False evidence

Chapter 178 The Dead Man's Furnace

One of the key landmarks hidden in the human skin map inside Mao Zangjin's birdcage has been found.

At first, we all thought it was a building, but Yan Fengwei said that such a building could not possibly exist.

However, on the day Fang Ling had her accident, Xiao Shen, who had rushed over with her, unexpectedly discovered a clue.

The so-called 'building' turned out to be a small stove in the kitchen.

It was drizzling outside. Pidan, Xiao Shensan, and I each took our bowls and chopsticks and ate hot pot in front of the small stove.

With his mouth stuffed full, Xiao Shen asked indistinctly: "Are these kinds of private kitchens common in the South? If so, why haven't I seen them before?"
I shook my head and said, "Ordinary families only care about practicality; special meals are something only wealthy families can afford."

"Was Fang Cheng's family landlords before?"

"No, Uncle Cheng said that this house was allocated during the land reform. Besides, there are only three rooms in this courtyard. What landlord would be so stingy?"

Pidan said, "Shuangshan has been a cemetery for a long time, and it used to be a rural area where there were no rich people."

I put down my chopsticks and looked the 'small stove' in front of me up and down, and found it increasingly strange.

The so-called "small stove" was actually a separate stove with a brick chimney leading directly to the roof. In the past, which ordinary family would have the extra money to install such an unnecessary and luxurious stove?

Seeing Xiao Shen San reach for more meat in the casserole, my heart suddenly skipped a beat. "Oh no!"

"What's wrong?" Shen San and Pi Dan asked at the same time.

I didn't have time to answer them; I rushed over with a basin of water and extinguished the fire.

The ashes from the firewood were stirred up and flew everywhere, making the entire pot of earthenware inedible.

"What are you doing? It's already boiling, what a waste!" Xiao Shen San complained.

Pidan seemed to have realized something too, "The map shows a small stove, could it be that we're here to eat casserole?"

Shen San was taken aback: "Yeah... I just heard about Er Guangtou's experience, and I felt frustrated and wanted to drink, so I forgot about this."

I looked around and reached into the furnace wall to touch it.

"Be careful not to burn yourself!" Pidan warned.

I rubbed the ashes off my hands and said, "This small stove probably wasn't used more than a few times after it was built."

Pidan said, "Could this house have been built shortly before the land reform? Judging from Uncle Cheng's appearance, he must have been very frugal. They probably had honeycomb briquettes back then..."

"Would burning honeycomb briquettes be cheaper than burning firewood?" I shook my head instinctively. "No, no, no, that doesn't make any sense."

"What on earth have you come up with, you little rascal?" Little Shen scratched his head, "Are you trying to drive this old man crazy with worry?"

"If the small stove in the southern climate hadn't been used for decades, it wouldn't have collapsed, but it wouldn't have remained so intact."

I pointed to a small pile of firewood to the side, "This firewood is half dry and half wet, so it must have been collected not long ago. In other words, this small stove has only been used once or twice recently..."

"Is there anything to eat?" A deep, muffled voice suddenly came from behind.

Turning my head, I saw Lu Zelin walking in, his face flushed and swaying.

He hadn't actually drunk much; he'd probably been without food for days because of his master's death, and the emotional turmoil had caused him to pass out. Now that he was awake, the aroma of the clay pot made him inevitably hungry.

I asked Pidan to find him some food.

After wolfing down his food, he finally regained some of his vitality.

Seeing us gathered around the small stove, he walked over and looked around. Suddenly, he exclaimed "Huh?" and then looked at the casserole that hadn't been taken down yet. He asked blankly, "You guys aren't having hot pot here, are you?"

Before we could answer, he seemed to have come to his senses completely and shouted, "Nonsense! This stove is for the dead!" The three of us were startled.

"What did you say?" I asked anxiously.

Just like I had done, he vigorously wiped the inside of the furnace, brought his fingers to his nose to smell, and nodded, saying, "That's it, this is the 'dead man's furnace'."

He said that, but his eyes darted around, and then he suddenly turned and ran out.

Through the door, I could see him standing in the yard, looking up.

A short while later, he came in again, his face showing not only confusion but also a hint of excitement.

I noticed he looked strange, so I asked him what was wrong.
His answer surprised everyone.

"I never expected that the owner of this house would be someone in the same industry."

"A fellow tomb raider?" Xiao Shen asked me in surprise, "Fang Cheng is also a tomb raider?"

"Nonsense! How could that be!"

Lu Zelin looked around and asked, "Whose house is this?"

I said it was from an elder relative's family, but that elder was originally a farmer who later became a veterinarian through self-study and had nothing to do with tomb raiding.

Even though it was daytime, Lu Zelin's eyes emitted a faint green light.

Just as I was puzzled, he suddenly said to me and Shen San very solemnly:

"Before my master passed away, he told me to come and seek refuge with you two. Now, I'm giving you a gift as a token of my respect."

As he spoke, he told us to step aside, took the earthenware pot out of the stove, and added more firewood back in.

However, while we lit the fire on the bottom layer of the three-tiered stove, he simply stuffed the firewood into the top layer.

He lit the firewood, then added a large amount of firewood and straw, and suddenly brought over a basin of water to extinguish the fire.

As a result, the smoke and dust became ten times denser than before, making it impossible for anyone to stay inside.

Several people ran into the yard. Lu Zelin rubbed his nose and pointed to the kitchen roof for us to see what was different.

Looking up, there was nothing special about it except for birds flying back and forth above the roof and a few birds perched on the roof.

After looking at it for a while, Xiao Shen suddenly said, "Is that chimney blocked?"

Hearing him say that, I realized something was wrong. The chimney of the small stove was originally straight up and down, but at this time, the room was filled with thick smoke, and the chimney opening with the baffle was only emitting a small amount of smoke.

Lu Zelin said that the chimney was indeed blocked, but it was not caused by accumulated soot or something falling into the chimney opening. Rather, it was because the furnace was originally built that way.

I found it really disgusting. How could a house meant for living people be a furnace for the dead?

By this time, the smoke and dust in the kitchen had mostly dissipated. Lu Zelin led the way inside, and the four of us only glanced at the stove before Pidan, Shen San, and I were all stunned.

Surprisingly, some shiny things were wrapped in the damp, dark ash from the grass and wood!
The group stepped forward, and Xiao Shen San found a tree branch and used it to pry out the things one by one.

When they got everything out of the furnace, he and Pidan were completely dumbfounded.

The shock I felt was ten or even a hundred times stronger than theirs.

It was as if I was drunk, and I felt dizzy and disoriented.

What was pulled out of the furnace was all gold and silver jewelry! There were even more than a dozen silver dollars!
(End of this chapter)