Therefore, after going around in a circle, we have to start with Mr. Zhao. On our own, we really can't figure out a way to get into the cave, and it is much more difficult to enter that weird cave than we imagined. We carefully combed through all the records about Mr. Zhao and Xiao Tong, hoping to find new clues from them, but we were disappointed that we still had some information we already had, and we didn't find anything new.

Sister Li Jian, since she can't find a breakthrough from the existing written materials, she can only dig from other aspects. Something else? It is to start with Mr. Zhao's descendants.

Because we heard from my cousin that Mr. Zhao's descendant, who is the old patriarch who is responsible for keeping the ancestral heirloom of the Zhao family, feels that it is relatively easy to approach, and there seems to be no shying away from the history of the Zhao family. Therefore, Sister Li felt that she might be able to get more valuable information from the old patriarch.

When he told his cousin about this plan, he also thought it was feasible, and said that the old patriarch happened to be still alive, and although he was eighty-three, his body seemed to be still healthy. Because my cousin thanked him for selflessly providing those two ancestral books, he would always send something to the old patriarch during the New Year's holidays. Sister Li and I usually have to go to work, and we only have time on weekends, so we chose a weekend with good weather, and Sister Li drove by Sister Li, and my cousin and I went straight to Zhao's house in a nearby county.

The two county towns are not too far away, and there is still a highway connection, and it takes about an hour to reach Zhao's house. The house where the old patriarch of the Zhao family lives is very special First of all, this house is not in the county seat, but at the foot of the northernmost mountain from the county seat, which is of course not special, what is special is that the general house is "facing the south and back to the north", and this house is "facing the north and facing the south", just the opposite of the general house, this kind of house will be "cold in winter and hot in summer", it is very uncomfortable to live, I really don't understand why the house is built like this.

Not only that, this house was built in the shade of the mountain, so that there is almost no sun all year round, seeing this, I couldn't help but secretly said to Sister Li: "Choose this place, whether to build a house or build a cold storage." Sister Li glanced at me, pointed to the patriarch who was greeting my cousin, and said, "Be quiet, let people hear it." As soon as Sister Li's words fell, the old patriarch swept the two of us with his eyes, and I couldn't help but feel a little indescribable numbness in the old man's eyes, not the kind of demented numbness, but a kind of sleepwalking-like godlessness.

The old patriarch warmly let us into the house. The furnishings of the house are very simple, even basic. Although it was broad daylight, it was very dark inside, and as soon as you entered, it made people feel very depressed.

Unexpectedly, my cousin also came to this house for the first time, and the few times I met before, I met at my son's house in the Great Wall of the old clan. After the three of us were seated, the old patriarch was busy making tea and pouring water for us, and his movements were a little stiff.

My cousin looked at the house and asked: "Old man, your place is really not easy to find, we asked several people in a row where the 'old mansion of the Zhao family' is, and they all said that they didn't know, and in the end it was an old gentleman in his seventies, who told us the exact location."

The old patriarch laughed heartily and explained in a loud voice: "My house has a history of two or three hundred years, and it has been listed as a cultural heritage building by the Cultural Affairs Bureau. ”

"Really? I really don't know, although I am a consultant of the Provincial Cultural Bureau, but the most unfamiliar thing is ancient buildings and the like. The cousin was a little surprised, and then asked half-jokingly: "Why don't you live in your son's house, I don't think this house is as comfortable as my son's building, ha."

"Haha, there are many reasons, the most important thing is that I still don't want to see my daughter-in-law's face, my wife died just over sixty years old, so for so many years, I am used to being free and easy alone, but I don't want to get old, but I also have to taste the taste of sending people under the fence, besides, I don't feel uncomfortable living in this place", the old patriarch said very open-mindedly.

But this house does make ordinary people very uncomfortable, dark, damp, and oppressive. If you live in this kind of house for a long time, you will definitely suffer from arthritis, frozen shoulder and other diseases. Just not seeing the sun in all seasons of the year will also make people depressed. How can it be comfortable? But looking at the old patriarch's body, he is indeed very healthy, so has he lived in this house for a long time?

I couldn't help but ask the old patriarch: "Have you lived in this house since you were a child?" ”

The old patriarch replied very simply: "Yes, I have lived in this house for decades since I was born, and then I lived in my son's house for more than a year because my son bought a house in the city. Not only did I grow up in this house, but many of our Zhao family ancestors grew up in this house, but later, with the development of the times, no one of the younger generations wants to live in this house anymore, I am now the oldest and oldest person in our Zhao family, and I am the only one in the living Zhao family who has lived in this house all his life. But this house, it can be said, is the birthplace of our Zhao family after moving to this county. ”

My cousin sat next to him and listened quietly, he was an expert in feng shui, and he must have a different opinion about this strange house. I noticed that my cousin had taken out a piece of jade from his pocket, and then he looked at it carefully, and a look of surprise suddenly appeared on his face.

Sister Li, who was sitting next to her, also noticed her cousin's move, so she asked, "Uncle, what did you see in this piece of jade, I think you seem to have found something."

My cousin hurriedly smiled to cover up: "It's nothing, I just took it out by chance and played with it." ”

As soon as we saw that my cousin was reluctant to speak, we knew that it might be inconvenient to speak in front of the old patriarch, so we stopped asking. The old patriarch seemed to be a very rough man, obviously not noticing this, but went on to talk about his life experience, what work he had done before, how many years he had worked, where he had been when he was young, etc., and talked endlessly, as if he were making a life report.

Sister Li and I listened absentmindedly, and in order not to be rude, we had to pretend to be very interested in what the old patriarch said, and from time to time, pretending to be concerned, we asked a few questions.

But the cousin's expression became very strange, he stared at the old patriarch's face, as if a doctor was observing a patient's complexion, and like an artist looking at a lifeless sculpture. We felt that my cousin's behavior was very inappropriate, so Sister Li hurriedly coughed a few times and specially reminded my cousin.

What's wrong with my cousin today, he is usually so well-behaved and polite, why is it a little abnormal today? My cousin didn't seem to pay much attention to Sister Li's reminder. continued to have a somewhat stern expression, staring at the Zhao family patriarch who was talking. Suddenly, my cousin asked the old patriarch, "Old man, do you remember how long we haven't met?" ”。

The old patriarch looked at his cousin with a somewhat wandering gaze: "I really don't remember this?" ”

"We haven't seen each other for more than ten years, and those few meetings were concentrated in the year when we borrowed your book, and it passed so fast, more than ten years have passed, but your old man's health is still so good, and I also know some medical Tao, can I give you a lower pulse, see what kind of physique you are."

After listening to his cousin's words, the old patriarch still put his arm on the table as if he were careless, and asked his cousin to take his pulse. When my cousin's hand lightly touched the old patriarch's wrist, I couldn't help but be taken aback, although my cousin tried his best to pretend to be quiet, Sister Li and I could still see it.

After the cousin touched the pulse, he asked to check the old patriarch's eyes, and the old patriarch obediently asked the cousin to open his eyelids, and the cousin looked at it very seriously.

I don't know why, after looking at the old patriarch's eyes, my cousin's expression seemed to be stricter. Sister Li and I were completely confused by my cousin's series of strange actions today. What's wrong with my cousin today, I have a fever and faint?

After talking for a while, my cousin asked the old patriarch to visit the house, and the old patriarch readily agreed. We got up, followed by the old patriarch and cousin, and began to tour the old house. The old patriarch began to talk about his past like an autoplayer again.

The cousin walked with his hands behind his back, but he didn't seem to be listening to the old patriarch's conversation at all, but was engrossed in looking at the layout of the courtyard. Sister Li and I know that he must have used his knowledge of Feng Shui to observe and measure this house, and see all kinds of mysteries that ordinary people can't realize.

This house can be said to be built on the mountain, it itself is a part of the mountain, but it is relatively flat, and the courtyard is not land at all, but stone. Because of the washing of the rain, many places seem so clean and spotless. In the backyard, there is a pool of water with a large area, but this is not dug artificially, but a deep pool formed naturally, although the water is very clear, but it is not "crystal clear", because it is too deep, so you can't see the bottom at all.

My cousin pointed to the whirlpools on the surface of the pool and said: "You two see, wherever there is such a whirlpool, there must be two boulders below to form a gap, when swimming in the water, the most afraid is this kind of gap, it is easy to get people's legs stuck, don't live and the like, many people with good water are drowned in this way, so if you see such a whirlpool in a deep place, you must find a way to avoid it."

After saying this, my cousin stood by the pool for a long time, as if he was observing something. When we finished walking around the house, it was already noon, the old patriarch politely left us to eat, we politely excused us, and then removed a few boxes of fruits and snacks from the car for the old patriarch, then said goodbye to the old patriarch and drove home.

In the car, my cousin didn't say a word, as if he was in deep thought. Sister Li couldn't help but ask coquettishly: "Oh, uncle, your behavior is a little abnormal today, tell us, what did you find?" ”

My cousin smiled and said, "I'll tell you two when I go back, what I say now may affect driving safety."