Ajie did not return to Chang'an immediately.
That day, he lay on the grass in the inner courtyard of Beitian Almshouse for a long time in the sun and sang the nursery rhyme "Osmanthus Blossom Girl" for a long time.
Then he stayed in the Beitian Alms House for two days, living with other disabled, old and young people in the Alms Home.
Ajie's wound was better and was bandaged by the monks who were in charge of him when he was found. They all thought that he was a poor person who came to the temple to seek shelter, just like other patients in Beitian Alms Home.
Ajie didn't explain.
Like other disabled people in the hospital who were originally going to live on the streets, he had two meals a day. In the morning, he washed and dried quilts and cleaned the hospital to the best of his ability, and in the afternoon he soaked up the sun.
The pace of life in the almshouse is very slow.
He even forgot that he was a swordsman.
On a sunny day, Ajie silently went down the mountain again, and at the outermost edge of the crowd on Luming Street, she witnessed the county-wide public trial held by the young county magistrate.
Ajie saw the impassioned words of the young magistrate who had saved his life.
I also saw the scene where Liu Ziwen cunningly poisoned and silenced him in court.
I also saw a crowd of civilians rushing out of the felt hat man and almost stabbing Liu Ziwen to death.
Ajie saw all this.
In the next few days, he cleaned the Beitian Nursing Home in the morning, knitted a kite for his childhood sweethearts who were disabled and deaf-mute, and came back on time in the evening.
During the rest of the day, Ajie walked around the streets and alleys of this small town on Jiangnan Road.
He also silently witnessed the process of the Longcheng County government and the people working together to dismantle the Liu family's power and property bit by bit after the public trial was successful and the Liu family was sanctioned.
The entire county, the streets, teahouses, restaurants, and people in the market, are all filled with some kind of joy.
Ajie even heard no less than three nursery rhymes celebrating the Liu family's misfortune, sung among the children in the city's streets and disaster relief camps outside the city.
He later heard someone say that Liu Ziwen was still alive and barely survived the assassination in the street.
Ajie was silent for two days, then gave the knitted butterfly kite to the disabled childhood sweethearts and left the Beitian Nursing Home without saying goodbye.
In fact, there were not many people who needed to say goodbye, because few people knew him. There were many disabled people like him in Beitian Alms Home.
Before leaving, Ajie quietly gave two bottles of wine to the steward named Xiu Du - he had passed several bottles of wine to drink alone under the moonlight.
Ajie chose a moonlit night to leave Donglin Temple and go home.
After coming down from the mountain, he took a trip to the city, asked Liu Ziwen for something, and then gave him something back.
The evening wind howled outside.
It was dark inside.
After a sudden burst of snow-white moonlight, there was no sound of breathing in the room.
It was quiet for a while.
Ajie lifted a dead head with two fingers, walked to the table, and placed it on the table.
His figure hesitated.
Silently he unhooked the sword from his waist.
Ajie went out and easily bypassed the guards guarding the yard.
He jumped onto a roof and ran towards the direction of the turbulent river in the distance.
The one-armed swordsman from Chang'an is missing a moon goddess from his waist and has a bright moon on his head.
…
When he learned of Liu Ziwen's death, Ouyang Rong was near a water monument in the upper reaches of Butterfly Creek, observing the pessimistic rising water trend in Yunmengze.
"What? Beheaded?"
Ouyang Rong was stunned, put down his rolled-up sleeves, and hurriedly returned to the county town by boat with Xie Lingjiang.
Together with his junior sister, he stood in the room of the official residence that he had visited once yesterday.
Doors and windows are open.
Yan Liulang was leading the detectives to check for clues in the house.
"What is this? Why is there an extra sword?"
Ouyang Rong raised his sleeves, covered his mouth and nose, then stretched out his hand to point to a long sword lying quietly next to the rotten head on the table, and asked curiously.
"Chuan Ming Mansion, when the clerk who delivered the meal in the morning came in and found the person dead, the scene was like this. No one moved." A police officer said with his hands.
Ouyang Rong nodded and looked at the two objects on the table curiously.
Xie Lingjiang walked forward without covering his nose. He bent slightly and looked at the head. The familiar face of Liu Ziwen had a look of shock, as if he was frozen in death. the moment before.
Xie Lingjiang turned around and looked at the headless body on the bed, and said directly:
"Elder brother, the perpetrator is left-handed. If the murder weapon is this long sword, it can cleanly cut off other people's heads in such a narrow space as the bed. This is not something that ordinary martial arts practitioners can do. Visual inspection has Spiritual energy cultivation level, at least eighth level."
She reached out and grabbed the long sword again, and with a clang, the sword was unsheathed.
The room seemed to be a third brighter.
"Huh."
Xie Lingjiang couldn't help but look at it twice. He held the sword horizontally and put it outside the door in the sunlight to look at it. He whispered:
"The color is like moonlight, the color is like dew...the stars are flowing, and the beauty is full of beauty."
"Good sword."
She raised her head and said:
"Not to mention the Jianghu in Tiannan, even in the ten rivers and lakes in the north and south, this is a sword that even top-grade sword cultivators covet. It is of extremely high quality."
Xie Lingjiang was amazed, and turned back to Ouyang Rong with a puzzled look on his face:
"I wouldn't be too surprised if it appeared in Yunmeng Jianze next door, but now it appears at the murder scene, still next to Liu Ziwen's head. What did the perpetrator want to do? What is his purpose?"
Ouyang Rong raised his eyebrows when he heard this.
Now that the Liu family was being tried in public and notorious, he and the Longcheng County government had worked together to dismember her.
As the saying goes, when a wall falls, everyone will push it, and enemies from all walks of life come to seek revenge. Ouyang Rong was not surprised, but he felt a little helpless.
After all, although he only planned to pass through this world in a hurry without going too deep, the extraordinary power of the Qi Practitioner still left him speechless.
Xia used force to disrupt the ban, right? But why did the chaos reach the small county of Longcheng County?
Moreover, what the hell is this situation like exploding gold coins and exploding top-quality equipment.
Ouyang Rong suddenly stretched out his hand and Xie Ling Jiang obediently sheathed the sword and handed it to his senior brother.
Ouyang Rong did not draw his sword, but looked at the scabbard and hilt, and suddenly seemed to see a certain engraving somewhere on the scabbard.
It vaguely seems to be the character "Wu".
"uh-huh."
He snorted softly, turned around and waved, summoning his men on the side.
Nowadays, almost all swords produced by well-known sword shops or sword furnaces have special engravings, which can be regarded as a kind of craftsman inheritance or a mark of anti-counterfeiting.
Ouyang Rong asked the county government to invite an experienced and discerning old craftsman to inspect this strangely exposed sword.
The old craftsman raised his hands and said respectfully:
"Sir, look at the carvings on the scabbard. This sword should have come from the ancient Yue sword shop. However, this kind of carvings is very old and has long been eliminated by the sword furnace craftsmen on the west coast of Butterfly.
"Since the Liu family rebuilt the sword shop in Longcheng, the newly cast swords have been newly chiselled. However, this sword looks brand new and is in good condition. And look at the sword tassel, it is a sword from the ancient Yue sword shop. Sui Gongfang...
"This is a new sword. I don't know which furnace it came from in the ancient Yue sword shop."
After the old craftsman reported the matter, he was taken down.
Ouyang Rong lowered his eyes to look at the sword, then turned to look at Xie Lingjiang.
It’s Guyue Sword Shop again.
Ouyang Rong looked out the window in silence, toward the west bank of Butterfly Creek.
This time, taking advantage of the public trial, the Liu family was dismembered. Although from the perspective of the people of Longcheng County, the Liu family was no different from the broken family.
The Longcheng Liu family's properties and fertile land in the county, except for Guyue Sword Shop, were all handed over, and they will no longer cause blood-sucking to Longcheng County.
But the Guyue Sword Shop that was left alone was still in the hands of the two brothers Liu Zian and Liu Zilin.
Previously, Ouyang Rong only said that he was not in a hurry and felt that there was not much threat.
But now it seems...
Ouyang Rong suddenly turned his head and said:
"Nowhere in Longcheng County is outside the law."
Xie Lingjiang glanced at his senior brother.
…
Liu Ziwen's head and body were returned to the Liu family.
If Liu Ziwen is still alive, or if there is knowledge under Quanxia, he will definitely think of what he said in Yuanmingliu, "The dead are the most important."
As the Ghost Festival was approaching, the Liu family had prepared some funeral items for ancestor worship, but they never expected that they would be used by Liu Ziwen.
However, Liu Ziwen's case did not end so easily.
The county government still has not closed the case of transporting the demon oil gate and ribbon-cutting gift and pretending to be the county magistrate to assassinate the supervisory envoy.
In the end, these two major cases were committed by the Liu family and the craftsmen of the sword shop, who were sent by the female fairy Jade.
It was Liu Ziwen and other Liu family members who conspired, and the Jade Lady Fairy was just following orders.
The two are worlds apart.
If it's the latter, even if Liu Ziwen is still defeated by the unknown Qi practitioner, the Liu family will still be implicated. This is not just a matter of surrendering and distributing all the family wealth to eliminate the disaster. Even if there is a guarantee from the Jiangzhou governor, there is still no guarantee. .
It's just that the Jade Fairy is currently in a coma.
Lack of key evidence,
She should be the one who knows the most about the Liu family's crimes.
In fact, this interrupted case was quite troublesome to solve, and Ouyang Rong had already prepared for the worst.
Although it seems that the dismembered Liu family no longer poses much of a threat to Longcheng County.
When the rainy season ends completely and the Digong Gate and Zheyi Canal have withstood the rising water, there will be no need to worry about flood control in Longcheng County in the past two years.
In this way, what Ouyang Rong had to do when he came down the mountain to Dragon City was almost completed. He could set his sights on the Pure Land Palace and consider returning home...
However, in the past two days, Ouyang Rong discovered that he didn't know whether the Jade Fairy and the Liu family had severely offended their junior sister.
The junior sister was very stubborn and serious about this case. She ran to the officials' offices all day long, looking for a way to revive the Jade Princess Fairy. She wanted to pry open the Jade Lady Fairy's mouth and solve the case of Duke Di's blowing up the gate and the ribbon-cutting ceremony assassination case. .
Although the real answer is vaguely clear to everyone.
In this regard, Ouyang Rong, who has redirected his efforts to water control, will certainly not stop him. He is quite encouraging...
This day.
Night falls.
The Liu family mansion.
In a mourning hall with fluttering white silk and swaying white candles, there was a lot of crying.
Mrs. Xu and other members of the Liu family wore mourning clothes and cried in the mourning hall.
But right now, the Liu family is in the limelight, and everyone in the county is shouting for help, and everyone is jumping out to grab a piece of meat.
The mourning hall was open from dusk to late at night, and few people came to offer incense and pay their respects.
Even the brothers of the Liu clan who were dividing their families in other houses were nowhere to be seen.
In the mourning hall, beside the coffin stood the few figures of Liu Zi'an, Liu Zilin, Xu, and old servant Liu Fu.
The cries of women and children made the mourning hall seem increasingly empty.
"Sister-in-law, my condolences."
Liu Zian looked sad and advised softly.
"Sister-in-law, listen to my second brother and go back to rest first."
Liu Zilin, who looked haggard, also moved forward on his knees and offered words of advice.
Mrs. Xu's eyes were red from crying and she shook her head sadly.
Everyone fell to the ground and cried for a while.
Liu Zi'an knelt down and stood up, his face became firmer, he took the initiative to comfort everyone, and then led Liu Zilin and others to accompany Xu's wake.
By late night, everyone was ready to retreat temporarily.
"Second brother, please go back and have a rest. Don't be too sad and wear yourself down. Come back later in the night."
Liu Zilin looked ahead and couldn't help but said:
"Now that eldest brother is gone, you are the backbone of the family. You must not let anything go wrong, otherwise who will avenge eldest brother..."
Liu Zian shook his head stubbornly, turned his back to Liu Zilin, and stared at Liu Ziwen's coffin in front of him.
"You guys go and rest first. I'll spend more time with you, big brother."
He took a deep breath.
Seeing that their persuasion was fruitless, Liu Zilin and the other servants withdrew one after another after a while.
That night, only Liu Zian, Xu and others were left to keep vigil with all their strength. When dawn came, Xu was too tired, so she was taken to the back hall to rest by her servants, leaving Liu Zian alone.
Outside the mourning hall, after a night's rest, Liu Zilin and others who came in the morning saw Liu Zian's tall and silent figure in front of the coffin in the mourning hall, and they all looked at each other.
The doubts in many people's eyes disappeared, and they all showed some admiration and moved expressions.
In the past few days, the Liu family, which had been in panic because of Liu Ziwen's words before his death, unconsciously felt a little calmer.
Even if someone took over the mourning hall in the morning, Liu Zian remained silent, not eating a grain of rice all night and day, and continued to keep vigil with Xu, Liu Zilin and others who came back one after another.
The figure knelt at the front of the coffin, still as before in the wind and rain.
As the evening approached and the wake in the mourning hall ended, Liu Zian stood up silently and sent away the scattered guests who were paying their respects with a tired look on his face.
He rubbed his cheeks and sent his third brother Liu Zilin and his eldest sister-in-law Xu away with a somewhat frivolous pace. When he said goodbye, he gave some advice with tears and choked up sobs.
If it weren't for his shaky figure and being dissuaded by Liu Zilin and Xu, he would have continued to dutifully send them back to the courtyard.
The mourning hall dispersed and everyone returned to the hospital
Liu Zian sighed softly, rubbed his tired face, turned around and dismissed the servants.
He turned around and returned to his yard along the familiar winding corridor.
The courtyard is simple and even seems a bit empty.
Because the owner of the yard has lived a simple life for many years.
Liu Zian silently opened the door.
The bed in the back room was folded squarely.
The items on the table and cabinets are neatly arranged.
All of them show the owner's self-discipline and cleanliness.
After Liu Zian entered the house, he closed the door and did not light the light.
He walked straight over and sat down silently at a round table.
Outside the window, the evening sun that filtered through slowly slanted and even disappeared.
Darkness began to take over the empty, silent room.
Liu Zian, dressed in pure white mourning clothes, sat quietly for a while, then stretched out his hand to reach for the teapot.
He paused while stretching his hand, his face full of ferociousness:
"Liu Ziwen, you are finally dead! What a good death, what a good death!"
Something happened today and I'm feeling a little down. This chapter is a bit rushed. Sorry guys.
(End of chapter)
