The next day, after breakfast, Ye Yun and the others went to Xisha Village under the leadership of Magistrate Hu.
"Master Hu, how long does it take to arrive!" Yan Yan gasped while wiping sweat roughly with her sleeves.
Didn’t it mean that it’s so close that you don’t need to take a car? How long has this been going on?
"Almost there, almost there." Magistrate Hu said with a naive smile.
Pouting her lips dissatisfied, Yan Yan muttered: "You said the same thing before I burned the incense."
"Miss Yan, can you see the stone pier in front of you?" Magistrate Hu pointed to a narrow stone pier less than a hundred meters away, standing straight in the grass and half a person's height.
Yan Yan looked where Magistrate Hu was pointing, and then nodded: "I saw it, so what?"
"There is a path next to the stone pier. Crossing the path leads to Xisha Village." Magistrate Hu patiently explained.
"Then what are you waiting for? Let's go quickly. When we get to Xisha Village, I must have a good rest!" After saying this, Yan Yan took the lead and rushed forward, leaving everyone behind in the blink of an eye.
Seeing the figure in front of him walking faster and faster, Ye Yun and Magistrate Hu looked at each other, and then he and the officials behind him also walked faster.
Passing through the path overgrown with weeds, the sight suddenly becomes wider. The first thing that comes into view is a broken suspension bridge. In front of the suspension bridge is a stone plaque with three large dark red characters of "Xisha Village" engraved on it.
Looking at the words on the stone plaque, Yan Yan cheered: "Oh, it's finally here!"
"This bridge has been in disrepair for a long time, and the bottom is a little loose. The adults and the two girls need to be careful." Before crossing the bridge, Magistrate Hu specially reminded.
"Chu Ci, work with Miss Yan to protect Miss Yan's safety. Bai Zhi, be careful yourself." After hearing what Magistrate Hu said, Ye Yun immediately made arrangements.
Chu Ci and Bai Zhi had the skills to get close to them, but Yan Yan was a little girl without the strength to restrain a chicken. It would be terrible if she accidentally fell.
"Yes! Miss Yan is offended!" After saying this, Chu Ci took a step forward, grabbed Yan Yan's elbow, and imprisoned her within his own safety range.
"Hiss~" Yan Yan frowned in pain and said with a displeased tone: "I said, even if it is for protection, you don't need to be so tight, it hurts me!"
While Yan Yan was complaining, Magistrate Hu had already climbed onto the suspension bridge, followed closely by Ye Yun and Bai Zhi. Seeing this, Chu Ci dragged Yan Yan onto the suspension bridge without saying a word.
Facing Chu Ci's brutal actions, Yan Yan was about to get angry when she suddenly faced the broken wooden board under her feet that creaked as soon as she walked away. She was so frightened that she immediately forgot to react.
She let Chu Ci pull her across the suspension bridge in a daze, and then Yan Yan breathed a sigh of relief when she stepped on the solid ground.
"Miss Yan, are you okay?" Seeing that her face was not looking good, Bai Zhi asked with concern.
"It's okay, I'm okay, where is Ayun?" Yan Yan looked around, but couldn't see Ye Yun, and couldn't help but wonder.
"The master has already gone in with Mr. Hu, let's go in too." After saying that, Bai Zhi took Yan Yan, Chu Ci and the government servants who came a step behind into the courtyard where Ye Yun had just entered.
In the courtyard, Ye Yun stood in the center of the small courtyard, looking at the clean and tidy courtyard without a trace of mess, and couldn't help but wonder: "Master Hu, are you sure you didn't go to the wrong place?"
Magistrate Hu shook his head and said: "Yes, this is it. The official received the report and was as confused as the adults when he came here for the first time. There was no trace of a fight in the entire courtyard or in the room."
"Is it like this in other places?"
"Yes! The official has led people to search more than once, and even ordered people to search carefully in the corners under the eaves. The strange thing is that there are no clues at all. It seems that these people died suddenly for no reason. There is no trace to be found." Speaking of the previous investigations, Magistrate Hu couldn't help but sigh. If he hadn't been unable to find a clue, he wouldn't have written to his former classmates for help.
With a flash of deep thought in his eyes, Ye Yun said: "Where is the body."
"The lower official was afraid that the weather would be too hot and the corpses would be damaged, so he ordered the county government officials to carry all the corpses into the cellar and send people to guard them day and night. Would you like to check them now, sir?"
Hearing this, Ye Yun turned around and looked at Yan Yan, who was walking around the courtyard and curious about everything, and said, "Yan Yan, it's your turn."
"Okay!" Yan Yan ran to Ye Yun with excitement and said, "Where is the body?"
"In the cellar."
"You, you!" Yan Yan turned around and pointed at the two government officials and said, "You go to the cellar and carry the body here. I want to do an autopsy."
"There are dozens of corpses, girl, do you want to examine them all?" one of them asked.
"No, let's lift one body first. As for the other corpses, wait until I finish examining the first corpse."
"Yes!" The two government officials handed over their hands and turned to leave.
Not long after, two government officials came in carrying a male corpse. Yan Yan pointed to the side room facing her and said, "Put the corpse inside."
"yes!"
Two government officials carried the body into the side room, and Yan Yan went in immediately carrying tools temporarily borrowed from the county government officials.
"Sir, it will take some time for Miss Yan's autopsy to be carried out. Why don't you order someone to clean up a room and let you rest together." Magistrate Hu suggested.
"Okay!" Ye Yun nodded in agreement.
"Hu Er, take someone to clean up the other room." Magistrate Hu turned around and ordered Hu Er, who was standing behind him.
"Yes!" Hu said with his hands raised, "Follow me!" Then he led several government servants behind him to the main room.
"Master Hu, are there any living people in this village?" Ye Yun suddenly asked.
"What you don't know, sir, is that Xisha Village was built by a group of outsiders who fled here. The village is not big, with only seventeen households. It does not interact with the villagers in the surrounding villages on weekdays, so few people know about it. . Even if you want to look for it, there is nowhere to look." Magistrate Hu said helplessly.
This is a bit tricky!
Ye Yun's eyes darkened, he looked around, then moved and walked straight to the shed built next to the side house and close to the eaves.
There was a stove under the shed, with a large pot on the table and a heavy kitchen knife at the mouth of the pot. Opposite the stove stood a wooden shelf made of wood chips, on which were placed some bottles, cans, and jars. There is a frame made of reeds, with some dry and yellow wild vegetables placed in the frame. There is a nail on the left side, and an iron spoon as thick and long as a child's arm hangs on it.
Ye Yun reached out and rummaged through the box of wild vegetables, but found nothing unusual. Then he opened the bottles and jars on the wooden shelf one by one and examined them carefully. Still nothing happened. Just when Ye Yun was about to squat down and turn on the stove. While the firewood ash under the stage was being carefully rummaged through, Magistrate Hu's voice sounded in the courtyard: "Sir, the house has been tidied up. Come in and have a rest."
After looking at the ashes nearly filling the stove pit, Ye Yun clapped his hands, walked out of the shed, and entered the main room with Magistrate Hu and others.
