Ouyang Rong suddenly got up.

He sat on the couch with his arms around the futon,

Turning his head in a daze.

A dark room.

The white moonlight that streamed on the floor in front of the bed.

There are also wooden windows that constantly let in the sound of summer insects.

Outside, the moon was as quiet as water, and he was still on the bed in the familiar Merlin courtyard.

The young county commander's face was in a trance.

"Why did you wake up again, it's still that long, long dream......"

With a mutter, Ouyang Rong lowered his head and rubbed his sleepy face.

He casually whispered: "Craftsman." ”

The words just fell.

At the foot of the bookshelf three feet away from the bed, leaning against a long and narrow wooden box.

"Gurgle——!" , "Bang——! ”

The sound of pulling the trigger reverberated through the room, and the wooden sword box opened suddenly, like a butterfly spreading its wings.

On the right "wing", a long sword is inserted diagonally, and the snow-white sword body exudes gray moonlight.

It's the Moonlight Sword.

Left "wing", empty...... No, the sword that warmed the left flank was too fast to blink an eye.

An "arc", in the middle of the dark room, is quietly suspended.

Ouyang Rong let out a long breath, as if his heart was a little at ease.

Roll over and get out of bed.

Pushing open the window, Ouyang Rong was wearing a thin white shirt, looking up at the moon, frowning.

In the sky, the crescent moon is like a knife, hanging in the western sky.

In the house, the sword is like an arc, hanging in the air.

Ouyang Rong turned his back to the "craftsman" and looked at the moon.

It has been three days since he recovered from his illness and has been going down the mountain.

Ben was ready to regroup and start over, but for the past three days, he has been haunted by a strange dream every night.

During the day, when dealing with official business at the county office, he often wandered.

Now awake, in the memory of broken dreams that I remember in my mind.

He was as hot as swallowing a golden crow, and then he touched a slender woman who was as cool as the moon wheel.

One hot and one cold, the sun and the moon blend together, it seems to be a Zhou Gong ceremony.

Ouyang Rong vaguely remembered that he seemed to be extremely rude.

What impressed her the most at this moment was that he seemed to bite hard at the collarbone of her soft white neck, venting like a beast.

The latter clung to his head and silently endured what he had leaked.

That quiet moon-like woman gave him the feeling of being as fragile and delicate as a flat boat before the stormy waves.

When touched, it is as inclusive as a quiet sea, and can withstand all the storms and rains given by men.

This kind of taste is strange.

"Is it a dream......"

Ouyang Rong whispered, suddenly turned his head, and glanced at the pitch-black Dagu Mountain in the distance.

"Unknown miracle doctor...... Zhao Xiaoniang ......"

There was a murmur in front of the window.

There seemed to be an impulse in him.

In the next moment, the window slammed shut.

In the center of the house, a clear blue "arc" disappeared.

In front of the bookshelf, a wooden sword case, the wings are retracted, and the machine is closed.

The short-haired young man went to put on a regular robe, and took out a bronze mask from under his pillow and stuffed it into his sleeve.

He turned around and walked to the bookshelf, picked up the Mo family's sword box, leaned behind him, and walked out quickly.

Ouyang Rong was as light as an ape and quietly left the courtyard.

But there's nothing to hide from in Merlot Park.

In the past two days, Merlot Garden was very clean, Zhen and Ye Weilai did not return for the time being, Ouyang Rong lived alone, accompanied by a few old janitors, leaving early and returning late.

Only the little junior sister looked for him every day, and as for the several invitations of the Lixian family next door, Ouyang Rong refused all of them with excuses.

During the day, he went to the Longcheng County Ya, led Diao County Cheng and Yan Liulang to deal with all the things on July 15, and went home at night, and he solved all the food, clothing, and daily life by himself.

It can be regarded as busy and quiet, and it is rare to be fulfilling.

This also gave Ouyang Rong the opportunity to calm down and think seriously about some issues.

For example, what's important and what's not.

This relates to his future plans.

A heart calmed down, and because of this, the "biting dream" that had been hovering his heart for several days was so strange and conspicuous.

In the middle of the night, Ouyang Rong carried the box and left Luming Street.

He sneaked around the curfew and went out of the city wearing the stars and the moon.

No one was notified.

When the first light of dawn polished the Buddhist temple on the top of the mountain, Ouyang Rong arrived at Donglin Temple, and the dew wet the hem of his clothes.

Ouyang Rong found his hair and said directly:

"Not long ago, I was recuperating in Sanhui Hospital, do you know?"

"Huh?"

The hair of the morning reading of the scriptures in the hall was stunned, and he looked up at the county lord who was in the mountain in the early morning:

"I know some, but Sanhui Courtyard was rented by Xie Xiaoniang for formalities, and later I heard that it was the county master who was in a coma and went in.

"Little lady Xie first invited my master to see a doctor for you, but the master was not proficient in this disease, so he humbly went out.

"Little lady Xie seems to have begged a foreign doctor later."

Ouyang Rong asked intently: "You and the monks, have you ever seen the doctors and medical helpers in the Sanhui Courtyard these days?" ”

Xiu Fa touched his head, "The little monk didn't see it, the main reason was that the little lady Xie closed the courtyard and didn't allow our monks to approach, and the senior brothers shouldn't have seen it either."

"I heard that Xie Xiaoniang invited a miracle doctor, and I don't know what the origin is, the god is mysterious, and even the morning and evening meals are sent from the mountain, not from the temple."

Ouyang Rong asked, "What is the name of the divine doctor?" ”

"The little monk doesn't know." Xiu Fa shook his head, as if he remembered something, and said in a trance:

"But I heard that in addition to the miracle doctor in the hospital, there is also a woman from a good family who takes care of the patient's daily life, it seems that Xie Xiaoniang and Mr. Xie came from the mountain to help, when entering the temple, Xie Xiaoniang also registered with the senior brother who guarded the door, there should be a name."

Ouyang Rong said quietly:

"After I left the day before yesterday, is there still anyone living in Sanhui Courtyard, where did this woman from a good family go?"

"I don't know, on the day the county lord recovered from his illness and went down the mountain, the Sanhui Temple was empty, uninhabited, and had been cleaned by the monks.

"This woman from a good family must have gone down the mountain, and I don't know where her home is."

"Okay." Ouyang Rong sighed lightly: "Where is the roster for entering the temple, take me over." ”

"Okay, county master, please wait."

Xiufa put down the Buddhist scriptures and invited a free time from the uncle who supervised the morning reading in the hall.

Ouyang Rong followed him and silently went to the main gate of Donglin Temple, where he got a thick roster from a monk.

Ouyang Rong quickly flipped through it, followed the corresponding date, and found the specific number of pages of the registered person's name on that day, and his fingertips slid down line by line.

"Zhao, mother?"

Ouyang Rong lowered his eyes and whispered, which was the familiar handwriting of the little junior sister.

However, it only has two words registered, not the full name.

He pursed his lips, slightly disappointed in his eyes, but he didn't feel surprised.

The women of the Great Qian Dynasty and the Great Zhou Dynasty are mostly called a certain lady or a certain little lady outside, and only those close to them can know the specific name of the girl.

At present, on the roster that Ouyang Rong has flipped over, most of the other female donors are also like this, and the older women even directly register with the Li family and the Wang family.

"This Zhao Niang should be the little lady Zhao that the little sister and the teacher said, but that's right...... Her surname is Zhao......"

Ouyang Rong worked hard to collect some memories, and he really didn't know anyone surnamed Zhao in Longcheng, except for a squire.

He frowned.

Immediately, Ouyang Rong asked the monk who was picking up the guest at the door if he still had any memory, and after making sure that the other party had no impression, Ouyang Rong turned around in disappointment.

The trail is broken.

This little lady Zhao who was suspected of being violated and bitten by him is nowhere to be found.

"What is the county master looking for?" Hair asked curiously.

"Dreams." Ouyang Rong whispered.

"Dreams?"

The second monk was confused.

Ouyang Rong walked slowly in the direction of the lower mountain.

In fact, he was not sure if it was a dream or not.

But when I woke up that day, I had a sore back like a shelf, and now this suspicion has deepened.

In case it is not a dream, the "dream woman" is most likely to be Zhao Xiaoniang, who takes care of him closely.

This is something that Ouyang Rong cannot tolerate.

He can't taint the chastity of a woman from a good family in vain, and even his rudeness may have caused a psychological shadow for the other party for a lifetime.

What, you say that the other person may be active, even enjoying?

But what is she trying to do?

Ouyang Rong couldn't figure it out.

Is it just to see that he is handsome and talented, and he has a rich and noble official body, but why did she play missing afterwards?

It's not like this to slander people, is it 100% sure that he can't run away? So disappear for the time being, and come back in the future?

It's even more outrageous to guess like this.

Ouyang Rong shook his head slightly.

Looking at the back of the young county magistrate who was running up the mountain for a "dream" and gradually walked away, Xiu Hair couldn't help shouting:

"Do you want to go to the morning house for a meal before leaving? It's all here, and the little monk remembers that you like to go there. ”

Ouyang Rong's footsteps slowly stopped.

"I like to go there......" he muttered to himself, and suddenly nodded slightly: "There is another place that I love to go to too." ”

"What?" The hair was stunned.

But in the next moment, the little novice saw the young county commander suddenly turn around, and the wind passed by him like a wind, and re-entered the temple gate.

"Hey, hey, county master, the morning hall is not taking this road."

Ouyang Rong turned a deaf ear and strode forward, he was more mature than his hair.

A quarter of an hour later, Ouyang Rong came to a monastery that was more familiar than the morning temple.

In the Beitian Nursing Home, under the early morning sun, all the patients in the hospital have already gotten up and lined up to eat in the hospital.

The old, weak, sick and disabled are very pitiful.

Ouyang Rong walked around the courtyard and didn't see the two familiar figures.

He went straight to the backyard again, came to a well, and inspected the dungeon.

Except for the master Xiuzhen, there is no one.

The old man of the crane and the dumb girl with the severed finger are not in the Beitian Nursing Home.

Ouyang Rong silently turned around and walked away.

It's just that this time, he didn't leave directly like the last time he came to look for someone and returned disappointed.

"A roster of disabled patients admitted to the hospital during this time?"

At the gatehouse of the Beitian Relief Home, the steward Xiu Du looked at the young county magistrate who came to the door early in the morning in front of him, and asked curiously.

"That's right." Ouyang Rong stared at him: "There is also a record of the patient who was admitted to the Beitian Nursing Home recently...... Take them all.

"The Beitian Nursing Home receives funding from the county government, and these details should be very detailed."

"Mingfu is right, please wait a while, the little monk will go and get it."

Seeing Ouyang Rong's serious expression, Xiu Du hurriedly nodded and turned around to go to the courtyard to get the booklet.

Ouyang Rong lowered his eyes and waited.

Previously, he had found the old man and the dumb girl with broken fingers here twice.

The first time was the ribbon-cutting ceremony, the dumb girl with the severed finger was there, and the crane Qiu Lao Dao was not there.

The second time was to quietly resign, stay overnight in Donglin Temple, and prepare to exchange the blessings of the underground palace, thinking about the old and looking for people.

The old man of the crane and the dumb girl with broken fingers are not there.

Ouyang Rong only looked for a circle at that time, and did not investigate it carefully, thinking that they were taken down the mountain by their families.

"Mingfu, please take a look, it's all here."

After a while, Ouyang Rong got a thick book with a dirty cover.

He took a deep breath and flipped through it, his brow furrowing more and more, and at one point his finger paused on a line of records.

"It's really registered...... Could it be that I think too much......" Ouyang Rong lowered his eyes and murmured: "Is it really a patient in the Beitian Nursing Home?" ”

The roster in his hand shows that the old man Qiu and the dumb girl with severed fingers have indeed been recently institutionalized in a nursing home.

The date of admission is after the date when "Zhao Niang" registered to enter the temple.

Even this containment roster is more complete than the monastery roster, not only recording the symptoms, but even when the patients in the shelter have left recently.

Ouyang Rong found out at this moment that the old man and the dumb girl with severed fingers had gone through the formalities and left on the morning of the day he recovered.

Almost with Ouyang Rong before and after the foot of the mountain, both of them were picked up by the family under the mountain, and their whereabouts are unknown.

Ouyang Rong frowned:

"Is it such a coincidence, and also, that little lady Zhao is also, and so is the unknown miracle doctor, they all left on the same day, is there any connection between the two.

"After I recovered from my illness that day, whether it was a real sleepwalk or a fake sleepwalker, but there has been a precedent of sleepwalking and falling to the palace once, how to explain it, is it...... No, that's a bit ridiculous.

"In addition, how could the miracle doctor who hangs the pot to help the world be a patient who was admitted to the Beitian Relief Home, and he was still covered with poisonous sores.

"The little lady Zhao who took care of me is too, if it is a woman from a good family who is recruited by the mountain to take care of the sick, how can it be a patient who needs to be taken care of by the Beitian Nursing Home?

"Is there a clear conflict between the two, or is one of their identities a fake? Are these contradictions just man-made obstacles?

"Then the most likely, it is also the identity of the Beitian Nursing Home that was forged.

But how do you explain the detailed records of these lines?

"Could it be that someone guessed that I would turn around and check, this person is so thoughtful, finishes and cleans, and does such a small thing?

"I'm a master, I've been almost blinded in the past, and I'm not wronged.

"But is that so?

"If it's really this kind of master, if you want to set up a situation to harm people, you should have closed the net and eaten meat now.

"What the hell is it to save people like this, without taking a penny, and walking so cleanly? Do charity, or cast a long line to catch big fish? ”

After contemplating his eyebrows for a moment, Ouyang Rong shook his head vigorously:

"There are not enough clues, these are just speculations, and it is useless to deduce them like this."

After a while, he sighed and said to himself: "Ouyang Lianghan, why didn't you stay a little longer that day, and go down the mountain with your little sister so soon......

But the matter has come to this point, and it is useless to be entangled at the moment, Ouyang Rong retracted his mind, his eyes continued to sweep the roster, and immediately fixed on a line of words on the paper.

They are the registered names of the old road of the crane and the dumb girl with broken fingers.

"Old Sun, Xiuniang."

The old Taoist priest's surname is Sun, Ouyang Rong is not surprised, he has already asked the routine that day, and now he is verifying it again.

And the dumb girl's name, which has been sold by Crane Qiu Lao Dao, fell into Ouyang Rong's eyes at this moment.

"Xiuniang?"

Only these two words were registered on the paper, and there was no doubt that it should be the name of the "dumb girl's family" who picked up the dumb girl, and it was registered by the monks in the courtyard, and the list was full of uniform handwriting.

And the name "Xiu Niang" is obviously not the full name of the dumb girl.

Maybe it's like Sun Daochang joked in the underground palace before, the old-fashioned customs of his hometown make it difficult to reveal his full name?

Therefore, Ouyang Rong can't find the connection between "Xiu Niang" and "Zhao Niang" for the time being, and he is not sure if the same person has different titles.

However, the name "Xiu Niang", he chewed for a moment, and his pupils shrank.

Ouyang Rong has some impressions!

"No......"

Ouyang Rong suddenly raised his head, immediately returned the roster, turned around and rushed out of the Beitian Relief Home, and quickly left Donglin Temple.

This gallop made the good guide master and Xiu Fa who came from Shanshan stunned in place.

Ouyang Rong didn't leave any nonsense, rushed down the mountain, and returned to the county seat.

The name "Xiuniang", he once heard Ah Qing mention:

The chef of Merlot Park seems to be also called Xiu Niang! I vaguely remember that it was also a mute girl.

Of course, it is not excluded that the word "show" appears frequently in women's names, and it is easy to bump into names.

But Ouyang Rong just suddenly remembered an inconspicuous little thing a few months ago.

When Da Lang invited guests to eat in Yunshui Pavilion, Ouyang Rong saw a back similar to that of a slender and mute woman.

At that time, he followed Qianying and found the kitchen, but he did not see anyone.

But later, Ouyang Rong ate a rich and delicious spicy dish in Yunshui Pavilion, and when he returned to Merlot Garden in the evening, he mentioned it to Zhen, and the latter seemed to be in mind.

In the end, Zhen ordered Ban Xi to invite the cook, who was also called "Xiu Niang"!

After some searching, he didn't find any trace of the "Little Lady Zhao", but he accidentally fell in touch with the identity of the dumb girl under the mountain?

As soon as he returned to the county seat, Ouyang Rong went straight to Yunshui Pavilion on a busy street on the dock.

Walking into the lively restaurant, he immediately went to the counter, just like in Donglin Temple, looking for someone to interrogate.

About a quarter of an hour later, the young county commander silently walked out of the gate of Yunshui Pavilion.

Walking on the busy street, his face was a little distracted:

"Is it true that this mute girl named 'Xiu Niang' has been by my side all the time, working as a cook in Merlot Garden?"

A look of surprise appeared in Ouyang Rong's eyes.

He had just interrogated carefully, and the cook girl invited by Zhen Shituo Banxi in Yunshui Pavilion was indeed named 'Xiu Niang', a mute girl with a broken little finger, exactly the same.

Ouyang Rong couldn't help muttering, "Why didn't she tell me...... Forget it, she can't speak, but even if she can't speak, why don't you find a chance to appear in front of me so that I can find out?

"I don't know if I'm the male head of the family, or if there's something unspeakable."

Ouyang Rong suddenly remembered that when he first climbed out of the dungeon, the mute girl's clear eyes and vaguely reluctant little face.

"When she left, she ...... Why did you look at me like that? But when I got closer, she was silent? ”

Ouyang Rong slowly stopped, stood on the street, and looked around.

The trail is broken again.

The cook Xiuniang has left her job, and she has not been to Merlot Park for a long time, and she is nowhere to be found.

Ouyang Rongkong sighed.

Whisper:

"In the dream, the rude biting thing when performing the Zhou Gong ceremony is not true.

"Is the dumb girl Xiuniang Zhao Xiaoniang in the end.

"If both things are true......"

He couldn't help but fall silent.

Actually, it's very simple to verify these two questions.

Find the woman on the neck bone, with his teeth printed.

Or meet the mute girl again and see if there are tooth marks on her neck.

"The underground palace was dim that day, and I didn't see her neck ...... closely."

Ouyang Rong rubbed his eyebrows.

Then.

"Senior brother, why are you here?"

Ouyang Rong turned around, Xie Lingjiang stepped forward in surprise, grabbed his sleeve, looked up and down, and said in a concerned tone:

"I got up early and went to Merlot Garden, I didn't see you, I went to the county office, and you weren't there, I searched for you for a long time......"

Ouyang Rong's heart warmed and he whispered: "I had a dream." ”

Xie Lingjiang was puzzled: "What dream?" ”

Ouyang Rong suddenly raised his hand and pointed behind her: "Do you eat that?" ”

Xie Lingjiang turned his head to look, "What, rock sugar gourd?" If you don't eat it, children love to eat it. ”

Ouyang Rong glanced at the fair-skinned and flawless neck of the red-clothed girl in front of him, and asked:

"Aren't you just a child?"

"You are!" She argued.

"Okay, then I'll eat." Ouyang Rong walked over with a smile.

"......" Xie Lingjiang.

After about a stick of incense, on the snack street, a pair of senior brothers and sisters, one holding a string of rock sugar gourds in their hands, walked side by side in the sun.

Xie Lingjiang had a "reluctant" expression on his face, followed the senior brother, and at a certain moment, the tip of the powder's tongue quickly pecked the first sugar gourd on the stick.

A pair of pretty eyes narrowed quietly like a crescent moon.

She glanced at someone who was swallowing dates and eating up with a stick, and the girl in red clothes today turned sideways to protect her food, staring vigilantly:

"I've eaten it!" After the murder, she tilted her head again and asked, "By the way, you haven't finished talking yet, what kind of dream." ”

Ouyang Rong flicked the thin stick and squinted at the Jiangnan Snack Street, which was gradually recovering in the early sun in the morning.

"Suddenly forgot."

He smiled and said, "Let's think it's a dream for now." ”

It's late, but it's here! I can't help but add thousands of words to compensate the good brothers!

(End of chapter)