mr. Xia Lan comes one step later, I may... die."

Shangguan Yun's back also continued to feel cool.She tried her best to control her emotions and asked, "You said, Xia Lan broke into that room, hugged Xia Qing, and kept saying 'no, no'?"

"Yes, it makes me feel... sir... as if he knew what would happen if he was late."

Oh my god.Shangguan Yun felt dizzy, she thought of the personal doctor who died in Xia Qing's room.Amiya's intuition may be right.The thought made her shudder.She closed her eyes to gather herself, and said, "After you ran downstairs, you don't know what happened to Xia Qing, do you?"

"Yes."

Shangguan Yun was silent for a long time, staring into the other person's eyes. "Amiya, tell me now, what exactly is the food you prepare for Xia Qing every day?"

There was a trace of fear on Amiya's face.She opened her eyes wide, as if a little afraid to speak out.

Shangguan Yun held Amiya's hand tightly again. "It's okay, Amiya, just tell me." I was mentally prepared.

After a while, Amiya said, "It's... some meat."

Shangguan Yun's heartbeat accelerated. "What meat?"

"……I have no idea."

"do not know?"

"Yes, because I can't see what kind of animal it is."

"Where did the meat come from?"

"Mr. Xia Lan brought it all back to me. He told me that this kind of meat is specially prepared for Young Master Xia Qing, and no one else can see or know about it."

Shangguan Yun tried his best to suppress the fear in his heart. "How do you cook these meats?"

"It's like frying steak, but without any seasoning. And Mr. Xia Lan asked, as long as it is ripe."

"Once mature?" Shangguan Yun exclaimed, "Isn't that no different from raw meat?"

Amiya nodded helplessly. "I also think that he just asked me to cook it symbolically. To be honest, I find it hard to believe that this kind of food... can be eaten by anyone." After a pause, she continued, "And, Mrs. Shangguan ...I didn't know what kind of meat these were before. But after looking at Young Master Xia Qing's closet last night, I wondered, could it be..."

"Okay, stop talking." Shangguan Yun covered his mouth in fear, and was about to vomit.

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Shangguan." Amiya said apologetically, "I was just thinking about it and it made you uncomfortable."

After several minutes, Shangguan Yun's mood calmed down a little.She said, "Amiya, is that all you know?"

"Yes, Mrs. Shangguan. I have told you everything I know. However, this is tantamount to betraying Mr. Xia Lan."

Shangguan Yun understood.She took out a bank card from her purse and said, "I don't know how much Xia Lan gave you. But the card I brought out today is only 50. Amiya, take it and go back Philippines. Just like Xia Lan said, never come back."

Unexpectedly, Amiya held Shangguan Yun's hand at this time. "Madame Shangguan, please put away your card. The last time I meet with you today is not for money. To be honest, the money Mr. Xia Lan gave me is enough for me to live well in the Philippines. I I tell you this because..."

She paused for a long time, bit her lower lip tightly, and finally said after a while: "I think you have the right to know these things. Moreover, your current situation may also be dangerous. Ah...Of course, I was just messing around It’s just a guess, not necessarily the case. But, I’ll tell you what I know, so you should feel at ease.”

Having said that, Amiya stood up. "Mrs. Shangguan, I didn't tell the truth just now. In fact, the ticket I bought was at twelve o'clock. Now is the time to board. I have to leave, please take care."

She picked up her bag and left the cafe.Shangguan Yun wanted to say goodbye to Amiya and thank her, but his throat seemed to be blocked and he couldn't say anything.

fourteen
Shangguan Yun sat in the Starbucks coffee shop, crossed his hands, propped his forehead, closed his eyes and thought for more than ten minutes.

She took out her phone and dialed Xia Lan's cell phone.

After the call was connected, she said slowly, "Xia Lan, I want to talk to you."

There was silence on the phone for a few seconds. "...Yun, did you go to find Amiya just now?"

Shangguan Yun didn't intend to hide anything. "Yes. She's on the plane now."

Xia Lan on the phone cursed fiercely: "Damn it!"

"Xia Lan, why are you hiding it from me?"

silence. "Yun, let's talk about it when we get home, okay?"

"No, if you don't say it clearly, I won't go home. Xia Lan, I'm not threatening you. I'm really scared. Now this home makes me feel terrible and unsafe—you know me mean?"

"..."

Shangguan Yun's tears flowed down. "Xia Lan, we have been married for so many years, and our relationship has always been very good. Why don't you even have basic trust in me now? You treat me like an outsider, hiding everything from me, and completely ignoring my feelings. Xia Lan, You have lost your son, are you planning to lose me now?"

"...Yun, our son has returned."

Shangguan Yun smiled wryly. "Really? Do you really think that's our son? Xia Lan, if what Amiya told me is true...God, tell me, are you sober now? Do you know what you're doing? ?”

"I'm clear. I'm very conscious."

"But I don't think so. You don't even know what you're dealing with every day."

"Then tell me, what am I facing?"

Shangguan Yun closed his eyes, pondered for a moment, and said ruthlessly: "A monster. A terrible monster!"

Xia Lan's tone showed that he was trying to suppress his anger. "Yun, that's our son, I don't allow you to say that about him."

If it wasn't for being in the coffee shop, Shangguan Yun would almost shout out. "No, you are the one, stop blaspheming our son!" She tried to control her emotions and voice. "Our son is a lively and lovely angel. He will not collect carrion animals, will not eat raw meat, and will not threaten the lives of anyone around him. Xia Lan, tell me, the private doctor's Does death really have nothing to do with him? Do you really think that the person who did these terrible things is our son?"

There was silence on the other end of the phone for a full minute.Perhaps Xia Lan was left speechless by Shangguan Yun's question, but he finally said, "Yun, he is our son." Before Shangguan Yun could speak, he continued, "It doesn't matter whether he is a human, a ghost, or A monster, as you say - but he is our son."

After a pause for a few seconds, the voice on the phone choked up. "Yun, you won't understand how I feel. My negligence... killed our son. Now God wants him back, no matter what he becomes, I will accept it. As long as he can come back and stay by my side, That's enough. Even if I give him my life, I won't hesitate. So..." He smiled bitterly. "Why would I care if he's a monster?"

These words, like ice cubes poured into Shangguan Yun's body, completely chilled her heart.That's right, Xia Lan was indeed sober.He knew his son was... dead.He also knew that what he was facing now was a monster.But he chose to be stubborn, just to make up for his mistakes and guilt.

Shangguan Yun felt dizzy for a while.She knew that all persuasion was meaningless now.Xia Lan has already expressed his determination, and he will continue to go his own way.Even...losing myself.

Xia Lan's voice continued on the phone. "So, do you understand now? Why did I keep hiding it from you. I know these things are impossible for you to accept. And..."

He stopped.Shangguan Yun asked: "And what?"

After a few seconds, Xia Lan said: "I can see that Xia Qing is repelling you - but I don't know why. I am also worried that if you get too close to him, it will be dangerous. So, I can only tell you not to touch him .”

Shangguan Yun felt the hairs on his face shrinking. "What do you know, Xia Lan? You know that he...has the ability to kill?"

"No, I really don't know about this. I just have a faint feeling... This child is a little unusual. My intuition."

"Did you find out after taking a bath with him the night he came back?"

"……Yes."

"How did you find out?"

"...Yun, I don't want to talk about it."

"Tell me." Shangguan Yun said with a tough attitude never before, "Xia Lan, tell me."

Xia Lan was silent for a long time. "His body, no matter how long it is soaked in hot water, or warmed in any way, is still cold...Enough, Yun, I don't want to say any more."

Even through the phone, Shangguan Yun could feel the pain overflowing from all parts of Xia Lan's body.Why is she not?And besides the pain, there was also the fear from the bottom of her heart clutching her tightly.

Xia Lan took a deep breath. "So, Yun, now you know everything. I know you can't face it, and neither do I. But I don't know what to do. I can only suggest that if you are really scared, you can temporarily live with your mother .”

I really dare not go back to this house.Shangguan Yun thought.But at the same time, she said worriedly: "What about you, Xia Lan? You will be in danger if you stay by his side all the time!"

"No, I won't." Xia Lan said firmly.

"How can you be sure?"

"I don't know, but I just know for sure. Trust me, Yun, don't worry about me."

Shangguan Yun didn't know what to say. Suddenly, she thought of the animal carcasses in those cabinets, and seemed to understand a little bit—could it be that "he" had to rely on Xia Lan to collect these terrible things for himself?

Thinking of this, Shangguan Yun said anxiously: "Xia Lan, I think this matter is beyond our comprehension. Don't get lost any longer! Let's call the police and let the police handle this matter."

"No!" Xia Lan seemed to be taken aback and exclaimed, "Don't! Yun, don't do stupid things!"

Shangguan Yun instinctively felt that there was a reason for Xia Lan's panic, and it seemed that it was not just for protecting "son".She asked, "What's the matter? Could something happen to the police?"

"Listen, Yun. I don't know what's going to happen. But there's going to be some terrible consequences. Believe me, this isn't something that the police or any ordinary person you can think of can fix. Let's not do anything!"

Shangguan Yun was startled by what Xia Lan said and his tone.She stayed for a while, then said, "So Xia Lan, what are you going to do? Will it continue like this?"

"...I don't know. Let's maintain the status quo."

Shangguan Yun thought for a moment. "Xia Lan, haven't you thought about finding out the reason for this incident?"

"what reason?"

"Our dead son Xia Qing - why did he come back from the dead and come back? Also, why did he collect animal corpses? If this continues, what will happen?"

"I don't know, Yun. My mind is so messed up that I can't think. Maybe there are some things in this world that have no reason."

"I don't think so. I believe that everything in this world happens for a reason."

"Maybe, but there's nothing I can do."

Shangguan Yun was silent for a moment, and said: "Okay, Xia Lan. I will live with my mother from today. And you, you must protect yourself. I will contact you."

Xia Lan heard that Shangguan Yun seemed to have some kind of plan."What do you want to do?" he asked.

Shangguan Yun hesitated and said, "I want to investigate this matter."

"What are you going to do?"

"Don't know yet. But I'll find a way."

"... Anyway, I remind you again, Yun—don't do stupid things." "I know."

They said a few more words to remind each other and hung up the phone.

Shangguan Yun let out a long breath.Her coffee was already cold, but when she drank it, she didn't feel the temperature or taste at all.

She secretly made up her mind that no matter what method she used, she must find out the truth of this matter.

fifteen
Shangguan Yun lived in his mother's house.Due to the late delivery of the child, the mother is now 70 years old.Shangguan Yun is the only child in the family.After his father died, his mother never remarried and lived alone.But unfortunately, at the age of 66, she suffered from Alzheimer's disease - commonly known as Alzheimer's disease.With the deteriorating cognition and memory function, the mother's ability of daily living was also reduced, accompanied by various neuropsychiatric symptoms and behavioral disturbances - living alone was clearly a problem.Shangguan Yun hired a full-time nurse for his mother, who lived at home and took care of the elderly's food and daily life.She usually visits her mother once a week.

The day Xia Qing's accident happened - Shangguan Yun felt a burst of heartache when he thought about it - because his mother fell ill again.She threw things at home and angrily told the nurse to get out of the house.The female nurse couldn't take it anymore, so she called Shangguan Yun and asked her to come over to deal with it. As a result, Shangguan Yun, who was going to celebrate his son's birthday, was forced to return to his mother's house. This indirectly caused the accident that day.

Shangguan Yun thought many times in his heart, if the mother hadn't fallen ill that day, she would have been guarding her son at home, so why did that tragedy happen?But now that things have come to this, who can she blame?
About Xia Qing's accidental death, Shangguan Yun kept it a secret from his mother.And the mother who was confused after getting sick hardly asked her grandson.Of course, the old lady didn't know about Xia Qing's return - this saved a lot of trouble and explanation.Shangguan Yun is currently living in his mother's house, and he only said that he wanted to stay with his mother for a while, but didn't mention anything else.Although the old woman was delirious, she was very happy.

During the days at his mother's house, Shangguan Yun was never idle.She seeks ways to find out the truth of this weird thing through various channels.The fastest and most informative way is, of course, the Internet.

Shangguanyun browsed many websites and forums researching paranormal events.At the beginning, she was very disappointed, because 90.00% of the information on these websites was false and grandstanding, and some so-called "spiritual events" were actually ghost stories or black jokes.Just when she was gradually losing confidence, she noticed a person.

The person registered online as Zollner - claiming to be a scholar who studies paranormal phenomena.He often travels to and from these websites and forums to express his opinions and views.The reason why Shangguan Yun noticed him was because this Zuo Na was different from others.He played the role of a "counterfeiter" many times, analyzing the fictitious elements in something, or directly pointing out that a certain so-called supernatural event was simply a lie or a joke.

Importantly, this Zollner is not making random accusations or guessing.He has a very rigorous attitude. Before he denounces something, he will always list all kinds of strong evidence and analyze it rationally and scientifically, which convinces many people.

Shangguan Yun secretly observed Zuo Na for a long time, thinking that he was a trustworthy and trustworthy person.She decided to get in touch with him.

In a post on a forum, Shangguanyun replied to a passage said by Zuo Na, and said that he had encountered a very strange thing and wanted to discuss it with him.

Soon, Zuo Na replied to her: What's the matter?Can it be posted on the forum?
Shangguan Yun: No, I can't let too many people know about this.If you are interested, we can chat privately after meeting.

Zollner: No offense, but how can you guarantee that this will interest me?

Shangguan Yun felt that this was a very curious but cautious person.She replied: I can guarantee that you are [-]% interested in this matter, and it is absolutely true.That's why I'm so cautious.Please believe that I, a mature woman with status, will not be so bored as to ask any man out and make up a ghost story for him.

Zollner: How do you know I'm a man?Did I mention it?
Shangguan Yun: A woman's intuition.Closer to home, would you like to meet and chat with me?

After waiting for half a minute, Zuo Na replied: OK, tomorrow at [-]:[-] pm, Lao Mai Cafe on Hengshan Road, is that okay?
Shangguan Yun thought to himself - the place he chose was a relatively high-end place.This is very good, it shows that he is at least a person with more status and taste, and it should be relatively easy to communicate with.She replied immediately: yes.

Zollner: Do we need to keep in touch with each other?

Shangguan Yun: I'm sorry, I'm not without sincerity, but I just don't want to publish my phone number on the Internet.Tomorrow, please take a magazine in your hand and sit by the window.I will be there on time.

Zollner: Okay, so it's settled.

Shangguan Yun closed the webpage and took a deep breath.She just hopes that the time will go faster now, and it is best to jump to three o'clock tomorrow afternoon immediately.She was full of hope for this meeting.

sixteen
At one o'clock in the afternoon the next day, Shangguan Yun began to prepare for the afternoon meeting.She dressed up carefully, and standing in front of the mirror, she saw an intelligent and noble beautiful woman.Taking the initiative to ask a strange man to meet - this kind of thing is the first time in her life.She told herself in her heart - everything I do is for this family.

At two o'clock, Shangguan Yun drove her white Porsche out.She estimated that she would arrive around [-]:[-], but it turned out to be a little earlier and arrived at [-]:[-].

To her surprise, Zollner arrived earlier.It seemed that he was also very much looking forward to this meeting.

It is very easy to recognize Zollner in this petty bourgeois coffee shop.In fact, he didn't need any magazines at all.Because in the entire coffee shop, he is the only one sitting alone by the window, and there are two or more people in other positions.After Shangguan Yun entered the door, he saw him at a glance, and he seemed to instinctively feel that this noble and beautiful woman was the one he was waiting for.

Shangguan Yun walked to the coffee table and asked politely, "Is this Mr. Zuo Na?"

The man on the opposite side was in his 40s, and he seemed to be about the same age as Shangguan Yun.He is slightly plump and has a refined appearance, wearing a pair of black-rimmed narrow-rimmed glasses and a clean and tidy white short-sleeved shirt.Give people a sense of knowledgeable and capable and stable.He stood up and extended his hand politely: "Yes, hello, I'm Zona. Please sit down."

Shangguan Yun sat down, and the waiter in the cafe came over and asked her what she wanted. She casually ordered a cup of Blue Mountain coffee, and then asked with a smile, "Is Zuo Na your real name?"

"Yes, real name. What's your name?"

"The surname is Shangguan, and the single name is a word cloud."

"You can tell that you came from a wealthy family. I'll call you Miss Shangguan."

"You're welcome, just call me by my name. What is Mr. Zuo Na's occupation?" Shangguan Yun inquired.

"Teaching at a university, teaching anthropology."

"Ah, it turns out that you are a university professor. No wonder even on the Internet, I feel that your conversation is extraordinary."

"Thank you." Zorner smiled.

They chatted a little more politely, and the waiter brought coffee.Shangguan Yun picked up the coffee gracefully and took a sip, thinking that it was time to get to the point.

"Professor Zorner, what I am going to tell you next is my personal experience. I hope you will not doubt the truth of this matter. Because in the process of telling me, I—and my husband's true All identities will be exposed. And, after you know the secret of our family, no matter whether you can help me or not, please keep it secret, okay?" Shangguan Yun said sincerely.

Zollner nodded very positively. "I promise not to say anything. Please trust me on this point."

Shangguan Yun nodded and said: "I believe you. Then, I will start talking. This incident actually happened two months ago. That day was my son Xia Qing's birthday..."

In the next half an hour, Shangguan Yun narrated the whole thing in full and in detail - Xia Qing was locked in the safe, buried in the cemetery, returned strangely a month later, and what happened after that A series of horrible things--all of them, she told Zollner without reservation.

Zollner sat across from him, fingers crossed, palms facing each other, knuckles resting on jaw.During the listening process, he kept his eyes on the narrator without saying a word.Shangguan Yun noticed that Zuo Na narrowed his eyes, frowned, and sometimes opened his mouth involuntarily, but he never showed any major emotional changes—obviously trying to control it.She could feel how shocked and horrified the university professor was by what she said.

After Shangguan Yun finished speaking, she took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "That's all that's happened so far, Professor Zorner. I wonder if you've heard of such a strange thing before?"

Zuo Na stared into Shangguan Yun's eyes for half a minute, and finally exhaled, as if he had temporarily forgotten to breathe just now.He opened his mouth and closed it again, appearing hesitant to speak.

This reaction puzzled Shangguan Yun, and she asked, "Professor Zuo Na, what do you want to say? Please don't be shy."

Zuo Na lowered his head, raised it again after a few seconds, and looked at Shangguan Yun. "Miss Shangguan, I don't mean to offend. As I said before, since I will come here to meet you, I believe you. But... I really can't help but want to confirm again—what you just told me , is it absolutely true?"

Shangguan Yun closed his eyes as if feeling tired.After a long time, she opened her eyes, looked directly at Zorner, and said word by word: "Professor Zorner, listen carefully—everything I just said is true—I guarantee it with my personality. "

They stared at each other for ten seconds.

"Okay, Miss Shangguan." Zuo Na nodded and said, "I believe it."

Shangguan Yun looked at him.

"You asked me just now, have you heard anything like this before?"

"Yes."

Zuo Na put his index fingers together and said solemnly: "Miss Shangguan, I am a university professor who teaches anthropology. Life in the ivory tower is boring and boring to me. My greatest interest is to explore and the study of supernatural events happening all over the world. It can be said that my contribution and research in this area far exceeds the research in this field—of course, if the supernatural phenomenon belongs to the category of anthropology, then it is another matter gone."

He stared into Shangguan Yun's eyes. "I have photographed ghosts in the Tower of London with an old-fashioned camera through my spirit; I have recorded the cry of the dead with a phonograph; I have seen countless supernatural phenomena in my travels around the world-but-for I have never heard of the incident you just described, and find it hard to explain it. Perhaps it is the most mysterious incident that I have ever encountered in my life."

Shangguan Yun seemed to be frightened by Zuo Na's words, he opened his mouth and was speechless.After a while, she asked, "Then Professor, can you help me?"

"How do you want me to help you?"

"I want to know why this weird thing happened. Then, find a way to fix it."

Zuo Na nodded solemnly, thoughtfully.

After thinking for a few minutes, he said, "I think everything that happens in this world has a reason."

"Yes!" Shangguan Yun immediately agreed. "I think so too."

Zuo Na stretched out his two palms and compared them in the air. "Everything has some key factors. If we can accurately find these key factors, we can use them as clues to figure out the clue of the matter." He stared into Shangguan Yun's eyes. "I just thought about it carefully. There are two factors that are the key to this incident."

Shangguan Yun looked at him intently. "Which two factors?"

Zuo Na said solemnly: "'Safe' and 'Tomb Raider'."

Shangguan Yun frowned deeply. "How to say?"

Zuo Na rested his chin on his hand and shook his head slowly. "I don't have an idea yet, but I just intuit that these two factors may be very critical."

He lowered his eyes and thought deeply.Shangguan Yun didn't dare to interrupt, so he could only wait.

About 10 minutes later, Zuo Na raised his head and said: "Well, Miss Shangguan. I need enough time to think about this matter, and I need to do some research and preparation. I hope you can spend some time with me. I have a clue, and I will Contact you immediately."

"Okay..." Shangguan Yun said, "Can you tell me how you plan to investigate?" If there is a direction for investigation, I would have already investigated it.she thought to herself.

Zollner smiled mysteriously. "This, let's keep it a secret for the time being. I hope you can fully trust me-whether this matter is to help you or satisfy my own curiosity-I will do my best to find out the truth."

Shangguan Yun said gratefully: "Thank you so much, Professor Zuo Na. If there is anything I need to do, please tell me."

Zollner nodded. "I will. I can't think of what you need to do right now—ah, please leave me your phone number so I can contact you."

"Okay." Shangguan Yun told Zuo Na his mobile phone number.Zuo Na used his mobile phone to call Shangguan Yun.Both parties have exchanged numbers.

After that, they walked out of the cafe together.When parting, Shangguan Yun sincerely thanked Zuo Na again.Zollner waved his hand no, and hurried away, looking impatient.

Seventeen
Three days have passed since I met Zollner.Shangguanyun doesn't think about food and drink every day, fidgets and hardly does anything, just guards the phone, hoping that it will bring the news after Zuo Na's investigation immediately.However, until now she has not been able to wait for the call.

The reason why Shangguan Yun pinned all her hopes on Zuo Na was because after that meeting, she felt that Zuo Na was indeed a trustworthy and trustworthy person.Moreover, his way of thinking about problems is indeed different.For example, in this matter - Shangguan Yun thinks the most important point is why the dead Xia Qing mysteriously came back to life.But Zoller believes that the key points are 'safe' and 'grave robber'.Shangguan Yun believes that this kind of novelty and unique insight is definitely not Zuo Na deliberately unconventional.She also knew some outstanding people before, and what these people have in common is that they have thinking and judgment abilities that are different from ordinary people.

She is convinced that she has found the right person.And she also firmly believed that during these three days, Zuo Na was definitely not wasting time, but trying his best to find a way and investigate.

So even if she was anxious, she could only continue to wait and dare not call to ask questions.

Finally, on the afternoon of the fourth day, Shangguan Yun's cell phone rang.She quickly picked up the phone—thank God, it was Zollner!

"Hello, Professor Zuo Na?" Shangguan Yun couldn't wait to get on the phone and asked, "How is it? Is there any result?"

Zollner on the phone said with a smile: "The result will not come out so quickly. But I have found some very important information-I now know the direction to investigate this matter."

Shangguan Yun twitched as if electrified, and said excitedly: "Great, professor, where are you now, I'll come to you right away!"

"I'm at home, how about you come to my house?"

"Okay, what's your address?"

Zuo Na told Shangguan Yun a detailed address.Shangguan Yun wrote it down with a note.

After hanging up the phone, she almost ran out, immediately went to the garage downstairs, and drove to Zuo Na's home.

More than half an hour later, Shangguan Yun arrived at the residential area that Zuo Na told her—this is the dormitory area of ​​university professors, a place with fresh air, quiet and pleasant.But Shangguan Yun couldn't care less about admiring the green trees, red flowers and pavilions here.After parking the car, she immediately found the building where Zuo Na lived according to what was written on the paper, and took the elevator there.

Zuo Na lived in room A-18 on the 2th floor.Shangguan Yun tidied his hair and clothes at the door and rang the doorbell.

The door opened quickly.Zuo Na stood at the door, smiled and said, "Miss Shangguan, you are here, let's go in."

Shangguan Yun changed his shoes in the hall, and walked into Zuo Na's bright and refreshing living room.Although this home is not gorgeous, the decoration and layout reveal the elegance of a scholarly family.Zollner probably knew that there were guests coming, and he also wore formal attire at home, with great etiquette.

Shangguan Yun sat on the leather sofa, and Zuo Na asked, "Would Miss Shangguan drink tea or coffee?"

"Thank you, plain water is fine." Shangguan Yun didn't want to waste a minute.Her expression was full of urgency and anticipation.

Zuo Na obviously also understood Shangguan Yun's thoughts. He quickly brought a glass of pure water, sat down on the seat opposite Shangguan Yun, and said, "I know you must be very impatient, so I won't talk nonsense, let's get down to business."

Shangguan Yun nodded hurriedly.

"Miss Shangguan, do you remember what I told you last time, I think the two most important factors in this matter - 'safe' and 'tomb robber' - right?"

"Yes."

"Well, let me ask you a few questions now."

"Please ask."

"What was in that safe—before the accident—?"

Shangguan Yun thought about it. "Actually... I don't know very well. Because most of the things in it are my husband's collection. He likes gems and jade, so he puts the exquisite artwork made of jade collected from all over the world in that It's in the safe so that he can take it out from time to time to appreciate and play with it—that's all I know."

"You should have seen the gems and jade in there, right?"

"Yes. But I don't particularly like this kind of stuff, so I haven't watched it carefully."

"So, you are not particularly impressed by these gems and jade?"

"That's it."

Zollner frowned thoughtfully.Shangguan Yun couldn't help asking: "Professor Zuo Na, is it important what's in the safe? What do these things have to do with my son?"

Zuo Na stretched out his hand and gestured for her to be calm. "Miss Shangguan, I can understand your feelings. Of course you hope to know the truth of the matter immediately. However, I am afraid that the reason and truth of this matter are not so simple. Therefore, I must start from every detail , consider various possibilities. The questions I ask you may indeed have nothing to do with the matter; but it is also possible to find very important clues or information from them. So, don't be impatient, cooperate with my questions, and let me come from various aspects Think about it, okay?"

Zuo Na's patient persuasion made Shangguan Yun feel a little embarrassed. At the same time, he suppressed his impatience and said, "Good professor, I understand."

"Then let's continue with what we just said - the gems and jade in the safe, you are not particularly impressed, and you don't even know the origin of these gems inside?"

"……Yes."

"It's a bit tricky." Zollner frowned, shook his head, and asked, "So, are these gems in your house now?"

"Yes. After the safe was opened, our housekeeper brought back all the gems and jades inside."

"Well, good." Zuoer nodded. "These gems must be very valuable, don't they? That's why they're in the safe."

"Yes."

"How much are they worth?"

Shangguan Yun thought for a while, felt that there was no need to hide it, and said truthfully, "Probably...more than 1 million yuan."

Zollner couldn't help but leaned back, and smacked his lips vigorously. Obviously, this number exceeded his expectations. "It's worth so much! Is there a lot of gems?"

"No, not too many." Shangguan Yun recalled, "In my impression, there are actually more than ten pieces in it..."

"I see." Zuoer seemed to have discovered some important information. "So, among these gems, there must be some extremely rare rare treasures?"

"Maybe... I really don't know, I have to ask my husband." Shangguan Yun asked for Zuo Na's opinion. "Should I call my husband now?"

Zollner waved his hand. "No. I don't think your husband knows what these gems do."

The meaning implied by this sentence surprised Shangguan Yun. "Ah, you think...these gems may have some kind of magical function...it can..."

Zuo Na gestured to Shangguan Yun not to be nervous. "Just a guess. It doesn't have to be that way."

They were silent for a moment.Zollner asked again, "Is there any other useful information about these gems and jades?"

Shangguan Yun said dejectedly: "I can't judge what is useful information. Moreover, we have never focused on gemstones. So even after they were brought back, no one studied them..."

Speaking of this, she suddenly remembered something, and said, "By the way, there is one thing, I don't know if it is useful information or not——After Jin Steward brought back these gems and jades, he found that some of them were missing."

Zona's eyes lit up. "What? The gems are missing? What's going on? Tell me clearly!"

Shangguan Yun didn't know why Zuo Na reacted so strongly.She recalled: "Xia Qing's tomb was stolen—the safe was also opened. Since my son's body was not found inside, the police asked Butler Jin to take the precious stones home. I took an inventory and found a gem or two missing—he estimated the missing gems were worth about five million—and that was it.”

"Which gem is missing? Does the steward know?"

"I also asked him this question. But he said that only Xia Lan knew the collection best. He only knew the quantity. After he counted, he found one or two pieces missing, so he told me."

"Then have you pursued this matter?"

Shangguan Yun shook his head and sighed. "No. Professor Zuo Na, it's not that our family is so rich that we don't care about the loss of 500 million. It's just that... in the face of my son's tragedy, no one has the heart to pursue the matter of the lost gem. And my son's life In comparison, these are things outside the body after all.”

Zollner nodded in understanding.

Shangguan Yun asked in confusion: "Professor Zuo Na, can you tell me? Why do you think the lost gem is connected with this strange incident?"

Zuo Na pondered for a moment and said, "Miss Shangguan, when I traveled to Zimbabwe, I heard some strange legends from the local Tu people."

Shangguan Yun stared at him intently.

"You know, Zimbabwe is a big mining country. A large amount of precious stones, diamonds and jade are mined every year - some of which are extremely rare and precious gemstones. According to the local Tu people, after the general gemstones are mined, they will be sold at a high price. Jewelers, in exchange for value. But if someone is extremely lucky and unearths a super rare and precious gemstone, they may not sell it, but hide it quietly for themselves - do you know why?"

Shangguan Yun shook his head and expressed his puzzlement: "After selling the super rare gems, isn't it even more rich? Why do you want to hide it yourself?"

"That's because the preciousness of this gemstone is not its commercial value, but—" Zuo Na said in a mysterious tone, "the Tu people believe that this gemstone has some kind of magical purpose."

Shangguan Yun opened his mouth at this moment, as if thinking of something.

Zuo Na stared at Shangguan Yun and said: "An elder in that tribe told me that there is a legend among them - if a person dies, put this special gem somewhere in his body, such as his mouth, Then put his (her) body in a cave. Certainly not an ordinary cave - a sacred place - to them. After some time, the person dies and comes back to life. And, the person comes back to life After that, the magic stone will disappear."

Shangguan Yun was completely stunned. She looked at Zuo Na with amazed eyes, and after a while, she said, "Professor Zuo Na...you, you can't be serious, right?"

"Are you doubting me or the legend?"

"Of course I doubt this legend." Shangguan Yun especially emphasized the word "legend". "Do you believe it? Have you witnessed someone resurrected with this gem?"

Zollner shrugged. "No. The elders of the Tu nationality told me that if anyone is extremely lucky to dig up this magical gem, he will never reveal it to anyone. If the owner wants to "resurrect" someone, he will not make a public announcement, but will only do it secretly .So not to mention me, even the people of their tribe, it is almost impossible to see this kind of thing with their own eyes.”

"Then, isn't this legend even more unreliable?"

"I didn't really believe in this legend at first." Zuo Na glanced at Shangguan Yun and looked away. "But after hearing about your son..."

Shangguan Yun said in disbelief: "Professor Zuo Na, do you really believe that a gemstone can bring people back to life? Please forgive me, this has no scientific basis at all, and there is no reason to follow."

"Actually, the Tu tribe elder told me the reason why this gemstone can bring people back to life." Zuo Na said, "He said that this gemstone is often buried in deep underground caves. They believe that this gemstone is a thing from the underworld. ——It is the 'diamond' of the underworld. If a human being has this gem on his body after death, then, after his soul goes to the underworld, he can use this gemstone to bribe the messenger of the underworld. It is equivalent to using this 'diamond of the underworld' to Buy yourself a life."

Zollner paused. "Of course, this kind of statement is too superstitious. But I think, could it be that this kind of gemstone contains some kind of rare minerals, or some other characteristics, that can really bring people back to life?"

Although Shangguan Yun found it difficult to accept, he still tried to seek an explanation from this perspective. "You mean, there happened to be such a jewel in my husband's safe. And after my son was locked in it, he was already dead, but was miraculously resurrected because of this jewel?"

"It's just a hypothesis."

"However, after my son's resurrection, why is there such a terrible situation?" Shangguan Yun said painfully, "This gem can revive people, but can it also turn people into monsters?"

Zuo Na frowned deeply. "The Tu tribe elder only knows about this legend. He has never really experienced such a thing. Therefore, no one knows what the 'resurrected' person will be like..."

Shangguan Yun put his hands on his forehead, thought for a moment worriedly, and said: "One more thing, you said that people who dig this kind of gem won't sell it—then how did my husband get this kind of gem?" ?”

"I'm just saying—actually, the elders of the Tu people said—that most people who dug it up will not sell it, but will hide it quietly. But it's not absolute—some people want to get a rich life, or If he doesn't fully believe the legend, he may sell the stone."

"Then my husband should have known about its magical use when he bought this gem. Why didn't he mention it?"

"I guess the biggest possibility is that this gemstone has been in the hands of many people. After several owners, the people who bought it don't know what's special about it, and just treat it as an ordinary gemstone."

Shangguan Yun thought about it, and felt that this was probably the case.She asked: "Professor Zorner, do you think this has been explained?"

Zollner shook his head and said, "No, don't forget what I said before. What we're discussing now is just the various possibilities of this matter—it's far from the time to draw conclusions."

"Then what do you think is the possibility?"

"If we just sit at home and analyze and discuss, we may never be able to draw a definite conclusion-because it's all speculation. Only by finding some 'important people' related to this matter can we verify the conjecture and find out the truth."

Shangguan Yun rolled his eyes. "Professor, I'm afraid I don't understand what you mean - besides my husband and myself, and my son, of course, who are the important people involved in this matter?"

Zollner smiled mysteriously. "You seem to have forgotten what I said earlier - there are two key factors - and now we're only discussing the 'safe' one."

Shangguan Yun remembered. "There's another one - 'Tomb Raider'. But... that grave robber is dead."

Zuo Na stood up from the opposite sofa, walked to Shangguan Yun, bent down, and stared into her eyes. "Have you ever thought about a question - hasn't the password of the safe been randomly modified by your son? It stands to reason that no one will know the password. But how did the tomb robber open the safe? "

Eighteen
Shangguan Yun was stunned, staring blankly at Zuo Na.

Zollner sat down next to her and said, "You tell me that the police went to the cemetery and found the safe dug out of the cemetery and opened—the safe wasn't opened by force. Actually, I don't believe it either. This kind of safe with the best quality can be easily pried open or smashed open. Then, there is only one possibility to open it, and that is—the tomb robbers opened it with the correct password!"

Hearing this, Shangguan Yun felt that the blood all over his body was rising. "Yes! You are right! How did we ... never think of that at all?"

"It's not surprising. It's normal for you to be completely lost in grief and unable to think calmly. But the police didn't notice it either - I can only say that the police were negligent in this matter , or there was no due diligence on the case at all. Well, after all, this case was just a tomb robbery, and there was no property missing in it (the police thought so at the time)-so they couldn’t solve it as vigorously as they did with a murder case.”

"So, what do you think is going on? Why did the tomb robber know the password?"

"Don't worry, listen to me slowly." Zuo Na said calmly, "In the past three days, I have mainly been inquiring about the dead grave robber."

"Have you found out who the tomb robber is?"

Zollner nodded. "Because I have been paying attention to supernatural events everywhere for a long time, I have come into contact with people of different identities, classes, and occupations in society, so I know some people of various religions and nine streams. These people have rich and diverse information channels, and they are like an underground intelligence network—— —Sometimes the police have to ask for their help when handling cases. I asked one of them to help me find out which thief—and an old thief—died suddenly two months ago. As a result, within three days, I got a definite news."

"Who is this old thief?"

"He is not an ordinary thief. This man is a veteran of the rivers and lakes, one of the best masters in the world of thieves, and his name is 'Lion'."

"He opened the combination safe?"

Zuo Na quickly shook his head, suddenly looking a little excited. "That's the point. Why did I just say that the police didn't investigate this case carefully? Because they only need to find out the details of the Gryphon, and they will know that this old thief is certainly powerful, but he just happens to be a person who is helpless with combination safes. people!"

Hearing this, Shangguan Yun was a little confused. "Then... how could he open the safe?"

Zuo Na stared at Shangguan Yun's eyes. "Haven't you thought of that?"

Shangguan Yun pondered for half a minute, then suddenly shouted: "Ah! Besides him, was there another person who robbed the grave that night?"

"Yes!" Zorner said, "but you said that when the police arrived at the cemetery, they only found the body of the old thief who was frightened to death. This means——another grave robber that night, he escaped —and the man must be alive now!"

Zuo Na became more and more excited, he stood up and said, "These two grave robbers obviously came to dig Xia Qing's tomb after they found out about your family's affairs through some means, and of course the purpose was to find the gems and jade articles in the safe. But what happened that night?"

He stretched out his hand to signal Shangguan Yun not to speak yet. "Now, think about the scene that night—the two tomb robbers dug out the safe with great effort and scheming, and opened it again. At this time, what did they see in the safe?—Obviously It was very scary—that old thief was frightened to death on the spot. And what about the other thief? He wasn’t frightened to death, but he might have been frightened too. Otherwise, gems worth hundreds of millions were right in front of him. Why? He didn't dare to take it, so he ran away?"

The imagination aroused by Zuo Na's words made Shangguan Yun seem to have witnessed this terrifying scene with his own eyes.She felt that the temperature around her suddenly dropped by a few degrees, making her whole body chill and creepy.

Zuo Na sat down again, took a sip of the water in his teacup, and did not speak for a while.Ten seconds later, Shangguan Yun looked at him: "Then Professor, what should we do now?"

Zuo Na looked at her intently: "Find the other grave robber."

"So what if we find him? Will he know the answer to all this?"

"No, he doesn't know." Zuo Na said confidently, "but he went through what happened that night, and he is the only one who can tell us what's in that safe. We can verify a lot if we find him." Guess, and may learn some unexpected things." He looked at Shangguan Yun. "I have a very strong intuition that this little thief will be the key to solving the mystery!"

Shangguan Yun and Zuo Na looked at each other for a moment, and said, "Okay, I trust your intuition." After a pause, she asked, "Professor, you seemed to say 'little thief' just now? Do you know that the other thief is not old enough?" Big?"

Zollner smiled confidently. "The information I have collected is far more than that - I not only know that he is not very old, but I also know that this little thief is Gryphon's apprentice, named Falcon - he has a special ability to open the password safe. "

"Then do you know where to find him?" Shangguan Yun asked with concern.

Zuo Na nodded and said, "Of course, now that we know who he is, it's easy to find out where he lives through the 'Underground Intelligence Network'."

"You mean you've found it?"

"Yes."

Shangguan Yun stood up abruptly. "We're going to find him now!"

Zollner looked at his watch. "It's already six o'clock in the afternoon..."

Shangguan Yun looked at Zuo Na earnestly: "Professor, I can't wait until tomorrow."

Zuo Na looked at Shangguan Yun's anxious appearance, hesitated for a few seconds, and stood up from the sofa. "Okay, let's go!"

Nineteen
After taking the elevator downstairs, Shangguan Yun planned to get in the car immediately.Zollner asked, "Aren't we going to have dinner?"

Shangguan Yun actually didn't have any intention of eating, but she didn't want Zuo Na to be hungry, so she just said, "Okay, let's eat nearby."

"There is a Chinese restaurant next to the community. Although it is a small shop, the taste is quite good."

Shangguan Yun nodded: "You can eat whatever you want."

The two sat down in the small restaurant, the waiter handed over the menu, Zuo Na asked, "What would Miss Shangguan Yun want to eat?"

"You can order, I really don't care."

Zuo Na looked at Shangguan Yun, "Okay." He ordered two meat, two vegetables and one soup, and asked the waiter to serve it a little faster.

The two drank a few sips of chrysanthemum tea in silence, and Zuo Na said, "Miss Shangguan, I'm actually not hungry. I proposed to eat before going, because I wanted to communicate with you before going to that 'Falcon''s house. "

Shangguan Yun nodded.

"Have you ever thought about a question - in what capacity should we go to meet him?"

Shangguan Yun was slightly taken aback, this is indeed a problem.

Zollner said: "Think about it, if we met him and said straight to the point, 'We are the owner of the tomb you robbed two months ago, and now we want to ask you to find out about it'-could he cooperate with us? ? I guess he’ll veto it flatly and shut us down right away. And we’ll probably never see him again after that.”

Shangguan Yun frowned and thought about it. "Indeed...how about not telling him our identities?"

"Then why should we ask him to tell us about the tomb robbery? This is not a fair thing, it is an illegal act. Who would easily admit such a thing and tell two strangers?"

"Then what do you think we should do?"

Zollner shrugged his shoulders. "I can't think of any particularly good way. Maybe, the only way - first tell him our identity and purpose of coming, if he refuses to admit or resist, we will claim that we have collected evidence of his tomb robbery. If he cooperates, We will let the past go; otherwise, we will immediately call the police and arrest him.”

"Good idea, just do it."

Zorner shook his head worriedly and said, "Probably not a good idea. There are at least two problems. First, we don't know what kind of person this Falcon is. In other words, we don't know if he is a dangerous character." If after we threaten him, he thinks of something evil and plans to kill him to silence us—we will be in danger. Miss Shangguan, although we are two people, but the other party is a professional thief, he must have some skills. If there is a fight, We are not necessarily his opponents."

Shangguan Yun's brows became tighter and tighter, obviously a little scared.

"So I think, if you want to be safer - don't go to him tonight. Wait until tomorrow, and call one or two more people to go, it will be much safer."

"No, no..." Shangguan Yun shook his head repeatedly. "Professor Zollner, we must find this man tonight."

Zuoer was a little puzzled. "Miss Shangguan, I can understand your desire to find out the matter as soon as possible. But you shouldn't be so anxious that you can't wait overnight, right?"

"No, it's not that I'm impatient, but..." Shangguan Yun tightened his lips and hesitated for a moment. "I don't know why, as the time draws closer to night, I become more and more flustered, and I have a very bad feeling...as if...something is going to happen tonight."

Zuo Na looked at Shangguan Yun, and said after a while, "Okay, then we will go to him tonight. But there is one point, which is also the second question I was going to talk about - I hope you can pay attention to it."

"What is it?"

"If we see this falcon in a while, I hope you can restrain your emotions as much as possible. Remember, we need him to cooperate sincerely and tell the truth. So, please don't be emotional, condemn and scold him. Otherwise, it will be difficult to arouse his resentment or resistance."

Shangguan Yun nodded slightly.

"In short, we try to sit down and have a good talk with him, so that he does not feel threatened and hostile. This may put us in a dangerous situation. In short - we must control the situation."

"Okay, I know."

At this time, the waitress brought their order.The two began to eat.After eating for a while, Shangguan Yun suddenly remembered something and asked, "By the way, Professor Zuo Na, where is your wife?"

Zuo Na smiled and said, "Do you think I look like a married man?"

"You...are not married?" Shangguan Yun was puzzled. "why?"

Zuo Na wryly smiled and said, "It's not that I'm abnormal, it's just—think about it, for a person like me who likes to study all kinds of horrific supernatural events, and often searches for such things all over the world, what woman would like to, Or dare to marry me?"

Shangguan Yun smiled awkwardly and had nothing to say.

The two finished their meal quickly.Shangguan Yun returned to the community where Zuo Na lived and drove out the car.After getting in the car, Zuo Na said, "The address is Hsinchu Ya Community in Nancheng, can you find it?"

"I know." Shangguan Yun said with some surprise, "This tomb robber actually lives in such a high-end residential area?"

"Don't underestimate them, these two thieves are very rich. According to intelligence, this is the place where Falcon lived with his master Griffon. Now that Gryphon is dead, he probably lives alone There. Let's go."

Shangguanyun turned on the navigation and drove to Hsinchu Ya Community according to the voice prompt. After more than 40 minutes, they arrived at their destination.

Zuo Na took out a small notebook from his trouser pocket, opened it to check the specific address of Falcon.A few minutes later, they walked to the door of the "House of Thieves".

At this time, it was already 07:30 in the evening.

Seeing Shangguan Yun's tense face, Zuo Na realized that she was somewhat nervous, and asked, "Are you ready?"

Shangguan Yun took a deep breath and nodded.

"Don't be afraid, after all, a thief is different from a savage robber. As long as we don't provoke him, he won't fight us desperately." Zorner said, "If he is here, let me tell him. Just don't open your mouth and see the opportunity." act."

Shangguan Yun nodded in agreement.Zollner rang the doorbell.

It was completely different from what was expected. The people in the room opened the door without even asking.Things went so well that Zollner felt uncomfortable.

A big boy with a gentle face in a short-sleeved shirt and casual trousers stood in front of them, looking at them.

Zollner's intuition told him that he had found the right person.But then he remembered that he didn't even know the real name of the other party.He could only bite the bullet and ask, "Are you... Falcon?"

The big boy opened his mouth and immediately showed a vigilant expression. "who are you?"

"Don't worry, we're not the police. I'm a university professor and she's a mother. We're here to talk to you," Zorner said.

After saying this, Zuoerner looked at Falcon, guessing that he might say something like "You have identified the wrong person", and then closed the door immediately.He was ready to block the door.

But once again unexpectedly, Falcon actually asked: "What do you want to talk to me about?"

Zuo Na was secretly surprised, but remained calm on the surface. "Can we go inside and talk?"

Falcon hesitated for a few seconds and said, "Okay." He stood aside and let Zuo Na and Shangguan Yun enter the room.

Zuo Na and Shangguan Yun looked at each other and walked into the room.

Falcon closed the door, looked at the two visitors, and didn't say "please sit down" or anything like that, but looked at them suspiciously and vigilantly.

Knowing that he had to control the scene, Zollner pretended to be relaxed and smiled, and said, "Young man, don't you invite the guests to sit down and drink water?"

Falcon didn't pick up on him, but just asked, "What are you looking for from me?"

"Sit down and talk about it," Zollner said in a nonchalant manner, "Let's talk slowly, shall we?"

Shangguan Yun stood aside, knowing in his heart that Zuo Na was trying to ease the atmosphere.When she saw that Falcon was a gentle boy, her previous tension dissipated a lot.

Falcon stared at them for a while, then sat down on a chair in the living room.Zuo Na winked at Shang Guanyun, and the two sat on the sofa.

"Young man, I don't intend to play tricks on you," Zorner said. "Since we have found this place, it shows that we know you—including your master—very well. But as I said before, We're not the police, and we're not interested in what you've done in the past, and we don't want to turn on you. We just want to know one thing—"

Zuo Na stared into Falcon's eyes and said, "Two months ago, you and your master robbed a tomb together, didn't you?"

Falcon's body trembled, as if he had shivered.His face became pale and his expression was aghast.

Zollner wasn't sure whether Falcon's behavior was due to the fact that he was terrified by the knowledge of the incident, or if the incident itself terrified him.He continued: "You must be impressed by this incident. I guess you have never dug a safe from a cemetery before, have you? Besides, your master died in this incident..."

"Stop talking." Falcon closed his eyes, and after a while, he opened them and admitted, "That's right, we did this."

Neither Zuo Na nor Shangguan Yun expected that within 5 minutes after entering the room, Falcon would frankly admit the matter.This is obviously much easier to handle.Zollner said, "Young man, you seem to be a daredevil, too. In that case, let me just say it—we came to you to find out what happened that night."

Falcon was silent for a moment, looking at Shangguan Yun. "Are you the mother of that child?"

Shangguan Yun's heart was shocked - Falcon's question showed that he did see a "child" that night.Trembling in her heart, she glanced at Zuo Na beside her.Zollner nodded, motioning for her to tell the truth.Shangguan Yun looked at Falcon and replied, "Yes."

When Falcon heard Shangguan Yun's answer, his lips moved suddenly, he stood up, then knelt down in front of Shangguan Yun, and cried. "Please... help me!"

twenty
Things are moving too fast.Both Shangguan Yun and Zuo Na were shocked, they never expected Falcon to do such a thing.Shangguan Yun looked blankly at Falcon kneeling on the ground, and asked, "What do you mean by that?"

Falcon sobbed and said, "I... have been living in fear since I did this. I don't know how to get rid of the terrible nightmare. I think it may only be possible to find the child... You are his Mother, maybe you can help me too..."

Shangguan Yun couldn't understand what Falcon said.She frowned and said, "Get up first, and explain clearly what's going on."

Falcon sat down on the chair again, his face was pale, his expression was dazed, he collected himself, and said: "Since the night of the tomb robbery, I have had nightmares every night. It is not an ordinary nightmare... I suspect that if this continues, I will definitely have nightmares." Frightened to death in a dream."

He shuddered all over, and began to describe the terrible dream. "In my dreams, I always see that child. He crawled out of the grave and walked towards me step by step. I backed up and finally fell to the ground, unable to move. I could only watch him crawl on top of me. Started eating my body. He gouged out my eyeballs, gnawed off my nose, ripped open my belly, pulled out my guts..."

When Falcon said this, there was no trace of blood on his face. He was so shocked that he couldn't continue to speak, as if just recalling this dream made him terrified.It is conceivable how frightened he was when he had this nightmare.

Not only Falcon, but even Zuo Na and Shangguan Yun, who heard this dream, felt chills to the bone.After a while, Falcon looked up at them. "And you can't imagine that in this dream, I can feel real pain. It's like... I was really torn apart. This pain is real and long, and it lasts for almost an hour. I was in the whole process Unable to wake up in the middle of the night. This kind of torture makes life worse than death..."

"This is retribution." Shangguan Yun looked at him coldly. "This is your retribution for digging his grave."

"You are right. This is retribution." Falcon said sadly, "We opened his tomb and released him, and disaster befalls us. My master died of fright on the spot. And I, although alive After coming down, but having to endure such pain and torture every day, life would be worse than death.”

Falcon looked at Shangguan Yun with pleading eyes: "So I beg you, please let your son let me go. I am willing to go to jail, as long as he can forgive me and stop torturing me, I will do whatever he wants!"

Shangguan Yun looked at Falcon's pitiful look, feeling very conflicted.This person is the grave robber who dug up Xia Qing's grave, but he has already received enough punishment... She suddenly softened, but realized that there was nothing she could do, so she said, "I'm afraid I can't help you."

"No, you can help me. Are you coming to me because you also want to solve this matter? What do you need me to do? I am willing to cooperate fully with you."

Zuo Na and Shangguan Yun looked at each other, and the surprise in their eyes could not be concealed—it was really surprising.They originally thought that Falcon would resist or resist, but what they didn't expect was that he offered to fully cooperate.It's unbelievable how things are going.

Zuo Na said to Falcon: "Well, now I will ask you some questions, and you will answer me truthfully."

Falcon nodded in agreement.

"Why did you rob this tomb in the first place?"

"Master found out about this young master through his channel. He knows that there is a safe buried in the cemetery, and he also knows that there are gems worth hundreds of millions in it, so..."

"That is to say, the purpose of your robbery is purely for the property in the safe?"

Falcon frowned: "Is there any other reason?"

Zollner shook his head. "It's nothing, I'm just making sure." He thought for a while. "I don't want to ask about the methods and methods of your grave robbery—there is only one thing, I am very curious—how did you open that safe that no one knows the password?"

"You know that I opened that safe?" Falcon asked, he quickly glanced at Shangguan Yun, and found that she was also staring at him.

"Yes." Zuo Na said, "I know your master doesn't have this ability. It can only be opened by you."

Falcon pursed his lower lips and told the truth: "I have a special ability, I can sense the 'number' I want to know through my mind."

Zuo Na and Shangguan Yun looked at each other, their eyes widened in surprise.Zorner looked at Falcon again, and said seriously, "Really? You mean—you can 'guess' what the password is?"

"Don't you believe it?" said Falcon. "There can be an experiment right away."

"What test?"

Falcon thought for a while, stood up, took a piece of paper and a pen from the side of the phone, and handed them to Zona. "You just write a few numbers on it, don't let me see it."

Zollner took the paper and pen dubiously.Falcon turned away.Zuo Na covered it with his left hand, quickly wrote seven numbers on the paper, and then pinched the paper in his palm. "All right."

Falcon turned around and sat down on the chair.His eyes were closed, his teeth were clenched, and his temples bulged.Ten seconds later, he reported a series of numbers:
“9、4、3、6、8、2、7。”

Zollner unfolded the paper in his palm.Shangguan Yun leaned forward to take a look, both of them were stunned.

The numbers are all right, even the order is exactly the same.

"My God, this is not magic, it's really a supernatural power." The well-informed Zuo Na was dumbfounded.He looked at Falcon, "I now believe you can open that safe."

Falcon twisted his body unnaturally, as if it wasn't something to brag about.

At this time, Shangguan Yun suddenly burst into tears. "It would be great if... the day the accident happened, we could find you. In this way, Xia Qing won't be suffocated inside... and there won't be any of these things..."

Falcon also had a sad look on his face.He trembled a bit, and asked, "That kid...how is it now?"

Zuo Na patted Shangguan Yun on the shoulder, signaling her to control her emotions.He said to Falcon: "Let's figure out the previous things first—you have this ability, so the process of your tomb robbery should be very smooth, right?"

"It really went well..." Falcon recalled, suddenly remembered something, and a feeling of horror hit him again, making him shiver.

Zuo Na noticed the change in his expression and asked, "What's wrong?"

Falcon looked at him and swallowed. "I remembered...it was going well before, but before we were about to dig the safe, I suddenly felt chills all over my body, and there was an ominous premonition in my heart, which made me panic. I told Master that I didn't feel right But he didn't feel that way at all, so he ignored my words at all. So, we continued to dig the grave. After digging out the safe, I was even more disturbed. But things have reached this point, and it is impossible to retreat. Master forced me Use a special ability to open the safe..."

Having said this, Falcon's face became pale.He opened his mouth, but didn't make a sound, as if he was choked by fear.

Zoller prompted him to continue: "You opened the safe, what did you see?"

"Ah..." Falcon's breathing became difficult, and his eyes were looking diagonally forward, as if the terrifying picture in his memory reappeared in front of him at this moment. "Inside the safe... was a child... He opened his eyes and stared at us. Then, I saw him slowly open his mouth..."

The temperature in the room suddenly dropped ten degrees.Although Falcon described the scene, Shangguan Yun and Zuo Na had imagined it before.But they were still horrified when it was confirmed.

This is really scary.

After a long silence, Zuo Na asked, "When your master saw this scene, he was so frightened that he had a heart attack and died on the spot. So, what about you?"

Falcon shook his head apprehensively. "What else can I do? At this time, I can't think about those gems. I only had one thought at the time, and that was to run for my life."

"You escaped like this?"

"Fleeing like crazy," Falcon said.He looked at Shangguan Yun, and asked again: "Can you tell me, how is that child doing now?"

Shangguan Yun told Falcon: "He returned home. However, he has turned into a monster we don't know."

Falcon looked shocked. "The monster you are talking about...means?"

Shangguan Yun supported his forehead with one hand in pain. "Don't make me tell it again."

It is inconvenient for Falcon to ask more questions.There was a silence in the room.

Zuoer stood up from the sofa and paced back and forth in the room, as if trying to think about something.After a few minutes, he didn't speak, and Falcon couldn't help asking: "The question you want to ask me, is it over?"

"Wait, don't talk yet." Zuo Na frowned deeply. "I'm wondering if I'm missing something important."

Both Shangguan Yun and Falcon remained silent.

Zollner walked a few more steps, stopped suddenly, turned around to look at Falcon, and asked, "Do you remember the password to open the safe at that time?"

Both Shangguan Yun and Falcon were taken aback for a moment.They don't know if the question makes sense.Shangguan Yun said: "Professor Zuo Na, that password was randomly pressed by my son when he was playing with the safe—a few numbers at random. Do you know the meaning of this password?"

Zuo Na stretched out his hand to signal Shangguan Yun not to speak.Looking straight at Falcon, he asked again, "You just answer me—do you remember?"

Falcon looked into Zollner's eyes. "Remember."

"how many?"

隼说出七位数的密码：“0-0-1-2-3-6-6。”

Zollner immediately wrote it down with a pen.He looked at the string of numbers, and after a few seconds, he suddenly covered his mouth and widened his eyes.

Seeing Zuo Na's horrified expression, Shangguan Yun also became nervous. "What's the matter, Professor?"

Cold sweat dripped from Zuo Na's forehead. He glanced at Falcon, then at Shangguan Yun, and said, "This password is a special number."

21
Shangguan Yun and Falcon stared at Zuo Na. "A special number?" Shangguan Yun asked, "Where is the special number?"

Zoller hesitated for a moment, then said, "Maybe you find it hard to believe."

"It's okay, too many unbelievable things happened around me. Tell me, professor."

Zollner frowned in thought, as if he was thinking about how to express it. "You're not a Christian, are you?"

"I'm not." Shangguan Yun asked, "Are you?"

"Me neither, but I study Christianity," Zorner said. "The central figure in Christianity—Jesus—do you believe there was a real person?"

"I don't understand what 'there is' means..."

"Let me make it clear. Jesus Christ is the most important figure in the Bible—both the Old Testament and the New Testament have recorded his legendary and mythical life. People now have two understandings of Jesus—— Some people think that this is a mythical figure made up by the Bible; but more people believe that Jesus is a 'person' who really existed, and this person has some abilities beyond ordinary people."

Shangguan Yun glanced at Falcon, then at Zuo Na. "Like, superpowers like his?"

"It means the same thing. But Jesus' ability is obviously not limited to guessing numbers." Zorner looked at the falcon and said. "He has more powerful and magical abilities."

"This and the password to the safe..."

"Don't worry. I need to guide you step by step to make this matter clear." Zorner continued, "Back to the topic just now. Now there are more and more evidences—such as ancient documents and The shroud of Jesus, etc.—shows that Jesus is a real person. I don’t want to introduce too much about this.” He looked directly at Shangguan Yun. "I just want to ask you—do you believe Jesus was a real person?"

Shangguan Yun thought for a moment, nodded and said, "I believe it."

Zona nodded slightly. "That's easy. Since you believe in the existence of Jesus, you should believe that a character whom Jesus mentioned more than 20 times - he also existed in real life."

Shangguan Yun stared at Zuo Na intently. "Who?"

Zollner was silent for a moment, and said, "Satan."

"Who?" Shangguan Yun didn't understand, and frowned.

"Translate from the pronunciation—" Zollner slowed down and said clearly, "It's what we usually call 'Satan'."

"Satan...the devil?" Shangguan Yun exclaimed.

"It seems that you have some understanding of him." Zorner said, "Unfortunately, this understanding is wrong. The devil Satan-this is a misconception that is almost universal. In fact, according to the records in the Old Testament. Satan One of the seraphs before the throne of God (Jesus), he later fell and became the 'Fallen Angel', seen as the source of evil darkness as opposed to the power of light."

Falcon listened carefully.

Shangguan Yun showed a puzzled expression. "Professor, you're getting further and further away. What do these legends mean?"

"Listen." Zollner said seriously, "Whether the things I said are 'legends' or not, I'm afraid we are now verifying this."

Shangguan Yun opened his eyes wide and looked at Zuo Na.

Zollner breathed out, as if he needed to constantly adjust and relax his mood. "Of course, the God and the fallen angels I just mentioned are obviously religious legends. But the two people they correspond to—Jesus and Satan—may be real people. And, just as Jesus is not Satan is not an ordinary man, just like an ordinary man."

"Is he also a person with some kind of special ability?"

"Yes. And compared to the light power that Jesus can save the world, Satan may possess a destructive evil power. Therefore, in the records of the Bible, Jesus and Satan are enemies of each other, representing justice and evil respectively."

Shangguan Yun frowned deeply, trying to understand what Zuo Na said.After a while, she asked, "Professor, what do you mean by speculating on the existence of Jesus and Satan?"

Zollner pushed the glasses frame on the bridge of his nose. "Everything I have done is to make you believe that Satan is likely to be a real 'person' with mysterious abilities. And what I want to say next is to talk to you—or your son— —everything is relevant.”

Shangguan Yun held his breath nervously, watching Zuo Na.

Zollner said: "As long as you are human, you have a birthday, right?"

"of course."

Zollner took a deep breath. "Then listen carefully. According to the records in ancient documents, Satan's birthday is the string of numbers Falcon said just now—that is, the password that your son Xia Qing randomly pressed—0012366!"

Shangguan Yun covered his mouth in astonishment, his eyes widened.Falcon on the side also showed a surprised expression.After a while, Shangguan Yun asked: "Professor, what does this mean? Is it a coincidence? These seven numbers were randomly pressed by my son!"

"That's right! That's the problem!" Zorner said excitedly, "If he pressed these numbers consciously, it might be nothing - because these numbers may be the ones he saw in a book or on TV. Arrived. However, Satan’s birthday—not to mention a child, not even an adult would know about it! This shows that this string of numbers was pressed subconsciously by him!”

"subconscious?"

"Yes. Subconsciousness is a mysterious force hidden under the general consciousness of human beings. It cannot be recognized and manipulated by us like ordinary thinking and consciousness. The subconsciousness can only be stimulated under some special or inadvertent situations." Zuo Na paused, staring at Shangguan Yun. "And it—may reveal some secrets of people—secrets that even the person himself does not know."

Shangguan Yun was stunned for a while, then said anxiously, "Professor, what's going on?"

Zollner got up from the sofa. "I must go home at once."

Shangguan Yun followed and stood up. "why?"

"I have a guess... it's just a guess right now. However, I have information available at home. I need to research and confirm it."

"What do you want to prove?"

Zuo Na looked at Shangguan Yun. "You remember what I said just now that the archaeologists unearthed some ancient documents, right? Now I have a precious ancient document in my home. It records some mysterious things. When I studied it before, It was just a legend, and I didn't pay much attention to it. But now, after going through this incident, I think the things recorded in that book may be true."

Shangguan Yun asked nervously, "What is it?"

Zollner hesitated. "Before it is confirmed, I don't want to say... Let's go to my house to find the book first."

"it is good!"

The two said they were about to leave.Falcon hurriedly stood up from the chair and said, "Let me go with you!"

Zuo Na and Shangguan Yun looked at each other. "What are you going to do?"

"I need your help." Falcon showed a pleading expression. "Help me out of this situation. Please." He thought for a moment. "Maybe, my special ability will help you too?"

Zollner thought about it. "Okay, let's go!"

22

At ten past nine, the three arrived at Zona's house.After entering the door, Zuo Na didn't have time to take a breath, and he plunged into the study without even calling Shangguan Yun and Falcon to sit down.Why he was so impatient, even he himself was surprised.Maybe it was Shangguan Yun's sentence "something seems to happen tonight" that affected him, maybe he himself had this ominous premonition.In short, he couldn't stop and rest for a second, he just wanted to solve the mystery immediately.

Shangguan Yun and Falcon sat in the professor's living room, relatively silent.A few minutes later, Zollner came out holding a wooden box carefully.He sat down at a small glass round table for reading newspapers on the right side of the living room, and turned on the standing desk lamp next to it.Shangguan Yun and Falcon walked over and looked at the wooden box in his hand.

"The ancient document I'm talking about is inside this box." Zuo Na looked at the two people in front of him. "This is an extremely precious cultural relic. It was excavated in Nazareth, Israel in 2004. The archaeologist who found it is my friend. He asked me to help him translate and study the content written in this book...because of our personal relationship Very good, I kept the ancient documents that should have been handed over to the National Archaeological Archives as a treasure."

Saying that, Zuo Na opened the wooden box.Inside was a bronze-coloured, battered tome—actually a rolled up animal skin.Zuo Na carefully took out the ancient book, and slowly unfolded it.The characters on the ancient books seemed to be written with burnt charcoal, and Shangguan Yun and Falcon couldn't understand a single word.

"This is ancient Hebrew." Zollner said, "Not to mention you, even I seem to be struggling. Although I have translated it once before, it has been so long and I can't remember the details. Translate again."

"How long will it take?" Shangguan Yun asked.

Zollner thought about it. "After all, I have translated it once... maybe an hour if it is fast."

Shangguan Yun looked at his watch, looking restless.Zuoerner had already lowered his head and started translating, and he recorded the translation results on a piece of paper.

Shangguan Yun and Falcon sat on the sofa and waited.The hour seemed longer than the day passed before.

At ten o'clock, Zollner stood up, and he took the translated content and read it from the beginning, with a frightened expression on his face.

Shangguan Yun walked over quickly, and hurriedly asked: "How is it, Professor?" Falcon followed Zuo Na.

Zuo Na looked at the two of them, but did not speak for a long time.After a while, he finally said, "If what is recorded in this ancient document is true, it would be really terrifying."

"What exactly is it?" Shangguan Yun asked anxiously.

Zuo Na didn't say what was written in the ancient document right away, but asked Shangguan Yun a question: "Your son Xia Qing—what year, month, and day is his birthday?"

Shangguan Yun was stunned for a moment, not understanding the meaning of this question, but he still replied: "June 2006, 6."

Zollner's heart seemed to be tightened by an invisible hand, and he closed his eyes.It's 2012 now. "So, he is six years old now?" His voice trembled.

"Yes, what's wrong?"

Zuo Na sat down on the chair, and muttered absentmindedly: "There really is such a thing..."

Shangguan Yun looked at Zuo Na intently. "Tell me, Professor, what's going on?"

Zuo Na glanced at Shangguan Yun, and read according to the translated content on the paper:

"Terror destroyer of Nazareth,
Control the mysterious power.

He died by the savior's sanction,
But it can be revived after thousands of years.

The resurrection conditions are very harsh——

A six-year-old boy with three '6's in his birthday;

die at a special moment;

Ah, and an apostle calling for his return.

-meet these three conditions,

He will be born in a boy.

But this is not the real form.

No.60 After the six-day ceremony,

The Destroyer is fully resurrected,
The world will be reduced to hell. "

Zollner finished.Silence reigned in the room.

Falcon was dumbfounded, Shangguan Yun's face turned pale, they were too shocked to speak for a while.

"This volume of ancient documents mainly records this sonnet." Zorner said, "I don't know if you understand the meaning of this poem?"

"That 'six-year-old boy with three 6's in his birthday"—referring to my son... Xia Qing?" Shangguan Yun said in panic.

"Unfortunately, I'm afraid there is no other understanding," Zollner said. "Is there anything else you don't understand?"

"I need you to interpret it for me." Shangguan Yun said weakly.

Zollner exhaled. "'The Destroyer of Terror of Nazareth' obviously refers to Satan. Or, whether it is Satan or not, it is a terrible demon in short. And the 'Savior' of course refers to Jesus Christ. Among the three conditions for the resurrection of Satan, the first One already fits. And the second—'to die at a special moment'—" Zollner thought for a moment. "Do you remember the exact time when Xia Qing was locked in the safe and died?"

Shangguan Yun's tears rolled out of her eyes. "That day...is his birthday."

"June 2012, 6?" God.Zuo Na exclaimed in his heart. "And what about the exact moment?"

Shangguan Yun shook his head in pain. "His dad was about to take him out to dinner...it must have been after 6pm."

“2012年6月6日6点……”左纳闭上眼睛。“老天，又是三个‘6’。”

"What is the special meaning of the three '6's?"

"In Christianity, three consecutive 6s are the code name of Satan." Zollner said. "So, the moment your son died, it happened to be a 'special moment.'"

"Why did this happen?" Shangguan Yun said with tears in his eyes, "My son happened to have three '6's on his birthday. And he also had three '6's at the moment of his death—is this all a coincidence?"

Zuo Na shook his head and said, "I don't think it's a coincidence. Maybe everything is predestined, it's a hidden arrangement." He squeezed his chin thoughtfully. "Maybe, there happens to be that gemstone with magical abilities in the safe, and it is also an arrangement of fate..."

"Then, what about the last condition - 'an apostle calling him back' means..." At this point, Shangguan Yun stopped, tongue-tied.

"What do you remember? Do you know who this 'apostle' is?" Zollner asked.

Shangguan Yun covered his face with his hands, and tears flowed from the crevices between his fingers. "My husband, after his son's death, silently called him every day, and even dreamed of his son every night, guiding him home in his dream...and he did come back..."

There was a long silence.Zuo Na said: "In this way, the three conditions have been met. Now, why Xia Qing came back to life, why did he return to your side, and what is hidden in his body-these mysteries have all been solved. There is only one last question left - 'After the No.60 six-day ritual, the Destroyer will be fully resurrected and the world will be reduced to hell'."

Falcon, who hadn't spoken for a long time, said at this moment: "Which day does the six days of No. 60 start?"

Zona thought. "There are two interpretations. One is to count from the day Xia Qing died; the other is to count from the day after his resurrection."

"Which one is more likely?" Falcon asked.

Zuo Na frowned deeply. "If all of this is the track of fate, then from the moment Xia Qing died, this track has started to run..."

Something seems to be going wrong tonight.

These words flashed in Zuoer's mind.He froze all over, exclaimed "Ah!" immediately raised his wrist, and glanced at the date displayed on the watch.

Today is October 8th.

From June 6th, it is exactly six days of No.6.

23

"Oh my God..." Zornar stood up in shock, his mouth was open but he couldn't speak because of tension and fear.

Falcon saw Zuo Na looking at the date on the watch, and already guessed it.He said: "Today is No.60 six days!"

"Ah..." Shangguan Yun covered his mouth in shock. "What day did the 'ritual' take place?"

"Yes!" Zuo Na's forehead and back were covered with cold sweat. "It's already 10:30. In another hour and a half, 'No.60 Six Days' will pass!"

Shangguan Yun said in horror: "That ceremony has already been carried out?"

"No, it's not over yet." Falcon said, "Maybe we can stop it now if we rush."

"After the ceremony, the Destroyer will be fully resurrected, and the world will be reduced to hell..." Shangguan Yun read these words silently, and looked up at Zuo Na. "what happens?"

"I'm afraid we don't have time to discuss it. But I'm sure it's something very bad," Zollner said. "We'd better get to your house right now, maybe there's a glimmer of hope."

"That ceremony will be performed at my house?" Shangguan Yun said in horror, "What is the content of the ceremony?"

"We really don't have time to guess." Zoller said anxiously, "Hurry up and drive to your house to have a look!"

Shangguan Yun realized the urgency and seriousness of the matter.She stopped questioning and speculating, and immediately went out with Zuo Na and Falcon, took the elevator downstairs, drove the car all the way, and rushed home.

At eleven o'clock, Shangguan Yun's car arrived home.This is the fastest speed they can achieve.Shangguan Yun took out the key to open the door, and three people pushed the door and entered.

In the huge house, no one can be seen now.Shangguan Yun didn't know if Xia Lan had already fallen asleep, she was galloping all the way just now, she didn't dare to be distracted and call her husband.At this moment, she anxiously shouted: "Xia Lan!"

no respond.

Ten seconds later, Butler Jin came out of the bedroom on the first floor in his pajamas.He saw Shangguan Yun and two strangers standing in the living room, he didn't know what happened for a while, and asked in a daze, "Madam Shangguan... what happened?"

Shangguan Yun asked urgently: "Where is the sir?"

"Sir and the young master went out together."

Shangguan Yun turned pale with shock. "When did you go out?"

"About an hour ago."

"What are they doing out there?"

"I don't know. Sir didn't tell me."

Shangguan Yun looked at Zuo Na anxiously: "What should I do?"

Zollner reminded: "Call your husband immediately."

Only then did Shangguan Yun realize that she immediately dialed Xia Lan's cell phone.But a minute later, her hand holding the phone slowly slipped down. "Shut down."

"This is bad." Zollner clenched his fists. "If we can't get in touch with him, it's impossible to know where they are now!"

"They are performing a ceremony in a hidden place. An hour has passed..." Shangguan Yun felt dizzy.

When he was at a loss, Falcon said from the side: "Maybe, with my ability, I can find out their location."

Zuo Na and Shangguan Yun looked at him together.Zollner asked, "Aren't you only able to sense numbers? Positions are fine too?"

"I can't perceive the location. However, I may be able to sense how many meters are their current location from our straight-line distance, and then..."

Before Falcon finished speaking, Zuo Na excitedly took over and said: "Then look it up on the map! With this house as the center, the radius is the straight-line distance you sensed——in such a circle, there must be places where they are. address!"

"That's it."

"Quickly sense it! Don't make a mistake, Falcon."

Falcon closed his eyes and gritted his teeth.Butler Jin looked at them blankly, instinctively feeling that the matter was of great importance, and did not dare to ask or interrupt.

Half a minute later, Falcon closed his eyes and said a number: "3679."

"The straight-line distance between them and us is 3679 meters!" Zuo Na immediately took out his smartphone and turned on the map query function.While operating, he muttered, "Using one kilometer as a unit, the buildings in the circle of 3679 meters have..."

After searching for a few minutes, he opened his mouth and yelled "ah". "Oh! I should have thought of that!"

"What's wrong?" Shangguan Yun asked.

"On a circle with a radius of 3679 meters, there is a church!" Zonah shouted, "An abandoned church on the outskirts of the city!"

"It must be there!" said Falcon.

"That's right. In fact, I should have thought of it earlier! Satan is a fallen angel, and the church is not a sacred place for him, but a place for him to revenge and profane. It is the best place for the resurrection ceremony!"

"But why did he take my husband with him?"

"Your husband is Satan's chosen apostle and his father in this world. He is a vital figure."

"Will he be in danger?" Shangguan Yun asked worriedly.

"We knew it as soon as we got there, but..."

"What's wrong?" Shangguan Yun looked at Zuo Na who hesitated to speak.

"I suddenly felt something was wrong." Zuo Na frowned.

"It's already not right."

"No, I mean..." Zollner opened his mouth, not knowing how to express it.

Falcon glanced at the time. "It's eleven twenty, and there are still four and ten minutes."

"Professor, we don't have time to hesitate. I must see my husband right away." Shangguan Yun walked towards the door.

Zuo Na sighed, and followed Falcon.

The white Porsche is speeding on the dark road, just like Shangguan Yun's heart that is about to leap out.

The history of this church is estimated to be hundreds of years old.Mottled stone walls, incomplete tower tops and damp moss describe its vicissitudes and desolation.It is impossible to estimate when it was abandoned.This place can be said to be a wilderness now.There are no street lamps, no passers-by, no other buildings, only the long dialogue between the wind and the gutter, and the old church is their only audience.

The white luxury car drove up to the dilapidated church, forming a stark contrast.And the three anxious people who jumped out of the car did not match the stability and solemnity of the church.In less than 10 minutes, it will be twelve o'clock in the morning.

"No.60 Six Days" has only the last 15 minutes left.

Shangguan Yun hurried to the door of the church, and when he stretched out his hand to open the door of the church, Zuo Na suddenly grabbed her.Shangguan Yun stared at him in surprise.

"Don't you think it's too rash to just break in like this?"

"Then how do we get in?" Shangguan Yun shook his head and said, "There is no time." She paused. "Why don't I go in alone, Professor, you wait for me outside."

As she spoke, she shook off Zona's hand, pushed open the door of the church, and entered inside.

"That's not what I meant... hey!" Zuo Na stomped his feet and walked in quickly.Falcon followed closely behind.

The interior of the church is dark and deep, and the prayer benches on both sides can be vaguely seen. At this moment, a passage in the middle does not seem to lead to a sacred hall, but it seems to extend to the abyss of hell.Shangguan Yun and Zuo Na tried their best to restrain the tension and fear in their hearts, and took a few steps forward tentatively, when they suddenly heard a "boom" behind them.Surprised, they turned around.

Falcon closed the church door.And, he took out an iron lock as if by magic, and locked the door.

Zuo Na only felt that his eyes went dark, and his heart seemed to have fallen into an ice cellar.He stared at Falcon and said, "That's it... I understand. All my anxiety before came from you!"

Shangguan Yun looked at Falcon in astonishment, and then at Zuo Na. "What exactly is going on?"

Zollner stared at Falcon sharply. "I had a faint feeling that something was wrong before, but because I was always in a state of tight time, I couldn't think about it carefully. Now, all these things are wrong!"

Zuo Na pointed at the falcon, and said to Shangguan Yun: "Think about it, when we went to his house, what was he wearing? Short-sleeved shirt and casual trousers. A young man who is alone at home, why is he dressed so neatly? Formal? It's like knowing that there will be a visitor tonight!"

"That was the first oddity. Then, he offered to cooperate fully with us, which again made me feel that things were going too well. When we were about to leave his house, he said he wanted to go with us. .And, what did he say?—'Maybe my special ability will help you too'—in fact, we did rely on his proposal and special ability to find this place. All in all, looking back now Get up, it proves one thing - he knows we will go to him tonight! And, he is leading us to this place step by step!"

Zollner pounded his fist on the thigh. "It's a pity that I have been analyzing and thinking about Satan before, and I didn't have time to think about these things. It's too late to realize it now!"

"Yes, you are right." Falcon said coldly, "My purpose is to lure you here. My task has been completed."

Shangguan Yun looked at Falcon suspiciously. "Who the hell are you?"

"Do you still need to ask?" Zollner said with a tense face, "We judged wrong before. Your husband is not Satan's apostle. The real apostle is him!"

Shangguan Yun opened his mouth wide in shock. "But... how did he know we were going to find him tonight?"

Zollner stared at Falcon. "Would you like to answer that question?"

"Why not?" Falcon said, "Now that things have come to an end, it doesn't matter if you know the truth."

He walked up to Zuo Na and Shangguan Yun and stared at them. "When I opened the safe and looked into the eyes of the people inside—from that moment on, I knew what my mission was. What I exist for, and the real use of my special abilities, I am all Understood."

"So, you didn't run away immediately, but left with your 'master'." Zuo Na said coldly.

"Yes, he let me know—my birth, and my special powers, were made to greet him at that moment. I am the only apostle he has chosen among billions of people around the world. He Also told me that my mission is not over. On the night of No.60 six days, two people will come to me. And my mission is to lead these two people to a certain place - now it seems, of course right here."

"So you're lying to us about being haunted by nightmares. You're just trying to gain our trust?"

Falcon was silent for a few seconds. "No, that's true. If I fail to attract you tonight, I will die in my last nightmare."

Falcon looked up at them with a sad expression on his face. "So you understand, I'm just here to save my life. And you should believe that all of this is predestined. As you said, professor, we are all part of the fate track. Why would the child Died at a special moment? Why do I have the ability to guess the password of the safe? And the gathering of the two of you, including finding me later—if all this is just a coincidence, rather than the guidance and arrangement of the mysterious power in the dark , do you believe it?"

Shangguan Yun's mind was buzzing, and the world was spinning around before her eyes.She really wanted to refute him and scold him angrily, but she just remembered something - she and Xia Lan hadn't had children for so many years, why did they suddenly become pregnant?And this child happened to have three "6"s in his birthday.If it is true as Falcon said, then the birth and death of this child are also for the same purpose - to welcome the birth of Satan.

This child was destined not to belong to them.He is just a tool, and his mission will be completed on the day of his sixth birthday.And it was these people around him who continued this matter.

God, is it true?I, Xia Lan, Zuo Na, Falcon...all the people involved in this incident are an indispensable part of Satan's resurrection?Is this what we live for?
At this time, Zuo Na asked sharply: "Falcon, what is your purpose in bringing us here?"

"One of the two of you is very important." Falcon said, "This person is inseparable from tonight's resurrection ceremony. It's a pity that you don't know what the resurrection ceremony is until now."

As soon as the voice fell, the candlesticks on the walls around the church suddenly lit candles together.A magical power lights up dozens of candlesticks at the same time.Shangguan Yun and Zuo Na were astonished to see that the cross in front of the church had been replaced with the symbol of Satan—the Sabbath goat—an evil pattern composed of a huge pentagram and the head of a ram.

When Shangguan Yun saw the person standing directly in front of the altar, his breathing stopped suddenly.

Xia Qing—her former son—now stood naked in front of him.The jumping flames made his face and body change shades of light and dark. If it wasn't an illusion, his body was radiating a strange and terrifying black light to the surroundings.And on the left side of his body, there was a person standing - Xia Lan!
Shangguan Yun's whole body trembled violently, and she rushed forward recklessly, shouting loudly: "Xia Lan! Are you alright?"

"Don't come here..." Xia Lan said weakly.But it was too late, when Shangguan Yun was less than five meters away from the naked boy.She suddenly felt as if she was being drawn by a gravitational force.Her whole body was suddenly weak, and her limbs slowly walked to the right side of the boy as if under control.

Zollner's heart beat faster and his breathing became short of breath.He was about to move closer, when Falcon behind him reminded: "Professor, if you don't want to lose your life, you'd better stay where you are."

Zollner turned and asked, "What is he going to do with them?"

Falcon said blankly: "At the dawn of the sixth day of No.60, kill the parents and wash the body with their blood. Satan will be fully revived in the boy's body and gain complete power."

"Ah..." Zuo Na was so shocked that he broke out in a cold sweat.But when he saw Shangguan Yun running over, he stood obediently like a puppet and realized that even if he went up, he was destined to be controlled by that terrifying force.He could only watch the "ceremony" proceed.

It was twelve o'clock in the morning.

The boy closed his eyes and murmured something, as if he was chanting some spell.In Shangguan Yun's weak consciousness, he finally understood why he hadn't said a word since "Xia Qing" came back.His voice and language were completely unfamiliar and indifferent.Shangguan Yun squinted at the immature and lovely face they had touched before, which was full of coldness and sin at the moment, and suddenly remembered what Zuo Na said - an angel, after falling, becomes an evil fallen angel - in the In this life, does he still want to continue this trajectory?
The boy finished singing and opened his eyes.He faced Shangguan Yun and stretched out his right hand diagonally upwards.Shangguan Yun saw that his fingers were as sharp as the tip of a knife, aiming at his heart.She became completely immobile when the boy faced her.Shangguan Yun knew that her death was approaching, she closed her eyes in despair.

And at this time, an unexpected situation happened.

Just when the boy's knife-like fingers were about to stab Shangguan Yun's heart, Xia Lan behind him suddenly stood in front of his wife.He grabbed the boy's hand and dragged it toward his chest, and that hand sank deeply into his heart.He grasped that hand tightly, and said to his wife behind him with all his strength, "Yun... run..."

When the boy was controlled by Xia Lan, his strength seemed to weaken.Shangguan Yun found that he had regained his self-control!But when she saw the scene in front of her, her heart was broken, and she exclaimed: "Ah—— Xia Lan, Xia Lan!"

The boy found himself being held tightly, showing a hideous expression.He roared incomprehensible words, trying to pull his hands out of Xia Lan's body.

Xia Lan's vision has blurred.He couldn't see the person in front of him clearly, he only knew that it was his son in a trance.Tears rolled down from his eyes and dripped onto the boy's arms.He said deeply:
"Son, I killed you. Let me bear it alone."

After saying these words, he hugged his former son tightly and pressed him close to him.His hands were like iron tongs, firmly holding his son's body.

The boy screamed wildly, looking angry and frightened, as if he was afraid of something.When Xia Lan's last tear rolled down on him, he let out a piercing scream, and then opened his mouth as if to vomit.A few seconds later, Shangguan Yun saw clearly that a dense black mist spewed out of his mouth with a strange sound like life.After whistling and hovering over the church for a moment, the black smoke disappeared.

At this moment, Satan's apostle - Falcon - shook his body twice and passed out on the ground.

His special ability is gone forever.

Shangguan Yun suddenly felt as if all the strength in her body had been drained. She burst into tears and knelt down helplessly.And at this moment, Xia Qing in Xia Lan's arms slowly opened his eyes, a tear overflowed from his eyes, and the familiar and immature voice called out clearly:
"dad……"

"Qingqinggou..." Xia Lan smiled. "You're back."

They hugged each other and closed their eyes forever.

"Ah... ah!" Shangguan Yun burst into tears, heartbroken.She knew that this time, they would never wake up again.

everything is over.

Zollner silently sat down on the bench, he didn't want to go up and disturb the finally reunited family.At this moment, a warm current surged through his heart.

After counting everything, Satan still failed to figure out that the tears of his biological father could dispel and purify his sinful soul.

No matter how evil things are in the world, they will collapse in the face of love.

Everyone originally possessed the most powerful power in the world.

How did we not know this before?

Zollner took off his glasses, took a deep breath, and tears blurred his eyes.He glanced at Xia Qing's small body, feeling sore and aching in his heart.

There was no trace of evil on the boy's face at this moment.

He fell asleep peacefully in the arms of his parents.

He finally returned as a 'human'.

(End of the tenth story)
After Arakishu's story was finished, his story achieved an unprecedented effect—almost all eleven listeners present had moist eye sockets and agitated hearts.

Yes, there is no doubt that Nan Tian can see this - this suspenseful and thrilling story not only shocked and terrified everyone, but also moved them and made them think deeply.My God, Nan Tian took a deep breath, what a story with exquisite structure, wonderful content, and rich connotations, can it be so touching?Araki Zhou, the leading figure in the suspense novel world, is indeed not in vain!

Nan Tian was obviously not the only one who gave high praise to this story.Xia Houshen couldn't help applauding at this moment, and praised: "Mr. Araki's story is truly convincing. In this game, I am so convinced!"

"Indeed, being able to hear such a wonderful and touching story is not in vain being trapped here for several days." Ryoma said, "For a moment, I even thanked the organizer for 'inviting' me here. "

Everyone spared no expense of praise and praised the story of Araki Zhou.Even though Araki was proud, facing everyone's sincere praise, he couldn't help being elated and elated, and his arrogance subsided a lot.

After some comments, Beidou said: "Let's score with Mr. Arakishu's wonderful story." After speaking, he stood up, took out pens and paper from the cabinet, and distributed them to everyone.

After a while, everyone wrote a number on the paper.Ryoma was in charge of the collection, but when he received it from Saka, he found that Saka was surprised and pale, and seemed to have been hit by something—she was holding a pen and paper in her hand, but she didn't write the score.

Ryoma asked, "Saka, what's wrong with you?"

Sajia trembled all over, slowly raised her head, looked at Ryoma hesitantly, she opened her mouth, but said nothing.

At this time, everyone noticed that Sajia had a strange expression and looked at her together.

Ryoma asked again: "What's the matter with you? Is there any discomfort?"

Shajia shook her head dully, biting her lower lip tightly, as if she had some unspeakable difficulties.

Looking at Sajia's appearance, Nan Tian felt strange. Suddenly, he remembered the story that Sajia told him in the afternoon, and couldn't help but yelled "Ah!".

Everyone looked towards the southern sky.The white whale asked, "What's the matter with you?"

"Shajia, you told me a story this afternoon..." Nan Tian opened his mouth wide, as if he just woke up from his sleep. "I was fascinated by Mr. Arakishu's story just now, and now I think of it - the story he told is very similar to the one Sajia told me this afternoon..."

Everyone was shocked, and Araki Zhou's expression instantly became dumbfounded.But after all, he was calm and old-fashioned, and he didn't yell out immediately, but just stared and said: "Where are the similarities, please tell me clearly."

Nan Tian glanced at Sajia, then turned to Araki and said, "In the story Shajia told, there is also a father and son—and the father in the story is also the same as Xia Lan in "Return" you just told. The son has a wonderful telepathy. What's more, the protagonist in Sajia's story also has the ability to sense 'numbers'!"

Hearing what Nan Tian said, Beidou couldn't help shouting: "You mean, there is a serious 'similarity in conception' between Mr. Arakishu's story and the story Sajia told before?"

"Shut up!" Araki Zhou couldn't calm down anymore, a layer of sweat had already oozed from his forehead.At this moment, he stared at Beidou viciously, "Are you reminding everyone that I fouled? What are your intentions!"

Beidou stuck out his tongue, and said, "That's the truth, I didn't mean to say that on purpose..."

After a while, Araki Zhou tried his best to control his emotions and keep himself calm. He looked at Sajia and said, "You and Nan Tian said that my story is similar to what you told this afternoon. Is there any evidence? Everyone has watched it these days. Come out, the two of you are very close, obviously the relationship is unusual. If the two of you conspire to frame me, then it doesn’t matter if I commit a foul or not—tonight, we can find out the organizer!”

When Sajia heard what Araki Zhou said, she stood up indignantly, looked directly at him and said, "Mr. The two of us know. The reason why I felt lost just now is that I will be the one who will tell the story tomorrow! The plot I have conceived, so coincidentally similar to your story, means that it is impossible for me to tell this story again-- I didn't expect to make you foul at all, so why did you wrong us to frame you?"

Having said that, Saka took out a few pieces of paper from her coat pocket, walked over and handed them to Araki Shuu. "Don't you want evidence? This is the outline of the story I wrote in the afternoon - take a look, is it really similar to what you told tonight?"

Arakishu stared at Sajia, as if reluctantly took the manuscript paper, Lake and Goth, who were sitting beside him, poked their heads together, and browsed the contents of the paper together with Arakishu.After a while, all three of them showed expressions of astonishment.Other people don't need to read it, they also know that what Sajia said is true.

Araki threw the paper to Sajia and said, "Even if it's true—you told Nan Tian a similar story this afternoon—but don't forget, I'm ahead of you. The story is told, so it cannot be said to be my story and yours repeated."

Hearing Arakishu's words, Beitou frowned and said, "Mr. Arakishu, you seem to have forgotten what the sponsor said - the winner of the final game will share the 14 stories he heard with ours. What we have experienced is itself written into a book—that is to say, all our current experiences are actually a 'big story'. So as long as Sajia tells a similar story before you, it will be objectively cause you to foul."

Araki Zhou couldn't keep his reserve and calm anymore, he roared angrily: "Damn it! Then how do I know that she happened to tell a similar story this afternoon? She didn't tell me!"

"Can this be my fault?" Sajia said, "I didn't hear your story at night, so how did I know it would be similar to mine?"

Dark Fire frowned at this moment and said: "Have you ever thought about a question—is this incident really just a coincidence? Why did Sajia and Araki Shuk, whose numbers are next to each other, think of such a similar story at almost the same time? ? Is there anything strange about this?"

For a while, everyone was silent.But after a long time, no one can give an answer.

Among the twelve people, the one who felt the most unbelievable at the moment was Nan Tian.

He knew very well in his heart that the subject matter of Sajia's story was actually provided to her by himself.However, how could it be possible that Araki Shu also happened to think of the same subject?Is it really just a coincidence?Or, unknowingly, we fell into the trap of the sponsor?

Nan Tian was thinking hard, and suddenly found a very unreasonable thing - a person who would always express important opinions when encountering such things in the past, unexpectedly didn't say a word tonight.

Chris.

Nan Tian looked at Chris, who was sitting diagonally across from him, and found that the genius boy was resting two fingers on his chin, staring at his chin, and seemed to be concentrating on something.

Nan Tian looked at him for a while, and couldn't help asking: "Chris, why didn't you say a word tonight?"

Chris raised his head slowly, stared at Nantian, then looked around the crowd, and said something that surprised everyone:

"Through the incident just now, I seem to know who the sponsor is."

What?Nan Tian's heart shook violently.What he said, is it true?

Could it be that on the night of the 10th day, the mystery will be revealed?
(End of the fourth season of "Games That Must Foul")
(End of this chapter)