Chapter 13 Painter 4. The truth behind the painter’s death and the secrets hidden in blue and white porcelain
After Wu Yu came back from the painter's house, he was very confused about what the painter said: "If what the painter said is true, then what is the relationship between Xinluo's grandfather and the legendary white fox Xinluo? Could it be..." Wu Yu thought that the current Xinluo might be the legendary white fox, and he couldn't help but panic.
After waiting until the next night, the old man finally stayed in the old house and never went out, so Wu Yu was unable to take action.
On the third night, Wu Yu didn't dare to enter the backyard and was alone in his room thinking. Suddenly, the phone rang. It was Xinluo who called to say that his grandfather had returned to his hometown today and asked Wu Yu to look after the old house. Wu Yu happily agreed.
After hanging up, he went straight to the backyard.
After stealing the blue and white porcelain and the maid painting, Wu Yu walked nervously towards the painter's home. Along the way, he kept his head down, hiding from people he knew.
After finally reaching the old man's home, Wu Yu saw that the gate was closed and it was dark inside. It seemed that the old man was not at home. Wu Yu's heart skipped a beat and he wondered what to do.
Wu Yu guessed that the old man should still be in the portrait gallery on Second Street, so he hurriedly turned around and walked out of the alley.
Wu Yu hurried to Second Street and found that almost all the shops were closed. There were no street lights and it was dark everywhere. A cold wind blew from somewhere and Wu Yu shivered.
"What should I do? Let him go. But...if the old man doesn't come back for a long time, then the secret of blue and white porcelain will never be solved. I will also not be able to rest in peace. And maybe Su Wei's death may be related to the secret of blue and white porcelain."
Wu Yu hesitated and walked out of the second street. He was in a daze and didn't know what to do for a moment.
Suddenly, in the silence, his phone rang strangely. He took it out and saw that it was an unfamiliar call from Wuzhen. He answered the phone in confusion.
"Where are you?" came a hoarse voice from the other end.
For a moment, Wu Yu could not distinguish the other person's voice and thought it was Grandpa Xinluo. He was very flustered and stammered, "Is there something wrong?"
"Don't panic, I'm a painter. Did you get the things?" The voice on the other end gradually became clearer, and Wu Yu's heart, which had been hanging in his throat, finally settled down.
"I've been looking for you everywhere. Where have you been?" Wu Yu felt that the painter was mysterious and somewhat suspicious.
"I just came back from the portrait gallery. You didn't come last night, so I thought I'd call you tonight to ask."
"How do you have my phone number?"
"Sir, you tend to forget things easily. It was you who left it for me."
Wu Yu was puzzled. Why couldn't he remember leaving a phone number for him? Did he find out from someone else?
Despite his wild thoughts, Wu Yu still walked quickly towards the painter's home.
It was even more deserted and quiet along the way.
Wu Yu hurried to the painter's home and saw that the painter was impatient. Wu Yu began to worry whether the painter would deceive him.
The painter took the picture of the maid and couldn't wait to spread it out on a clean table.
The painter looked at the girl in the painting carefully, praising her constantly and saying, "I remember when I was a child, one night, a man in black came to see the master. It was raining outside, and he used an umbrella to block his view, so I couldn't see him clearly. He whispered to the master for a while, and the master nodded and went out with him. Before leaving, the master turned around and told me to close the door early, saying that he might not come back. At that time, I saw that man was mysterious, and the master's face seemed wrong. Out of curiosity, I followed him out. After walking for a long time, I saw that man taking the master into an inn, and I secretly followed him in. After entering, the man closed the door tightly, so I had to stick to the paper window and poke a hole with my fingers. No one would have expected that I would see the most frightening scene in my life."
"What's going on?" Wu Yu looked at him in surprise.
"The scene I saw back then was exactly the same as the scene in this picture, except that the girl in the picture has been dead for a long time."
"So, what about this picture of a maid?"
"I think my master is the only one in Wuzhen who can paint the dead so realistically, but why are there these five words 'White Fox Heart Painting' in the lower right corner..." The old man sighed softly, as if he was deep in thought, "I don't understand either..."
Wu Yu couldn't understand it. It was clearly painted by his master, so why was it signed "Xinluo"? What happened back then?
"It is very likely that the master painted this for the white fox Xinluo, or maybe..." The painter became more and more confused the more he thought about it.
"But what is the relationship between this picture of a maid and the woman in the blue and white porcelain painting?" Wu Yu asked puzzledly.
The old man looked at the blue and white porcelain painting carefully, and saw that the woman in the painting had a fascinating aura between her eyebrows. He thought to himself that the master's painting skills had reached the level of perfection .
The old man looked at it for a while, then raised his head and looked at Wu Yu. His eyes looked confused. He hesitated and said, "If my guess is correct, the woman on the blue and white porcelain may be Xin Luo."
After hearing this, Wu Yu was shocked and couldn't understand it for a moment.
"Where is the secret of blue and white porcelain hidden?" The old man looked at the maid painting and the blue and white porcelain. Suddenly, he became excited and his hands holding the blue and white porcelain began to tremble. The old man fixed his eyes on the woman in the maid painting and said excitedly: "I found it, I finally found it..."
"Really?" Wu Yu looked over in surprise and saw that the old man seemed to be going crazy.
"It should be good. Look carefully at the background of the woman on the blue and white porcelain, and then look at the background of the maid's picture." The old man's eyes were shining with excitement.
Wu Yu looked carefully for a while under the old man's reminder, and slowly found some clues. He found that the background of the girl on the blue and white porcelain was a small tree, which looked very sparse, and the background of the maid was a stone arch bridge. He seemed to think that this bridge was very familiar, as if he had seen it somewhere before. Suddenly, he thought of a place, and his eyes lit up with excitement.
"It seems that you understand, sir, but what secret is hidden there?" The painter pondered for a moment, looked at Wu Yu and said, "Let's go and take a look."
Wu Yu took the maid painting and blue and white porcelain, and went out with the painter.
They arrived at the stone arch bridge indicated in the picture and saw that there was not a single person on the street.
"It should be here." The old man murmured.
"Not really..." Wu Yu frowned and said, "Isn't there a small tree on the blue and white porcelain?"
"You may not know that decades ago, there was a small tree and an old house next to the stone arch bridge. Later, for some unknown reason, they disappeared."
"If my guess is correct, this should be the home of the legendary center."
The old man shook his head, his grey eyes showing confusion and uneasiness. Wu Yu couldn't guess what he was thinking, so he just kept silent.
In the silence, a voice suddenly rang out, startling them. Wu Yu took out his cell phone and saw that it was Yunyun calling. He hesitated for a moment and then answered the call.
"Yu, we have all returned to the old house, where have you been?" Yunyun said nervously.
"I...I have something outside."
"When can you come back?"
"In a moment."
"Okay, I'll wait for you." Yunyun said unhappily.
Wu Yu was about to hang up when he heard the old man and Xinluo talking on the other end of the phone and was stunned.
"What's wrong?" The old man looked at him puzzled.
"The owner of the blue and white porcelain is back." Wu Yu said in a whisper.
"Then go back quickly and remember to keep an eye on the master. I suspect that the master is the one who came to ask me to draw a portrait of my master. Maybe he has a certain relationship with the legendary Xinluo."
"Okay." Wu Yu turned around and hurried towards the ancient house.
Along the way, he recalled what the old man said before he left, "Could it be that the old man really has some kind of connection with the legendary Xinluo?" He murmured to himself. At the same time, he wondered why the old man came back so late, would he go to the secret room?
The more he thought about it, the more worried he became.
After returning to the old house, Wu Yu went directly to the backyard and saw that the lights in Xinluo's room were on and there were voices coming out. After listening carefully for a while, he found that the old man was also there. He was secretly happy and hurried into the old man's room, put the blue and white porcelain back to its original place, and then came out quietly.