Nie Xiaoman looked at Yan Dachuan as if he was puzzled. But the visitor didn't wait for Xiaoman to say anything, and then continued.

He said, "I would like to ask your Excellency what is the special meaning of this symbol, which looks like an eight-character symbol and a nine-character symbol? Adults are well-informed, have you seen it before? ”

Nie Xiaoman suddenly smiled at Jing Mo and said, "Jing Mo, do you think we are still idle and fine?" Or is it more fun to guess this boring dumb fan? Saying that, Xiaoman's body leaned against the back of the chair again, his legs were folded, and he used a fan with one hand to fan himself.

Jing Mo knew that Xiao Man was a little impatient with this stupid old man Yan, and said with a thin mud: "Old Mr. Yan, I guess what you mean. It seems to ask my friend to explain the symbols on this paper. But you should first explain where it came from. ”

This sentence clearly reminded him. Yan Dachuan arched his hand again, and nodded in agreement.

He said, "Yes, I'll tell you all where we came from. These two strange symbols were originally painted on the bluestone steps in front of my house. Originally, it was painted with white lead powder, and it was similar in size to this one. So I drew it on paper and came here to ask for advice. Dare to ask, Lord Nie, what kind of symbol is this after all? What's the point? ”

Nie Xiaoman looked at the visitor again, and replied lightly: "Are these two symbols painted on the steps outside your door?" Maybe some naughty child is drawing and playing with it. Why are you making such a fuss? ”

Yan Dachuan shook his head and replied, "No, by no means." My lord, I guess there must be something special in this! I've heard that when someone steps on a point, they will leave a mark that only they understand, or is it a symbol of a secret party? I've heard about the kidnappers lately, and it's terrible. Master Nie, have you ever seen such a symbol before? ”

Nie Xiaoman didn't answer immediately, but looked at Yan Dachuan's face silently, Jing Mo saw that the person's face was serious, and there was some horror in his eyes, which was definitely not like child's play.

After looking at it for a while, Nie Xiaoman said, "In that case, you can make it clearer." Where do you live? Why did you come to Jinling, probably because you resigned to avoid the Japanese people? ”

Yan Dachuan nodded and said, "Exactly, my lord." I have only been in Jinling for about 20 days, and at first I lived in the Yuelai Inn, but later because of the large expenses, I heard that there was a new house in Puti Pavilion that had just been built, so I went to rent a house. There were thirty new houses there, and I lived in number seven. ”

Jing Mo couldn't help but say: "Yes, those are all houses with walls and tiles, and the door is connected to the street." ”

Yan Dachuan agreed: "Yes." But I stayed in it for three days, and it was all right. Who knew that early yesterday morning on the 16th, I had just had breakfast. After standing at the door for a while, I saw these two symbols on the bluestone steps. I didn't think much of it at first, and I thought it was painted there by a naughty child passing by. So I told my servant Ah Fu to wipe it off. I didn't think about it last night, so I sat upstairs in the front room against the street. After a while, I accidentally lifted the curtains and looked out into the street, and I saw a dark shadow standing in front of my house. The man seemed to be peering out the front window of my house, and as soon as he saw me lift the curtains, the black figure immediately ran away, and disappeared in an instant. I was a little surprised, but this morning, the same symbol was found on the bluestone steps again! ”

After listening to these few explanations, Nie Xiaoman seemed to be slightly interested, he sat up slightly straighter, and the frequency of fanning gradually slowed down.

Xiao Man asked, "Where did you find it on the edge of the stairs this time?"

"On the right side of the stairs, it's the same as the one I found the day before.

"Could it be that your servant Ah Fu didn't wipe it off the day before and is still there?"

"No, sir. Yesterday after I had dinner, I went there to see it myself, and there was no sign of it. And the symbols found this morning are slightly different from yesterday's. The one that looks like eight hasn't changed, but the nine characters have been changed to a cross. ”

Nie Xiaoman straightened up a little more, groaned for a moment, and asked, "Have you ever received an anonymous letter or something like that before?" ”

"No, sir."

"So, have any strange friends visited recently?"

"No, sir."

Nie Xiaoman groaned again, and then asked, "So how many people are in your family?" Who are they? ”

"In addition to our old couple, we have a son and a daughter, both of whom are still young. There is also a widowed housemate, who also took refuge here with us. ”

"So there is no other man besides you?"

"No more. So I hired a manservant to do some heavy work, and that was what I called Ah Fu. ”

"Did you hire this Ah Fu in Jinling?"

"Yes, he was recommended to me by a friend of mine."

"Oh, recommended for you? How many friends do you have here? ”

"Not much, actually. One was my colleague, named Li Fuke, who was the shopkeeper of the Hongli porcelain shop. Ah Fu did it in a china shop. There are two more, one surnamed He and the other surnamed Cui, both in the pewter shop. But these two people, since I arrived in Jinling, will only meet once. They didn't come to my new house. ”

"Has the guy surnamed Li ever been here?"

"Not either."

"So, after you moved into your new house, you didn't have any friends who came to visit?"

"Yes, not really. Only Mr. Zhu, who is next door to Hongqiao, came to my side to talk twice. He is a native of Songjiang, and he used to work as a former official in the Eight Pinfu Experience Division, and he also came to take refuge. ”

Nie Xiaoman raised his eyebrows, lowered his overlapping right leg from his lap, touched his chin with his right hand, and bounced the edge of the chair with the fingers of his left hand, as if he couldn't figure it out for a while.

Jingmo has experienced a lot, but he can't think of any purpose for these two symbols after all. Is it scribbling? But according to what Yan Dachuan said, the connection was written twice, and the font code was different, which is obviously not accidental. So, what's the point? Could it be that someone is playing pranks on this old man?

But looking at this old man is very rigid, looking at his appearance is very strict, and there are not many people who know him here, who would joke with him like this. So, is there really some gang that wants to extort money from him? But this method is too weird, and Jing Mo has never heard of it.

Nie Xiaoman suddenly asked again, "What kind of person does this servant of your family think he is?" ”

Yan Dachuan replied, "My lord, do you ask Ah Fu?" He is very reliable, and when he recommended him to me, he also said that he was very honest. Besides, the two characters on that level are also very well written, and I don't feel like a rough person like him can write it. ”