There were two lanterns swaying in the wind at the door of the cell, and the weather was not very good tonight, the dark clouds obscured the sky and the sun, and the moon could not even be seen in the first half of the night, but somehow, in the second half of the night, the wind became stronger, and the moon came out from behind the dark clouds.

The clear light of the moon shone on the spacious square in front of the prison door, which was now full of people and crowded. Looking closely, more than half of them were disheveled, as if they had just arrived from home, and they looked like they hadn't woken up.

There are not many people who leave the court, but there are many officials who don't do their jobs.

The small Ping'an County Ya raises fast catchers and fast hands, adding up to more than 100 people.

Xu Zhou and Chen Wude put their hands in their arms, leaned against the door frame, chatted boredly, and looked around in front of the door to catch fast.

"Uncle, what are you doing here? It looks like there's a big move. Xu Zhou rubbed his chin with his fingers and pointed at the current situation.

In the middle of the night, all the county officials gather here, and it will not be idle and have nothing to do, there must be a big move.

Chen Wude yawned, squinted, pointed to the red sky in the direction of Chang'an County in the west, and said, "Maybe I'm going to help put out the fire." ”

Starting tonight, Chang'an County next door didn't know what to do, more than a dozen places suddenly ignited fires, and now there is still billowing smoke, the fire is monstrous, standing in Ping'an County can also see clearly.

While the two were talking, Wu Rongzhi, the county magistrate who had not appeared for a long time, chose a higher step to stand up with the support of the master and the master.

Wu Rongzhi has a majestic appearance, a wide forehead and square face, a four-inch beautiful hair under his chin, a green robe, and a black gauze official hat, and he is dressed brightly.

Under the gaze of everyone, he first swept the placket of his shirt with his wide sleeves, and then coughed twice, signaling the catchers who were talking to each other to calm down and listen to his speech as a county order.

"Everyone, it's not peaceful tonight!"

Wu Rongzhi's words were concise and to the point, pointing to the west and pointing to the dozen or so billowing smoke: "Bandits are rampant tonight, robbing homes and houses in neighboring counties, and burning down houses. ”

As soon as they said this, everyone looked at each other, and it turned out that the fire in Chang'an County was not because the weather was dry and hot, spontaneously combusting, but because there were bandits and robbers engaged in sabotage.

Wu Rongzhi didn't talk nonsense, and directly stated the purpose of summoning the big guys tonight: "The bandits are rampant and numerous, and the team in Chang'an County is overstretched. ”

Support, suppress bandits.

Many catchers have a rough idea in their hearts.

"Is there a reward?"

Suddenly, someone in the crowd asked.

No reward, don't go.... Even if I went, I wouldn't be able to do my job.

This is the status quo of the dynasty!

Wu Rongzhi had long expected that someone would ask such a question, so he crossed his waist and waved his hand: "Of course there is a reward, if you catch a person, whether you live or die, the reward will be ten taels!" ”

Rumble!

The crowd exploded at once, and there were so many ..... The last time I went to exterminate the White Tiger Gang, each person was rewarded with two taels of silver, but now he was rewarded with ten taels of gold, which is not an ordinary difference.

But high returns are often accompanied by high risks, although some old oilers are also red in the eyes of ten taels of gold, but the pace is slowly retreating, retreating to the back of the crowd.

This mission is actually no different from sending people to death, and the bounty is so high, which shows that the bandit is not an ordinary person.

"Who's going? Come to the master to sign up and set off now! After Wu Rongzhi finished speaking, he jumped down the steps and left without looking back.

There are some things he can't say clearly, but the order from above is here, and someone in Ping'an County must go to support and cooperate with all parties in the capital to besiege the Demon Sect in the whole city.

After Wu Rongzhi left, some young catchers faced the temptation of high bounties and frantically rushed towards the master and signed up to fight the bandits. On the contrary, the old catchers gathered in groups of three or five, talked to each other, and then went back to their respective homes.

Bandits in the middle of the night?

Crazy.

Isn't it fragrant to go home and sleep with a fragrant daughter-in-law?

Not a soul was there.

The crowd slowly dispersed, and the Ping'an County Ya temporarily organized a team to go to Chang'an County next door to assist in suppressing the bandits, and the others went home...... However, the jailers who kept vigil were still wandering around the square, playing the autumn breeze and touching the mountains..... Just wait for the dawn when the next jailer will be on duty to replace them.

"By the way, the world has not been peaceful these days, so you don't run around with He Bao." Chen Wude looked at Xu Zhou and said two more words.

Tonight, although the information revealed by the county commander Wu Rongzhi was vague, it was enough for some people. There has been a lot of turmoil in Chang'an County, and no one can say whether the bandits there will flow to Ping'an County to make trouble.

Chen Wude reminded Xu Zhou not to run around these days, it was also for his good.

"Got it, uncle, go back." Xu Zhou waved his hand and watched Chen Wude go back.

After Chen Wude left, Xu Zhou stood at the gate of the courtyard for a while, stretched his waist, looked up at the bright moonlight in the sky, and then returned to the courtyard, ready to coax his senior sister Jiang Hongdou, who was crying endlessly.

……

……

On the steps in front of the hall, Jiang Hongdou sat on it, holding his knees with his arms, his head buried deeply, and he sobbed quietly.

Several black cats were very sensible lying at her feet, as if they felt Jiang Hongdou's sadness, and one by one they carefully pulled Jiang Hongdou's shoes with their paws, silently comforting them.

Xu Zhou stood in the courtyard with his waist crossed, his brain aching.

"Senior sister, don't be sad......"

"Woo-woo-"

When Jiang Hongdou heard this, he cried a little louder.

Xu Zhou shut up, slowly approached, sat down beside Jiang Hongdou, tilted his head and picked up the little black boy and put it on his knees.

He looked at the little black boy and thought to himself: "Little black boy, where is your mother?" ”

As far as Xu Zhou knows, the little black boy is also a lonely person, don't look at it and this litter of black cats looks exactly the same, in fact, it is an outsider, this litter of black cats are the children and grandchildren of Hua'er and Jiu'er, but the little black boy is not.

It came suddenly one day, broke into someone's big family, when it first came, it was thin and small, but it was very domineering, and now it has become the big brother in a litter of black cats, eating fat and strong, and having a group of wives and concubines.

"Meow~" The little black boy screamed, revealing two fangs.

"Do you miss your mother too?"

"Meow~"

"Well, I see, you think about it too."

Xu Zhou touched the little black boy's head and continued: "Actually, life is impermanent, the large intestine is wrapped in the small intestine, bah...... What do I want to say? ”

After thinking for a while, Xu Zhou continued: "Oh, by the way, life is impermanent, life is not only about the immediate situation, but also poetry and distant places...... When people die, they turn into a star in the sky, and they hang in the sky, twinkling and twinkling...... The people we miss don't go away from me, they just continue to accompany us in a different way, as long as we look up, we can see. ”

Xu Zhou held the little black boy high and pointed to a star casually: "That's the little black boy's mother, come, say hello to your mother." ”

"Meow~" The little black boy meowed very cooperatively.

Xu Zhou peeked at Jiang Hongdou's reaction next to her, and found that she stopped sobbing at some point, and raised her face to "look" at the stars.

Xu Zhou threw down the little black boy, held Jiang Hongdou's right hand, and pointed to a bright star in the north: "Your mother is the one!" Don't make that mistake. ”

"Can my mother see me?" Jiang Hongdou showed a trace of confusion on his face, and turned his head to ask.

"Of course ......"

……

Black smoke billowed and obscured the sky, where are the stars...... The abandoned little black boy looked up at the sky, a little incomprehensible.