I couldn't read the text, but the illustration was clear enough.

On its left is a hexagonal beehive, apparently referring to a bronze disc, and on its right is carved a humanoid symbol, presumably referring to an evil spirit.

From top to bottom, the number of solid beehives increases, and the humanoid symbols also increase, until by the end of the line, all the hives have become solid, but the right side has been scraped off by a sharp object, leaving only a deep nick.

Underneath the motif, is a large version of ancient characters.

Each line begins with a few simple horizontal or vertical bars, and given the continuity of the text, Xia Fan thinks that it should be a number like date, year, month, etc.

Similarly, many parts of it have been deliberately destroyed, as if someone did not want the records of this place to be leaked.

Even after guessing the engravings on the entire wall, Xia Fan had an extremely shocking picture in his mind.

This underground facility, built during the Yongguo period, is likely to be a place for the study of evil spirits!

And the diagram shows that they not only confirmed the characteristics of the formation of the abyssal ghosts, but even advanced to a deeper realm. What did they see when the holes in the disc were all filled? Or rather—what was made?

Xia Fan only felt that his mouth was a little dry.

When he realized that the vast majority of the people's perception of evil was still in the blank stage, and that the Privy Council had a monopoly on all knowledge of magic, he did not feel that anything was wrong. Limited by the times, it is normal for concepts to be backward.

But now he found that the ancients had gone a long way in studying evil phenomena.

"Brother Xia, what should we do next?"

Wei Wushuang's shouts interrupted his thoughts.

That's right, these problems can be put to study later, and he must deal with the problems of Gaoshan County first.

Xia Fan returned to Du Mingjin, "Where did all the people you murdered come from?"

"I don't know, I really don't know, my lord!" the latter shook his head again and again, "Every time, Hu Zhixian notified me, and I went to pick up people outside the county." ”

"Just you two brothers?"

"If there are a lot of people, they will also help over there. But most of them are dressed in black and have hoods over their faces, so I really can't see where they come from!"

"Did they send anything else besides giving them away?"

"There is a gift of silver, a large box and a large box of transported, and these silver have been put into Lord Hu's mansion, and our brothers can only get a fraction! By the way, they also sent a woman from Huzhi County, a very beautiful woman, and that's all I know!"

Xia Fan looked at Shangguan Cai, who spread out his hand, saying that he had nothing to add.

"Whether you have concealed it or not, someone will come to check later. He checked the rope on the other man's body and lifted it up with all his might, "Come with us." ”

"Y-Where are you taking me?"

"Jinxia City, the state governor's mansion. ”

"My lord, I'll die if I go there!" Du Mingjin's face changed greatly, and he struggled to kneel down again, "I am always following orders, please spare my life!"

"Listen," Xia Fan said sharply, "Your only way to survive is to report the magistrate of Gaoshan County, Hu Huairen, there is no second way to save your life! In addition, even if you can't escape death, you can at least let the people of the government fish out your brother before the disc is completely closed—you don't want him to be tortured here and end up becoming an abyss ghost, right?"

Du Mingjin's body went limp, as if he had lost all his strength.

Xia Fan didn't want to bother much, so he grabbed him and walked out of the grotto.

The way back was much faster, and in less than an hour, the five of them had reached the foot of the mountain.

However, just when Gaoshan County was looming, the unexpected happened.

I saw that Du Mingjin's face became as pale as paper, and at the same time, foam overflowed from the corners of his mouth.

The group had to stop and check on his condition.

"What's wrong with this guy?"

"I'm afraid it's poisoning. Shangguan Cai held his pulse, "I don't think he will be able to make it into the city." ”

Her words were quickly fulfilled, and in less than half an hour, Du Mingjin's condition deteriorated sharply, his whole body trembled, and the foam turned into sections of blood.

He opened his mouth, as if he wanted to say something, but in the end Xia Fan only heard the words "that bowl of wine".

After a few breaths, Du Mingjin completely stopped shaking.

"He's dead. Shangguan Cai shrugged.

This is...... Xia Fan couldn't help but clench his fists, since the other party had left such a hand on Du Mingjin, there was no reason to let Du Mingyin go alone.

In an instant, they lost two witnesses, and the originally good situation suddenly turned around.

"As long as the grotto is still there, we still have a chance. Wei Wushuang said with relief.

"Not necessarily. Xia Fan shook his head, "This poison may just be a means of prevention, if the Du brothers can return to the county seat on time to resume their lives, they may not even notice that they have been poisoned." If he fails to return, this medicine can not only kill people, but also provide a warning to the poisoner. ”

"What do you mean...... We've been discovered?"

"I can't say for sure, but it's possible. Xia Fan felt that his brain was running rapidly, and the information of this short day almost hit his cognition like a storm, although he had known that the lives of the people at the bottom of this era were just a bunch of mustard, but when he really experienced it himself, he was still greatly shocked. If this is the case, Hu Huairen will inevitably send another group of people to seal the grotto, and the worst result will be that there is no human and physical evidence left. ”

"Then what should we do?" Wei Wushuang asked worriedly.

"I need someone to go to Jinxia City to report the news, and it's best to travel light, the sooner the better. Xia Fan looked at Wang Renzhi, "Prince Wang, you are the only one who is good at equestrianism here and can enter the city at night." ”

"Heh, after all, I still have to go out of my son," Wang Renzhi suddenly came to his senses, "Don't worry, with my Wang family's status in Jinxia, they will never dare to ignore my news." Then I'll go first!"

After the other party was far away, Xia Fan moved his gaze to the other two, "As for the two of you, can you guard this intersection for me?" If Hu Huairen sends someone over again, at most it will be a servant and a quick arrester." And Fang Shi is an eight-rank official, so it shouldn't be a big problem to delay for a while. ”

"I should be fine," Wei Wushuang nodded, "What about you, Brother Xia?"

"I'm going to go to the magistrate's mansion in person. Xia Fan said decisively. "Only when Hu Huairen is controlled, can the physical evidence of the grotto be ensured. What's more, he is also the biggest witness in the whole incident -- in other words, if he can't move, we can take the initiative! Even if he doesn't confess anything, at least it can prevent him from transferring the stolen money, and I think Hu Zhixian must not be able to explain why he has so much cash hidden in his house. ”

"Sorry, I'm quitting. Shangguan Cai said suddenly.

"Eh......" Wei Wushuang didn't react for a moment, "Why?"

Shangguan Cai ignored him, but stared directly at Xia Fan Dao, "Do you know what you're doing?" Although the grade of Zhixian is not high, he is also the chief official named in the Ministry of Officials, if there is an accident on the side of the second son of the Wang family, or if you fail to control Hu Zhixian, resulting in no evidence in both hands, you are estimated to have done it as an eight-grade Fangshi." ”

"Of course, if that's all there is to it. But have you ever considered a possibility—why would the Privy Council prohibit Fang Shi from meddling in this matter, and there really is no other reason than the inconvenience of interfering in the affairs of the government?"