"Use poison?" Li Chengcheng asked with some surprise, "I am afraid that the person who can turn human bones into nothing is poisonous, but in the Central Plains martial arts, I have never heard of such a master of poisoning." ”

Xiao Jinyan secretly thought, it's a pity that the poison saint Xue Pipi is not there, otherwise with his experience, he will definitely be able to tell the origin of this strange poison.

He suddenly exclaimed.

Xiao Jinyan lowered his head, and just cut the knife of Li Laosan's corpse, which suddenly turned black, and then shattered into iron filings, Xiao Jinyan threw the handle of the knife on the ground, and exclaimed, "It's so poisonous." ”

He was so frightened that his face was expressionless, and he was lucky in his heart, if he acted rashly, maybe he would already be the same as Li Laosan, Rao was like this, and he couldn't help but be afraid in his heart.

Xiao Jinyan looked around, the grocery store was full of strange things from all over the world, including objects from Western Chu, Northern Zhou, Persia and other places, such as tortoise shells, pearls, agate gems, etc., Ling Lang was full of eyes, but there were also a lot of valuable things.

In the most conspicuous place in the store, there is a pair of thangkas. The thangka is beautifully made, but due to its age, it is full of dust, and it is painted as if it is a sacrificial scene. The thangka is written in Chinese with the words "Thirty Years of Pilgrimage of Dade".

Xiao Jinyan wondered: "My Ming Dynasty has been founded for three hundred years, and it seems that there is no such era as Dade. Is it something from the previous dynasty?"

Li Tingcheng didn't have a clue, looked at it for a long time, and said, "Let's go to the Tianma Dart Bureau first." ”

He asked, "What about the corpse?"

Xiao Jinyan said: "Burn it, dig a deep pit, bury the residue, put some quicklime, and it will be fine after a few rains." ”

......

Suzhou City has eight land gates and eight water gates, which means gossip. Loumen is one of the eight land gates, in the northeast of the city, close to the moat, the water level here is deeper, many merchant ships and cargo ships of the Beijing-Hangzhou Canal dock here, follow this road into the Zhenjiang River, can go west along the Yangtze River, is an important transportation hub of Suzhou City. The Cao Gang, the Tianma Dart Bureau, the Jiangliu Gang and other gangs whose main business is freight transportation are all gathered here.

The two came to the Tianma Dart Bureau, where Su Zhengyuan was already there. Because Zhao Jinlian, the governor of Jiangsu, is about to come here to inspect, this kind of thing should not alarm Zhao Jinlian, but now is an extraordinary period, he is also the prefect of Suzhou, and there is a murder in the jurisdiction.

Su Zhengyuan saw the two of them and hurriedly came over, "Have you been to the grocery store? Are there any clues? Who is the murderer?"

Xiao Jinyan didn't have a good breath and said, "We are from the rivers and lakes, and we are not fast catchers, where is there a reason to solve the case at a glance, take a step back, if you can really solve the case, won't it seem that your six doors are too incompetent?"

This sentence was a little ugly, but Su Zhengyuan asked him for help, and he was not angry.

The Tianma Dart Bureau is the courtyard of Sanjin, and with Ling Tiannan's status in the rivers and lakes, their land and water business is excellent. There are more than ten executioners and dart masters living in the front yard, and it is also a place to rob darts and darts, the second courtyard is the martial arts training ground of the dart bureau, as well as Ling Tiannan's study, etc., and the third courtyard is inhabited by family members and servants.

Upon inquiry, it was learned that last night, when thirteen lives occurred in the backyard of the Tianma Dart Bureau, the people in the front yard did not hear any movement, not even the sound of fighting, which shows that the person who shot was very fast.

When he came to the backyard, there were a number of corpses lying on the ground in the hall, and he handed the corpse sheet to Su Zhengyuan, but Su Zhengyuan didn't look at it, and handed it to Xiao Jinyan.

On the wall, the words "Kill to pay for life, repay debts" are written on the wall, and the entire backyard, jewelry, and silver boxes have been emptied.

Li Chengcheng frowned, "It's strange, the grocery store didn't lose anything, how could their house be emptied? Is it a conflict of interest?"

Su Zhengyuan was hesitant, and he stopped talking.

Xiao Jinyan felt strange, "Do you have something to hide from us?"

Su Zhengyuan retreated left and right, took a deep breath, and said with a guilty face, "It's still Brother Xiao's sharp eyes." He pointed to the eight words on the wall and said, "I can't hide it, I sent someone to write these eight words this morning." ”

Xiao Jinyan sighed, "It seems that the gold, silver, jewelry, and silver in the dart game, as well as the silver in the box, were also emptied by you?"

Li Chengcheng drew his sword with a posture, "The case has been solved." ”

Su Zhengyuan shouted again and again, "Don't, the murderer is not me." I took the money, but I didn't kill the people. ”

Xiao Jinyan said, aren't you a guard stealing from yourself!

"You also know, I just spent 300,000 taels recently, and my money is a little tight, anyway, the thirteen members of the Ling family are all dead, don't let these silver taels be in vain, who knows that this matter has alarmed Governor Zhao, so I am looking for you two." ”

Su Zhengyuan continued, "Two brothers, I even confessed to this matter, is it honest enough? I just want to solve the case now, vent my anger for the Ling family, and seek justice for the Li family!"

Li Chengcheng sneered, "I think you are thinking about your official position." ”

Su Zhengyuan smiled, "It's just another way to put it." ”

"I despise you!"

Su Zhengyuan's face turned purple, but he said, "Li Daxia's lesson is right, whenever in the dead of night, when I torture my soul in my heart, I am also full of contempt for what I have done. But, one yard to one yard, you promise to help, you can't sit idly by, right?"

Xiao Jinyan also said: "I despise you too!"

Su Zhengyuan said again: "Xiao Daxia's lesson is right, whenever I think of the way of the sage to teach a gentleman, my conscience is deeply disturbed. However, one yard is one yard, and you also promised to help, you can't turn a blind eye, right?"

At this time, a sentence came from behind him: "I despise you!"

Su Zhengyuan's face drooped, he didn't look back, and said angrily, "It's endless, isn't it? Don't hurry up and ...... yet."

Before the word "roll" came out, he felt that this person's voice was a little familiar, and suddenly turned around and saw Zhao Jinlian standing at the door, with four strong guards behind him, standing side by side.

Su Zhengyuan's color suddenly changed, he was so frightened that he crawled, knelt down beside Zhao Jinlian, slapped himself, and said: "Lord Zhao's lesson is right, as an official of the imperial court, I have an unshirkable responsibility for this kind of murder in the jurisdiction, but rest assured, as long as I, Su Zhengyuan, am in Suzhou one day, I will definitely bring the murderer to justice, eliminate harm for the people, and let justice be served!"

When Zhao Jinlian came in, he didn't hear the conversation in front of him, but just said something in passing, and at this moment, he saw Su Zhengyuan kneeling in front of him, kowtowing like pounding garlic, but he was not angry, he snorted coldly, and walked towards the inner hall.

Su Zhengyuan got up, personally brought a Taishi chair, and wiped the dust with his sleeve, "My lord, please take a seat." ”

Zhao Jinlian swept as an important minister of the imperial court, guarding the pastoral side on behalf of the Son of Heaven, and he was so good at cultivating his qi that he didn't even look at Xiao and Li, and said as if nothing happened, "Su Zhengyuan, how is the case investigated?"

Su Zhengyuan said respectfully: "My lord, I have asked a right-hand man to help solve the case." At present, I have some clues, and there are three suspicious points, the first ......" Zhao Jinlian waved his hand, "Don't tell me the story, what I want is the result, three days, I will give you three days, if you can't solve the case, where will you go!"

Su Zhengyuan cried with a sad face, "My lord, isn't there still five days?"

Zhao Jinlian said angrily, "Zhou Xiao's matter, the imperial court sent a messenger to investigate, and he will arrive in Suzhou in three days, and he can't solve the case in five days, and your head will be thrown into Taihu Lake to feed Wang Ba!"

Xiao Jinyan whispered to Li Chengcheng, "I heard that there is a Taihu Lake residence on the edge of Taihu Lake, and the Wang Eight Banquet in it is really good. ”

Su Zhengyuan was shocked, Zhao Jinlian had a huge shelf, ordinary subordinates deliberated, if he opened his mouth, others would not even dare to make a sound, Xiao Jinyan was still interested in teasing, and couldn't help pinching a cold sweat.

This sentence came into Zhao Jinlian's ears, "Are you?"

Zhao Jinlian's words were displeased, he was a dignified member of the three grades, not to mention ordinary people, even the prefect and others, they had to kneel and salute when they saw him, and the two of them did not kneel before, which made him very unhappy.

Xiao Jinyan is a person from the rivers and lakes, and he is not very interested in the imperial court officials, and when he was in the Dengwen Academy, although Li Chuntie did not have a rank, his status was extremely high, and even the cabinet scholars were very polite. Xiao Jinyan and Li Chuntie are very casual on weekdays, and when they saw Zhao Jinlian, of course, they didn't take it seriously.

As for Li Chengcheng, the Li family is powerful in Jiangnan, and his cousin Li Zhiyuan is a household secretary in Nanjing, and there are no less than dozens of officials in the family, let alone Zhao Jinlian.

Xiao Jinyan laughed, didn't kneel, and sang a promise, saying, "Xiao Jinyan, the hero!"

Zhao Jinlian frowned, he was born in the imperial examination, and he was very repulsive to the people of the rivers and lakes, and sneered: "Hero?

Xiao Jinyan smiled, "Get used to it!"

"Chivalry is forbidden by martial arts, you Jianghu people, I'm afraid that in the name of heroes, you are burning and robbing everywhere, and you are doing a business of killing people and selling goods, right?"

Li Chengcheng listened to him insulting chivalry, and said coldly: "My lord, if I remember correctly, the previous sentence should be Confucianism and law, right?"

Zhao Jinlian asked, "Who are you?"

Li Chengcheng said: "The hero Li Chengcheng." ”

When Li Chengcheng introduced himself, he always said his name directly, and today when he saw Zhao Jinlian ridiculing Xiao Jinyan, he couldn't help but use the word hero.

Zhao Jinlian smiled, "The two heroes are rude." After that, he arched his hand without raising his head, and asked Su Zhengyuan, "This is the right-hand man you hired?"

Su Zhengyuan was so frightened that he didn't dare to speak.

Zhao Jinlian laughed, "Okay, three days later, I'll wait for your results." He sneered a few more times, turned away, and said before leaving, "I'm afraid don't throw your life away in Suzhou City." ”

The last sentence is obviously said to Xiao Jinyan and Li Chengcheng.

After Zhao Jinlian left, Xiao Jinyan smacked his tongue, "What a big score!"

Su Zhengyuan said, "People are the direct cronies of Lord Yuwen, we can't afford to mess with them." Let's talk about the case first. ”

Xiao Jinyan asked, "Has the Tianma Dart Bureau recently provoked a powerful enemy, or had disputes with other business rivals?"

Su Zhengyuan said: "According to the inquiries of the people below me, recently they and the Cao Gang fought for the right to transport a dock at Loumen Wharf, and half a month ago, Ling Tiannan had a fight with Chen Changping, the leader of the Cao Gang, and Chen Changping lost and gave up the dock. Chen Changping also threatened to take revenge on Ling Tiannan. Could it be him?"

Li Qingcheng shook his head, "Unlikely." ”

"Why?"

"You may not know the rules of the rivers and lakes, if the competition determines the victory, the loss is the loss, unless the challenge is open, private revenge, you will not be able to gain a foothold in the rivers and lakes in the future. ”

Xiao Jinyan said, "That's not necessarily. I think we should start with the people in the city, Brother Li, this matter may have to rely on the Li family's power in Suzhou. ”

Li Chengcheng said: "Now that the leader of the Left League has come to Suzhou, and now he lives in the Tianxiang Building under the Hall of Justice, why don't you go to him, but he was also your old subordinate back then." ”

Xiao Jinyan said that it is not very good, right?

Li Qingcheng smiled slightly and teased, "Why, are you still afraid of him?"

"It's not that I'm afraid of him, Zuo Stan, as soon as he took office, he overturned all the rules I set when I was in the Martial Arts Alliance, which made it very unpleasant, let me ask him for help, hum, I'm afraid I can't help but beat him. ”

Li Chengcheng said, "But I heard that he accused you of abusing the funds of the Martial Arts League, acting profligately, and even making friends with people from the evil demons and other ways." ”

"You mean the big thief in Luoda, who gave Li Menghan the nickname 'Sai Arsenic' Frost?"

Li Chengcheng said: "Exactly. ”

Xiao Jinyan laughed, "Li Menghan has a bad reputation in the rivers and lakes, but he does things brightly and fairly, he is a man, but he fell in love with someone he shouldn't like, so he fell into disrepute, I have dealt with him, but he is a wonderful person, if you see him, you will definitely see him at first sight." ”

Li Chengcheng said proudly, "I don't care to be with it." ”

Xiao Jinyan said: "You are preconceived and have made a mistake of empiricism, if you want to talk about this Li Menghan, he can't finish his topic for three days and three nights, and once he ......"

Su Zhengyuan shouted, "Stop." Lord Zhao gave three days, you have to talk here for three days and three nights, I'm afraid I will go to Taihu Lake to feed Wang Ba. ”

Xiao Jinyan said that in fact, Wang Ba tastes really good.

Su Zhengyuan said, "Big brother, I'm feeding Wang Ba, not eating Wang Ba!"

Xiao Jinyan said just kidding, let's go.

Su Zhengyuan asked, "Where to go?"

Xiao Jinyan said solemnly: "Tianxiang Building." However, before we go, let's go to a place. ”、

Li Chengcheng asked, "Where to go?"

Xiao Jinyan said, "Go find a store first, since you want to meet my old subordinates, if you don't wear a hero's suit, how can you be worthy of my title of hero? ”

Li Chengcheng said: "I'm afraid I won't have a chance." ”

"It's hard to dismantle it!"

......

Tianxiang Building.

At noon, Tianxianglou has not yet opened for business, and in the hall, all the major sects in Suzhou City have gathered. Zuo Stan, the leader of the Wulin League, sat in the right seat, and Li Zhengyi of the Hall of Justice was the host and sat in the second seat. Martial Arts Alliance leader Zuo Stan is convening a small martial arts conference.

The lineup of this meeting was unprecedentedly luxurious, and the people who attended it were all well-known in the rivers and lakes. They have:

Regardless of the severe cold or the scorching heat, the main and deputy masters of the Changbai Sword Sect, who always wore a mink coat, were afraid of the cold and Zhen were afraid of the heat brothers;

The Javanese sect, which claims to be the ninth of the "Nine Major Sects", advocates so-and-so;

Xilong Wulin Majiagou Ditch Master, known as Ma Jiuye who shook Jiugou with a sword;

There are also Jingling Sword Sect, Taipingzhuang Zhuang Owner and other big masters of the Jianghu sect.

Although there were more than a dozen sect representatives present, the leader of the Left League was still not happy.

Among the eight major sects, Wudang and Shaolin were absent, Emei, Kongtong, Kunlun, and Huashan asked for leave, and Qingcheng sent a disciple from the Ninth Office of Suzhou Prefecture to attend the meeting.

As for some other sects in Suzhou City, such as the Hailiu Gang, the Cao Gang, and the Changle Gang, they refused to attend on the grounds that everyone was too busy to attend the meeting.

What's even more infuriating is that the Suzhou branch of Yixiaotang sent a disciple, and after signing in and receiving a gift, he never saw anyone again.

After the personnel sat down, the left alliance said, "Today, our major sects gathered in Tianxianglou to hold an important meeting in the history of the martial arts alliance, and I also believe that in the near future, this meeting will also remember the history of the martial arts conference......

The Zhen brothers asked, "Zuo Alliance Master, who do you want to cut if you have something to order?"

The leader of the Left Alliance said angrily, "The original intention of the establishment of our martial arts alliance is to calm down disputes, turn hostility into jade silk, and don't fight and kill all day long." Today, we are discussing the issue of arrears in dues for the Martial Arts Alliance. ”

Four men stood up, ready to slip.

One said: "Zuo Alliance Master, I suddenly remembered that my mother was at the funeral today, and I had to rush back to the funeral to ask you for a leave." ”

The leader of the left alliance showed a displeased face, usually sending things, one by one is more active than anyone else, when it comes to paying money, he runs faster than rabbits, he asked the other three, "What about you?

The three said, "Yes, they died together." ”