The public treasury in the barracks was stolen, and more than a dozen ingots of official silver were lost in a row.

Qu Chang Jin Song was furious, and searched the whole battalion, especially the camp area where the servants were located, but in the end he found nothing.

For a time, the people in the camp were panicked and suspicious of each other.

Seeing that the search was fruitless, Qu Chang personally took Zhang Yuan and several other tun chiefs to the public treasury to investigate.

The doors and windows were undamaged, the locks were not broken, and the heavy walls were not damaged in the slightest. Such a strange method made Qu Chang muttered a little in his heart, could it be that someone insisted on stealing himself?

Walking around the storeroom, in a corner, a three-inch-long paper figure was hidden in the soil, only a section exposed. If you don't look closely, you'll miss it.

Carefully took out the paper figure, Qu Chang frowned.

The paper figure has intricate patterns painted on it, and it should be some kind of spell or something. Legend has it that someone will harness the ghosts and gods to fetch things, so it is difficult to encounter such a thing today.

Quietly, Qu Chang tucked the paper figure into his sleeve.

In the early hours of the morning, the sky was dark, and the camp was quiet, except for the lights flickering at the surrounding sentry posts.

"It's on fire." Suddenly, a terrible cry came from a barracks. The sound echoed through the silent camp, and it was very harsh.

The camp was suddenly in chaos, people shouted and horses neighed, torches passed in all directions, and in panic, the soldiers almost bombed the camp.

The fire broke out in the barracks where Zhou Zhou Mao lived, and because he was in charge of the public treasury, he lived alone on weekdays.

A few days ago, the public treasury was stolen, and Zhou Mao naturally couldn't get rid of suspicion, but because of his identity as a Chinese and his relatives who didn't know how many layers of relationships he was involved in, after a search, he didn't feel too embarrassed.

By the time the fire was finished, it was already dawn.

Wu Gen and Mo Xin were holding a big bowl, sucking the black vegetable porridge, squatting on the ground and looking at the messy barracks from a distance, still emitting green smoke, sighing.

"Look at that man, there's not a wisp of it, it's so strange."

"yes, like a pig."

"I didn't know that the oil and water of the Xiangjun army were so good, and they could be so fat."

"I saw the fattening, the sharpening of the knife, and the feast."

In the distance, Zhou Mao's clothes had been burned, looking at the dilapidated barracks, sitting on the ground with a sluggish face.

Mo Xin suddenly turned his head and lowered his voice, "Boy, what did you do with my mouse, but you set this fire?" ”

Wu Gan looked innocent, "Old Mo, don't frame a good person, I just used the rat for two days, this arson is a big crime, I am young, but I can't afford it." As he spoke, he smiled and drank a large mouthful of porridge.

"Boy, you're ruthless." Mo Xin took two steps to the side, this kind of ruthless person can't be provoked.

Jin Songtie blushed, standing in front of the collapsed barracks, his hand holding the hilt loose and tight.

Monday Mao cried and knelt in front of him, last night I don't know how, when he was sleeping, the clothes in the room suddenly caught fire, and when he found it, the fire could not be extinguished.

This matter can be small or big, if it is just an unintentional fire, after all, his identity as a person is there, it is a big deal to compensate some money and goods, and beat dozens of military sticks.

But if he is convicted of arson and causes the camp to be bombed, it is difficult to say whether he can save his head. At present, I can only hope that Qu Chang, who is almost breaking out in front of me, can only avoid this catastrophe by remembering his filial piety on weekdays, and protecting himself.

Thinking of this, Zhou Mao walked forward on his knees, tears streaming down his eyes, "My lord, I really don't know how this fire burns, someone must have framed me, and please be aware of it." ”

Jin Song glanced at Zhou Zhou Mao in disgust, "Stay quietly on the side, I will inspect myself." "Walk into the ruins where the embers are still warm, and use your knife to tear away the broken beams and take a closer look.

After searching for a long time, Jin Song raised his eyebrows, and in the southeast corner of the house, the fire here was not big, and the walls were only blackened a little.

The tip of the knife slowly sliced across the wall, and a raised green brick attracted Jin Song's attention. With a little force, the green brick was pred out, and a three-inch-long paper figure was hidden inside.

Carefully taking out the paper figure, Jin Song's face became even more ugly. The paper figures hidden here are exactly the same as those I found in the public treasury.

Turning his head to look at Zhou Mao, who was kneeling on the ground and looking at him pitifully, Jin Song said coldly: "Take Treasurer Zhou away." As he spoke, he glanced at Zhang Yuan on the side.

Seeing the expression of his boss, Zhang Yuan understood, and with a wave of his hand, the two guards ignored Zhou Mao's wailing and took him into a hut to take care of him, which was also a prison cell for punishing wrongdoers in the army.

Jin Song paced a few steps through the ruins, stomped on the ground with his feet, and crouched down where the bed had been placed. Peeling away the layer of ash above, the soil here is obviously different from the others, not only soft, but also uneven.

"Zhang Yuan, cut this place apart." Jin Song opened his mouth and pointed to his feet.

Zhang Yuan hurriedly took a few people, and according to Jin Song's instructions, he pushed aside the debris on the ground and dug it up vigorously. Just after a few digs, the hoe hit a hard object, making a crisp sound.

Asking his subordinates to stop quickly, Zhang Yuan squatted on the ground and carefully planed it with his hands. Soon, a silver ingot was taken out, with the word "military silver" clearly on it.

Jin Song snatched it with one hand, the muscles on his face couldn't help trembling, a fierce gaze burst out of his eyes, and he gritted his teeth and said: "Keep digging, I'll see how bold this person can be." ”

Zhang Yuan didn't dare to slack off, and hurriedly led people to open the whole piece of land with their hands, and found a total of twenty ingots of silver.

Looking at the silver ingots placed on the ground, Jin Song was already angry, and sneered: "What a person insists on stealing himself, and dares to use evil magic. As he spoke, he threw the paper figure on the ground, "This kind of transportation technique that has been circulated in the rivers and lakes has not expected to appear here." ”

Zhang Yuan glanced at it suspiciously, looked around, suddenly the corners of his eyes moved slightly, and he casually walked into a place of ashes, and trampled a yellow object half a finger long under his feet.

On the same day, Jin Song summoned officers above the commander of the tun and announced in public that Zhou Mao used evil magic to smuggle military silver, and set fire to the evidence, almost causing a riot in the camp.

It is said that the disposal of a Chinese person must be reported to the lieutenant for review, but the Dingyuan Chengxiang army is located on the border and the war is tense, so the lieutenant will also delegate power, and the disposal below the tun commander can be decided by the commander on the spot.

When the tun chief who was present heard this, he understood it and scolded Zhou Mao for violating military orders, breaking discipline, and sticking to self-theft, all of which were said to be killable. And in order to appease the morale of the army, it is necessary to kill quickly.

Everyone has their own little Jiujiu in their hearts, this Monday, Mao has dealings with all the chiefs on weekdays, and there are a lot of dirty things in secret.

Soon, Zhou Mao's head hung on the gate, and his mouth was still stuffed with hay. The crime is to use evil magic to steal treasury silver, set fire to the evidence, and another is to collude with Great Xia to disturb the morale of the army.

Mao's death on Monday made most of the camp rejoice. In any case, the military salary in the future can be less deducted.

Wu Gan went to Zhang Yuan's residence to clean up as usual. As soon as he entered the door, Zhang Yuan was already sitting upright in the room, and when he saw Wu Yan coming, he stopped talking.

When the cleaning was finished, Wu Gen bowed and retired.

Zhang Yuan suddenly coughed and took out a short yellow object, "Wu Gan, this thing can be recognized." ”

Wu Gan's body stiffened, and his eyelids jumped, "I don't know what adults mean." "The words are still very steady.

"Oh, this is an incense stick, mostly used by bandits." Zhang Yuan looked at the incense stick in his hand and didn't look at Wu Gan, "After this thing is ignited, it can be burned for a long time, so that the bandits can leave as soon as possible without being discovered." If it is more powerful, it will also add drugs to the incense, and the victim will be caught unconsciously. ”

When Wu Yan heard this, a chill arose behind him, and his eyes glanced at the door secretly.

Zhang Yuan said unhurriedly: "When I captured you from Dafeng Village, I saw that you had something similar hidden in your bag, but I didn't know that this incense stick flowed from you. As he spoke, he raised his eyes and stared at Wu Gan.

Wu Gan's waist straightened a little, "Yes and what, no, what." "My body tensed.

The atmosphere in the room was a little tense, Zhang Yuan smiled slightly, with force in his hand, the incense turned into powder and fell, "This Zhou Mao does have a place to die, and killing him this time is also for the Xiang Army." This matter has been revealed, and the charges have been convicted, and no one wants to make waves again, you can rest assured. ”

With a sigh of relief, Wu Gan's eyes rolled, "Thank you, sir." ”

Zhang Yuan sighed, "You are the one I keep in the camp, and there will be less banditry in the future, and similar things must not happen again." Remember, don't underestimate the world, otherwise if something happens, it will be difficult for me to save you. He waved his hand and motioned for Wu Gen to leave.

"Boy, you know." Wu Yan turned and walked to the door.

This time, I was really careless, thinking that I was doing it without knowing it, but I didn't want to leave my feet. As Zhang Yuan said, don't take the world for fools.

Just about to go out, Zhang Yuan's voice came from behind him, "By the way, I still don't know something, what is the reason for that paper man, but what kind of talisman or something." If it involves spell crypticism, you can leave it alone. ”

Wu Yan seemed to smile, "I looked at the paper man from a distance, it was an ordinary paper man, I don't know who drew the charm on it, fooling the world." ”

Zhang Yuan smiled dumbly, "It turned out to be just a trick to divert your eyes, I thought it was some kind of five ghost handling method." In the past few days, I have been worried, worried that when I sleep at night, a paper man will come with a knife. As for how the silver got under Zhou Mao's bed, I won't delve into it.

In a few days, I'll transfer you somewhere else. If you stay in the camp, I can't tell you what kind of moth you will provoke, and I, the guarantor, will also suffer. ”

Coming out of Zhang Yuan, Wu Gen still walked through the school yard unhurriedly and walked back to his tent according to his old habits. Today, he has never admitted to arson and stealing silver, and he thinks that Zhang Yuan will not report it. It's just that you need to be careful these days and don't fall into the trap anymore.

Zhang Yuan shook his head and looked at Wu Gan's figure, his face was solemn, he was still so calm after committing such a big crime, this kid is a good material for a general, but he needs to polish it well, otherwise he will be a master who stabs the sky with a stick.

Three days later, Wu Gan's order came down and he was transferred to the most remote place.

The location of this beacon is called Arazuka Ridge, far away from the camp of the Xiang army. Because of the strange things that happened in the middle of the year, no one wanted to go. But fortunately, there is only one person on duty, not only is it much more arbitrary, but there is also a monthly subsidy, even the servants can also be given two taels of silver.

As soon as he heard that there was money to be made, Wu Gen was satisfied, and in the sympathetic eyes of everyone, he rode out of the camp majestically.

As soon as he left the camp, Mo Xin hurried up, "Brother, you have offended someone and been assigned to such a desolate place." You know, it's not very clean, and many of my brothers can't stand it and run back. The crazy and the dead are not miserable. Or, let's find someone else and someone else? ”

Wu Yan slapped the knife in his hand, "There is a saying in the cottage that gods and ghosts are afraid of the wicked. I think I'm the first evil person in the windy village, and I'm afraid of a little ghost.

Lao Mo, I'll go investigate first, and when I'm settled, I'll think of transferring you too. Wouldn't it be better for our brothers to eat and drink spicy food there than to serve people here. Zhang Yuan's original intention was that he was afraid that he would make a mess, so he simply stayed away, out of sight and out of mind, how could someone replace him.

Mo Xin's head shook like a rattle, "Forget it, I'm timid, and I want to live a few more years." This one is for you, take it for self-defense. As he spoke, he stretched out his hand and handed over two talismans, "This is what I asked a wandering Taoist to write, which can ward off evil spirits and dispel filth, if there is anything weird, it is good to have a resistance." ”

Wu Yan took it with a smile, "Old Mo, thank you." Wait for me to have good news. He slapped the thin horse under him and ran in the direction of the Aratsuka Ridge.

Out of the camp gate, there is a continuous grassland in front of you, and a small river winds in it, which is also the customary dividing line between Zhao and Great Xia.

As you follow the river, undulating peaks gradually appear in the distance. The further you go to the foot of the mountain, the more desolate and uninhabited you become, full of thorns and hazelnuts, and there are white bones on the roadside.

Wu Gan became more and more cold-hearted as he walked, originally thinking that he would be free to defend the beacon alone, but he didn't expect it to be such a barren place.

After walking for three days in a row, the barren mound ridge finally appeared in front of me. This place is the highest place in the wilderness, and it can be seen as far as the eye can see.

Walking to the beacon, there is a small courtyard, and the locust trees in the courtyard are luxuriant.

Wu Gen gently pushed the courtyard door, squeaked, the wooden door opened in response, the yard was full of wild grass, and some pikas ran away one after another, thinking that no one had taken care of it for a long time.

Looking around, this is where he will be stationed in the future. Wu Yan sighed, put down the package in his hand, and began to clean it up.

After a simple cleanup, it was already night, Wu Yan held a knife in his arms, and his face was pasted with the talisman given by Mo Xin, and he fell asleep.

For two days, they were all safe and sound, and they didn't touch anything dirty as others said.

Under Wu Geng's tireless care, the courtyard has been completely renewed.

Quite satisfied, from the courtyard steps up to the beacon, with a wandering eye. The mountains in the distance are continuous, the fields are vast, and I can't help but feel relaxed and happy, and shout, "From today on, the surname of the owner of the village here is Wu." Those who do not listen to orders, those who do not pay money when they pass by, and those who disturb the sleep of the owner of the village, will be killed. ”

In the small courtyard, the hour has passed. A full moon hung in the sky, the moonlight was bleak, insects and beasts were hidden, and the surroundings were quiet and a little crazy.

A light mist came out of the mountain, slowly swept over the top of the mountain, drifted past the beacons, and gradually covered the entire courtyard.

There was silence all around, and figures loomed in the fog, surrounding the room where Wu Yan was sleeping.