Gu Zhan and Ah Ying followed Ruan Lingyu and Xu Annian all the way, from the west of the city to the south of the city, although it was not as lively as the west of the city, but it was also crowded with people and noisy cars and horses.

Following all the way, passing by a number of shops, it was rare for Ah Zhan not to look around, and Gu Zhan was very relieved in his heart.

Ruan Lingyu and Xu Annian are really good people, and the sound of care and inquiries along the way is endless, and the more kind aunt stuffed the melon, fruit and fish she just bought directly into Ruan Lingyu's arms, saying that it was a gift to Dr. Xu for health and nourishment.

Ruan Lingyu walked towards Huisheng Hall with Xu Annian in his arms, and some of the guys had sharp eyes, and they saw the two of them from afar, and hurriedly stepped forward to help.

Followed by Ah Ying Gu Zhan, he sat down in a street tea shop and begged for two cups of herbal tea.

Ah Ying pushed Gu Zhan and asked, "Do we still have to follow up?" It doesn't seem good to feel so direct. ”

"I didn't say that I wanted to follow up," Gu Zhan glanced at her and continued: "Wait for Ruan Lingyu to come out, we will follow, and then you will find a way to go home with her, and by the way, knock on the side to see if you can find out the case from Tang Yi, such a big case, Yuan Zhou's first servant must also be involved." ”

"Me? Go home with her? How do I go home with her?! Ah Ying tried her best to keep her voice down, her face full of reluctance. If you don't know each other, how can people take you home?!

Obviously, the rough man Gu Zhan didn't think so, in his opinion, girls will always talk better with each other, and it is perfect for Ah Zhan to go! What's going on with this girl, she suddenly became hypocritical!

Seeing that Ah Ying didn't seem to be very happy, Gu Zhan said with a bitter face: "Ah Ming, this Tang Mansion must be safer than the Huanglu Tavern, you see that such a big thing has happened there one after another, and now there is still a constant flow of customers, this ironclad doorway!" You are a girl's family, you live alone at night, how can people rest assured. Besides, let you have a room with Zhao Qingluan, are you down-to-earth?! ”。

Ah Ying belly slander, good guy, this is very comprehensive, and the back road is all broken.

She glanced at Gu Zhan opposite and muttered, "I know, you just want to be alone with Zhao Qingluan!" Ah Ying shook her head, "Look, this is starting to drive people out, uncle, you have changed!" ”

Ah Yu pouted, staring at the door of Wisheng Hall without squinting.

Gu Zhan was drinking tea, and he was immediately choked and hit Ah Zhan's head hard.

"You little girl, how can you talk! Can Uncle pit you?! Isn't that all the danger to myself?! What a big girl, it's time to die! I don't know how to be considerate yet! What can you do when you go to Jiangning, you! ”

Gu Zhanyi's nagging was really endless, and he couldn't stop at all, Ah Ying pursed his lips and waved his hand: "Okay, okay, you talk a lot, like a gem." Oh, people are out, I'm going, you go back, don't forget to give money! ”

Gu Zhan was stunned at first glance, but he didn't hear the doorway, and nodded his head, only to find that something was wrong after careful reflection.

Jewel?! That's not the little black dog raised by Grandma Lu... Dog... Is it? …

Gu Zhan suddenly had three black lines on his head, looking at Ah Jin, who had already run away, and wanted to fly up and beat her.

Ah Jin, who set off here, quickly entered a state of camouflage, and walked around to take a look, as if he was really hanging out.

After Ruan Lingyu came out of Huisheng Hall, she seemed to be in a good mood, seeing acquaintances all the way, her smile was brighter than the sun, and everyone was in a good mood when she saw it.

The two of them walked one after the other, turning left and right, and suddenly, Ruan Lingyu flashed into the alley and disappeared.

Ah Yu, who was not far behind, stared at him and was discovered? Wouldn't it, it's that obvious?

Although he thought so in his heart, Ah Ying was still calm on the surface, and continued to walk forward, his eyes kept turning around, and he quickly glanced in when he passed the mouth of the alley, and there was no one?

Ah Ying continued to walk some distance, and naturally turned around and walked back again, intending to go in and take a look.

Who knew that before he reached the mouth of the alley, a white shadow jumped out, and it happened suddenly, Ah Ying didn't stop for a while, and the two collided so hard.

Ruan Lingyu obviously didn't react, and subconsciously waved his hands.

Ah Ying still thought that she was too unlucky, but when she saw that it was Ruan Lingyu, she immediately had a flash of inspiration, and when she saw the other party waving her hand, she fell backwards.

"Oops"

Ah Ying put her hands on the ground, sat down at once, her eyes narrowed, and she was stunned to squeeze out a tear, and her eyes were full of tears, which was very pitiful.

Ruan Lingyu was stunned for a moment, and after reacting, she immediately stepped forward, squatted next to Ah Jin, and hurriedly asked, "Oh, are you okay?" I'm sorry, I didn't look at the road, I'm sorry, can you still stand up? ”

Ruan Lingyu stretched out her hand to help her, Ah Ying raised her head, pretended to be weak and said, "I'm fine..."

"It's you?!"

After Ruan Lingyu saw the other party's appearance clearly, she blurted out directly, holding Ah Jin's hand and paused, with a somewhat strange expression.

Do you even remember?

Ah Jin's heart jumped, but she was unmoved on the surface, and said tentatively: "You... Know me? ”

"That's right, last night, in Yizhuang on the outskirts of the west of the city, we just met! We also had an autopsy together! Ruan Lingyu looked suspicious and categorical.

Seeing this, Ah Ying still planned to struggle again, and continued to pretend to be confused.

"Test... Autopsy? What you're saying is incredible, how could I do such a thing? Besides, I was in the south of the city last night, my aunt's house, and I didn't go out all night. Ah Ying tilted her head and looked at Ruan Lingyu innocently, looking like you had recognized the wrong person.

"How is that possible! You're wearing the same clothes as you did last night! ”

“...”

Ruan Lingyu looked at Ah Ying, a little resentful.

When she woke up this morning, it was already dawn, and those people had just let her lie in the pile of corpses for the night! Although there was nothing unusual around her at that time, she also wondered if there was something wrong with her brain and some hallucinations, but after all, what happened last night was too weird, too real, and too impressive!

Ruan Lingyu let go of the hand holding Ah Jin, inserted her waist, pouted, looked down at her and snorted angrily: "You didn't even take me with you when you left, just leave me there alone, it's too unrighteous!" ”

Seeing this situation, Ah Ying would be a little stupid to pretend again, so she simply stood up, patted her skirt, and said innocently: "Aren't you pretending, those scenes should be a trivial matter for you, oops, don't take it too seriously!" ”

Ruan Lingyu looked at her with a smile on her face, frowned, and said, "You won't follow me all the time!" ”

"How is it possible, I happen to have something over here, and it just so happens hahaha" Ah Ying waved his hand.

Ruan Lingyu was skeptical, and continued to ask, "Why were you in Yizhuang last night?" Could it be that he is also investigating this serial case? ”

"Also? Is anyone else investigating? "Ah Ying grasped the key point.

Ruan Lingyu straightened her cuffs and said: "Yes, there are all kinds of people in the open and in the dark, after all, this is the biggest homicide case in Yuanzhou in recent years, and the identities of the victims involved are very different, it is difficult to consider, and many ordinary people have spontaneously formed teams to investigate." ”

"And this kind of thing? Can you tell me more about the case? I have a friend's brother who also suffered, and we wanted to find out what was going on. Ah Yu said slowly.

Ruan Lingyu thought for a while, felt that this matter was not some ulterior secret, and nodded in response.

"That's fine, for the sake of our last night, I can tell you everything I know, but I have to wait until tomorrow, tomorrow I will take you to the yamen, there are some detailed records there, maybe it will be useful to you."

"Yamen? Okay..."Ah Ying is actually still a little worried, afraid of meeting someone who knows her in the yamen, after all, she is a fugitive... But speaking of which, it doesn't seem like I saw a notice that they were wanted in the city, which is a little strange...

"Then can we meet here tomorrow, you can call your friends together." Ruan Lingyu's big eyes revealed twelve points of sincerity.

"Why don't we meet at three o'clock tomorrow in the west of the city, my friend lives in a tavern near there, he is a little injured, I have to go to Wison Hall every day to get medicine, it just so happens that you should be quite familiar with that family."

It seems that Ruan Lingyu doesn't plan to take herself home, so she might as well go back to the Huanglu Tavern, and she won't feel at ease staying in the south of the city.

Ruan Lingyu narrowed her eyes and said with a smile: "Okay, my name is Ruan Lingyu, how do I call you?" ”

"Just call me Ah Yu." Ah Ying smiled back.

After the two separated, Ah Ying returned the same way, this time there was really no task, the whole person was much easier, walking and stopping along the road, looking at rouge, buying pastries, and after a while, he carried a few small packages in his hand.

When he came to a small alley, Ah Ying did not deliberately speed up his pace, turned in, and disappeared into the street.

Sure enough, after a while, Ruan Lingyu appeared near the entrance of the alley, looking around.

Ah Ying leaned on the wall and said secretly, this Ruan Lingyu is also very shrewd, not at all as naïve and easy to deceive as it seems on the surface, what she said should still arouse her suspicions.

Ruan Lingyu walked around there a few times, but found no trace of Ah Jin, and left after a while.

Ah Ying threw a small stone at the opposite side, and slammed it on the eaves with a crisp and short sound.

Gu Zhan rubbed his head, poked his head out from the opposite side, and shook his head lightly at Ah Jin, suggesting that her performance just now was too bad, and it had only been so long before she was discovered, and she had no power to refute at all.

Ah Ying grabbed a stone and was about to throw it over, but Gu Zhan hurriedly shrank it down and slipped away.

****

When the two of them slowly returned to the Huanglu Tavern, it was already the end of the Shen period.

Ah Ying spread the pastries she bought on the table, and said to Gu Zhannunu: "Taste it, Yuanzhou characteristics." ”

Gu Zhan glanced at it and muttered, "I see that you know how to eat every day." With that, ignoring Ah Jin's eyes, he grabbed a handful and sat on the wooden chair in front of the window and gnawed on it.

Ah Ying didn't bother to pay attention to him, hum, she was used to this kind of person.

"Come, tell me about your achievements," Gu Zhan said while eating.

"Didn't you say it all on the road, just that little situation, we have to wait for tomorrow."

Ah Ying continued to eat, suddenly paused, thought for a while, and said: "However, this Ruan Lingyu is strange, it is not clear whether it is friend or foe, tomorrow I will go first, you two had better lurk in the dark, lest she make any shocking moves, I think she is very shrewd." ”

Looking back now, she felt more and more that Ruan Lingyu's expression at that time was very problematic! How to describe it? A little surprised, and a little more... A little excited?

Ah Ying was still doing analysis here, but Gu Zhan didn't raise his head, and he was very unpopular.

"Tomorrow? I'm not going to go along. Go yourself! Atonement for sins! ”

“...”

"Smack!"

The door was suddenly pushed open from the outside, and the two looked at each other, both a little stunned.

After seeing the person clearly, Gu Zhan directly scolded: "Sister Zhao! Can't you just move lightly, I wish the whole building knew you're here, right?! Gu Zhan babbled and threw all his beloved pastries on the table.

Ah Yu glanced at him leisurely, and felt that this fire seemed a little inexplicable.

Zhao Qingluan ignored him, closed the door, sat down at the table, poured a cup of tea, glanced at the two of them, and asked, "How is the investigation?" ”

"How's your check?!" Gu Zhan sat in front of the window with his chest crossed and Erlang's legs, squinting at Zhao Qingluan like an uncle, "I feel that we are more conscientious than you, that's your brother." ”

Ah Ying exhaled silently and pushed the pastries on the table to Zhao Qingluan. Zhao Qingluan looked at it a few times, picked up a piece of almond crisp lightly with her slender jade fingers, and ate it elegantly.

Gu Zhan rolled his eyes widely, and Ah Yu immediately glared at him.

What's the matter with this person, he wants to get along with others, and now that people are coming and choking others, doesn't this make it clear that he is begging for a beating!

Ah Ying opened the bag of packages next to her, took out some small bags from it, opened them one by one, and said: "These are some of the spices I bought, which are plum blossom, Suhe, and angelica, three colors, plum red, brown yellow, and light white, and the three of us can each choose a color, so that we can leave a mark when we act alone later." ”

Zhao Qingluan nodded and took away the pale white powder.

Ah Ying stuffed Suhe powder into her waist by the way, leaving a bag of plum red powder in the middle, which became more and more prominent among the pastries.

Gu Zhan watched the two people in front of him quickly finish choosing their colors, and the hand he had just put on the table looked a little helpless. Gu Zhan glanced at the two of them, and said angrily: "Really, what mark to leave, with our level, is this necessary?" ”

…

At dinner, the three of them exchanged the news they had found out and set a task for tomorrow.

Ah Ying followed Ruan Lingyu to check the details of the case, but tried to avoid touching the yamen; Zhao Qingluan and Gu Zhan went to Yizhuang in the suburbs of the south and north of the city respectively to check on the victims who were also docked to see if the situation was consistent with the situation in Yizhuang in the west of the city.

"I suggest that the three of us stay in a room tonight." Zhao Qingluan's voice was flat, and he said leisurely while picking up the rice in the bowl.

Ah Yu grabbed a green vegetable, bit his chopsticks and said, "I agree, there must be something wrong with this Huanglu Tavern, and I can't tell what will happen at night." Since the murderer has not been caught yet, there is still a possibility of a second murder here, and we can try not to separate if we can, and we can remind each other. ”

"I think you need to be reminded, but we don't." Gu Zhan picked up the peanuts and ate them one by one.

"It's still quite safe here, and the nursing home has more or less some experience in the rivers and lakes, and the spirit is very good." Zhao Qingluan put down his chopsticks and made up the way, which can be regarded as comforting Ah Yu.

Ah Ying listened to the words of these two people, and felt that she had nothing to say, she just followed Zhao Qingluan's suggestion, plus some superfluous speculation, how could it become that she was afraid?

Ah Ying pursed her lips, intending to defend herself, but before she could say anything, she heard someone continue to add: "You are young, you are afraid of it, after all, you have little experience in the rivers and lakes, you can understand"

"You see this room is not big, I sleep on the bed, and you two sleep on the ground, barely able to accommodate it"

"But I choose a bed, I don't think I can sleep well at night, you two are considerate and considerate"

"I may still sleepwalk, if I accidentally step on the two of you, I must learn to be considerate"

"I'm also..."

"Actually, it's just because the room is full, and the suggestion just now can be withdrawn."

“…”

Zhao Qingluan got up and left, gently closed the door, and walked leisurely.

Throughout the dinner, Ah Ying only felt that it tasted like chewing wax.

****

sub-hours.

The Huanglu Tavern had long since fallen into silence, leaving the bright candles in the lobby on the first floor burning spontaneously. The candle incense is curling and the warm light is faint.

"Knock-knock! Boom! ”

There was a sound of beating outside, one slow and two fast.

Three watches¹ is over.

Ah Ying rolled in, rubbed her eyes, and subconsciously pulled the corners of the quilt.

Zhao Qingluan, who was sleeping on the same side, frowned lightly and tightened the thin quilt on his body.

Zhao Qingluan has a shallow sleep, and he will wake up at the slightest movement. She closed her eyes and meditated, but her consciousness did not let go.

There was a light breeze outside, and the windows were rustling, and although the doors and windows were closed, it seemed that you could feel the coolness outside. It was as if she was the only one in the world.

Being in the dark is a familiar feeling.

"Salsa"

Accompanied by the sound of the wind, there was a sudden sound of a short friction sound, like a mouse stealing food, cautious.

The voice seemed to come from the staircase at the corner of Gu Zhanfang's side, a deliberate suppression.

The sound stopped abruptly.

Zhao Qingluan subconsciously reached out and touched the long sword erected at the head of the bed, and opened his eyes leisurely.

The voice didn't appear again, but Zhao Qingluan clearly sensed that something was approaching.

"Hiss"

The voice sounded from the door of Gu Zhanfang's room again, lingering for a moment, as if someone was talking.

"Buckle"

After a while, there was a gentle knock, and someone was knocking on Gu Zhan's door next door. The ancient wooden door creaked obscurely, and every inch of the texture revealed the unknown.

Someone entered Gu Zhan's room next door?!

Zhao Qingluan lifted the quilt and sat up, facing the door, it was pitch black outside, and only a few faint rays of light could be seen. Only then did she realize that Gu Zhan, who had been sleeping on the ground silently, had also sat up.

The two made eye contact, both remained silent.

On this quiet night, on the third floor of the Huanglu Tavern, in the dark, someone was walking around next door.

Ah Jin's eyes widened, staring at the door motionless, her heart pounding, leaning against the wall, she felt a cold sweat in her vest, and countless possible things flashed in her mind, as if someone who didn't know what was doing behind this wall would suddenly pass through the wall!

She is not afraid of ghosts and gods, but her imagination is very rich, and she scares herself.

The room was very soundproof, Ah Ying leaned against the wall and couldn't hear what the other party was doing, and after a while, there was a squeak, and the door was closed.

Someone was moving outside, and suddenly the silhouette of a human head suddenly hit the door, staggering, like a drunk man staggering.

Gu Zhan was closest to the door, looking at the suddenly enlarged figure, he suddenly remembered the head of the person who rolled out of Yizhuang that night, and he swallowed his saliva quietly, as if the head shaking outside the door would suddenly break off and fall in.

"Buckle!"

There was a sudden knock on the door.

****

Concentrate:

¹ Three watch days, around 11 p.m.

When hitting the shift (i.e., 7 p.m.), one slow and one fast, three times in a row;

hit the second watch (nine o'clock in the evening), hit again and again, and hit many times in a row;

When playing the third watch (11 o'clock in the evening), one slow and two fast;

When playing the fourth watch (one o'clock in the morning), one slow and three fast;

When playing the fifth watch (three o'clock in the morning), one slow and four fast.