Since this Shi Deren met Zhang Shaofei, he has been defeated in his hands several times, of course, he is unwilling. In order to relieve the sullenness in his heart, he decided to go out for a walk and make plans again.

At noon that day, Shi Deren traveled to Chang'an, and as soon as he stepped into Chang'an Street, he met his former colleague Guan Zhaoyun.

Guan Zhaoyun, who is known as Xiao Zhuge , since the last time he was ordered by Zhenjiang to hunt down Zhang Shaofei and failed to kill him, he was snubbed by Guan Zhenjiang and had a good time. But now it is different from the past, and he was about to avoid it, but Shi Deren recognized him at a glance, turned around, and shouted loudly: "Brother Zhaoyun, I am Shi Deren!" ”

"Oh, it's Shi Deren? What kind of wind blew you, the master, to Chang'an today! There was no way, Guan Zhaoyun had no choice but to turn around and meet Shi Deren.

After talking, the two felt quite sympathetic to each other: they were both having a hard time because of Zhang Shaofei. But when Guan Zhaoyun learned from Shi Deren that Zhang Shaofei was now in Yunwu Mountain, Qiu County, he thought that the master would return to his house at noon, and mentioned that he had come from Shanxi this morning, saying that there were groups of tigers in the mountains, injuring dozens of lives, causing panic and restlessness. The local people all talked about the tiger's discoloration, and they were so frightened that they couldn't live all day, and they closed their doors every day, which was miserable. Therefore, the county lord specially sent a messenger to the imperial court to invite a master to eliminate harm for the people. But the master was also worried about this matter, and was depressed.

So, Guan Zhaoyun took Shi Deren back to Guan Mansion to see if he could share his worries with his master.

This person is not strange to say, and it is strange to say that it is not strange. Shi Decai, who is known as the master of the cow ghost, is strange when Guan Zhenjiang was the governor of Huguang, Shi Deren got his grandfather's protégé Guangling to become Guan Zhenjiang's "curtain guest" according to the recommendation of the inspector Wang Weizhong.

This has to start with the sudden disappearance of a young girl Ding Yuli in Shangsha Town, Huzhou 10 years ago.

Ding Yuli is the pearl of her father's hand, usually obedient, this time her father and mother saw that her beloved daughter had disappeared for many days for no reason, and thought: Her daughter must have been murdered.

This made the people of the place where she lived worried and uneasy.

And this unjust iron case was turned over after Guan Zhenjiang took office. Ding Yuli, who disappeared, is Guan Zhenjiang's niece.

After Guan Zhenjiang took office, he ordered that this iron case, which had been sealed for 10 years, must be investigated and brought to light, so as to comfort his sister's soul, which has been suffering from pain.

Huguang's survey masters changed batch after batch, but they all returned empty-handed, complaining that the case had not left the slightest clue before.

Guangling was anxious to solve the unsolved historical case of Wang Weizhong, the governor of Guangling, so he strongly recommended Shi Deren, saying that although he was a folk teacher, he was quite scheming and had outstanding points in his analysis. If Shi Deren came to investigate the case, he might be able to solve this historical unsolved case.

Therefore, Shi Deren, who is not an officialdom, came to "take office immediately".

Guan Zhenjiang saw that Shi Deren was dressed as a man in a mountain village, but he was born with clear eyebrows and elegant manners, so he set up a banquet to entertain him.

During the banquet, Corporal Guan Zhenjiang Lixian personally poured wine and vegetables for Shi Deren......

Shi Deren has heard that Guan Zhenjiang was born in Jinshi, full of economy, talent, honesty, sympathy for the weak, and power for civil use.

He thought the governor must be very proud. And this governor of Huguang has no shelf at all. In conversation, he is always so approachable and amiable.

After three rounds of drinking, when Guan Zhenjiang talked about the topic of "how to solve the case", Wu Zhaoyun stayed on the seat like a deflated ball, shook his head and said: "Alas, this case is difficult to solve." ”

But Shi Deren said affirmatively: "It can be broken!" ”

Guan Zhenjiang's eyes suddenly lit up with hope, and asked, "Deren, tell me quickly, how to solve this case?" ”

"Where the case happens, start there. All the investigation and evidence collection must be carried out quietly, and it is important not to startle the snake......" Shi Deren showed his strategy for solving the case.

Guan Zhenjiang said loudly: "Okay! It's up to you. ”

This time, Guan Zhenjiang, the governor of Huguang, assigned Shi Deren's assistant to Su Jinwang, an inspector with many years of patrol experience.

Su Inspector's first reaction when he saw Shi Deren was to shake his head helplessly, and vented the resentment in his heart: "We are full of talents in Huguang, and the masters of solving cases are like clouds, and they are all ambitious to carry out dragnet-style inspections and secret visits in the Huzhou region, and in the end they all leave in disgrace. After going back and forth, more than a dozen groups of people have been changed in order to investigate the case, but they can't find any clues. You are a folk master from other places, people and land are unfamiliar, and if you want to solve a case and reward silver, it is even more difficult than climbing to the sky! ”

This Shi Deren is not a vegetarian, he has been smart since he was a child, he is excellent in learning, he participated in the imperial examination at the age of 17, and the first, second, and third passes are the old rules - the hospital examination, the township examination, and the general examination, and he passed it without much effort. But when it came to the fourth level - the palace exam, he was not so smooth - the examiner was only wealthy. Therefore, let you Shi Deren be talented, if you don't let go of some money, don't think about passing.

Later, in order to appease Shi Deren, the chief examiner gave him a position of "transcription" and let him enter the Hanlin Academy.

However, the arrogant Shi Deren was unwilling to take up such a position of copying and writing, he still had to fight, he wanted to enter the rank and rank, so he refused.

Another three years later, Shi Lang came again.

In this palace test, Shi Deren can be said to be handy, and he writes like divine help.

But the examiner found a typo on his answer sheet: the word "pull" for promotion was written as the word "dial" for pointing.

This time, it was a one-word mistake, a millimeter of error, and a thousand miles of error!

Jinshi is the "ticket" to be an official in China's feudal society since the imperial examination, and if you can't pass the Jinshi exam, you will lose a sunny road to officialdom.

For this reason, Shi Deren fell into depression and loss.

At that time, there was a master in the capital who felt this, looked up to the sky and sighed: "The clouds and mist mountains, although towering into the sky, cherish the nine bends and eighteen bends, although Deren has a talent for entering the scholars, but there is no life for the scholars." What a pity, what a pity! ”

Even if you are a high-ranking official, you will be regarded as a non-"right" background and will be looked down upon by your colleagues.

For this reason, Shi Deren vowed not to set foot in the department (official) field again, wandered the people, helped people write pleadings, fought lawsuits, had no worries about food and clothing, and lived freely.

With his resourcefulness, his extraordinary talent was gradually revealed, writing into writing, exporting chapters, often solving unsolved cases, and was known as "Master Twister".

……

Besides, Shi Deren saw that the Su Inspector looked down on him, and said frankly: "I took over this case, not to make any money, but to let the deceased get the revenge and the murderer be severely punished, which is my duty as a teacher." ”

Look at it, Shi Deren back then was quite upright! It's just that later the inker was black and learned to be treacherous.

"I've been in this business for more than 20 years, and I've solved at least 500 cases by myself. This is the third time that I have accompanied me to investigate this unsolved case, and I have used all my connections to investigate, not to mention the real evidence, and I have not even found a single clue. Su Jinwang's face wrinkled like dried bitter melon.

"If the investigation is not done in the right way, it is futile to use more connections." Shi Deren is full of confidence, "You are a veteran in handling cases, and I will work with you this time, and it is very likely that this case will be solved." ”

Su Jinwang scratched his head and changed his words: "Then, what kind of person are we going to pretend to be this time to investigate?" ”

"Merchant." Shi Deren already knew it. "When we go to this case, we don't take our retinue with us. This time, I will wronged you and pretend to be my assistant for the time being. ”

Su Jinwang spread his hands and said helplessly: "Then, okay." ”

Huzhou is located on the edge of the Yangtze River Delta, with a vast land and water network criss-crossed, and lakes and fish ponds are connected one by one.

Shi Deren wore a long shirt and horse coat, his hair was combed and shiny, his index finger was wearing a gold and jade diamond ring, and the leather shoes under his feet were polished, dressed like a boss.

Su Jinwang was wearing a gray robe, flat-soled light cloth shoes, and a black cloth bag on his shoulder, pretending to be Shi Deren's entourage.

In the name of purchasing goods for the restaurant, Shi Deren and Su Jinwang first visited various villages near Ding Yuli's disappearance in Shangsha Town, Huzhou, and left early and returned late.

I walked for five or six days in a row, but there was no clue at all.

In the evening, when he returned to the inn where he stayed, he didn't even light the oil lamp, so Su Jinwang fell on the bed and beat his calves with his hands: "Alas, I've been walking for several days, and my legs are numb when I walk, and I can't find even a little clue." ”

Shi Deren lit the oil lamp and said confidently: "I believe that hard work pays off, as long as we persevere, there will always be gains." ”

Su Jinwang's face was gloomy, and he said dejectedly: "Alas, time has passed now, and it is undoubtedly a needle in a haystack to solve this unsolved case that spans 10 years, and all the evidence has been destroyed by the perpetrators." ”

Shi Deren explained: "Brother Jin Wang, all clues are found by people. It is not impossible to catch a needle in a haystack. I believe that since someone has committed a crime, it will leave traces, and the most important thing is that we need to think of more ways. ”

Su Jinwang saw that Shi Deren's intention to solve the case was so firm, and the official order was in his body, so he had to say: "Then, you can think of more ways." ”

In the past few days, the scorching sun has been in the sky, and the earth has been sunburned and there have been bursts of oppressive heat waves, which make people feel hot and uncomfortable.

Shi Deren and Su Jinwang braved the scorching sun and secretly searched for clues in the countryside.

At night, Shi Deren, who was in a state of hard thinking, lay on the bed and couldn't sleep peacefully, looking at the moon hanging high outside the window, he also felt so pale......

The night was already very deep, and Shi Deren still had trouble sleeping.

He got out of bed and walked out of the inn alone, walking up the rocks of the hill in the back yard of the inn, breathing in the fresh air of the night while searching for dry intestines.

Walking, walking, unconsciously came to the lotus pond in the middle of the mountain.

The lotus flower is blooming, and the night breeze is sending a burst of fragrance.

Shi Deren felt a little tired, lying under the canopy-like linden tree next to the lotus pond, his hands resting behind his head, looking up at the vast night sky.

The moon hung high, the wind stopped, and there was not a trace of clouds floating in the sky.

The round moon, like a mirror, hangs high in the sky. Mountains, towers, pavilions, trees, flowers and plants are hazy and clear, illusory but real.

Shi Deren was in this light and bleak night, and all he could think about was the case.

The night was already deep, and the surroundings were very quiet, a leaf was falling, and a drop of dew rolling could be clearly heard.

At this moment, a dark cloud obscured the moon and the night sky darkened.

Suddenly, Shi Deren seemed to hear a few faint bells.

He was startled, and listened intently, but he couldn't hear again.

Thinking he was hallucinating, he laughed self-deprecatingly and said to himself, "It seems that I am too focused on the case." ”

However, the erratic bell rang again.

It was like a lonely voice squeezed out of the depths of the soul, like an affectionate call sliding down from the high moon palace, and more like a certain sign to him from the gods in the dark......

Shi Deren felt as if there was a mysterious power that pulled his soul out of his body and rose suddenly......

He involuntarily fell to his knees......

I don't know how long later, the cloud drifted away, the round moon returned to its brightness, and the heavens and the earth became clear.

At this moment, the sound of the bell came from above very clearly......

Only then did Shi Deren discover that the unpredictable bell sound came from the wind chimes on the hillside pavilion!

He slapped himself in the mouth with self-deprecation, and said to himself: "I have been wandering the people to solve cases for many years, and I will even be confused!" It's just that because the clouds obscured the moon, I mistook the wind chimes for the sound of heaven and the sound of the gods......"

Under the breeze, the sound of bells is very beautiful on a moonlit night.

Shi Deren looked at the full moon like a mirror on the tip of the pavilion, and a spiritual light suddenly burst out from the depths of his heart......