Volume 1: Linzhou Talent Case Chapter 21: Walking in the Water
"Mr. Duan, something happened?" Xing Qianqiu's expression changed, and he said in a deep voice: "What's going on!"
"When Mr. Duan came back today, I took him on horseback and rushed to where the thieves were." Liu Zhi said in a deep voice, "I never thought that we would be ambushed by the gangsters just after we left the city."
"The gangsters were so numerous that I couldn't defeat them alone, so I asked Mr. Duan to leave first."
"I never thought that when I drove away the gangsters and went to look for Mr. Duan, I only found Mr. Duan's horse. Mr. Duan is missing!"
"I searched around for a long time but could not find any trace of Mr. Duan. I was thinking whether Mr. Duan had come back first, so I deliberately came back to have a look."
"Damn it!" Xing Qianqiu frowned, his face full of anger, but there was nothing he could do.
"Commander, what happened to the gang of thieves? Have they confessed?" Liu Zhi asked.
"That's just an ordinary bandit!" Xing Qianqiu said solemnly: "I don't even know what the case is about! I have already had them escorted to prison and interrogated strictly."
"Sir!" At this moment, a government servant ran in.
When he saw Xing Qianqiu and Liu Zhi, he was stunned for a moment, and then said to Liu Zhi: "Sir, Old Man Liu closed the store early today and went to the Immortality Sect to attend the Dharma Assembly. My subordinates waited for a long time and still couldn't buy it."
"That's it, okay." Liu Zhi nodded, and then explained to Xing Qianqiu: "Mr. Duan wanted to eat Mr. Liu's steamed buns, so I sent him to buy them before leaving."
"Yes." Xing Qianqiu nodded, and then said in a deep voice: "Send the order, everyone will mobilize, we must find Mr. Duan! If you want to see him alive, you will see his body if you die!"
"Yes!" Everyone in the courtyard shouted at the same time.
Glancing at the morgue nearby, Liu Zhi immediately looked away.
He knew that now was not the best time to go in and search, so he could only wait later.
Soon, a few hours passed. Xing Qianqiu went door to door to check, but still found nothing.
I asked the soldiers guarding the city and patrolling the city, and they all said they had never seen Duan Ming.
"Sir." A Mingjing Division official said to Xing Qianqiu: "Didn't Master Liu say that they were attacked outside the city? Could Mr. Duan be outside the city?"
"No." Xing Qianqiu shook his head and glanced deeply at the yamen servant next to him. His name was Zhao Yunlong. He was considered to be a smarter person in the Mirror Division, but he still lacked experience.
"Recently, the Mirror Division has focused on searching around Linyang City, and apart from that group of gangsters, there are no other forces outside Linyang City." Xing Qianqiu explained: "So, the other party's lair must still be there.
In the city, in other words, Mr. Duan must be in the city."
"It is also possible that when we were encircling and suppressing the gangsters, the thieves escaped from Linyang City." Zhao Yunlong asked puzzledly: "Then he grabbed Mr. Duan and continued to escape."
"If that was the case, they would try their best to avoid being exposed," Xing Qianqiu said, "rather than attack Liu Zhi and Mr. Duan rashly."
"Besides, the gangsters clearly know in which direction we are suppressing bandits. If they want to escape, they will definitely choose another direction, otherwise they will easily run into us."
"As the gangsters deliberately went in that direction, the only possibility is that the gangsters' target is Mr. Duan."
"The attack on Mr. Duan must be because Mr. Duan's existence threatened them, so they took action even if they were exposed."
"It is very possible that Mr. Duan has discovered their existence and true identity."
"In this case, their best approach should be to escape from Linyang City as soon as possible while we are not in the city. In this way, even if we want to catch him, we will be powerless."
"And they didn't do this, which means they still have reasons why they can't leave. For example, they want to do more things, so they must first get rid of Mr. Duan who has discovered their traces."
"That's it." Zhao Yunlong suddenly realized: "But if this is the case, will they have already killed Mr. Duan?"
"No. At least not yet." Xing Qianqiu shook his head: "Liu Zhi said he found Duan Ming's horse, but he did not find Mr. Duan's body. If the gangster killed Mr. Duan, why did he kill him?
Take his body away?"
"Understood." Zhao Yunlong nodded, following Xing Qianqiu every day, he always felt that he could learn a lot.
"But what did Mr. Duan find?" Xing Qianqiu rubbed his forehead: "Where is Xu Shizhong? Haven't you found it yet?"
"It has been found." Zhao Yunlong said: "But Xu Shizhong didn't know anything. He only said that Mr. Duan took him to Liu Laotou Steamed Buns, and then asked him to snatch half of the steamed buns from the dog's mouth. The rest was gone.
knew."
"Yeah." Xing Qianqiu nodded, and then sighed: "Half a steamed bun, why do you want to grab half a steamed bun?"
"Commander." As he spoke, Liu Zhi walked in from the outside and looked at Zhao Yunlong beside him. Just as he was about to speak, he heard a loud shout coming from inside the Mirror Division.
"The water is leaking!" As a loud shout rang out, the sky-high firelight illuminated half of the sky.
"Oops!" Xing Qianqiu frowned and hurriedly asked the government officials to put out the fire.
When Liu Zhi on the side saw this scene, his expression changed even more, because that direction was exactly the direction of the courtyard where the morgue was located!
If so many people ran there...
Gritting his teeth, Liu Zhi grabbed Xing Qianqiu and said in a deep voice: "Commander, I found a clue left by Mr. Duan outside the city!"
"What?" Xing Qianqiu looked back at Liu Zhi, hesitated slightly, and then shouted loudly: "You put out the fire with all your strength, I'll go out."
Then Xing Qianqiu patted Liu Zhi on the shoulder: "We can't waste time, let's go!"
"Yes." Liu Zhi nodded, and then led Xing Qianqiu towards the outside of the city.
There were many people in the Mirror Department, all the government officials were working desperately to put out the fire, and even the surrounding residents came after hearing the news.
Everyone is equal before a fire, and the surrounding residents know very well that once the fire spreads, even their homes will not be spared.
Just as everyone was working together to put out the fire, two fast horses carried Liu Zhi and Xing Qianqiu and ran out quickly.
Soon, Xing Qianqiu and Liu Zhi arrived not far outside the city. The road ahead was covered with vines, making it impossible for horses to enter.
With no other choice, Xing Qianqiu and Liu Zhi dismounted and ran quickly towards the forest.
"Come on, it's not far ahead." Liu Zhi said in a deep voice as he ran ahead.
"Yeah." Xing Qianqiu nodded, didn't say anything more, and just followed Liu Zhi closely...
