"Tell me specifically who you are looking for?" Jing Yu crossed his legs leisurely and leaned on the chair.
Song Qian clasped his fists and thanked: "I am a disciple from Shushan. I have no impression of my parents since I was a child. My sister and I helped each other to persevere. At first, the neighbors were willing to give us a bite of food. I don't know where it came from. The rumors came, falsely accusing my sister and I of being evil stars who would kill people close to us."
Song Qian continued: "Overnight, the world was turned upside down. We were despised by everyone in the town. My sister was young and ignorant, and I was thin and weak. I could only make a living by stealing and begging. When I was six years old, my sister was four. The two of us lived in a dilapidated temple outside the town. The weather was nice that day, so I decided to go out to find more food. I met the master who was traveling down the mountain by chance. He saw that I was talented and intelligent, and wanted to accept me as his disciple. Before I could say anything, I was knocked unconscious by my master and taken back to Shushan."
Jing Yu coughed lightly: "So your sister was left in the ruined temple?"
"Yes, this is also the biggest pain in my life. When I returned to Shushan, I woke up, and the first thing I did was to find my sister. Of course, this was impossible. After learning about the situation, Master went back once and brought her back The news was that my sister disappeared without leaving any trace. I have to practice swordsmanship with a pure heart. I can't miss my missing sister. This incident can also be regarded as my nightmare. Every night when I sleep deeply, there is always my sister. The cry woke me up. I had achieved some success in kendo a few years ago, so I took advantage of my trip down the mountain to come to the capital and try to see if I could find my sister."
"Where else?" Jing Yu asked.
Song Qian hesitated a little, his eyes red: "No, not at all."
"Hey, we can go to the Ministry of Household Affairs and have a look. There is a household registration in the capital there, and there might be clues about your sister." Qiao Xu finally came up with a good idea.
The corners of Jing Yu's lips raised: "After all, your head is not thinking about food."
"You! Huh." Qiao Xuyou pouted and waved his fist viciously.
Because there were only two horses, Qiao Xu was naturally abandoned in the mansion, and Song Qian and Jing Yu went to the household department.
After informing the head of the household department, the two were granted access to the files.
"What's your sister's name?" Jing Yu asked one after another.
Song Qian seemed unwilling to say: "I just gave it a nickname. I think she would never use this name."
"Come on, ask Maung Yue and take us to see the portrait." Jing Yu pushed the person in front of him.
After two hours of searching, no one found that Song Qian's head was lowered when he went out. Jing Yu looked at the frustrated young man in front of him, feeling the pain of being whipped by fate.
"Relax, maybe your sister is in the imperial city. People there can't be found at the Ministry of Household Affairs." Jing Yu put his arm on Song Qian's shoulder and comforted her in a low voice.
"Really?" Song Qian's waist seemed to straighten a little.
Jing Yu smiled and said, "Whenever I enter the imperial city, I will turn their archives upside down."
Song Qian whistled on the way back, feeling much better and the gloom on his face dissipating.
As soon as the door was opened, there was no familiar question from Qiao Xu, and the courtyard was quiet, as if no one had been there.
"Qiao Xu? Where are you? I'll take you to a restaurant for dinner." Jing Yu called as he walked in.
"Strange, where did the person go?"
Jing Yu paced back and forth and opened the doors of each room, but there was no sign of Qiao Xu. He planned to go back to the yard first, but found Song Qian holding a long sword and chasing something on the roof.
"Don't run!" Song Qian stabbed forward with his sword, and the person in front of him suddenly disappeared and turned into a pool of black powder.
Jing Yu ran to the eaves: "What's wrong?"
"Qiao Xu was kidnapped. It was a gang crime. There is a way to escape that I have never seen before." Song Qian sheathed his sword angrily.
"Damn, I've been tricked." Jing Yu cursed loudly.
"Sir, please help me!" An urgent call came from the door.
Jing Yu rushed to the gate and found more than ten people standing outside, all looking at him with pleading eyes. Jing Yu looked around briefly to confirm that the robbers from earlier were not among these people.
"What's the matter?"
A middle-aged man with a long beard hugged Jing Yu's thigh excitedly: "Sir! Something happened over there in Dongshi. My daughter is seriously ill. Please save him. I am willing to pay any amount of money."
"Let's go." A young man roughly pulled the middle-aged man away, "Sir, there are dozens of corpses fished out of a well in Dongshi. They have been rotting for many days, and the stench is extremely bad. It has seriously polluted the well water, causing many people to live in that street. If you get sick, there may be a plague.”
Jing Yu nodded and turned to signal Song Qian.
"Let's go and have a look over there." Song Qian dispersed the people at the door and let Jing Yu pass.
The secret room was dark and humid with no sunlight all day long. Occasionally, you could hear the sound of water dripping and the squeaking of rats looking for food.
Qiao Xu's eyes were spelled and plunged into darkness. She could not see anything and could only hear the whistling wind in her ears.
Then there was the sound of the iron door closing, and she seemed to be locked in a secret room.
Then Chao Zhixin walked in, holding a folding fan in his hand and a smile on his face. He is the son of Chao Hongsheng, the minister of Zhongshu, and a well-known swinger who hangs out in many brothels and restaurants in the capital.
Qiao Xu heard the footsteps and asked cautiously: "Who is it?"
"I have heard about Miss Qiao for a long time, and I knew that the current general of the country has a beautiful young daughter. You might as well take a guess, does your father know that his precious daughter is now in my hands?"
"What are you going to do!" Qiao Xu found that his hands were tied to a pillar.
Chao Zhixin forced out a lewd smile, gently slapped Qiao Xu's cheek with a folding fan, and stretched out his hand to caress her white thighs from top to bottom.
Qiao Xu was wearing a short skirt today, which was just in line with Chao Zhixin's taste. He regarded the delicate legs in front of him as a plaything and wanted to pounce on them immediately and desecrate them.
Qiao Xu pursed her lips, tears welled up in the corners of her eyes, her cheeks quickly became flushed, and she still said unyieldingly: "Jing Yu and the others will come to save me, you are finished."
Chao Zhixin continued to caress the jade leg: "The two of them? Tsk, they can't come."
The door was opened, and a servant ran in and knelt on the ground: "Master Chao, the well in Dongshi has been discovered." He didn't hear Chao Zhixin's response. He looked up and found that Chao Zhixin was looking at him with a contemptuous attitude. , the servant quickly lowered his head.
"How the hell do you know how to watch the timing! I have to do something, young master!" Chao Zhixin let go of his hand, stepped forward and kicked the subordinate in the abdomen, causing the subordinate to break out in cold sweat from the pain.
"Get out!" Chao Zhixin pointed at the door, and then said to himself, "Okay, now that you have discovered it, don't leave alive. As for you, just wait for me to come back and favor you." After that, he stepped out of the door.
Qiao Xu heard the sound of the door closing and confirmed that Chao Zhixin would not come back for the time being, and breathed a sigh of relief.
East Market.
When Jing Yu and Song Qian arrived, there was already a circle of corpses lined up beside the well, all covered with white gauze. The stench blocked the surrounding people who wanted to watch the fun.
Jing Yu almost vomited. This smell was something he had never smelled before, and it could directly cause the human body's physiological reaction to vomit.
"Do you want an autopsy?" Song Qian tried to lift the white cloth outside the body.
"What a genius, ugh, you have real energy to protect your body, but now I can't even breathe." Jing Yu squatted on the side of the road, holding his stomach.
"Anyway, it must have been a monster. There are so many corpses. If someone had killed someone, they would have been noticed long ago." Jing Yu retreated five feet away.
Song Qian lifted the white cloth off each corpse one by one and found that there were indeed huge defects on the corpses, which were obviously bitten by monsters.
"I have a clue. There are not many monsters that like to eat carrion." Song Qian muttered to himself.
It is a monster with strong bite ability and loves to eat carrion. But the question is why each corpse only bites one bite. Is it provoking us? Jing Yu thought.
Song Qian had a guess in his mind. He said, "I guess it has a lot to do with Qiao Xu being kidnapped. Those people not only want to kill people, they want to take down the entire Dingming Division."
"How long has the Dingming Division been established? You can still remember this." Jing Yu scratched his scalp.
"Who else can have their interests ruined by the demon eradication agency?"
"Monster clan?"
Song Qian gave a thumbs up.
Jing Yu was so angry that he punched the ground with his fist, and then his face turned hideous in pain.
"It seems that the demon clan has infiltrated the imperial court, but the role of Dingmingsi is not that simple." Jing Yu sneered.
The two rode horses to the outside of the tower. Jing Yu told the soldiers guarding the tower that he wanted to find Gu Danqing, but before he could finish, the soldiers interrupted him: "Master Gu said no, he said that the problem is to be solved." Solve it yourself."
Jing Yu cursed in a low voice: "If you don't help take over Dingmingsi, you might as well leave it to the emperor."
At this time, more people gathered outside the Dingmingsi Gate. They seemed to be ordinary people from Dongshi. The crowd was bustling, and everyone was whispering to each other.
There was a person standing on the steps of the gate, holding two pieces of paper in his hand, which were the portraits of Jing Yu and Song Qian.
He first stabilized the mood of the crowd, and then said loudly: "These two people are the core members of the Dingming Division. They are also mainly responsible for this water well incident. But, neighbors, do you think they have solved this case? ?”
"No!" Everyone shouted indignantly at the same time.
The man continued: "Yes, the two of them worked passively on this case. They just came to look at the body and left in a hurry, as if this matter was bad luck. Do you think these two people deserve to be dismissed? Punishment?"
"worth!"
"Hmph, this kind of person stays in the court and only eats the blood of the common people. He always puts himself out of the situation when things happen. I suggest that everyone jointly submit a letter to report. The Dingming Division, as an agency to eliminate demons, not only fails to solve the case, but also escapes from the battlefield. He should be executed for being suspected of colluding with the demon clan!"
"Is beheading too severe?" someone asked.
At this time, the crowd dispersed and made a way. A middle-aged man with a long beard walked out slowly and stood next to the portrait. If you look carefully, you will find that he is the one who asked Jing Yu to save his daughter.
"Executive member Feng, did you find them at that time? What was their attitude towards you?" the man asked.
Feng Hebi stroked his beard and yelled loudly: "Two beasts, and Jing Yu is the best of beasts! I hugged his thigh and begged him to save my precious daughter who has been sick for many days, but he turned a blind eye and glanced indifferently I will leave immediately at a glance, this kind of person has no humanity at all!"
There was another commotion in the crowd.
Jing Yu and Song Qian had just returned at this time. They noticed the commotion at the gate of Dingming Division from a hundred feet away. They stopped their horses and stopped moving forward.
Song Qian pointed to the group of people and asked, "Is this a blocked home?"
"You really want to destroy us." Jing Yu gritted his teeth angrily, "Take the back door and go back first."
Fortunately, there are many secret doors in Dingmingsi, and you can enter them when you come to the back.
Jing Yu opened the door first, then looked around the yard, and after confirming that no one was entering, he rested his feet on the floor. As a result, a floor tile loosened, and a secret door popped out.
The secret door opened automatically, revealing a deep secret passage with torches regularly distributed on both sides, all lit up at this time.
This made Jing Yu quite curious, so he asked Song Qian to wait in the front hall while he walked into the secret passage.
The secret passage is a spiral staircase, and it takes two or three minutes to reach the end.
There is a secret room inside. There is a wooden table on the left side, which also has an automatically lit candle. There is a piece of yellowed letter paper spread out on the table.
On the right side is a wall with a fire gun hanging on it. It is covered with a thick layer of dust, but you can vaguely see the faint blue lines on the wooden shell of the fire gun.
Jing Yu did not go to get the firecracker, but walked to the table and lowered his head to read the contents on the letter.
"When you read this letter, it means that you have officially become a member of the Dingming Division. Of course, I did not know who you were when I wrote this letter. However, you must promise me that once you join the Dingming Division , we must take peace of the world as our duty and uphold justice as our purpose. Hanging on the wall is the weapons supervisor’s secret weapon, a firecracker that incorporates spiritual power. No pills are needed. All you need to do is pull the trigger. The spiritual power contained in it It will naturally turn into gunpowder. It has special effects against evil spirits. If you are a monk with true energy, you can also use the true energy to emit powerful ammunition. Instructions for use: This fire gun needs to be charged in the sun for three moments a day, at most one day Three hundred rounds. Take it and stick to the justice in your heart, but do good deeds without worrying about the future."
Jing Yu turned around and saw that the fire gun on the wall was waiting for its owner to arrive.
The commotion at the door continued, and the man took the portrait and continued to criticize Ding Mingji for his inaction. Even if it was baseless, he would try his best to insult Jing Yu's character.
Song Qian was tired of hearing this and wished he could fly out with his sword and kill someone directly. How had he, a sixth-level swordsman at the peak of Heavenly Tribulation, ever been so angry? Moreover, even though he was only staying temporarily, he was said to be a core member of the Dingming Division. This was a slander, and it came out of his mouth.
"Generally, there is insufficient evidence and we can't make a conclusion on the spot. Why did he just run away?" Jing Yu also heard the man's slander and walked out of the basement with a sad look on his face.
Song Qian saw the black pipe behind Jing Yu: "What is that?"
"Spiritual fire gun, used to fight monsters."
The two were relatively speechless.
Jing Yu calculated most of the clues: "They obviously know our whereabouts. Apart from sending people to monitor, the only thing I can think of is the head of the household department. He knows best that you and I were there at that time, Qiao Xu not coming."
"Catch him and torture him?"
The two were talking when suddenly the voices outside the door stopped, followed by the sound of horse hooves as dense as a drum, and the ground trembled.
The crowd at the gate was surrounded by more than thirty horsemen. They were wearing armor and were the Jinwu Guards of the capital.
"Someone reported that a crowd gathered at the main entrance of Dingming Division to rebel, causing the surrounding residents to panic and hide. Now we are here to arrest them," said the leader Yiqi.
The two Jinwu guards dismounted, grabbed the people on the steps, and took back the portraits. The people gathered outside the door fled one after another, and the Jinwu guards did not pursue them. It was enough for the culprit to be caught.
The leader held down the suspect's head: "What's your name? Who does he work for?"
"I, Zhuangdian, am Chao Zhixin's younger brother." Zhuangdian's lips kept trembling when he answered because of fear. Of course, part of the reason was the infuriating energy released by the leader of the Jinwu Guard.
The leader pondered: "Chao Zhixin? Does he have any conflict with Dingmingsi?"
"I don't know, I'm just running errands. Please let me go, I will tell you everything I know." Zhuang Dian's eyes filled with tears, his legs became weak and he couldn't stand normally at all.
"Take him away and put him in the Prison Department Prison. I want to interrogate him properly!" The leader smiled evilly.
As soon as Zhuang Dian heard the word "big prison", he was frightened and kept repeating a sentence in his mouth. His pupils reflected a man with a face like a sculpture and eyebrows like an ink painting.
Jing Yu felt that the matters outside the door were almost settled, so he opened the door and happened to see the leader of the Jinwu Guard finishing his question.
"Who are you?" Jing Yu looked at the somewhat familiar face and did not dare to step forward.
"My sister is working for you, aren't you lazy?"
Jing Yu suddenly realized: "You are Qiao Xu's second brother Qiao Wutong, who has taken office as General Jinwuwei."
"Exactly." Qiao Wutong said modestly.
"Your sister was taken away." Jing Yu suddenly changed the subject.
Qiao Wutong froze there and raised his head mechanically: "Really?"
"Really." Jing Yu smiled bitterly, "The person you just captured might know something."
Qiao Wutong was furious: "Damn it, I'm going to interrogate him now. Chao Zhixin, right? If you dare to touch a hair of my little sister, his whole family will be skinned!"
"That man is the dog leg raised by Chao Zhixin. Chao Zhixin is the only son of Chao Hongsheng, the minister of Zhongshu. He is arrogant, unreasonable, and very lecherous. It is most likely him who caught him." After Qiao Wutong said this, he left with his thirty riders. , it is estimated that the attendant will be tortured half to death.
"Go and meet the head of the Household Department now?" Jing Yu asked, pointing to the door.
Song Qian drank a cup of tea and calmed down: "He ran away. I just flew over and took a look. I fled in fear of crime."
"How did you fly?"
"Flying sword, what else is it?" Song Qian drank another cup of tea.
"..."
Jing Yu also sat on the chair as if he was lying on his back: "Okay, let's wait until Qiao Wutong can ask something."
"Why don't you go visit Chao Zhixin's house?" Song Qian felt that the teacup was too small to quench his thirst, so he directly picked up the teapot and drank from it.
"His family probably raises a group of masters. I can't get in because I don't know martial arts. I hope Qiao Xu doesn't fall into Chao Zhixin's vicious hands." Jing Yu prayed with a pious attitude.
…
Qiao Xu fell into a coma for an unknown number of hours. The effect of the medicine had worn off. She gradually regained her sight and was able to see clearly the layout of the secret room.
There was a specially modified wooden chair at the end of the secret room. Next to the chair were instruments of torture, covered in coagulated blood.
There were some abnormal utensils randomly discarded under the chair, which were obviously designed to satisfy Chao Zhixin's perverted desires.
She tried to break free and found that she was tied to the only support pillar in the secret room, tightly tied with a fist-thick hemp rope, and her white wrists were pressed with red marks.
The acupuncture points are sealed and the true energy cannot be released, otherwise it can impact the rope.
Inside the prison of the Ministry of Punishment.
Zhuang Dian was kicked into the cage. This kick reminded him of Chao Zhixin's critical attack, and he was in agony.
"Tell me, where is my sister being imprisoned?" Qiao Wutong moved a stool and listed the torture instruments he wanted to use this time outside the cell door.
Zhuang Dian didn't even need to be tortured, he was scared out of his wits, and his crotch was wet: "I said, I said, in the house purchased by Mr. Chao himself, Qiao Xu was imprisoned in that torture room, she was not the only one, many He captured all the girls privately and locked them up in his house, torturing them like toys."
Qiao Wutong was most satisfied with this type of prisoner, as he could pry his mouth open without torture.
More than thirty riders turned around and set off from Dalao to Chao Zhixin's private residence.
Poor Chao Zhixin didn't know that his "amusement park" was about to be taken over by Jin Wuwei. At this time, he was having dinner with his father.
"How many benefits did the demon clan give you?" Chao Zhixin flattered and put a chopstick of meat into Chao Hongsheng's bowl.
A gray-haired old man sat across the table. He glanced at the dishes on the table and did not eat the meat in the bowl: "In their eyes, Ding Mingji is just a pawn, not the key, but he must be eaten. "
Chao Zhixin took a quick mouthful of rice and asked vaguely: "Dad, do you think the new official position they promised after this incident will be true?"
"What? Do you really want to be an official?" Chao Hongsheng chewed the food in his mouth slowly and took a sip of wine.
"No matter what, I'm here to share the pressure for you."
"Why did you go so far? You are a lavish spender. I am only your son. Is it possible that I can give it to someone else?"
Chao Zhixin raised his glass and drank it all in one gulp: "Hahaha, I'm just waiting for your words!"
A servant hurried in and whispered a few words to Chao Zhixin. Chao Zhixin was so angry that he slapped the dining table: "What's the use of you! You can't even cover a house!"
"What's wrong? You're making such a fuss. You need to change your temper. You may offend someone someday." Chao Hongsheng glanced at his angry son in front of him.
"Chao Hongsheng! Get that bitch of yours out!" Qiao Wutong stood outside the gate of Chao Mansion angrily, looking up to the sky and roaring.
The minister of Zhongshu, who was over fifty years old, stood up and stared at the uninvited guest.
Qiao Wutong unleashed his true energy, causing the floor tiles to fall apart with every kick.
"Warriors are just vulgar, why can't we discuss it carefully?" Chao Hongsheng's voice sounded like he was using a loudspeaker.
This is the Confucian method. The combat effectiveness is not strong, but it has a certain deterrent effect.
Qiao Wutong called Qiao Xu behind him and asked gently: "Tell your second brother that if anyone touches your thigh, I will cut off his head."
Qiao Xu put her hands on her hips and pointed at Chao Zhixin: "This is the man. If he hadn't gone out in the middle, I might not have been able to protect my innocence."
Chao Hongsheng glared at his son angrily: "I taught the dog how to do nothing. Please forgive me, General Qiao."
"That's all in one sentence? Are all you scholars so fucking hypocritical!"
Chao Hongsheng said respectfully: "Then what does General Qiao want to do with my son?"
"Behead!" Qiao Wutong's voice grew louder.
Chao Hongsheng felt his vision go dark, he was so angry that he fainted.
When Qiao Wutong saw this, he did not continue to make things difficult and took both of them to the Penal Department Prison. (To be continued)
