Don't move the old man's bounty

As expected, the key and padlock held by Jiang Juan are a pair.

The lock beam opened in response, and Jiang Juan let out a long and undisguised breath.

"Since you don't remember the door lock, it seems that my brother came back here after you left, what do you think?"

Xiao Shi nodded: "Very likely. He came back not to take something, but to hide something."

After unlocking the door, Jiang Juan took off the chain tied to the door, "Is there any suitable place to hide things in the house?"

"That's too much. If we want to turn over every corner, we may not be able to finish it in a week. Why don't we go to the room where the relics are stored first."

The two entered the door, and Xiao Shi shone around with a flashlight. The mansion was dilapidated, weeds grew wildly, and the building was empty.

Seeing this scene, he felt very sad.

"Are you still afraid?" Jiang Juan asked.

"I'm not afraid anymore." Xiao Shi glanced back at the blood moon in the sky, and sighed, "It's nothing to be afraid of if you think about it carefully. Whether it's my mother-in-law or my mother, they were once the people who loved me the most in this world, even if they're gone. , they are still them.”

Jiang Juan pursed his lips, "Hmm..." as a response.

Xiao Shi took his hand and led him to the front of the main house first.

The house still maintains the style of Huizhou architecture in the late Qing Dynasty. Two mighty beasts held the door knocker and looked at them quietly in the dark.

Holding the door knocker, Jiang Juan suddenly remembered something, turned to Xiao Shi and asked, "Are there any rules?"

"To marry a daughter-in-law, you have to step over the brazier?" Xiao Shi didn't know what kind of madness he had, and he popped out such a sentence, "Don't be particular about the wilderness, if we ignite weeds, we both have to sit through the prison .”

Jiang Juan: "..."

Without saying a word, he pushed the door and grabbed Xiao Shi's collar, dragged him between the cracks in the door, and pushed him in by pressing the back of his neck.

Only then did Xiao Shi understand, and shouted: "I'm back—"

His voice echoed in the huge house, and it didn't dissipate for a long time.

When he saw this scene, he thought that the old scene of his childhood was just around the corner, but things were different, and he felt lonely.

Jiang Juan caressed the quaint gate that was scratched by the years, and asked softly, "Is this the place where you grew up?"

"Yes, I've been in this house since I can remember." Xiao Shi searched for something by the door frame according to his memory, called Jiang Juan to come forward together, pointed to the marks on the wooden frame along the side and said, "Look, This is the imprint I have left from my small height, from being so small to this tall."

Jiang Juan compared it, and found that the tallest mark was also above and below his eyebrows, which was 1.8 meters.

"You're already this tall in high school?"

"That is, the school grass has been outstanding since childhood."

Jiang Juan cast a disgusted glance, the man was boastful and funny, amused him.

"Don't laugh, I was really handsome since I was a child. At that time, every family in ten miles and eight villages wanted to marry me, and introduced me to their daughters all day long. Don't believe me, there are many people who covet me. Someone came to me when I was so tall. My mother-in-law ordered me a baby marriage, it's not easy for me to guard my body like a jade for you."

Xiao Shi seriously pointed to the door frame that was not as high as the stool, Jiang Juan laughed so hard that he couldn't stand up straight.

"You were born at the wrong time... If you were born a hundred years earlier, you might be able to enter the palace and become a male favourite."

Xiao Shi shook his head and hummed a few times, "I don't want to serve Lafayette, Jiang Er, it's enough for you to pet me."

When Jiang Juan had laughed enough, Xiao Shi led him through the empty hall and into the hallway, and pulled Jiang Juan to stand in the bright hall, looking up at the sky filled with stars.

"A major feature of Huizhou architecture is that the four waters return to the hall. The rainwater flows into the courtyard from all sides, implying that the water gathers in the heart of the sky. There used to be a pond here, and several large koi were raised. When I moved them, I released them to the end of the village. In the stream, I don’t know if I can live.”

Xiao Shi squatted beside the long-dried pool, looking at the mud stains left by the dried rainwater on the bottom of the pool, as if those few koi were still swimming in it.

That was how many years ago...

"There is something I've always wanted to ask you." Jiang Juan said cautiously, lest he be sensitive, "You said before that your mother-in-law stayed abroad during the Republic of China, so there should be two or three generations between you and her, she should It's not your grandmother."

"No, she and my mother are not related by blood. In terms of relationship, they should be family friends."

Xiao Shi clapped his hands and stood up, shining his flashlight on the closed carved wooden windows on all sides of the courtyard, "My mother and I don't have much bond of mother-child affection. Before my mother-in-law passed away, I saw her only a handful of times. The one with the deepest memory But every time she leaves, I cry a lot, and whenever I don’t want her to leave, she will pull out a hair and tie a bow on my finger, and I keep it like a baby.”

Xiao Shi led Jiang Juan into the inner room and upstairs, and he could hear a clear creaking sound when walking on the wooden floor.

After all, he was going back to his own home. Xiao Shi was no more afraid than when he was in the guest house and the small mansion. He dragged Jiang Juan along the dark and deep corridor, and finally stood in front of a door.

"It's here."

The room is locked, it is an old-fashioned one-shaped padlock, also made of brass, engraved with antique patterns, and it is the same style as the bunch of keys that Xiao Shi dug out.

The padlock was more rusted than the door lock outside the house, and the patina could still be seen on the lock body. The inside was probably rusted to death, and it took a lot of effort to open it.

Pushing open the door, Xiao Shi subconsciously touched the light switch, but failed to turn it on after several attempts, so he could only rely on the flashlight to keep lighting and search for old things in the cabinet.

Jiang Juan was curious, so he walked around the room.

Xiao Shi's room seemed out of place with this quaint mansion, with faded posters of two-dimensional beauties on the wall, and even the sheets were printed with the image of a well-known anime character.

Seeing something bulging under the quilt, he stepped forward to lift the quilt and was stunned on the spot.

Xiao Shi suddenly recalled his shady past, screamed strangely and turned his head to stop him, but it was still a step too late.

Seeing the limited 18X pillow on the bed, Jiang Juan covered his mouth and tried his best not to laugh.

Xiao Shi wanted to cry, but asked stiffly: "Can...can I pretend I didn't see it?"

"……a bit difficult."

Looking at Xiao Shi's hard work in order to escape reality, Jiang Juan felt like an ostrich whose head was almost stuffed into the closet, picked up the pillow and went forward to stimulate Xiao Shi's fragile heart.

"I see that you are surrounded by female characters in this room, and they are all young-faced, big breasts and small waists. It seems that your sexual orientation was quite normal before. Why did you bend later?"

Xiao Shi wished he could find a crack in the ground and sneak in, "Stop talking..."

Jiang Juan poked the soft face of the pillow, and then looked down at his flat chest, "I don't look like this either... My brother doesn't have a D cup, little brother, what's wrong with you?"

Xiao Shi couldn't bear it anymore, turned around and snatched the pillow from Jiang Juan's hand, pushed him against the wall, and blocked his mouth with his own body.

"I like you."

Lingeringly, Xiao Shi said softly.

"The first time I saw you, I broke myself, and the two-dimensional goddesses were also boring, and I couldn't arouse my interest. From then on, I only want you."

Jiang Juan was extremely calm, "Oh."

"You said that if we were here...does it mean that you also participated in my past?"

"Not interested, I think Athena is more suitable for you."

Jiang Juan mercilessly poked Xiao Shi's sore spot, and lowered his head to look through the large and small parcels that Xiao Shi found from the cabinet.

"Have you found any clues?"

"They are all my former treasures, and they look like time capsules."

Xiao Shi flipped through those old-fashioned boxes, and found a lot of things from them.

"CDs, Famicoms, comic books, Gundam remains... your childhood was really full of joy."

Thinking about his childhood, even now, Jiang Juan couldn't help but envy Xiao Shi.

Xiao Shi said: "These things were not cheap back then, and my mother got them to pass the time for me. So when I was young, I really thought I was a rich young man, and I walked sideways. Now that I think about it, she can get these things , maybe it really has something to do with Cheng Sanshi... I can't think about it."

Although Jiang Juan would feel ashamed when he saw his previous collection, Xiao Shi did not object to him getting to know himself better.

He said: "When I was young, I didn't have any impression of my mother. I relied on my mother-in-law to look through old photos to see things and think about others. Maybe it was thought of too much. I didn't have any relationship with her. I was no stranger to her. Later, my mother-in-law left and my mother took When I came to the city, it was the most rebellious time of my adolescence, and I tried to save face and not get close to her until she left, and I didn’t know much about her.”

Jiang Juan was a little surprised, "What do you mean by that?"

"I don't seem to know anything about her except that she is a nurse and rarely comes home early or late. She treats me very well and will satisfy all my needs, but the relationship is too weak. To describe it, it’s as if you happen to live in a neighbor under the same roof.”

Jiang Juan flipped through a wooden box that looked different from other collections and had a European-style retro feel, and took out a stack of cards from it.

"Tarot? Have you ever played this?"

Xiao Shi was confused, "Tarot cards? What kind of tarot cards, I don't believe this."

"I'm afraid you forgot that you had this interest in the past, and if it was found in your nest, if it wasn't yours, it could be mine?"

Jiang Juan pushed the box to Xiao Shi together.

The latter looked at it hesitantly for a while, and said blankly, "Where did this come from? I haven't seen this thing before."

Jiang Juan only thought that he couldn't afford to be ashamed, "Fake it, you can pretend it."

"No, I didn't pretend, this thing is really not mine...I didn't believe in Tarot before, I believed in astrological dice!"

Jiang Juan: "..."

The two looked at each other, and both realized that this unknown thing might not be simple.

"Count it." Jiang Juan said, "See how many cards there are in total."

The two found some usable candles in the old house, illuminating the whole room.

Xiao Shi took out every card in the wooden box and placed them on the ground one by one, the more he looked at them, the more frightened he became.

These cards are all painted on the surface of the cards with paint, and they are not uniformly printed. Many of them are wet with dark brown stains, the patterns on the screen are blurred, the paint is clumped, and most of them are incomplete. There is only one corner left, which is quite tragic.

"34 sheets." Xiao Shi said, "probably...a few sheets are too damaged, and I don't know if one was torn apart. If they are all counted as a single sheet, it will be 34 sheets."

"There are a total of 78 Tarot cards, that is to say, less than half of them are left."

Jiang Juan squatted down, picked up a relatively intact card that was closest to him, looked at it for a while, then took out the Tarot card left by Jiang Zhu from his wallet, and put the two cards together to face each other. Light cf.

"The size of the cards and the paper used are the same, so they should be the same set of cards."

"So, what's in this box is actually evidence of 'Ghost Realm'?"

Jiang Juan said "Yes", "I take back what I just said, my brother may have been here, but he must not be the last one."

This evidence can only be obtained at least after the end of "Ghost Domain". At that time, it was impossible for Jiang Zhu, who had passed away, to hide it in this old house.

He sighed without concealing his disappointment, "Bai was moved..."

Xiao Shi became anxious, "Not to mention anything else, that door lock must have been left by Jiang Zhu. He wanted to marry you to me, and he had already made arrangements for the two of us to join a family. This is absolutely true!"

Originally, Jiang Juan was just disappointed, but his expression changed after hearing his words.

Xiao Shi looked at him for a long time without knowing why, but the man's question made him feel as if he had fallen into an ice cave.

"Xiao Shi, is getting brother's approval so important to you?"

Xiao Shi panicked, "Jian, you misunderstood, I didn't mean that..."

"I always feel that I don't need to know too much. The more I know, the more uncomfortable I feel and the more painful my life is, so I never ask you these things. But why do you send the truth that I don't want to know to In front of me?"

"No, tired, you listen to my explanation!"

"Even if you hate me and resent me, please let me have a better life for the sake of accompanying you through this difficult time, okay?"

Jiang Juan lost control of his emotions, pushed Xiao Shi away and went out.

He didn't understand the layout of the house, so he couldn't walk very far, so he just sat on the stairs he just came up, clutching his forehead and trying to wake himself up.

……what happened to him.

Knowing that being together with Xiao Shi is just a play on the occasion, each takes what he needs, things that he used to think are very normal, even trivial, are now sensitive.

This is not a good sign.

Jiang Juan raised his head and saw the moonlight on his face through the gap in the carved wooden window.

Dark, gloomy, reflected in the eyes, like a bloody light.

He sighed and lowered his head again, feeling uneasy.

He cared more and more about Xiao Shi, not only for him, but even for his every move.

He began to care about whether his efforts would be rewarded, and this kind of greed would grow at a terrifying rate, making him sink into it and lose himself.

...It's not like this, it shouldn't be like this.

Besides, there is another kind of faint fear growing in the bottom of my heart.

Looking at the increasingly clear marks of blood vessels on his wrist, he understood the source of this emotion.

—he was afraid.

Xiao Shi came over holding the lamp, stood behind him for a long time, and sighed silently.

"Have you slowed down?"

Jiang Tired didn't answer.

Xiao Shi sat beside him, held his shoulders, and let him get closer.

"Calm down and give me a chance to explain."

Jiang Juan remained silent.

He was fortunate that the surrounding light was dim, and the man couldn't see his expression.

"You know I didn't mean that, why did you suddenly become jealous? Did you start to care about me?"

Jiang Juan pushed him away impatiently, "Go away, don't bother me."

"I don't. Jiang Er, you are always duplicity like this. In fact, there is no need. You know that I care, but you always choose to turn a blind eye. I know why you dare not accept my kindness, but you dare not Asking you to take that step, you have been closed in the door of your heart for too long, and if you take one step too fast, the door that you finally opened a little gap will be closed tightly again, and the next time you open it, you don’t know when it will be."

Xiao Shi lightly stroked the scar on Jiang Juan's neck. This clear tooth mark was often hidden by him under his collar, which was invisible to others, but it became a place he must kiss every day, more aphrodisiac than medicine.

Jiang Juan pushed his head away again, "Childish."

After speaking, he got up and went back to the room.

Xiao Shi pulled him back, "Don't be angry with me, okay? I didn't care what I said today, and I was wrong. Forgive me this time, and I will never dare next time."

Jiang Juan glanced at him, "I'm talking about myself. I'm so naive to care about these things with you...Let's go, where are the things? You don't really want to stay in this house all night, do you?"

Xiao Shi hugged him and insisted on pecking him on the face before letting him go, "I'll take you back when I go back and clean up the tarot cards."

He was very fast, and tidied up the room in twos and twos, including the wooden box. When he came out, he saw Jiang Juan caressing the carved pillar at the door, full of interest.

"Do you like it?" He asked, "Hui style architecture is rare in the north, do you want to stay for a few days?"

Jiang Juan was about to reject him, but Xiao Shi said again: "You don't think I will let you live in it, the old house is made of wood, no one has taken care of it all year round, the moisture has soaked in, you are not in good health, you can't live in this kind of house. The house. If you want, you can renovate it and live in it later.”

"Don't worry about it." Jiang Juan said, "I won't stay in one place for too long. Cleaning up is a waste."

Xiao Shi fell silent upon hearing this.

Jiang Juan thought, sure enough, he was always talking coldly to each other, even Xiao Shi couldn't stand it.

He reflected that it must be because he has such a good temper these days, which gave Xiao Shi some illusions, as long as this illusion...

"But you will always come back." Xiao Shi's words woke Jiang Juan up.

He said: "You will always come back, and migratory birds will also return. You must have a place to return to. I want to give you a home."

Because of his words, Jiang Juan lost his mind for a long time.

Xiao Shi is serious, and he also hopes that these words are true, but the more he looks forward to it, the more sober he becomes. No matter whether these words are true or not, they are destined to never come true.

"Tired, come and see, this is all that Mom left behind."

Xiao Shi called out and drew Jiang Juan's attention back.

He was dragged to the next room by Xiao Shi in a trance. Xiao Shi was struggling to open a huge carved mahogany box, which should be a dowry box. It looked the same as this house, and it had been around for a long time.

Originally, Jiang Juan thought that it would be sad to leave only this box of relics after a person’s life to prove that he had lived. Unexpectedly, when the box was opened, there were so few things in it. Not only did it not fill the entire box, There are still many positions vacant.

Jiang Juan sighed, smiled wryly and shook his head.

If he left, there might not be much left behind.

"What's wrong with you? You don't look very good, are you feeling unwell?" Xiao Shi touched Jiang Juan's forehead, "Sure enough, it's my fault, I made you come here in the middle of the night, and you haven't healed yet. Let's hurry up Get your stuff and go back."

"fine."

Jiang Juan felt that he was really a contradictory body, he clearly rejected Xiao Shi's approach, but secretly hoped that he would remember him.

When Xiao Shi approached, he almost didn't dare to look at the man's eyes, and turned his face away to pretend to look at the things in the box.

"My mother is a strange person. She has been with her for several years, but she didn't leave a deep impression on me."

Xiao Shi took out a photo frame from the box, patted the dust on it, and handed it to Jiang Juan who was holding his nose with his knuckles.

"I don't live at home for two or three days, and when I come back, I leave early and return late. I often say hello to each other, and live under the same roof as if the other party doesn't exist. Do I resemble her?"

Jiang Juan took the photo frame, looked at the picture of the woman and fell into deep thought.

Xiao Shi continued: "I was never raised by her side since I was a child, and I don't have a close relationship with her. I don't have any deep feelings, and she doesn't want to make up for our broken mother-child relationship. I always feel that I am a burden to her. , she should really hate me."

"No." Jiang Juan said, "But any normal person would not take the grievances of the previous generation on their own children. You just don't understand her intentions in doing so."

"Really? But from the beginning, no one expected me to come into this world. Does she really love me?"

Xiao Shi seldom revealed his confusion, and there was a trace of expectation in his eyes looking at Jiang Juan. He hoped that the man could give him a perfect answer that would be enough to end the regrets of the past years.

"They all said that my mother was forced by Cheng Sanshi to give birth to me. Even so, do you still think she doesn't hate me?"

"But you don't look like Cheng Sanshi at all." Jiang Juan looked at the photos for a long time before reaching a conclusion, "...you don't look like your mother either."

Xiao Shi blinked, "It's... really not like it?"

"Three-point image, it can be seen that it is biological, but many of your characteristics do not match her."

This is very euphemistic.

What Jiang Juan meant was that he should be his mother's son, but judging from the fact that he is not very similar to his mother, he may have inherited more of his father's characteristics.

Therefore, his father may not be Cheng Sanshi.

"How tall is your mother?"

"1.7 meters five."

"Cheng Sanshi is only 1.7 meters three, his genes should not be strong enough to give birth to a son who is close to 1.9 meters, right? Even if it is passed from generation to generation, it should not be so outrageous. Look at the Cheng family's two 1.8 meters brothers. Got it. Of course, I'm just guessing, don't take it too seriously."

Jiang Juan felt that he had talked too much, and said in front of his face that your father might not be your father. He might be itchy and wanted to be beaten.

But he ignored the true feelings in Xiao Shi's heart. For Xiao Shi, the identity of the illegitimate child and the son of a criminal has always been a hidden pain that he cannot touch. A bright light illuminating the way ahead gave him new hope for his future.

He lowered his head solemnly, and gently scraped the tip of his nose with the knuckles of his index finger, intending to conceal his fragility at this moment, but he didn't expect this action to attract the man's attention.

Jiang Juan suddenly remembered something, and found the group photo of nine people from his mobile phone. The more he looked at it, the more frightened he became, and he zoomed in on the face of one of them, carefully comparing it with the person in front of him.

"like……"

"What?" Xiao Shi was also startled by this sudden development.

"I said, it seems." Jiang Juan raised his hand and showed the content on the screen in front of Xiao Shi, "—you and the person sitting next to your mother in the photo, it seems."

The author has something to say:

Thank you for reading the text, cute~

Thank you brother Xun, did you blow up your hair today, mine x1

Thanks for feeding! !