"You can't arrest me. I am a person with a good reputation. I..."
Xu Zhiwen looked at the iron chain on his body, and at the fierce-looking government officials on both sides, and felt his legs weaken for a while, but he still struggled to death and shouted:
"My father was killed. You didn't go find the murderer, but you arrested me. Are you going to surrender?"
"Hmph, Mr. Xu, you are really embarrassing you scholars by shouting here, and..."
Before Team Leader Li finished speaking, Team Leader Zhang, who was already a little impatient, walked over and kicked Xu Zhiwen directly in the leg without giving Xu Zhiwen any face.
Snapped!
Xu Zhiwen was a real scholar, so he kicked him down immediately, and his knees hit the ground hard with a muffled sound.
"Hey, ah - you, you yamen servants who do evil things. As a scholar with a good reputation, even if I go to court for interrogation, the county magistrate cannot beat or scold me at will. You..."
Captain Li shook his head helplessly. This guy was still stubborn and clamoring to do whatever he wanted them to do.
Team Leader Zhang sneered and clenched his fists, making a clicking sound. The government servants standing around also looked at Xu Zhiwen on the ground with dark faces.
You know, the county magistrate is not as good as taking charge now. These government officials who are responsible for arresting people have many ways to deal with prisoners who are unwilling to cooperate with the arrest.
"We didn't hit you, you just fell down because your feet were unstable."
Zhang Bantou grinned, and Xu Zhiwen was startled by that terrifying and ferocious look. The latter looked at the ferocious government officials around him and could only lower his head in resignation.
As the saying goes, evil people must be punished by evil people. These government officials have time to deal with those ruffians and so on. At that time, good words and persuasion are of no use. You can only make those rogues bow their heads by beating them up.
"Take that housekeeper back as well, and the rest of them are not allowed to leave the Xu family until the county magistrate has concluded the case."
After Xia Zhichan finished speaking, the government officials pressed the prisoners out of the gate, with Team Leader Zhang walking at the front to clear the way, and Team Leader Li walking at the back.
Approaching the door, Xia Zhichan turned around again.
The mourning hall not far away was empty, with only the black coffin that had just been closed by everyone still inside.
There was a white-haired old man at the door. The faint light passed through his body, leaving no shadow on the ground, and his figure was slightly illusory.
The old man bowed respectfully to Xia Zhichan who was leaving.
Then it disappeared.
"My lord? My lord, what are you looking at..."
Bantou Li followed Xia Zhichan's eyes and could only see the empty mourning hall and the dark coffin.
Suddenly I felt something shiver all over my body.
"Nothing, let's go."
Xia Zhichan put down his sleeves. He knew that they were the three souls and seven souls of the Xu family master who died unjustly. Because he had just died, the soul had not had time to disperse.
There are more than ten thousand households in Jiangcheng, and someone has died in every household. But what is very interesting is that among the many families who reported it, not all of them were like Zhang Yueban, who died without any injuries or illnesses after having three souls and seven souls taken away.
So far, he has found out that the deceased people in 27 households were killed, and most of the people who were killed were close people of the deceased.
"Sir, my brothers and I are really convinced by you. Just by looking at it, we can tell whether the person in the coffin was killed, and we can also directly catch the murderer..."
Bantou Li is more tactful than Bantou Zhang, so he often flatters Xia Zhichan unabashedly.
"Leader Li, let me ask you, do you know how many murders there are in Jiangcheng in a normal year?"
Xia Zhichan completely ignored Team Leader Li's flattery. After all, they could only determine whether it was homicide through an autopsy, and then find the murderer through various clues.
But Xia Zhichan was not like this. As soon as he entered the door, he could see the souls of the murdered people floating near the coffin. This was like seeing the answer first and then answering the question. It was completely cheating.
"Sir, if I remember correctly, there are only a dozen murders in Jiangcheng throughout the year, and in addition to murders caused by adultery, the most common ones are bandits who robbed roads and killed people."
Although Bantou Li is smooth, he is not useless. On the contrary, because of his strong ability to do things, he became the confidant of Jiangcheng County Magistrate, and the County Magistrate was willing to discuss many things with him.
"There are only a dozen cases a year, but we have found no less than twenty cases these days, and they are serious crimes against human ethics..."
The ancients respected their elders very much. Cases of killing one's elders like this are so-called serious crimes against human ethics. Not only must they be executed, but even the local county magistrate who has committed such a thing will be demoted.
So these days, Magistrate Jiangcheng's hair is almost falling out.
None of the more than twenty cases that Xia Zhichan sent him were easy to handle. As long as any one of them was reported truthfully, the county magistrate might lose his official position.
"Tell the county magistrate to hurry up and interrogate everyone, and bring the case file to me..."
Xia Zhichan knew that things were not that simple. Cases like this rarely happened. How could there be more than twenty cases happening in Jiangcheng at the same time, and they were all committed on the same day.
Now I have spent ten days investigating hundreds of households, and actually found out that the three souls and seven souls of more than 20 people were not taken away, but were simply murder cases.
One murder was accidental, but more than twenty happened at the same time...
There seems to be something very fishy in between.
"That's all for today, Team Leader Li. Please tell the county magistrate that as long as he can seize the time to interrogate the confession, I will go to Prince Le to speak for him and protect his official position."
Xia Zhichan pinched his eyebrows. Everything these days had no clue. He also felt deeply helpless and had a headache.
"Yes, I will definitely tell you. I will resign first."
After listening to Xia Zhichan's words, Bantou Li's eyes lit up. He didn't know the other party's identity, but he just heard from the county magistrate that Mr. Xia was arranged by Prince Le and could not be ignored. Originally I thought he was one of Prince Le's subordinates, but from the tone of his voice today, it was clear that he and Prince Le were equal friends.
I feel a lot more at peace in my heart. Magistrate Jiangcheng is a good person and gets along well with Bantou Li and the others. If he loses his official position because of the evil spirit, Bantou Li will feel unworthy for his own sake.
…
Xia Zhichan returned to the inn. He declined Prince Le's invitation and still lived in the bamboo forest courtyard of Jiangcheng inn.
"Hey hey hey hey..."
Zhang Yueban still looked like a dazed man. He didn't know anyone at all. He only kept giggling. Even when he ate, he had to be accompanied by someone, and he only knew how to eat when he stuffed the food into his mouth.
The Jiangcheng postmen were all pretty good, and they took turns serving Zhang Yueban.
"how are you today?"
"Oh, your lord is back. Zhang Yicheng is still the same as usual today, and your friend still hasn't come back..."
Xiaowu is now specifically responsible for serving Xia Zhichan's postmen. He and other postmen also described Nan Er's appearance and dress, just in case there would be some conflict if the postmen didn't recognize him.
After all, those who can follow the fairy-like Xia Lingguan are probably not mortals and cannot be messed with at will.
"Oh, I understand. The Jiangcheng Yamen Officer will deliver the case file later. You can just take it to the backyard for me."
Xia Zhichan still didn't know the whereabouts of Nan Er. Logically speaking, it shouldn't be so difficult to find him, but he didn't know what happened and couldn't figure out the whereabouts of the latter.
He returned to his room, picked up the file sent yesterday and looked at it. The file recorded the confessions of everyone in each case, but he only looked at the prisoner's.
The confessions of these prisoners were surprisingly consistent. They killed someone in a fit of anger that day.
Even if you are angry, not everyone can be angry on that day.
"Things are getting more and more complicated..."
Xia Zhichan put down the scroll, took a piece of rice paper cut into squares from her hand, picked up the pen and slowly dipped it in ink.
There were already two words written on the rice paper. Now he thought about it for a long time and added two more words.
It was originally written as "mysterious".
What was added later was "bewitchment".
Not only did the other party leave no trace, they also used special methods to confuse some people, causing them to commit serious crimes against human ethics.
Then another problem arises.
Why do some people have their souls taken away directly, while others are bewitched to kill their closest relatives?
Why did the other party do this?
There is nothing strange about the evil spirit absorbing people's souls to practice, but it is a bit strange that they do not devour flesh and blood. The other party may not be a successful monster, but a ghost king that has been condensed for thousands of years...
Then what is the purpose of bewitching others?
Xia Zhichan frowned and was deep in thought. I still have too few clues now, and the zhenqi in my body is getting less and less, and I have reached the point where I can't use Taoism at will.
Toot.
Someone knocked lightly on the door.
"come in……"
Xia Zhichan didn't look up. He thought it was Xiao Wu who was here to deliver today's case files, so he just pointed at a low table next to him.
"Just put it over there."
The visitor's footsteps were very light, and he walked to Xia Zhichan's desk in a few steps. He looked up and down at Xia Zhichan, who was about to bury himself in the case file.
call--
Xia Zhichan didn't raise her head when she felt a breath mixed with a woman's unique fragrance blowing onto her cheeks.
Um?
When he looked up, he saw the woman's eyes as bright as the moon.
She was pouting and blowing on herself.
Just like when he hid under the water and sprayed the lake water in her face.
Is she taking revenge now?
"I'm going out to catch monsters tonight..."
The woman also felt that her behavior was not in line with etiquette, so she could only pretend to be calm and pursed her lips, pointed outside the door, and continued to ask Xia Zhichan:
"Do you want to come along?"
