Original Suspense Novel: "ℬ𝓁𝒾𝓏𝓏𝒶𝓇𝒹 ℳ𝒶𝓃𝑜𝓇" EP31

"Where are you guys going?" Old Zhou asked. "The garage," Chen Mo said briefly. "We'll be back in half an hour." He and Fang Guodong put on their jackets and went out through the side door. The wind and snow hit them, reducing visibility to less than ten meters. The garage was about fifty meters to the right of the main manor building, a separate wooden structure. The two walked through the accumulated snow, each step sinking to their ankles. There was no light in the garage, but the daylight filtering through the snow provided enough visibility. Fang Guodong walked to the tool cabinet in the corner, squatted down, and pulled open the bottom drawer. Inside was a dark brown leather suitcase. Chen Mo took the suitcase out and placed it on the workbench. The clasps were indeed rusty but not completely seized. He gave one a hard pull, and with a 'snap,' the clasp sprang open. Inside, dozens of photos were neatly arranged, all scenes from Fog Valley Village—the banyan tree at the village entrance, the stone paths, the low-slung houses, the distant mountains. There were also a few portraits: a group of adults standing in front of a building that looked like a temple, their expressions stern; a young woman holding a baby, smiling under the banyan tree; a little boy squatting by a stream playing with water, with dense bamboo groves in the background. Chen Mo picked up the photo of the baby and examined it closely. The young woman's face was blurred by time, but her eyes—Chen Mo recognized those eyes. Because they were the same eyes he saw in the mirror every morning. His mother. He was sure now: he had indeed been to Fog Valley. He had seen this banyan tree, seen this stream. But he had forgotten everything. (To be continued)