8. Dried corpses are now found in the pile of desolate graves

At the time of the unitary hour, Xiao Er sent the meal to Wu Bin to the room.

There was some movement downstairs, and I think it was everyone else who went to the hall to eat.

After the meal, after Xiao Er cleaned up the dishes and chopsticks and went downstairs, Wu Bin listened carefully again, and found that it was much quieter below, only the sound of everyone's muddy breathing.

After about half an hour, there was movement downstairs one after another, and if I listened carefully, someone had left the inn. If you go out so late, it must have something to do with the strange things in the city so far.

After a while, there was silence downstairs, and I think everyone had left.

At about the beginning of the day, footsteps sounded downstairs again, the sound was very soft, the movements were very slow, and the breathing was very slow. For fear of alarming other guests, the visitors were very cautious.

Wu Bin knew that this was the footsteps of the shopkeeper, and he had memorized this step during the day.

In fact, Wu Bin knows that as long as he stays here for a few more days, he can know everything here. However, this is a waste of time, and on the other hand, people talk too much, and they cannot fully understand the whole thing.

The shopkeeper actually didn't want to meddle in things, and told the situation here to outsiders who didn't know. But that guest was too ruthless, and if he said that, not only did he lose ☯ his job, but he also lost a place to live.

You must know that you are alone, and it is a big deal to beg for food if you don't eat. What's more, he is still young, so he will not starve to death.

But it's not the same if he doesn't have it, he knows everything about what happened during this time, and if he doesn't live with him, maybe he will be next. Although now, there are no more missing people in the city, Xiao Er can't take this risk.

Xiao Er came to the door lightly, hesitated for a moment, and then made up his mind to knock on the door.

I only heard the person inside say, "Come in, the door is not locked." ”

When I entered the guest room, I saw that the guest had sat down at the table and poured a cup of tea for Xiao Er.

"You may be seated. Wu Bin stretched out his hand and gestured.

"Don't dare, don't dare. After Xiao Er sat down, he didn't speak immediately.

Wu Bin was not in a hurry to urge him, he knew that this matter was not small, and if he wanted to know the details of the matter, he must not put pressure on the other party.

Sure enough, Xiao Er sorted out his thoughts and finally spoke.

"Guest officer, do you believe that good people have good rewards? It turns out that I have always believed that good people have good rewards. But now you see, good men are deceived by wicked ☯ men, and good officials are murdered by traitorous ☯ ministers. But I still believe that because the bad results of these people are all man-made, not from God. I believe that one day, God will give good people a good home and a just ☯ judgment for the wicked ☯. Isn't there a saying, called: good ☯ is ☯ ☯ rewarded, evil ☯ is rewarded, it is not that there is ☯ ☯ no report, the time has not come, when the time comes, it will naturally be repaid. But since that happened, it has finally changed my mind. ”

It is said that there was a family surnamed Liu in this city, and the old man of the Liu family was good at calculation and did make a lot of money.

But maybe it's a blessing in fate, or maybe it's too many people who have lost their luck. The money is there, but the life is gone.

He has a son, who is righteous and sincere, and others call him Liu Laoshi.

When his father was alive, he often secretly helped some poor people behind his father's back. When his father died, he corrected the light ☯ and helped others.

As a result, the old bottom of the family was quickly wiped out by him.

Some people persuaded him, saying that he should not give up all the money, but also keep some for himself.

But he smiled and said, "If you have money, you have been rich, and if you don't have money, you have been poor." ”

He also has a wife, and he is willing to share his ups and downs. Later, his family was poor, and everyone knew that if there were any difficulties, everyone would endure them.

On the fifteenth day of the first month of this year, Liu Laoshi went to drink at the invitation of a friend. But by the third day of the next day, he had not returned.

His wife thinks that she didn't drink too much last night, so she hasn't gotten up yet.

But before he came back in the evening, his wife was a little anxious and hurriedly went to a friend's house to look for it. But when he arrived at a friend's house, the other party said that Liu Laoshi was afraid of his wife being at home alone last night, so he didn't listen to dissuasion, and at the end of the day, he insisted on going home.

One said that the person had left, but the other had not seen anyone all day, so Liu Laoshi's daughter-in-law had no opinion.

The friend proposed to send her home first, maybe Liu Laoshi had already arrived home. But when he returned home, everything was still the same, Liu Laoshi did not go home, and there was no trace of going out after returning home. asked the neighbors left and right, and said that they had not seen any trace of Liu Laoshi.

It was the friend who suggested that it was too late today, and that if no one came back early tomorrow morning, he would go to report to the official.

It's a pity that the next day, Liu Laoshi still didn't come back, and in desperation, that friend had to go with Liu Laoshi's daughter-in-law to report to the official.

When the county magistrate heard this, he asked his subordinate officials to look for it.

Although these people all eat official meals, the elders of their family have received the favor ☯ of Liu Laoshi, so they work very hard to find them.

Even so, I searched for a morning and couldn't find it.

The county official was not a diligent person, and if a person was lost, he couldn't find it. But this Liu Laoshi still has some popularity, no matter what.

The county official thought of finding someone to blame, and Liu's friend became that person. The reason was that after the two drank, there was a quarrel, and the man accidentally killed Liu Laoshi. And from that day until this morning ☯, there were two nights, which was enough for the man to dispose of the body.

After a few tortures ☯, almost half of the man's life was lost, but he didn't admit it even if he died.

Liu Laoshi's daughter-in-law also had the heart to help him defend himself, because the two were small and had never had any quarrels. And both of them have a common characteristic, that is, they are very quiet after drinking, unlike some people who are overly excited after drinking. In this way, how can there be a quarrel after drinking.

But the master on the side persuaded her not to speak, because the county master was a lazy person, and in order to save trouble, he said that Liu Laoshi was killed by mistake after drinking. If that person recruits someone, or is sentenced to drunken manslaughter, maybe he can save his life. But if Liu Laoshi's daughter-in-law pleads, then the adult can be said to have committed adultery between the two, murdered her husband because of the East Window incident, and pretended to report to the official afterwards. In this way, it is more convenient, and you can be sentenced to capital punishment without even asking.

Because of this, Liu's honest daughter-in-law had to watch her friends suffer, and she didn't dare to say a word.

The county magistrate was planning to make a hasty decision to accompany his aunt and wife when he returned, but at this time, someone outside was beating a drum and shouting ☯ grievances.

He didn't want to care, but with so many people watching, he couldn't take it as if he hadn't heard. After all, he had heard so many things about his predecessor.

In desperation, he had to beat the wood and summon the drummer.

The one who complained was ☯ an old woman, in her sixties, with more white and less black hair. The clothes on her body were patched and patched, and looking at the sweat on her face and the mud on her shoes, she had obviously walked a lot.

It can be regarded as the county official who has a little conscience, and did not immediately slap the shocking wood to threaten, but asked the old man to sit down and slow down before speaking.

Most of the onlookers don't know the elderly, but some of them know how to work hard.

"Hey, isn't that the old lady of the Zhang family? ”

A man dressed as a scholar next to him said: "In Bafang City, I know all the people, even the new county magistrate ☯ has to summon me to ask about the situation in the city, why haven't I heard of the old woman of the Zhang family." ”

The strong man glanced at him out of the corner of his eye, and said, "You go out of the west gate and go two or three miles northwest to find out." ”

When the scholar heard this, he hurriedly replied, "Isn't that going to the mass grave?" ”

The strong man said: "Yes, she is the old woman of the Zhang family who watched the tomb with her old man in the mass grave." ”

When the old woman ☯ was almost rested, the county magistrate knocked on the tree and asked, "The old woman ☯ in the hall, who is your surname, where is your name, and what is the name of the person, and what did you tell when you came to the county office to shout ☯ grievances?"

"Back to the adult, the old woman is a lot older, and she can't remember what her surname is or what her name is. Because I married the Zhang family outside the city, everyone who recognized me called me the old lady of the Zhang family. ”

"Then what are you complaining about, and what are you shouting about injustice?"

"If you go back to adulthood, my wife and I have no children or daughters, so we have to dispose of the corpses in the mass grave outside the city. Just because my old man ☯ was not feeling well today, I looked around for him to see if there were any corpses that had not been disposed of. I didn't know that when I looked at it, I saw Liu Laoshi's body in the city, so I hurriedly came to report the case. ”

As soon as the county order heard it, he immediately asked, "Do you know Liu Laoshi in the city?"

"Exactly. The monthly money that our old couple gets every month can only give the two of us a little more breathing. After a long time, the old man ☯ ☯ of my family couldn't stand it. But with the money in our family, it is already very reluctant to buy rice and salt, how to buy supplements. Once ☯ the old man ☯ is physically unable to do his work, he will have no income. Fortunately, Liu Laoshi in the city knew our hardships, and occasionally had free time, so he sent some firewood and rice, and also found some needlework for the old woman to do. Therefore, when the old man saw his body today, he hurried to report to the official. ”

After listening to the old man's words, the county ordered: "The old man doesn't have to worry, now the murderer ☯ is already in the lobby." As long as he draws the detention, the case can be closed and he will be put on death row. ”

As soon as she said this, the old lady of the Zhang family retorted: "My lord, this murderer ☯ will never be a person in the court. ”

"So, do you know the murderer ☯?" asked the magistrate very dissatisfied, because the old lady of the Zhang family said this, which complicated the already "complete" case.

"Where does the old body know what a murderer ☯ is, it's just that the old body has been dealing with dead people all year round, and he has seen countless corpses. But Liu Laoshi's corpse looked extremely terrifying, and it must have been done by an extraordinary person, and it must have been done by the mountain demon fox spirit. ”

As soon as these words came out, everyone in the hall was surprised, especially the county order. This person was originally a merchant and believed in ghosts and gods. Later, I bought an official with money, and the most common ☯ contact around me was Confucianism, which was silent and strange, and after a long time, I threw the theory of ghosts and gods out of the clouds.

Hearing the old lady of the Zhang family say this today, I didn't believe it at first, but after thinking about it carefully, it is not impossible.

There are bandits here all year round, and countless people have died at their hands. When they died, they were left unclaimed and thrown into mass graves. It is not impossible for these unjust ☯ souls to ask for the lives of passers-by and absorb their yang energy. As soon as I thought of this, the county ordered one head and two big.

Although I thought about it a lot, I didn't think about the main point. If it was really the ghost of the mass grave, then Liu Laoshi was obviously in the city, why was the body outside the city?

I don't believe her words, but what if it's true. If you believe her words, it will be spread out in the future, saying that she is a person who "reads poetry and books" and believes in ghosts and gods, which hinders his career. But it doesn't work to leave it alone, and it can't be delayed until you leave office.

You must know that the strategic position here is stared at by all the forces in the DPRK and China, and you can replace him with a random reason.

In this case, it is better to carry the body over first and let someone examine the body.

About an hour later, the corpse of Liu Laoshi, who was said to have been killed by the mountain demon fox spirit, was placed in front of the county commander.

The county commander was stunned for a long time, and the pot had already exploded outside, and the ghosts and monsters killed ☯ people were known to the city.

The master on the side reminded him a few times, and the county magistrate reacted, slapped the startled wood, and scolded: "Okay, you old woman, I respect you as an old man, but you tease ☯ the official like this." ”

When the old lady heard this, she hurriedly knelt down and begged for mercy: "My lord, how dare the old woman ☯ tease ☯ the adult!"

"And said that you didn't tease ☯, you look at this corpse for yourself, the whole body is dry, and it is clear that he has been dead for a long time, how can you say that he is the dead Liu Laoshi. ”

"Back to the adult, some time ago, Liu Laoshi sent me some needlework, I saw that his clothes were torn, so I asked him to take them off ☯, I made up for him, and the daughter-in-law of the Liu family should know about this. The dress he is wearing now is exactly what I mended for him. ”

"Old man, you are so confused, you can change your clothes, how can you conclude that the deceased is Liu Laoshi because of a piece of clothing?"

"This ......"

"My lord, this is my husband. Liu's wife on the side suddenly spoke.

"How sure are you. ”

"My husband was born with six toes on his right foot. He always thought that this was different from ordinary people, so he once used the strength of alcohol to cut off the extra toe. Luckily, I stopped me at the time, but I was left with a scar. I looked at it just now, and the body had six toes and a wound, so I assumed that he was my husband. ”

"That being said, it is still necessary to check it. With that, he asked the body to be carried down for examination.

As a result, the corpse did have six toes on its right foot, and there was also a wound on the extra toe, which was a long-standing problem, not caused by the last day or two.

The matter is already obvious, the body is very likely to be Liu Laoshi, so the murderer can never be the suspect in the court. However, the county magistrate insisted that the case ☯ was a drunken manslaughter by a friend, and the prisoner was imprisoned ☯, but the sentence was not imminent ☯.

The reason why the prefectural magistrate did this was not because he found important suspicions, so he had to seriously and thoroughly investigate the case. It's because this thing is too weird, and the corpse is so terrifying that he doesn't know what to do, so he has to leave the hall first.

Because this corpse is indeed as the old lady of the Zhang family said, it is not something that mortals can do.

The body was not fully decomposed, and there was not a single intact place. On the contrary, it is intact. Just because it is a dried corpse, without a trace of water on its body, it is like being buried in a waterless desert for thousands of years.

But that's not possible.

If the corpse is Liu Laoshi, then it is impossible for him to have such a situation when he has just died. If the corpse was not Liu Laoshi's, it was definitely not someone nearby.

Because according to ancient records ☯, the wind and rain here have been smooth for thousands of years, even if there is a major drought, it will be a year or two at most, and it is impossible for dry corpses to appear.

Then this dried corpse was transported by someone else, since someone brought the dried corpse from a dry ☯ land with great water shortage, why not dispose of it well, but let an old woman easily find it?