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墨書 Inktalez
“Red Spider Lily?” Du Ming took the letter from my hand, his brows slightly furrowed. “I’ve never heard of it.”
A hint of confusion flashed in his deep eyes, but he quickly masked it.
“Maybe it’s just a prank.” He crumpled the letter and tossed it into the trash can. “Don’t pay it any mind.”
But my intuition told me that things were not that simple. The name “Red Spider Lily” pierced my heart like a thorn, making it impossible to ignore.
“Let’s investigate,” I said, grabbing Du Ming’s hand with determination. “I feel like this matter is more complicated than it seems.”
Du Ming looked at me deeply and finally nodded.
We began to secretly inquire about the origins of “Red Spider Lily.” However, whether in ancient texts or folk legends, we found no information related to it.
Just when we were at a loss, Du Ming's father, the chairman of the Du Group, unexpectedly provided us with a clue.
“Red Spider Lily… I think I’ve heard that name somewhere…” Mr. Du pondered for a moment as if recalling something. “It seems that there’s an old stone tablet in our family ancestral hall with the words ‘Red Spider Lily’ inscribed on it.”
This discovery undoubtedly pointed our investigation in a new direction. The next day, Du Ming and I headed to the Du Family Ancestral Hall, hoping to find answers from that stone tablet.
The ancestral hall was located in a secluded villa on the outskirts, ancient and solemn. We walked through a long corridor paved with bluestone and reached the depths of the hall. Behind numerous memorial tablets and offering tables stood a massive stone tablet.
The tablet was covered in mottled marks, with the words “Red Spider Lily” faintly visible along with some unclear patterns and text.
“These patterns…” Du Ming observed the designs on the tablet closely, his brow furrowed. “They seem to be… our family crest!”
“Family crest?” I felt a chill run down my spine. “How could that be?”
“I’m not sure,” Du Ming's expression grew serious. “It seems this stone tablet hides secrets we don’t know about.”
We tried to decipher other patterns and texts on the tablet, but due to its age, most of the content had become too blurred to recognize.
Back in the city, I felt restless while Du Ming was unusually silent. Bai Wei invited me for afternoon tea and immediately noticed my distracted state upon seeing me.
“What’s wrong, Lingxi? Come on, spill it—did you have a fight with Du Ming?” Bai Wei asked curiously, resting her chin on her hand.
I shook my head and told her about “Red Spider Lily” and the stone tablet. After hearing this, Bai Wei dropped her playful demeanor and said seriously, “This matter does seem strange; let me think if I can help.”
Bai Wei had many connections and within a few days brought me news. “I have a friend who works at the museum; he helped me look into the ‘Red Spider Lily’ pattern. You know what? It turns out this pattern is indeed an ancient family crest, and…” Bai Wei paused for effect, “the family represented by this crest vanished hundreds of years ago.”
“Vanished?” My confusion deepened. “How could that happen?”
“The specific reasons are unclear; historical records are scarce,” Bai Wei shook her head. “However, my friend mentioned he once saw in an ancient text that this family seemed to have disappeared because they violated some taboo…”
Before Bai Wei could finish her sentence, she was interrupted by a phone call. After hanging up, her expression turned serious. “My dad is looking for me; I have to go now. I’ll contact you if there’s any news.”
That evening, I received a call from my father; his tone was grave as he asked me and Du Ming to visit the Guo Family Ancestral Home.
"Lingxi, this matter is serious," my father said earnestly. "You should look for answers within the family; perhaps the elders will know something."
Du Ming and I immediately set off for the Guo Family Ancestral Home, where several respected elders lived, hoping they could help us unravel our confusion. The old residence was quaint and filled with a sense of history. Having grown up beside my grandfather, I felt a deep affection for every blade of grass and tree here.
"Third Uncle, do you remember this pattern?" I took out my phone and showed a picture of the Red Spider Lily to a man in his nineties. He squinted his cloudy eyes, carefully examining it for a long time before slowly saying, "This is the Du Family's crest. I remember that decades ago, someone from the Du Family came here..."
Third Uncle's words struck us like lightning in the night sky, leaving both Du Ming and me stunned. The Du Family? Could it be that this mysterious Red Spider Lily family was somehow connected to Du Ming's family? Third Uncle continued to recall that the Du Family member seemed to be searching for something back then, but he couldn't remember what exactly. He vaguely recalled that shortly after that person left, news came of a tragedy—he had met with misfortune.
A shadow fell over both Du Ming and me; although Third Uncle's words were fragmented, they revealed an astonishing piece of information—the past of the Du Family seemed to hide unknown secrets. Just as we were about to ask more questions, Third Uncle suddenly clutched his chest in pain and began to breathe heavily. We rushed forward to check on him, only to find that he had fainted without us noticing.
By the time the doctor arrived, Third Uncle had already passed away, leaving no signs behind as if he had simply fallen asleep. Both Du Ming and I were utterly shocked and heartbroken; Third Uncle's mysterious death added an eerie layer to our already foggy investigation. After this incident, Du Ming became even more taciturn; I knew what he was worried about. The past of the Du Family, the mysterious Red Spider Lily, and the series of accidents all seemed to foreshadow an impending storm.
At that moment, I received an unsigned letter. Inside the envelope was just a note with a few words written in bright red: "Stop investigating, or bear the consequences!" My hands trembled involuntarily. Who sent this threatening letter? What secret were they trying to cover up? Could it be that everything behind this was truly related to Du Ming's uncle?
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