(4)
"Do you hear me clearly? You two." Zhao Kuo stood at the gate of Shi Mansion and warned the girl in front of him.
Zhao Xiaomei said dissatisfied: "Do you want to stay in the small room of the Chamber of Commerce all day?"
"That's so boring!" Ajuan said calmly.
"Brother Bai and I will attend the ritual ceremony in the evening. Women themselves have strong yin energy. Could it be that you want to be possessed by a 'ghost' like Shi Hongtu?"
The younger sister and Ajuan both put on disgusted expressions and hurriedly shook their heads in denial.
"At that time, please ask Miss Murong to keep an eye on these two 'naughty guys' for me." Zhao Kuo looked at Murong Yan and said, "We can only let them walk around the Chamber of Commerce. Don't let them run around!"
Murong Yan held Ajuan with her left hand and her little sister with her right hand. She smiled and said, "Well, I understand!"
In this way, the boys and girls temporarily parted ways in front of the Shi family. Zhao Kuo and Bai Feng planned to wander around the town, looking for other safe ways to get to Jiangzhou, as well as clues about the strange things happening in the Shi family. At noon, both of them were hungry for a long time, so they went to a noodle stall on the street and ordered two bowls of beef noodles, chatting while eating.
Bai Feng picked up a piece of brightly colored beef and slowly put it into his mouth. After chewing it two or three times, he swallowed it with satisfaction and said, "Brother Zhao, do you really think there are ghosts making trouble?"
"What, could it be... isn't it?" Zhao Kuo held up his bowl and chopsticks, ate the noodles and said, "This is the first time I have seen Shi Hongtu's 'strange disease'. Looking back now, it still makes people sad. My hair is trembling, it's so weird!" After saying that, Zhao Kuo hurriedly took a sip of hot soup to warm up his body and mind.
"Ha, I think Master Shi Er may not die at the hands of ghosts and gods." Bai Feng pursed his lips and sneered.
"Oh! How do you say this?"
"The body of Master Shi Er has no external injuries, but his face is livid and his lips are a dull purple. It looks more like he was poisoned to death."
Zhao Kuo retorted: "Brother Bai, there is no basis for what you say!"
"After we finish eating, let's go to the Yamen and find out what's going on!" Bai Feng replied.
"But Brother Bai, is it appropriate for us to meddle in other people's affairs like this?"
"Although this is a Jianghu matter, if we find out the culprit of this strange incident, the Shi family will have no reason to block the dock, and the boatmen will not leave business alone..."
After the two had eaten, they headed to the Yamen. Passing by the ornately decorated Shijia Gate and then entering the county government office in Wandeng Town, one feels a huge psychological gap. "The room is full of octopuses, and the path is full of basil." These eight characters can sum up the scene in the yamen. The plaque with the four words "Justice and Integrity" written on the top was covered with dust. On the wicker chair below, there was a government servant taking a nap. Looking around, he seemed to be the only public official on duty.
Zhao Kuo stepped forward and asked: "Excuse me, brother, official officer, can you inform us..."
Holding a ring-shaped knife with a rusty sheath in his arms, the government servant who had been sleeping soundly just now was awakened. He yawned peacefully at first, and then asked: "Who are you and what are you doing?"
Zhao Kuo looked at Bai Feng for a moment, indicating that he didn't know how to answer.
"Uh..." Bai Feng hesitated and said, "We are from the Shi Mansion, and we are here to examine the body of Master Shi Er."
The official agreed and walked slowly to the back hall. After half a stick of incense, a "parent officer" who was still sorting out his official uniform was invited. He was chubby, his face was shiny, and he sat in the courtroom very uncomfortable. It seemed that he was also very dissatisfied with the environment in the yamen, so his tone became more harsh, and he said to Bai Feng and the other two: "I said you people from the Shi family, can you take that body away quickly? How unlucky it is to leave it in my yamen all day long. !”
Zhao Kuo laughed and said: "It seems that your official position is really leisurely!"
"Oh, that's not true!" The parent officer paused for a moment and roared: "How brave! How dare you despise me!"
Bai Feng continued: "We will pick up the body in the future. If you don't want us to identify the authenticity of the body, then we have to let it stay for a while!" As soon as he finished speaking, Bai Feng made a move to leave. .
The parents shook their heads and waved their hands, and hurriedly asked the yamen servant to take the two men to the place where the body was. Bai Feng took the silver needle to explore his throat and belly, and found that all the silver needles turned a dull dark color, which further confirmed his inference. The two of them immediately left the Yamen, and when passing by Shifu, they happened to meet Nie Yun who was going to the dock to prepare for the ritual, so they went on the road together. On the way, the two of them also had a conversation with Nie Yun about the matters in the yamen just now.
"There are not many good officials like Taishou Xu of Yangcheng who are willing to do practical things for the people in this world. It is really unfortunate for the people of the world that a dull man like Shicai can get an official position!" Zhao Kuo said truthfully.
Nie Yun said with a smile: "The 'parents' of Wandeng Town are after Zhongliang, and they have great wealth and well-connected connections. What's wrong with being a 'nine-grade Zhongzheng'?"
"It seems that if Wan Deng leaves your adoptive father, the lives of the people will not be peaceful." Bai Feng said.
"Because of this, my adoptive father's body was getting worse day by day due to overwork. It was not until Mrs. Xun's arrival that the situation improved..."
The three of them walked to the pier and saw an old man with long eyebrows in a yellow robe and white lining who had set up the altar and was sitting cross-legged on the cushion, waiting for the time to come. When passersby saw this, they all took a detour, but the "Xunxiang Pavilion" not far away still had an endless stream of customers. Before the ceremony began, Bai Feng also told Yu Nie Yun his inner doubts.
"Brother Nie, do you really think this is a 'ghost' causing trouble?"
"Actually..." Nie Yun said suspiciously: "I think this series of strange things are all related to one person..."
"who?"
"The adopted father's biological son, Shi Renjie."
Zhao Kuo on the side said puzzledly: "So your adopted father has a son! Then why do you want to adopt an adopted son?"
"My parents saved my adoptive father's life. So being able to support my benefactor's children is a great repayment for my adoptive father."
"Then, why didn't anyone mention Shi Renjie in the house, or even see him?" Bai Feng asked.
"Half a year ago, it was still a cold winter and snowy time. My adoptive brother was found to have committed adultery with Mrs. I told these two friends who had only known each other for two or three days.
Zhao Kuo and Bai Feng were both shocked. They looked at each other, not knowing what to do. A few quarters of an hour later, the old Taoist in front of the altar opened his eyes and began to dance with the peach wood sword in his hand. He muttered words and kept throwing the talismans into the air. Then he grabbed one of the talismans and attached it to the sword. Put it close to your nose and mouth, put the index finger and middle finger of the other hand together, and raise the little finger to form a Taoist seal, and keep chanting scriptures in your mouth. After a while, the talisman actually started to burn on its own, but the flames could not burn the peach wood sword. The talisman on the sword burned into ashes and drifted away in the wind. After the old Taoist put the peach wood sword back on the altar, patted the dust on his body, walked up to Nie Yun and said: "I have finished the ritual and done my duty." point."
Nie Yun bowed in greeting, gave Lao Tao a large bag of silver and welcomed him to leave.
After the old Taoist left, Zhao Kuo said to Nie Yun: "Brother Nie, there is no need to give so much silver to that Taoist priest!"
"Well, who cares about spending money for peace of mind..." Nie Yun replied.
Seeing that Nie Yun's mood had reached rock bottom, Bai Feng comforted him: "Since Brother Nie trusts us so much, please leave the task of finding out the truth to us!"
"Brother Bai, are you really willing to help our Shi family get out of this predicament?"
"Brother Nie, being chivalrous and righteous, eliminating violence and keeping peace is what a man does." Zhao Kuo smiled and said: "Don't worry, leave it to us! Just do your duty, take good care of your adoptive father, and take care of the Shi family. Affairs.”
"That's very good! If you two have any questions, you can come to my house to find me at any time!" Nie Yun almost burst into tears. Maybe he didn't want to accept that his sworn brother was behind all this; or maybe it was him. It's really a lot of pressure.
When the ritual was over, it was time for darkness to fall. The pier should have been sparsely populated due to the strange news about 'ghosts', but it was now more lively than during the day. People's footsteps are surprisingly similar, and they all go to "Xunxiang Pavilion". Since there are so many people here at night, someone must have noticed what happened the night Master Shi Er was killed. Bai Feng and Zhao Kuo immediately decided to launch an investigation because they believed that there would be another victim in the future, and they must be people related to the Shi family.
