At that time, it was close to the third watch, and the room was faintly hazy, floating quietly beside him. Accompanied by a tranquil atmosphere, the sound of flipping books rustles and touches the tranquility of people's hearts.

Qiu Shaohu's habit of reading books is very different from ordinary people. The speed of reading is extremely fast, not seeking to delve into the hard solution word by word, it seems that after reading through, every word is imprinted in his mind with his clear eyes, and the words are not forgotten.

A copy of "Ancient and Modern Exams" was quickly read by him. Although it was not a reading material designated by the imperial court, there are still some readable places in the collection of essays printed in the private study.

Especially at the end, Qiu Shaohu saw a sentence as a conclusion:

"Fang Jin's gentleman lives in the world, and he has not been able to create the world, so how can he ask about ghosts and gods? Courteously stand. ”

This is a sentence used by the editors of this book to refute the fact that in today's troubled times, many people do not speak of the "right path", but place their trust in the practice of liberation and indulge in the things of ghosts and gods.

"Do you want to stay away from ghosts and gods?" Qiu Shaohu pondered.

This kind of talk was not new, but he thought of something else.

I once accidentally saw a collection of notes on "Strange Humor", which recorded all kinds of folk rumors. In today's world, with a well-developed printing industry and a wide variety of books, it is not surprising that such eye-catching stories of gods and ghosts are available. However, the strange thing about this book is that its author is a famous Confucian of the previous generation, and the court and the people are quite prestigious. So not only is the writing good, but the stories he writes are also with his own observations and feelings, which can be described as a three-point wood.

In particular, it is also written that there is a place where people do not do anything to produce, do not learn or know, but only think about the so-called "other side", thinking that it is the common end of all people and the only way for people to rest in peace, so all they think about all day long is to find the way to enter that holy place, and call it "the resting place".

This is naturally disdained in the eyes of others. The empire prides itself on being a civilized Zhuxia, so why bother to learn from the ghosts and gods of the barbarians. However, in "Strange Humorous Talk", the great Confucian said: If such people are kept to themselves and have their hearts, although they are not the right way, how is it different from the right way?

Naturally, this argument is not supported by too many people. However, Qiu Shaohu can see that this is a great Confucian standing at another height, thinking that things that can make people pursue are all counted as avenues, and how can there be a difference between "righteous path" and "evil way".

Thinking of this, Qiu Shaohu yawned, what he had experienced today was inevitably a little too much, and he also felt that it was time for him to prepare to rest.

Just as he was about to pack his things, his hand suddenly froze, and it seemed that the whole person felt something.

"Ah——!h

At the same time, a terrible scream came from outside, lingering throughout the night.

Qiu Shaohu quickly took the glowing book in his arms, and then turned over from the door, and with great dexterity, he lit the fire first to illuminate the outside of his room.

In the dim light, it was empty, and nothing was happening in the lobby.

After making sure everything was going on, he got up and walked towards the staircase. The first floor is safe, so the one who makes the sound must be on the second floor.

As soon as he walked up the last step of the stairs, he saw that on the dim second floor, everyone who had been here was in the corridor outside, surrounded by silence.

Qiu Shaohu stepped forward and saw the vendor Zhang Qi lying on the ground, his eyes widened, but he couldn't see him staring, because his eyes had long since disappeared.

Not only on his face, but also on his chest and legs, Zhang Qi's body was covered with hideous wounds, as if he had been bitten by a wild beast. The red painted on the ground is like a life-seeking flower, blooming in a smile.

The slave girl Anu couldn't see such a scene for a long time, and she turned around and vomited in the corner.

"What's wrong?" Wang Hu came late for some reason, so he hurriedly came over to ask, and after seeing it clearly, he didn't know how to speak.

"What else can I do with this business?" Chu Jieyun's tone couldn't tell whether it was sadness or sighing.

"Sneaky?" Qin Xiang also seemed preoccupied.

Zhou Linchao's face was gloomy, it seemed that as a sergeant, he had long looked down on death, and he had nothing to say at this time.

First Boss Li, and now Zhang Qi, in less than half the night, two people died one after another, in this inn, where they are now.

Who exactly is the murderer? What's next?

The people who didn't know each other before, the atmosphere of suspicion reappeared.

Qiu Shaohu lit the fire and looked at it for a moment, and suddenly wanted to bend down to touch Zhang Qi's body.

"What are you doing!" Meng Xiangping suddenly said loudly: "This is the scene of the murder, and no one is allowed to move at will!" ”

After shouting, the official's sharp eyes stared at everyone, as if he wanted to force him to ask the secret he wanted just by relying on his eyes.

Gritting his teeth, Meng Xiangping suddenly said, "You all come down with me!" ”

As he spoke, he took the lead and walked down.

"Where are you going?" Qin Xiang asked.

"Go downstairs and ask you one by one!" Meng Xiang said bluntly: "There are only a few of us here, and the murderer is among you!" ”

"Don't you still see the murderer?" Qin Xiang was furious at this kind of unwarranted accusation, "This is clearly done by ghosts, where can people do it!" ”

"But it seems to be good to go downstairs." Chu Jieyun was a little worried, "Everyone gathers together, and it can be safer now." ”

"This is the government's case, you can hear it clearly for me!" Meng Xiangping was domineering, "According to the "Jokhang Law Order", 'those who do not report the information will be dealt with as accomplices', you had better cooperate with me!" ”

"However, Article 430 of the second paragraph of the Jokhang Law Decree also says, 'Those who have only suspicion but no evidence shall not be forcibly treated as the suspect.'" Qiu Shaohu said suddenly.

Meng Xiangping was obviously stunned for a moment, he didn't expect Qiu Shaohu to really remember every word of the imperial court decree.

"Oh, what are you talking about," Wang Hu interjected, "This thing is obviously done by people, how can ghosts kill people to see blood." But I'm not in favor of staying together, obviously the murderer is among us now, and God knows when he'll suddenly do it again after we get together......"

is talking so nonsense, but he can't make up an idea.

"Stop arguing!" Zhou Linchao finally couldn't bear it anymore and shouted loudly.

A sound came out, like a drum, suppressing everyone's voice.

Only the sergeant of Jianjia looked at the others, like a killing god far away from here, with a sneer in his tone, and said: "Listen, don't think that I am alone with you, you all seem innocent, but in fact you pretend to be more like anyone else." First of all, you, Lord Lieutenant, you only carry a knife, but why is it that not only on your right hand, but also on your left hand, there is an equally thick layer of cocoons? Anyone who has ever been a soldier knows that it is a trace that can only be sharpened with a spear in the army. You are indeed a member of the court, but you are not an errand at all! ”

Meng Xiangping snorted coldly, did not answer but did not deny it.

After speaking, he turned to Qin Xiang again and said, "As for you, how could a craftsman who is looking for work everywhere not go to those big cities and come to this remote place?" How many of them can hire workers to work for you? The only explanation is that you're here for a different purpose. And you pretended to be too bad just now, how can a person who has been traveling from south to north for many years be afraid of ghosts? ”

Without waiting for Qin Xiang to answer, Zhou Linchao said to Chu Jieyun and Wang Hu again: "A lone woman who can open an inn in such a place will not believe anyone if she says that she has no means; And this ruffian's room was supposed to be the closest to here, so why did he arrive at the end, what were you just doing outside? ”

In the end, Zhou Linchao turned his gaze to Qiu Shaohu and said, "You should stay in your room, but at this time, the most normal person is the most abnormal." A humble scholar, can he be so calm when he encounters such a thing, is it because he has become accustomed to it? ”

Qiu Shaohu thought to himself that he didn't do anything, but he was the most suspicious, it was really a disaster.

pointed out everyone's secrets, and Zhou Linchao finally summed it up and said: "Everyone hides secrets, and no one can trust each other, so I have a proposal, we all move from the rooms we lived in before, and in order, one person lives next to each other." So that we could separate and hear what was doing next door, and we would keep going until the morning, and if the rain stopped by then, we would make plans. ”

While talking, Zhou Linchao took his slave girl to the second room, and it turned out that the first room where Boss Li was next door to him.

Everyone else looked at each other, and according to Zhou Linchao's words, this seemed to be the best way at the moment.

"Who's in the third room?" Qin Xiangdao, this third room is the house of the original hawker Zhang Qi.

"I'm coming! The corpse is here, and no one is allowed to approach it! Meng Xiangping walked in as if he was angry, and seemed to still hate Zhou Linchao for giving the order on his behalf.

In this way, Qin Xiang was assigned to the fourth room, Wang Hu was assigned to the fifth room, Chu Jieyun went to live in the sixth room, and Qiu Shaohu lived on the second floor at the end, and everyone distributed everything again.

"Xiao Qiu, what else do you have to do?" Before Chu Jieyun entered the room, he saw Qiu Shaohu still lingering beside Zhang Qi's body.

"I'm wondering if I should take a white cloth and cover him." Qiu Shaohu said.

"People are already dead, so why bother with this, rest early." After Chu Jieyun finished speaking, she walked into her room first.

"Got it." heard the sound of "bang" closing the door, the corridor was empty at this time, and only Qiu Shaohu was left at the moment.

He stood silently, the light on the fire fold in his hand flickering, and the shadow reflected in him continued to tremble, and finally extinguished.

His fire was burned completely.

It was gray, and Qiu Shaohu first went to the wall to fumble for a switch. On the second floor of the inn, an elaborate mechanism is set up for lighting, and the oil flows from the pipes that extend in all directions and automatically fills the lamps in various parts of the wall, and only need to pull the mechanism to make the saltpeter on each lamp ignite at the same time, so that all the lamps are lit together.

However, when the switch was flipped and it was still dark. Qiu Shaohu frowned, bent down to check the large oil storage tank next to him, and found that the oil stored in the original pipeline was actually gone.

No wonder it's so dark just now, and the hostess doesn't turn on the lights.

But even though his vision was extremely poor, Qiu Shaohu still groped on the ground and finally touched something.

What he was holding in his hand was a rag, which could match the corner of Zhang Qi's clothes. Qiu Shaohu bent down just now because he found that Zhang Qi's clothes seemed to be missing corners.

And the location where this cloth was found now is at the door of the first room, outside the room where Boss Li died.

Zhang Qi actually died outside the door of the first room, and was dragged to the door of the third room after his death, falsifying his position before his death. Because of the scratching on the ground, the corner of the coat was left in the gap in the floor.

What was Zhang Qi doing outside Boss Li's room at that time? And why go there?

Qiu Shaohu once read a book called "Record of Cases", which recorded various murder scenes and corpse inquests, so he had this awareness. The book wasn't thick either, and he had memorized it all when he had scanned it.

Continuing to investigate the outside of the first room, Qiu Shaohu really found traces of blood that had been wiped. The wipe was very sloppy, and obviously the other party didn't have much time to clean up, otherwise he wouldn't have even found the corner of the clothes left behind.

But after that, everyone was drawn here by the sound, and the footprints were so messed up that they would hardly go unnoticed if they didn't deliberately look for them.

And in this mass of footprints, Qiu Shaohu found a black spot on the ground that was almost imperceptible.

The reason why Qiu Shaohu can notice it is because this is not only a drop of ink, but also the kind of ancient agarwood ink that he often uses.

The proprietress is always very particular about these details, even the pen and ink used for bookkeeping must be prepared. The characteristic of this ink is that although the smell is not strong, it can last for a long time, and even now you can faintly smell the faint fragrance of the orchid.

Qiu Shaohu twisted the ink dot with his hand and found that under the black ink, there were red blood droplets.

The ink dripped down the blood before it fell on it, covering it in red.

Who will have ink on them?

Qiu Shaohu still remembers that before in the lobby, he accidentally knocked over the inkstone and fell on Meng Xiangping.

Meng Xiangping came here after Zhang Qi's death, and the ink on his body fell on the blood on the floor!

He killed Zhang Qi?

Unlike Meng Xiangping, although he was carrying a long knife, the injuries on Zhang Qi's body could not have been caused by a knife.

But if it was Meng Xiang who moved Zhang Qi's body, I am afraid that it was not just a simple removal of the corpse, but must have taken something from the other party.

Qiu Shaohu returned to Zhang Qi's body to check, and soon found that Zhang Qi's upper middle finger and ring finger of his right hand were broken. Someone forcibly broke his hand and took something after he died.

Everything is clear, it was Zhang Qi who sneaked into Boss Li's room at night and stole something, but after coming out, he was discovered by another person and killed.

After Zhang Qi's death, Meng Xiangping rushed over, and in order to cover up, he deliberately moved Zhang Qi's body and took the thing.

From the very beginning, Meng Xiangping said that he and Boss Li made an appointment to meet, and Boss Li also said that "he has a big business". If Meng Xiangping didn't want people to know what he had traded with Boss Li, he would naturally try to cover it up.

But who killed Zhang Qihui?

I'm afraid everyone was suspicious at the time.

From the position where everyone arrived before, Qiu Shaohu felt that something was wrong.

The proprietress Chu Jieyun's room was obviously on the innermost side, but at first she was standing on the periphery of the corridor; Wang Hu was the closest, but he was the slowest to come; Qin Xiang and Zhou Linchao were standing in the opposite position to their room!

Not only Zhang Qi and Meng Xiangping, everyone left their rooms on the night of the third watch!

The situation is becoming more and more confusing.

All his thoughts turned into a mess at this point, and Qiu Shaohu felt that it was better to go to his room on the first floor first and move the things he wanted to use to the room above.

He turned and walked downstairs to his room.

Pushing open the door, because the fire had already burned out, Qiu Shaohu fumbled to find other things for lighting.

But at this moment, there was a light behind him that leaped forward like a flying insect.

When he turned around, he saw that Wang Hu was standing at the door with an oil lamp, as if he had been waiting for him.