Xifeng told Xing Renju that he had only come here a few days ago to visit relatives, and when he first came, in addition to finding that there was an extra stage above the big well, he also found that there was a limit to water in the village, and each family could only line up to get four buckets of water every day, and the water was still a little turbid, and it needed to be picked up and placed at home for half a day before it could be used, and the rice made with this water had a strange smell.

"Weird smell?" After hearing this, Xing Renju immediately asked, "What kind of weird smell is it?" ”

"You wait!" Xifeng turned around and went out, but at this time, Xing Renju saw the jar used to hold the porridge before, and sniffed it closely, and he didn't feel anything abnormal when he ate the porridge before.

The people of Cai Village have become like this now, is it because they drank the water from the big well? But why was it okay before the troupe came? Why did the troupe appear just when there was suddenly no water in the well?

Xifeng quickly returned, brought a bowl of water, and placed it in front of Xing Renju.

Xing Renju got closer and smelled it, there was no peculiar smell, and he dipped his finger a little and tasted it, but he didn't taste anything weird, so he asked, "How long have the people of Cai Village been drinking such water?" ”

"Probably ......," Xifeng counted with his fingers, "it should be almost a month." ”

Xing Renju sat there and looked at the bowl of water: "A month's time? So, it's too late to see anything with the oil lamp, and tomorrow morning you can show me the bucket and the well in the courtyard. ”

Xifeng nodded and turned around and took the empty jars and plates back to the main house, while Xing Renju found a more comfortable place to sleep in the corner, after all, he was already exhausted after a long journey.

After sleeping comfortably all night, he woke up early the next morning, and when he was still worried about how he would explain in front of Xifeng's uncle and aunt, Xifeng generously opened the door of the firewood room and asked Xing Renju to go to the courtyard for breakfast.

After Xing Renju went out, he saw Uncle Xifeng and Aunt Xifeng, who were still sluggish, sitting around the small table, slowly drinking porridge and eating steamed buns, without even looking up to look at Xing Renju.

"Two ......" Xing Renju stood at the table and clenched his fists, but as soon as he said two words, he found that the two of them still had the same expression, and when Uncle Xifeng drank porridge, the porridge water would still flow out of the corners of his mouth from time to time, and he didn't seem to feel anything.

Xifeng stood on the side and said: "After I came, they were like this, and I found that the others were similar to this, but only Cai Wuwa was quite sober and told me about the previous Dajing and the troupe......"

Xing Renju frowned: "Cai Wuwa? Where are the people? ”

"I was taken under the stage by the troupe to feed the monsters." Xifeng sat down and looked at Xing Renju with a helpless face.

Xing Ren said: "Why didn't you report to the official? ”

"Mr. Xing, the whole village, except for me, everyone has become like this, who knows to report to the official?" Xifeng said with a sad face, "After I found out that something was wrong, those people in the troupe kept pretending to be like my uncle and aunt, and besides, there are people from inside and outside the village, once I go outside, they will know that I am deliberately pretending to be like that, won't I be finished when the time comes?" ”

Xing Ren nodded: "I counted last night, there are about 30 people in the troupe, right?" ”

Xifeng thought for a moment: "I didn't count it seriously, it should be, right?" ”

"That old man should be the class leader." Xing Renju recalled in his mind, "Now I have to figure out a few things, first, why did the big well suddenly not come out of the water in the first place? Second, the origin of the troupe. Third, why did they build a stage on top of the big well? Fourth, why do you beat gongs and drums in the evening? Fifth, why did they get people into the sacrifices, and what was in the well? ”

Xifeng's eyes widened and said, "There are man-eating monsters!" ”

Xing Renju shook his head: "From the day I became a policeman, until now, I have seen countless strange things, and I have personally caught a mad Taoist priest who uses human flesh as medicine, but I have never encountered a real monster. Just because I haven't seen it doesn't mean it doesn't exist, I only trust what I see with my own eyes. ”

Xifeng nodded slightly: "Then what are you going to do?" ”

"You take me to see the bucket first." After Xing Renju finished speaking, he got up and walked towards the main house, and Xifeng hurriedly opened the door and led him to the bucket.

Xing Renju looked at it for a while, then lifted the bucket out of the house and placed it in the sunlight to look at it carefully.

Xing Renju squatted down and looked at the bucket, while Xifeng looked at him from the side, and then at the bucket, not knowing what he was doing.

After a long time, Xing Renju took out a small bottle from his bag and slowly sprinkled the yellow powder into the bucket.

Xifeng squatted down and watched, smelled the smell of powder, and subconsciously said, "Sulfur? ”

Xingren nodded: "Yes, sulfur." ”

Xifeng asked again: "What is it for?" ”

"Wait." Xing Renju looked at the bottom of the water carefully, and then said, "There is!" ”

Xifeng immediately looked at it: "What? ”

Xing Renju tilted the bucket slightly, allowing the sunlight to refract in, so that Xifeng could see the shallow red dust at the bottom of the bucket.

Xifeng approached the bucket, and also looked at it for a long time, and barely saw it after Xing Renju's guidance, but he was very puzzled: "Mr. Xing, what is this?" ”

"Cinnabar." Xing Renju frowned and said, "Originally, only a small amount of cinnabar was mixed in the silt at the bottom of the barrel, and after pouring a large amount of sulfur powder, there would be a reaction between the two, which was similar to the method used by those Taoist priests who used alchemy in the past, they also used cinnabar, sulfur, etc. to refine the pill, but the things that were refined could not make people immortal and prolong their lives, on the contrary, they would also poison people, because cinnabar was originally poisonous, and mercury could be extracted from it." ”

Xifeng was stunned: "What does Mr. mean that the people here have been eating water with cinnabar for a long time, so they have become like this?" ”

Xing Ren nodded, and when he turned his head to look at the door of the courtyard, he suddenly thought of something, and then he closed his eyes and began to remember and think.

Seeing this, Xifeng asked, "Sir, what's wrong with you?" ”

"Nothing." Xing Renju opened his eyes and shook his head, "Something big is going to happen here, let me ask you, is there a hot spring within ten miles of Cai Village?" ”

Xifeng thought for a moment and shook his head and said, "I don't know." ”

Xing Ren said: "In this way, after noon lunch, when people are the most tired and the spirit is the most sluggish, I will take advantage of that time to send you out of the village, and after leaving the village, you immediately rush to Qinglian Town to report to the official, and ask them to bring people quickly, in addition, do you have a pen and paper?" I'll write a prescription, you grab some medicine from the pharmacy in Qinglian Town, and come back, and grab five pairs of medicine first. ”

Xifeng immediately took a pen and paper to Xing Renju, and after Xing Renju wrote a prescription, he handed it to Xifeng and asked him to keep it with him, so that he could not lose it, and then the two helped Xifeng's uncle and aunt back to the house and waited until noon.

At noon, Xing Renju led Xifeng over the hill behind him, slid down the side of the hill, and while the performers of the troupe at the entrance of the village were dozing off, Xing Renju sent Xifeng away, and repeatedly told him to "go and come back quickly" before leaving.

After sending Xifeng away, Xing Renju returned to the courtyard, looked at the well in the corner of the courtyard for a long time, then put down the rope, and then hid in the pigsty again, deliberately opening the door of the firewood room next to the pigsty completely.

Less than half an hour later, a large number of opera troupe players rushed to the courtyard, but they did not search around, but directly surrounded the firewood house, at this moment, a path dispersed among the crowd, and Xifeng, who was supposed to go to Qinglian Town, appeared in the crowd, and his face also changed his expression.

"Class Master!" The players shouted in unison at Xifeng.

At this point, a smile appeared on the face of Xing Renju, who was hiding in the pigsty—exactly what he had guessed.

Several performers who had searched in the firewood room without success came out, and the leader reported back to Xifeng: "Class master, there are no people in the firewood room!" ”

Xifeng saw the rope at the mouth of the well, quickly stepped forward and looked inside: "This person is not simple, he must have found out what we are doing, quickly send someone down the well to arrest him, and, in addition to him, there must be another person in the village." ”

"Anyone else? Which one? One of the players immediately asked.

Xifeng frowned: "There is one more person who saved him, otherwise, this guy named Xing Renju would not have appeared in Cai Village for no reason, in this courtyard, quickly!" I have to dig three feet into the ground to find them, and besides, tell my godfather that they can almost stop, and I don't think this deal will last long. ”

According to Xifeng's order, those players went down the well, scattered and scattered, and soon Xifeng and two performers were left in the courtyard, and at this moment, Xing Renju walked straight out of the pigsty.

The appearance of Xing Renju surprised the three of Xifeng, who stared at the pigsty behind him, frowning, cursing her foolishness in her heart, because she thought that it was impossible for Xing Renju to hide in the pigsty that was close to Chi Chi.

Under Xifeng's signal, the two players raised the steel knife and rushed up, shouting and slashing, one of them was kicked over by Xing Renju before he approached, and the other person raised his knife and slashed down, but Xing Ren raised his side to avoid it, and was stunned with one hand and one palm.

Kicking the man over and holding his stomach, he got up, and then began to vomit violently, and after vomiting for a while, he was kicked and knocked unconscious by Xingren.

Xifeng looked at Xing Renju and asked, "Who are you?" ”

Xing Ren flicked the dust off his trouser leg: "We should be regarded as peers, half peers." ”

"I know." Xidou nodded, "Since we are peers, we can put something on the table and say, we don't need to do this, right?" ”

Xing Renju smiled and said: "I should say this sentence, but even if you put it on the table and explain it to me clearly at the beginning, I will not let you go, to be honest, you are very smart, when you suddenly saw me yesterday evening, in a hurry, you pretended to be the niece of the family, originally thought that you could deceive me and let me leave Cai Village, who knew that I would return again, you have no choice but to pretend, but there are too many loopholes in your words." ”

Xidou looked at Xing Renju and didn't speak.

Xing Ren said: "You said that you are the niece of this family, and you only came here a few days ago, and the people in this village have been taking this water with cinnabar for at least a month, which has only become the current appearance of the walking dead, and you said that you have been here for a few days, for fear that they will notice, and you also pretend to be like this, this group of people is not stupid, it is impossible to know how long it will take to take this water before they will have this symptom, this is the first biggest loophole." You also say that you can't run, this village is not surrounded by mountains, it is a hilly area in the northwest of Sichuan, and the troupe has 30 people at best, so it is impossible to surround the village with no water, so it is not difficult for a person with flexible legs and feet and normal thinking to run out, this is the second loophole. ”

There was a slight smile on Xifeng's face.

"Don't list the rest, right?" Xing Renju shook his head, "If I talk too much, my mouth is easy to dry up, and I am also easy to get angry, I don't want to do anything to a girl......"

"Girls?" Xifeng laughed, "Your grandma and I are eighty-nine years old this year, can't you see it?" ”

Xing Renju shook his head: "Stop acting, it's a loophole for you to say this." ”

Xifeng was stunned for a moment, her face was full of doubts, she didn't understand why her lie had just started, why was it immediately exposed?

Xing Ren took two steps forward: "You lied and said that you are eighty-nine years old, just to tell me that you know how to make alchemy, and you have found a way to rejuvenate yourself, so the people of the troupe will honestly obey your orders, and you are like a god in their eyes, right?" ”

Xifeng didn't respond, but it was a tacit acquiescence, but she kept guessing in her heart who the Xing Renju in front of her was?

Xing Renju sighed: "You said a word earlier, let people tell your godfather." I saw that old man yesterday, at best, he was sixty or seventy years old, and you were about to say that you were eighty-nine years old, and your subordinates all knew about it, but isn't it inconsistent for an eighty-nine-year-old lady to call a sixty or seventy-year-old man a godfather? You can't lie and say that you're trying to hide your identity, right? Since you've hidden your identity, you can't scare others with the trick you know how to rejuvenate, which is another contradiction. ”

Xifeng just looked at Xing Renju like that, kept watching, and looked at it for a long time before asking, "Who are you?" ”

"You can be arrested now, and I can help you intercede in the future, otherwise, whatever you do, you will end up eating guns." Xing Renju pointed to the mine, "If I'm not mistaken, there is a mine and a waterway under the mine in Cai Village, and the mine road is used to open iron mines, but it was sealed a hundred years or earlier, but in the iron mine, there is another place where high-grade cinnabar mines can be produced, you don't know where to get this news, so you came to Cai Village." ”

Xifeng nodded: "Okay, you are indeed amazing, I admire it very much, it seems that you are really not an ordinary person, you deduced from the water that there is a cinnabar mine below, I already knew this, but how can you know that there is an iron mine below?" ”

"Southwest Tietang!" Xing Ren read word by word, "You can't know these four words, right?" The most famous blacksmith in the southwest is the Tang family, and the Tang family is in the area of Qinglian Town, although it has disappeared for a hundred years, but the news I got is that the descendants of the Tang family are still active in this generation, and I came this time to find them. ”

Xifeng frowned: "What Southwest Tietang?" ”

Xing Renju shook his head: "Since you don't even know this, and you dare to touch the Tang family's things, there is no doubt that the iron ore below must belong to the Tang family, the Tang family has been famous for revenge for hundreds of years, you move their things, you probably won't live long, listen to me, stop and report to the official to surrender, it is much better to fall into the hands of the government than in the hands of the Tang family." ”

"Joke!" Xifeng said angrily, "I don't believe it, you alone can really beat all of us!" Someone! Come on! ”

Xifeng shouted there, the voice echoed in the village, but no one answered, the entire Cai Village is now in addition to the sound of the wind, Xifeng can only hear the sound of her own heartbeat, she realized that something was wrong, turned around and ran towards the outside of the courtyard, looking around and shouting.

And Xing Renju slowly followed behind her, watching Xifeng's panicked appearance.

Although Xing Renju was calmer, he also wondered why everyone else in the troupe had suddenly disappeared.

But not long after, the accident happened again, and Xifeng, who was walking more than ten meters away in front of Xing Renju, suddenly shook his whole body, and then turned to look at Xing Renju, and then lowered his head and pulled out something from his chest.

Because there was still a distance between Xing Renju and Xifeng, he didn't see what it was at all, but after pulling out the thing, Xifeng rolled his eyes and fell straight to the ground.

Knowing that there was an ambush, Xing Renju immediately rolled under the low wall next to him, and as soon as he left the place where he had been standing, he turned his head sideways to find two small iron needles on the ground there.

"Southwest Tietang?" Xing Renju subconsciously blurted out, and then immediately looked around and shouted, "I'm not an enemy, I want to see the leader of the Southwest Tietang!" ”

As soon as he finished speaking, two more iron needles shot out from the grass not far away, hitting Renju's chest.

Before Xing Renju pulled out the iron needle, his eyes went dark, his hands and feet became numb, and then he fainted.

When Xing Renju opened his eyes again, although his mind was clear, his limbs were still stiff and numb and unable to move, and he was also tied up by Wuhuada, and then looked around, and found that he was in the flat dam in the village, and he was surrounded by a group of bandits who were tied up by Wuhuada, pretending to be a troupe.

There were bonfires lit around Pingba, and there were countless people wearing sackcloth and holding torches standing next to the bonfire.

Xing Renju struggled to his feet, looked around, and found that the villagers had regained their original looks, and surrounded him and the rest of the troupe on top of the Pingba, while Xifeng and her so-called godfather were tied to a wooden stake in the center of the Pingba, and firewood was placed around the stake, as if the villagers were trying to burn them.

"It seems that everything is here, and you should have no more accomplices." A woman's voice came from the crowd behind Pingba, "You are obviously just a group of stupid thieves, for hundreds of years, there are many people who dare to go to Cai Village to dig this well, but there is no return, you don't even know this, I can only send you four words - more than innocent." ”

Xing Renju only heard his voice, but did not see his person, so he immediately raised his head and looked around, looking.

Then, the woman's voice came again: "The Tang family serves the fire god Zhurong, and it is also the day of the fire sacrifice, so let's start with the pair of thieves father and daughter!" ”

After the woman finished speaking, a big man dressed in linen clothes but with an open chest walked out of the crowd, and the big man carried a torch to come forward to light the firewood around Xifeng, Xing Renju immediately got up and shouted: "I am Shanhaiguan Jiu'an Pawnshop Dachao Feng Xing Renju!" I want to see the current head of the Tang family in the southwest! ”

Dahan stopped lighting the fire and looked at Xing Renju, and the people around him also turned their eyes to him, but no one spoke.

Xing Renju then repeated his previous words, and was about to say them for the third time, when an unusually slender woman with a bewitching appearance, her hair coiled, black iron hairpins in her hair, black iron hoops on her hands, wrists, and ankles on both feet, slowly walked out of the crowd.