Chapter 1: Overnight stay

A few hours passed, and the sky was dusk and the sun was about to set. There is still some distance from Chizhou, and Ji Ying proposed: "You might as well find a family nearby to live for a night." ”

"This place is really remote, and there are not a few people on the official road." Tsukichi grumbled. "You're on the right path, aren't you?"

"Say a few words and keep your spirits." Ji Ying looked around, there were only two or three households in the distance, and there was a barren scene.

He pointed to the nearest house, "Let's go to that house and rest." ”

Yuechi bowed his head and made trouble with him all the way, and now he has no strength at all.

When I arrived in the vicinity, I found that the family's house seemed to have not been renovated for some years, and the thatch on the roof was either missing or had turned black.

Ji Ying knocked on the door, "We are in a hurry, passing by here, and want to spend the night in the house." ”

The one who opened the door was a well-mannered young man, "Please come in, two of you." ”

The house is so dilapidated on the outside, and even more so on the inside. In the middle of summer, you can feel a chill in the house.

"Yo, it's much cooler inside than outside." Ji Ying said.

The young man smiled: "My house is in the middle of nowhere, and it is not as good as a house in the city. ”

"Yu's surname is Ji Mingying, may I ask your honorable name?" Ji Ying said solemnly. Yuechi thought that it was inconvenient for him to walk and reveal his name, so he didn't think there was anything strange.

"Zhou Tao, originally from Lingnan, later moved here." His words flickered, as if he was hiding something.

Ji Ying didn't continue to ask, picked up the others and said: "There don't seem to be many people in this place, so what, I remember that when I came here a few years ago, there seemed to be a village, oh, I remembered it, it seems to be called Xu Village." Yuechi saw his unobtrusive appearance, and spat him in his heart.

Zhou Tao: "The two of you are hungry, so I'll make a fire to cook." ”

He sighed while taking out a few spoonfuls of rice from the jar: "I originally wanted to study for fame, and I studied hard for a few years, thinking that I could go to high school in one fell swoop, but I didn't expect an old Chen Guolao to come and ask for several acres of land for my family, and even in the end I couldn't even set aside the travel expenses to Beijing." ”

Ji Ying was interested and asked, "Who is Chen Guolao?" Dare to grab someone else's land. ”

Yuechi had a bad chill, he really couldn't open any pot and which pot to mention, and he was involved with Chen Guolao's old immortal.

"Chen Guolao is a petty official, and later relied on a few good daughters to be so domineering."

"What's going on here?"

Zhou Tao said: "He has three daughters, one of whom entered the palace and became Jieyu, who is said to be the emperor's favorite concubine; a son who married Sima of Chizhou; There is also a wife who has become the commander of Shanyang County. ”

"Any person in Chang'an Xinghua Fang can have something to do with the big official, what is this?" Ji Ying said disdainfully.

Zhou Tao's eyes lit up, "Are you from Chang'an?" ”

"yes."

He looked at Yuechi again and said bluntly: "Looking at the appearance of the two of them, it seems that they are not all the way." ”

"We met by chance in the ruined temple, and we felt that we were in love, so we walked all the way together." Ji Ying smiled slyly.

Zhou Tao couldn't help but look at him, "Brother Venerable's dress is like a noble birth. ”

"What did Brother Venerable say? I just relied on the ancestral foundation to have a little money, and now I am maintaining the shelf of my ancestors, so as not to let my ancestors lose their dignity. Ji Ying hurriedly waved her hand.

Zhou Tao praised: "The girl's appearance is really peugeot, but she looks like a person from a painting, how do you look at it and like it." ”

The spring breeze in the moon pool is full of faces, "Brother Xie Ren praised. More and more, I felt that this person was gentle and quiet, and his words and bearing were thousands of times better than that gentleman Han Xuan next to him. She couldn't help but sigh, there was really no good fruit to eat when she was entangled by the plague god.

Ji Ying added: "The beauty of the girl in the moon pool, how many people can't compete with her when she talks. He teased him again and said, "It's okay that the girl in the moon pool doesn't speak, but it's not to teach people to love when she opens her mouth, and it's not to hate." ”

She sneered and glared at him secretly.

At this time, there happened to be a knock on the door outside, and Yuechi breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that she could finally take a break, but her face was still feverish.

Zhou Tao went to open the door and exclaimed, "Siluo, why are you?" Is there something wrong with coming in the big night? ”

It was a petite and delicate girl who looked to be twelve or thirteen years old, a few years younger than Yuechi.

She whispered, "Brother Zhou, I don't have any rice at home, can you lend me some?" ”

Zhou Tao hesitated for a moment and said, "I still have half a bag of rice, you can take it." ”

"Thank you, Brother Zhou." Siro said excitedly.

She was about to go home, but was summoned by Ji Ying. "Little girl, come, come." He tried to soften his voice, causing Yuechi's body to feel cold.

"Come, tell my brother, is something going on in your house?" He reassured.

Siro's tears fell, "My father went to Chizhou City to do carpentry, and finally did a good job, but when he wanted to ask for wages, he was beaten by the family of that family, and said: 'Look at your tattered appearance, you still want to be paid?' ’”

Yuechi wiped her tears with a handkerchief, "When you cry, your eyes will become a little rabbit." Then I couldn't help but scold that Chen Guolao in my heart, I wanted to blurt it out, but I didn't dare to attack because of someone next to me.

Ji Ying gave her the osmanthus candy and said with a smile: "After eating the sugar, don't cry like a big flower face in the future." ”

Siro ate the candy, and the tears on her face dried much better.

"Tell my brother, which family did this?" Ji Ying asked.

She said with a crying voice: "It's not that Chen Guolao and his son-in-law who made a bastard. ”

Ji Ying chewed a osmanthus candy by herself, "Tell me, what's wrong with him?" ”

Zhou Tao had some scruples and whispered a reminder beside him, "Siluo." Then he shook his head.

He naturally didn't care about Zhou Tao's little movements, "Say whatever you want, let's just talk about it, can those guys still pull out our tongues?" Causing Yuechi to purse his lips and snicker.

"That Chen Guolao has been rampant here for many years, and no one dares to care about him no matter how many parents and officials he has changed. Later, his daughter entered the palace and became a concubine, and there was no one in her eyes. Therefore, there is a saying that it is better to be born well than to marry well, and every family is counting on a daughter who can climb the high branches. Siluo's words caused Ji Ying to laugh, and he smiled: "Keep talking, keep talking." ”

"He alone occupied hundreds of acres of fertile land in Chizhou, and not only that, but also built a Qingyuan garden like a garden called Hewu."

Ji Ying interrupted her suddenly, "Huanwu." ”

Siro nodded and smiled, "That's right, it's Huanwu." Then he said: "It seems that he also got a good horse that he said even the emperor did not have, and I heard that it was the chief chamberlain of the palace who honored him." Some of the harsh taxes in Chizhou City were raised by him, and he can really be said to be the emperor of Chizhou. ”

Yuechi looked at Ji Ying and felt that he was a little unhappy, but she didn't see anything unusual about him.

Ji Ying didn't think it was a news story, and asked bluntly: "What kind of official is he?" Where is the family? ”

Siro said bluntly: "I can't remember what kind of official he was, it seems that in recent years, he has been idle at home." ”

Zhou Tao said: "He used to be Sima of a certain state, and returned to his hometown after paying tribute. Why does my brother care about him? ”

"Ah, it's nothing, I've heard a lot about him along the way, so I'll ask." Ji Ying took out a few copper coins from her sleeve, "Take them and play." ”

Siro took the money, thanked him, and said goodbye and went home.

Zhou Tao persuaded: "Brother Ji, you can't afford to mess with this Chen Guolao, his family has a deep foundation, don't be impulsive and form a bond with others." ”

"There can be several century-old homes in the world, and even if they survive a hundred years, they are only the end of the strong crossbow, barely continuing. Wang and Xie are still like this, not to mention a small Chen family in Chizhou. Ji Ying said contemptuously.

Zhou Tao argued helplessly: "Then when the Chen family was in its prime, we were small families, just hide, why fight with others?" Although he believed that Ji Ying was from an extraordinary background, he didn't believe that he could bring down a family in an instant.

"Brother Zhou, he goes his way, I'll just cross my bridge. I'm not here to get rid of these ruffians. ”

Zhou Tao suddenly asked, "Dare to ask why Brother Ji Ying came?" ”

"Come here to see the scenery, and go to the mountains to worship the Buddha by the way." He said lightly.

Zhou Tao knew that he had to say a lot, so he didn't say much anymore and went to cook on the fire.

Yuechi came to Ji Ying's side and said, "This scholar is not bad. ”

Ji Ying whispered in her ear: "He is also a spineless master, put him along, and you will be busy in the future." ”

Yuechi's face turned red for a moment, and he covered his face, "If you say it again, I'll leave you here." ”

"You still need to be entangled when you pass by, you girl doesn't seem to have much money, settle down, I'll give you some money to do it." Ji Ying took out a bunch of money and shook it in front of her eyes, and even deliberately shook the money out.

Yuechi snatched the money bag from his hand at once, "These are all mine, look at how arrogant you are." ”

"It's really amazing, Miss Yuechi, it's okay, give me the money." Ji Ying's face was bitter.

Yuechi sneered at him, "The current way of the world is that if you are rich, you are the king, don't dare to say it." ”

"Lady Yuechi, just let me go," he relented first, and then instantly reclaimed his money bag while she got carried away. "If the money is placed with you, it is easy to be stolen, so I will always put it in my hands, so that you will not be a thief when you see the money in the future."

Yuechi was tricked by him, and said angrily: "I didn't see that you can last on the right path, and if you learn so much, you will only bully people." If you want to say a word to me, you just have to rely on robbery, and they all think you are a robber. Tears welled up in her eyes.

He shook his head helplessly and sighed, "Okay, I admit defeat, I just finished comforting one, and I have to comfort you again, I don't have the skills." He took out a handkerchief and gave it to her, and murmured, "Dry your face quickly, save people from laughing." ”

She embarrassedly said, "Okay." ”

Ji Ying instructed: "Don't be a red-eyed rabbit, you should also learn to be a lady of a serious family." Even if you can't be gentle and upright with a smile and a smile, at least pretend, the empty shelf can be displayed for a while, why can't you do it. ”

"Cut, of course there is an aunt who teaches manners in the music workshop, you don't need to say it." Tsukichi skimmed his head.

"I'll be angry after saying two or three sentences, don't be annoyed, the more annoyed you are, the easier it is to get old."

"You're old, I'm much younger than you." Yuechi scolded him in a suppressed voice.

At this time, Zhou Tao shouted in the kitchen, "Brother Ji, I fried a few side dishes, do you still want wine?" ”

Ji Ying replied, "Come on." ”

He smiled and said, "If you have good wine to eat, you are not afraid of the girl yelling." ”

Yuechi sneered, "Eating ginger on a hot day is really hot." ”

"I'm afraid of you, I'll let you eat anything delicious for a while, of course, you are not allowed to steal my wine." Ji Ying said wistfully.

Zhou Tao brought a few dishes and a pot of wine, and poured Ji Ying full of wine. "Brother Ji, please."

Ji Ying glanced at it, the left was just a home-cooked meal, and it was not difficult to swallow. "Please." He took a sip, and the taste of the wine had a unique taste of the countryside. He suddenly remembered the old wine that he had treasured at home in the past, which was full of mellow fragrance, and he often drank and enjoyed the flowers under the osmanthus tree, seeking pleasure. By the time he woke up from the dream, he had already left Gentle Township, and he silently stared at the wine, sighing in his heart: for the time being, he could only rely on it to relieve his boredom.

"Brother Ji has something on his mind?" Zhou Tao looked at him with hazy eyes and asked.

"It's okay, this wine reminds me of old things." He's telling lies.

Zhou Tao smiled: "Girl, eat vegetables." So, as if to show the food, I sandwiched the vegetables for the moon pool.

Yuechi finally moved her chopsticks, and the hot summer made her have no appetite, so she simply ate a few bites without refusing the master's face.

Ji Ying somehow kept eating and drinking, and Zhou Tao was vague when he asked about Chang'an.

He didn't rush to bed to rest, but went out to blow the wind and sober up. In the wilderness, the stars in the sky are twinkling, and the dim sky is much cleaner than the dim sky in the lights of Chang'an. At the turn of Liang and Zhou, there were years of war here, and it was desolate. Ji Ying found a clean place, looked into the distance, and sat for a long, long time.

"What do you think? The soul is out of the body. Yuechi also followed his example and gave him a touch on his forehead.

"Oops, Tsukichi," he looked at her with a frown, frightened.

Yuechi smiled: "You, your heart has already flown out of the clouds." ”

Ji Ying pulled out a few grasses, "It's very boring, so I can only sit here." ”

"I'll play the pipa to relieve your boredom." She smiled maliciously again: "But I have to give money." ”

"Okay, if you play well, I'll give you more money. and not bad for the copper plate that sent you. Ji Ying tore and tore the grass in his hand, and finally the broken grass was blown away by him.

She just wants to make money if she wants to make it, "You pick a song, from court music to folk slang music, I know a little bit about it." ”

Ji Ying dug up the soil, sowed the seeds in her pocket, and then filled the soil back up. He vaguely remembered what she had said, so he asked, "What did you just say?" ”

Yuechi complained: "After saying so much, you didn't even listen to a word. He took the trouble to repeat it again: "You can choose any song, court music, and country slang music." When she had nothing to offer, she was willing to bend her waist for the few pennies in his bag.

"If I pick an unknown song, won't it make you happy? The tune is both elegant and vulgar, but it comes down to the inside, it's all strings, you can watch and play it yourself. Ji Ying pulled a few leaves and cleared the mud in her hands.

Looking at his appearance, Yuechi's heart hung in the air, and her reward was probably lost.

"I'll play it myself, okay." She said plaintively.

Yuechi took out the pipa and played a little-known tune. The strings are loud, like the sound of jade. Ji Ying didn't understand music, so she barely listened to the whole song. When she had finished plucking the last string, he went back in a daze.

"Silly wood, you, you can say something too." Yuechi suppressed the anger in his heart.

"What did you just say?" He didn't hear it.

Tsukichi said depressedly, "I'll let you say something." ”

"No," he represumably reread the words, "you call me 'dumb wood'?" He raised his eyebrows and grimaced, causing Yuechi to hide and hide. Okay, stinky girl, you're bold. ”

Ji Ying knocked on her forehead three times in a row, "Say it's wrong." ”

"I know I'm wrong, spare me." She clung to her forehead for fear of being knocked a few more times.

"Oh, the always powerful girl of Yuechi will bow her head to people one day." Ji Ying said sarcastically.

Yuechi said: "People die for money, naturally for the money in your pocket." She reached out and begged for wages, "It's time to pay." ”

These words made Ji Ying laugh, and she happily took a bunch of money to her. "The world is bustling, all for profit; The world is crowded, all for profit. ”

"You say things I don't understand, and you deliberately show how knowledgeable you are." Moon pond sour road.

"Haha, people are like fireflies, scattered, but there is something that can gather these scattered lights together, guess what?"

"Isn't that what you call 'profit'?" Tsukichi said disdainfully.

Ji Ying patted her shoulder, "Girl, I can't see that there is still a little ink in your chest." ”

Yuechi glanced at him, "I'm literate, although I haven't read the three tombs and five classics that those old things say, at least I've read a few books." ”

Ji Ying sighed, "It's because I'm clumsy, I didn't see that you are still a learned gentleman." Lian said: "Rude, rude." ”

"If you lose it, you will be separated like fireflies."

Starlight in the sky, scattered over the night, glowing fluorescently.

"It's my turn to talk about that tune," Moonpool interrupted him, "and it's about the sound of the wind in the long night, and the desolation of the mountains and rivers." ”

Ji Ying poked the soil with a small branch, "You shouldn't say that I am to blame for falling into such a field." ”

"You seem to be a fool, what you say later is the breeze and moon at night, the murmuring water, and the grand meaning of heaven and earth." Yuechi said.

"So you're comforting me in disguise." Ji Ying threw the branch aside and said, "Thank you, girl." ”

"Whether it's a vast world or a tiny fluorescence, everything has its meaning of existence, and that's enough." He said.

Yuechi smiled and asked, "Then what is the meaning of your existence?" ”

"Yawn, life is always involuntarily in the world, who will consider why they are and what they really want?" He replied lazily.

"I thought you would say you were born to be blessed." Tsukichi belly sneered.

Ji Ying smiled, and smiled a little helplessly, "It's a great blessing to be able to gather with my family, from this point of view, I haven't enjoyed a few years of blessings." ”

Chapter 2: The Abyss (I)

When the wind picked up at the right time, Ji Ying suddenly said: "There seems to be movement in the woods." His brow furrowed, and he vaguely felt that something was wrong.

Yuechi didn't feel the reason, and after thinking about it, Ji Ying had already taken the first step.

She lit the lamp, "Wait for me." ”

Ran into the forest and ended up stopping behind him. "You," he covered her mouth as soon as she spoke, "put out the fire." He carefully pushed aside the grass and kept an eye on them.

Yuechi only saw a dark forest, and a few figures faintly flashed among them. If it weren't for the voice, you wouldn't have believed that someone was in such a ghostly place.

“...... and shall be buried, lest they be discovered. ”

The firelight in front of him is like a firefly in the dark night. But she knew that that glimmer would never bring him the "benefits" he said.

Only this sentence was heard, followed by the sound of continuous digging.

Soon, the group left, and the fire was fleeting. But it wasn't until the forest was completely silent that Ji Ying went over to check.

Killing people and burying corpses, this group of people moves quickly, and it seems that they have a lot of background. Ji Ying felt sad in her heart, and sure enough, there was no easy job.

"Do they have to destroy the corpses?" Yuechi said hesitantly.

"Not to destroy the body, but the trace is certain. On a hot day, the corpses rotted quickly, and they chose the right way and the wrong place. Ah, it looks like I'm going to have to get involved. ”

Ji Ying threw away the soil, and as soon as she saw the corpse's feet, she stopped. "Yuechi, you go and report to Zhou Tao."

"Zhou Tao?" Yuechi asked suspiciously.

Ji Ying pointed behind her, Yuechi suddenly turned her head to look, and Zhou Tao was actually squatting in the grass behind her to peek.

Yuechi was surprised: "Brother Zhou? Why are you here? ”

Zhou Tao, who was discovered, looked embarrassed, "I saw you go here, so I followed." ”

"Let's go report to the official, Brother Zhou." Yuechi said.

Zhou Tao's face was even worse, "This ......"

Ji Ying said: "I'll stay here, you go to the government." ”

"Okay." Yuechi immediately dragged Zhou Tao away.

Ji Ying pinched a handful of soil and muttered to herself: "The soil is dry and heavy, and the corpse decays slowly. If you want to let the corpse decompose as quickly as possible, you really chose the wrong place. He didn't plan to dig up the body, but stayed in this place and waited for the government to settle it.

The two of them were not slow, and soon invited Cheng Weiheng of Qingyang County. Yuechi repeated her tirade in the county hall, describing the cause and effect in detail.

Ji Ying thought that he would go through the motions with sleepy eyes, but he didn't expect that he would be a shrewd and resolute official. He said a word of flattery, and then said no more.

Wei Heng ordered: "Dig up the body." ”

In less than a moment, the official dug up three corpses, and Ji Ying took a cursory look at them, and all three of them had scars of varying degrees, including many fatal wounds.

Yuechi secretly glanced at the dead body, and couldn't help but retreat. After a while, I felt less cold, and I suppressed the fear in my heart,

Wei Heng asked, "When did you see those murderers burying their bodies?" ”

"About half an hour ago." Ji Ying said truthfully.

Wei Heng suddenly looked at him carefully, and there was a gorgeously dressed young man in the barren mountains and mountains, which was quite eye-catching. He looked at his unobtrusive and lazy appearance, not like a passing merchant, but like a loser who came out to mingle. Coupled with the smooth tone of the oil cavity, there is no positive shape. So he said angrily: "Do you see how many people there are?" What do they all look like? Where does it look like? Where did you speak? What are you wearing? ”

Yuechi snickered, Ji Ying finally met her opponent.

Ji Ying knew that this kid was hostile to him when he heard his tone, so he replied directly and truthfully: "There are four people, one is the leading commander, and three are responsible for burying the corpse. The leader had a beard, was strong, and wore a round-necked robe, the color of which was indistinguishable, like brown. I only saw the face of one of the three people next to me, and that person should be a seventeen or eighteen-year-old boy. The three who buried the bodies were all dressed in the most ordinary clothes, and I can't tell. Several of them had no packages on them, and they all had the same shovels in their hands, and they looked like locals. It will not be thrown away hundreds of miles away. As to what was said, I heard only one sentence: 'Lay it quickly, lest anyone find it.'" I can't make out where it's being said. ”

Wei Heng really didn't expect that this loser was a master with a head and a brain, and he suddenly felt that he couldn't judge people by their appearance. That kid looks quite confident, I'm afraid he is a wealthy family from other places.

What Ji Ying said surprised Yuechi very much, and she also said: "They don't look like croppers, but like the family members of a big family." ”

Wei Heng thought to himself: The case is difficult to handle, and there is no way to judge the case based on these alone. "How can you be sure they're family members?"

Yuechi only relied on intuition, and I remembered that when I was working in a big family, there were also family members who dressed similarly. "I can't say that, but the garments of the harvesters are inferior to theirs. Ah, their sleeves are wide, and the old peasants wear narrow ones. ”

Wei Heng had a shadow in his heart, "Hmm." ”

"County Cheng, search for any objects on them." Ji Ying proposed.

"Search."

The official only found a purse on his body, and he also carried some silver ornaments. "This man has a purse with nothing in it. No anything was found on the other two people. ”

Yuechi swept around, but didn't see Zhou Tao's shadow. From just now, I felt that Zhou Tao's face was not good, and I probably felt that this was a big culprit and took the opportunity to slip away.

Wei Heng looked at it once, but was interrupted by Ji Ying, "This is a fish bag, a little old, it doesn't look like it was made in recent years, it may be something from the Jianzhang period." I didn't see the fish charm in it, so it shouldn't be an official thing. ”

Yuechi stared, that bag didn't even have Chen Guo's hometown, this person's grade should be higher than him.

"What are they talking about?" Zhou Tao patted her on the shoulder and asked her like a mosquito.

Yuechi was frightened, "Why are you here, where did you just go?" ”

Zhou Tao trembled and said, "I was timid and hid behind to watch." Yuechi couldn't help but shake his head and sigh.

County Cheng Weiheng looked at the thing for a while before he said, "Why do you say that?" ”

"It has been nearly 20 years since the founding of the People's Republic of China, but this bag was built at the beginning of the Great Zhou Dynasty, and the shape of the bag used now is slightly different." Ji Ying only said a little, if he blurted out that it was a five-grade bag, then he would really ask for trouble.

Of course, Wei Heng's grade was not up to the talisman bag, and he had no right to speak, so he kept listening to him. The more I listened, the more I felt that I knew people shallowly, and I should apologize for a while.

Ji Ying suddenly asked: "It stands to reason that you are a county officer, you shouldn't care about this anti-violence and peace and good thing, why is it the turn of Wei County, who is in charge of documents, to come today." Where did the local county lieutenant go? ”

Yuechi suddenly remembered that he was the county official in charge of the file or something, but now he has overstepped his position to take care of public security.

Wei Heng couldn't help but vomit bitterness when he saw that there were few people, "This Qingyang County, the county order only receives Yulu, regardless of the business." This is especially true of the county lieutenants and their ilk, who have been uneventful for several years. The county's big and small things are all on me. ”

"It's all to blame for that Chen Guolao? Who made all the people in this county his protégés? Wait until the state exam, and you might be lucky enough to get to a good place. Tsukichi interjected.

Ji Ying asked again: "What about those little officials in the county?" Don't you all care? ”

"The officials in the county are more or less bought with money, and a thousand dollars is a fat difference. Who doesn't steal the fun? He didn't bother to continue complaining, and even said, "Forget it, forget it." He told his men to carry the corpse and leave, "By the way, what's your name?" Where? ”

Ji Ying arched his hand and said, "Ji Ying, from Chang'an." He knew that he was wondering about his identity, so he simply made up a little lie, so he followed his own words and said, "There is no one in the family, only my body and mouth are left, and a little money has been saved by many generations." Actually, it's not a family business to me, but it's just an old shelf. Coming here is to find a relative, and it is convenient to walk alone, so I didn't bring an entourage. He had been observing Wei Heng's eyes, so that he could almost get involved and find out the death of this unknown Wupinsun.

Ji Ying didn't come to clean up a ruffian like Chen Guolao, and he wouldn't take care of troublesome things such as murder for money, but when he encountered something like this, he still had to come forward to take care of it. He looked at the corpse with the talisman bag, and if it was good, the clothes he was wearing were Persian-style materials sold in the western city of Chang'an. It is very likely that this person is a Beijing official, and his status is not low.

The valuables on these people were all searched, and only this hidden purse survived, which should be a case of murder for money. But looking at the blood stains that were splashed on the bodies of those three people after they were not defended, it may not be as simple as they just thought.

"Seeing that Ji Gong is well-informed, it is better to try this case with this county Cheng." Wei Heng listened to his words, and he didn't dispel the doubts in his heart.

Abyss (Part II)

The wind rose in the night, and it was cool, and a few clouds rose in the sky, half-covering the moonlight.

"Don't look at this good day, tomorrow there will be dark clouds and storms." Ji Ying raised her head and smiled.

Yuechi despised him, "Whether it rains or not depends on the heavens." ”

Ji Ying said confidently: "I have always believed that people win the sky, and people will win the sky." ”

Wei Heng smiled and said, "It seems that Mr. is confident in solving the case." "He had a grudge against him, but he believed in his abilities. It was his instinct and what he saw.

"That's nature." He said.

The county yamen is very tall, and Yuechi has never dared to approach. There were dead people in the back, and they didn't dare to look back. Zhou Tao's coward was so frightened that his legs weakened, so he could only follow Ji Ying in.

Ji Ying said with a smile as she walked, "Can you ask the county to send someone to deliver a letter?" ”

Wei Heng asked, "To whom?" ”

"Please send someone to the Hongfu Inn in Chizhou City and give the letter to a person named Qin Hai." Ji Ying asked again: "How many miles is there from here to Chizhou City?" ”

"Nearly a hundred miles." Wei Heng said.

Yuechi sneered: "That's what you said, it's not far away. After being fooled by him for a while, he was finally able to vent his evil anger.

"The last time I came, I didn't think it was that far away." Ji Ying shrugged and said helplessly. "Maybe something is wrong with my feelings."

Yuechi smiled far-fetchedly, she really had nothing to say.

Wei Heng felt really funny, "Aren't you two guys?" ”

"No, we met on the way." Ji Ying explained.

Ji Ying chatted with them for a few unrelated homely words, and said, "Yuechi, you go and rest." Pretending to be an autopsy is not something that the daughter's family should touch. ”

She went to the little official to register in the file and went back with Zhou Tao with interest, just now she glanced at the appearance of the dead man, and the purple and blue marks on his body really scared her.

The three bodies were placed in the back hall for safety reasons, and they were to be immediately autopsied.

After entering the house, the official lit an oil lamp, and a dozen oil lamps were placed next to it, illuminating the room very brightly.

The dead were so miserable that no one wanted to take a second look. The smell of corpses was extremely strong, and I couldn't wait to smoke my nose

Wei Heng's subordinates wiped the face of the corpse, Wupinsun's age was about thirty years old, and the two attendants were about forty or fifty years old. The clothes on the owner's body were round-necked robes made of silk from Huzhou, and the other two were ordinary cross-collared robes. His ornaments were taken away, even his sash was taken away.

"Both of them were hacked to death with knives, but this one was the only one who was suffocated by someone who broke his neck." As soon as he said a word, he alarmed the surroundings.

Ji Ying went up and touched his neck bone, "That's true." He looked at the stab mark on the man's chest again, "The murderer had the ability to kill him with a single sword, but instead of hacking him to death, he broke his neck with both hands." ”

Wei Heng said: "Maybe this person is very important, and the other party still wants to hear what he says." He remembered something again, and continued: "I remember that it was this man who found the silver bag, could it be him?" ”

Ji Ying said lightly: "Without a certificate, you can't speculate." He said to him, "Ah, go on." ”

"Well, judging from the scars, there are at least two murderers." He pointed to the scars, which were wide and narrow, of different lengths, and the force was different, and it was indeed not the work of one person.

Ji Ying said: "The width of the blade is different, and it seems that the weight of the attack is also different. The strength and direction of the knife can be seen that there are several people attacking them. ”

He thought to himself: On the way to the three of them, they were surrounded by a group of people, but they didn't expect the other party to kill them. He thought about it briefly, and then he felt that something was wrong. If they had all decided to kill them, why did they have to break that person's neck with their own hands? This is counterintuitive.

"The wounds on the front of the corpses, though numerous, were not enough to kill them instantly. ”

Then it may be that the entourage will be solved later.

Ji Ying and Qi Zuo turned over the bodies of their entourage, and from the scars on them, it was clear that the murderer was extremely heavy, and the sword left about two feet behind their backs. He said: "There is a knife in each of the backs, and both are fatal wounds. Therefore, it can be concluded that they died from a sneak attack from behind. ”

Ji Ying said: "The width of this blade is much thinner than the previous one. It looks like a sword cut out. ”

The murderer was very fast, and the entourage should have been killed without noticing.

Wei Heng also said: "Killing two people easily, and drawing such a long scar, I'm afraid that person's martial arts are much more powerful than those who left scars in front." ”

Ji Ying nodded, "This place hides a dragon and a crouching tiger." ”

Then he turned over the body of Wupinsun, and there were no fatal injuries in the back.

"The stiffness of the corpse was almost all relieved, the acupressure spots did not fade, and he died for about three days. ”

Ji Ying thought secretly: In three days, maybe the traces have been cleared, and things are even more tricky.

Hastily looked around, "You go down." Ji Ying let him go.

"What does Ji Gong think?" Wei Heng asked with a low brow.

Ji Ying sighed, "I guess there are two groups of people, one group may just be ordinary robbers, but the other group is here for the secrets that this person knows. He took out the bag from his sleeve, "This bag belongs to the regulations of the imperial court, and the fish charm and the bag match, and it is against the rules to have fish without a bag or a bag without fish." It would be strange to say that the previous group of people robbed the fish talisman but did not take away the bag. ”

Wei Heng felt strange in his heart, so he asked, "Why did Ji Gong say that?" ”

Ji Ying smiled, "Don't say 'Ji Gong' on the left and 'Ji Gong' on the right." I should be a few years younger than you, so I'll just call me by my first name. He didn't resent Wei Xiancheng's close actions, but he was very disgusted with these words.

"Then let's form a brotherhood here." Wei Heng wanted to use his strength to build a ladder for himself, relying on this to make steady progress.

Ji Ying said with a smile: "Okay, then open the altar to worship, burn incense and pray, you and I will marry Jinlan." "It's okay to get a county brother for nothing, so it's much more convenient to find out what is going on here. He said solemnly: "But now, the identities of these people must be investigated. The only thing that is important is to find the fish talisman. ”

He picked up the pen on the table and drew the shape of a fish, "That's it." This thing can't be publicized, just send a few people to search the pawnshops up and down the county. "Ji Ying clenched his fists, this kind of thing can only be done in secret, if people know that there is a gentleman who died here, wouldn't it make a mess here.

Wei Heng blurted out: "This is too negligent." ”

"No, I don't think it's surprising that the master has given it to someone else." He said. "That thing can't be easily handed over to someone else, I guess it's given to a cronie."

Ji Ying flipped over the right sleeve of the Wupin grandson, and it was stained with blood. "Look here."

Wei Heng looked at it, "This blood is even penetrating the lining." ”

"That's what I'm wondering, the blood stains in other places are caused by splattering, but this one is soaked." Ji Ying said bluntly.

Ji Ying said again: "Also, there is a little bit of bark dust behind him. ”

Wei Heng leaned over to look, and only slag could be seen under the lamp and candle.

Ji Ying held her breath and pondered, "For the sake of today's plan, we should find the place where the crime occurred as soon as possible." ”

He could roughly deduce that the three men were attacked, so much so that they were all seriously injured. Then the real murderer came and killed two of his followers. Coerce the five grandsons to find out the secrets they want to know. After knowing it, kill people and kill people.

It's easy to say, but it's ridiculous. First, how did the real culprit learn that the three people were attacked. If their whereabouts were already known, then there was no need to wait for someone to severely damage them, wouldn't it be better to strike first. Second, if Wupinsun did not explain what the murderer wanted to know at that time, then killing him would undoubtedly be adding to the murderer's own blockage. Third, no one knows what the identity of Wupinsun is, and the so-called secret is only imagined, and there is no basis to confirm the fantasy.

More questions are left with the missing fish charm and the bag left behind by accident.

Lamp pen