Chen Ang's choice obviously surprised Lawyer Luke. He observed Chen Ang carefully for a while before he said, "Of course, Mr. Constantine. This master key can open all the doors of this house..."
Chen Ang didn't seem to have reacted, he still smiled and said: "It was my request that was abrupt!"
"But who would want to plot against this house?" Attorney Luke laughed. "This house may have been valuable before, but it is really old. It has lived here for more than four generations, and we have not Money to insure the big house, so it's falling apart, and it's not worth the money for another country town!"
Nick interrupted: "But there must be many antiques in such an old house! They are very valuable things! So this key cannot be given to him..."
Lawyer Luke smiled and said, "Both are trustworthy people, and the 200,000 inheritance can help us a lot. We plan to leave here after we get the inheritance. We are getting old! We need better medical treatment And pensions, and with that money, we're going to move to New Orleans."
"Besides, we put away all the antiques and put them in a room in the attic. There is the only door in this house that cannot be opened with a master key."
Chen Ang accepted the key unceremoniously, and thanked him: "Thank you for your generosity, it was really a pleasure talking with you. You are a man of knowledge and talents, and you are very knowledgeable about the history of this town and the changes of the times. It's like witnessing it with my own eyes. I'm really interested in history, this house has a long history. It's like a gallery of time, some old styles and features are very well preserved here... let's take a tour Is it?"
Lawyer Luke welcomed: "After dinner, you can browse at will. It's too old! It's nothing but history!"
Several people leaned against the fireplace and chatted for a while, and had dinner in the restaurant. The dinner was chickpeas with mashed potatoes, which was a classic country style. After dinner, Lawyer Luke apologized: "I'm used to Sleep for a while after dinner, you know the habit of country people, our nightlife here is very boring, usually go to bed very early!"
Chen Ang and Nick looked at each other, and nodded to express their understanding that the division between American cities and rural towns is very serious. The international metropolises sing and sing every night and have a developed nightlife, but the rural towns are simple and boring, traditional Puritans The living habits still dominate here, although now the rural towns are also beginning to be dominated by entertainment. The various parties and entertainment life of young people are no worse than those in the city.
But this couple is very traditional. They are as traditional as the most conservative American Puritans.
Some hunchbacked hostess took Chen Ang and the others to the guest room where they rested. The room was on the second floor. When the door was opened, a faint musty smell wafted out. The house was quite big. Although there was a bit of musty smell, it was still clean. , Chen Ang touched the tabletop, and there was no dust on it.
This is strange, it is a big house with thirty rooms.
And Chen Ang also came suddenly, he came one afternoon earlier than Nick, without any prior notice.
Anyone who lives in a big house knows that it is unrealistic to maintain the house for a long time. The kitchen without the habit of firing a fire will collect dust. A room for young people, let alone two widowed middle-aged couples.
How could they have the energy to tidy up more than thirty rooms? It should be covered with white cloth everywhere, and most of the unused rooms should be sealed up.
Chen Ang put down his luggage and went to look for Nick. Nick lived next door to him. As soon as he stepped in, he found that it was also very clean and musty, but there was no dust, not even in the corners.
Nick didn't talk about Chen Ang calling him here suddenly, but like chatting, he naturally took out some information about the owner of this house from Chen Ang. Their words were clever and they exchanged a lot of information. It was very natural, and at the same time, he didn't reveal a single word about his identity.
Enough to keep eavesdroppers from knowing anything.
"There are many portraits and sculptures of religious symbols, including the Madonna, the Son, and some biblical figures." Nick joked: "You should be very interested!"
"I'm more curious about..." Chen Ang pointed to the thing hanging on the ceiling directly opposite the big bed in Nick's room. It was a doll about the size of a human palm with eyes sewn up with buttons. The doll's face The other organs, the nose and the mouth, were painted on with clumsy paintbrushes like graffiti.
"Lie on the bed, open your eyes and look at this thing, how does it feel?"
Not only was Nick not afraid, but when Chen Ang said this, he was a little curious. When he lay back, a black bald head fell on the head of the bed, and his eyes were facing where the doll was: "It's pretty cute... If I had A daughter. I’ll play with dolls with her, and you know I’m going to be the kind of dad who can put down his figure and be very accessible.”
"You have to have a daughter first!" Chen Ang said flatly.
"Also, before you have a daughter, you must first have a wife, but you don't have..."
Nick lay on the bed and said: "I just went to the toilet, can you imagine? Such a big house doesn't even have a mirror! I was curious and asked the woman who brought me here, she said: The mirror is the door , will make you see bad things, if you want to live quietly and alone in this kind of place, it is best not to see the mirror. So... "
"So she stole your luggage secretly?" Chen Ang said calmly.
"She has very light hands and feet, but I can still find out... It's not easy for people like me to hide it from me." Nick said: "It sounds like she also rummaged through your luggage. But the secret of people like us won't be like this Easy to spot... is she looking for a mirror?"
"Anything a superstitious old man can do is possible!" Chen Ang didn't seem surprised.
"And did you smell it?" Nick moved his nose, got up and sniffed around, he turned his head and said to Chen Ang: "There is a faint smell here... There are many kinds of smells, and I happen to be very familiar with this one." The relaxed expression on Nick's face gradually changed, and his eyes became sharper at this moment, but this feeling disappeared soon.
He turned into a funny black man again.
Chen Ang walked around the house. He lifted the floor stand with his feet, and drew two straight lines with white and red powder under the floor stand at the door, blocking the doorway.
"Is there any special significance to this?" Nick asked.
"Salt can prevent evil damage, and red brick powder has the effect of preventing enemies from approaching in Haitian witchcraft." Chen Ang twisted the white powder, and it was easy to determine that it was salt and it was unfiltered crude. Salt and red brick powder are a bit difficult to judge, but fortunately, he is familiar with the mysterious cultures of various countries and regions.
"We usually use cinnabar there!" Chen Ang put down the carpet and said.
"Cinnabar is more useful, or is salt and red brick more useful." Nick asked curiously: "I have never seen you handle a case before! Let me tell you, when I saw your resume, I was really overwhelmed." Surprised."
"In the hands of experts, everything works. We play by the rules..."
"Oh! Tell me the truth!" Nick said, "We're partners now, aren't we? Tell me some little secrets about your industry!"
Chen Ang said helplessly: "Okay! Let me say something... In folk witchcraft, there is a very important principle, believe it or not! Some magic works by relying on energy, just like Kama Taj, mages collect Energy, turns energy into a weapon, so I say they play by the rules. But there are some magics, they work on belief."
"The mage's will makes it work!"
"So at that time, the will of the subject is also very important. Once you don't believe in witchcraft, its power will be greatly reduced, because the world is material, witchcraft is conscious, and consciousness can act on consciousness, but Difficult to act on matter."
"So, stand firm in your convictions."