sincerity of lies

In the park at night, the dim lights become more and more vague under the cover of swaying green plants. The faces of the people coming and going seem to be covered with a layer of hazy fog, and their faces cannot be seen clearly.

Ji Xun and Hu Yuan met at the water bank of this park.

The park at night is originally a resting place far away from surveillance; the waterfront of the park is further away from the flow of people passing by inadvertently.

The agreed time was nine o'clock in the evening.

At 55:[-], the two had already taken the fishing gear for night fishing and were waiting on the shore.

But within 10 minutes, a person in a loose tracksuit and a baseball cap came from a distance.

The figure who couldn't tell if it was a man or a woman got closer, and when they sat down next to Ji Xun and Huo Ranyin, fiddling with the fishing gear they brought, they recognized Hu Xian from the vague but familiar fragrance.

White Musk.

At first it smells like warm, clean, comfortable and restrained frankincense, but after smelling it for a long time, you will find that in the soft frankincense, there are occasional wisps of sweet and bitter medicinal fragrance. The medicinal fragrance makes the frankincense outstanding, and the frankincense makes the medicinal fragrance soft.

A fragrance that retains the professionalism of the "forensic" profession, but dilutes the coldness of the forensic profession.

A perfume that is not suitable for Hu Xian.

Ji Xun thought.

Careful analysis reveals that Hu Xian's personality is completely different from the perfume she wears. She chose this perfume deliberately, perhaps because she just wanted to use this warm fragrance to cover up the eerie ghosts in her heart.

"Somewhat unexpected."

The wind brought Hu Yuan's voice.

With a sound of "plop", the luminous cursor plunged into the water, and Hu Yuan was ready to start fishing, and officially started a dialogue with them.

"I know I can't lie to you for long, but I didn't expect you to find out the second time." Hu Xian, "When did you start to doubt me? When you saw me in Qinshi?"

"Do you want to hear the truth or lies?" Ji Xun said.

"The truth." Under the brim of the hat, Hu Xian glanced at Ji Xun, "I'm not acting cute with you."

"So, tonight is an open and honest meeting?" Ji Xun confirmed.

"Otherwise I don't need to come out." Hu Xian affirmed.

"The first time I saw you." Ji Xun revealed, "When I got the MP4, Tan Mingjiu and I returned to the police station, and saw you and Huo Ranyin appearing at the door."

Hu Yuan was silent for a moment.

"Why? I shouldn't have revealed any flaws at that time, and you shouldn't have gotten any clues either."

"A kind of intuition." Ji Xun said casually, "It's too coincidental for you to appear. It's like a criminal returning to the scene with curiosity and pride to see the situation after a successful crime."

"Huh..." Hu Yuan, "As expected of you."

"This is the first question I want to ask today," Ji Xun said, "Why did you choose me?"

"You have talent, Ji Xun."

"I'm not the only one with talent. Captain Huo sitting next to me has talent and status." Ji Xun said, "It's much more reasonable for you to choose him than me."

"How do you know I didn't pick Team Huo?"

At night, Hu Xian's voice was like a puff of smoke, wrapping around people's eardrums in an indistinct manner.

"What do you mean?" Huo Ranyin finally spoke out.

"Captain Huo, even if I don't look for you, you will find that road...the road that I am also looking for. Our destination is the same, we are fellow travelers, and the meeting time is only sooner or later." Hu Xian said lightly.

"Speak clearly." Huo Ranyin's voice implied a warning, "Don't play charades."

"Dingbo number." Hu Yuan said three words.

Ji Xun and Huo Ranyin lifted their spirits.

The ship sank in a shipwreck, causing Lao Hu to change his identity, and was registered under the name of Huo Ranyin's grandfather, Huo Shanyuan.

"Have you heard the story?" Hu Xian said again, "The story Grandpa told Lan Lan."

Hu Xian's voice was faint in the night, and Ji Xun and Huo Ranyin inevitably remembered the ghost story that Lan Lan told them in the hospital after she attempted suicide.

"The sky is blue, the land is desolate, the lonely boat is alone and the road is desolate..."

In the silent night, Lingling's female voice suddenly sounded, it was Hu Xian, who was facing the black abyss of the river, singing softly.

The river in the park is long and wide, and there is a shadow of a boat in the distance. The boat is coming towards them. There is floating in front of the boat. Is it the river water, the fog, or the corpses of pigs and sheep pulling the boat? ?

Ji Xun shivered slightly.

"You mentioned this and wanted to tell us," Huo Ranyin said, "there is a murder hidden in this horror story?"

This inference hardly requires reasoning—in this materialistic world, the police probably have only this kind of thinking when facing ghost stories.In fact, the first time they heard this story, they thought of this possibility.

But Hu Xian's answer was unexpected.

"I don't know. Grandpa never elaborated on that story. The story seems to be just a story. But..."

Important things, things that Huo Ranyin and Ji Xun didn't know about, were hidden behind Hu Xian's.

"I've seen them."

"'They'?" Ji Xun whispered.

"Other people on board." Hu Yuan seemed to be smiling, "Of course grandpa wasn't the only one who survived the shipwreck. There are other people, and their names are different from the past."

The two of them immediately realized that an extremely unusual news was revealed in this seemingly simple sentence.

Those who got off the Dingbo had all changed their names.

Why are they doing this?

"How many people did you see?" Ji asked.

At night, Hu Xian turned to the two for the first time, and she gave her a look of admiration, as if saying that she did not come in vain tonight.

"Five people, I only saw five people."

Ji Xun remembered the obituary on the Dingbo shipwreck in the newspaper he had read.The obituary clearly stated that there were 22 crew members on board the Dingbo.

Hu Xian saw five people... counting Hu Xian's grandfather, there were six people in total.

Six people, 22 people.

What about the remaining 16?Did Hu Xian fail to find out, or have they disappeared?

"That's what I said. Team Huo will find out sooner or later that he has to figure out all of this. This question that has been going on for 40 years with the Dingbo as the source needs to be solved by him. Because that ship belongs to the Huo family. Because of the woman my grandfather liked, the sapphire that was put on the boat... By the way, not only him, but also you, Ji Xun."

"I?"

Ji Xun murmured.In fact, his attention was not immediately focused on Hu Xian's words.

He thought about what Hu Xian reminded again, the sapphire on Lao Hu's boat—who the hell is that?

Is it Huo Ranyin's grandmother, is it Huo Ranyin's mother, or...or is it Huo Qiying who was buried under the unnamed tombstone in the Huo Family Cemetery?

Then, his attention gradually converged, and he noticed the point of Hu Yuan's words.

"Me? What have I to do with this?"

The only relationship he has with this matter is his sister...

"Ji Xun, where is your hometown?" Hu Xian asked an irrelevant question abruptly.

"I'm from Ning City." Ji Xun said.

He was born in Ning City, his parents—— Thinking of this, Ji Xun stopped abruptly.My mother is a native of Ning City, but my father, father and grandparents are not close. In the limited two or three times he met, my grandfather was a skinny old man who was hungry and thin. He was good at eating, but he didn't like it very much. Stuff, and, he has a...French accent.

Ji Xun suddenly looked at Hu Xian.

Hu Xian's face was the only white spot in the deep and shallow black around him, as white as a mask, floating in the air.

"Fate connects us together." Hu Xian said softly.

"...What else do you know?" After a long time, Huo Ranyin asked.

"No more." Hu Yuan shook his head regretfully, "You have investigated my grandfather and know that he is a cunning and cautious person. I don't know as much as you think, but that's why I want to know all this more true face."

"Why?" Ji asked.

Hu Yuan heard a deeper meaning from this simple question.

She smiled slightly.

"Do you think I'm doing it for justice, for the truth? No, I'm just curious about this doubt that has run through my entire childhood—curiosity is the greatest motivation for human beings."

Just like Huo Ranyin and Ji Xun came first, when they left, they also left first.

Hu Yuan remained in his position and continued fishing.

The sound of running water and the rustling of the wind blowing through the leaves brought her back to the mountain in Qinshi.

The little girl followed her grandfather up the mountain. She was lucky that day. There was no one on the mountain. After climbing for a long time, she only saw her grandpa's tall and strong back, appearing and disappearing in the curve of the mountain.

She follows, follows.

Follow from day to night.

I still remember that at that time, maple leaves covered a mountain, and when it was blown by the wind, flames rose from the bottom of the feet and burned on the mountain.Later she saw that scene... She saw Grandpa watching the sinful scene, the man who pulled the truck threw the dead body into the cement statue.

The man with the cart left, but then another short man came and replaced the sign next to the cement statue.

Then, the short man left, grandpa also left, and she was about to leave too.

Just then, she saw... a small black figure.

The short man who replaced the brand of the Buddha statue appeared in front of her eyes like a ghost without sound.

The night wind is a bit cold.

The author has something to say: This chapter involves the previous clues:

1. Ji Xun met Hu Xian for the first time-Chapter 7