After Chang Yunting's death, Mu Yuanjing ordered the hidden guards to burn the entire Changshou Village, and the bones in the secret room were buried in a place in the canyon, and then several people entered the secret passage in the secret room in the hot spring cave, and walked in the secret passage for about half an hour before reaching the end.

There was a movable wooden plank above the end of the tunnel, and when the guards pushed it open and climbed up, they found themselves under the offering table in the ruined temple.

Mu Yuanjing looked at the secret exit under his feet, thinking of the twenty people who had disappeared in the broken temple before, and had an answer in his mind.

The villagers of Changshou Village used the secret passage to kidnap people passing by near the broken temple, and the 20 people reported to the case were only some of them, and most of the remaining people were unknown, and their relatives would never know where they had gone in their lives.

The group left the ruined temple and got into the carriage, and the carriage ran to the hot spring Zhuangzi, the destination that was set at the beginning, but it didn't take long for the carriage to stop.

"Meet the King of Linchuan." A voice came from the front of the carriage.

Mu Yuanjing got out of the car and looked at the man dressed as a secret guard, "What's the matter?" ”

The Dark Guard pulls a letter from his sleeve.

Mu Yuanjing took the letter and opened it, read it quickly, and after reading it, he put away the letter and asked the person opposite, "Is the situation serious?" ”

The Dark Guard nodded.

"Return to the emperor, this king will return to Beijing immediately."

The secret guard gave the order to leave, and Mu Yuanjing returned to the car, looking at the people in the car with worried eyes.

Su Qingmo still maintained the way he had left, quietly in a daze, his gaze fixed on one place, his eyes were empty, and his thoughts had obviously flown away.

After Qingzhu's death, Mu Yuanjing obviously sensed her sullenness, but he couldn't help her, so he could only let time soothe the sadness in her heart.

He tugged at her hand, and his voice was soft, "Qingmo..."

The people around him paused for a moment and slowly came back to their senses.

Mu Yuanjing looked into her eyes, "Brother Huang is urgent, we can't go to Hot Spring Zhuangzi, we have to go back to Beijing first." ”

"Is there a case?"

"A few days ago, there was a murder in the Sifang Academy in the capital, a student in the academy was killed in the dormitory, the case was reported to the yamen but there was no clue to solve the case, another student was killed last night, the royal brother handed over the case to me, hoping to catch the murderer as soon as possible."

Su Qingmo knew that the case that could be handed over to Mu Yuanjing would never be simple, and he didn't say anything more at the moment.

Three hours later, the carriage carrying Mu Yuanjing and Su Qingmo entered the capital, and the pedestrians on the street were only three or two.

The carriage went all the way back to the palace, and Qingrui and Qinghe were already waiting at the door.

After Qinghe saw the gauze on Su Qingmo's face, his expression changed suddenly, "Princess, what's wrong with your face?" ”

Su Qingmo only replied softly: "There was some accident." ”

After returning to Moxiangju, Su Qingmo sat on the low couch by the window and looked out the window.

Qingrui looked around, and whispered to herself, "Why didn't you see Sister Qingzhu?" ”

Although Qingrui's voice was small, Su Qingmo still heard it, the tip of her nose was sour, and her tears seemed to be slipping, and she blinked hurriedly.

"Qingzhu won't be coming back. She's gone..."

It seems to be saying it to Qingrui and Qinghe, and it seems to be talking to himself.

As soon as Mu Yuanjing stepped into the Moxiangju, he saw Su Qingmo's slightly reddened eyes, and he sat beside her, talking with discussion.

"I'm going to rush to the Sifang Academy at night, and I'm going to live in the academy for the next few days, would you like to come with me?"

Mu Yuanjing had to admit that although it was not good to mislead the public for personal reasons, if Su Qingmo was allowed to stay in the palace by herself, she didn't know what she would think, so it was better to take her with her.

"Okay, I'll be with you..."

Mu Yuanjing hoped that she could come out of Qingzhu's death as soon as possible, and she understood his worries.

Qingrui and Qinghe didn't ask any more questions, and after waiting for Su Qingmo to change her clothes, they sent her and Mu Yuanjing out of the palace.

Fang Mubei and Wei Xu sat in the position of driving the carriage, and drove the carriage to the Sifang Academy in the north of the city in the night.

The files of the two murders had also been sorted out and handed over to Mu Yuanjing, who had taken a rough look at them by the dim candlelight in the carriage.

The first deceased was named Zhuo Bai, the son of the Bo family, the lord of the Zhengbapin Qin Heavenly Prison, and was found dead in the Tang Mu room of the academy two days ago, with four knife cuts in the abdomen, which was the cause of death.

According to witnesses in the academy, Zhuo Bai's blood flowed almost all over the ground of the Tang Mu Room at that time, and there was a thick bloody atmosphere in the air, and the scene was very terrifying and cruel.

The second deceased was killed last night after a lapse of the night, his name was Zhao Licheng, the second son of the family of Dr. Zijian of the Seven Grades Kingdom, Zhao Licheng's body was found in the dormitory, his upper body was hung in the air by his belt, and the lower half of his body stood upright on the ground, similar to the punishment of waist beheading.

According to the test, Zhao Licheng did not immediately choke his breath when he was cut off by the waist, but struggled to crawl like the door for a distance, when the murderer stood in the house and watched Zhao Licheng struggle coldly, until he swallowed his breath before hanging the person up.

Mu Yuanjing was immersed in his thoughts, and was unexpectedly interrupted by a hand stretched out from his side.

Su Qingmo's hand was lying quietly with an ebony waist card and a cyan whistle, "Lord Wang, one of these two things is a waist card that can command the dead, and the other is a green whistle that can summon the dead." ”

Mu Yuanjing couldn't figure out what Su Qingmo meant, so he only listened to her continue: "The bodies of the dead soldiers of the Su family are all planted with Gu, and the sound of the green whistle can trigger the resonance of the Gu worms, as long as the green whistle is blown, even if it is far away, it can be found by the dead soldiers." ”

"You want to give me the dead?"

Su Qingmo nodded, "Originally, the dead man was managed by Qingzhu, but now that she is gone, I don't know who to give these two things to, think about it, if it is given to you, maybe it will help you a little." ”

"The dead are used by the Su family to protect you."

Su Qingmo looked at Mu Yuanjing's eyes, "Will you hurt me?" ”

Mu Yuanjing glanced at Su Qingmo deeply, and cautiously took the waist card and the green whistle.

He understood what she hadn't said.

In this world, if he doesn't hurt her, then she won't need the protection of the dead, and she believes that in the days to come, he can protect her.

The carriage stopped after Mu Yuanjing put the token and the green whistle in his sleeve, and Wei Xu, who was driving, whispered outside: "Lord Wang, we have arrived at the back door of the academy. ”

Mu Yuanjing and Su Qingmo got off the car one after another, and as soon as they stood still, someone came out of the shadows.

The person who came was a somewhat thin man, his demeanor was neither humble nor arrogant, and he arched his hand to Mu Yuanjing and Su Qingmo: "In Xia Qi Wenrui, he is a teacher of the Sifang Academy, meet the prince, meet the princess." ”

Mu Yuanjing exempted Qi Wenrui from the ceremony.

Qi Wenrui straightened up and said unhurriedly: "The academy has prepared a room, which is near the student's dormitory. ”

Wei Xu said on the side: "Please ask Mr. to lead the way." ”

The four of them followed Qi Wenrui into the academy through the back door, and walked through a bamboo forest to the front of a small courtyard.

After sending Qi Wenrui away, Wei Xu pushed open the courtyard door and walked in, checked around, and said to Mu Yuanjing behind him: "Lord Wang, there is a door in the front and back of the small courtyard, and the subordinates have observed it, and the door at the back leads to the student dormitory." ”

Mu Yuanjing nodded, "What do you think about Qi Wenrui?" ”

Wei Xu thought about the people he came into contact with not long ago, and said: "He is a very well-behaved person, and his attitude towards you is neither flattering nor alienated, does the prince think there is something wrong with people?" ”

"There have been two murders, and the murderer is very likely to be someone from the academy, and Qi Wenrui can't escape the suspicion."

Wei Xu thought for a while, "Do you want to go down and investigate him?" ”

"No need, even if you check it, you won't find any problems, the Sifang Academy was founded by the imperial court, and the three generations of gentlemen who teach here must be innocent people."

Wei Xu extinguished his thoughts, Mu Yuanjing took Su Qingmo by the hand, and glanced at the two houses not far from each other in the courtyard, "It's not too early, let's rest first." ”

——

In the early morning of the second day, Mu Yuanjing's thoughts were surging until Wei Xu's voice came from outside the house.

"Lord Wang, are you awake?"

Wei Xu didn't wait for Mu Yuanjing to ask, and said eagerly: "Lord Wang, it's dead again." ”

Mu Yuanjing's voice was slightly deep, "When?" ”

"Just this morning, when the students went to their morning classes, they found it in the school."

Mu Yuanjing asked in a low voice as he walked towards the school, "What about Fang Mubei?" ”

"I've taken the hidden guard to the scene of the crime."

When Mu Yuanjing arrived at the school, there was already a circle of people outside, most of them were students of the academy, and a few of them were gentlemen who taught.

As soon as we got closer, I heard the chatter in the crowd.

"There are three people who have died, and the academy still won't let us go home."

"How dare the academy let us go, it would be bad if the news of the dead man spread outside."

"I don't want to stay here anymore, I'm afraid..."

"I heard that the yamen has not found out who the murderer is for several days?"

"What can the yamen do, last time I robbed a girl on the street and went home, it was the people of the yamen who cleaned up the mess for me."

"That's because you're a cabinet scholar."

Mu Yuanjing glanced at the last two people who spoke, and said to the hidden guard: "Leave the person who found the body behind, and take the others away from the scene." ”

The hidden guard acted according to his words, and Mu Yuanjing glanced at Su Qingmo behind him, "Do you really want to enter the scene with me?" ”

Su Qingmo's eyes nodded firmly.

In this way, Mu Yuanjing couldn't stop her anymore, and walked into the scene with her and Wei Xu, Fang Mubei was already busy, and after seeing Mu Yuanjing come in, he hurriedly got up and greeted: "Lord Wang." ”

Mu Yuanjing wrinkled his eyebrows and looked at the bloody scene in front of him.

The deceased turned out to be someone he knew.

He asked Fang Mubei, "Have you verified your identity?" ”

Fang Mubei nodded, "After verification, the person is indeed Qi Wenrui." ”

That's right, the deceased is Qi Wenrui, who received Mu Yuanjing and others last night.

At this moment, he was sitting against the wall covered in blood, his legs slightly open and stretched forward, holding the severed head in his hands, and the blood from the broken neck had coagulated.

He had a frightened look on his face, his eyes wide, and his lips slightly open.

Mu Yuanjing glanced at Su Qingmo, and after finding that her face was not unusual, he turned his gaze to Fang Mubei, "What did you find?" ”

"Back to the prince, judging from the coagulation state of the blood, the time when the deceased was killed should be from the end of the Zi Shi to the beginning of the Yin Shi, and there are no signs of poisoning and trauma on the deceased's body, so it can be determined that the cause of death is death due to being cut off the head."

He pointed to the head Qi Wenrui was holding in his hand, "His hair is not messed up at all, which shows two situations. ”

"One is that the deceased and the murderer knew that he was killed by the murderer without defense, and the other is that the deceased was already in a coma when his head was cut off."

Mu Yuanjing listened to Fang Mubei's words, and asked Wei Xu, "Go and ask, who Qi Wenrui lives in the same room with." ”

Wei Xu took the order to leave, and Mu Yuanjing's eyes returned to the dead Qi Wenrui.

The clothes on Qi Wenrui's body are still the same as last night, and the blood is shot on the wall in a splash form with the broken neck as the starting point, so it can be inferred that Qi Wenrui was sitting on the wall when he died, and the body did not move twice, if it was a familiar person who committed the crime, even if Qi Wenrui was defenseless, he would not be able to obediently wait to be beheaded, then there was only one possibility left, that is, Qi Wenrui had lost consciousness when he was beheaded.

When Mu Yuanjing figured this out, Wei Xu brought someone into it from outside.

"Lord Wang, the person you want has been brought."

Mu Yuanjing looked at the man in front of him who lived in the same room as Qi Wenrui, with a good appearance and tough facial features.

The man stepped forward, "In Xia Qin Zhiyi, it is Mr. Keju in the academy, and I have seen the prince." ”

Mu Yuanjing looked at him, still confirmed: "You and Qi Wenrui live together? ”

Qin Zhiyi nodded.

Mu Yuanjing then asked, "How long have you known Qi Wenrui?" Who does he associate with on a daily basis? ”

Qin Zhiyi's gaze avoided Qi Wenrui's corpse, "Lord Wang, can you please move?" ”

Mu Yuanjing glanced at him meaningfully, nodded in agreement.

After walking out of the school, Qin Zhiyi seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, and explained: "Lord Wang, I'm not weak-hearted, it's really Qi Wenrui's death is a bit weird. ”

Mu Yuanjing looked at him and motioned for him to continue.

As if remembering something terrible, Qin Zhiyi said with a hint of fear on his face: "In the middle of the night last night, Qi Wenrui went out for a trip, and came back an hour before and after, I hadn't slept at that time, I thought he would rest after he came back, but who knew that he would go out again after half an hour." ”

Mu Yuanjing calculated according to the time of death reported by Fang Mubei, Qi Wenrui should have left for the first time to pick them up, and as for what he did when he left for the second time, I am afraid that only Qi Wenrui himself knows.

"What do you mean by weirdness?"

Qin Zhiyi swallowed his saliva, "When he went out for the second time, I saw something on him, there were no candles in the house at that time, and I don't know if I was dazzled by mistake." ”

"What's that?"

"A man with loose hair and clothes in the clothes of a college student, the man was lying on Qi Wenrui's back with dripping water, I wanted to stop Qi Wenrui at that time, but at the moment when I was about to speak, the person suddenly turned his head, his body did not move, but his whole head turned completely to face me, I was so frightened that I closed my eyes, and when I opened it again, Qi Wenrui was gone."

Thinking of that scene, Qin Zhiyi was still a little frightened.

As soon as Qin Zhiyi's words fell, Mu Yuanjing saw Su Qingmo walking out of the school with some eagerness.

Su Qingmo took Mu Yuanjing and said in a solemn voice: "Lord Wang, a problem was found on the corpse. ”