Qingmu saw Ma Fuqing's eyes flickering, but he didn't see the surprise they should have.
"You seem to know that we are coming?" Aoki asked him.
Ma Fuqing quickly denied: "No, no, my mother-in-law has a bad temper and doesn't like outsiders coming to my house. I'm really embarrassed."
Qingmu and Hu Xing followed Ma Fuqing into the gate.
Ma Fuqing's house is quite spacious, with a small second floor with two entrances, and a front and back yard.
Aoki started walking around in the yard, and the sound of the pulleys tapping on the ground made Ma Fuqing very uncomfortable.
"Come inside," Ma Fuqing urged. "It's cool in the house and there's iced watermelon."
"Why didn't you ask us what we were here for?" Aoki was not in a hurry and walked from the front yard to the backyard.
"It's my fault that I caused trouble to the master and this police comrade." Ma Fuqing said tremblingly.
There are many fruits and melons planted in Ma's front yard, but the backyard is empty except for a lone old locust tree.
Qingmu stood in the shade under the locust tree, walked around the locust tree, and said, "This tree is nice, it's cool here."
Not sure if it was too hot, sweat dripped from Ma Fuqing's face and said, "Master, tell me if you have anything to say."
At this time, there was a sound of jingling iron chains coming from somewhere, accompanied by a low roar.
"Do you have a Tibetan mastiff at home?" Hu Xing identified the direction of the sound and determined that it was coming from inside the house.
"Oh, no, it's not a Tibetan mastiff, it's just an ordinary... domestic, domestic dog." Ma Fuqing's face was sweating more and more, and his clothes were soaked.
Aoki winked at Hu Xing and said, "Then let's go in and sit down."
Like all rural houses, Ma's living room is large but poorly furnished. A square Eight Immortals table is placed in the middle, surrounded by several long benches. There is a 32-inch old-fashioned TV set in the corner. The surrounding walls are painted with simple white paint. The walls are mottled and some of them are showing signs of peeling off.
There is no air conditioning in the room, but the curtains are closed to block out the heat outside, and several electric fans are turned on, which is quite cool. But in this way, it seems a bit dark and dull.
Ma Fuqing's mother was sitting in the corner watching TV. A separate electric fan was blowing on her, and the light from the TV flickered on and off on her face. Hu Xing always felt that her face was gloomy, and she seemed to have ill intentions towards their arrival, which made people feel a chill in their hearts.
She quietly told Aoki her thoughts, and Aoki said indifferently: "Isn't it cooler this way?"
Ma Fuqing brought the cut ice watermelon and placed it on the Eight Immortals table, inviting them to eat. Then he took a piece himself and dug out all the black and white parts one by one, leaving only the clean pulp before bringing it to his mother: "Mom, you eat."
"He is still a filial son." Wu Xing had a slight affection for Ma Fuqing for no reason.
Aoki smiled and said nothing. Except in dreams, he never judges human nature easily. Human beings have learned too many disguises through long-term survival pressure and evolution. Even in dreams, sometimes the subconscious will deceive themselves, let alone in front of strangers.
Ma Fuqing's mother grabbed the watermelon without ceremony and continued to watch her TV without even squinting her eyes. There was no expression on her face, and Wu Xing almost thought it was a clay statue.
Ma Fuqing has been waiting nearby. Her mother took a bite of watermelon and found an uncut watermelon. She spit it on Ma Fuqing and dropped the watermelon in her hand to the ground.
Hu Xing was stunned and muttered: "It turns out she is a crazy woman!"
Ma Fuqing's mother turned around, stared at Hu Xing and asked Ma Fuqing: "What is she talking about?" Half of her face reflected the light from the TV, and the other half was hidden in the darkness. Her eyes were fierce, as if she had seen an enemy.
Ma Fuqing quickly stood in front of her mother and said, "It's okay, it's okay, she's talking about her family."
He turned around and smiled "hehe" at Aoki and the others, went to the corner to get a broom, and swept up the watermelon rinds and broken melon flesh that were splashed all over the floor.
His mother was still staring at Hu Xing, making Hu Xing feel uncomfortable all over.
After Ma Fuqing finished sweeping the floor, he went to the table and took out a piece of watermelon, slicing the seeds more carefully. After finishing the buckle, I looked at it again and again until I was sure that there were no melons left, and then I gave it to his mother to eat again.
His mother pushed Ma Fuqing's hand away: "I won't eat." After saying that, she got up and went inside.
When the door from the living room to the inner room was opened, there was another sound of chains rattling.
Ma Fuqing could finally sit down.
"I'm so sorry! Um... come, eat, eat watermelon." Ma Fuqing looked a little embarrassed and restrained.
"Your mother..." Wu Xing pointed to her head, "Are you okay?"
Ma Fuqing said: "No, no, my mother just has a weird temper."
Seeing Ma Fuqing's filial look, Hu Xing was a little unsure of the purpose of her trip.
She originally thought that she would encounter an extremely cunning and vicious gangster, and it would be best to attack them directly, so that the grappling and marksmanship skills she had practiced since she was a child would be put to use. She didn't think Ma Fuqing was acting for them. What reason would a person who could be so filial to his mother have to kill someone? Now, she hoped that Aoki's judgment was wrong and that the scumbag caught by the Luxian Criminal Police Team was the murderer.
She signaled Qingmu to ask questions, but Qingmu said nothing and only smoked. Wu Xing was so angry that she kicked him hard under the table.
Aoki then straightened up and said to Ma Fuqing: "Oh, you paid, but I haven't helped you interpret your dream yet."
Ma Fuqing shook his head quickly: "No, no, no, I'm fine."
"Is everything okay?" Aoki asked blankly, "Does that mean I want a refund?"
"No, no, I didn't mean that. No need to refund the money."
"In that case, let's go." Aoki stood up and was about to leave.
Now Hu Xing is not happy, what is this? You are the one who came here, and I am here just to interpret the dreams of your clients! But she had no choice but to glare at Aoki and said to herself, go back and deal with you!
But how to deal with him when we go back? Hu Xing suddenly became frustrated when she thought of Aoki's unsophisticated, sometimes stupid, and sometimes dishonest appearance. She felt that it was a wrong decision to provoke this weird guy for nothing.
Ma Fuqing nodded loudly and was about to send them out. At this time, Ma Fuqing's mother's voice came out from the dark corridor behind the living room: "Fuqing, come here and tell your friends not to leave yet." Her tone was as gentle as the mother of a full moon coaxing her in her arms. little baby.
Ma Fuqing responded "Oh", smiled apologetically at Qingmu and Hu Xing, and walked into the back aisle.
Qingmu and Hu Xing looked at each other. This old lady was really quick-tempered.
"Weirder than you." Wu Xing wrinkled her nose and said.
"What's wrong with me?"
"Bell-bottom pants, pull-up panels, and a windbreaker on a hot day, isn't it weird enough?" Hu Xing said, but she didn't mean the slightest bit of contempt. She would never forget Aoki's incredible ability to make people dream. But for such a powerful person, why does he always look lazy and dull?
They chatted for a long time, but Ma Fuqing didn't come back.
Hu Xing gnawed two pieces of watermelon and couldn't bear it anymore, so she said, "Go over and have a look."
Aoki agreed. They walked through the living room and into the inner passage.
The corridor is not long, the door behind the corridor is locked, and there are stairs next to it. There was a strong-looking anti-theft fence at the top of the stairs. The fence door leading to the basement was open, and there were faint voices coming from below.
"Mom, it can't be done. Mom, it's not easy to do such a thing."
"What can't be done? I don't care, I just want to have grandchildren so that the Ma family can continue the family lineage! If you are capable, I don't need to do anything."
"Mom..."
Hu Xing motioned to Qingmu and walked down quietly.
A small, dim light burned in the basement.
Hu Xing stuck her head out and saw Ma Fuqing kneeling on the ground with his head lowered. His mother stood in front of her, with her back to the stairs.
She suddenly felt a gust of cold wind blowing down the stairs, which sent a chill down her spine.
It was very dark on the stairs, so dark that I couldn't see my fingers. She always felt like something was watching them from behind.
Hu Xing's heart was pounding, and she turned to look at Qingmu. She could only see a dark shadow. Fortunately, the outline of the chicken coop head was more conspicuous. Instantly I felt like a chicken coop was not bad!
At this moment, she caught a glimpse of a dark shadow flashing at the corner of the stairs above, but when she took a closer look, it disappeared again.
Just when she thought she was dazzled, she found that Aoki beside her was missing.
