The government offices were all equipped with good horses, especially good at running fast for short distances. Wu Da picked a few horses for everyone and rushed to Hongxiangfang.
Lin Sui'an couldn't use his hands and feet, so he could only ride a horse with Hua Yitang. Lin Sui'an was in front, and Hua Yitang was behind to control the reins. The journey was filled with fragrance for thousands of miles, and he gained countless attentions, which made Lin Sui'an sneeze constantly. . .
Hua Yitang obviously enjoyed this feeling. He straightened his waist and waved the riding crop with style. Ling Zhiyan and Jin Ruo were far away from each other, so he obviously didn't want to lose this person.
When we arrived at Hongxiangfang, it was already past midnight. The door of Duan Jiu's house was closed and construction had not started yet. Wu Da opened the door with a few bangs. This time, it was not Pixi who opened the door, but another little boy he had never seen before. Si.
The boy couldn't help but be confused when he saw the formation outside the door, "Captain Wu, has something happened?"
Wu Da pushed aside the boy and rushed in, "Take me to see Duan Hongning quickly."
"Wait a minute, Mr. Wu, my Jiuniang is not here." The boy said hurriedly.
Wu Da was startled, "Where can she go at this hour?"
The boy shook his head, "I went out before midnight today. I was in a hurry, as if there was something urgent."
"Did she go out alone?"
"Pixi drove it."
Everyone looked at each other and felt bad.
Ling Zhiyan: "Could it be that he absconded out of fear of crime?"
"If I escape, I can always catch him, but I'm afraid-" Jin Ruo glanced at Hua Yitang meaningfully, thinking that if nothing happens, another accident might happen.
Lin Sui'an frowned and hit Hua Yitang twice with his elbow. Hua Yitang tightened his fingers on the reins and looked at the sky, "Jin Ruo, tell Jingmen to find him quickly."
"Sure enough, you can't do it without me." Jin Ruo took out a red firecracker from his arms and "swooshed" the light red smoke flew into the sky. Within a moment, five people came out of several small alleys. He ran to Jin Ruoma and saluted, "What are your orders, Master?"
Jin Ruo's eyebrows were straight, "Duan Jiu's family, Duan Hongning, check the direction, there are red, yellow and blue letters!"
The five people agreed in unison and ran out in five directions.
Lin Sui'an: "How sure are you?"
Jin Ruo raised his eyebrows and smiled, "You can't find anyone without me at Jingmen!"
Sure enough, after waiting for less than half a cup of tea, he saw a line of blue smoke rising from the alley two streets away. Jin Ruolao turned the horse's head and shouted, "Five Rose Lane, Hongxiangfang, follow me." !”
Everyone was stunned: So close?
But soon everyone realized that it was too early to speak. Just as they entered Wuqiang Lane, another blue smoke flew from the northeast. Jin Ruo shouted "Dongshi Guixiang Street" and rode out in pursuit.
Everyone was confused and could only follow behind Jin Ruo, seeing one after another blue smoke signals flying into the sky. Jin Ruo could accurately judge the location and name of the street and alley just by the direction of the smoke, and led everyone to chase the blue smoke. Passing through most of Northeastern urban areas:
"Sanfang Liuye Street, East District 1!"
"Mohua Lane, East Fourth Square!"
"Huancui Lane, Cihangfang, East Second District!"
"Three Lanes, Chongming Sixth Street, North Fourth District!"
"Yangguan Lane, Sanfang, North Second District!"
Lin Sui'an quickly understood that the smoke indicated the route of Duan Hongning's carriage. The location where the smoke was emitted was naturally where the disciples of the Jing Sect were looking. Such precise positioning and efficiency were equivalent to the modern Sky Eye system, and it was worthy of the future. The number one sect in the world is indeed terrifying.
The smoke messages were sent out faster and faster, and everyone was chasing closer and closer. Suddenly, the latest smoke message turned yellow, and Jin Ruo's expression changed slightly, "We are leaving the city!"
There were three more streaks of yellow smoke, one at Jinli Chang Street, one outside Beishifangmen, and one at Changxuanmen (the north gate of Yidu City).
The crowd chased out of Changxuanmen, crossed the Qingyuan Bridge, and stopped at the bank of the Qingyuan River. Jin Ruo frowned and rode around twice, "It will be difficult to chase after leaving the city."
Before he finished speaking, another plume of smoke shot up from the northeast. This time it was red and had a clear whistle. Everyone's eyes lit up and they galloped after it. It was an open field, and the person who sent the letter was a salesman. When he saw Jin Ruo, he hurriedly went forward to report, "I would like to report to the sect master, I saw the Duan Jiu family's carriage passing by here an hour ago. Subordinate He should be the last person to see the carriage.”
As soon as these words came out, everyone's heart sank.
Yidu is surrounded by mostly mountainous areas. Outside the city, there are countless mountain roads crisscrossing the area. If Duan Hongning's carriage escapes into the mountains and forests, it may never be found again.
"That's not right!" Ling Zhiyan said, "The places I passed by in Yidu just now were near the places where the Peach Blossom Killer dumped his body."
Everyone changed their colors in shock: "What?!"
Ling Zhiyan: "The sewage channel in Huancui Lane, Cihangfang, East District 1 was where the first victim was found. The fifth victim was found in the back alley of Chongming Sixth Street, Sanfang, North District 1. Yangguan, Sanfang, North District 1 An abandoned warehouse in the lane is the sixth one, Liuye Street in Sanfang, East District 1 is the fourth, Mohua Lane, East Fourth Street is the tenth, and Beishifangmenwai is the thirteenth."
Jin Ruo gasped, "Hey, hey, what a coincidence, isn't it?"
Lin Sui'an thought of a possibility and sweat dropped: What a guy! No way!
Hua Yitang: "Are any of the Peach Blossom Demon's cases outside the city?"
"Yes! Seven miles away from Qingyuan Bridge, the third victim was found in an abandoned farm. She was a farmer's widow." Ling Zhiyan said.
The Jingmen disciples were startled and said hurriedly, "Master, I know that Zhuangzi, I will lead the way!"
Jin Ruo picked up the Jingmen disciples and rode a horse together, and rushed out like a whirlwind. The farm was not far away. The horse galloped and he saw it in less than a stick of incense. The walls were broken, weeds were everywhere, and dead The old locust tree was crowded with black crows, squawking like they were crying in mourning.
A dilapidated door panel hung on the door frame, and a carriage was parked in front of the door. Lin Sui'an recognized it at a glance. It was the same carriage that Pixi had taken her and Hua Yitang to Daci Temple.
Everyone's hearts were in their throats. They turned over and dismounted. They walked softly and did not dare to make a sound. Ling Zhiyan motioned for everyone to follow him. He slid along the wall and walked into the courtyard gate. He walked around two dilapidated wings and entered the corner door. backyard.
There was only a dark ancestral hall in the backyard. The door panel was still intact and the window lattice was covered with white spider webs.
Hua Yitang's face was pale and he was trembling as he protected Lin Sui'an behind him. Lin Sui'an was a little helpless. He was afraid that this would happen, so he shouldn't act like a hero by pretending to be a fat man.
Jin Ruo hunched over and stepped forward. Jin Ruo peeked through the window lattice, his shoulders suddenly trembled, and he raised his foot to kick the door panel.
Everyone rushed in and were shocked.
A tattered curtain hangs in front of the tribute table in the ancestral hall. The color can no longer be seen, and it looks like a pile of rags hung up. There was a half-cut Buddha statue on the tribute table. Duan Hongning sat upright in front of the tribute table, her neck tilted to an incredible and weird angle, her eyes popped out, and her skirt was torn, revealing a white thigh, with a black and red at the base of the leg. The peach blossoms are burning, and there is a burnt and fishy smell in the air.
To the left of Duan Hongning, there is a wind stove for making tea, and the charcoal fire in the stove has not been extinguished.
Hua Yitang: "He's not far away yet, hurry up and chase him——"
Hua Yitang didn't say the last half of his sentence. Lin Sui'an grabbed his collar and threw him behind him. With a flick of his wrist, Qian Jing drew half of his blade and stared at the tattered curtain on the left.
There was a sound behind the curtain, click, click, click, like some instrument knocking on wood, getting closer and closer. A man walked around the curtain with his head lowered, and walked out slowly. He held a long wooden box in his left hand and pinched it in his right hand. An iron hairpin with a dark pattern that could be recognized as a five-petal peach blossom. The man tapped the charcoal ash on the hairpin on the wooden box. He shook his head while banging, "Oh, it's too dark. It doesn’t look good——”
It's Pixie!
Ling Zhiyan was so angry that she stepped forward and put the horizontal knife against Pixi's neck. Pixi stopped, raised her eyelids and looked at everyone casually, "Are you guys here to see Madam Duan again today? What a coincidence, Madam Duan. He died just now, so I can’t chat with you anymore.”
Lin Suian was trembling, his teeth were bleeding from biting his teeth, "Did you kill Duan Hongning?!"
Pixi: "Otherwise, who else could it be?"
Ling Zhiyan: "Are you a peach blossom murderer?!"
Pixi smiled even bigger, "Otherwise, who else could it be?"
"I'll kill you!" Jin Ruo pulled out Ruo Jing and stabbed Pixi in the heart. As he said this, Lin Sui'an flashed and grabbed Jin Ruo's hand. Almost at the same time, he spent a moment. Tang shouted, "Jin Ruobu!"
Jin Ruo's eyes were red, "Master! This kind of thing that is inferior to a beast should be cut into pieces by a thousand swords!"
Lin Sui'an clenched his trembling fingers, slowly pressed down Jin Ruo's arm, and shook his head.
Pixi's smile froze on his face, "Why don't you kill me?!"
Hua Yitang rolled up his sleeves and stepped forward, stared at Pixi's face and sneered, "Want to die happily? It's not that easy!"
Pixi stared at Ling Zhiyan, "Aren't you always looking for the real Peach Blossom Demon? I am the real Peach Blossom Demon! Kill me quickly!"
Ling Zhi's face was livid, but the hand holding the knife was as steady as a mountain, "You are not a peach blossom murderer."
"I am the Peach Blossom Demon!" Pixi yelled, "I have killed eighteen people! I have Peach Blossom Brand! I know all the places where the Peach Blossom Demon kills people! I am the Peach Blossom Demon who is famous in the Tang Dynasty!"
Hua Yitang: "Shut him up!"
Wu Da tied up Pi Xi in three strokes and gagged his mouth.
Jin Ruo felt something was wrong, "Master, what on earth is this-"
Lin Sui'an said nothing, enduring the pain in his muscles and bones, walked to Duan Hongning's side, slowly squatted down, and looked into Duan Hongning's eyes.
"Lin Sui'an!! You -" Hua Yitang was shocked and ran over. His figure and voice disappeared like a wisp of smoke.
Lin Sui'an fell into darkness again, but this time, the surroundings were not completely silent. There was also a sound. It was the cry of a woman - no, it should be a girl.
She should be huddled in a very small place, with the smell of earth and feces. There were two people on the left and right sides crying, and she was crying too. There was a dark shadow in front of her, not crying, it seemed. She was digging something, her voice was hoarse, and she could tell that she was a young girl, "Come on... hurry up... hurry up -"
Suddenly, a faint light seeped into the darkness, and all the crying stopped.
She and the other two people also rushed forward, digging desperately together. The soil in front became looser and looser, the light became clearer and clearer, the darkness cracked, and fresh and moist air rushed in. They scrambled to climb out, exhausted. Exhausted, he lay on the ground.
The tall dead branches pointed toward the sky like pale swords, and the bright moon hung in the sky. She raised her arms tremblingly and saw that her young fingers were bloody and bloody.
Someone was crying and someone was laughing around her. A sharp sound ripped through the cruel moonlight. She turned her head and saw three little girls lying next to her. They were half-clothed and had bruises on their skin. One was a blond and blue-eyed barbarian girl. One had a round face and looked to be only five or six years old. Her fingernails were all worn off, and she was the only one smiling. There was also a girl whose half face was covered with deep whip marks and was already rotten.
The strong fragrance of flowers wafted in the wind, and a crabapple tree was in full bloom under the moonlight, as red as blood. :,w,
