Xiangzi Pegasus rushed back to the county office, and it was ten midnight.

County Magistrate Kong held a copy of "Liao Zhai" in his hand and looked at it absentmindedly.

Seeing Xiangzi with a cool autumn breeze, he broke in. put down the book and said with a solemn expression: "Houbaozi Ma's house, there was an arson and robbery, and six people were killed, I asked Han Fu to form an investigation team and set off early tomorrow morning." There are a large number of deaths in this case, the means of committing the crime are extremely brutal, the situation is complicated, you work hard with Han Fu to solve the case as soon as possible. ”

North of Houbaozi Street, Ma Changjun of Xiaoshui Village is a farmer in his forties, originally from Wenshui County, Shanxi. In the eighteenth year of the Republic of China (1929), he came to Xinjiang, and after settling in Houbaozi, he married the Yu family. There were a boy and two girls, the eldest boy was only eight years old when the accident occurred. Because he went to his uncle's house that day and did not return, he luckily escaped the catastrophe.

At that time, there were still Hu Bingyu and Kang Wenhua living in the courtyard of the Ma family, two old people who were over the age of six. Because of the same township and friendship with the Ma family, they live together like a family.

Ma Changjun is loyal, simple, hardworking and capable, and can be budget-conscious, and can operate. First, he rented land to grow tobacco leaves, and then not only purchased a few acres of cultivated land, but also built a house and opened a flue-cured tobacco workshop.

He made money and made a fortune by pouring tobacco leaves, but he was afraid that the paper money would be panicked, so he exchanged it for gold and tobacco and stored it. Some people also said that the old man Hu Bingyu also brought a lot of golden sand from Ahsan and stored it in Ma's house. For a while, rumors spread, and Ma Changjun became one of the richest people in Houbao.

October 22, the 37th year of the Republic of China (1948).

As soon as the sky was bright, I saw Ma Changjun's house, and the smoke was billowing and the flames were rising to the sky.

People rushed to tell each other and came to the rescue, but the courtyard door was locked and could not be entered.

At this time, Yu Zhaofeng arrived when he heard the news, so he ordered people to take a ladder to cross the wall. Everyone rushed in, only to see a few dead dogs lying in the courtyard, most of the roofs had collapsed, and the doors and windows had been burned.

After an hour of hard work, the fireworks gradually went out, but everyone was stunned by the strange and tragic scene in front of them. I saw Ma Changjun, curled up in the corner of the kang, his hands and feet had been burned, and under his body, two thick hemp ropes were pressed.

The two babies have simply become a scorched meat ball. Ma Changjun's wife was covered with a burnt quilt and a white cloth on her head. When the cloth was removed, she found her head, broken and overflowing*, charred. * Down, pushing a bunch of intestines, a ball of black and brown flesh, clinging to the mother's body.

Two old men, lying under the edge of the kang, have become charcoal. On closer inspection, their hands were tied together and their mouths were stuffed with rag cotton.

As the site continued to be cleaned, it was found that the floor tiles of the house had been pried open in five places, and there were two jars of unburned tobacco on the ground, several silver dollars and three gold rings.

As a result, everyone completely understood that this was someone who robbed money and killed him, and then set fire to the scene, which has achieved the goal of disappearing.

Xiangzi, who investigated the scene with Han Fu, in addition to resenting the murderer's inhumanity, came to two judgments: first, the perpetrator knew the situation of the Ma family very well; Second, there is more than one perpetrator.

After busy with the scene, Yu Zhaofeng set up two tables of banquets to entertain Han Fu and his party and several leading figures in the township.

Xiangzi called Yu Zhaofeng, in addition to telling him to arrange the future affairs of the Ma family, let him pay more attention to everyone's tone. If there is a new discovery, it should be reported to the county in a timely manner.

Xiangzi was worried about the affairs of the county government in his heart, and greeted Han Fu, who was eating and drinking, and left the Ma family silently.

There were no valuable clues left at the scene, and there was no clue about the case detection, and Xiangzi really couldn't swallow other people's food.

On Houbaozi Street, there is a good noodle restaurant, Xiangzi asked for a bowl of noodles, eating slowly, while pricking up his ears and listening quietly, the people crowded under the eaves are talking about the Ma family tragedy mysteriously and with great interest. There are many theories, and some of them are so absurd that they are associated with ghosts and gods. But Shoko listened patiently and carefully, hoping to get some inspiration from it.

As he was listening, three soldiers-like people, untidy and indecently dressed poured into the door.

One of them, with a hippie smile, took a pair of bean-sized mouse eyes, looked at the young proprietress with squints, and shouted: "Come and get three bowls of noodles, be hard, Lao Tzu still has work at night." ”

Xiangzi peeked at it, and couldn't figure out the number of the gang based on the uniform label alone, so he hurriedly ate and came to the tea stall diagonally opposite and sat down. glanced along the street, and saw that at the end of the street, there were also threes and threes, and the figure of the soldier was shaking. So he asked the people next to him: "Where are these soldiers on the street?" ”

The man shook his head in frustration and said, "Those are all from the Dihua Division's district, the third company of cavalry. I came here last month, the soldiers are not bandits, and I don't give money for eating and drinking, really! What kind of world is this? ”

Xiangzi suddenly remembered that in the first two months, a telegram came from the province, saying that he wanted to live some soldiers in the north. Since people didn't mention the logistics of grain and grass, the county didn't pay attention to it, and it turned out to be this group of people.

So, he pretended to be curious and said, "They are so harmful, don't the officials care?" ”

The man glanced around vigilantly, lowered his voice and said, "The one who took the lead is Deputy Zhang Lian, and he is also a good guy." In the name of urging food, he cheated on food and drink, indulged his subordinates to eat, drink, prostitute and gamble, not to mention, he was also with a local secret doorman, who did not know who was openly and secretly. ”

When Xiangzi heard this, he secretly wondered in his heart, would the murder of the Ma family have anything to do with these people? He has dealt with soldiers and bandits a lot over the years, and he has no good feelings, or even dislikes, for the current army.

The stall owner was muttering in a low voice, and suddenly his face changed, and he lowered his head in a panic. Shoko was stunned for a moment, and found that two soldiers were swaying towards here.

One of them was tall, and he glanced at Xiangzi, and the two of them sat down with a big grin, and shouted in a southern and northern tone: "Come to two bowls of good tea, be sharp!" Lao Tzu still has a business trip. ”

Seeing the stall owner making tea in fear, a pair of dissatisfied eyes looked at the two from time to time. Xiangzi smiled at the two of them and said, "May I ask Brother Bing, you don't live in the city, why did you come to this poor place?" ”

The two of them looked at Xiangzi suspiciously, and said with a look of dissatisfaction on the corner of their mouths: "The ghost only knows how to get Lao Tzu to this kind of ghost place with an order from above." There is not even a place to eat, drink and play seriously, it is really suffocating. ”

As he spoke, the two of them had a lewd expression on their faces that were unique to soldiers. Xiangzi smiled, and said with a look of concern and sympathy: "It is not easy to be a soldier in these years, not to mention hardships and hard work, if you don't get it right, you have to take your life." ”

The two of them looked cynical and said: "Regardless of the fucking thirty-seven twenty-one, Lao Tzu lives a day and earns a day." ”

As he spoke, he threw down the tea bowl and wiped his mouth and was about to leave. Seeing that the stall owner looked embarrassed, he looked embarrassed and stopped talking. Xiangzi hurriedly said coldly: "Why don't you give money for tea?" ”

The two glanced at Xiangzi with a look on their faces, pouted and smiled: "Don't say it's a bowl of tea, it's a bowl of noodles Lao Tzu still doesn't give money, what can you do?" ”

Xiangzi slowly stood up with a cold face, leaned sideways in front of the two, and said in a voice that was neither humble nor arrogant: "It is natural to drink tea and give money." ”

Seeing this, the tall one shouted with an arrogant and disdainful look: "Are you the onion, and you dare to meddle with Lao Tzu's affairs." As he spoke, he reached out and pushed Xiangzi.

Shoko remained silent, and just as the man's hand reached his chest, he suddenly clasped his wrist and made a mistake. The man immediately crouched down in pain, and howled like a wolf. The other was just about to come to the rescue, but Xiangzi was stunned, so he was so frightened that he stepped aside, and hurriedly groped for the money and handed it to the stall owner.

Xiangzi let go of the man angrily, and said angrily: "Get out!" In the future, if you run rampant in the countryside again, cheating on eating and drinking for nothing, I will see you and beat me once. ”