More than ten hours later.
Italy, Florence.
Ning Tao left the hotel where he was staying, called a taxi, and then asked the driver to drive to the Church of Our Lady of Flowers.
The taxi driver was an experienced driver. He drove the car very steadily and not very fast. Ancient buildings pass by the car window, and the sky is as clean as a blue cloth. This city that once hatched the European Renaissance gives people a feeling of traveling through time and space.
"First time in Italy?" The old driver broke the silence in the car with broken English.
"Well, it's the first time." Ning Tao said.
"Do you want a beauty? A pure Italian beauty, not a woman from Eastern Europe." A kind smile appeared on the corner of the old driver's mouth.
"Uh... It's better not to leave. I'm just here to enjoy the scenery." Ning Tao felt embarrassed and declined.
But the old driver handed Ning Tao a business card: "You Chinese people are shy. If you want something, just call the number above and I will send the girl to the hotel."
Ning Tao took the business card given by the old Italian driver and didn't know whether to keep it or reject it.
Does our family look so much like prostitutes
The taxi came to the side of the Church of Our Lady of Flowers. Ning Tao paid the fare and got out of the car.
In front is Giotto's Bell Tower, which is a bell tower made of marble in three colors: cream, dark green and pink. It complements the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore next to it and is also one of Florence's iconic ancient buildings.
Ning Tao raised his head and glanced at the top of the clock tower, and an idea came to his mind. Instead of rushing to the house where Hanks lived, he bought a ticket and climbed the narrow stairs to Giotto's bell tower.
The idea in his mind is to leave blood locks in the world's most famous ancient buildings and create an exclusive fast lane network. From now on, no matter where he wants to go, he can reach his destination in a few seconds. Now that you're in Florence, why don't you leave a blood lock in Giotto's Bell Tower
When they were almost at the top, another group of young lovers were walking down. Ning Tao made way against the wall and waited for the young lovers to pass by before continuing to climb up.
There is a bell hanging on the top of Giotto's bell tower. I don't know how many hundred years of history it is. The bell is full of traces of erosion over time.
No matter how large and solid a thing is, time will eventually take it away.
Ning Taosi took a look and quickly found the other party. He used the ladder under his feet and jumped directly onto the solid stone beam hanging the iron bell in three empty steps. Then he blew away the dust, bit off his finger at a suitable place and drew a blood lock.
After drawing the blood lock, Ning Tao returned to the ground and stood in front of the window looking at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Flowers. The huge orange-red dome is the symbol of the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore and one of the greatest masterpieces of the European Renaissance. Then he saw the house that Maria was talking about, which was on a street not far from the Church of Our Lady of Flowers.
"Why did Hanks rent that place? If it was to avoid trouble, he should have chosen a very remote place. This place is a world-famous tourist attraction, but he rented a house in this remote place. Could it be... that There is a skull nearby, and he doesn't dare to take it, but he can stand in the house he rented and look at it?" Ning Tao suddenly had this thought in his heart, and he couldn't help but get excited.
Ning Tao immediately left Giotto's Bell Tower, resisted the urge to go into the Church of Santa Maria del Fiore, and went directly to the house Maria was talking about.
This is a two-story building with an iris symbol carved on the doorpost and the number 68 on the door plate. Everything matches Maria's description. The front door of the small building was locked, and the windows on the first and second floors were closed tightly, and the curtains were drawn, making it impossible to see what was going on inside.
Ning Tao came to the door and gently stepped on the floor tiles under his feet. He soon found a loose floor tile. Then he squatted down, picked up the floor tile, and found the door opening in a small pit under the brick. key.
Maria told him about this place where the key was hidden.
Ning Tao opened the door with the key and walked in. In front of him is a living room, which is not big. There are two sets of old fabric sofas. Behind the sofa is the fireplace, with a little charcoal and unburned firewood still inside. There are also some home appliances, but their styles and models are quite old, and I don’t know if they can still be used even if they are powered on. Because no one had cleaned it for so long, the floor, furniture, and appliances in the house were all covered with a layer of dust.
Ning Tao raised his head and glanced at the beam, then used the "Ladder Under His Foot" and took three steps in the air, walking up the beam like a staircase.
The beams were covered with dust, and there was a cigarette box placed in an inconspicuous dark corner.
Ning Tao moved over and took out the hidden cigarette case. He returned to the ground and opened the cigarette box, which contained a folded piece of paper. He took out the paper and opened it. There was only one sentence on the paper.
The content of that sentence is translated as: Evil things need to experience the final judgment.
Ning Tao couldn't help but frowned: "Just one sentence, what kind of clue is this? The Doomsday Judgment is a story in the Bible, do I still have to look for clues from the Bible? Hanks, Hanks, you just Don’t know how to write an accurate address?”
Hanks definitely knew where the skull was hidden, but he used such a vague term to describe the "treasure spot." His original intention is not difficult to understand. He was probably worried about being discovered and finding the skull, so he used such a vague sentence to describe it. But he didn't know that he was causing trouble for a treasure hunter like Ning Tao who had never been to Florence.
Ning Tao threw away the cigarette box and only collected the paper in the cigarette box. He glanced at the dusty corridor, then walked over and climbed up the stairs to the second floor.
There are three rooms on the second floor, two bedrooms and a study.
Ning Tao entered two bedrooms one after another, but found nothing. It was best that he opened the study door.
There are many books in the study room, with many kinds. The desk is placed by the window, and the curtains are drawn, but if they are opened, there will be plenty of light for reading and working on the desk, and you can also enjoy the scenery of the old town of Florence.
Ning Tao did not rush to open the curtains to ventilate the study. Instead, he opened the small medicine box and took out the small porcelain bottle containing the incomplete version of Xun Zu Dan. He unplugged the cork and removed the residual version of Xun Zu Dan contained in the small porcelain bottle. Pour it into the palm of your hand, then wake up the smelling state of your nose and take a deep sniff.
After his eyes were temporarily "blind", the light returned to his field of vision. The scene in front of him remained unchanged but there was one more person.
This guy is Hanks.
Hanks stood in front of the window. The curtains were open and kept slightly raised by the wind. Through the open window, you can see the majestic orange-red dome of the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore at a glance.
Hanks' gaze remained fixed on the dome, motionless.
The synchronously activated Whisperers also captured some sounds, and they appeared in Ning Tao's mind.
"Hanks, do you want sugar in the coffee you want?" This was Maria's voice. The voice was clear, as if she was speaking from Ning Tao's position.
"Maria, I have to go back to the United States. Will you go to the United States with me?"
This is Hanks' voice.
This is a closed space, and the remaining energy of the soul cannot easily dissipate. This is why Ning Tao is not in a hurry to open the curtain. Although Hanks only left a vague clue, he also has his own way to find more clues.
These conversations and Hanks standing in front of the window looking at the dome of the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore are obviously not at the same point in time and space in the past, and there is a sense that the audio track is out of sync with the timeline. Maybe seeing people in the past time and space and hearing voices in the past time and space is already a miracle.
Hanks suddenly turned around and looked in the direction of Ning Tao.
But with just this glance back, Ning Tao was stunned on the spot.
It's like the face-changing in Sichuan Opera. It's clearly Hanks, but he turns into another person in the blink of an eye.
This person Ning Tao is no stranger at all, she is the woman in red.
The extremely beautiful face, the green eyes, and the eyes piercing the eyes seemed like a sharp sword with petrification magic, instantly penetrating Ning Tao's body and turning him to stone!
She suddenly opened her lips and moved them twice.
Snowflakes suddenly surged on the whisperer on Ning Tao's wrist, and a strange woman's voice appeared in his mind.
"You come," she said.
"Can you speak? Who are you? Where are you?" Ning Tao was extremely excited, and his short sentence was full of questions.
The screen trembled for a moment, and then collapsed like a mirror.
The study is still the same study, but the curtains are drawn, and the desk and bookshelf are full of dust. The afternoon sun shines in through the gaps in the curtains, casting a bright color on the gray and faded floor, giving people the feeling of a yellowed old photo.
Ning Tao was stunned for at least two minutes before moving, but his mind was still filled with the face of the woman in red and her words - Come on.
You come.
Where to go
No way of knowing.
Ning Tao shook his head vigorously, and then entered the residual version again to find Zudan's drug allergic reaction. After his eyes were temporarily "blind", a new scene appeared. But the small building no longer exists, and even the Cathedral of Our Lady of Flowers no longer exists. Here is a dense forest, and a bare-butt man with long flowing hair is drilling wood to make fire. Next to him was his weapon, a stone ax polished from stone.
Once captured once, the soul energy remaining in a certain space will be converted and consumed. Although understood from the perspective of the law of conservation of energy, they will not really disappear, but it is difficult and complicated to capture it again. He simply couldn't do it now.
Ning Tao did not dare to enter the incomplete version of the Zunzhun Pill for the third time due to drug allergic reaction, so he put the residual version of the Zunzhun Pill away: "If I am lucky enough to find the skull this time, I will refine a new Xunzu Pill. , give this one to Jiang Hao to help her improve her demon spirit power."
He put the small porcelain bottle back into the small medicine box, then came to the window and opened the curtains.
The golden sunshine shines in front of you, and your eyes are filled with golden light. The huge dome of the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore is clearly visible just across the street.
A smile couldn't help but appear on the corner of his mouth. He had roughly guessed where the skull was hidden.