On the edge of the west of the city, in a corner that has long since faded from people's memory, stands a deserted courtyard - "Dream Garden".

The park is overgrown with weeds, and the occasional birdsong is just a passing passerby, leaving a brief echo here.

When Zhao Rang stepped into this garden, he felt an indescribable aura.

The winding paths in the garden are clearly built a long time ago, and the stone slabs paving the way are broken, and the crevices are overgrown with all kinds of weeds.

On both sides of the path, a number of dilapidated pavilions stand quietly.

Zhao Rang's eyes wandered among these ruins, trying to find clues related to Boss Hu from these ruins.

As he walked deeper into the garden, a half-collapsed pavilion appeared before him.

The tiles on the roof of the pavilion are incomplete, and several beams and columns are crumbling.

But even so, it still exudes a different kind of charm.

Zhao Rang walked into the pavilion and found a well-tended cluster of medicinal herbs in the northwest corner.

These herbs are very similar to the herbs in the Josai Medical Center, and the aroma emitted is also the same.

On second look, the roots of one of the herbs appear to have been excavated.

Zhao Rang casually skimmed a branch and carefully dug down the tracks.

It didn't take long for a stone slab to appear in front of him, with a quaint wooden box covered underneath.

Inside the wooden box were a yellowed ledger and a letter.

The ledger records in detail the details of Boss Hu's transactions with several pharmacies in the west of the city, and the letter was written by Boss Hu to his sister, with all the money on letterhead.

The most important thing is that these medicinal materials purchased by Boss Hu are all remarked with the words "City Lord's Mansion, Di" at the end.

"City Lord's Mansion, Di?"

Zhao Rang's brows tightened, and he whispered to himself, and everything about the City Lord's Mansion began to be recalled in his mind.

Di is the surname of the current city lord.

Zhao Rang had never heard of him having anything to do with the medicinal herb business.

But this name appears frequently in Boss Hu's account books, and it is all related to a large number of medicinal material transactions.

After thinking about it, Zhao Rang decided to start with the ledger first.

According to the records of the ledger, Zhao Rang discovered some patterns.

First of all, the volume of these medicinal herbs traded is very large, far exceeding the daily needs of pharmacies. Secondly, the time of trading is focused on specific days of each month and seems to be doing some kind of regular activity.

Leaving the Garden of Dreams and returning to the west of the city, the riots caused by the death of the elderly doctor have subsided.

Zhao Rang found several pharmacies that had transactions with Boss Hu and began to investigate them one by one.

The rich fragrance of Chinese herbs in the "Rejuvenation Hall" came to his nose, which instantly made Zhao Rang feel refreshed.

This century-old shop is quiet and quaint, and the medicinal materials on the medicine cabinet are in order, and all kinds of rare herbs are available.

At this moment, there was no one in the store, Zhao Rang walked to the shopkeeper, smiled and asked:

"Shopkeeper, does Boss Hu often come here to buy medicine?"

The shopkeeper was looking down at the accounts, and when he heard Zhao Rang's question, he replied without raising his head:

"There are a lot of bosses who buy medicine, I don't know who you're talking about."

"I guess it's your biggest customer, I buy expensive and rare medicinal herbs!"

Zhao Rang said.

The shopkeeper seemed to react at this time, and said in embarrassment:

"This ...... When it comes to the privacy of guests, it is inconvenient to disclose. ”

Zhao Rang was prepared, took out a silver ingot from his arms, and quietly stuffed it into the shopkeeper's hand:

"Please make it easier."

The shopkeeper swept the silver in his hand and smiled with satisfaction on his face:

"Since the guest officer is so cheerful, then I'll tell you. The boss you mentioned did buy some extremely rare medicinal materials, such as thousand-year-old Ganoderma lucidum, Tianshan Snow Lotus and the like. But lately he's been buying a lot of night vines. ”

After leaving the "Rejuvenation Hall", Zhao Rang came to another pharmacy "Baicaoxuan".

Although the scale of this shop is not large, the business is very prosperous, and it is also recorded in the account book, and Boss Hu often frequents the shop he buys.

As soon as Zhao Rang entered the door, he was greeted by an enthusiastic young man:

"Guest officer, please, what medicinal herbs do you need?"

Zhao Rang looked around and asked in a low voice:

"You guys have a night vine here?"

Nightshade is a good medicine for calming the nerves and nourishing the heart, with a strong sedative effect, especially for insomnia, dreaminess, restlessness The effect is very good!

The young man nodded:

"There were still some a few days ago, but recently this medicinal herb is really in demand, and the entire Zhenhai City is about to be sold out."

Zhao Rang's heart moved:

"Why is it so tight?"

The young man scratched his head:

"I don't know the specific reason, but I heard that there is a big buyer buying night vines everywhere, and the bid is very high."

"The last batch of night vines has also been scheduled to be delivered tonight, and the new goods will come at least half a month later.

The guy continued.

Zhao Rang was full of doubts in his heart. Although the nightshade vine is precious, it is not a scarce medicinal material on weekdays, so why did it suddenly become so sought-after? And, listening to the young man's tone, it seems that the entire night vine in Zhenhai City has been acquired by a mysterious big buyer.

He had a faint feeling of uneasiness in his heart, and always felt that this incident was inextricably linked to Boss Hu's death.

"So when will the last batch of night vines be delivered?" Zhao Rang asked tentatively.

The young man thought for a while: "It should be tonight, and someone will come to pick up the goods then." ”

When night fell, Zhao Rang changed into a night suit, quietly came to the vicinity of "Baicaoxuan", and found a hidden corner to hide.

In the hazy moonlight, a carriage slowly drove and stopped at the door of "Baicaoxuan".

A man dressed in black jumped out of the carriage and walked into the drugstore.

Zhao Rang was in the dark, observing the situation in the store intently.

I saw the man in black walk to the counter and talk to the young man for a few words, and then the young man took out a package from behind the counter and handed it to the man in black.

The man in black took the package and examined it carefully. After confirming that it was correct, he nodded and carried the package in his arms.

At this moment, a mutation protruded, like a meteor in the dark night piercing the quiet sky.

The figure, which was as deep as the night, seemed to be touched by some mysterious power, and suddenly turned to look in the direction where Zhao Rang was hiding.

His eyes were like two black stars, glittering coldly in the moonlight.

Zhao Rang's heart was shocked, as if he had been hit by thunder, he secretly screamed badly, and his body subconsciously wanted to dodge, but the sense of oppression from the man in black made him feel that his actions had become sluggish......

The man in black slowly took out a few black hidden weapons from his arms and held them tightly in his hands.

Under the moonlight, those hidden weapons glowed with a faint blue light, as if they were poisonous snakes from the netherworld, ready to choose people to devour.

Zhao Rang had no way to hide at this time, so he could only jump out of the shadows.

The black steel knife in his hand cut a cold light, straight to the throat of the man in black.

It was a stunning sword light, condensing all of Zhao Rang's courage and strength.

The sword light pierced the night sky, and with an indomitable momentum, it attacked the man in black.

The man in black reacted extremely quickly.

He was on one side of his body, and easily dodged the fatal blow.

The movements are light and swift, like a black ghost, dancing in the moonlight.

With a wave of his backhand, the man in black attacked Zhao Rang with the hidden weapon in his hand.

With a whistling sound, those hidden weapons drew strange trajectories in the night sky.

Zhao Rang was in mid-air, with nowhere to borrow, and fell into a predicament from which he could not escape......

At the last moment, he slashed to the ground, and with the help of the power of the shock, his body forcibly twisted in the air, narrowly avoiding the attack of the hidden weapon.

Those hidden weapons hit the ground, making a "hissing" sound, and wisps of green smoke rose up, which looked particularly strange in the moonlight.

After Zhao Rang landed, he didn't dare to be careless.

Facing an extremely powerful opponent, the slightest carelessness could lead to death.

The man in black was also in no hurry to attack, he seemed to be waiting for something.

His eyes were firmly fixed on Zhao Rang, as if he wanted to see through his soul through his eyes.

Suddenly, a gleam flashed in his eyes, and his figure attacked Zhao Rang like a ghost.

It's so fast, it's staggering!

It was like a black lightning bolt, cutting an arc across the night sky!

Zhao Rang was prepared, swung his sword to meet him, and fought with the man in black.

The swords and shadows of the two were intertwined in the night sky, and the sound was crisp and pleasant, but it also carried the intent of slaughter.

The more Zhao Rang fought, the more frightened he became, and he found that the man's moves in black were far more subtle than his own.

Every move and style of the other party is exquisite, and it has been tempered thousands of times!

And he seems to know his sword skills well, and he can always predict his attacks in advance.

What made Zhao Rang even more uneasy was that the man in black didn't seem to use all his strength......

Each of his attacks is relaxed, as if he is just playing with himself, like cat and mouse, always stopping at the critical moment, just to make it impossible for him to get out.

Zhao Rang's heart was anxious, and he swung his knife again and slashed at the man in black.

He used all his strength with this knife, and the dazzling cold light flashed on the knife body, drawing a stunning trajectory.

A trace of surprise flashed in the eyes of the man in black, he obviously didn't expect Zhao Rang to suddenly burst out with such a powerful force, and he didn't dare to be careless at the moment, his body quickly retreated, and at the same time he waved a palm to meet Zhao Rang's blade.

"Boom!"

A loud bang echoed through the night sky. Zhao Rang's blade collided with the palm of the man in black, and a dazzling spark erupted.

After this blow, both men fell into a brief stalemate. They are all waiting for each other to reveal their flaws and deliver the fatal blow.

The moonlight was like water, sprinkling on the two of them, stretching their figures long.

The night breeze gently brought a hint of coolness, but it could not blow away the tension between the two.

The man in black suddenly let out a terrible scream, his face instantly turned black as ink, as if he had been poisoned, staggered back a few steps, and then fell to the ground with a "plop".

Zhao Rang also felt dizzy......

When I looked down, I found that my knife was stained with a strange black liquid, which was emitting a disgusting fishy smell.

Zhao Rang was shocked in his heart and secretly called it a fluke......

If he hadn't stopped in time just now, I'm afraid he would have fallen to the ground like the man in black by now.

He looked up and saw the man in black lying on the ground rolling in pain, black venom flowing out of his seven orifices, looking terrible.

This is the poison carried by the man in black's own hidden weapon, and he originally wanted to use the hidden weapon to give him a fatal blow after Zhao Rang struck him with all his strength.

But he didn't expect Zhao Rang to stop in advance, causing the poison on the hidden weapon to rebound to himself!

Zhao Rang looked at the black-clothed man rolling in pain on the ground, and his heart was afraid for a while...... At the same time, I felt a sense of glad that I had escaped this catastrophe.

The moonlight sprinkled on his body, as if he was covered with a layer of silver armor.

Zhao Rang stepped forward, trying to find some clues from the man in black.

But when he reached out to search the body of the man in black, he suddenly felt a strong wave of weakness and dizziness.

Zhao Rang was shocked in his heart, and the secret way was not good...... This poison is so powerful, I just got a little contaminated with it, and it has already begun to attack.

He hurriedly sealed several of his big holes to prevent the further spread of the poison, and then took out a pill from his bosom that Lan Shizi gave her last time and swallowed it.

After all this, he felt a little better.

At this time, the man in black was silent, obviously poisoned to death.

Zhao Rang felt a pity in his heart, and this clue was broken like this......

However, it is not for nothing, at least Zhao Rang saw some clues from the martial arts of the man in black.

Although the martial arts of this man in black are exquisite, they exude a yin and evil aura.

Moreover, there are also some shadows of the Western Regions in his moves, which makes Zhao Rang have to doubt the identity and origin of this man in black.

Soon on the body of the man in black, Zhao Rang found another token.

The token is jet-black all over, with an eerie pattern engraved on it, and nothing else.

Zhao Rang sighed secretly in his heart, and after disposing of the body of the man in black, he left the scene in a hurry.

Back at the inn, Zhao Rang took out the token from his arms and looked at it carefully.

The strange pattern on the token seemed to be an ancient text, and he couldn't see the reason for it after looking at it for a long time.