On the ancient road of Liangjing, Xue Ne and Fan Ning braved the wind and snow to beat their horses and gallop. Although it is approaching the end of the year, there are no fewer business tourists on the road: some Hu merchants have just unloaded their goods in Chang'an City, so they hurried to Luoyang, intending to fill the treasures brought by the trek for thousands of miles into the shops in the streets and alleys of Liangjing in the shortest possible time; There are also Jiangnan customers who speak Wu Nong's soft language, huddle in the cold wind of the north, and the carriage is loaded with gorgeous silk and fine tea, hoping to sell it at a good price in the land of the two capitals, so as to maintain the food and clothing of the family for a year.

That night, Xue Ne and Fan Ning passed through Tongguan and stayed at the post station of Hedong Province on the south side of the Yellow River, which was less than 400 miles away from the eastern capital of Luoyang. Fan Ning's wanted warrant has not yet been issued in Guanzhong, and it is only spread in Jingzhao, Fufeng and other counties, so after arriving here, Fan Ning went to Ning Chungong's face, only painted his long eyebrows thick, and still showed people in men's clothes.

The New Year is approaching, and this year is the first time that I have not celebrated the New Year with Li Chunfeng. At this time in previous years, Li Chunfeng would take Fan Ning into the city, buy goods, visit old friends, and stay until the Chinese New Year's Eve, when all the students went home separately, and Li Chunfeng and Fan Ning would brew peppercorn wine, worship Yuan Shi Tianzun, and keep the year until dawn.

In this way, year after year, year after year, Fan Ning gradually grew up, and Li Chunfeng also changed from a gray-haired little old man in the year of Destiny to an old man who is now almost old and has gray hair. It was night when Fan Ning was lying on the couch of the post station, tossing and turning and couldn't sleep, worried that he would remember Li Chunfeng, and his tears couldn't help but roll down, wetting the pillow a lot.

The world is so big, where is the master? If she has something to do, she should always say it, and now there is no news of her, which makes it difficult for her to sleep and eat, and she will worry more than once she is free. Fan Ning was crying silently, when he suddenly heard a knock on the door, and Xue Ne's nice voice followed: "Have you slept?" ”

Fan Ning hurriedly wiped away his tears, put on his clothes, and got up to open the door for Xue Ne: "Not yet...... What's wrong? ”

Xue Ne held a copper hand stove, wrapped it in brocade cloth, and took a few steps forward and stuffed it into Fan Ning's quilt: "I just asked the shopkeeper for it, the snow outside is bigger, and I will warm you up." ”

"You use it", Fan Ning still remembered that when he was a child in the Taoist temple, Xue Ne was very afraid of the cold, "Aren't you afraid of the cold?" I don't need it. ”

Xue Ne accidentally caught a glimpse of the tears on Fan Ning's pillow, and knew that she was worried about Li Chunfeng again, so she said: "The two days have been running too fast, and the horses can't stand it, if the snow is still so heavy tomorrow, we might as well slow down." You haven't been out of the customs since you were a child, so it's good to take this opportunity to take a good look at the scenery outside. ”

"If you want to see it, there are a lot of scenery I want to see along the way", Fan Ning was really led by Xue Ne to deviate from his thinking, and counted carefully, "The danger of Huashan and the solidity of Cuihan, I want to see it, but what I want to see most is in Luoyang, the capital of God." If I have time, I want to go boating on the Luo River, and then see the grand scenery of the Grand Canal, and I want to overlook the Ming Hall of the Son of Heaven, and guess how luxurious and magnificent the Ziwei Palace was decades ago, which attracted Emperor Taizong to burn it...... Of course, the most I want to go is Bishan, you also know how much I worship the king of Lanling, the most magnificent feats of his life is the 'Bishan Victory', although not his contemporaries, if you can pay a look at it is always good. ”

"After the case is investigated, if there is still time, I will definitely accompany you to ......"

Hearing this, Fan Ning's little face was flushed, and his peach blossom eyes rippled slightly: "Okay, it's not early, you should go to bed early." ”

Xue Ne nodded and got up to leave, listening to Fan Ning lock the door before returning to his room. Outside the window, there was goose feathers and heavy snow, and soon a thick layer was piled up on the ground, Xue Ne did not feel sleepy, walked to the table, removed the glass lampshade of the oil lamp in the room, and continued to read the file at hand by reflecting the candle flame.

In the south of Luoyang City, Yishui flows, natural as que, since the period of Emperor Xiaowen more than 200 years ago, countless capable craftsmen have carved exquisite Buddha statues on the stone mountain by the Yi River, the magnificent atmosphere, it is a masterpiece of thousands of years, and it is highly valued by the emperor and queen. Who dared to set fire to this place, burning and injuring several craftsmen, but leaving no traces. The Hongwenguan annex case is very different from this case, but there is one thing in common: rummaging through the debris on the ruins, but no one can find out the cause of the fire in this magnificent building.

Xue Ne had a faint hunch: if he could solve the unsolved case of Longmen Mountain in Luoyang, he would be able to figure out the mystery of the arson in the annex of the Hongwen Museum.

A few days later, on the day of the first day of heavy snowfall, Xue Ne and Fan Ning finally arrived at Luoyang, the capital of the gods, the two immediately in the north of the city at the foot of the mountain, wandering in the arms, only to see the world is vast, the north of the city leans on the mountain, the south is by Luoshui, the canal passes through the city, and thousands of sails compete. The traveling merchants led the camels, formed a long convoy, and wandered on the heavenly street after the snow, and at the end of the heavenly street was the Shangyang Palace and Ziwei City where the golden gate of Qionglou towered. Although Xue Ne and Fan Ning did not speak, they both felt that only the words "majestic and magnificent" could describe this situation and this scene.

The north of the city is where the imperial city is, it is inconvenient to enter, Xue Ne and Fan Ning will follow the outer city, go around to the Dingding Gate in the south of the city, take out the documents and the soldiers who defend the city, the soldiers carefully inspect and let go, the two lead the horse to travel in the one hundred and twenty squares, look at the imperial city on the other side of the Luoshui, it is a completely different scenery from the Daming Palace of Chang'an City.

Taking advantage of the fact that the government was not released, Xue Ne and Fan Ning rushed to the Luoyang Mansion not far from Luoshui to report, if they didn't come, they saw that there were many people gathered here, and they saw that the clothes and costumes were all Cao and the like, and there were even a lot of Persian, Dongying, Nanzhao, and Tubo costumes, crowded side by side at the door of the yamen, Fan Ning couldn't help but exclaim: "Good guy!" Although it is called by the emperor and queen, there are too many people! There is only one case, can it be solved by hundreds of people? ”

"There must be a brave man under the heavy reward", Xue Ne had no intention of caring about others, and after signing and reporting, he received a special document and hurriedly left here with Fan Ning. Needless to say, although Fan Ning's wanted warrant has not been issued in Guanzhong, it is difficult to guarantee that the relevant Fa Cao will come here to apply, and it will be bad if someone finds out.

Just as the sun was setting and the weather was cold and frosty, Xue Ne took Fan Ning back to the south of the city, went to Fengdu to find a good inn to beat, and ordered mushroom rice and braised mutton to eat with Fan Ning.

Somehow, Fan Ning's appetite has become a lot smaller recently, and he eats at the same table with Xue Ne, eating slowly and less, and he actually has some of the grace of his daughter's family, which makes Xue Ne very worried: "Isn't the food smooth?" I'm still uncomfortable, how can I always see that you have something on your mind. ”

Fan Ning scratched his little face, didn't look at Xue Ne and said, "Xu yes...... I'm worried about Master, it's getting late, and we're going to Longmen Mountain early tomorrow morning, so let's find the shopkeeper and ask for two rooms, so let's wash and rest early. ”

Running all the way, Fan Ning has never screamed tired, but she is a girl's family in the end, and it is indeed too hard to travel more than 200 miles a day in such a cold winter. Xue Ne didn't say anything, but he was very distressed, and greeted Xiao Er: "Tired, two upper rooms." ”

The little second stepped forward respectfully, bent down and smiled: "This official, unfortunately, because of the Longmen mountain fire recently, the small shop rooms are in short supply, and there is only one room left at the moment, but there are two couches, two of them are convenient?" ”

If it was usual, Fan Ning would have already agreed with a big grin, but today she didn't respond, and said to Xue Ne with a blushing face: "I see that there are still a few inns over there, you might as well ......"

"Even if the official travels all over Luoyang City today, I'm afraid it will be difficult to find a lovely room. Recently, because of the Longmen Mountain case, the guest rooms in the city are full. In this small shop, there is still an official who has something to do at home before retiring. After all, there is a five-grade official rank, and a reward of a thousand taels of gold, who doesn't want to get it? ”

"How much?" Hearing this little er's words, Fan Ning stood up from the seat in a daze, "Golden thousand taels? More than 100 years of money for a product master? ”

"Yes", Xiao Er smiled and then said, "I don't know this room, but do you want to keep it for the two of you?" ”

In the Pingkang Fang of Chang'an City, Honglian trembled, cleaning up the mess, her white porcelain-like little face was printed with a few red fingerprints, her red lips were stained with blood, and the carefully combed fallen horse bun was toppled down, if it was someone else, she would definitely look extremely embarrassed, but on Honglian's body, there was a kind of beauty that was lovable.

There was a knocking sound at the door downstairs, Honglian was startled, and walked downstairs timidly, seeing that the person who came was Li Hong's guard Zhang Shun, Fang opened the door and welcomed him in: "Brother Zhang......"

Zhang Shun didn't dare to go to the inner hall, so he only handed the medicine bag in his hand to Honglian: "Don't worry, girl, Helan Minzhi has already left." ”

Honglian said with tears in her eyes: "If it weren't for Brother Zhang's help today, Honglian really doesn't know how to deal with herself, please accept my worship." ”

Zhang Shun couldn't stop it, and he didn't dare to help Honglian, so he could only fall to his knees directly, crying and laughing: "Girl, don't do this!" The minister is just on the orders of His Royal Highness, here to protect the girl, how can he say the word 'help'. It's just this time that he planned to dispatch the head of the household department to urgently find Helan Min's deliberations and call him away, which saved the girl. You can't use this name next time, the girl should be more careful, don't meet him in private, otherwise if something happens, Zhang Shun really can't explain it to His Royal Highness. ”

"I heard that the Emperor and Queen of Heaven are going to celebrate the New Year in Luoyang this year, and the Helan University scholar should set off tomorrow and the day after tomorrow, and if there is a day today, he should not come again for a short time, tonight's matter, please don't tell His Highness......

Recently, Honglian found out a lot of things from Helan Min's place, and informed Li Hong's staff through Zhang Shun, and Li Hong's staff took the opportunity to attack Helan Minzhi in the court, causing him to be reprimanded by the emperor and queen. Helan Minzhi was annoyed, and also suspected that this matter had something to do with Red Lotus, he came here drunk tonight, and wanted to mistreat Red Lotus, but after being rejected by Red Lotus, he actually dragged Red Lotus, if Zhang Shun was one step late, the consequences would be unimaginable. But even if she trembled with fear, her eyes were still clear and firm, and all she could think about was Li Hong. Zhang Shun sighed with emotion in his heart, but he also knew that he had no right to put his beak, so he bowed his fist and exited the attic.

Honglian closed the door, turned around and put the medicine bag brought by Zhang Shun on the high platform, took out the medicine bottle and carefully wiped the wound on her wrist, looking at the blood marks on Luo Xiang's arm, she couldn't help but reddened her eyes, but she had already made up her mind that she would not regret Li Hong's death, how could she not stand this grievance?

Before Honglian could finish her bruising, she heard a strange noise at the gate, she couldn't help but be surprised, thinking that if He Lanminzhi turned back at this time, she would really die tonight. Honglian forcibly suppressed her mind and turned to the chest of drawers, intending to take out a short knife for self-defense, but the person outside the door took a step faster, poked in through the crack in the door with a bone fan, and moved the latch a little bit. The door was gently pushed open, the north wind was howling, and the people who came were dressed in fluttering clothes, hearty and clear, solemn as the wind under the pine, it was Li Hong.

"As I said before, when the twilight falls, hang up the copper lock, and never forget it in the future", hearing that Helan Min was making trouble, Li Hong hated to draw his sword and cut him down, but reason restrained him, so that he could not do anything, so he could only try his best to come here to visit Honglian before curfew.

Honglian didn't expect Li Hong to come, after all, the New Year is approaching, and the emperor and queen are not in Chang'an, many things inside and outside the palace need Li Hong to take ideas, he is busy and tired and only hates the lack of skills.

The red lotus didn't cry just now, but at this time the tears were like rain, and the tears rolled down the beautiful face, and I felt pity.

Li Hong walked in front of Honglian, looked at her embarrassed appearance, indescribably distressed, and wanted to hold her in his arms. But there are some things, after making the first step, it is difficult to turn back, Li Hong can only suppress his thoughts with difficulty, pull the red lotus's sleeve cage to the second floor, personally boil boiling water, and wipe her wounds with medicine.

These days, if it weren't for the Red Lotus cliché, he got the handle of Helan Minzhi and dealt more blows to him in the court, Helan Minzhi would definitely seize the Hongwen Pavilion and the princess's remains case to make a big fuss, and not only would Xue Ne's investigation not go as smoothly as this, but Li Hong would also be out of ground in the court, and he would be exploited by traitors, endangering the safety of Chang'an, Luoyang and even the Tang Dynasty.

Li Hong knew that Honglian was meritorious, but he didn't want to praise her at all, he only hated himself for being powerless and unable to protect her, looking at the scars on her wrists, white neck and small face, he couldn't help but reddened his eyes: "I will buy you another house, don't live here anymore, Helan Minzhi's matter ends here......"

"However, if I disappear out of thin air, won't he suspect His Highness?" The tears on Honglian's little face had not dried, but her expression was very stubborn, "If he knew about my relationship with His Highness, wouldn't His Highness's painstaking management all these years be in vain." I know that Xue Yushi has not yet arrived in Lantian, and the matter of the princess's remains has worried His Highness, and when I can tie up Helan Min, I can fight for His Highness for a while. This life of mine was given by His Royal Highness, if it weren't for His Highness, Red Lotus would have been in the quagmire a year ago, how could I know His Highness. The days of more than a year have been the happiest time in my life, no matter what the result is, even if it is burned with jade, Red Lotus will not regret it. I only hope that His Royal Highness will make arrangements as soon as possible, if one day, the red lotus will not be able to keep it...... I wish His Highness could retreat with his whole body. ”

"Are you so desperate?" Li Hongzheng wiped the wounds on his face for the red lotus, holding her beautiful little face with his big hands, seeing her shrink in pain, he was distressed and afraid, and then couldn't suppress the feelings that had been hidden in his heart for a long time, and lowered his head to put his smooth forehead against her forehead, the two were not more than a foot apart, and the nose was full of her clear and sweet breath, so that he could really feel her existence, as if only in this way could he get some peace of mind, "Since the fate is mine, listen to me." Helan Minzhi I will clean up, I want you to be well, don't have any mistakes......"

If Fang Cai was trembling because of fear and fear, at this time, Honglian was trembling because of Li Hong's kiss. is obviously as proud and pure as a cold plum, but she is on the side of the dirty pool, Li Hong loves her even more, but she is still not abrupt, she easily opened her little face, and took her little hand instead: "I'll help you release the water, take a bath and have a good rest, I'll stay tonight." ”

Every time Li Hong said to stay, he sat in front of the desk and read the documents all night, Honglian sympathized with his hard work, and replied: "Your Highness doesn't have to worry about me, I'll lock the door later......"

"Don't worry, you don't know, before Shen Yan went to Luoyang, he left me seven or eight case files, all of which are about the narrative of the big case of the Hongwen Pavilion Annex, and I happened to finish reading it tonight. If you insist on driving me away, I won't be able to sleep peacefully in the East Palace, I will only worry about you all the time, so I might as well stay here. ”

Hearing Li Hong say this, Honglian no longer shirked, and said with red eyes: "Okay...... Then I'll go make some warm tea to refresh Your Highness. ”

In the Fengdu Inn in Luoyang, Xue Ne took a bath, sat on the edge of the couch in his obscene clothes, and carefully looked at the case file that Fang received from the government office.

No wonder the emperor and queen will give a heavy reward next time, this case is really a bit bizarre: since last month, a total of three fires have broken out in Longmen Mountain, killing five craftsmen and injuring more than a dozen people of varying severity. The Criminal Department, Dali Temple and Luoyang Mansion have sent special personnel to repeatedly investigate the crime scene at Longmen Mountain, but there are no suspicious people at the scene every time, and even the people present are different every time, and there is nothing else in the cave except for the bucket paint for the golden body of the Buddha, there is no firewood and grass, and there is no fire and nitrate, but this bizarre burning case happened like this. It is no wonder that there are rumors in Luoyang City that the Buddha is angry and is about to send disaster to the Tang Dynasty, which makes people panic.

Xue Ne's whole person sank into the file, completely forgetting himself, and he didn't even notice that Fan Ning came out of the bath.

Fan Ning has long soft and shiny hair, a pair of clear and bright peach blossom eyes, because of the cold, the tip of her nose is slightly red, and she is cute. Seeing Xue Ne reading a book, she sat on her couch, pursed her lips and looked at him from afar, she just wanted to see what he was doing, but she couldn't help but look at the young man who was as refreshing and clear as the bright moon. Although they grew up together, she gradually discovered that she did not know him as well as she imagined. Was it Xue Ne's deep burial, or was her mind on the side, and she had only begun to notice him recently?

Xue Ne happened to have something to ask Fan Ning, and when he raised his eyes, the two looked at each other for a moment, and then turned their heads away at the same time, revealing a little surprise. I don't know how long it took, Xue Ne froze his mind and asked again: "I have something to ask you, an expert: from the perspective of feng shui, do you think there is anything strange about this case?" ”

"Longmen Mountain is located in the southeast of Luoyang City, and among the five elements, the southeast belongs to fire. The dragon is a symbol of the Son of Heaven, and Luoyang is the imperial capital. Combining these two points, arson at the feet of the Son of Heaven seems to be a bit provocative...... When I first entered the city, I listened to the children on the street faintly singing 'Longmen fire, disaster in the world'. ”

If Xue Ne is gifted and observes things in detail, then Fan Ning is well-versed in human feelings and proficient in world affairs. After listening to Fan Ning's words, Xue Ne thought about it, and secretly sighed in his heart that the situation in the world was indeed more complicated than he imagined: "When I go to the scene tomorrow, I will be able to understand the situation better." It's not too early, you can rest. ”

Seeing that he was still not sleepy, Fan Ning was still seriously flipping through the file, and joked while making the bed: "This time the bounty is really a lot, if you can get it, Xue Chuyu will not be angry?" ”

Xue Ne was stunned, turned his head, and his white clothes made him even more handsome, and his smile was as clear as water, like a child who has not been deeply involved in the world: "I don't care about those, it is better to help you wash away the grievances of the important ......"

When Fan Ning heard this, the peach blossoms were suddenly red, and the cherry lips were simmering for a long time, and he couldn't get a word back. Xue Ne saw that she was silent, thinking that she was sleepy, so he put his mind on the file again, but Fan Ning couldn't calm down for a long time, lying on his side on the couch with his back to him, his heart pounding.

Since the day of the fight in the underground palace with him coaxing Liu, she has a little different feelings for Xue Ne in ignorance. But she knows that he has another love in his heart, and when the case is over, he will take her to see her, as a close friend, only sincere blessings can preserve their friendship for many years. But people are like this, knowing that they can't get it, but it's hard to suppress their thoughts, Fan Ning hates his greed, his eyes are red in all kinds of self-blame, and he is entangled for a long time, until the third watch falls asleep in a daze.

Early the next morning, after Fan Ning and Xue Ne had breakfast, they rode their horses to Longmen, southeast of Luoyang City. There were already a lot of applicants waiting here, Xue Ne wanted to stand at the end of the line, but was seen by the sharp-eyed Luozhou Judiciary, and beckoned him to come forward: "Xue Yushi! Come on, come on, you are personally recommended by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, come forward quickly! ”

Xue Ne's temperament was indifferent, he didn't like to pay attention to irrelevant things, at this time he was pulled forward by the judiciary, but his eyes were staring at Longmen Mountain not far away, only to see that individual grottoes were sealed, and the rest were still being excavated as usual, nearly a thousand craftsmen were hung by wrist-thick hemp ropes, working diligently, and carved nearly 100,000 Buddha statues on this hard stone mountain.

Xue Ne took a few steps back and stood on the edge of the Yi River so that he could see more clearly, only to see that the sealed grottoes were black, and even a few patches of black ash burned out of the outer cave walls. The stone of this Longmen Mountain is hard, similar to lime, and it is not easy to ignite, so it can be burned like this, which shows the prosperity of the fire at that time.

A carriage came from the mortise and tenon road by the river, and stopped far away, and several men who looked like servants walked down from it with a few craftsmen who were stumbling, and Xue Ne saw that those people had burns of varying degrees, some on their necks, some on their hands, and some on their faces, which should be the craftsmen who survived the fire.

The judicial said to everyone: "Ladies and gentlemen, the witness is here." You must have read the dossier last night, but if you have any doubts, ask them one by one, and they will know everything they have to say, or they will be punished according to the law. ”

A Fa Cao from Gangnam Province was the first to ask, "Dare to ask where the fire started at that time?" ”

Several craftsmen looked at each other, and finally selected an elderly man to respond: "At that time, we were painting the golden body of the Buddha statue in the cave, and the fire suddenly rose, and with a bang, it burned our clothes, and we struggled to run out of the cave, with a fire on our bodies, and under our feet was the abyss, and the soldiers who pulled the ropes on it saw it and anxiously let us down, but some of them were burned to the ropes, and they fell to death instead of being burned to death......

"Did you really see any suspicious people there?" Hu Ren Fa Cao asked in blunt official language.

"We are all from the same village, we live near Longmen Mountain, and we have been cultivating Buddha statues for hundreds of years...... There are less than 100 of the nearly 1,000 craftsmen, who are selected from other places, but they are all craftsmen who have cultivated Buddha statues for many years, and these judges know best, if you don't believe it, you can ask him......"

Seeing this, the Luoyang Judiciary returned to himself and explained to everyone: "What they said is right, this official has already investigated, not to mention that the several caves that caught fire were all built by craftsmen from nearby villages, and there are no suspicious people. Because the Emperor and Queen of Heaven attach great importance to it, there are three checkpoints inside and outside here, and it is impossible for ordinary people to enter it. ”

"This is strange, if you say that you are not an insider who committed the crime, and there are no suspicious outsiders, is it really the Buddha who is angry and sends down karmic fire?"

After listening to the testimony of the craftsman, Zhong Facao only felt more chaotic, and couldn't help but be a little annoyed, and the voices of reprimand were endless. Then the Luoyang judiciary has long known that this case is difficult to decide, if it is not extremely tricky, how can the emperor and queen of heaven reward it next time? Having said that, but the anger of the people was unsettled, and the justice saw that only Xue Ne was silent among the people, as if grasping a life-saving straw, and asked: "Xue Yushi, Xue Yushi, you are personally recommended by His Royal Highness the Prince, so naturally you have other opinions, but do you have any doubts to ask them?" ”

Xue Ne raised his eyes to look at the high cave on the stone mountain on the right hand, and then looked at the scarred craftsman in front of him, and arched his hand to the judge: "Xue wants to go up to those three caves to see, I don't know if I can get my wish?" ”

Everyone didn't expect that Xue Ne would make this request, and even the judiciary was stunned for a moment, and Fang stumbled back: "Ah, it's not that it can't, it's just ......"

"Then there will be work", Xue Ne was so preoccupied with the case that he didn't care about any other disputes, and shouted to the soldiers on the top of the hill to throw down the thick rope.

"Wait a minute", Fan Ning stepped forward, pressed Xue Ne's hand, and said in a low voice, "The chief official is inconvenient, let's let the subordinate go up, you need to pay attention to something, just tell me." ”

"How could I let you go up", Xue Ne tied the rope tightly around his waist with the help of two soldiers beside him, and smiled at Fan Ning, "I said, with me, I won't let you get into danger." ”

With that, Xue Ne beckoned and motioned for the soldiers to pull him up. In the middle of winter, this place is surrounded by mountains and rivers, and the wind is strong, even if Xue Ne cultivates eight feet, it is only a drop in the ocean in front of this huge stone mountain. Fan Ning watched him being gradually pulled up to the cave where there was a fire, and his heart was full of indescribable concern.

Someone behind him quietly discussed: "This is the eldest son of General Xue Rengui?" Why didn't you follow General Xue to conquer Goryeo, what kind of case did you decide here? ”

"You see that he was born with fine skin and white meat, but I am afraid that he can't even pull the bow, looking at his appearance, he also grew up as a mixed girl in the street on weekdays, walking around taking flowers and pinching fruits, if such a person goes to the battlefield, won't our Datang be finished long ago......"

Fan Ning suddenly turned his head and looked at the two people who were talking nonsense, and wanted to scold, but he heard a man laughing from the crowd: "'Rather be a centurion, better than a scholar', after Xue Yushi is a general, don't let the opportunity to rise in the army, devote yourself to the Ming Law, there should still be two brushes, we might as well wait and see." ”

Fan Ning followed the prestige, and saw that the person who spoke was a scholar-like person, similar to Xue Ne's age, born with fine skin and white flesh, and could not pick his hands on his shoulders. Fan Ning was a little suspicious of him, and asked out loud, "Who are you?" ”

The man didn't reply, raised his finger and pointed upwards and said, "Don't talk about this, let's see if your family chief can enter the cave smoothly." ”

Although the scholar's words did not directly refute the ridicule of Xue Ne, they succeeded in quieting the crowd. Fan Ning no longer cared, raised his eyes, and saw that at the top of Longmen Mountain, three soldiers were riveting enough to pull up the rope at once, and the wrist-thick hemp rope was rubbing on the edge of the cliff, making a creepy rattling sound, and the higher he went, the stronger the cross wind, although Xue Ne tied his waist tightly, he was still swayed left and right by the wind, and he spun again and again, and almost collided with the stone wall several times.

It was easy to be hoisted to the entrance of the cave, and Xue Ne stretched out his long legs and wanted to step into the cave, but unfortunately he was still some distance from the entrance of the cave and could not do so. Fan Ning was in a hurry, and only hated that it was not himself who went up just now, and shouted loudly: "Big fool! Yoo! Go by! ”

How could these Facao, who came from all sides, expect that such an elegant and dignified Qincha Yushi would have such a funny name, and they all burst into laughter and shouted "big fool". Fan Ning regretted his words and shouted with a red face: "Go!" The nickname of the chief officer of my family is not what you sons can call! Shut up! ”

Laughter erupted from beneath his feet, but Xue Ne had no intention of investigating what was happening. Seeing the scene of the crime, the world in Xue Ne's eyes seemed to suddenly slow down several times, the wind no longer blew sideways, the rope stopped shaking, and even the noisy crowd below disappeared.

Xue Ne looked at the cave in front of him, riveted his strength, swung his body backwards, and rushed towards the cave like an eagle swooping, and landed safely on the ground. There was a burst of smoke and dust in all directions, Xue Ne dusted off the ashes around him, raised his eyes and looked around, only to see that in the cave about a zhang square, there was a statue of the main Buddha carved and dozens of arhats of different sizes, the golden body of the main Buddha statue had been half painted, but it was faintly blackened due to the fire. Xue Ne clasped his hands together and bowed, and looked around, only to see three or five bamboo buckets leaning at the foot of the Buddha statue, which were mixed with various colors of pigments, in terms of quantity, yellow and white were the most, presumably in order to harmonize into a color close to the skin. Xue Ne dipped his hand on some of the remaining paint on the ground, the yellow one was slightly pungent, and the white one had no smell, but it had a salty and bitter taste on his lips.

Xue Ne got up and looked around again, and the two bamboo buckets hanging at the entrance of the cave immediately attracted his attention. Xue Ne walked to the bamboo bucket, only to see that there was still some viscous liquid left in the bucket, he rubbed it with his fingers and put it under his nose, smelling a rotten egg smell, and then smelling a little floral fragrance, it should be a mixture of egg white and honey, used to mix the pigment powder into lacquer, so that it can adhere to the surface of the stone Buddha statue. There are a lot of coke-like materials on the ground under the bamboo tube, and there are earthy yellow fibers left in the incomplete burnout area, which is supposed to be a cloth bag containing pigment powder.

Judging from the blackened marks on the cave, Xue Ne could not identify the location of the fire, and it seemed that in just an instant, the entire cave was on fire. Xue Ne had a slight doubt in his heart: if there were really villains who set fire here, he would undoubtedly involve himself in the fire, so he must have used some kind of ingenuity to make the cave burst into flames on its own.

Xue Ne immediately thought of the fire in the annex of the Hongwen Pavilion, and according to the guards at the time, the fire was so fast that he didn't even have time to run to the well to fetch water to put out the fire. Even if the courtyard is an all-wooden structure, it doesn't make sense, but if the murderer used the same method as here, causing the courtyard to burst into flames, it would make sense.

Xue Ne took out the oil paper he had prepared in advance, pulled out two sheets of it, took the powder of two pigments, and wrapped them in each. This is also a habit that Xue Ne has developed in handling cases, after all, it is unpredictable when an unsolved case will occur, and only by carrying it with him can the evidence be preserved for inspection in the first time. It's just that every time he surveys the scene, Xue Ne will feel a little uncomfortable in his heart, he sighs softly, steps out of the cave, and pulls the rope to signal the soldiers to make the rope eat again, so that he can lower him to the ground.

After Xue Ne landed, Fan Ning hurriedly stepped forward and asked, "How?" Is there anything out of the ordinary? ”

Xue Ne glanced at the people present, and saw that there were also craftsmen walking back and forth, thinking that if there was a murderer in this case, it must be among these craftsmen, he was afraid of revealing the mystery and being destroyed by the murderer, so he only said: "For the time being, the method of arson cannot be determined, and the details will be explained in private and listened to by the judiciary after returning to the yamen." ”

As soon as the words fell, this group of Facao immediately erupted into noisy discussions, and some people even questioned bluntly: "Xue Yushi is for the reward of a thousand gold, and he doesn't want to tell me and others, so he deliberately conceals it!" ”

"If you don't believe it, you can go up and take a look yourself", Fan Ning saw that they were messing around, and he was angry, "The rope is here, which official wants to go up and take a look, just let me know, and the soldiers above will immediately pull Er up to the cave, why bother Xue Yushi here!" ”

Just when all the Dharma Cao were hesitating, they suddenly heard a "boom", and a certain cave only ten zhang away from everyone was splashed with fire, and the craftsmen who were painting the golden body of the Buddha statue in the cave screamed and exited the cave, hanging in the air, covered with flames, struggling. Xue Ne strode forward and shouted to the soldiers on the mountain: "Quick! Put them down! Adjutant Ning, go fetch water! ”

"Where's the bucket!" Under the stone steps on the side is the Yi River, which can draw water, but there are no tools, Fan Ning anxiously asked the justice of the Luoyang Mansion.

Although the judge had been in charge of the case for a long time, it was the first time he had seen this happen with his own eyes, and he was stunned for a moment, and ran to a wooden house next to him: "There is a spare ...... in the house."

For a while, everyone came back to their senses and strode towards the wooden house, Fan Ning was ahead of everyone, carrying a bucket in one hand, flying down to the shore, filling two large buckets, and splashing them at the craftsman who was put on the ground by the soldiers. Although the fire was extinguished, when everyone gathered around, they saw that the two craftsmen were black and bloody, and they were already dying.

"Retribution! It's the Buddha who is angry! The crowd was so frightened that they immediately scattered and fled, fearing that if they were a little too late, they would be caught up in this calamity that fell from heaven. And there are still flames rising from the grotto in the sky, and if you rush to get approached by the sling, I am afraid that the rope will be burned off, and it can only be burned out. Xue Ne stood under the cave, looking at the large and small Buddha statues on the straight stone wall, his handsome eyebrows were tightly locked, and his face was full of indescribable confusion.

Although a major case has been solved, this is also the first time Xue Ne has seen the case with his own eyes. At the feet of the Son of Heaven, in front of a hundred Fa Cao, who could quietly set fire without knowing it, or was it really angered by the Buddha that ignited the karmic fire of Longmen Mountain?