I stared into the old man's eyes and asked him: "How did you escape?"
The old man's body stiffened and his expression changed. As if he thought of something, his eyes dodged and he said: "There is an old tree on the top of the mountain. It's very big. I escaped from there at that time."
I smiled slightly and didn't ask any more questions. I nodded and said, "Thank you for your story. It's very exciting. I will write it down in my collection records. I wish you good health." After saying that, he stood up and left. The old man opened his mouth and wanted to say something. Nothing was said.
I gave the meal ticket to Tie Tie, and he came back with two large plates of food and rice. We had a great meal. Tie Tie and Da Tou are two extreme people. During this process, Tie Tie didn't say a word, he just lowered his head and ate fiercely. Sitting there in a daze.
The two of us went back upstairs after drinking and eating. It was almost ten o'clock in the evening when the two live treasures came back with arms around their shoulders. Zhao Gu said he wanted to be reliable, but his body was very honest. I think he was having a great time.
"How about it, do those people have any clues?" When Tie Tie and I were eating downstairs, we looked specifically at the rooms on the east side. The windows and doors were all closed, and no one could be seen coming in or out. There was no movement at all.
Datou patted his chest with a proud look on his face: "There are still things that I can't do if I go out and attack. Those people should be from the north. I saw a few of them in the backyard."
"Oh, how did you find out?" I asked him with interest.
"Hi, that's a short answer." He pulled up a bench and sat down. "I saw a few guys with calluses on their hands. At first I thought it was caused by mountaineering or something, so I didn't pay much attention. Then I saw that they were drunk. , we went over and chatted for a while. I asked them where they were from, but the guy didn't reply. I said I guess he's from the Northeast. The guy was quite humorous. He looked at me with a confused look on his face and said, "Hey, look." After we chatted for a long time, they left. I thought there was a problem, so I asked Xiao Zhao to follow me and take a look, and sure enough, he went back to the east room on the third floor."
"Also, they all carry equipment. When I opened the door, I took a look and saw several big bags. If there is really a problem, those are not camping equipment." Zhao Gu said with a worried look.
"It seems that the other party is indeed well prepared. We can't rely on the local gangsters in the future." I frowned and said: "I'm worried about Meng San now. If this guy is an insider, I'm afraid the other party has already mastered our actions. "
"The other party probably doesn't know our identities yet, otherwise those few pistachios wouldn't have been with us Barbie for so long." Big Tou analyzed: "By the way, what about you, have you gained anything?"
"It did allow me to find out some interesting things, but it doesn't mean much to us."
I briefly told the three of them the story I heard from the old man. After listening to it, the big head asked me: "Do you think there is something wrong with that old man?"
"Yes," I nodded and said, "Although I don't know much about the Battle of Hushan, I have heard of the tree fort on the top of the mountain."
"Tree fort?"
"Yes, I heard someone mention it in the Qinhan Hall. There was an old tree on the top of the lake, which was very big. Five or six people couldn't hug its main trunk, and the aerial roots hanging from the horizontal branches spread in patches and fell. The thick roots reaching the ground require two or three people to hug them. Not to mention how dense the tree canopy is, it is overwhelming and occupies an entire hill. It is said to be at least as big as a football field. Standing below The branches and leaves are stacked on top of each other, blocking out the sky and the sun, and no sunlight can be seen. The canopy of the tree is occupied by a group of monkeys all year round. You can only hear the squeaking, but there is no sign of the monkeys."
I lit a cigarette and continued: "This is not the most awesome thing. The most amazing thing is that the old tree is very strong. Although the inside was hollowed out by the little devils and built into a tree fort, after several rounds of airplanes It didn't even fall down due to the bombing. The Japs hollowed out the lake and mountain, leading to the top of the mountain. Many people said that the tree trunks were reinforced with cement by the Japs to prevent them from falling, but I heard another version at the Qinhan Hall."
I looked at them and asked, "Do you know Mu Huayu?" A few of them shook their heads.
I explained: "In the continuous changes of temperature and pressure in some trees, the petrified wood undergoes differential metamorphism and recrystallizes. The composition of the tree body is converted into opal chalcedony. This is wood petrified jade."
The big head said crookedly: "Tell me something that a junior high school diploma can understand."
"The carbon element was replaced by silica." When I saw Da Tou, I still shook my head and said, "It's just fucking mutated. Although the substance of the food you eat and the shit you poop has not changed, the structure has changed. Do you understand?" Da Tou Made an OK gesture.
"Is the chalcedony you're talking about valuable?" He looked at me again.
"It depends on the year, but this single variation is very dependent on the environment at that time. It can be said to be purely accidental and not very valuable."
Datou lost interest when he heard it, and muttered: "I guess so too, otherwise people would have moved it away long ago."
I said: "That's not entirely true. I heard that after the battle above, many people died. Ghosts and wolves often howled in the mountains, and no one wanted to go in. Also, what I want to say is that the wood jade is very strong, very strong, but the old man said He escaped from the tree fort back then, so I thought the chances were too slim."
"You mean he's lying?" Big Head asked.
"I just feel this way. I think he is hiding something. Maybe it has something to do with his escape, but it's not important anymore. This is not our focus this time. Let's talk about what to do first. We don't know when those people will start. I can't take action first." I spread my hands.
Being completely unable to detect the other party's movements is the biggest headache for us right now. I would not be willing to wait any longer, not to mention that Han Sheng and the waiter from the hall were still inside.
Just when everyone was at a loss, Tie Tie suddenly said, "Maybe we can go through the cellar?"
Seeing us all looking at him, he said a little shyly: "While you were talking to the old man, I went to the toilet. When I passed by the kitchen, I heard several chefs saying that there were mouse holes in the cellar and the cabbage was eaten. I took a look, and judging from the location of the cellar, I thought it was probably coming from the house next to it."
Datou and I looked at each other and said, "Yes."
Datou also said: "That thing won't make a hole too far. Maybe we can try it tonight."
"Okay, then it's settled. You guys go back to sleep first, and we'll go down and have a look later in the night. If it doesn't work, I'll go to the hall tomorrow and beg me to bring a team of people over, and we'll see. Invite the people upstairs to come down and find out who they are." I decided to say.
Datou and the others went back to sleep, and Tie and I turned off the lights and lay down. I looked at the clock and saw that it was almost eleven o'clock. I looked at my phone for a while and still couldn't fall asleep. I was afraid of disturbing Tie and wanted to open the door and go out to smoke. Unexpectedly, in the darkness, he said : "Boss, you can smoke in the house."
I asked him why he hadn't slept yet, and he said he was a little nervous and couldn't sleep. I lit a cigarette to enlighten him and said, this operation is different from your previous business, so it's not surprising that you are nervous. It will be fine next time. He said that Datou's business was similar to that of him, one was to chop people alive and the other was to chop people to death.
I laughed and scolded the big-headed bastard, telling him not to pay attention to Big-headed's nonsense. We won't go to the ground this time, and we will leave after rescuing people. Don't feel any psychological burden.
He asked me again, boss, are you nervous? I said no, I almost peed my pants for the first time. Fortunately... he said what's wrong, and I said nothing. Fortunately, there was an old guy with me at the time.
I smoked silently with my tie and didn't speak again. By the time I finished smoking, he was already snoring lightly. I lay in bed unable to sleep, thinking about the current situation in my mind. We are actually very passive now. If we cannot cut through the mess quickly, we have to follow the opponent's lead.
Our initial plan in disguise was to turn against the guests, but we didn't expect that someone had made the arrangements first and came with the guy. Even if we could stay behind, we would probably be waiting for a python. If we took the lead, it would be even worse. We cut the meat randomly for the sake of the knife and the fish, so no matter what choice we make at this moment, we are already passive.
Before coming, I had prepared for the worst, but I didn't expect that the other party would make such a big move.
I was thinking about how to talk to Lao Laobaozi tomorrow when a message suddenly came to my phone. I opened it and saw that it was Meng San. This guy was still awake. The text message asked me how I was doing and if I needed support. I thought about it and closed it. He didn't reply to the text message. Now I, any outsider here, can't believe it.
I turned off my phone and forced myself to squint for a while. I felt so confused that I couldn't sleep well because of something in my mind. It seemed that not long after, I opened my eyes and saw a person standing in the shadow of the door. I woke up and the other person made a faint sound. I heard When I came out with my tie on, I saw him standing sideways at the door in the dark. After waiting for a while, he tiptoed over and said in a low voice: "Boss, someone just passed by. The voice sounds like someone from the east room."
"They passed?" I asked in surprise.
"No, it seems to be on rotation, because I heard it twice in total. There were about two or three people in each group. Someone came out after coming back from outside." The tie said.
"They are spying on the old house?" I wondered in my heart, why didn't the other party go in with strong troops? Did they have any scruples that made them not go in? I had a vague premonition in my heart.
Since the other party doesn't go in, it proves that they know what's inside, or what dangers there are, but why do they know it? Have they already gone in?
No, Tangkou's people have been guarding here. Only Tangkou's own people should have entered in the first place...
I rubbed my temples, and a bold idea suddenly came to me. I thought about it carefully, couldn't help but cursed, and I figured it all out at once.
It was the people who went in at the beginning who leaked the secret to this group of people, so they knew what was going on inside. This also explains why the Tangkou didn't send anyone in!
I patted the back of my neck and almost gave up the plan. It seemed that both parties knew that there was danger inside and were waiting outside. What were they waiting for? I smiled bitterly in my heart. The answer was obvious. Besides waiting for me, I couldn't think of anyone else.
The most important thing now is whether the guy in Tangkou betrayed me or Tangkou has already had a rift with the other party. If it is Tangkou, then we are really in danger.
While I was thinking wildly, there was a faint knock on the door.