In the sixth year of the Republic of China, on September 2, 1917 in the Western calendar, the sky was bright.

There was a commotion downstairs, Qin Beiyang turned over, but the nine colors were gone. Is it a dream?

I felt that the palm of my hand was hot, and when I spread out the palm covered with calluses, it was actually a jade ring in the underground palace of the Tang Dynasty.

Last night, the small town tomb beast named Nine Colors did come to play with him, and it wasn't a dream!

Qin Beiyang rushed to the private museum on the second floor, where the young Qilin Town Tomb Beast was still standing in the glass cabinet, but it winked at him.

The nine colors are alive.

At this time, Qi Yuanshan patted him on the back: "Beiyang, something happened, let's go downstairs!" ”

In the living room on the first floor of Dharma Mountain on the sea, Ouyang Sicong just hung up a phone call from the patrol room, his face was solemn, and after thinking for a long time, he shouted: "Qin Beiyang, Qi Yuanshan, you two accompany me to go out." ”

At seven o'clock in the morning, the Ford Model T drove down the street. Qin Beiyang sat in the passenger seat nervously, Ouyang Sicong was in the back, Qi Yuanshan was next to the side, and a pistol was in his waist. The car had been attacked by the Axe Party, and in addition to the boss, everyone from the driver to the bodyguards were hacked to death, who looked out the road with extra care.

The car had just turned two intersections and arrived at the door of the Hongkou patrol house in the public concession. Guards were set up at both ends of the street, many trucks were parked, and heavily armed British patrolmen stood guard, Indian Sikh mounted police in red turbans, and tall war horses sprayed their noses, like the Huren Huma Town Tomb Beast in the ancient tomb of the Tang Dynasty. All of the above people have a sad look on their faces.

Needless to say, something happened to the patrol room.

Qin Beiyang was even more surprised. Unlike Qi Yuanshan, he is just a craftsman, repairing houses and antiques for his master, and his salary does not include the part of fighting and killing, why do he have to come to this occasion?

The bronze plaques at the gate are marked in Chinese and English as "Shanghai Public Concession Hongkou Patrol Room" and "Shanghai Municipal Police Hongkew Station".

Ouyang Sicong got out of the car and exchanged a few words with the Hilton Sheriff of the Public Concession Patrol House, and then brought Qin Beiyang and Qi Yuanshan into the scene of the crime.

Suddenly, an incomparably familiar bloody aura rushed towards Qin Beiyang, just like the night of annihilation eight years ago.

On the entire snow-white wall behind the door, there were several numbers smeared with blood and human organs.

2 Sept.1907

Ouyang Sicong, Qin Beiyang, and Qi Yuanshan stared at the wall of the entrance of the Hongkou patrol room, this huge line of bright red numbers, as if nails pierced their eyeballs, feeling the pain when blood was splashed.

"September 2, 1907!" Sheriff Hilton made a judgment that even an idiot would know, "Exactly ten years from today, the murderer must have written this date on the wall with the blood and internal organs of our patrol, which must be some kind of strong hint." ”

Qin Beiyang observed Ouyang Sicong and was shocked to find the face of the boss of the Shanghai Tang Youth Gang, secretly twitching, like the face of a beast.

Going deep into the scene of the murder, the blood stains were like a string of ruby beads with broken threads, and the army of flies lingered. The lights in the trap room had been turned on, and there was an Indian patrolman lying on the floor, his throat had been slit, blood was splattering from the floor to the ceiling, and the entire wall was covered in bloody handprints. Ouyang Sicong lowered his head, and actually smelled a curry smell from the smell of blood.

Pushing open the door next to it, there were three corpses. It was all Chinese patrolling, and the first person had several knife wounds in the chest and abdomen, presumably the most fierce resistance, and was stabbed to death from the front by the murderer; the second is to kill with a knife in the back vest, and I am afraid that it will be too late to escape; The third body hung from the window, one step away from jumping out of the window to escape, but its throat was cut.

In the next room, there was an interrogation room for the prisoners, and there was a Chinese patrolman lying at the door, who had his carotid artery cut and died. Inside was a prisoner who had been stabbed in the temple and died. The interrogation room was cramped, and the blood on the ground was like a pool of water after a heavy rain.

The third room is the office of the British inspector in the Hongkou patrol room, who happened to be on duty last night. The Inspector lay in the swivel back chair, his eyes still wide. There was a wound on the neck, exposing the trachea and esophagus, so that the head was tilted down, but fortunately the cervical vertebrae were not severed. His right hand rests on his desk, holding a revolver. Sheriff Hilton, who led the way, had inspected the pistol and was loaded with six rounds.

The sheriff grabbed the broken bottle at the foot of the corpse, shook his head, and said, "Our inspector is Scottish, and he loves whisky too much!" If you hadn't been drunk, a second quicker might have shot the killer. ”

Qin Beiyang looked at the blue eyes of the deceased and remembered that more than a month ago, someone broke into the sea Dharma Mountain to steal the town's tomb beast. In the early hours of that morning, when the thieves were caught by him, it was the drunken British detective who came to inquire about the case.

The jade pendant on his chest was warm for a while, this was the induction of Hetian warm blood jade to blood, just like the time when it was buried in the grave.

Further upstairs, there is an Indian patrol hanging upside down on the stairs. Blood trickled down the stairs, and even though it had dried up, a cheerful red stream could still be imagined. The wound could not be found, and it was finally found in the heart of the head, which directly pierced the skull. The Indians are wrapped in red turbans, and the blood has stained the turbans red, and they are hanging upside down, so it is difficult to detect.

On the second floor is the detention cell, where prisoners who have not had time to pass through and be sent to prison will be held for a short time. There were three patrolling bodies, all Indians, with wounds in the throat, heart, and lower abdomen. The last one, almost disemboweled, flowed all over the place, attracting countless flies to lay eggs. Qin Beiyang didn't look over, although Qi Yuanshan was a soldier's child, he couldn't help but vomit.

This situation reminded him of the Sherlock Holmes detective book "Horror Cave" co-translated by Li Changjue and Chen Xiaodie, as well as "A Study of Blood Letters" that he read when he was a child......

There were also four bodies of prisoners in the detention cell, all of whom had their throats slit. Sheriff Hilton checked the record book, and there were all small thieves, and there was a wandering mute beggar who couldn't tell where he came from, and he was captured by the Indian patrol, and he had died in vain.

The sheriff said that all the patrols on duty last night, including five Indian patrols, four Chinese patrols, plus British inspectors, were all killed. Five prisoners were also killed, one is missing and one survived.

"And the survivors?"

Sheriff Hilton took them up to the third floor, where there was a small attic stacked with miscellaneous items, and now the sole survivor was being held.

This person is only about 20 years old, and yesterday he touched the young woman's buttocks on the tram and was twisted to the Hongkou patrol house. In the second half of the night, two Chinese prisoners, both in their twenties, were arrested by the patrol, one of whom was slender and had a scar on his cheek. They actually came in with two daggers and stabbed to death the Indian patrol guards. At that time, the survivor was going up to the hut, completely frightened, but did not make any sound, and saw the murderous killing through the crack in the hut door. The murderer moved too fast, and in less than a few minutes, he killed all the patrols and prisoners, and took away a young prisoner - his name is Xiaomu, his left hand is missing, he has committed the crime of robbery, and has been imprisoned for more than a month. Then, there were a few screams from downstairs......

Qin Beiyang followed behind Ouyang Sicong, listening to the narration of this eyewitness, while restoring the entire clean and plasma flying process in his mind, just like bringing a silent movie projector. This scene always feels familiar.

Leaving the attic and coming to the roof of the third floor, the sun rises from the direction of the Huangpu River. Sheriff Hilton lit his pipe and said, "Mr. Ouyang, why did I invite you over, I made it very clear on the phone." ”

"Well, the kidnapped prisoner Xiaomu is the robber who stole my house." Ouyang Sicong's face was extremely ugly, and Qin Beiyang saw fear in his eyes for the first time, "But it's been more than a month." ”

"Unfortunately, that's our problem. Because Tilanqiao Prison is overcrowded and there is a queue for the trial of the public office, the prisoner has been deferred in the detention room of the arrest room. Sheriff Hilton was able to express in fluent Chinese, "This morning, this ...... Yes, his name is Xiaomu, he doesn't even have a surname, and he was originally scheduled to be sent to the trial office. ”

"I see." Ouyang Sicong is the boss of the Green Gang in Shanghai, a white-way and underworld figure, and he is also quite familiar with the judicial trial system, "After the hall, the prisoner will be sent to Tilanqiao Prison, which is the No. 1 prison in the Far East, and it will be difficult to rob the prison again." So, this early morning is their last chance, and they have to take the risk. ”

"Two murderous criminals, in just a few minutes, killed ten patrol arresters and five prisoners. In the words of you Chinese - kill like hemp! The sheriff abandoned the gentlemanly demeanor of the British, clenched his fists, and wanted to avenge his compatriots, "They are very skilled in their methods of killing, and they are definitely trained professional killers." ”

Founded in 1861, the Hongkou Patrol House is a sub-patrol house set up in the public concession, with jurisdiction over the entire area north of Suzhou Creek, with a total of 40 Chinese patrols, 40 Indian patrols, and more than 10 Japanese patrols. There is no doubt that this is the most rampant case since the opening of Shanghai in 1843, and it may be unprecedented.

The scene of the crime is located in the first good district of Shanghai, and the Bund is close at hand. Two years ago, Zheng Rucheng, the Shanghai guard of the Beiyang government, was assassinated by revolutionaries at Waibaidu Bridge, and the two assassins were captured on the spot by the patrol of the Hongkou Patrol House and extradited to the Beiyang Government.

"Sheriff, your question is - why did they rob Xiaomu?"

"Mr. Ouyang, I have also read this person's confession record. He served as a soldier in the Beiyang Army and was forced to participate in tomb robbery. But in Shanghai, he has no criminal record and no background. In the information we have, it has only been related to your mansion and your collection of antiques. ”

"Do you think this horrific murder of the patrol house has something to do with me?"

Sheriff Hilton frowned, looked at the steamer leaving the port on the Huangpu River, and said, "After killing countless people, the murderer wrote 2 Sept. 1907 with pint of blood!" Written on the wall in such a cruel way, it is clearly intended that we will see that September 2, 1907, this date must be the Gregorian calendar. Exactly ten years ago today, what special event took place? ”