Fang Zhongjin originally wanted to leave the inn alone in the middle of the night and go to his old house in Ninghai to investigate. But he didn't expect to meet Zheng He, who was standing in the corridor looking at the sea and sighing.

Although Zheng He confided in him the intention of solicitation, his Zheng He's dream of sailing could not move Fang Zhongjin's heart at all. Because Fang Zhongjin knew that in his old mansion, there was still a mystery waiting to be solved. And his future path will never be on the sea.

Because he was suddenly disrupted by Zheng He, Fang Zhongjin had no choice but to remain silent. waited until the evening of the second day, when the night was quiet again, and Fang Zhongjin managed to sneak out of the inn. Fang Zhongjin knew in his heart that the secret he was going to explore might lead to death. So he didn't even leak any news about Lu'er, and made up his mind to carry all the dangers alone.

At the third watch, Fang Zhongjin listened intently in the room for a moment, and made sure that there was no one outside this time, so he quietly opened the first-line window. Sure enough, there was silence outside, and there was not even a sound of insects. Fang Zhongjin used his light body kung fu and slowly slid off the wall. By the time his feet hit the ground, he turned around neatly, and had already jumped out of the courtyard wall of the inn and ran towards the endless night.

Fang Zhongjin's set of actions was smooth and silent. If someone from the beggar gang saw it at this time, they would definitely sigh, Fang Zhongjin's light skills were much stronger than when he was in Jinhua.

In fact, this set of light body kung fu of the beggar gang was not top-notch in the rivers and lakes. Perhaps even in the days when the faction was first created, when there were many masters in the gang, there were few masters of the beggar gang who could make this kung fu more calm and elegant than today's Fang Zhongjin.

Fang Zhongjin did not delay, and ran all the way in the direction of his old mansion according to the direction in his memory.

This old mansion was originally an ancestral heirloom in the family, and it was originally located in a quiet corner of Ninghai County, and Fang Zhongjin had also lived there several times. In the past, this place was often praised by villagers as a treasure of feng shui, and the family was full of champions. If anyone has a child, they will come to Fangfu to send a pair of happy eggs, intending to contaminate some of the Fang family's culture. If it is the New Year's holiday, everyone in the neighborhood will come to Fang's house to ask for a pair of Spring Festival couplets. to show that he is a good family with a reputation in Ninghai, and he can be treated differently by the Fang family.

And now, the people of the Fang family have long been dead, but I don't know if there are other people living in this house now?

Ninghai is a small county town. At this time, it was late at night, and there was not even a husband in the county who tied up. Fang Zhongjin stepped on the low roof all the way, as if he had entered a no-man's land. But somewhere in his heart, he was a little homesick.

Finally he came to the edge of a three-way courtyard. This courtyard used to be the place where the Fang family started, but now Fang Zhongjin didn't dare to recognize each other. And he saw that the house was in ruins, and overgrown with grass, and the long grass even obscured the tiled walls. The eaves arches are covered with spider silk, and the vermilion gate is now covered with a thick layer of dust. It used to be a white wall, but now it is painted with mud by the naughty boy so that it is impossible to distinguish the face.

It turned out that this old mansion, because of the death of the first owner, the surrounding people regarded it as an unlucky murderous mansion. After such a long time, no one else has tried to beat him. Fang Zhongjin's footsteps were gentle, and he landed outside the courtyard wall. His eyes were fixed on the courtyard wall, and he didn't know which naughty boy's scribbling handwriting. The handwriting is crooked, but it reads the words "big anti-thief". One of the words "thief" was too difficult to write, and the naughty boy was only much bigger than the word next to it in order to write it all.

Fang Zhongjin lightly touched the word "thief" with his fingertips, and suddenly felt proud in his heart:

I'm a thief, so what?

Those who steal the hook are punished, and those who steal the country are princes. He Zhu Di may have some skills to make so many people follow him with all their hearts. The people are well fed and clothed without fighting, and they have long forgotten what orthodoxy is, what Zhu Yunwen is, and everyone is thinking about the good coming of today's saints. But isn't Zhu Di himself a thief who steals the country? I'm afraid that this shame cannot be easily let go of even by himself.

Fang Zhongjin put all these emotions behind him, and turned over into the courtyard wall in a dashing manner. But as soon as he entered the courtyard wall, he knew that something was wrong.

I'm afraid there really is some secret in this old mansion.

Because the courtyard has been rummaged through from top to bottom.

Whether it was the tiles on the roof or the dirt floor in the yard, everything was turned to pieces. Fang Zhongjin hurriedly ran towards the old locust tree in the yard with an arrow step, and his heart was pounding. But I saw that this tree was the same as other places, and the soil around it had already been turned over. It may be because the predecessors turned the ground too hard, and the roots of the locust tree were exposed. And this old locust tree is already dying at this time, the leaves of the tree are now gone, and the bark has withered and mottled. I don't know how many years this old tree has lived, but now it is as dim as a terminally ill old man, as if it would fall down at any moment.

Fang Zhongjin dug down according to the direction pointed out by his mother back then, and dug straight for a long time, but still found nothing. Looking at the swarthy mud floor, Fang Zhongjin finally sat down. He leaned his back against the trunk of the tree, looked up at the dark night sky, and sighed in his heart: Am I too late after all?

A helpless sense of loss invaded the sky. He stared blankly at the dead branches of the old locust tree piercing the night sky, as if silently declaring war on the sky. Suddenly, a flash of inspiration flashed, and he rolled over with a somersault.

I saw him perform light exercises, and inside and outside the courtyard wall, Liang Yu carefully inspected it up and down. Eventually, he fell back under the old locust tree. Although he was still empty-handed at this time, his state of mind became determined. Because he knows:

The man who came one step before him, like him, did not find anything.

This old locust tree is alone in the middle of the yard, which is conspicuous and easy to dig. It could never be the last place left by the predecessors to look for. But every nook and cranny of the house had been searched. It is precisely because the predecessors did not find anything under the locust tree that they will continue to rummage in other parts of the house.

The predecessors are not like themselves. Fang Zhongjin had received instructions from his mother, so he knew that the things were hidden under the old locust tree. But the man probably didn't know anything about it, so that if he was able to go through all the places in the house, it meant that he couldn't find what he was looking for anywhere. In the end, the man must have found nothing and returned empty-handed.

Thinking of this, Fang Zhongjin turned over the soil under the locust tree again. I wanted to dig up all the trees, but I still found nothing.

Fang Zhongjin sighed. Mother would never lie to herself, since the predecessors had found nothing, the secret must still be hidden deep in this old house. It's just that I can't think of where I'm hiding for a while.

He turned his head to look at the sky, and the east was already turning white. He knew that he would have to stay in Ninghai for a while, so he simply didn't startle the snake, and went back to the inn first.

And what is the secret of this, I can't figure out the key now that I have been thinking about it for a long time. It's better to go back and think quietly. Maybe you can come up with some clues.

Since Fang Zhongjin figured out the key, he quietly climbed out of the courtyard wall. Taking advantage of the fact that the sky was still dark, he performed light exercises and returned to the inn the same way.

Just as he was rushing into his room through the window, he heard a sudden and impatient knock on the door. It turned out that Ji Changan was banging on the door and shouting: "Why hasn't the dead boy gotten up." I want your help with something!"