The gold tanning field is a town.

In fact, it can only be regarded as a chaotic crowd settlement at best.

At the beginning, it was only because the river beach here could sift out gold sand that it attracted a large number of people to come to pan for gold.

Slowly more and more people are coming, and I don't know if the gold sand has been found, but it has led to the development of the sand mining industry.

Even many large families in Luoshui City like to build houses out of the sand dug up in the gold drying field.

There is also bluestone produced in the nearby mountains, which is of same good quality, and it is mined and directly loaded into ships and sold to other places, and the annual income is not a small number.

The wheels of the carriage turned slowly, and finally stopped in front of a dilapidated torii.

"My lord, there is a gold field ahead."

Gan Liang's voice sounded quietly.

Wei Tao opened his eyes, lifted the side curtain and looked out.

Outside, there were tall piles of sand and crumbling bluestones, just thrown on the side of the road.

Farther away, there is a forest growing in the rain, looming in the rain, and it is impossible to see it.

He withdrew his gaze and looked towards the town behind the torii.

It's not a small place, but the various houses and buildings are not planned, and except for a few main streets, everything is a mess, like a wild gray moss, spreading out to occupy a large area of land on the banks of the river.

Perhaps because of the rain, there were no pedestrians on Main Street.

The shops are all open, but except for a few restaurants that are quite lively, there are many other places and departments, and there is no flow of customers.

The carriage had just stopped.

A group of people had already walked up quickly.

They were stopped by Gan Liang ten paces away.

The middle-aged man at the head seemed to know Gan Liang, and after saying a few words, he was let go to the front of the car.

"In the lower room, I saw Deacon Wei."

The middle-aged man took off his hat and bowed deeply.

Gan Liang added on the side, "Outside the housekeeper is the owner of several sand quarries here, and the last time someone disappeared was his letter. ”

Wei Tao lifted the curtain and glanced at Fang Linyuan.

I saw that his eye sockets were deep-set, his face was haggard, and his hair was messy, obviously because he had not had a good rest for a long time.

"I have prepared a place for the deacons to live, and a table has been prepared for the masters to receive the wind and wash the dust."

Fang Linyuan and Wei Tao looked at each other, lowered their heads hurriedly, and said in a respectful tone.

"Then follow the arrangement of the room staff."

Wei Tao nodded slightly, "For the specific situation, we will talk while eating later." ”

He turned his gaze away from the bleak and haggard faces of the roommates, and looked at the servants who were waiting not far away.

These people were ruddy and bright, not only did they not have any dishes, but they also formed a sharp contrast with the roomman himself.

"The living conditions of the servants of this family seem to be good, and their complexion is even better than that of the Taoist children of Qingfeng Temple."

Wei Tao thought in his heart and lowered the curtain of the carriage door.

Passing over the dilapidated gatehouse, the carriage slowly entered the town.

After walking along the gravel street for some distance, I stopped in front of a high-walled compound.

On both sides of the gate, several servants with umbrellas were already waiting.

On the steps outside the porch, there was also a slender girl with short hair.

She looked to be about fifteen or sixteen years old.

Dressed in a cyan power suit and with a long sword hanging from his waist, he stood above the steps of the gate and looked at it condescendingly.

When Fang Linyuan saw the girl, his already haggard face suddenly became more bitter.

He opened his mouth to reprimand, but in the end he sighed, turned his head and smiled carefully, "This is a little girl, she is used to being no big or small, she doesn't know the world, and I hope that the deacon is not strange." ”

"It doesn't matter."

Wei Tao nodded, took an umbrella, and slowly walked up the steps in front of the door.

"You are the martial artist sent by Qingfeng Guan again?"

The short-haired girl's gaze fell on Wei Tao.

Looking at his not very strong body under the moon-white robe, there was a thick look of scrutiny and suspicion in his eyes.

Wei Tao walked past her, unaware of the girl's words.

She snorted coldly and kept talking.

"Don't be like the two people in front of you, who were arrogant and domineering when they first came, it seems that the shelf is too big.

As a result, he didn't survive even a few days, so he was so frightened that he ran all night, and he didn't dare to turn his head back. ”

Click!

Without warning, he stopped.

Turned his head and looked.

Together with Ou Yinglian and the others on the side, they stood at the same time.

Several people looked at the girl under the door in unison.

The short-haired girl met a few glances, and involuntarily shivered, and her body tensed up in an instant.

Wei Tao only glanced at it, then looked away.

He said in a low voice, "Outside of the housekeeper, the last time you talked to the Taoist temple about peeling the skin and grass, now what I heard is running away at night. ”

"So, which statement is true and which is false?"

Boom!

The roommate swallowed hard.

His face was a little pale, and there was a fine cold sweat on his forehead in an instant.

Wei Tao paused, his tone becoming colder.

"You see, although this view protects the safety of one party, it is not a fool who can be deceived by others."

"Lord Deacon, it's all the villain's fault, it's all the villain's failure to make things clear!"

The voice outside the room clerk trembled, "Those two masters are indeed dead, and the villain is just afraid of causing panic, so he blocked the news on a small scale and did not spread it on a large scale." ”

"As for my naughty daughter."

When he said this, he couldn't help shaking his head and sighing, "She always comes to ask about it, and in order to deal with the past, she doesn't want her to be afraid, so the villain casually makes up lies......"

Wei Tao was silent for a moment, then raised his feet and walked towards the courtyard.

"Don't be nervous, just make things clear, after all, we are here to solve problems, not to create new problems unnecessarily."

"The deacon is magnanimous, and the villain is grateful!"

The roommate wiped a handful of sweat outside, and finally exhaled a long breath of turbidity that had been held for a long time.

Then he shouted, "Hurry up and set up the table, don't make the deacon wait too long!" ”

Half a quarter of an hour later.

After a few glasses of alcohol, the roomman's face was much more ruddy.

looked at Wei Tao who was sitting upright on the side, and suddenly breathed a sigh of relief.

He toasted again and again, saying petty flattering words from beginning to end.

"In the past, there was the protection of the Qingfeng Temple, and the whole gold field has been safe and worry-free.

Even if there were a few bandits who came from the scene, they were exterminated by the warriors stationed on the scene, and they did not cause much impact. ”

"Only this time, not only did the warriors stationed at the scene see no one alive or dead, but even the two martial artists who came from the temple and specialized in dealing with this matter were also stripped of their skin and died miserably.

Originally, I was already a little desperate, and even had the idea of abandoning my family business and fleeing here.

Unexpectedly, just to pass on the news, the deacon immediately came with strong reinforcements.

The big stone that was pressing on his heart finally loosened a lot. ”

"Well, we're not here for a drink, and we don't need to say anything else.

The housekeeper should first tell the story in detail, which can also give us a general understanding and determine the target direction of the exploration. ”

Wei Tao ate a few bites of food and drank a few glasses of wine, then put down the tableware and sat back on the back of the chair.

"Here's how it happened."

The housekeeper fell into reminiscence, thought about it and said slowly, "On the morning eight days ago, each foreman went to the site one step ahead of schedule as usual, counted the tools, and prepared for the day's work. ”

When they arrived, they found that the people who lived in the shack for the night were nowhere to be seen.

And it's not just a battlefield, the same thing is happening in several places. ”

"At first, I thought it was the vigil who ran away, but when I thought about it, it didn't feel right.

First, they didn't even receive this month's salary, and they hated to suffer if they ran away at this time;

Second, it's possible for a single person to run away, but it's unlikely that several people will run away at the same time......"

Wei Tao opened his eyes, "In the battlefield, did you find any traces of fighting?" ”

"No, not to mention the corpse, not even a single trace of blood was found."

"Well, I see, you continued."

He nodded, closing his eyes again.

Fang Linyuan said, "Later, the Taoist temple garrison martial artist rushed over, but he didn't find any clues.

So he had to go from here to two courtyards, and with a few rough servants, he stayed there at night.

Want to see if there are any surprises. ”

"Waiting for the rabbit is also a good way to solve the problem."

Wei Tao picked up a chopstick of bacon and put it in his mouth and chewed it slowly, "So, they stayed in at night, and then disappeared as well?" ”

"What the deacon said is very true."

Fang Linyuan's eyes fluttered, and a trace of horror flashed, "The next morning, they were indeed gone." ”

"What's even more terrifying is that this time the stone house on the battlefield is covered with blood, as if someone is holding the largest brush and dipping it in blood to paint."

"Later, it was the two martial artists surnamed Men, their strength was obviously stronger, and after coming over, they searched and searched, and it seemed that they had found some clues, so they chased them all the way along the woods by the river, and since then they have lost their traces."

Wei Tao frowned slightly, "Since you have lost your trace, where did you find their bodies?" ”

Fang Linyuan shuddered suddenly, "The next day, a cross stake appeared on the edge of the woods, and the bodies of the two martial artists were pierced and hung on it. ”

(End of chapter)