Yingzi's letter was delivered on the evening of Saturday, and Lang Xiaobai hurriedly packed his bags and got on the train from Dongzhou at dusk. At this time, the sky was covered with heavy snow, and everywhere was silvery white.

The next morning, just after dawn, the train arrived at a small station. After getting out of the car, Lang Xiaobai changed to a passenger carriage and went straight to Luojia Town. Because of the heavy snow that fell all night, there were few people on the country roads, and the horse-drawn carriages running on the snow were like small boats in the white waves, and there were not many people in the cars, all of them were farmers and traders from nearby villages.

There is a small hotel in Luojia Town that specializes in the accommodation of vendors, and the furnishings are very shabby, but because there is nowhere else to go, Lang Xiaobai has to carry a travel bag and walk into the door of the hotel.

Two security guards were interrogating five farmers in the living room of the hotel, and when Lang Xiaobai walked here, he couldn't help but stop curiously and listened.

"Indeed, yes, I heard it very clearly, there were three gunshots, coming from that direction of Jingyuan." A farmer said.

Lang Xiaobai was secretly glad that he had come.

Three gunshots rang out, and they came from the direction of Jingyuan, there must have been some case, and he remembered the old drunkard who Yingzi said in the letter that he drank excessively, had a stubborn personality, was jealous and had quirks, and now he had become a broken child, as well as his son Jiang Zhize, as well as Jin Hao, a rich child who was hated and hostile by their father and son, and Su Fengnan, who was sympathized with by Jin Hao...... All of a sudden, everything appeared in front of him.

Three gunshots rang out, and Yingzi mentioned in the letter that the old drunkard wanted to kill Jin Hao with a shotgun, and the young Jin Hao also carried the gun with him at any time in case of accidents. So who exactly fired the shot? Or is it something else? Lang Xiaobai stood at the door of the living room, listening attentively. At this time, the waiter in the hotel also said to the security guard: "I also heard a gunshot, and I did hear it at eleven o'clock in the middle of the night." ”

"Must it be coming from the direction of Jingyuan? Does anyone else hear it?" The security guard looked at the farmers' faces and asked.

"I heard ...... too"

"Me ...... too"

"Me too......" The five farmers replied in exactly the same way.

"But why didn't I hear that?" Shi Baoan tilted his head and said.

"That's probably because it's too far away, and it's also because it's in the limelight, right?"

"Is it about eleven o'clock? Did the snow stop then?"

"Yes, the snow has stopped."

"Okay, so the snow started around nine o'clock and stopped around eleven o'clock in the middle of the night, right?"

"Yes!"

"It was about eleven o'clock, I went outside to go to the bathroom, and when I came back, the snow had stopped, and I was about to go into the house, when I suddenly heard 'Bang! Bang! Bang!' Three gunshots. ”

"Did the snow really stop by then?"

This situation is usually the key to investigating the facts of the crime, Lang Xiaobai thought to himself. He greeted Shi Baoan with his eyes, walked to a bench in the living room and sat down, pretended to be absent-minded, took out a cigarette, lit it and smoked it. In fact, he was listening carefully word for word.

At this moment, a pair of elderly farmers walked in with frightened expressions.

"We just arrived at the police station, and we heard that you are all here, so we rushed over"

"What's the trouble?"

"We are the farmer who does odd jobs, and we go to work in the well garden every day, and the day before yesterday on Saturday and the first Sunday, the master gave us two days off, but when we went to work today, the door was closed and we couldn't go in at all."

"Oh......" Shi Baoan seemed to feel a little weird, and answered casually, while Lang Xiaobai was listening carefully.

"We've been going in and out there for years, but today is the first time we've been in and out! Usually, whenever we go, it is Young Master Jiang Zhize who opens the door for us, whether it is summer or winter, and always starts work on time at six o'clock. However, this morning it was strange, no matter how we called it, how we knocked on the door, the young master never came out to open the door, and at eight o'clock, the door still did not open, we thought that this matter might not be normal, because we hurriedly ran to the police station to report the case. ”

"Then why don't you go to the old drunkard's dwelling before you come here?"

"Ahh Really, why didn't you think of it? Maybe I was so nervous that I forgot about it. Wife, what do you say?" The farmer turned to his wife.

"No, it would have been nice to do it earlier, wouldn't it, old man?" The old peasant woman frowned in regret.

"Alright, alright, anyway, let's go check it out first!"

Shi Baoan and two of his subordinates also brought a locksmith who could pick locks with him to open the lock on the gate of the well garden.

"Come with you, you're all important witnesses!"

"Good! Good!"

The peasants looked at each other as if they were annoyed, and then left the hotel together.

Lang Xiaobai also followed behind the large group of people.

When he came to the outside of the village and arrived at the old drunkard's dwelling, the old drunkard was alone on a dilapidated carriage, as if he was very busy, and when he saw the people coming over, the old drunkard had a pleasant smile. When he wasn't drunk, he was a very kind old man.

"Morning, Daddy Jiang." Shi Baoan said hello.

"Oh, Shi Baoan is early, so early, where are you going?" The old drunkard smiled and looked very kind.

"Go to the well garden where your son lives"

"What's going on over there?"

"Old drunkard, you don't know, right? In the middle of the night last year, there were three gunshots from the Jingyuan, so let's check them out immediately, and please come with us. ”

"What? Gunshot?...... In the middle of the night...... Three times? Ha, ha, ha, ha!" The old drunkard burst out laughing.

"Is it 'bang, bang, bang' three times? Are you sure? That's impossible! My son's shotgun only loads two rounds at a time, and it won't ring three times in a row!"

"That being said, the door to your son's house is so closed that it can't be opened."

"Maybe I'm still sleeping. This kid drank a big bottle from me last night...... Oh! No, maybe two or three...... We were both drunk, and it was about eleven o'clock before he staggered back home, and if he could, he would still be asleep. ”

Hearing him say this, everyone no longer denied that the old drunkard's eyes were still a little unfocused, and his mouth was full of wine. He jumped into the old covered carriage at once, and waved his whip, and the scrawny horse began to move slowly.

"Well, guys, I don't have time to care about the three gunshots in Jingyuan, because every Monday I have to go to the cattle market in Luozhen, and you see, I have two calves in my cart, and I have to sell them. Goodbye!"

"Smack!" With another whip, the skinny horse was forced to desperation, and then he strode and ran. The old drunkard turned his head and waved his arms with a smile. Above the endless fields, the sun shone on the snow, and the blinding light flickered incessantly.

"What a careless person."

Shi Baoan could only look at him and smile bitterly. At this time, Lang Xiaobai walked up to Shi Baoan and handed over a business card. I'm sorry, but this is a contemptible business card, I am friends with Mo Aolan from White Horse Village, I just came from Dongzhou, and because the train arrived early, I plan to stay in the hotel just now.

"Oh! I see. So, in that hotel, you heard three gunshots in the middle of the night?"

"Of course, however, Mo Olan and Su Fengnan are good friends, so I also want to follow you to Jingyuan to have a look, so I can tell Mo ...... That being said, I hope it's not an unpleasant thing. ”

"yes, hopefully that's the case." Shi Baoan said with a smile. Although this security guard is not very old, he is very enthusiastic about things and very kind to people, much like a shrewd and capable person. On the way, he was engrossed in the snow for clues such as blood stains or footprints.

"Hah! There are footprints here!"

Shi Baoan leaned down and observed the footprints on the ground.

"Well, these footprints belong to the young master! The shape of the spikes on the sole is certain. The odd farmer said,

The crowd followed the shoe prints on the snow, but it didn't take long for the snow to add many footprints to the road, and they were so messy that it was impossible to tell whose footprints they belonged to.

"I'm really embarrassed that the two of us ran back and forth this morning and messed up the young master's shoe prints." The old farmer who was doing odd jobs scratched the back of his head and said.

"Oh, you've left these footprints. Come! Please take your shoes off. The Shi Security Bureau put the shoes of the couple who worked part-time on those shoe prints, and in comparison, it was really unpleasant. Lang Xiaobai, who was watching from the sidelines, was very emotional, as far as the security of the countryside was concerned, the people he saw could really be regarded as a very careful and observant security.

When the people came to the gate of the well garden, the locksmith unlocked the door, and then the people rushed up. There are only Jiang Zhize's shoe prints in the courtyard, which leads straight to the house.

From these conditions, one conclusion can be drawn that the elderly couple who were doing odd jobs were sure that they did not enter the door. The shoe prints on the snow were very messy, and there were slippery drag marks.

"Maybe it's because I'm too drunk. The old drunkard did not tell a lie. Shi Baoan muttered.

The footprints zigzagged forward in the path between two rows of trees in the courtyard, sometimes in the east, sometimes in the west, until they disappeared into the entrance of the main hall 200 meters away. The door to the main hall was not closed. "Let's go in and have a look," he said, and Shi Baoan led the group into the house. Suddenly, Shi Baoan stopped.

"Huh? There are signs of fighting. ”

"Hmm, it's really good...... Lang Xiaobai agreed.