However, she still had some doubts.
"How did you know for sure that this was the key to the Yu'an Xiao family's villa?"
The Shrike gave her a strange look.
"Because, of course, it says so on the box it came in."
Xiao Nanhui wanted to ask something else, but Shrike had already jumped off his horse.
"arrive."
Xiao Nanhui reined in his horse and looked forward. A black mansion door eroded by wind and rain was facing the street entrance.
The gate of the mansion faces the street, which is not very good feng shui.
After fastening the auspicious bolt, Xiao Nanhui followed Shrike to the gate. The cast lock, which had already grown verdigris, was almost integrated with the door nails. In a few more years, the lock core would probably rust away. The huge seal was a little broken, but it was still firmly attached to the black wood.
Whether what the Shrike said was reliable depended on whether the key could open the lock.
but......
She turned her head and looked at the wall of the Xiao family villa.
"This wall isn't that high, why don't you just climb over it?"
The Shrike didn't look back, but lowered his head to blow the dust out of the locket of the copper lock.
"See that tile on the wall?"
Xiao Nanhui looked in the direction the shrike pointed. There was indeed a layer of gable-shaped glazed tiles on the wall, but they had been invisible for so long that they had turned gray. This kind of tile had a smooth surface, and if it were paved with a slight slope, it would be difficult for ordinary thieves to gain a foothold.
But for martial artists who are good at light work, it is not an insurmountable obstacle.
"I see, so what?"
Shrike blew the copper lock clean, bent down and picked up a fingernail-sized stone from the ground, and weighed it in his hand.
"Watch carefully."
She threw the stone lightly, and it flew out and landed directly on the tiles on the wall.
The next moment, a flash of fire burst out from where the stone fell, accompanied by a crisp sound, and the glazed tile hit by the stone instantly turned into fragments and scattered.
Xiao Nanhui dodged quickly, but when he turned around he found that the person who threw the stone had already hidden aside to watch the fun.
She was a little annoyed and patted the broken tiles on her head.
"If there's something fishy going on, why not just tell us and it'll be over? You're making such a big noise, be careful not to alert the defenders."
"Before meeting you, I've already circled the hunting grounds several times. From the moment the spring hunt begins, all the defenders' attention will be focused on the area around Shanglin Villa. No one will care if a few tiles are missing from the old city." Shrike spoke in a light tone, his cleverness from his early years suddenly taking over, and he became more talkative. "These are glazed tiles used in the Yu'an area to prevent snakes and thefts. Birds and other light creatures landing on them won't trigger them, but heavier ones will trigger the kerosene buried inside, attacking intruders while warning their owners..."
Click.
Shrike was halfway through his words when the copper lock in his hand popped open.
She turned to look at Xiao Nanhui, who was looking at the door with a gap.
Deep inside the dark wooden door was an even darker unknown. After a long moment, Xiao Nanhui took a deep breath.
"Let's go in."
******************
Before the spring hunt began, Bieyuan Ling, who was responsible for supplying equipment, prepared some necessary supplies for everyone participating in the spring hunt, including two torches for overnight use.
The torches soaked in fine pine oil burned quietly, warmly and brightly, tearing a big hole in the boundless night.
The firelight passed through the ghostly weeds around it, and on the plaque that had fallen to the ground and was buried by the weeds, four large characters "Si Yi Kang Le" could be vaguely seen.
If all four are inappropriate, there will be no happiness or well-being.
The Xiao Mansion's former residence and annex, the former name of this mansion, has now ended up like those houses devoured by plants, no one has set foot there and no one knows about it.
Xiao Nanhui reached out his hand and gently touched the vine-covered wall of the mansion. Under the flickering light, short and deep knife marks were still faintly visible on the gray bricks on the wall, and some of the knife marks had some fine white residue embedded in the gaps.
Those are human bones.
The sword pierced the human body, passed through the flesh, cut the tendons and bones, and finally nailed it to the wall.
Parts of the Xiao family still remain on these walls.
As the night wind blew, Xiao Nanhui suddenly felt that the wind carried not the fragrance of flowers, but a faint smell of blood.
The bloody wind that had been blowing for more than ten years had not yet dissipated. It lingered on this land, telling all the living creatures passing by about the bloody past that had happened here.
Subconsciously holding his breath, Xiao Nan withdrew his hand and looked into the depths of the yard.
“I wonder if that well…is still there.”
That well is the one where Aunt Dai was found.
Judging from the carvings on the wall, there must be more than one killer, and each of them is an expert in taking people's lives.
The emperor once told her that Zong Hao was the master of the Dong Yao Sword.
And she happened to have seen the appearance of the Dong Yao Sword before.
Every powerful weapon in this world must possess a remarkable ability. The marks left by the weapon often follow a specific pattern, allowing those seeking revenge to determine the murderer's identity. Only those who can defeat the endless stream of revenge seekers can possess a so-called powerful weapon.
She had a hunch that there might be evidence next to the well proving whether Zong Hao was the murderer.
While they were lost in thought, the two of them had already walked to the side yard.
Because the courtyard was not paved with large bluestone bricks like the main courtyard, the weeds grew particularly lushly. Xiao Nanhui took some effort to find the location of the well.
It was no longer a well. A banyan tree grew out of the well mouth, and its scattered roots almost broke the well mouth into pieces.
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