The night is deep, the crescent moon is beginning to gradually transition, and it will be full again. The time has almost passed, but the Dragon Mother Temple in the mountains and forests is still brightly lit.

"How could this member of the Black Wolf Gang die here?" asked Guo Yu.

Long Xiangtian flipped the iron card and said: "That day in Wudang Mountain, I saw that Hu Hao was also equipped with this card, this card must be a token in the Black Wolf Gang, but it is difficult for people to know. ”

Chen Renhai said: "What Brother Long said is extremely true, this person has long been unrecognizable, and we don't know the people in the Black Wolf Gang, so we can't be arbitrary. ”

Pu Mu walked to the courtyard and said, "Why don't you take a look at the contents of this box first-" After that, he asked the guards to open the box together. More than a dozen chests were opened, and they were all silver, and everyone roughly estimated that it was about 20,000 taels of silver.

"This amount is roughly the same, I think it's official silver-" After saying that, Pu Mu grabbed a silver ingot and saw that the official seal of Dongting Mansion was indeed engraved under the silver.

"The sky has eyes, this time I came to Wudang, although we were ambushed, but we found out where the lost official silver was. Poplar said.

Pu Mu put the silver back in the box and said, "Although the official silver has been recovered, how can they explain the officials who died violently, who assassinated them in prison?"

Long Xiangtian told the others what Xiahou Xue and Hu Hao said during the day, and then the clues became much clearer. Pu Mu said: "Although there are such poisonous insects, and I also know that this kind of poisonous insects are from Hu Hao's hands, why do such insects still appear between Suzhou and Nanyue?"

"I think this matter has something to do with these three gangs. If you can get this worm, I can find out a thing or two, but I am afraid that it will be difficult for me to thoroughly investigate the mystery of this poisonous worm alone......" Duan Gan said treacherously.

Chen Renhai comprehended: "I also ask General Situ to send an urgent order to the capital, and we will inform the prince of this matter, and let the prince enter the palace to play the emperor." ”

Situ Kai responded, and Long Xiangtian continued: "We have sent the official uniforms to the capital by the disciples of the Wudang faction, including Brother Guo, Brother Wang, and Brother Li. I sewed my speculation into the official uniform with a secret letter, and the emperor would know about it as soon as the official uniform arrived, and on the night of the wake, I had already sent a letter to the official post and asked him to hand it over to the left minister, and the people of the Spiritual Medicine Division and several surveyors came to the Dongting Army Soldiers and Horses Division. ”

"The Dragon Commander has thought of it all—it's really thoughtful," Situ Kai said in surprise.

Bai Yang said: "I think a few of us need to start secretly visiting the three gangs of the Dongting Courtyard - first find poisonous insects for Brother Duan, and wait until the brothers in the palace come, and then solve this strange case with Brother Situ." ”

Situ Kai said: "It is an honor to be able to fight side by side with the eight commanders of the Great Interior. It is useful to get the last general, although he speaks, the last general will not give up-"

"You have to use it for overt and covert visits. Pu Mu said, "Brother Chen and Brother Li and I went to inquire about Governor Liu to see if we could ask some clues." Brother Guo, Brother Bai, and Brother Wang, the three of you have done a good job, and the matter of secretly visiting the three gangs will be handed over to you. Brother Duan, Brother Long, the two of you stay in the temple. What do you think?"

Duan Gan smiled and said, "Brother Pu is not worried about my light work?" Long Xiangtian said: "The matter left behind is guarded by General Situ, and the two of us should investigate openly and visit secretly——"

"I think the two of you stayed, there is something important to hand over to the two - Brother Long, you still need to take action to deal with this batch of official silver, Brother Duan, you need to wait for the poisonous insects, if you go with us, if we and the others are scattered, one of them will get the poisonous insects, but you are not in the temple, it will be delayed." Pu Mu said.

Long Xiangtian looked at these officials and said, "I know what Brother Pu asked me to do, is it for me to take care of the accounts and count the money?"

At this time, it was late at night, less than two hours before dawn, and the atmosphere seemed a little solemn, and Long Xiangtian's words did make Pu Mu a little uncomfortable - Long Xiangtian's temperament in the past month The other seven people already knew that this urgent pioneer would not do these things. He had thought so much about it, and had already laid out a plan during the wake, until two hours ago, when he had rescued everyone from the flower boat and brought them here, and now he was not allowed to investigate, which made him very unhappy.

"Brother Long, Brother Pu definitely didn't mean that-" Chen Renhai said, "This official bank is only a rough estimate, and it needs to be carefully calculated before it can be recorded in the account, and there are probably some clues in these boxes, so it's better to-"

"I can do these things in less than half a day, I will do it, you and anyone else can do it. "Long Xiang Heavenly Dao.

Duan Gan suddenly slapped his head and said, "Hahaha...... In order to avoid the pursuers, he almost forgot something important - it is unknown why this corpse died, I am in Dongting Mansion, I know a person, he is in Xiangyang City. Why don't you go to find my acquaintance with me after Brother Long and I enter the account?"

"Why don't I go for Brother Duan, Brother Duan is here waiting for the drug test, I'll go find that person—" Long Xiang Tiandao.

"That's fine—and ask General Situ Kai to prepare carrier pigeons for us so that the eight of us can contact them in time—" Duan Gan said treacherously.

"You have all thought it through, and when it is dawn, I will send someone to bring you some necessary items—" With that, Situ Kai said goodbye to everyone and left the temple.

Long Xiangtian glanced at Pu Mu and the others, and said, "I'm a little tired, I'll sleep first today, please take care of yourself-"

The rest of the people did not reply, and so the night passed.

Today, the official residence of the governor of Dongting, Governor Liu just came back from the palace, and when he entered the gate, he was told by the small servant that there were officials from the capital who came to visit the palace, and Governor Liu said: "Go and order the kitchen, and set up a banquet and entertain today-" After that, he walked quickly to the reception room, and saw that the three people sitting were Pu Mu, Li Defei, and Chen Renhai in Wudang Mountain that day.

"It turned out that the three commanders came, and the lower officials came to visit here-" Governor Liu immediately saluted, and Pu Mu signaled that he would be exempted from salutation, and said: "Governor Liu doesn't have to salute, I didn't wear official clothes or official boots today, but I came here in regular clothes, and I want to pay a good visit to Governor Liu." I want to pay my condolences in Wudang Mountain, but because we have official business, we have not spoken well to you, so we specially visited you today. ”

"I see. Then why haven't the other adults come?" said Governor Liu.

Pu Mu said with a smile: "A few of them are swimming in the lake in Dongting, if I want to visit the lake, it is better to visit Governor Liu and ask for a glass of wine, hahaha......"

"Hahaha......" Governor Liu also smiled, "The good wine in my house is waiting for a few adults to come and drink it—I have ordered the kitchen to set up a banquet today to entertain all the adults." ”

There was a burst of laughter in the reception room. Dusk quickly drove away daylight. On a water pavilion, Governor Liu asked the kitchen to pass the food here. At the wine table, everyone pushed their glasses and changed their glasses, Governor Liu introduced his family members one by one, and everyone chatted for a while, and the atmosphere was very cheerful.

"Governor Liu, I don't know who is doing the boat in the Dongting waters? I want to go back to Beijing by water—" Chen Renhai asked.

Governor Liu said with a smile: "A few adults are really good at laughing, a few adults want to take the waterway, I will send a boat to send you adults, how can you let the adults go to the boat to hire a boat by themselves?"

"Your Excellency still has a private ship?" Li Defei asked, "Your Excellency, do you know that if the officials of this dynasty do not take over the ship or do not have the emperor's approval, they cannot build ships privately." ”

"Master Li has misunderstood, how dare Xia Guan build a ship privately? Xia Guan sent someone to find a ship for several adults, and the money for this ship was naturally paid by Xia Guan. Governor Liu said, "Someone is coming-" After that, the little guy waiting in the courtyard came to Governor Liu's side, and Governor Liu whispered for a while, and the little guy retreated.

"When do you want to go, and which waterway do you want to take, the lower officials will prepare a carriage and horses to pick you up on the dry road. Governor Liu asked.

Pu Mu said: "Adults don't have to spend so much, just find a boat." This silver coin, the lord still holds it-" With that, Pu Mu handed a silver ticket to Governor Liu.

"The DPRK and China are not allowed to form parties for personal gain, and we are responsible for supervising the six ministries, so how can we know that the law is broken. If an adult sends a boat to see us off, it is not in accordance with the rules. A few days ago, there was a corruption case in the Ministry of Rites that had not been thoroughly investigated, and this adult wanted to know about it. Don't be confused—" Chen Renhai said.

Governor Liu said with a smile: "The lower officials are confused, the lower officials are confused - punish yourself with a cup, and I hope you will forgive me." ”

Everyone looked at each other and smiled, and Pu Mu said: "Today, Pu is a little too strong to drink, and I want to come to hang filial piety in the past few days......"

Governor Liu naturally knew what Pu Mu's words meant, and immediately said: "The guest room has been cleaned for the three adults, come on, lead Master Pu to the guest house to rest——" After saying that, a maid helped Pu Mu leave the wine table. Chen Renhai and Li Defei continued to chat and drink with Governor Liu.

The maid helped Pu Mu into the room, and Pu Mu said, "You wait and retreat, I'm going to rest." The maids replied and left the room.

The streets on winter nights are much less crowded than on summer nights. When the boy went out, he trotted all the way to an alley, stopped in front of a noodle shop in the alley, and beckoned to the man inside, who seemed to understand something, and immediately led him in.

- Pu Mu behind him didn't follow far, and he also entered the noodle restaurant when he was young, but there was no trace of the little guy. When Pu Muzheng was puzzled, the guy immediately said, "Guest officer, what kind of face do you want?"

"A bowl of haggis noodles is fine. Pu Mu said-just before Pu Mu pretended to be drunk, signaling the other two to continue chatting with Governor Liu, and he was a golden cicada out of his shell and followed the little guy who went out - at the banquet, when mentioning the boat, Governor Liu, who wanted to arrest the three gangs at the funeral, did not mention the three gangs of the five lakes, but that day Governor Liu said that the boats of the three gangs traveled a lot in Dongting. And Li Defei, who was sitting next to Governor Liu, found that Governor Liu's hand holding vegetables was slightly shaking when Pu Mu mentioned the boat, and Governor Liu had never shaken like this tonight, so Li Defei cast a small hidden weapon, rubbed a little powder with the silver in his sleeve, twisted it in his hand, and when the little guy turned to leave, he pretended to have oil stains in the bowl on his fingers, and talked about the powder on the man's clothes. looked at Pu Mu, and Pu Mu made the next scene.

"The noodles are coming, please use them slowly—" The guy in the store brought the noodles and went back to the account.

Pu Mu took a bite of noodles and said, "Little brother, may I ask if anyone has come in before me?"

The guy said, "Official, there are not many people who come to my shop to eat noodles at this time, there is no one before you, you can look around and have a table with you." ”

Pu Mu smiled and said, "Little brother, help me get some chili peppers." ”

The guy answered, took a few small bowls of spices from other tables, put them in front of Pu Mu's table, and said, "Guest officer, this is seasoning." With that, Xiang Pu Mu nodded slightly, then turned around and wanted to return to the account. Pu Mu's eyes happened to see a short knife hanging next to the wine jar on the cabinet behind the account counter - I didn't see the little guy before I entered the store just now, and I was looking down at the store when I sat down, and I didn't come back to my senses until the guy came to the face, but the guy seemed to have been covering one side of the back cabinet with his body, so Pu Mu asked the guy to get some spices, just to see clearly, and when he turned around, Pu Mu saw it clearly- The hilt of the short knife was engraved with the same black wolf's head as on the iron plate next to the bone.

"Little brother—" Pu Mu called out to the guy.

"What else does the guest officer command?" the guy asked.

Pu Mu pointed to the knife and asked, "This knife belongs to the little brother?"

The fellow looked at the knife and said with a smile, "How can this knife be mine?" It was left by the noodle guest officer here during the day, and I kept it for him until he came to get it—"

"I see, I see that this knife has a good style, it must be a good knife, so I asked the little brother. Pu Mu smiled and ate again.

The guy said, "Officials also like knives?"

"I usually like to play, but I'm not proficient—" Pu Mu smiled, lifted the bowl and took a sip of soup. "Good noodles, man—" With that, he dropped four copper coins and left the shop.

The guy took the money and cleaned the table. At the door of the store, he watched Pu Mu leave from a distance, and then said to the little guy hiding under the account: "I already know about this matter, and I will explain it to the helper." Do you know who that person is?"

"I've been hiding here, how can I know, and you've been too careful, I've come to talk to you, and you've hidden me here. The little guy said.

The man said, "I think the man is following you, otherwise how would you ask if anyone has come before? So do you know why you have been asked to hide the news every time? I see that the streets are now sparsely populated, and the man is nowhere to be found, so go and tell your master, we know how to do it-"

The little guy replied to the order, got out from under the ledger, went out of the store, and went back to the house.

The family banquet in the governor's mansion had ended, and Li Defei and Chen Renhai had also returned to the guest house, and the maids sent the two to the room respectively, and they were also ordered by the two to retreat.

The cold wind at night is biting, and although it is not snowing in the south at this time, the cold is enough to make people wrap themselves in a quilt while sleeping. The governor's mansion was quiet at this time, and Governor Liu's family had all fallen asleep, only the light in his study was still on. The candle flame was beating, and there was another person in this room, and that person was none other than Hu Hao, the leader of the Black Wolf Gang who was going to kill him on the flower boat that day.

Governor Liu sighed, sweat was soaked in the palms of both palms, and said, "These eight people have been intercepted and killed by your three gangs, and now that they have come to the door, they must have suspected me." You said that you had nothing to do that day and you were going to mourn, so that they would be suspicious—"

Hu Hao fiddled with a vial on the chair and said, "Condolence is not the intention of my three gangs, it was Shangfeng who asked us to do this, and we are also acting on orders." ”

"Then how is it good, he probed my bottom, so I let people come to you, but I didn't expect that you couldn't hold your breath and went to the killer, and the killer was just a killer, and let them all escape, and now they escaped and ascended to heaven, and found me again-" Governor Liu said.

Hu Hao said: "The interception and killing is the main force of the Yellow Lion Society, no one from my Black Wolf Gang participated, I was only responsible for sending this object to kill, I didn't admit that I fell into the trap of these people, but I don't know what Shangfeng meant, Shangfeng only let me go, and didn't let me go to the Black Wolf Gang." You tell me, I don't know how to deal with it now-"

"What about the others—what about Shopkeeper Yu?" Governor Liu was already a little angry at this time.

As for Xiahou Xue, she still doesn't know whether she is dead or alive, Fan Yun? The people of the Yellow Lion Club have all leaked their faces, and now they are only doing business on the surface, and the people in the secret are all hiding. Hu Hao said.

Hu Hao's attitude made Governor Liu unbearable, and Governor Liu said: "You just exposed me like this? Go back and tell you that if I am arrested by these people, you will not have good fruit to eat——"

"Governor Liu, how come to this day, do you still think that you, the governor, can be the emperor of the Dongting Mansion, I will support you, and the peak will open the way for you at the top, so that your deeds will be hidden, so that you can be a good official in the open and a corrupt official in secret. If it weren't for the deputy secretary under your command who didn't ask you to report directly to the Ministry of Rites, wouldn't you have taken the silver? Poor for the ghost who died for you—" Hu Hao's sneer made Governor Liu very unhappy.

Governor Liu said: "That's it, even so, all the stolen money will be handed over to the imperial court, and the matter will be calm, why are you greedy for official silver on the way?"

"How could I not know about such a thing?" asked Hu Hao.

Governor Liu said: "You don't have to pretend to be confused in front of me, it is precisely the amount of official silver that is found to be inconsistent with the original that they arouse their suspicion, so they came to ask me, and you told me that you don't know?"

Hu Hao frowned, thinking that he really didn't know if Governor Liu deliberately framed him.

"The official silver was sent to the capital by water, although my ships are in the waters of Dongting, but I have never heard of such a thing, you are making up nonsense, trying to blame us for robbing the official silver, so that you can clear your name. Hu Hao said, "In this way, I will leave, and I will go to other ships to borrow the ships they want, and send them away, so that I can think of a plan to deal with them with peace of mind." ”

After leaving these words, Hu Hao opened the door, saw that there was no sound around, and then jumped on the roof with light skills.

There was no one on the street at this time, Hu Hao walked with confidence, and suddenly felt that the sound was wrong, and a black shadow flashed in front of him, and that person was Chen Renhai, blocking his way in front of him.

Pu Mu and Li Defei came later.

Hu Hao kept his composure and said tentatively: "The three commanders are really outstanding in martial arts, they listened to me in the official residence, and now they are quietly following me. ”

Pu Mu said: "I don't know how you lost the official silver? Then do you know how the priests in your Black Wolf Gang lost it?"

Hu Hao was a little confused, turned his head and said, "What do you mean by this?"

Chen Renhai said: "Gang Master Hu, do you have a priest under you?" I think he has something to say to you——"

Hu Hao caught the iron card thrown by Chen Renhai and said, "This is the iron card of the priest of my Black Wolf Gang, did you arrest him?"

Pu Mu said: "I think he hasn't come back to help for a long time." ”

"He went to Songjiang Mansion to collect his debts, I thought he fell into the hands of the government, and I didn't want to be arrested by you. But what can you do if you arrest him? You have also seen that this Dongting Mansion belongs to your court in the open, but secretly you need to listen to the orders of our three gangs. Hu Hao said.

Chen Renhai said: "I'm afraid there will only be two gangs in the future." If the Hu gang leader can trust us, go with us to see clearly, and if not, go back and continue to be kept in the dark—"