Chang'an turned out of the alley and saw that the master was waiting for him. He was about to reply when his master had already turned on his horse and galloped towards the gate. He hurriedly got on his horse and chased after him, but he could only watch Xie San's figure gradually move away. It wasn't until the two horses left the city gate one after another that Xie San slowed down.

Under the dazzling morning light, the master and servant hurried silently one after the other. Half an hour later, Xie San took the lead into the woods, and the horse didn't take a few steps before he suddenly grabbed the reins.

"Third Master, what's wrong?" Chang'an looked trembling, for fear that his master would be whimsical again and turn back to Jizhou.

Xie San made a silent gesture to Chang'an, suppressed his voice and said, "There is a smell of blood." With that, he squinted his eyes into the depths of the woods.

Chang'an followed his gaze and saw the deep path winding into the distance, as if it went straight to the sky, and it didn't look abnormal. He took a deep breath, only the scent of leaves. "Third Master?"

"Shh Xie San looked around, the whole forest was terrifyingly quiet, and he couldn't hear the slightest insect song or bird chirping. His muscles tensed, and he commanded in a suppressed voice: "I'll go to the front to check, you wait here." If you hear the sound of fighting, you should hurry back to Jizhou to move the rescuers. ”

"But......" Chang An swallowed the words that followed. In the early years, if he knew the Tao, he would become a burden to his master if he didn't know martial arts, and he would have learned some self-defense kung fu even if he tried his best. Now, in addition to trying not to drag down his master, once he is caught, he has only one way to commit suicide.

Chang An stared nervously at Xie San's back, barely breathing, but Xie San just rode his horse, moving forward steadily step by step.

Between the rustling leaves, a breeze blows through the treetops. Xie San saw the occasional broken branches on the side of the road. I also smelled the smell of blood that was getting clearer. But there was no one around. There are no corpses. If a wild beast hunts for food, it will never make the whole forest silent and deathly.

I don't know how long I walked, Xie San found that the smell of blood around him gradually faded. He didn't know if the rising sun had dispelled the smell of blood, or if the carnage had only existed on the part of the road he had just walked. He turned his horse's head and looked back, only to see Chang'an standing at the other end of the path. He inspected the road and found no blood. However, he also knew very well that if he was a professional killer, he must have covered up the bloodstains before leaving.

"Come here!" Xie San shouted at Chang'an. It's not that he doesn't have the courage to go to the forest to check, but there are only two of them, and he is not familiar with this forest, so there is no need to take risks.

When Chang'an approached, Xie San explained: "Let's meet with the others first, and then make plans." Then he rode his horse in the direction of Lingcheng.

From Jizhou to the direction of the capital, Lingcheng is the only way. Earlier, Xie San instructed his subordinates. After leaving the woods, they found a tea house to wait, but they galloped all the way to the outskirts of the mausoleum. and his own men were not to be seen.

"Third master, will they go into the city because they haven't seen the tea house?" Chang An looked at the empty official road strangely, and muttered in a low voice: "Last time I passed here, it was obviously very lively, and there were many vendors on the side, why is there no one today?" ”

Xie San didn't respond to his words, just raised his eyes and looked at the gate of Lingcheng. It is impossible for his subordinates to be so unaccountable, even if they sense that something is wrong and enter the mausoleum, they will leave one person to report to him. Talking about the silence all around, it was as if it had just experienced a battlefield of slaughter, and everything was too unusual.

"Third Master?" Chang'an called in a low voice.

Xie San raised his eyes to look at the small village in the distance and said, "You go to the village over there and ask if something happened last night." After speaking, he told Chang'an: "Be careful yourself, if you notice something is wrong, leave immediately." Nothing is more important than life. ”

Chang'an listened to Xie San's cautiousness, nodded hurriedly, and said anxiously: "Third master, then you are waiting for me here, don't enter the city, I will go back as soon as I go." ”

Xie San waved his hand at Chang'an, and only said that after an hour, he would meet him in the same place. When Chang'an was far away, he turned his horse's head and went to the city gate.

Chang'an walked for a while, and when he turned around, he didn't see Xie San waiting in place, he was worried for a while, and he whipped his horse fiercely and walked towards the nearest courtyard.

Suddenly, Chang'an faintly heard the cries of children and women, and his heart thrashed, and he raised his horsewhip again. Seeing that the gate of the small courtyard was open, he jumped off his horse in a panic, and as soon as he stepped into the courtyard with one foot, he saw the corpses piled up in the corner. He sat down on the threshold as soon as he fell.

I don't know how long it took, Chang An stood up boldly, confirmed that the room was empty, and walked to the corpse in the corner, only to see the deceased's eyes wide with anger, and the blood had dried up. He suppressed the discomfort in his stomach, followed Xie San's example, examined the wounds of the corpses, and found that they were all sealed by a sharp sword, and the corpses were already cold.

Chang'an couldn't bear to look at it anymore, he looked out with a white face, jumped on the horse, and was about to turn back to report to Xie San, when he heard a cry from the village behind the small courtyard.

The ghost sent the gods, Chang'an followed the sound, and saw the old people and children crying from a distance, some shouting "Daddy", and some calling the name of Erlang.

Chang'an walked into the village to inquire, and soon learned that in the morning, a group of black-clothed robbers suddenly broke into the village, and they couldn't help but arrest the men in the village. If there is resistance, they will kill without saying a word, and they will raise their knives. However, at the time of one tea, all the young and middle-aged people in the village were arrested, and more than a dozen people were brutally killed.

Chang'an gritted his teeth and examined the corpse, the deceased was either stabbed in the heart with a sword, or slashed on the head, and some people were stopped and hacked to death, and the perpetrators were clearly fatal with knives and aimed to kill.

Looking at the tragic situation of the villagers, Chang'an's heart turned over for a while. Anyone with a bloody nature will be furious at the sight of the scene in front of them. He finally understood why the common people hated the thieves so much, and why Lin Zhutou's eyes were red at the mention of the robbers.

Unlike the tragic scene in the small village, there was a quiet and peaceful place outside the gates of the city, and only the closed gates revealed the seriousness of the situation.

Xie San looked up at the soldiers on the city wall, his face slightly gloomy. He jumped off his horse, strode to the city gate, struck it twice, and shouted in displeasure: "What is the rule of closing the city gate for what is it in broad daylight?" ”

As soon as he finished speaking, the gate creaked open, and four spears were aimed at his chest. On the side, a man in military uniform shouted and asked, "Who are you and what are you doing in Lingcheng?" ”

Xie San's gaze swept over everyone one by one, and then over their shoulders, looking behind them. There was not a single civilian in the streets, only soldiers armed with weapons. Without waiting for the man to urge, he took out the waist card from his arms, raised his chin arrogantly, and said in a loud voice: "I am a six-door catcher, and I am on an errand by the emperor's order." ”

When the man saw the word "Xie" on the waist card, his eyes flashed slightly, and he lowered his head and said respectfully: "It turned out to be Xie Zhutou." He saluted, scolded his subordinates to put down their spears, and explained to Xie San in a suppressed voice: "I am just guarding the city gate on the orders of the county lord. ”

"Take me to the county lord." Xie San raised the reins of the horse in his hand casually, only to see one of the soldiers unhurriedly stretching out his hand and grasping the reins steadily. Xie San pretended not to see it, and asked the man who spoke: "You are like a great enemy, is there a vicious case in the city?" ”

"This ......" the man looked embarrassed, saying only that he was only doing what he was told. With that, he quietly glanced out of the city gate, and ordered his men to close the city gate.

Xie San didn't ask any more questions, and politely asked him to lead the way. The man didn't say much, just shouted at his subordinates, and sent Xie San to the yamen.

Xie San was surrounded by a group of guards, and when he saw that there were no people on the road, his heart sank heavily. Although Lingcheng is only a medium-sized county on the Yangtze River, it is an important town separating the south and north of the Yangtze River, and it can even be said that it clamps the water transportation of the Yangtze River.

After a while, the man led Xie San into the back office.

Xie Sanzheng felt strange, and saw that people were busy again, so he asked, "What's going on?" ”

"Thank you, please." The man stretched out his hand and motioned for Xie San to enter the room, and said, "I'm going to invite Master Li here." ”

Xie San didn't embarrass him, but when he saw him turn to leave, he couldn't help but touch the dagger in his arms, secretly annoyed that he was too impulsive. Now, in case of the worst, he can only hope that Chang'an will realize the seriousness of the situation and go to the nearest guard to rescue the soldiers.

After a while, just as Xie San was observing the terrain inside the yamen from a distance, a middle-aged man with anxious eyes lowered his head and hurriedly walked over. Xie San stepped forward and said with a smile: "Master Li? Catch fast Xie three at the next six doors. He bowed, raised his chin and said, "I was ordered to run an errand, I wonder if Lord Li can do it conveniently?" He clenched his hands into fists and gestured in the direction of the capital, implying that he was ordered by the emperor to run an errand.

Master Li did not doubt him, nodded repeatedly, and swore that he would fully cooperate.

Xie San saw that his expression was sincere, and the corner of his eyes looked at a certain room where people were coming in and out from time to time, he pretended to look at him suspiciously, and asked in a low voice: "Lord Li, let me ask more, is there something going on in the city?" ”

"No, no." Li Xiancheng hurriedly shook his head, touching Xie San's gaze, he immediately lowered his eyelids, took a deep breath, and said with a reluctant smile: "That's the case, last night, a few people's homes were robbed, and the official ordered someone to close the city gate, just to chase them down with all their might and bring the robbers to justice." ”

"I see!" Xie San nodded, "The adult who brought me over just now is mysterious, I thought something big had happened!" Now, since the robbers are still in the city, Master Li has a foolproof strategy to catch the turtle in the urn, and he thinks that the suspect will be able to be arrested soon. ”

"Promise your good words." Master Li smiled and asked, "I don't know what is the matter that Lu Dao thanked the head catcher and asked me to cooperate?" ”

"That's right, more than a month ago, Xie Zhenghui of Six Doors arrested and escorted the suspect back to Beijing from Jizhou. Liumen received his letter, but he did not return to Beijing for a long time, so the above sent a group of six of us to look for him along the way. Because none of us know the nature of water, I wonder if Lord Li can seconded a few people who know water to us? (To be continued......)