It was already the fourth watch when Sha Danju and Blind Touhan left Yunwu Mountain and returned to Yuelai Inn.
The next day, it started drizzling.
The drizzle was carried by the mountain wind, flying everywhere, covering the land of Longshan.
After dusk, the warriors who came from Chang'an to hunt down Zhang Shaofei returned to Yuelai Inn one after another. They were so exhausted that their whole bodies seemed to fall apart. After entering the room, they spread their hands and legs, lying on their backs on the bed, breathing heavily. Even the most patient person will lose his patience after many days of achieving nothing.
Suddenly, the blind man hurried back from outside, panting, and said: "There is... there is news..."
Sha Danju and Wei Jue, the vice-captain who came with him this time, sat up from the bed reflexively.
Sha Danju was acting according to the script he had agreed with Blind Touhan, and asked: "Bindouhan, you are so angry and frustrated, what news do you have?"
The blind man gasped and said: "I...I learned about Zhang Shaofei's mother in Taizhen Village..."
Zhang Shaofei's mother has been missing for a long time in Taizhen Village for no apparent reason. When he heard the news about her, Sha Danju jumped in without waiting for the blind man to finish his words: "Is Zhang Shaofei's mother back?"
The blind man nodded: "Yes, he came back from outside."
Shadan Juhuo jumped up from the bed and said to Wei Jue: "Okay, let's go to Taizhen Village right now to catch her and find out Zhang Shaofei's whereabouts."
Wei Jue picked up the machete placed on the bedside: "Okay! Let's set off immediately!"
The blind man waved his hand: "Don't be impatient, just listen to me finish my words first."
Sha Danju urged: "Speak quickly!"
The blind man shook his head and said, "Zhang Shaofei's mother returned to the village with an illness. I heard that she hid in a relative's home deep in Yunwu Mountain a few days ago and died not long after she returned."
Sha Danju waved his hand in disbelief: "Zhang Shaofei's mother died as soon as she returned to the village? How could such a coincidence happen?"
Wei Jue's eyes were also full of doubts: "Is this fake?"
Blind fool: "I heard from her neighbor that she was seriously ill while hiding at a relative's house in the mountains. She had a fever and headache, was paralyzed all over, and had light red maculopapular rashes on her skin. She really couldn't support herself and didn't want to die at her relative's house before returning to her own home. Come. Later, I heard her brother, Zhang Shaofei’s uncle and aunt crying loudly."
"Blindhead, let me ask you, do you know what disease that old woman has?" Sha Danju asked deliberately.
Blind Han's voice was still so loud: "Typhoid fever! And it's an emergency of typhoid fever."
When he heard that it was typhoid fever, Wei Jue couldn't help but shuddered: "Did you hear that right?"
Blind-headed fool: “You can’t hear me wrong.”
Wei Jue's heart tightened: "I have never seen typhoid fever, let alone understand it. But I heard that the disease is very contagious."
Seeing that Wei Jue had taken the bait, Shadanju added some fuel to the fire: "Yeah, in the summer three years ago, someone in my hometown village got typhoid fever. Because everyone didn't pay attention to protection, it spread from one to ten, and then to a hundred, and many people They were infected, and within a month, 70% to 80% of the whole village died."
Wei Jue's expression changed when he talked about typhoid fever: "Oh, such a deadly infectious disease!"
Sha Danju asked the blind man: "Since the old woman died of severe typhoid fever, have you heard when her funeral will be held?"
Blind fool: "I heard from people in the village that the funeral date is set for the day after tomorrow."
Wei Jue: "So fast? Did you hear wrongly?"
The blind man pointed to his ear: "My ears are very good, how could I hear wrongly? I asked several people in the village. They all said that they were most afraid of delay and that the virus would be transmitted to other villagers. , it’s too late for everyone to dodge, so the sooner the funeral is held, the better.”
"Ah, so that's it?!" Sha Danju slapped his thigh and said excitedly, "Brothers, this is a good opportunity for us to make contributions."
Wei Jue turned to Sha Danju and asked, "Brother Sha, why did you say that?"
Shadanju analyzed it rationally: "People say that Zhang Shaofei is a filial son. If he is really hiding in Taishan, he will definitely return to the village to attend the funeral after hearing the news and send his mother off for the last time."
After hearing this, Wei Jue also had a smile on his face: "That day, we set up a dragnet around us and waited for him to get in. Then we would be able to catch him." As he said that, he made a grabbing motion.
Sha Danju nodded: "Yes, that's what I mean. Brother Wei Jue, this time you want to come with me."
Wei Jue proudly used the topic to respond to Sha Danju: "Huh, I'm not stupid, but I'm usually biased and look down on me."
Sha Dan Ju laughed: "This time we heroes have the same idea!"
Sha Danju and Wei Jue told the warriors about the "death of Zhang Shaofei's mother" and the strategy to capture Zhang Shaofei, and told them to be prepared.
The day after tomorrow, it was drizzling and the mountain breeze was blowing. The earth was shrouded in heavy rain and fog, making it confusing.
In Taizhen Village, eight tones of suona played during the funeral, and the sound of mourning music echoed over Taizhen Village.
A group of people dressed in sackcloth and mourning, crying and holding paper flags, walked out of the village. Sure enough, there was a funeral.
Zhang Shaofei's family is sparsely populated. Except for a few coffin-carrying workers, there are only Zhang Shaofei's uncle, aunt and some friends from next door, a dozen or so people.
As they walked, they scattered the paper in the sky.
The ghost paper fluttered in the wind and rain, falling leisurely on the field, stained with mud.
The few warriors led by Sha Danju and Wei Jue had already assigned their respective positions and were lying in ambush behind the woods and bushes around Taizhen Village, waiting for Zhang Shaofei to appear.
They stretched their necks and saw that the funeral procession had left the village and was heading towards Mount Tai, but there was no trace of Zhang Shaofei.
Wei Jue muttered: "What's going on?"
Sha Danju came up with a hard-to-get plan: "Brother Wei Jue, could it be that someone from Zhang Shaofei's family knew that we were stationed near Mount Tai and wanted to arrest him. Zhang Shaofei's mother was not actually dead, but she deliberately spread the news to confuse us. Woolen cloth?"
"Hey, Brother Sha, you are right. We should make more turns in our minds. What should we do now?" Wei Jue suddenly became enlightened.
Sha Danju had been with Wei Jue for many years and knew that he had always been harsh and selfish. He would take advantage of the good things first and leave the bad things to others. He stretched out his finger and pointed at the coffin and said, "If it is true or false, we have to move forward." Just check and confirm. Don’t be fooled by them.”
Wei Jue looked serious: "Yes."
Sha Danju pointed to the funeral procession and said, "My brothers and I are still ambushing behind this tree. Brother Wei Jue, go forward, open the coffin, and carefully check whether it contains the body of Zhang Shaofei's mother. But you go up When you go, cover your nose with a thick cloth, as you are most afraid of those typhoid germs flying around and catching you."
"You asked me to go forward and open the coffin to check the certification?" Sha Danju's last words really hit Wei Jue's back. He blinked and waved his hands violently, "No, no! Let's find the second best person for joking. So. Brother Sha, you’d better send someone else to do this errand.”
Sha Danju: "So, which one do you think is the most suitable to send?"
Wei Jue looked around, his eyes fell on the blind man. He was touched in his heart and said: "Just ask that blind man to go. You and I both know that he is an honest man, so it is most appropriate to send him there." of."
When Sha Danju saw Wei Jue sneaking in according to the trap he had set, he was overjoyed, but did not show it. His tone was somewhat praising: "Brother Wei Jue, what you said makes sense. It is indeed true to send this blind fool. It’s the perfect fit.”
Sha Danju waved the blind man to him and said, "Brother Wei Jue and I are most afraid of their deception. Go to the funeral procession over there, open the coffin, and see if it's true inside." There is the body of Zhang Shaofei’s mother.”
"This..." When performing this double act, Blind Han had already agreed with Sha Danju on his "lines". With a very reluctant look on his face, he pointed at Wei Jue instead, "Brother Sha, I think it's still Wei Jue." It would be most appropriate for Brother Jue to step forward and verify."
When Wei Jue saw that this blind fool who was usually stupid actually called his name and ordered him to join the army, Wei Jue's face sank and he scolded: "Since Brother Sha has appointed you to go, it means he has great trust in you, so you must obey." Go ahead and give the order and stop harping and haggling here."
Sha Danju also made a face, and his tone was non-negotiable: "Yes, blind fool, you go quickly, don't be verbose."
Blind-headed Han was scratched on the buttocks by the sharp claws of a tigress in Yunwu Mountain a few days ago. Fortunately, Zhang Shaofei gathered herbs from the Hemostasis Mountain and applied them to him, which saved his wound from inflammation. Now Wei Jue ordered him with a stern face, And Sha Danju had an appointment with him to perform a double act, so he had no choice but to duck out from behind the bushes, hold a big knife, walk to the front of the funeral procession with a staggering step, and shouted sharply: "Stop!"
After Zhang Shaofei made up his plan that day, he sent someone down the mountain to tell his uncle Wang Ronggen about this "hidden plan." At this time, Wang Ronggen knew how to intervene, wiped the tears flowing down his cheeks, and said sadly: "What's the matter?" , I have no relation with you, and you came to give my sister a lift? "
The blind fool pretended to be menacing: "Bah! What a blessing. I want you to stop and let me check."
Zhang Shaofei's uncle pretended to be confused and said: "A member of our family has died and we still need to check. What do you want to check?"
"Don't drool more than your tea!" Blindhead pointed at the coffin, his voice like thunder, "I want to check the dead people inside."
When Zhang Shaofei's uncle saw the visitor, he frowned and raised his eyes. His voice was as loud as thunder, and the knife in his hand flashed coldly. He said helplessly: "Master, if you insist on checking, I'll do whatever you want." He waved his hand and told Han Zuo to put the coffin down. He came down and opened the coffin cover.
This coffin is very simple, made of a few bed boards temporarily nailed together. The coffin contained several arranged large stones and was covered with a piece of white cloth.
The blind man stepped forward, pinched his nose with his hands, and looked down a few steps away from the coffin. He looked like he had straightened up his appearance, just to show Wei Jue and other warriors who were ambushing in the dark.
After a while, he frowned and deliberately shouted loudly: "Ouch!" Then he turned around, limped away, came to Sha Danju and Wei Jue, spitted on the ground repeatedly, and shouted: "The old woman's death appearance is too ugly, too ugly...Brother Sha, you'd better go up and take another look."
"What's so interesting about a dead ghost with typhoid fever? I'd better save my life and return to the court." Of course, Sha Danju cooperated with the acting. After waving his hand, he turned to Wei Jue and said, "Brother Wei Jue, I'm most afraid of you. That blind fool didn't check carefully enough, so I'd better trouble you to go up and check again."
"No, no, no need. Hearing is deceptive, seeing is believing. Just now you and I both saw Blind-headed Han go up and open the coffin to verify it. Everyone in our team believes that Blind-headed Han is the most honest person. As soon as Wei Jue heard that he was going to push him to the coffin over there for review, he waved his hands and retorted. Finally, he scowled and complained, "Brother Sha, you don't tell me about good things on weekdays." , but today you are bothering me with this typhoid virus that kills people."
After the blind man left, Yizuo closed the lid of the coffin again and lifted the coffin. The eight-note mournful music of the suona sounded again, and the funeral procession continued to move forward towards Mount Tai. The mournful music of the suona gradually disappeared in the depths of Mount Tai.
Although this blind fool was usually stupid, he performed so well in this double act. Sha Danju was overjoyed. He raised his head and asked Wei Jue: "I don't think that Zhang Shaofei has sneaked back to Tai Town, Qiu County." , otherwise his mother will definitely show up after she dies. If we continue to wait here like fools, wouldn't it be a waste of people and money? Why don't we set off tomorrow and return to the Chang'an court."
Wei Jue didn't know what the plan was and nodded in agreement: "Brother Sha, what you said makes sense. When we go back this time, we can confidently present our mission to Prime Minister Guan."
Sha Danju moved his hand back and loudly said: "Call the team!"
These warriors from Chang'an came to station near Mount Tai. They couldn't get used to the food here, and they couldn't stand the hot and humid weather here. They couldn't adapt to the climate. Some people had diarrhea and lost their appetite; some people had scabies on their skin. The itching is unstoppable. The local people knew that they were here to hunt down Zhang Shaofei from Taizhen Village, and they treated them with indifference, and many of them looked at them with blank eyes. These warriors went up mountains and down rivers, coming in the wind and going in the rain. They searched day and night. They lost a lot of hair on their feet and broke their bones. However, Zhang Shaofei was as missing as a yellow crane. As time went by, everyone Already disheartened and losing morale, he had long wanted to end this pursuit and return to Chang'an. At this time, they heard captain Sha Danju announcing that they could return home tomorrow, so everyone jumped for joy, wishing they could grow wings and fly back to Chang'an City.
This group of warriors had been stationed near Mount Tai for such a long time, and now they had no choice but to "go home" empty-handed.
