At the end of summer, the morning after the rain is always particularly bright and cheerful. The fresh air, warm sunshine, and the chirping of insects and birds linger in the ears. A deep breath is enough to make people forget all their worries.
Even if it's only for a short moment...
After almost a sleepless night, Chen Tao got out of bed in a daze, but was surprised to find that Hao Zi was no longer there.
Standing at the door of the store and taking a deep breath of the earthy air, Chen Tao walked toward his store listlessly.
The courtyard of Chen Tao's house was originally very large. Except for the pavement in the front, there was a row of houses built in the back, all of which were in the Chinese wooden structure style. The whole Chen Tao old house was antique and had a unique flavor.
Grandpa Chen Tao worked hard all his life, and several uncles divided his grandfather's other positions, which were basically out of town. Chen Tao's father left his old shop to guard in this ancient city. During the New Year and festivals, it can be regarded as the base camp of the Chen family.
It's just a pity...
Thinking about yesterday's fire, although the shop in front was not affected at all, the houses in the back were probably changed beyond recognition.
Pushing the door open, I saw someone sitting at the door of the cabinet.
"Yong...Brother Yong?" Chen Tao looked shocked. His parents were missing. Why is this guy still working here?
"Ah, little boss, you are back!"
"Where are my parents?"
"Boss, where are they in the backyard?" The boy looked confused.
Didn't the backyard... burn?
Chen Tao didn't care about the guy, and pushed the door directly to the backyard. His eyes almost popped out when he saw it.
There was no fire. The backyard was clean, the doors and windows were shiny, and there was no damage at all. At this moment, his father was leisurely reading the newspaper on a wicker chair and basking in the sun.
Snapped!
Chen Tao slapped himself hard.
I rub it, it hurts! Not a dream?
"What are you doing this early in the morning?" The father looked at Chen Tao who was standing at the door in confusion.
"No...it's okay..."
What's going on? Can someone explain it first?
Could it be that old guy Uncle Long...
Chen Tao raised his feet and walked towards the guest room, staring at his father on the wicker chair like a lunatic, feeling completely confused.
"There is no fire at home, and my parents are not missing. Could it be that I am stupid?"
When he arrived at the door, Chen Tao pushed the door open without knocking and saw Uncle Long sitting on the high-legged Eight Immortals table nearby, eating. He probably had just woken up, and was only wearing loose pants and a vest.
There are a few fried dough sticks and a steaming bowl of tofu puffs on the table. When Chen Tao came in, Uncle Long was concentrating on peeling the tea eggs in his hand.
Seeing Chen Tao suddenly barging in without combing his hair or washing his face, Uncle Long couldn't help but be a little surprised. He stared at him blankly for a long time and said:
"What's wrong, Taotao?"
Taotao is Chen Tao's nickname, and everyone in his family calls him that.
"You...are you okay?"
"I think you're the one who has something to do!" Uncle Long rolled his eyes at Chen Tao, "Why are you looking for me so early in the morning?"
"Uh...what..." Chen Tao grabbed a handful of messy hair and remembered what he discovered last night, "Uncle Long, I made a major discovery!"
Chen Tao picked up a fried dough stick and sat on the chair opposite Uncle Long, staring at Uncle Long as if he had seen a ghost.
"You haven't eaten yet. The tofu noodles are gone. There are still a few packs of milk in the refrigerator. Get them yourself." Uncle Long was a little embarrassed by the sight. He soaked the peeled tea eggs in the bowl of tofu noodles and took a sip. .
"It's okay, no need, I'm not hungry." Chen Tao took a few mouthfuls of fried dough sticks and swallowed them dryly. Although he couldn't figure out what happened, he still said to Uncle Long with some excitement: "I couldn't sleep last night. , I took out the bronze man and studied it, guess what I found!"
"What?" Uncle Long looked at him while eating.
"You won't believe it if I tell you, this tree man has a picture on his body!"
"Wha...what? Picture?" Uncle Long looked at him strangely.
"Come on, uncle, look at this."
Chen Tao took out his mobile phone from his pocket, played with it a few times and placed it in front of Uncle Long.
"I took this photo last night. The lighting is not good, so I can't see it clearly, but it's enough to explain the problem."
Uncle Long glanced at Chen Tao suspiciously, then picked up his phone and glanced at Chen Tao's phone casually. After just one glance, he was stunned. The half-bitten egg fell into the bowl with a clatter, and the fried dough sticks in his hand were deformed by his grasp.
"You...how did you do it?"
Uncle Long stared at Chen Tao, his eyes filled with heat. Seeing Uncle Long's sudden change, Chen Tao was really shocked, so he told Uncle Long everything about what happened last night.
"So that's it, that's it! Hahahahaha!" After hearing Chen Tao's words, Uncle Long burst out laughing.
"Uncle Long, what are these patterns? It's so strange!" Looking at Uncle Long's changes before and after, Chen Tao is now more and more sure that this guy is definitely hiding something from him.
"How do I know this? I'm just guessing." Uncle Long put down his cell phone and moved his eyes reluctantly from the cell phone screen to Chen Tao's face and said:
"When I first saw this, I thought it might not be an ordinary thing. I also studied it for a long time in private, but I didn't know much about it, so I had to give up. I didn't expect you to be able to come up with it. You're good, boy, come on, reward You big fritter!"
"..."
Depressed, extremely depressed, even a little bit crazy!
Uncle Long was not answering his question, he was clearly looking for a reason to stall him.
Looking up at Uncle Long, Chen Tao took the fried dough sticks in his hand, took a hard bite, and thought to himself: "Don't tell me, okay, I will know sooner or later!" Thinking about it, Chen Tao was cruel again I took a big bite of the fried dough sticks and chewed them dryly for a long time. I couldn't swallow one bite and choked.
Seeing this, Uncle Long stood up and got him a bottle of pure milk from the refrigerator and said: "Slow down, you don't have to worry about this anymore. The tree man is probably just a coincidence. With these patterns, I still have it." I can sell it for more money!”
After drinking a few sips of milk, Chen Tao glanced at Uncle Long and was too lazy to say anything more. He said, "Uncle, I'm going to find Haozi." He stretched out his hand to take away the bronze figure.
"Just leave this thing here for now. I'll think about it and see if I can find anything else."
"oh!"
Chen Tao said depressedly, the bronze man won't give him his love now, right?
Muttering in his heart, Chen Tao said goodbye to Uncle Long and returned to his room.
Strange, so strange!
Seeing everything in the house intact, Chen Tao couldn't figure it out. There was obviously a fire last night and the house was burned like that. Why does it seem like everything is fine today?
Could it be that he was dreaming last night and that he didn't go to that old house at all?
He quickly touched his pocket, but his hand froze.
No, no! The wooden box is still there. He really went to the old house last night, and that fire...
Chen Tao felt as if he had been hit hard by something. There was a buzz in his head, and a cold air rushed straight to his back.
Trembling, he opened the small wooden box, and the blood-stained letter for help and the strange map lay quietly inside.
"You may think I'm a lunatic for what I'm going to talk about next, but soon, you will be involved in this matter, and your world will be overturned!"
"I can't tell you everything. Everything depends on you! If you don't want the Chen family to be destroyed, you must follow Uncle Long! Follow him to Heizigou and that tomb!"
"No matter what the cost, you must find it, it is our only hope."
Every word in the letter echoed in Chen Tao's mind, and Chen Tao felt dizzy for a while.
Snapped......
The wooden box fell to the ground, awakening Chen Tao from his trance.
There was a slight pain in my back, which was from being hit by something when I rushed into the burning room yesterday.
Chen Tao tore his shirt like crazy, walked to the mirror and looked at his back. The sight scared him so much that he almost screamed.
On his back, there was a blood-red palm print!
Last night I was pushed into the fire! !
Chen Tao gasped for breath and looked at himself in the mirror.
This world is crazy!
