Mysterious journey

Outer southern suburbs of Huaishan City

Large stretches of green hillsides undulate like a thick green carpet.

One of the slopes is sparsely dotted with some small yellow and white dots, all of which are single- and double-story buildings. Most of these small buildings are cube-shaped and made of light yellow and white stones.

Green vines are climbing everywhere on the edge of the small building and on the door frame, and some vines still have small white and yellow flowers.

Under one of the double-story buildings, there are two round arch openings, forming a semi-open shade area.

There were two tables in the doorway, and four people were sitting at the table on the left, drinking tea and relaxing.

Two middle-aged men each brought a young woman and sat opposite each other.

The older man had a beautiful mustache, was wearing a neat and exquisite black suit, and was holding a brown wooden cane in one hand. He looked about forty years old. He picked up the wooden cup of black tea on the table and took a sip.

"Mr. Kelly made a special trip to talk to me about his collection of doomed antiques. This kind of enthusiasm is indeed rare."

His eyes fell on the face of the middle-aged man sitting opposite.

The other person has a pale complexion, short light blond curly hair, a blond mustache on his chin, and is wearing a neat white suit. It gives people an elegant and relaxed temperament. He is also much younger, probably only thirty years old.

The most important thing is that the other party's eyes are like the finest rubies, crystal clear and exceptionally clear.

"Mr. Mercury's enthusiasm is what amazed me. He not only traveled everywhere to collect doomed antiques and jewelry, but even traced their origins to their original sources."

The man sighed.

"Actually, who of us collectors are not mainly interested in these things? The life we ​​look forward to the most is every time we come home, we see the objects and antiques placed in our homes, each of which has a mysterious origin. It's like just like."

"It's as if our own residence and life have become full of mystery, as if it is filled with unknown power." Tali Mercury added with a smile.

"Not bad! That's the feeling!" The blond man nodded, "Life is always so boring! So what we yearn for is to make ourselves and our lives full of mystery and fun. Perhaps this is our greatest interest in collecting doomed antiques."

"That's right!" Tali Mercury nodded with deep feeling, and glanced at the other man's wrist inadvertently, "In the beginning, I accidentally obtained an antique of bad luck because of handling a case. Unexpectedly, I became more and more obsessed with it later on. I started collecting this thing. So many years have passed in the blink of an eye, and there are hundreds of bad-luck antiques collected at home, whether real or fake. More than ten years have passed in the blink of an eye, time flies so fast."

"Hundreds of items!?" The blond man's eyes lit up, "That's really a big deal! It's worthy of the famous detective Tali Mercury. It must not be the same as the ones you just took out. So when you come here this time, is it Is it also related to the antiques of doom?”

"That's not all." Tali Mercury shook his head, took the pipe handed over by Miss Silan, took a puff, and slowly blew out the smoke ring. "This time I came here to track down an old rival among criminals for the serial murder and robbery case. Now that the case has come to an end, I have some time to come here to investigate."

"Is that so? Could it be the famous Golden Ring Thief?" The blond man reached out and pinched his beard thoughtfully. Seeing the detective nodding in affirmation, he continued: "The Golden Ring Thief has committed dozens of crimes throughout the federation. . It is said that apart from you, only another equally famous detective has ever had direct contact with him. I wonder if you can tell me more about the golden ring?"

"I'm sorry. It's not that I don't want to say it, but the Police Headquarters has a relevant confidentiality agreement." Tali Mercury shrugged, "Okay, I'm going to go to Yinsha Castle in the afternoon. I don't know if Mr. Kelly is interested in talking to him. I’ll go with you.”

"Oh? Yinsha Castle? I have heard about this dilapidated castle in Huaishan City for so long. It seems to be a legacy inherited by an officer. Now there is no money to take care of it. Everything inside has been sold off." The blond The man Kelly whispered, "I heard that the castle was originally planned to be sold, but it is too dilapidated and the location is too remote. It is inconvenient to buy anything. Only those who have visited it have no intention of buying it. Are you? Want to buy it?"

"It's just a visit, it won't be a big deal if I buy it." Tali Mercury smiled. He turned his face and whispered a few words to Miss Silan. The latter nodded, stood up and walked towards another double-story building not far away, and soon disappeared into the dense green bushes. .

"The vegetation here is very dense, and there is no sign of desolation even in autumn. If it were not too far away from my hometown, I would like to move here and settle down." The mercury in the tower puffed out a smoke ring and said deeply.

"That's right. That's just me. Once I settle down, I don't want to leave." Kelly replied with a smile. He also said a few words to the woman with platinum ponytail next to him, who immediately got up and walked towards the black car on the road outside the small building.

"It takes two hours to drive to Yinsha Castle from here. It's already almost five o'clock in the afternoon. If you go at this time, it will be evening when you come back. Or is Mr. Tarry planning to spend the night there?" Kelly stood up and asked doubtfully. .

"I do occasionally spend the night there these days, which is nothing unusual. I have discussed it with the owner of the castle, Naswis, and paid a rent, and the castle was rented to me for two months. Anyway, Everything inside has been emptied, and he is not afraid of any belongings being taken away." Tali Mercury stood up and said, "Okay, Mr. Kelly, you don't need to drive your car over here. There is no place to refuel around here, so it's best to It’s better to go there by carriage.”

"That's true. So I will have to disturb you for a day or two."

"It's okay. We all share the same interests. It's rare for me to meet a friend who has the same interests and hobbies as me. To be honest, in the circle of friends, my hobbies have always been criticized by everyone. Okay, Without further ado, let me lead the carriage over first, and we’ll meet in the driveway.”

"Well, see you later."

Kelly stood at the table, took a sip of black tea, and watched Tali Mercury slowly walk through the grass and walk towards a black two-wheel carriage driving in the driveway in the distance. Miss Silan, wearing a white trench coat, just jumped out of the carriage and stood to one side waiting for him.

The driveway twists and turns, spreading into the distance, like a long gray snake, stretching into the distance. In the far distance of the front driveway, there are two oxcarts moving slowly, dragging golden wheat.

A warm breeze blew over, lifting the hem of Kelly's white suit, and the air was filled with a leisurely and comfortable slow pace of life.

He touched his chin.

"This beard is really realistic."

"Of course." The white-blond ponytail woman who left earlier returned to his side. "The route to Yinsha Castle requires a carriage ride for at least two hours, and then we have to walk on a mountain road, which is relatively remote. We may have to spend the night there."

"Mr. Tarry promised me to stay overnight in the castle." Kelly smiled. "Let's go, don't keep our great detective waiting."

The woman looked at Kelly's back as he slowly walked away, with a trace of doubt in his eyes. Although he knew it was a disguise, in every aspect, Kelly was much more mature and real than Garen. Not at all like a teenager.

It's as if Gallon is Kelly's disguise, and Gallon who becomes Kelly is the one who truly reveals his true nature.

Shaking her head slightly and no longer thinking about it, she quickly followed him, and the two of them walked one after another towards the carriage waiting in the driveway in the distance.

Before getting in the car, Garen casually pulled a small purple-red flower from the grass beside him and sniffed it gently. Only when he got closer did he see many small black insects crawling in the center of the flower, like ants, and the flower had no fragrance at all.

The four of them got on the double carriage, with the two in Tali sitting in the front row, and Garen and Grace sitting in the back row.

The riding whip cracked lightly, and immediately two strong yellow horses slowly dragged the carriage forward, and the bells on their necks began to jingle.

Seeing Garen picking a purple flower in his hand, Tali Mercury said with a smile.

"The flowers here don't have much fragrance, but they strangely attract a lot of bugs. I don't know why."

Garen stretched out his index finger and let a small black insect crawl up the petals of his finger, tickling it. The little bug is like a black ladybug that has been shrunk many times. Its two semicircular wings open and close from time to time to maintain balance.

"There are always different strange phenomena around the origin of the Doom Antiques. Isn't this normal?" He smiled. "If it were like any other place, we wouldn't be attracted to come here. It's a pity that you didn't bring your other antiques with you, otherwise I might be lucky enough to feast my eyes on it."

Tali Mercury laughed.

"I originally thought you were a liar who boasted wildly, but I didn't expect that you would see through the few antique imitations of bad luck that I picked up at random. I didn't expect to meet a confidant like you here. I originally thought that only I just love researching doom antiques.”

"Me too." Garen removed a petal, gently popped out of the carriage, and laughed as well. "But what is it about Yinsha Castle that deserves your attention? I have lived here for so long and I don't really know."

Tali Mercury handed the riding whip to Si Lan and asked her to drive on his behalf. At the same time, he took out a stack of white documents from his leather bag and handed it over with his backhand. "This is some information I collected, please take a look."

Garen took it and looked at the title on the first page: The owner of the castle died unexpectedly. Below is a large report text, talking about the process of discovering death.

Turning to the second page, there is also a similar title.

The third page is the same, but there is an extra photo, and it happens to be the pattern of Yinsha Castle.

Three consecutive owners of the castle died unexpectedly, and the murderer was unknown. They all died peacefully on their own beds without any signs, just like an old man whose life was exhausted. The strange thing is that the three owners are all young and strong middle-aged officers.