Tianxianglou is located in the southeast corner of the capital, and the street is flanked by a number of pawnshops, workshops and ready-to-wear shops. The curfew is not strict in this dynasty, especially in prosperous areas. Tianxianglou is nominally a teahouse, but it also sells wine and snacks, the cooks are very good, and there are often rumors that officials go out of the inner city at night to get drunk in the building, and they have made mistakes.

Green lacquer whitewash, green tile cornices. Standing at the door of Tianxianglou was an old mother, smiling amiably: "Young Master Ning, I haven't seen you for a long time, what are you busy with these days?" ”

Ning Wu was only thirteen or fourteen years old, but the folding fan was very graceful, and said: "A while ago, the academy was on vacation, and I went to the mountains and rivers. I haven't come to see you, Mother Xu, for a long time, and I'm ashamed. ”

As he spoke, Ning Wu pushed Shen Wei forward. When he went out to climb over the wall, he was too anxious, he forgot to bring money, and he didn't have one or two copper plates in his pocket, Shen Wei was always uneasy in his heart, and he forgot to talk to Pei Xi before going out, and he was muttering in his heart, thinking about how to explain it after he went back.

"Mother Xu, this is my new friend and classmate of mine, surnamed Pei," Ning Wu continued to smile and said, "Please ask Mother Xu to have someone clean out of a small room for two on the second floor, and put on a pot of steamed green loose tea, a pot of fragrant slices, and some glutinous rice cakes, fruits and vegetables." We'll just pad our stomachs first, and then we'll bother to put on something else. ”

Mother Xu nodded and agreed. Tianxianglou is very famous, people come and go, even if it is already twilight, it is still lively and extraordinary. The peddler's pawn was outside the door while it was still dark, still shouting at what was left of the burden, thinking that he would return home after selling. There are people in brocade clothes in the building, and there are also people who simply wear ordinary green shirts, order a pot of tea, stand by the counter and drink it, and leave in a hurry.

Ning Wu dragged Shen Wei upstairs, and Mother Xu really sent her men to clean up a small pavilion, which was uniquely furnished, and there were calligraphy and paintings on the wall. One seat is spread on the ground, and a few in the middle, fruit and vegetable snacks are placed for two people to sit opposite each other.

It is really a charming place in the capital, chic and elegant.

Xiao Er came up with two pots of tea, put them on the small table, and poured a cup each for Ning Wu and Shen Wei. Ning Wu took a sip and praised it, Shen Wei also learned to take a small sip, it was really fragrant, the entrance was mellow, it was indeed a good tea.

Ning Wu shook his fan and said with a smile: "How?" Brother Duanying, the tea and snacks in this Tianxianglou are a must, and the dishes are even better. ”

You can't save face, Shen Wei nodded yes. In the past, he only wandered around in the mountains and wilderness of Pingjiang, and when he was thirsty, he would hold a hand of stream or river water to drink, or accompany his father and mother to the market, but he was really thirsty, and he could buy a big bowl of tea by spending a copper plate on the roadside tea stall, and poured it down, which was the most thirst-quenching. When I was young, I couldn't drink it alone, so I gave it to my father and mother, and my father and mother who carried the pork burden also had to push and shove each other.

Now he sits in this famous teahouse in the capital, drinking the tea invited by the old man with the royal family, although the tea is fragrant, but he always feels that he does not quench his thirst and is missing something.

So Shen Wei picked up the glutinous rice cake on the small table, took a few bites, and was hungry, only to remember that he was still willing to eat in the past to catch the market.

Ning Wu saw that Shen Wei ate very sweetly, and continued: "It's a pity that I am shy in my lower bag, so for the time being, please ask Brother Duanying to sit down on the second floor, drink some tea, and eat some snacks." Zheng Yuchi's servant said that he came early, but he didn't see him at the door, thinking that he was tortured by his father, General Zheng, to ask about his schoolwork. Brother Duanying, sit here, and I'll go to the door to look for it. ”

Speaking of this, Shen Wei is not easy to stop. He came out of Pingjiang, only followed by his cousin Fan Xian, although he often made fun of him, he was also a close relative. Now that he has just entered the capital, Fan Xian fell ill on Qingbi Mountain, and he could only rely on Pei Xi, who had an uncertain personality and couldn't guess it, and was inexplicably whipped by Pei Heng. Although he felt that Ning Wu's reason for being close to him and wanting to make friends with him was strange, it was always difficult to refuse people thousands of miles away with the title of the Pei family.

"Brother Ning Wu, you can go with peace of mind, I will wait here." Shen Wei nodded.

Ning Wu got up, pushed the door and left.

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A lot of fine sand in the hourglass in the house has flowed from the upper pot to the lower pot, Shen Wei's stomach is getting more and more hungry, several large cups of tea are in his stomach, and he has eaten a lot of snacks on the small table. This guy, isn't he playing himself again, not paying the bill, and sneaking back to the academy?

Suddenly, there was a soft singing and dancing sound in the house, and there was a woman's voice, and suddenly there was a sound like a whip swinging through the air, and it seemed to be mixed with the sound of crying and begging for mercy, but it was not like a woman's voice.

This teahouse is haunted? Or is this Tianxianglou actually still a casino, and there is a gambler next door who loses a lot of money, and someone wants to cut off the gambler's finger? Shen Wei was shocked, didn't dare to think about it anymore, and hurriedly got up and pushed the door open.

Tianxiang Building is divided into three floors, the top floor seems to be only used for large banquets on weekdays, and the private rooms on the second floor can directly overlook the first floor, which is convenient for guests on the second floor to listen to books. Shen Wei pushed open the door at this moment, but saw that the first floor was still lively, and the sunset was already complete outside, and the lanterns were hung, illuminating this prosperous place.

After a rough glance, he didn't see Ning Wu's figure.

Shen Wei didn't want to be nosy, but he was worried that if he went down from the second floor to the next floor, if he didn't pay, wouldn't he eat the overlord meal and be beaten out with a stick? I had to close the door first, and groped around in the corridor on the second floor, trying to find a place with fewer people.

The red candle was lit, and some of the candle oil dripped to the ground. Shen Wei went against the flow of people, groping cautiously, and the closer he got to the end of the second floor, the sound of begging for mercy and singing and dancing seemed to become clearer and clearer.

Finally arrived not far away, Shen Wei saw the window screen in the room at the end of the corridor on the second floor, crowded, there were slender women spinning and dancing behind the window screen, there was a pleasant sound of the piano, it should be a normal scene in the teahouse, but behind the dance and music, Shen Wei heard a man's hissing voice begging for mercy.

The voice seemed to be trembling, and there was no logic in speaking, Shen Wei stood outside the door, listening intermittently, and only heard a few words: "No, no, young master"

Another loud shout: "No, no—"

Finally, there was a cry for mercy: "I was wrong, I was wrong," Shen Wei heard the sound of clothes rubbing on the ground, "Young master, young master, I kneel down and beg you, you forgive me, okay......"

There was another sound of a whip going down, and the man screamed, and then his voice trembled and begged for mercy.

The more Shen Wei listened to the sound of begging for mercy, the more familiar the voice felt, until a voice came from inside: "I don't want it!" Don't touch me—"

Shen Wei's brain "buzzed".

He remembered that a few years ago, he was reading in the study hall, counting the small grass roots open by the window while reading, and the whole village suddenly became chaotic, and many men ran around without caring about picking up their hoes.

A playmate with whom Shen Wei used to play hurriedly ran into the school and shouted at him, "Shen Wei! You're still sitting here stupidly! Your cousin is gone! Your second aunt is in a hurry to find someone everywhere! ”

When Shen Wei heard this, he immediately rushed out, and when he got home, he saw that the second aunt was about to cry into tears, so anxious that she snorted the ground with her head, out of breath, unable to walk, and her own mother could only stay at the second aunt's house and watch the second aunt, afraid that she would pass in one breath.

It turned out that Fan Xian didn't come to the school this morning, not because he was stumped by the second aunt's scolding again, but because the second aunt got up early in the morning, and Fan Xian disappeared. I had hoped to get up early to go to school or to the stream to read poetry, but I couldn't find anyone.

Shen Wei's father, Fan Zhenghe, saw Shen Wei coming back, and jumped to his feet in a hurry: "Little rabbit, why did you come back alone?" Why don't you go out and find your brother! ”

After that, Fan Zhenghe ran out to look for it, and Shen Wei also hurriedly followed his father to run all over the mountainside of the village. Seeing that the sun was falling from noon to night, the people in the village lit torches, and Shen Wei took advantage of the moonlight to run all over the place where he had pulled Fan Xian to play.

It was about the hour, the moonlight was cold, and everyone seemed to be very depressed, shouting Fan Xian's voice became smaller, and they were scattered, and some wanted to sleep on the spot and clothes.

Shen Wei didn't give up, this good living person, he was still in the school with him yesterday, how could a day pass, and he wouldn't see anyone alive or dead?

He ignored the obstacles of the people behind him and continued to walk deep into the mountains. Shen Wei couldn't see the road under his feet clearly, so he felt the darkness and exerted his strength through the trunk of the tree, and walked one foot deep under his feet, shouting as he walked: "Fan Xian - Fan Xian - "

The valley wind blew, Shen Wei didn't hear the echo, and the moon hung in the sky, as if Shen Wei was the only one left in the world. He continued to walk, and finally heard a faint black shadow in a small ditch.

Shen Wei approached and was very excited: "Fan Xian! Is that you? ”

The black shadow did not answer, and Shen Wei stumbled excitedly to the edge of the ditch, and saw that it was indeed a thin black shadow inside: "Fan Xian!" How are you here! ”

Shen Wei threw himself into the ditch and wanted to hug Fan Xian, but Fan Xian's expression was disordered, and he pushed Shen Wei with one hand: "Don't-don't-"

Shen Wei reached out and touched it, and his hand felt slimy and fishy, a bit like the taste he used to have when he watched his father kill pigs. Shen Wei was shocked: "Fan Xian, there seems to be blood on your body!" ”

Fan Xian pushed Shen Wei again, and his voice was hoarse: "Don't-don't touch me-" Then Fan Xian's body seemed to have lost all strength and fainted on the grass. Shen Wei hurriedly pounced: "Fan Xian-"

That night, when Fan Zheng and his group found Shen Wei and Fan Xian, the two boys were in the ditch, and Shen Wei held Fan Xian in his arms, covered in blood.

Fan Xian lost an arm that night for no reason, and the village doctor tried his best to stop the bleeding and save the person. Fan has been lying in bed for a few months now, and when he asked Fan Xian why he didn't have an arm, Fan Xian couldn't answer why.

Fan Xian gradually recognized people again in the later period, and continued to read, but he no longer had the aura of reading before, and became more and more stupid, and his reaction was slower, and he couldn't call people for half a day. Some old people in the village who know some fortune-telling trails said that Fan Xian had fallen into evil and encountered unclean things, and I was afraid that he would not be good in this life.

And the poignant "I don't want it" only kept echoing in Shen Wei's ears and heart, and every time he and Fan Xian were arguing, he would always think of those three words for no reason.

Therefore, when these three words were shouted in the house, he would not be mistaken!