Everything around is quiet, there is not a single loud sound.

The long street was deserted, and as far as the eye could see, a dozen or so dark mansions were closed with their doors closed, isolated from everything, except for the few decadent stone lions sitting on the ground at the door.

Li Xiao stopped and looked at the mansion beside him. The dilapidated door of the mansion was slanted at will, the dense weeds were eager to try, there was a tendency to break through the wall, and the mossy stone lion at the door was eclipsed, and sat weakly.

Looking through the gaps, the grass and trees fluttering in the wind in the house seem to be screaming, telling the painful past. The rusty wind chimes rang in the wind, dumb and a little heavy.

Looking at everything in front of him, Li Xiao always felt an inexplicable kindness, and he didn't know what's wrong, he had the idea of wanting to go in and have a look. Slowly, Li Xiao walked forward, and the ghost made him feel like a god, and he couldn't hear all the sounds around him.

Chu Chu behind him watched Li Xiao walk towards the ruined mansion step by step, wondering why the young master suddenly stopped, and after looking towards this courtyard for a long time, he walked towards it without a trace, and he shouted a few words in a row and was ignored, shouldn't he be evil? It is very likely that the little girl frowned, recalling Li Xiao's appearance this morning, and connecting it with the current appearance, I am afraid that she was really evil and lost her mind by those dirty things.

Thinking about it, the little girl began to worry, now there are only the two of them on the street, there is nowhere to find rescue, it is too late to run back to Wan'an Temple to find the abbot at this moment, but if the young master is allowed to continue like this, the ghost knows what will happen. I'm just a little girl, weak and weak, and I don't know if I can pull the young master back, but no matter what, I have to try, gritting my teeth, the little girl quietly walked forward.

Chu Chu, who seemed to be weak, still had a little strength, and pulled him down when Li Xiao pushed open the dilapidated mansion door. Looking at the little girl's nervous expression, Li Xiao couldn't cry or laugh, nor was he angry, after all, it was the little girl's kindness, and he also learned later that it was Chu Chu's pull that saved Li Xiao from unnecessary trouble during this period.

Of course, Li Xiao is not evil, he is just overly focused, and the furnishings in the courtyard give him an indescribable sense of familiarity, as if he has seen it somewhere, he wants to go in and find out, and want to know why there is such a special courtyard on this street that is not prosperous but full of luxury, and why this unique courtyard can always exist on this street not far from the imperial city.

Chu Chu called the young master, but the young master didn't react, thinking that he was in the middle of an evil spirit, so he came over to pull the young master." The little girl thought that Li Xiao was angry because of her rash behavior, and was busy explaining.

"It's okay, the young master just wants to see the courtyard." Li Xiao touched Chu Chu's head and said. After speaking, he was ready to push open the door again.

At this moment, an unhurried voice came from behind the master and servant: "If the prince wants to know the story of this courtyard, I can tell you one or two, and you don't have to go in person." ”

Looking for the sound, the source is not far from a dilapidated tea stall, the withered flag floats weakly, the wooden pillars supporting the tea stall under it are crumbling, giving people a feeling that they will collapse at any time, the furnishings of the tea stall are also extremely simple, a clean broken wooden table, four broken benches, a light tea, a few pottery cups.

At this time, this inconspicuous small tea stall sat a white-faced scholar in black at some point.

The scholar smiled, took a sip of tea, looked at Li Xiao and the two not far away, and said, "If you are not in a hurry, the son may as well come over and drink herbal tea." ”

The scholar's voice was very soft, with a kind of Confucianism and hidden domineering in his words.

Li Xiao walked over and glanced at the scholar. The scholar in front of him gave him a very different feeling, different from Chen Ziye, although the person in front of him was polite and elegant, but he always felt that this person was not a scholar, or rather, he had the same domineering spirit as Chu Yi, and there would be an invisible pressure when sitting in front of him.

"The tea is simple, don't dislike it." The scholar continued: "I don't think Gongzi is a person from Beijing. ”

"Recently, I came to Jingshi, I had nothing to do, I wandered around, and I came here unintentionally." Li Xiao took the tea handed by the scholar and took a sip. As the person in front of him said, the tea is not good, it should be the middle and lower grade of the tea shop, but the water for making tea is excellent, and the water used to drink it should be mountain springs, morning dew, and utensils for making tea, which are also good, it seems that the person in front of him is not simple.

"The old man once said that people are the same as tea, there is no distinction between high and low, just like the tea we drink now, although it belongs to the category of those who no one cares about on the market, but as long as it is tempered and washed, it can also drink a different good taste. Even if it is different from those good teas, it has its own unique side. The scholar shook a somewhat familiar folding fan and said thoughtfully.

Li Xiao drank tea, ignoring the familiarity of the folding fan, thinking that it was the same style used by talented people, and only listened to this reasonable sentence silently. Tea is indeed not good, but the people who make tea use their hearts to brew ordinary tea leaves into an extraordinary taste.

"Young master, this tea is really delicious, much better than Master Pu'an's brewing." Chu Chu drank the tea, savored it for a while, and said.

"Thank you girl for the compliment, Master Pu'an is a master of tea brewing in Beijing, and even His Majesty praises the tea he brews, although there are some skills in the next, but Master Pu'an's is much better." The scholar laughed and said happily: "Li Gongzi is interested in this courtyard? ”

Li Xiao stopped drinking tea, looked at the scholar in front of him suspiciously, and the other hand couldn't help but be vigilant. There are few people on this street, why did this person suddenly appear on this street, and so quietly. Although he is not as good as Chu Yi, he can still feel the breath of the people around him, but the person in front of him appeared without warning, if he has no purpose, he doesn't believe it.

The scholar seemed to sense Li Xiao's thoughts, slowly put down the teacup, and said, "Don't be nervous Gongzi Li. A few days ago, there was always news that the heirs of the medical saint had entered Beijing, and when I saw that you were coming from the direction of the imperial city, I thought it should be that Li Gongzi. ”

"I showed up because of the death of the deceased. Every year today, no matter how busy you are, you will come here to sit for a while, drink a pot of herbal tea, and think about something. ”

The scholar's explanation was a bit far-fetched, but Li Xiao didn't care about it, he didn't have any enemies when he first came to Beijing, even if he had, according to the people he had seen in the sky, the person in front of him would not be something they could afford. Besides, if you want to do it, you won't tell yourself so much, although there is no one on the street, but who can guarantee when someone will come. As for the old man, he must be the one who wants to go into the courtyard.

"I'm just curious, I want to see it, not interested." Li Xiao smiled and said.

"Also, this courtyard has been like this since it was destroyed, and this street is also afraid of some people in the court, so they moved away from this street, and over time, it has become like this, so it's okay, these guys who bully the soft and are afraid of the hard are not there, and they are also clean." The scholar was a little angry, but quickly adjusted his mood.

"You don't live here?" Li Xiao asked.

"I wanted to live, but I couldn't afford it at the time, and I can't live now." The scholar paused and said, "Besides, I don't have any face." ”

"Why, houses aren't just for people to live in. If it was because of guilt, I believe that your old friend would have forgiven you, and perhaps he didn't blame you at all. ”

"I felt a little guilty, but I really couldn't share his worries at the time." The scholar said in frustration, as if he was resentful of his incompetence.

Listening to the scholar's words, Li Xiao didn't know what to say, he didn't know what happened at that time, the only thing he knew was that the person in front of him was very guilty and regretful. You can't help when you can't help when you can't, but it's too late when you can't. This is the scholar's heartache, he can't say anything.

The breeze blew softly, swaying the dilapidated buildings, creaking. In the sky, a few birds and finches chirped and flew by, and soon there was no sound. The three people in the tea stall sat quietly, sipping a light cup of tea.

At this moment, a person walked at the end of the long street, dressed in black like a scholar, with a swarthy pants dangling from the hem of his pants, and soon arrived at the tea stall. Just when Li Xiao wondered who the person who came, the man directly leaned into the scholar's ear, whispered, and after the scholar waved his hand to signal him to leave, he retreated.

The scholar drank the last sip of tea, then bowed respectfully to the courtyard, glanced at Li Xiao and the others with a smile, and said without mind: "If the prince wants to go in and have a look, now is not the time, there are people watching this courtyard and not letting them in." ”

"Soon, though, it'll be fine." After saying that, the scholar left the tea stall, got into a black and shiny carriage, and disappeared at the end of the road.

"Oh, who are you?" Li Xiao looked at the carriage in the distance and shouted. It's a pity that there was no response.

For the scholar's words, Li Xiao didn't quite understand why this barren courtyard was being watched, whether it was hiding some secrets, or was there some other reason...... In any case, the scholar has already reminded himself that he will not be confused and ignore the person hiding in the shadows, and go in directly, once he provokes some big people, it will not be self-defeating.

Watching the carriage leave, Li Xiao patted the scattered ash on his clothes, glanced at the courtyard, shook his head, and thought to himself that there was no need to think about this person who couldn't stay for long. With a wry smile, he led Chu Chu, who was still in a daze, to leave.

……

On the other side, a courtyard located in the north city of Jingshi, surrounded by dark black stone walls, the stone lions at the door stared at the people coming and going with hideous faces, and dozens of rooms in it lay gloomily, and the scattered wails came from the depths of the courtyard continuously.

This is an institution that has existed since the founding of Haoguo, and the people who come and go have gloomy faces, and everyone's faces are expressionless from beginning to end. No one wants to come to this courtyard, and no one wants to deal with the people in this courtyard, because they know that the normal people who go in, in general, rarely come out intact.

No one has ever seen the owner of this courtyard, and no one knows when they will be associated with this courtyard. All they know is the name of this courtyard, or rather, the name of this hell - Haoguo East Factory.