refining fire

Yunfeng Mountain Beishan——

Wu Shaolong found this place according to the address he got from the investigation, and it was Yunfeng Mountain again. It seemed that this mountain was really outstanding, and some memories of the past could not help coming to his mind—since he lost contact with Jin Ye, he hadn't been here for two years.It's just that Jin Ye has always lived on the west side of the mountain, and now he came to a group of villas in a mountain marsh in Beishan.

He walked to a courtyard surrounded by pines and cypresses and rang the doorbell.

The person who opened the door was exactly the person he was looking for—a 14-year-old boy named She Jiaxu.

The boy's height is around 175, and he has an immature appearance, but his eyes are as sharp as knives. Under his gaze, a biting chill hits, making Wu Shaolong feel his back suddenly tense.

The young man's lips were thin and pursed lightly, and there was no trace of blood. His skin was also pale, like a person who hadn't seen the sun all year round.Because it is still in the development stage, the slender limbs look particularly thin.Although he looks thin on the surface, the muscles hidden under the clothes are very strong, and the arms with slightly protruding veins give people the impression that there is a ruthlessness hidden in him.

Before Wu Shaolong came, he knew that She's family was a famous art family. His grandfather and father were both painters, but his father passed away not long after he was born, so when She Jiaxu was two or three years old, the family began to focus on nurturing him as an only child.It may also be due to good genetics. She Jiaxu is very talented. Under the influence of this artistic atmosphere since childhood, he has already won many awards at the age of 14.

She Jiaxu's mother is a career-oriented strong woman. Since her husband passed away, she has been busy with work and traveled all over the world. She Jiaxu lived with her grandfather until she was 12 years old. She didn't come back here until her grandfather passed away two years ago. Mom lives.

"My name is Wu Shaolong. Someone directed me to come here to find you." Wu Shaolong introduced himself.

"Please come in."

Wu Shaolong was introduced into the house. The color of this house is cool gray, with bright dark geometric decorations, and several abstract oil paintings dotted on the walls, giving the whole a high-end modern art style.

"Are you alone at home?" Wu Shaolong asked.

She Jiaxu didn't answer, but walked to the cooking counter silently and poured him a glass of water.

"Where are your family members?" Wu Shaolong asked again.

She Jiaxu sat down on the sofa opposite him, narrowed his eyes and said, "I'm on a business trip."

"How can you, a child, let strangers in casually? What if I am a bad person?" Wu Shaolong took a sip of water from his glass and said casually.

She Jiaxu finally showed a smile on his poker face, but the smile was very cold, he said: "Hahaha, interesting, bad guy? It depends on how you define "bad guy". If you really plot against me, Then he is probably dead by now!" After speaking, he pointedly looked at the cup in Wu Shaolong's hand.

Wu Shaolong shook his hand holding the cup, this smile and what he just heard sent chills down his spine.

"Just kidding, don't worry, the water is fine, I know who you are... and I also know why you are here." Seeing that he was a little startled, She Jiaxu added lightly.

Only now did Wu Shaolong feel that the boy in front of him was really not simple, and this time he might really have found the right one.He put down his glass and decided to get straight to the point: "Okay, then I won't introduce myself any more. Since you already know why I'm here, then...can you help me achieve my goal?"

"Yes, no problem." The boy spread his hands and answered happily.But he suddenly put away his smile, looked at Wu Shaolong coldly and said, "It's just... I have conditions."

Wu Shaolong knew that it would not be cheap, he came prepared and said, "Tell me, how much will it cost?"

She Jiaxu shook his head, stood up, and said to Wu Shaolong: "Money is not attractive to me, it's too superficial."

"Then what is your condition?" Wu Shaolong couldn't think of what else he could give him besides money.

"I want a "tribute"!" The young man glanced at him coldly.

"A tribute? What tribute?" Wu Shaolong asked curiously.

"Come with me, I'll show you my personal collection." The young man stood up and walked out of the room in good spirits.

The two walked to a warehouse in the backyard of the villa. This is a tool room, which is filled with various equipment, tools, ropes, generators and other common supplies.

She Jiaxu led him to open a door leading to the basement, and a strong smell of turpentine and wood mixed with cold and damp air rushed towards him.After going down a few flights of stairs and passing through two rows of corridors made up of distorting mirrors of different shapes, they came to a studio.

This is a room with a completely different architectural style from the one on the ground—the dark gray cement walls are hung with mysterious, vivid and weird oil paintings, as well as hand-painted human anatomy diagrams. There are many specimens of animals and their anatomical diagrams. On the table are some brushes, palette knives, paints, carving knives, polishing machines and other tools. There are several exquisite sculptures displayed on the display cabinet in the distance, scattered on the ground. There are large and small picture frames and an easel, as well as some unfinished works.

"Kill...can you do it?" She Jiaxu looked at him coldly and said.

Hearing these words, Wu Shaolong met the boy's eyes, and he felt that the cold room was even more eerie.The weird paintings around him seem to be watching him, waiting for his reply.

Cold sweat quickly broke out on Wu Shaolong's back.

He calmed down, and replied, "As long as I can achieve my goal—"

"That's good, one life is exchanged for one thing, can you accept this condition?"

"The "tribute" you said is human life?" This was unexpected by Wu Shaolong, "Do you want me to kill people myself?"

"That's not necessary, you just bring him to me, and I'll decide how he dies!" She Jiaxu narrowed his slender eyes, and added after thinking of something, "Oh, of course, You are still needed to dispose of the corpse."

"What are you going to use it for?" Wu Shaolong didn't know whether to ask.

"That's why I brought you to my studio! I need materials to make works of art! You see, these sculptures are all bone carvings." Speaking of which, She Jiaxu excitedly picked up a delicate sculpture on the display cabinet. After fiddling with the stuff, he turned back and told Wu Shaolong: "You must have a good-looking person, I like this kind of person..."

While talking, the young man closed his eyes, with a happy smile on the corner of his mouth, as if he was enjoying something and said: "Well, I just like those things that look beautiful, destroy them, and then pass through my hands. Transformed into a work of art that is mine—"

Wu Shaolong finally saw some innocence on the child's face, but it was extremely inconsistent with what he said.

"Then why do I believe that you can help me achieve my goal?" Wu Shaolong found himself a chair and sat down, and asked.

The boy put down his beloved bone carving masterpiece, and slowly said: "I have a special ability since I was a child - I can add a curse to any face I have seen, and my father was the first person to die because of this. At that time, I was just born. Although I was still a baby, I already had a clear sense of self. My father had severe bipolar disorder and often beat my mother. That was my initial hatred—later , my father died, and my mother gradually felt that I was different from ordinary people. Not only did people around me always die strangely, but she also realized that I could see through other people's thoughts, so she always deliberately alienated me.... Yes , you guessed it right, my mother is not at home because she is too busy with work, but because she is afraid of me, she rarely comes back. Since I was a child, only grandpa has been kind to me..."

She Jiaxu talked about his experience lightly, then looked up at Wu Shaolong, and said with a light smile: "So, I know exactly what you want. First of all, you want your family business. I can tell you like this You said that the current obstacle is not your elder brother. Your elder brother can't achieve anything at all, but your father's lifespan is too long. If you want to wait for him to abdicate, it will take at least 30 years. I think you should wait Great, right? By then you will be a bad old man yourself."

"You mean to cast a spell on my father?" This was something Wu Shaolong dared not think about.

"Would you like to think about it yourself, of course, you can save his life. After all, your father's life span is artificially added, so it's really hard to choose." She Jiaxu spread his hands and said, "Besides, I also Know your other two demands: a man to kill and a man to take back."

Seeing that Wu Shaolong remained silent for a long time, She Jiaxu smiled triumphantly, and continued: "What I want to remind you is that you can't directly bring the person you want to kill as a tribute, because this person is not so Simple, even a little dangerous for me, but I can cast a spell on him, boil a frog in warm water, and boil him to death without anyone noticing... And the one you want to get back... "Here, the boy hesitated. He leaned back on the chair, shook his head and said, "This person is not easy to deal with. He is out of my control. No spell will work on him. ...So, whether this person can return to you depends on your own efforts. Unfortunately, this is the only deal I can't accept..."

After listening to his analysis, Wu Shaolong sat in a chair and thought for a long time.Finally he made up his mind, and said in a very positive tone: "Okay, I understand. Let's do it this way. ... In addition, that is to say, to achieve the first two points, I need to provide you with Two "tributes", right? Any kind of person will do?"

The boy nodded and reiterated: "He has good bones."

Wu Shaolong stood up, expressed that he could accept it, and then bid farewell to She Jiaxu. He decided to go back and look for candidates——