1.

Dengcao Hutong, there are a total of 16 houses.

Lin Xiao and Changfeng explored the first fifteen mansions in turn, and found that they were similar in both the layout of the houses and the placement of things, and each courtyard was full of coffins. This situation was not until the "Dengcao Hutong Shilu Courtyard" that some changes occurred.

As soon as he entered the door, Lin Xiao found that there were no burial items similar to coffins placed in this mansion. The floor of the patio was overgrown with weeds, and when I stepped on it, the weeds were already higher than the ankles, and I don't know how long it had been since it had been repaired. A few days ago, it had just rained in the capital, and there was still stagnant water on the ground, and it was hidden under the mud of the grass, and a splash of water splashed when you stepped on it, and the dirty water with the mud stained the trouser legs of the two were mottled with mud spots.

Lin Xiao looked at his trouser leg that seemed to have gone to the mud after a lap, and the corners of his eyes twitched slightly, but he had no choice but to pull his feet out of the muddy ground in the patio again. The two of them returned to the porch and walked along the cloister to check the wings on either side of the patio.

Lin Xiao went to the wing room on the west side, and when he looked over, he found that the rooms were all locked with the old brass locks, which were rusty, and the surface was covered with layers of dust and cobwebs. Look at the style of this lock, it should be regarded as an old antique in the Republic of China, if it is put in the thrift market, even if there is no person who loves to buy old objects, it may be able to buy a lot of money by the catty.

Lin Xiao saw that there were a lot of filthy things on the lock, and he was quite reluctant to touch it directly with his hands, so he blew lightly on it, wanting to blow away some dust on the surface of the lock. Unexpectedly, all the dust was blown up by him, which made him cough again and again, and he thought that if he continued to blow like this, he would have to get pneumoconiosis. In the end, he had no choice but to get started, held the lock, and the true qi condensed in the palm of his hand, bursting out from the "Lao Gong Acupoint", unscrewing the copper lock.

The door of the wing room "creaked" open, and before Lin Xiao could take a step inside, a large patch of dust and cobwebs had fallen on the door frame. Lin Xiao stood at the door with one leg in a "fixed step" posture, and waited until the dust and cobwebs on the door were almost settled, and then stepped into the door.

It used to be a guest room, but the contents of the house had been almost moved, and there was only one bed left in the whole room (there was no quilt or pillow on the bed, only a bare bed board), a table (the table had fallen to the floor, and a leg was missing, and the broken leg was now falling under the bed), and an ebony wardrobe against the wall (the surface of the wardrobe was covered with cobwebs).

Lin Xiao didn't want to reach out to pull the cobwebs anymore, so he simply picked up Biluo and swung it, and the sword qi directly split the wardrobe in half. But I saw that the wardrobe was empty, not to mention the clothes, not even a rag, but only the layer of dust at the bottom of the cabinet.

Lin Xiao put away his long sword, walked out of this empty room full of dust and cobwebs, and went to the next few rooms, and the result was almost the same - each room was locked with brass locks, and the room was either dirty or a few pieces of scattered broken furniture, and there was no gain at all.

On the other side, Changfeng had already walked around the wing room on the east side, and was slowly walking out of the room at this time. Lin Xiao greeted him, and saw that his face was completely blank, and he didn't even have any expression at all, so that people couldn't see what his emotions were, and they didn't know if he had gained anything.

Lin Xiao wondered if Ye Wuxin had been with this kind of unsmiling person for a long time before she became the cold and indifferent she is now, and then remembered that she seemed to have always been like that in her own memories, she should have never changed. While thinking, he opened his mouth and asked Changfeng, "What's the situation over there?"

Changfeng replied in a loud voice: "There are people living here. ”

"What did you say?!" This result was very different from Lin Xiao's judgment, judging from the vacant rooms on the west side: the door was locked, there was no furniture inside or the furniture was broken, and there were large areas of dust and cobwebs everywhere...... All indications are that this Shilu Yard should be uninhabited.

But now the long wind who was exploring the east wing brought him completely different news, and only heard him say: "Although those rooms are locked, the locks used are all modern locks, and the styles are all new; the interior of the rooms has obviously been carefully cleaned, and there is very little dust; the beds are piled with bedding and pillows, and the sheets are laid out, and there are traces of the kind of people lying on them, how can it be that if no one has lived for too long, that kind of traces should have been erased a long time ago." ”

"What else?" asked Lin Xiao as he walked towards the room over there.

Changfeng followed closely behind him and reported the situation to him: "There are two rooms in the east wing, one is arranged as a bedroom, and the other is arranged as a study. The furniture in these two rooms is all available, although it looks a little old and looks like second-hand, and there are some signs of repair, but they are all in good condition. And without exception, there is no dust on these furniture, and only regular use will be like this, which is the best proof that there are people living here. ”

Lin Xiao entered the room that was arranged as a bedroom, and as soon as he entered the door, he felt that this place was indeed very different from the wing room on the west side. It is said that everyone has their own "popularity", and this "popularity" is not the "popularity" of celebrities in the modern sense, but refers to the breath on a person's body when he is alive, which is referred to as "popularity". As long as people stay in one place for a long time, "popularity" will also affect the surrounding environment, and most of the time there will be a kind of warmth, so people can always judge whether a room has been inhabited for many years by the feeling of warmth and coldness of a room. In ancient times, the word "cold" not only has the meaning of "cold", but also because this palace has not been here for many years, it lacks "popularity", so it makes people feel "cold".

The wing room on the east side is obviously full of the breath of living people, even if the wind is gusting outside, when you walk to the door of this room, you can feel a warmth rushing to your face. Lin Xiao walked into the room, and saw that this bedroom was indeed as Changfeng said, neat and clean, obviously someone cleaned it often. Although the bed is the same old bed of that era as the west wing, the four feet of the bed have obviously been reinforced with wooden boards, and as for the sheets, bedding and pillows on the bed, they are all modern things, and Lin Xiao can even conclude that those bedding are all bought together with a complete set - because they are all "Pikachu" patterns!

Outside is fifteen Yizhuang, this house is also gloomy, in this "bad" environment, suddenly saw a bed full of Pikachu, which really dyed this strange atmosphere with a hint of joy. Lin Xiao pursed his lips and endured it for a long time, but in the end he couldn't help laughing, making Changfeng behind him look dazed.

Lin Xiao laughed for a while, and then looked at the other decorations in the room, all of which were modern things: a floor-to-ceiling fishing lamp in front of the bed (Lin Xiao estimated that this guy who lived here should not be able to afford so much money to buy this kind of high-end gadget, seeing that the lampshade was a little old and scratched, and several joints of the lamppost were also worn, it should be old goods bought at a low price from the second-hand market); a table with several cups on it (one of the cups also had a toothbrush and toothpaste in it), A thermos flask, an electric kettle, a calendar on the wall, and a white sliding closet, which also looks second-hand.

Lin Xiao stepped forward and opened the door of the wardrobe, and the first thing he saw was a few shirts and coats hanging on them; Just as Lin Xiao was about to close the wardrobe door, Changfeng on the side suddenly stretched out a hand and grabbed the cabinet door, preventing him from closing it, and at the same time looked directly at something under the wardrobe.

Lin Xiao couldn't help but feel a little strange, so he followed his gaze and looked down, but saw that there were several drawers under the wardrobe where the clothes were placed, and he had neglected not to see them just now. And in the crack of that drawer, a tattered corner of the clothes was exposed.

Lin Xiao saw the tattered corners of his clothes, and suddenly seemed to remember something, and suddenly felt terrified. He crouched down, opened the drawer, and took out a bag of clothes, and when he took it out and shook it open, it was a filthy and tattered beggar's outfit, exactly like the one worn by the thief dressed as the Avatar tonight!

In addition, along with the clothes, there were a few strands of fake beard and eyebrows, as well as some bottles and cans. Changfeng opened it and sniffed it carefully by his nose, his nose fluttered, and then said, "These are all things that are used for makeup when camouflaging." ”

"I'll go! I haven't found the thief yet, but I have found the thief's den first!" Lin Xiao couldn't help but smile when he looked at the beggar in his hand, but there was no smile on his face. A thief disguised as a mutant is nothing, even if this thief still knows the way of the talisman, it is not a big deal, but a thief who is hidden in the market, proficient in the art of disguise and the way of the talisman, and lives in this alley of lamp grass that has disappeared in the eyes of outsiders, combined with the isolation formation and code operation on the stone wall outside, some things are not as simple as imagined!

2.

At this moment, there was a sudden movement outside the room. Lin Xiao and Changfeng were both startled, and hurriedly wrapped up all the things and clothes in their hands and stuffed them back into the drawer, closed the door of the wardrobe, and then found a place to hide. Lin Xiao rolled his short body and fell directly into the bottom of the bed, while Changfeng jumped onto the beam of the room with his light body.

I heard a woman's voice outside: "It's strange, it seems that people have been to these places." ”

The voice of the person who came was extremely cold, the tone did not fluctuate, and there was no emotion at all, which would make outsiders subconsciously shudder if they heard it. But when Lin Xiao heard this voice, he recognized it at once, as if a wanderer who had been away from his hometown for many years returned to his hometown and heard the unforgettable local sound, he couldn't help but be overjoyed, and he almost cried with joy, so he turned out from under the bed, walked over and opened the door, looked at a man and a woman in the patio, beckoned and smiled: "Teacher Xiaoye!"

Ye Wuxin didn't expect to meet Lin Xiao here, and his always cold and indifferent face also showed a little joy. She and Ling Ying waited for a long time at the mouth of another alley and didn't see the thief running away, probably because Lin Xiao and Changfeng collided, so they walked in their direction to meet. Both of them were masters of the cultivation of the Ten Heavens, and they discovered the breath of the formation in the alley all the way here, so they moved over to take a look, and they met Lin Xiao and Changfeng here.

"Did you get your phone back?" Ye Wuxin asked.

Lin Xiao nodded: "Don't worry, if you take it back, you just let the thief run away." ”

"Run, run, you're fine. Ye Wuxin said, "But that thief can escape from the encirclement and suppression of you and Changfeng, it seems that the means are not ordinary!"

"It's quite unusual, that kid has some attainments in the runes, and I don't know if he was smuggled from your four-story building, and he has no money to eat so he is here as a beggar to ask for food. Lin Xiao raised his eyebrows and said half-seriously and half-amusementingly.

Ling Ying's brows furrowed slightly, and he said, "Fu Dao?"

Lin Xiao nodded: "Yes, that kid can use the spell of talismans." Except for the comparison of fist and foot kung fu, as far as Fu Dao is concerned, I feel that his Taoism is not shallow. ”

Ling Ying was about to say something more, when suddenly Ye Wuxin coughed lightly, raised a finger to his mouth, and made a gesture of silence. The four of them quickly closed their mouths, and even their breathing subconsciously slowed down. Only one footstep could be heard from far and near, gradually approaching the courtyard where they were.

Lin Xiao was extremely glad that he had developed a good habit of "closing the door casually", when he visited No. 1 Courtyard and came out of Shiwu Courtyard just now, he casually covered the door as it was, otherwise he would inevitably be seen by the other party along the way. A silver light flashed between Ye Wuxin's palms, the Huangquan Sword had already quietly started, and Ling Ying's hand also had a wisp of blue light, and it seemed that he was also ready to attack.

The footsteps were getting closer, accompanied by a brisk whistle. Immediately afterwards, I saw that the door of the courtyard was pushed open, and a man dressed as Huazi blew a small tune, twisted around with his hips with frivolous steps, and then turned around gorgeously...... The next moment, his gaze met Lin Xiao and the four people standing in the patio, the smile on his face instantly froze, and the whole person froze in place, and even maintained a certain antics.

"I'm just stealing a phone, are you going to chase me to my house?!" After a few moments, the thief finally came to his senses, followed by a miserable wail, and turned to flee. At the same time, the blue light in Ling Ying's hand suddenly popped out, and a fixed cloud rope had already wrapped around the thief's body, tying him up before he could take the first talisman from his pocket.

"Oh, fate, this is!" Lin Xiaoqiang stepped forward with a smile, looked at the thief who fell to the ground and was tied like a dumpling, and held down his body that was constantly writhing and struggling. His hand was placed on the "Shenque Acupoint" on the other party's abdomen, and the true qi suddenly rushed in, and the thief's whole body was sore, and he couldn't struggle anymore.

"Brother brother, please, give my brother a way to live!" The little thief looked at the long sword in Ye Wuxin's hand, and the long wind standing next to him staring at him, for fear that his life would be in danger, he suddenly cried and mourned, and called Lin Xiao five times "Brother", "If you let me go, I will call you brother, and it will be no problem to call you father!"

Lin Xiao has already seen this little thief's ability to bend and stretch, and knows that once this guy's bones are soft, it is absolutely endless, and even mollusks are ashamed of themselves compared to him, so he didn't let go of his words at the moment, but pressed him tighter and said: "Don't worry, it's a socialist society now, and the rivers and lakes also talk about the rule of law, and you can't kill people casually - I understand this." Seeing that the thief nodded yes hurriedly, he changed the conversation again, "But my friends, they have not received the influence of Marx's philosophy, so their consciousness is relatively low, if you really provoke them, the legal system may not be very effective for them......

"Ah?!" the thief turned pale with fright, "what then, you persuade them!"

"If I can persuade you, of course it's the best—but the key is that I can't persuade you!" Lin Xiao almost laughed out loud as he watched the thief's face change together, "But if you confess to us, maybe we will be lenient with you, otherwise ......" Lin Xiao didn't continue, but waved his hand, and a bloody light flashed in his palm, and the Biluo Sword had fallen into his hand, and it was directly inserted into the thief's head, only a few inches away from his ears.

The thief nodded hurriedly: "Tell me! I must know everything, I must say everything!"

Lin Xiao let out an "um" and asked, "What's your name?"

The thief replied, "The forest of time—the time of time, the forest of the woods." ”

Ye Wuxin's brows suddenly wrinkled: "Your surname is Shi?"

"That's right. The thief who called himself "Shi Lin" said: "I am dissatisfied with you and said that Mr. Shi Nai'an Shi of the Ming Dynasty has heard of it, right? The "Water Margin" he wrote, in which Liang Shanbo is one hundred and eight heroes, the 'Earth Thief Star Drum Flea Time Migration', that is the ancestor below!"

Lin Xiao couldn't help but sneer when he heard this: "No wonder, your ancestor is a big thief himself, dare you to be a thief and inherit the ancestral business!

Shi Lin suddenly stood up: "This ...... This one...... That is, following a Taoist priest who broke into the rivers and lakes to learn the skills of a few three-legged cats, compared to you, the gods of the Flying Immortal Imperial Sword, it is nothing. ”

"Do you believe in the Flying Immortal Imperial Sword?" Lin Xiao raised his eyebrows.

Shi Lin was suddenly stunned: "Ah? no...... Believe it or not. ”

Lin Xiao's expression became playful: "If you don't believe it, how do you know that they are the gods of the Flying Immortal Imperial Sword?

"Ben...... Originally, I didn't believe it, but if I didn't meet you, this would be ...... That's a believe!" Shi Lin said with a stumbling face.

", if you don't believe me, what old Taoist priest will you go to learn talismans?" You fool me like a three-year-old child!" Lin Xiao sneered, "I'll give you another chance—what kind of three-legged cat skills did you say you learned from an old Taoist priest who walked the rivers and lakes?"

"yes, yes. Shi Lin nodded hurriedly, "It's just a charlatan, compared to you, it's like a liar, so what taught me isn't some three-legged cat kung fu?!"

"Really, then your Divine Stick Master is really powerful!" Lin Xiao laughed, and Lin Xiao was stunned for a while when he laughed. "The sealing formation at the door that uses a stone wall to cut off the alley is not something that can be posed by a random old god stick, and although there are some changes in that formation, it still secretly matches the number of 'Eight Gate Golden Locks', which is the best work of the Daomen! You say that you can put on this kind of superior formation with a thief taught by a god stick? Who are you mocking here!" he raised his hand and slapped the thief's head.

"No need to ask. Ye Wuxin suddenly said behind him, Lin Xiao turned around, and saw that she was walking out of the main hall, "I already know what this kid is about." ”

Lin Xiao asked, "Who is he?"

Ye Wuxin didn't answer him, but said to Shi Lin: "I came to the Forbidden City a few years ago, and I heard that there is a Bai Xiaosheng who 'goes to heaven and earth, knows everything' living in this Dengcao Hutong, is it you?"

Shi Lin saw that Lin Xiao, Ling Ying and Changfeng's eyes focused on him suddenly became much hotter, and he couldn't help but laugh and said: "That's all foolish by a few friends in my shop, anyway, as long as the words 'Dengcao Hutong' are mentioned, no one will believe it, so let's listen to it as a joke." Then he changed his words, "But to be honest, I have lived in this Forbidden City since I was a child, and I have been walking the streets and alleys all day long, and if there is anything else I don't know about this place, it is really rare." ”

"That's so?" Ye Wuxin smiled slightly, and suddenly asked, "Then do you know the Seven Heart Begonia?"

Shi Lin originally looked like a hippie smile, but when he heard the words "Seven Heart Begonias" at this moment, the expression on his face suddenly froze, and he didn't speak for a long time, and only after a long time did he whisper: "What...... I don't know what a begonia?

"No, you know!" Ye Wuxin said, "When Lin Xiao told me that you know Fu Dao before, I was already doubting your identity, and when you said your surname again, it made me even more convinced of my own thoughts, but there was still a lack of important evidence." Just now, I found the tablet you enshrined in the main hall and saw this person......"

Ye Wuxin took out the hand behind her back - she was holding a spirit card in her hand at this time. For a while, everyone looked at the spirit card in her hand, and saw that it was written: Great Ancestor Shi Gong Guoyi Spirit Position.

"Shi Guoyi?" Ling Ying frowned, "Who is that?"

Ye Wuxin looked at Shi Lin who was tied to the ground with burning eyes, and said: "He was a famous biologist in the thirties of the last century, he studied at Cambridge College in England when he was young, and after returning to China/entered Tsinghua Park to teach and conduct biological research, the year of his death is unknown, I heard that he was killed by the Japanese when the Forbidden City fell. The most important thing is that this person's ancestral home is in Shanhaiguan, and when he studied in Kangqiao, he majored in botany!"

"Shanhaiguan Botany?!" Lin Xiao suddenly realized something, turned his head to look at Shi Lin, whose face was gloomy and uncertain, and his eyes widened. "After doing it for a long time, it turns out that you are the descendant of the flower protector of Wanhua Valley back then!"

【To be continued】