What kind of divination am I doing?

Luqiao remembered the photos Wang Ming sent; the castle was magnificent and not dilapidated at all.

Therefore, Luqiao's first reaction was that the other party was deceiving him, and that the other party was obviously trying to embezzle a lot of money.

Upon hearing Lu Qiao's words, Wang Ming smiled, as if he had anticipated that Lu Qiao would have questions.

Wang Ming laughed for a moment before speaking: "Although I sent you pictures of your castle, you'll see the details when the time comes, and you'll understand as soon as you see them."

After another stretch of road, the pickup truck entered Boston's Chinatown.

"This is your aunt's inheritance, take a look!" Wang Ming pointed to the right side of the road bridge.

It's only about two or three kilometers from here to the MIT campus we just saw.

The pickup truck stopped on the next street, and Lu Qiao saw the building by following Wang Ming's outstretched hand.

The moment Luqiao saw it, his mouth dropped open, and he finally understood why the castle was so cheap!

The word "castle" is in quotation marks; it is not a real castle.

To the average person, a castle is at least a building standing on a piece of land.

It occupies at least five or six thousand square feet, or several acres.

The castle in front of us is completely miniature.

A small house, located two blocks away, has been converted into the appearance of a castle.

This castle is not even as tall as the two-story building next to it; it looks at most only one and a half stories.

The land area does look larger than that of a typical residential house, but it's only slightly larger.

Lu Qiao then realized that the photos he had seen earlier were taken from a specific angle looking up.

This castle does indeed have a front and back yard, covering an area of ​​about 200 square meters, but the usable internal area is probably only about 100 square meters.

"This is way too small!" Lu Qiao realized.

Wang Ming parked his car haphazardly on the side of the road: "I remember it was marked as 1,800 square feet, which in China would be about 200 square meters. Let's go in and take a look."

Lu Qiao followed Wang Ming toward the ancient castle in front of them.

The gate to the courtyard was open, and you could see that the left side of the gate was completely tilted.

It was obvious that the hinges of the gate were broken, and it couldn't be closed at all.

The castle in the courtyard has everything, but everything is a smaller version.

"Attorney Wang...you're calling this house, which isn't much bigger than an inflatable castle, a castle?" Lu Qiao said helplessly.

"You weren't like this just now! You were even questioning why it was only two million!"

Lu Qiao realized at this point that two million was already a high price!

Wang Ming took out a key, a very old key, covered with bronze patterns.

Wang Ming inserted the key into the door lock and turned it, then pushed open the door.

The building appears to be two stories high, but in order to resemble a castle, its actual floor area is only one and a half stories.

Wang Ming led Lu Qiao inside, and only then did Lu Qiao understand what the situation was like inside.

The interior is decorated in the style of an old building, with shelves on both sides filled with various handicrafts.

Crystal balls, tarot cards, pendant necklaces, commemorative coins, and some bottles and jars of unknown contents.

There were dreamcatchers and oddly shaped clocks on the walls, and handwritten labels were pasted next to everything.

At first glance, the prices start at three US dollars, with the most expensive being only a dozen or so US dollars.

While Luqiao was looking at the shelves, Wang Ming found a stool, stepped on it, and opened the electrical box for the entire castle.

Then Wang Ming skillfully took out a can of cat food from a corner, opened it, and placed it on the ground.

That is, the moment the can was opened, a loud stomping sound came from above.

A moment later, a thin, bony black cat emerged from the inner room, seemingly coming down from the second floor.

The hungry black cat pounced on the can of food and began to devour it.

You can hear the cat smacking its lips and the old cat's unique howling.

Wang Ming joked, "I fed this little guy a week ago, and he's still alive!"

Lu Qiao watched the black cat wolfing down its food, while Wang Ming took a stone bowl to the front desk to get some water.

After refilling the bowl, Wang Ming placed the stone water bowl next to the cat food can and petted the black cat.

But after touching it a couple of times, Wang Ming shook his head, showing off the dust and loose hair he had rubbed off.

Lu Qiao naturally understood that this was his aunt's pet.

Wang Ming looked at the black cat and explained, "Transporting a pet from the US to China would cost no less than ten thousand US dollars. You're not familiar with it either. My suggestion is to sell it here and just let it fend for itself."

"Wouldn't that be too cruel?" Lu Qiao answered instinctively.

"That's even better. The person who buys the house definitely won't want this cat. If you have any sympathy, that's another story. If you're willing to give me five thousand US dollars, I can take care of it for you until it dies. Of course, I'll let it roam freely. If it doesn't die or get lost, I'll remember to take some pictures of it for you when I have time," Wang Ming explained.

"Well, we'll talk about it later." Lu Qiao didn't know what to do either.

Lu Qiao pondered, realizing that this cat seemed to be his only family member in the world.

"No rush! Take a look first. I'll go get a glass of water. It drank some but I haven't had any yet. Do you want some?" Wang Ming said as he went to the front desk to get a glass of water.

Lu Qiao first grabbed a six-dollar aromatherapy display box and smelled it.

A cheap, artificial fragrance wafted into my nostrils.

The pungent, unpleasant smell made Lu Qiao cough involuntarily.

It seemed they had gotten too close; the road and bridge only recovered a few seconds after they moved away.

Luqiao could still smell a faint, cheap fragrance lingering in his nasal cavity.

What's so strange? Lu Qiao picked up another deck of tarot cards.

Turning to the back, you'll see familiar Chinese text: 50 meters southwest of Minyou Primary School, Shenzhou Road, Yiwu City, JH City, Tongxinyuan Industrial Park.

Lu Qiao glanced at the crystal ball beside him and exclaimed helplessly, "Attorney Wang, these tarot cards and crystal balls are all made in Yiwu!"

Goodness, these are from the Yiwu Small Commodities Market.

At this moment, Luqiao turned his head and looked at the counter connecting to the back room, which had a sign written in both Chinese and English:

Fortune telling, $20 per session.

Connecting these dots, Lu Qiao realized what was happening and asked, "Attorney Wang, could my aunt be importing goods from China and then using them to perform some kind of charlatan act in the US?"

Wang Ming nodded and handed him a glass of water: "You're probably right, because that's what we thought too."

"So, this place makes its money by selling these things?" Lu Qiao asked after taking a sip of water.

How to describe this water? It's from the tap, and it seems to have a faint smell of money about it.

Wang Ming nodded then shook his head: "I don't know. I feel like business is so-so. I guess they still have to rely on scams, like the fortune-telling tricks used in China?"

Lu Qiao walked behind the front desk and lifted the curtain to reveal two small rooms.

The door was open, leading to a dimly lit small room.

The light in the small room was purple when it was turned on.

The small room contained a sofa and a table, with a crystal ball on the table.

This is a fortune-telling room. The guests are sitting on the sofa. My aunt must have been telling fortunes here when she was alive. It looks like she has a great atmosphere.

On the other side, a half-open door leads to a bed, and a small staircase leads directly to the second floor.

Lu Qiao tried to climb up, but found he couldn't stand up straight at all.

The second floor is a warehouse, filled with product packaging boxes on the shelves.

There's a strong smell of cat fur here, so cats obviously hide here all the time.

Lu Qiao returned to the lobby and saw Wang Ming lighting another cigarette.

Wang Ming explained to Lu Qiao, "You can live here until the house is sold, which will save you money. I'll take your documents, and once the paperwork is complete, we can help you pay the inheritance tax in advance."

"Hmm." Luqiao agreed that he wouldn't have to pay for it himself.

"Once you get the inheritance, you can sell this place. After you sign the consignment agreement, you can go back to China. Just wait here. After it's sold, we'll take our commission and the inheritance tax we advanced, and the rest will be deposited into your account in China. Do you understand? Is there anything you don't understand?" Wang Ming asked.

"No," Lu Qiao replied.

Everything is paid for upfront by the law firm; Lu Qiao only needs to sign the papers and can receive the money after returning to China.

"The transfer of ownership of the estate will take about a week, and the sale will not take more than a month. You can contact me if you have any questions during this period."

Luqiao could roughly tell that this was a very mature industry, so mature that the other party was willing to make advance payments for such a large inheritance.

Wang Ming added again, "Don't worry, let me emphasize this: because we've paid the inheritance tax upfront, we're even more eager than you to sell this house and get the money back."

Wang Ming said this to convince Lu Qiao that he was not a liar.

"By the way, remember to keep your phone on and stay in touch. I'll let you know if there's any progress. I've taken your documents. I'll keep your passport with me for a day, and I'll bring it back to you tomorrow."

As Wang Ming spoke, he threw the cigarette butt into the water glass and then into the trash can. He then picked up the documents and turned to leave the room.

Luqiao naturally followed, all the way to the main gate.

"No need to deliver anymore. There's Chinatown right next door, full of Chinese people. You can pay for meals with WeChat or Alipay. It'll be ready in three days at the fastest, and a week at the latest. Wait for my good news!"

"Mmm." Lu Qiao watched Wang Mingyuan's departing figure.

Wang Ming got into the car and easily backed it out, driving it into the distance.

Lu Qiao stood there, holding the ancient key in his hand.

Lu Qiao pondered this, and decided to return home a week later.

After returning, you can earn more than seven million RMB in a month at most.

It was much less than expected, but as long as I'm frugal and have a wife and children, I should be able to live comfortably.

As Lu Qiao thought this, he turned around and looked at the miniature castle in front of him.

At least for now, this thing is still his own heritage. Luqiao took out his phone to take a picture of the castle.

Although the castle is tiny, it doesn't look the same in photos taken with a mobile phone.

Even without any reference points, as long as the downward angle is tilted enough, you can capture the majestic feel of this ancient castle.

After taking two photos in Luqiao, I wanted to post them on WeChat Moments, but I felt like something was missing.

After thinking about it, I realized that I was missing myself. What's the difference between this photo and the one I saw online?

Lu Qiao turned to the front-facing camera, half-squatted down, stretched out his hand and made a V-sign, taking a picture of himself and the castle together.

After adjusting the angle, Luqiao took the photo.

Looking at the photos of himself and the castle on his phone again, Luqiao opened WeChat with satisfaction.

After blocking Aunt Liu, I set the location settings.

But Luqiao still felt like something was missing, and then he realized that this was probably just a landscape photo.

Yes, there's no way to prove that this castle has anything to do with me.

Lu Qiao held his phone away again, pointing it at himself and the castle, no longer making a peace sign but holding the key.

Now everything was complete. When Lu Qiao thought this, he was stunned.

Lu Qiao rubbed his eyes, afraid he was seeing things. The key on his phone screen was emitting a faint blue light.

Lu Qiao picked up his phone and looked at the screen. When did he turn on the special effects?

Upon closer inspection, it was found that when Luqiao pointed the front of his phone at the key again, no light was emitted.

Lu Qiao, at a loss, struck a pose again, only to find that the key and the castle were glowing again.

The road and bridge were adjusted again incredulously.

It's okay to take a picture of the castle alone, and it's okay to take a picture of the key alone.

However, whenever the castle and the key appear in the scene, the key emits a faint blue light, and there seems to be a blue light connecting the player and the castle.

Lu Qiao incredulously adjusted his phone's rear camera to face the castle, then placed the key in his hand into the camera's view.

Strangely, the key, which doesn't actually glow, was flashing in the camera's view.

Lu Qiao's hand, holding the key, trembled slightly with fear.

But Luqiao mustered his courage and continued forward.

Following the light source in the phone, Luqiao arrived at the castle gate, only to find that the line was not directly aligned with the gate, but rather a dotted line that circled around to the back of the castle.

This dotted line does not extend to the back gate of the castle, but rather to the corner of the courtyard.

It turns out the light wasn't directed at the castle, but rather at the cellar directly behind it.

This is a cellar that extends downwards. Through his phone's camera, Lu Qiao saw that the key was emitting a blue light, and the cellar door was also emitting a similar light.

Lu Qiao swallowed hard, stepped onto the steps and slowly walked down to the cellar door.

The keyhole on the cellar door was azure blue, as if reminding me to insert the key.

Lu Qiao stared blankly at the key in his hand, wondering if he should try to open it.

Click~

Lu Qiao opened the cellar door a crack and gently pushed it open.

Lu Qiao could see that the scene in front of him was actually a tavern.

But this is unbelievable; a cellar opened up to reveal a tavern.

Even now, you can see the snow falling heavily outside from the tavern window, while it's still summer here.

How could it snow in a cellar?

Of course, Luqiao immediately realized that the key lighting up was something that couldn't be deduced from common sense.

Lu Qiao tried to step into it, but there seemed to be an invisible barrier in front of him.

Luqiao could only look at it, but could not step into the cellar.

Lu Qiao's body was half-suspended in front of the cellar, somewhat reminiscent of Michael Jackson's signature "45-degree tilt".

The first judgment made by Luqiao was that they could only look but not enter.

But the next second, the sound of an old cat meowing came from afar.

My aunt's black cat appeared out of nowhere and ran towards the road bridge.

By the time Luqiao realized what was happening, the old cat had leaped onto the cellar door and seemed to have picked up something.

Luqiao realized it was a key!

The next second, the barrier in front of Luqiao disappeared, and Luqiao tumbled and crawled into the cellar.

Lu Qiao fell hard and was screaming in pain.

Instantly, Luqiao felt the temperature difference.

Previously, my body surface temperature was around 27 or 28 degrees Celsius, which was neither hot nor cold.

But then, a bone-chilling cold swept over Luqiao.

Then, Luqiao felt something stepping on his back.