Ye Han and Zhou Qian stood under an old cement arch bridge, silently looking at the old man's residence.

The bridge is located on a small tributary of the upper reaches of the Yongjiang River, about three kilometers from the western suburbs of Yongcheng, so it can be said that it is already in a rural area.

The bridge is not long, about fifteen meters, about four meters wide, on both sides of the bridge, there is a narrow bridge hole more than one meter high, which was originally a flood hole for the surging water to pass through when the river is surging, but the river has never sent such a large amount of water, so they have become a decoration.

And now, one of them has become the residence of the old scavenger.

The entrance to the cave is close enough to reach with a slight lift of your legs, but the low and narrow space makes it difficult to bend over, and you must always be careful not to hit your head on the roof of the cave.

On the other side of the hole, you can see a vertical dilapidated wooden plank, which stands there, blocking most of the space at the entrance of the cave on that side, so that the cold wind will not rush in unscrupulously, while the rest of the part is a yellowed snakeskin bag, which rustles when the wind blows, and from time to time there is a cold wind leaking in, bringing wisps of chill to the bone.

It's hard to imagine how the scavenger, who was missing half of his palm, survived the harsh winter.

In the dark night when the north wind was howling, he curled up in this small bridge hole, forbidding the seemingly endless cold, waiting for the dawn that he didn't know if he could see again.

Bending down, Ye Han did not hesitate to enter the bridge under Zhou Qian's slightly surprised gaze.

After entering, the vision suddenly darkened, and at the same time, a feeling of depression and depression arose from the bottom of my heart, which was a natural reaction to the narrow space.

The bridge cave was surprisingly tidy, except for a musty smell caused by not seeing the sun for a long time, there was no smell of dirt and mess that Ye Han imagined.

On the side of the bridge near the plank, there were two folded and worn quilts, but although the quilts were torn, they were clean, and there were no stains on them except for the yellow marks that had naturally occurred due to the years.

Next to the quilt were a few packed clothes, and they were placed in a cardboard box, which had no lid, and the four sides were neat, and at the top of the edge, there were faint tooth marks.

In addition, there are some other miscellaneous items stored in the bridge cave, which look very shabby, but they are all clean and neatly placed.

Obviously, this old man did not give up the pursuit of life because of his downfall, and it also shows that before he fell down, it was very likely that he was not an ordinary ordinary person.

Ye Han bent down to look at it carefully, and at the same time began to use that wisp of Heavenly Heart Consciousness to probe.

Suddenly, she got up and came to the middle of the bridge, where the old man's bed was made of several long old planks, with a bed of old cotton wool and a white-washed blue sheet.

She lifted the sheet and pushed it to the side, then stretched out her right hand and grabbed the middle plank and lifted it gently, and a black space suddenly appeared.

And in that dark space, there was a huge wooden box. Grabbing the corner of the wooden box with his left hand, the huge wooden box was lifted lightly as if it had no weight, and then Ye Han put his right hand down, and his body flashed, and the person appeared in the open space outside the bridge with the wooden box.

At this time, the true face of the box was completely exposed to the two of them. 520

The box is well preserved, with no signs of wear and tear on the edges and corners, and looks like new, but its quaint style, intricate workmanship and faint historical charm all indicate its age.

Moreover, this box is made of precious rosewood, and the workmanship is extremely exquisite, and if it is sold in the antique market, it is very likely to sell for a high price.

And there is obviously an unknown reason why such a precious box is hidden under his bed by the old scavenger, who would rather live such a precarious life in hunger and cold than take it out in exchange for money.

However, Ye Han's current focus is not on the value of this box and the stories that may be hidden behind it, what she values is the small amount of abnormal energy left on this box.

The old scavenger is just an ordinary person, but now he has dug out a precious wooden box containing the energy of mutation from his residence, and the reason for this has to be pondered.

It is very likely that this cold and sharp energy is the key to this case.

"I've seen wooden crates like this." Zhou Qian stared at the wooden box and spoke.

"Oh? What is this wooden box used for? Ye Han turned to look at him and asked.

"This is the box that puppeteers use to hold marionettes." Zhou Qian replied calmly, and then, he walked to the wooden box, grabbed the copper lock at the mouth of the box and lifted it up gently, and the internal structure of the box appeared in front of Ye Han.

I saw that the inside of the box was divided into many compartments, the largest of which was a large compartment that occupied the entire right side of the chest, and many small compartments were distributed on the left side of the chest.

Zhou Qian pointed to the big grid and said, "This is where puppets are placed." ”

Then he pointed to the small grid on the left side and introduced them one by one: "This slightly smaller grid is the puppet's clothes, generally the puppets have two sets of costumes, like this material of the wooden box, at least five sets will be prepared, here is the wooden stick for the thread, the other side is the puppet for the makeup of the rouge gouache, the next grid is the paintbrush......"

Zhou Qian spoke slowly, Ye Han was a little surprised when he listened, he didn't expect a small marionette to be so exquisite, serving it was almost the same as serving a person, and what surprised her even more was that Zhou Qian seemed to know these things very well, as if he had a deep contact before.

On the other side, Zhou Qian has already introduced to the end: "What is placed in this grid is the silk thread used to lift the thread, this silk thread is very important, not only thin, but also very tough, only in this way can it withstand the weight of the puppet without being easily seen." ”

After speaking, he looked up at Ye Han and said slowly: "This is a top-level puppet box, only the top-level puppeteer deserves it." The box must have contained the most precious marionettes, but now there was nothing in it, including the thin, tough threads. ”

"So, do you suspect that the old man who lost half of his palm was a top-level puppeteer before, and that lost thread was the murder weapon in this case?"

"Yes, this thread is in the hands of the murderer now, and the old man obviously can't be the murderer, then, the only possibility is ......"

"The murderer is the vanished puppet." Ye Han picked up his words without much surprise.

When she felt the residual energy, she had a faint premonition.

At this moment, her mobile phone rang, and when she picked it up, Hu Fei's voice came from inside: "Daji, a new discovery, the deceased Cai Yongming is the owner of the Yongcheng Grand Theater, and he started by performing puppet shows!" ”