It was early in the morning, and the sun penetrated through the sparse clouds and shone on this low mountain.
However, Shen Qian and Old Man Hu were standing in the dark.
Shen Qian raised his head and looked at the sunlight that seemed to be out of reach, then lowered his head again and looked at the mottled tombstones that had become a little skewed due to time.
Seeing that Old Man Hu was still immersed in sadness and unable to extricate himself, Shen Qian took the white chrysanthemums from his hand and walked to the row of tombstones.
There are seventeen tombstones in total that seem to be buried in an abandoned corner.
Shen Qian looked over.
Li Sixi, Ye Jialei, Fu Xiaoxiao, Yu Xin...
He doesn't know anyone.
Until Shen Qian came to the tombstone in the center.
"The Tomb of Jiang Chengye."
The five words in the center attracted Shen Qian's attention.
This is a person who has been written into the history of No. 7 Middle School.
He was the number one scholar in martial arts in Jingcheng ten years ago and the only number one scholar in martial arts in the history of No. 7 Middle School.
Shock, confusion and emotion flashed across Shen Qian's eyes, and he felt complicated for a moment.
I was shocked because according to the teachers and students of No. 7 Middle School, no one knew Jiang Chengye’s whereabouts later. It turned out that he had died long ago.
The confusion is because of the cause of death of the other party.
The emotion is that the dignified scholar who was ranked number one in the province was actually buried in this remote corner where no one cared about him. Although the tombstone had signs of being frequently taken care of before, it still couldn't cover up the dilapidation and loneliness.
No matter how proud you are, you will be nothing more than a handful of dirt at this moment, and no one will care about you.
"You should also know that the educational situation in Jingcheng has been going downhill in recent years."
At some point, Old Man Hu stood next to Shen Qian, took out a chrysanthemum from Shen Qian's hand and placed it in front of the tombstone.
"Ten years ago was the last glory of Jingcheng, and perhaps the greatest glory in the history of Jingcheng."
"That year, Jingcheng not only produced a top scholar in martial arts, but also a girl named Fu Xiaoxiao who came from Jingcheng... In addition, there were thirty-three people in Jingcheng who were among the top one hundred in the province in martial arts. It occupies almost half of the country."
Surprise flashed across Shen Qian's eyes. He only knew that Jingcheng's education began to decline ten years ago, but he never understood that there was still such a glorious year.
"Then the seventeen people here..." Shen Qian asked subconsciously.
"They are the group of thirty-three people who applied for the Jiangzhong Army. All of them were admitted." Old Man Hu said slowly.
Shen Qian suddenly turned his head and already guessed something, "They all died ten years ago? In that unknown incident involving Jiang Zhongjunwu?"
"Otherwise, why do you think education in Jingcheng will decline?"
Old Man Hu sighed, "How much honor they had received at that time meant how much luck they had gathered. With this death... Jingcheng's backbone was naturally broken in half."
Shen Qian remembered the farewell before the college entrance examination. Chai Haotian said at that time that there were many reasons for the decline of education in Jingcheng.
Thinking about it, this is the main reason.
However, due to some factors, the new city lord Chai Haotian concealed the matter.
And in the past ten years, I am afraid that very few people know the truth.
Extending my thinking, is the resignation of the previous city lord of Jingcheng also related to this incident?
"So what happened ten years ago?" Shen Qian calmed down and asked.
"In fact, I may not be able to explain clearly. I can only tell you what I know and see..."
Old Man Hu paused and took out a bottle of Laobaigan from somewhere. He first poured some on the cemetery, then took out two cups, poured one cup and handed it to Shen Qian.
The two sat on the ground and started drinking together in this desolate cemetery. Old Man Hu drank two glasses of wine in one breath before he seemed to have sorted out his thoughts, and memories appeared on his face.
"Actually, Jiang Chengye looks a lot like you."
"With me?" Shen Qian was startled.
"He also came from a poor family, a single-parent family. He also had a younger sister. His mother remarried three times but never met a good man. When Jiang Chengye was fourteen, he ran away with a man from another province, leaving only him and his younger sister. We depend on each other for life."
"...I'm still better than him. At least I have a complete family." Shen Qian shook his head.
Shen Qian was also keenly aware that since Old Man Hu started talking about Jiang Chengye, it is very likely that the incident ten years ago was also closely related to Jiang Chengye.
"Not only that." Old Man Hu smiled, "He also had mediocre talent before high school. If it weren't for compulsory education, he would have gone to work without even wanting to go to high school."
"At that time, I was the vice president of the Jingcheng Hometown Association. Those of us who are so-called 'successful and successful' people outside would do some charity to help our hometown. Jiang Chengye was one of the people I funded."
"At that time, I was just pitiful about his life experience. Who would have thought that he would suddenly soar into the sky in high school, just like you, suddenly showing a talent that is rarely seen in the world."
"In the end, he became a blockbuster in the college entrance examination and became the first martial arts champion in No. 7 Middle School..."
Shen Qian nodded slightly. From this point of view, the two of them are somewhat similar, but I don't know if Jiang Chengye is also interested...
"Later, as I had hoped, he was admitted to Jiangzhong Junwu. After arriving at Junwu, he did not disappoint me."
Old Man Hu continued to recall: "He is not only a genius, but also a natural leader. In just half a year, he has become so famous in a place where geniuses gather like Junwu. All the students in Jingcheng are led by him."
"He broke several records since the founding of the military, such as the record for the fastest grade skipping, the record for the highest number of credits in a single semester, and the record for the fastest time to clear the secret realm, etc..."
Old Man Hu listed many of Jiang Chengye's deeds in the military, which made Shen Qian's heart sway.
"If that thing hadn't happened, he would have had a great future."
A hint of regret suddenly appeared on Old Man Hu's face, and Shen Qian was also focused, knowing that the point was finally coming.
"Yu Shousi came to Jingcheng some time ago. Did he come to see you?" Old Man Hu suddenly asked.
"Well, do you know him?" Shen Qian nodded.
"Of course, Xiao Yu was also a student of Junwu, but he graduated more than 20 years ago, and he is familiar with me."
Old Man Hu sighed, "Since he has approached you, you must also know that for top students, the military will provide a benefit, which is to grant military ranks and practical duties."
Shen Qian nodded, "He promised me the position of centurion of the elite army at that time."
"Jiang Chengye...the same is true."
Old Man Hu said, "Not long after he entered the military, he was awarded the position of centurion due to his outstanding performance. This is not only a benefit, but it is also a kind of experience for top students."
"With a military position, you need to join the army regularly to perform your duties. As a world-famous powerful army, Jiangzhong Army also has many responsibilities. It will be out performing tasks almost most of the time..."
"Those battle experiences have indeed made Jiang Chengye grow up faster, and he has become more and more dazzling. Everyone thought that he would continue like this until..."
The regret on Old Man Hu's face became even stronger, and tears flowed down unconsciously.
"It's all my fault. I shouldn't have promised him, I shouldn't have promised him..."
After a while, when Old Man Hu calmed down a bit, Shen Qian, who couldn't help but be curious, asked: "What happened?"
Old Man Hu said in a daze: "At the end of the semester, Jiang Chengye went out with the army and raided a scavenger stronghold, no, to be precise, it was a town... an extremely rare scavenger town."
"Jiang Chengye went away for three days and finally came back at dusk on the fourth day."
"That day, there was heavy snowfall."
"I pushed open the door of the apartment, and Jiang Chengye knelt in front of me. His body was covered in blood and ice. There was a confused look in his eyes that I had never seen before. But in the end, he put his head on the ground and refused to speak for a long time. ..."
"I treat him like a son, and he also regards me as a teacher and a father. I understand him. He must have something to ask of me, and he knows that I can't agree."
Shen Qian thought of the regretful look on Old Man Hu's face just now, and immediately understood that Old Man Hu must have agreed to something that he shouldn't have agreed to.
Sure enough, Old Man Hu said solemnly: "I finally agreed. After he knelt in the snow for half the night, I agreed to him and asked him to bring that woman... no, that monster into the school!"
"Woman? Monster?"
Shen Qian was stunned for a moment, and then a bold and unbelievable guess emerged in his mind, "...scavengers?"
"It seems you have guessed it." Old Man Hu smiled uglier than crying, "Yes, if not, why would I not agree to him?"
"That woman... also looks like a scavenger?"
Shen Qian asked curiously.
The scavengers he had seen had their faces covered with purple spots due to the radiation changes in the restricted area, and their facial features were slightly distorted. It was really not in line with basic human aesthetics, so he asked this question.
If that woman is like this, then this Senior Jiang... is too harsh.
"Well, how should I put it? Although I hate the other person's bloodline and identity, I have to say that the woman whose age I am not sure is different from ordinary scavengers. Although her appearance is also mutated, she has a... …Eerie beauty.”
Old Man Hu thought about it and described it like this.
Shen Qian breathed a sigh of relief, but then frowned again, "Just because of her beauty, Senior Jiang brought her back to school without permission, treating military discipline and school rules as nothing. Isn't that too superficial?"
If he has such a character, Shen Qian doesn't believe that he can reach such heights.
Lust may be a common problem among men, and Shen Qian himself is not exempt from it, but when it comes to matters of principle, it shouldn't be like this.
"Chengye said that woman saved his life. If it weren't for her, Chengye wouldn't be able to come back."
"And that woman has lost all her relatives and has nowhere to go. If we don't take her in, she won't survive a day in the restricted area..."
Old Man Hu sighed, "This is the real reason why I agreed to him."
Shen Qian was relieved, "What happened next?"
"I took advantage of my position to help Chengye place that woman in the most secret place in the school, and I made an agreement with Chengye that Chengye would send her away within a month at most."
"A month passed in the blink of an eye, and the woman disappeared."
"I thought Chengye had abided by the agreement, so I felt relieved. Who knew that soon a student disappeared, and the location of the incident traced based on clues was near the woman's original hiding place..."
"I sensed something was wrong and went to confront Chengye, but he refused to admit it. At that time, I had already noticed that Chengye had changed, but I couldn't tell what exactly he had changed."
"More and more students were having accidents. The top management of the school formed an investigation team, but nothing could be found. Afterwards, I found out that all the students in Jingcheng helped Jiang Chengye cover up, so that he kept being fooled. ..."
"Why don't you go to the prince?" Shen Qian couldn't help but interject, "The prince can understand everything. If you go to the prince to take action, you won't be able to cover up any mysterious events, right?"
Shen Qian said this and there is a basis for it. Take the boss Gao as an example. When he was sitting on the top of the Babel Tower, the whole city was under his eyes, and there was nothing he could hide from.
It's just an ordinary incident, and Marquis Jingcheng will not intervene.
There may be some truth to this, but Shen Qian doesn't know.
"Of course I found it."
Old Man Hu shook his head, "But firstly, the princes all have their own responsibilities. Unless there is an emergency, asking the prince to take action requires waiting for a certain period of time. Secondly, everything happened too fast. When the prince's true body finally arrived, it was only a month later. Months have passed, but dozens of incidents of missing students have occurred."
"After the prince arrived, did he discover the truth of the matter?" Shen Qian asked.
"It doesn't really count."
Old Man Hu touched Jiang Chengye's tombstone with a complicated expression, "The prince quickly identified the source of the matter on Chengye, but... the prince found no trace of the woman."
"She really left Junwu?" Shen Qian asked doubtfully.
"Of course not... Chengye who refused to speak was temporarily locked up. Uncle Pingyang, who was in charge of the matter at the time, wanted to ask another prince who was better at spiritual methods to directly read Chengye's memory, but that night he Something happened."
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"Uncle Pingyang?" Shen Qian raised his eyebrows in surprise.
"You know?"
"I just met a few days ago..."
"I almost forgot that on the day the results were released, many princes came to watch your boy." Old Man Hu laughed.
"What happened that night?"
"That woman suddenly appeared and kidnapped Chengye."
Old Man Hu paused and then said: "But in fact, this was also Uncle Pingyang's plan, but he didn't expect that woman to actually come out. The prince wanted to suppress the two of them on the spot, but something unexpected happened..."
There was a look of surprise in Old Man Hu's eyes.
"I have been in the military for decades, and it was not until that day that I found out that there is a 'door' in Jiangzhong's military..."
"'Gate'?"
"Looking at your expression, it seems that you know about the 'door'."
Old Man Hu saved the effort of explaining and nodded: "And that 'door' is Class A!"
"You may not know what the concept of A-level is. Let me tell you this. From the revival of spiritual energy to today, among all the 'doors' that have appeared, there are only a handful of A-level and above. They are as rare as princes, and people of this level are Every time the door appears, great disasters occur..."
Shen Qian listened attentively, but he vaguely remembered the "door" that appeared in Buya Valley. At that time, Captain Sun said it was C-level.
A mountain and sea monster emerged from the C-level "door", and the A-level "door" will only be more terrifying.
"What's in the 'door'?"
"I don't know."
"Don't know?" Shen Qian was stunned.
"The 'door' was opened by the witch, or to be more precise, she opened it with the blood of Jingcheng students."
A look of pain appeared on Old Man Hu's face, "Those stupid kids all rushed out to plead for Jiang Chengye. Before the prince could make a move, the woman standing behind them had already waved a butcher knife..."
"Sixteen human lives became the last straw, and the 'door' was pushed open with the blood as a guide."
"That was a very serious accident."
"The moment the 'door' appeared, most of the school was destroyed. Hundreds of people were swallowed up by the 'door', including students, teachers, and... her..."
Listening to Old Man Hu's obscure tone, Shen Qian reacted, "Your crush, that professor?"
"She pushed me away at the last moment, and my left leg...was gone at that time."
Old Man Hu said in despair: "Before more people were affected, Uncle Pingyang took decisive action and sealed the 'door'."
"Why not just destroy that 'door'?"
Shen Qian thought of the hazy light and mist near and far in the sky of the restricted area, and couldn't help but asked in surprise: "Are all 'doors' indestructible?"
"The 'door' connects to unknown dimensions, or parallel spaces. No matter what it is, it is equivalent to a space-time channel. How can space-time be destroyed?"
Old Man Hu shook his head, "Even the princes can't do anything. In fact, there are many 'doors' that only the princes cannot pass through. I don't know the reason."
Shen Qian remained silent, digesting the information.
Although there are still a lot of mysteries involved, he finally has a rough idea of what happened ten years ago that caused such a big stir in Nuo.
"So because of this incident, many teachers and students lost their lives, and Jiang Zhong's military and military personnel were forced to close the school?"
"Well, this confinement lasts for ten years..."
Old Man Hu said with emotion, "I used to think ten years was a short time, but now I feel it is a long time."
"The chain reaction caused by that incident was too many. Countless families were implicated, and I also lost my military position...
"The top management issued a hush-hush order. After all, the 'sect' matter itself is confidential, and the impact of this matter itself is too bad... Jiang Chengye, together with the sixteen people in Jingcheng, naturally became a certain A taboo."
Shen Qian suddenly realized, "No wonder no one has mentioned them for so many years, and no one knows where they have gone."
Shen Qian looked at the seventeen mottled tombstones, but he didn't know whether to sympathize with them.
"The people I love are gone, and the people I regard as my nephews and nephews are also gone. I am the only cripple. I took their clothes and clothes back to Jingcheng and buried them behind this cemetery. I even bought them I can’t even afford a decent cemetery..."
Old Man Hu burst into tears again.
"But I'm really not willing to give in..."
"They should not be treated like this. They are all sincere children. They may be impulsive, but it is not an unforgivable sin!"
"Even Chengye, I always feel that he might have some difficulties, what do you think?"
Shen Qian didn't know how to answer Old Man Hu's general inquiry.
Or from everyone’s perspective, the difficulties are not that important.
Just like those teachers and students who died in vain in that incident, in the face of their families, can a word of hardship reveal everything?
Old Man Hu didn't seem to expect Shen Qian to answer. After drinking the last glass, Old Man Hu threw the bottle away and suddenly said seriously: "Shen Qian, old man, can I ask you something?"
"You are serious, please tell me." Shen Qian vaguely guessed something and sighed.
"Go to the Jiangzhong Army."
Old Man Hu said with great sincerity: "Since the military has reopened, maybe...maybe it will be possible to find out the truth about that year. This matter must not be over yet. I have a strong feeling that Chengye might still be alive."< /p>
"Still alive?" Shen Qian was startled.
"Before the 'door' was closed, the woman entered the 'door' with the unconscious Cheng Ye, so I came to this conclusion."
Shen Qian was speechless for a moment.
He just suddenly realized that Old Man Hu had lived in Jingcheng with a rickety posture for ten years and was reduced to the lowest level of security. He was not just depressed.
He has just been waiting.
Waiting for the day when the military reopens.
Maybe there is even some extravagant hope in his heart, that is, the woman he loves is still alive...
"If you agree, old man, I will do anything to help you."
Old Man Hu took a breath and said, "At least Yu Shou still remembers some feelings. This time the military reopened, I also found a job."
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"Still a security guard?" Shen Qian asked unexpectedly.
"I don't know how to do anything else. Of course, this time I go back just to look at the door, but I can't sit in the office anymore." Old Man Hu said with a self-deprecating smile.
"Looking at the gate of Shanhai, it sounds really weird."
Shen Qian rubbed his eyebrows, thought for a while and said: "Uncle Hu, I really want to promise you, but..."
"Let's go to another place and have a look. Maybe we can change your mind!" Old Man Hu interrupted Shen Qian, stood up and walked out.
Shen Qian shook his head, put down the white chrysanthemum in his hand, took one last look at the mottled tombstones that seemed to be watching him silently, and followed them.
The two of them, together with Dao Jiu who was following them from a distance, walked back to Nancheng in silence, and finally came to a village in the city.
Shen Qian was a little surprised, because although Nancheng was economically backward and there were many villages in the city, there were still only a few that were as dilapidated as the one in front of him.
The low-rise houses are scattered haphazardly without any rules, and many even have their doors and windows simply covered with plastic boards.
The stinking ditch that stretches past exudes a slightly pungent smell, and there are scattered garbage piles everywhere. Even the cats and dogs on the roadside are skinny.
As the three of them walked in, Shen Qian felt many curious and wary eyes.
This makes Shen Qian's feelings a little complicated, because in the past few days, there are not many people in Jingcheng who don't know him, but they are everywhere here.
Finally, Old Man Hu stopped at the entrance of a narrow alley.
"There are about ten families living here. They are all families with children from back then. They are still in Jingcheng."
Looking at the surprised expression on Shen Qian's face, Old Man Hu said lightly: "It's hard to imagine, why are you so depressed?"
"If you have never been a parent, you probably can't understand the feeling. Your child is gone but you don't even have the right to know the truth. They have suffered so much in order to seek justice..."
"From the perspective of the city lord, I would not sympathize with them. Whether it is Jiang Chengye or others, they have carried so much of Jingcheng's luck. In the end, not only did they not give back, they even caused backlash to Jingcheng's energy."
Old Man Hu briefly explained the cause and effect.
"Isn't there a total of seventeen people? Why are there only ten families left?" Shen Qian asked doubtfully.
"Some are scattered, some are crazy, and some are dead. This is also the result of being burdened by luck. Jingcheng's luck... will not treat them well." Old Man Hu said in a low voice.
Shen Qian nodded knowingly. Their child had damaged Jingcheng's luck. It was like a mysterious cause and effect.
If they stay to seek the truth, they will be counterattacked by fate in a subtle way.
"If I hadn't been trying to help them all these years, there might not even be ten families left now." Old Man Hu sighed.
Only then did Shen Qian figure out a question that he had not thought about just now.
That is, although Old Man Hu is lame and has lost his position, he is still a strong man in the mountains and seas. Why is he so poor that he can only smoke five yuan of cigarettes, and he doesn't even have the money to buy a cemetery, so he spent all of it here.
After Old Man Hu finished speaking, he led Shen Qian to the deepest part of the alley.
"This is?"
Shen Qian was keenly aware that the house in front of him was where Old Man Hu really wanted to take him.
"Just go in and take a look."
Old Man Hu directly pushed open the unlocked door, and what he saw was a simple courtyard surrounded by fences. It was simple and clean, much more pleasing to the eye than Shen Qian had imagined. There were even some green potted plants in the corner of the door. .
There were two bungalows next to each other in the small courtyard. Old Man Hu led Shen Qian directly to the one on the right, and then pushed open the wooden door that could not protect anything.
The small space of less than ten square meters was arranged like a bedroom, with a dressing table and a single bed covered with white sheets, and a bear doll on the bed.
Old Man Hu walked in, but Shen Qian resisted.
This is obviously a girl's boudoir.
It's too wrong to touch him like this when the master is not here.
Shen Qian was about to ask out loud, but when his eyes turned to the wall beside the bed, he suddenly froze in place.