The people at the dining table moved to the living room one after another, looking at each other.

Xue Chen helped the old lady sit down, she sighed helplessly and said, "I'm afraid this matter is endless......"

I pondered for a while, looked at Li Lao, and said: "Whether it is an inkstone or a wrench, these things all originate from the ...... back then" I got up and walked over to him, "If you want to solve it, you have to start from the source!" Old man, no matter what happened back then, for the sake of the He family, and for the sake of the Li family, I hope you can think about it carefully! ”

Zhang Yufen was confused when she heard this, and asked anxiously: "Isn't the matter of the wrench already resolved?" How do you ......?"

"Auntie, don't worry!" I looked at Mr. Li and said sincerely: "The matter of the wrench will always be solved!" ”

Li Lao suddenly snorted, revealing a sense of desolation. He paced over to the other single couch and sat down, looked at the people around him, and finally told him what he had hidden—

Forty years ago, Ouyang took Li Sheng (Li Lao) and A Gui to open a coffin in He'an to collect money, and met He San (He Sanzhong) during the period. The four of them got a coffin from the cliff and found some valuable burial goods from the coffin, which were a white jade wrench, a pair of white jade bracelets, an ancient inkstone and an oil-paper umbrella.

Li Sheng looked at the person in the coffin uneasily and said, "I always feel that the person in this coffin is not quite right!" ”

"yes, yes, or we should not touch it!" Agui echoed.

"Hmph, what are you afraid of! Don't say she's a dead person, even if she's a living person, she's just a girl, and the four of us big men are still afraid that she won't make it! He San said disdainfully.

Ouyang ignored them and put all the contents of the coffin into a burlap bag.

"No delays, get a few more bites before dark!" Ouyang urged. The four of them worked together to cover the coffin, carried it into the cave, and put it aside at will.

"How do I feel the wind gusting!" Agui said tremblingly.

"Gone! With such a little courage, you dare to make a fortune! He San said disdainfully.

The four of them left in a hurry, and the rain, which had already stopped, suddenly fell sharply, and lightning flashed and thundered. The neighborhood was sparsely populated, and they ran for a while before they found a large house suitable for shelter from the rain. Originally, they didn't plan to go in, but the people inside noticed the movement and notified the owner of the house, Mr. Hong. Mr. Hong was very hospitable, so he invited them into the house for a while. Although Ouyang is an unbearable person, he does have some insight, and he talked with Mr. Hong about speculation, and under the hospitality, he decided to stay for one night.

That night, all four woke up from a nightmare. Ouyang was the first to get out of the house, he saw a sneaky figure, and he followed with curiosity, but was seen by another Li Sheng, who was out of the house to breathe, and also followed.

The two followed the man to the door of the study. There was a kerosene lamp lit in the study, and the light was dim, and the figure of a man was faintly reflected.

"It's you! You're here for me! Take me away! No, it's none of their business! Only Mr. Hong's voice came out of the room, and suddenly he scolded loudly: "Who? Who's out there! ”

The door of the study opened, and Mr. Hong came out of it to look, but the figure had already fled. The two who were hiding in the shadows naturally did not dare to show up, and quietly returned to their residences.

The next day was still rainy and rainy, He San suddenly said that he wanted to go home first, and left in a panic. Li Sheng and Ah Gui also wanted to leave, but Mr. Hong was kind enough to stay, and Ouyang was curious about the study, so the three of them stayed for another day.

Ouyang proposed to visit the study, and Mr. Hong was naturally happy. After coming to the study, Ouyang, who was quite knowledgeable, was greedy for the antique calligraphy and paintings in the room. Li Sheng, who was on the side at the time, saw the strangeness in Ouyang's expression. Later, he and Agui persuaded Ouyang to leave, but Ouyang refused, and the three had a dispute because of this.

After the rain stopped in the afternoon, Ouyang decided to stay for another night on the grounds that He San had not returned. At night, he sneaked into the study to steal, was bumped into, and escaped in panic. This incident alarmed the descendants of the Hong family, and after Mr. Hong found out, he did not pursue the matter, but just let them leave at dawn.

Li Sheng and Ah Gui went back to the house in a daze, but the two of them, who were sleepy, fell asleep in a daze. When Li Sheng woke up, the smoke around him was full of smoke, and people were choking on tears, and he realized that it was a fire.

"Agui! Ahem...... "Li Sheng escaped from the house, remembering Agui who lived in his cubicle and rushed in. At this time, Ah Gui had also woken up, but one of his legs was hit by the burnt wood and he couldn't get out. Fortunately, Li Sheng came and rescued the person. Then Li Sheng ventured into another room and carried the unconscious Ouyang out.

It was not yet dawn, and there was silence in the house except for the sound of the burning of the wooden house. Li Sheng ran and called for help, and he didn't know if the others were sleeping too deeply, such a big movement, but no one rushed to the rescue. Li Sheng came back and said breathlessly: "This house, it seems that there is no one!" ”

"I can't manage so much, let's withdraw first!" The two of them made a decision, took Ouyang with them, and left the Hong Mansion.

The three people who escaped death took advantage of the night to go away. When Ouyang woke up the next day, he learned about it and was very grateful to the two. When Li Sheng rescued Ouyang, he also brought out his sackcloth bag, and when they counted it, they found that there was one thing missing, which was the ancient inkstone.

The first thing that the three of them thought of was He San, who left in a hurry, because he was an insider. But if you think about it, if it is He San, the less should be a wrench or a jade bracelet, not an inkstone that is worthless to him. This made them suspicious, and even suspected that the Hong family had the intention to retaliate, after all, it was Ouyang who had bad intentions first.

Afterwards, in order to thank him for saving his life, Ouyang divided the stolen goods in the cloth bag equally, gave the wrench to Agui, and gave the bracelet to Li Sheng, but Li Shengnian Agui was seriously injured and offered to exchange the more valuable bracelet with him, and the worthless oil-paper umbrella was left in Ouyang's hands. Since then, the three have parted ways and agreed not to contact each other again.

Recalling this, He Ming added: "I only remember that he locked himself in the house for a while, and Ah Gong also gave him a lecture. One day not long after, he suddenly bought a pen and paper, and at that time the family thought that he had bought it for my eldest brother, but they didn't realize that he was already enchanted by that time......"

"What happened to the fire in the Hong family? Do you have any impressions? I asked.

He Ming thought about it for a while and said, "I was seven or eight years old back then. The Hong family is a big family in the local area, and a major event such as a fire will be spread in a big way. However, I don't have the slightest impression, and my father never mentioned it! ”

"Then how did he get that inkstone?"

He Ming looked at me and shook his head helplessly.