【Hua Ning】Throat seal

At a quarter past five, Yuan Guang brought him the news of the auction.

The time was much earlier than expected—it was not yet dark outside, the clouds were sparse and scattered, and the warm sun cleared the clouds and fog, which was a rare good weather in the first month.The invitation card with bronzing and sealing varnish was flung in front of him unceremoniously, and it was stacked together with the messy papers on his desk. The flamboyant signature was like a bright trap waiting for him to jump.

He tore open the envelope with a jackknife, and at a glance found the address amidst the blah blah blah.The agreed place is not far from here. It takes 10 minutes by car at most, passing through three traffic light intersections, and has to avoid two police patrols on the way-two places, which are a bit tricky, but it doesn't matter, he thought, as long as there is a source of light to accompany him, he You don't need to worry about the ubiquitous police.

He removed the wax, crumpled the envelope and threw it out, let it spin on the table and almost fell to the floor.Yuan Guang picked up the black top hat on the coat rack and handed it to him, he took it silently and put it on his head.

"Let's go," he said.

They set off from the mansion when it was getting dark, and the afterglow of the setting sun fell all over the ground, like a thin layer of snow on the dome.The people who followed were dismissed by him with a wave of his hand. The lights in the living room flickered for a moment and then went out. He lowered the brim of his hat, and the dark shadow covered his cheeks, revealing only a pair of fairly bright eyes.

The cane he carried with him was useless at the moment—although he himself didn’t like this cane, or rather he hated it. To pretend to carry it.Yuan Guang put on his seat belt and buckled it up. During the 30-second interval of waiting for the red light, he gave him an overview of the planning process.He didn't speak, just held his chin and looked out of the window through a glass, with an expression of wandering outside.The young Deputy Director of the Metropolitan Police Department did not wait for his answer. He raised his eyes to the rearview mirror and frowned slightly.

"...Hey, are you listening, Hanako?"

Hanako—that's what they called him.These two words are used as a pseudonym for public appearance, or another identity card displayed to the outside world.Casinos, trading venues, and information shops, no matter which side is full of good and bad people, only by taking out the card 'Hanako' can you play a wonderful hand of good cards in the eyes of tigers.

"I'm listening," Hanako looked back, "What did you just say? You want me to buy that girl for you... and in exchange, we'll stay the same for the next year, right? ?”

Yuan Guang couldn't deny it, clicked his tongue lightly, and tapped his fingers impatiently on the steering wheel, "What kind of well water doesn't violate the river water... just turn a blind eye and close one eye, it doesn't matter how you make trouble in the underground casino, but if you dare If you do something out of the ordinary, Brother Hui will never let you go."

Huazi couldn't help laughing, "How dare I."

He showed the wax to the waiter—there was no need for the invitation, just the wax that was almost torn apart when he violently opened the letter, and it became a special pass.They stepped on the soft red carpet into the hall, and were soon invited to be seated. Yuan Guang, wearing a mask that covered half of his face, stood behind Hanako honestly playing the role of bodyguard. The so-called target is today. The finale product of the evening was locked in an iron cage and was tightly covered by a thick red cloth.

The trading floor is on the third floor underground—away from sunlight and fresh air. The stands are arranged in a spiral, with narrow and long stairs, winding around and full of seats.The air was full of the pungent smell of burnt soot, mixed with a little sweet rust, Yuanguang frowned in disgust, resisting the desire to raise his hand to cover his nose.

After Hanako sat down, there was no more sound.He fell back and sank into the soft backrest. He didn't ask the price, and he didn't take a second look at the product, as if he wanted to minimize his presence. The passing merchants ignored him, and didn't even People cast redundant, scrutinizing glances at him.

The second half of the auction was unsatisfactory. The scattered goods were quickly bought—or jade, or jewelry, most of which were rare and rare things that were rarely seen. Soon, some people booed and booed, expressing their dissatisfaction , so the finale product has undoubtedly become the most persistent bargaining chip for the merchants. Yuanguang raised the price with them, spending money like water, which aroused the dissatisfaction of most merchants-this is an anonymous auction, and no one can recognize the person sitting at him. Who is the silent young man at the back? He is thin and small, wrapped in a black cloak, almost his whole body sinks into the soft sofa, his eyes are covered by a mask inlaid with feathers, he doesn't say a word It made people wonder if he was still awake.

Yuanguang's attitude is tough, determined to take down the 'commodity' hidden in the iron cage, no matter how persuading and threats from the bottom, he will not back down and make concessions.The auctioneer didn't intend to interfere with their private communication, and the bidder negotiated the conditions in bad Japanese, but Yuanguang ignored him, and his patience was exhausted after repeated encounters.He walked towards this side with creaking fists, his clumsy body moved on the narrow and slender stairs, the mask could hardly cover the trembling fat on his face.

"I have given you the best conditions, and even exhausted my patience and tolerance," he scolded sharply, "Which way are you mixed in? Report your name! Don't be ignorant there, you don't know the heights of the sky and the earth of--"

Yuan Guang heard a sound coming from his side, as soft as a deer running swiftly through the jungle, the sound was so fleeting that it was almost imperceptible.His hand that was about to draw the gun was pressed down, and out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of the boy in the shadows yawning.The boy was lazily waking up from a nap, carelessly hooking and pulling on the ribbon of the mask, his fingertips so white that they were almost transparent.The beautiful feathers fluttered to the ground in the light, revealing a pair of gilt eyes, the depths of the pupils were as dark as ink, like a poisonous snake dormant in mottled spots, pulling out its letter and showing a pair of sharp fangs.

The skin was hidden in the black clothes, it was too white, shrouded by the dim light, like a beast that had shed its body and stretched out its murderous intent.The bony hand pressed against the brim of the hat, and the cane slammed on the carpet with a thud, a sudden chill erupted in the golden eyes, so fierce that it seemed that it would rush forward desperately to bite the prey in the next second.

"This one of mine," he said calmly, his voice was still childish, but it was as cold as cold water in a pond, and he dragged out the ending lazily: "Go on, what is this about me?"

The man stopped talking - he stopped in the middle of the spiraling stairs, staring blankly at the boy's face, the fists clenched by his side tremblingly released, his palms were covered with sticky sweat.

Hanako squinted her eyes and laughed, looking at the stunned auctioneer, "Go on."

There was a dead silence in the arena, only the slight sound of Yuan Guang lowering his head to pick up the mask could be heard.Hanako lowered her eyelashes, with a bored expression, her golden eyes were mostly covered by her long and narrow eyelashes, as if she would fall asleep in the next second.

It took only an hour before and after the auction, and some discordant episodes occurred in the middle, forcing him to show his face in the anonymous auction.At the end, Hanako didn't wear a mask, and walked through the promenade loudly. The underground businessman who had provoked the trouble earlier shrank aside, like a sheep that had seen a leopard, and walked away dejectedly.

"Boring." He sneered.

They waited in the lobby for a while before being invited by the waiter to the tea room to take a rest.Hanako and the organizer briefly met and shook hands. The other party politely expressed their apology for the farce just now, and decided to give him a 40% reduction in the final bid for the finale product as compensation.

He accepted the apology—who would have trouble with money?The organizer smiled hypocritically and flattered a few words, and finally left the room with a bowl of hot tea.And the cage that was used as a trophy was lying in a corner of the tea room, and the girl locked in it seemed to have woken up at this moment, and was curled up in an unknown corner, sobbing softly.

Yuan Guang lifted off the dusty red cloth, and quickly found the key to open the lock.Hanako sat on the sofa and sipped tea, she seemed not interested in the 'commodity' she bought with a lot of money.The bowl of warm tea ran out after a few sips, and the remaining tea dregs exuded a clear fragrance. Before the waiter came to refill the tea for the second time, Yuan Guang took the girl's hand and walked in front of him.

"I have to take her back," he said. "She was one of the students who disappeared before. I don't know if I can contact the family."

Hanako raised her eyes lazily.

The girl was not tall, she seemed to be as old as him, with light-colored hair hanging down, she was huddling behind Yuanguang and crying, her shoulders trembling slightly, fluffy, like a frightened small animal.

He stared at her soft hair for a moment, then raised his eyebrows and beckoned to her, "Come here."

The girl shrank her shoulders and raised her head tremblingly to look at him.

Those are a pair of light-colored eyes, it can't be said whether they are pink or red, more like two colors blended together, smudged into a pool of ink marks.She kept crying, so her eyes were also filled with water, so clear that she could see from the center of her eyes to the bottom of her heart. It's no wonder that they became the "finale commodity" that the underground merchants looted.

Yuan Guang frowned, and subconsciously stretched out his hand in front of the girl, "...Hello."

Huazi ignored him, and waved again, as if coaxing, with a soft tone: "Come here."

The girl was still a little scared, still in shock, looked up at Yuanguang, then at him, took a while to make up her mind, sniffed, and took two steps cautiously towards him.

"What's your name?" He patted the top of the girl's hair.

"Baxun, Ba..." The little girl hiccupped and covered her mouth immediately, her face and ears turning red with embarrassment.Huazi fed her a sip of tea, and waited for her to breathe a sigh of relief before replying intermittently: "Baxun Ningning..."

It's an uncommon name, at least not a nondescript name that won't be followed, kidnapped, and auctioned off in places like this.Hanako didn't speak any more, she rubbed her soft hair comfortingly, and then handed her back to Yuan Guang.

"Take her away," he stood up with his cane, "let the driver take me back."

So the little girl was led out of the house by Yuan Guang holding hands.She was scarred and staggered, walking and turning around, looking at him through the mist as thin as a cicada's wing.Her face was stained with wet tears, her clothes were dirty and messy, leaving a pair of clear and clean eyes in his memory.