Deep in an ordinary alley, in a courtyard filled with the aroma of candied chestnuts and maltose, intermittent coughing could be heard.
"Officials, you have been checking here every day for the past half month... If there is something wrong, I won't tell you... Mr. Li, would you like to have a meal at the humble house before leaving... Cough cough cough cough cough cough cough cough cough cough cough cough cough cough cough cough cough cough cough cough cough cough cough cough cough cough cough cough.
...Why don't you bring some sugar-roasted chestnuts with you? They are freshly roasted and very fragrant and sweet..."
The slightly hunched white-haired old man, leaning on a cane and patting his chest, with thick phlegm seeming to block his throat, answered the yamen's cross-examination with difficulty and caution.
"No, no, no...we are in a hurry...it's our duty, Mr. Ding, don't mind..."
Seeing that the old man named Ding Chunqiu was about to cough his saliva into his face, Capt. Li still dared to eat his roasted chestnuts and left quickly.
"Captain Li... you are really good people..."
Ding Chunqiu sighed sincerely.
Although the government officials who have recently appeared in Wuning City are all new, their attitudes are much better than those in the past who were domineering, eating, drinking and drinking. They also treat everyone equally. Whether they are ordinary people or wealthy people, they all go into the house and rummage through the cabinets, looking for the so-called "
fugitive".
The ordinary people were a little frightened at first, but over time they found that although these people were unreasonable, they did not take advantage of the opportunity to steal valuables from home, nor did they bully men and women, so they felt relieved.
However, many wealthy people cannot accept such harassment and regard it as the greatest humiliation.
However, when the Menzi nursing home refuses to open the door, or violent resistance to the government officials is tantamount to invading the door, the polite government officials will often smile ferociously, take out a black sign from their arms and slap them on the forehead.
A loud voice rang out: "The case will be handled internally, and those who resist the law will be punished for treason!"
Then they started fighting with open fire, and the whole situation ended in chaos. Within a few days, these wealthy people understood that it was the inner factory that was doing things. Once the yamen knocked on the door, they cooperated obediently. There was nothing that could be done about it, after all, the yamen of the governor's office
In the prison, many wealthy family owners and servants have been imprisoned. No one can intercede with them, and I have a deeper understanding of the term "cases are handled in the factory, and not a blade of grass grows".
"Snapped!"
After the yamen left, Old Man Ding closed the chaimen tightly, and the wrinkles on his face deepened. He touched his right arm, which was leaning on a cane, with a complicated expression. Even though he was leaning on a cane in his right hand, his whole hand was hidden in his sleeve.
inside.
The sleeves were actually empty, and his right forearm had long since disappeared. Who knew that he relied solely on his mental power to manipulate his sleeves, pretending to be a healthy person recently?
"The inner factory is really determined to give up...but trying to catch me in this way...is too childish!"
He smiled coldly.
Ding Chunqiu is naturally Xie Lingyun.
That day, the spiritual prison opened wide and forbidden objects like white jade plates flew out, and the situation further spiraled out of control.
The white jade plate was naturally not a forbidden object of Tian-09, but its power was still astonishing. The moment it hit Su Wen, it erupted with terrifying power, blasting him and the skeleton apart. The skeleton was blown to pieces, and he felt uncomfortable.
The arm that was fighting with the skeleton flew to nowhere. Seeing that the spiritual prison was further out of control and the lethality of the pass continued to increase, he could only escape from the spiritual prison in a panic.
At that time, if he wanted to take advantage of the chaos in Wuning City to escape, he could easily do so.
But Xie Lingyun didn't give up. He always felt that the forbidden object Tian-09 was still in Wuning City, and everything he saw in the prison was just an illusion created by the internal factory.
But he also knew that with such great turmoil in the spiritual prison, the inner factory would definitely not give up. A large number of extraordinary people would definitely enter the city. If they stayed in the city during this period, the risk would not be great.
But having been operating in Wuning City for decades, Xie Lingyun naturally believed that he could deceive the inner factory's extraordinary abilities.
Ding Chunqiu's identity is his greatest support.
Twenty years ago, after he learned about Tian-09's preference for taboo items, he began to create this identity.
After dormant for half a month, he also felt that the harvest was very great, and he was even sure that the forbidden object Tian-09 was not only still in Wuning City, but was even under the control of the inner factory.
"I didn't expect it...I have never stopped monitoring Tian-09!"
"Crunch..."
Pushing open the door, Xie Lingyun moved the goods from the yard to the cart outside, hitched up the donkey pulling the cart, put the colorful flags next to the cart, swung the Allegro with one hand, and started walking through the streets and alleys, shouting loudly.
: "Roasted chestnuts with sugar, maltose!"
…
"So far, we have found eleven escaped extraordinary beings, five of whom have been arrested, and two forbidden objects have been recovered. Three were killed during resistance, and three forbidden objects were recovered from them. The rest
The three people are still being hunted, but they have escaped from Jiangnan Road and are contacting all parties to pursue them..."
In a Taoist temple outside Wuning City, Lao Liu looked solemn and introduced the recent situation in Wuning City: "But there is no news about the escapees and forbidden objects on the third floor of the spiritual prison, and there is no news about Xie Lingyun...
...It is very possible that they have all left Wuning City and even far away from our Daliang territory."
After expressing his inner judgment, Lao Liu felt solemn and turned his gaze to Su Wen, who was peeling sugar-fried chestnuts in a low voice at the end of the crowd, and said: "Su Wen, you have the best brains. What do you think we should do next?"
There are still five days left. If we can't find Xie Lingyun, Liu Stall will be captured and taken to the capital. With his bad temper, if he returns to the capital and falls into the hands of those traitorous officials, he will die in a few days!
"
As he spoke, he glanced at the corner of the meeting hall.
Liu Sandao, with a beard and a rosy face, sat on the ground peeling chestnuts with a calm expression. Yan Duo bought a lot of chestnuts. Everyone was worried and had no appetite at all. Only he and Su Wen ate.
There were two extraordinary beings wearing black iron masks standing next to Liu Sandao, motionless, like two puppets. But these two people represented the attitude of the higher-ups within the factory.
Liu Sandao seems to be free, but he can't go anywhere, and he can't even speak without permission.
However, in the eyes of some ministers of the imperial court, Neichang's behavior was to protect Liu Sandao. Although he was not allowed to come and go freely, he could still eat and drink in Neichang's stronghold, and his personal freedom was not restricted.
Although he is not allowed to speak at will, if he really wants to speak, no one may stop him.
To a large extent, Lao Liu, who had been cleared of suspicion, became Liu Sandao's mouthpiece. Liu Sandao could say whatever he wanted. The censor who accompanied him had an angry look on his face, but he didn't
Dare to have an attack.
This is one of the nests of the inner factory. If these reckless men are angered here, they may die inexplicably on the way back to the capital. Therefore, they dare not speak out in anger, but the censor is not without action.
Instead, he recorded everything he witnessed and prepared to refer to it in the factory after returning to the capital.
"Next, you can lure the snake out of the hole."
Su Wen was very calm.
Half a month is enough time to do a lot of things.
Wuning City has gradually returned to calm, but despite the calm, the actions of the inner factory have not stopped, and the scale of investment has become even greater.
After repeated investigations, ordinary extraordinary people who managed to escape from the spiritual prison were basically captured or killed, and during this process, they were also constantly searching for Xie Lingyun's whereabouts.
Although Xie Lingyun's whereabouts have not been found, there is no evidence that he has left this place.
The inner factory even found a safe house belonging to Xie Lingyun. It was in a mess and there were traces of Xie Lingyun's injuries.
It's a pity that when Xie Lingyun left, his aura had been destroyed, leaving no chance for the extraordinary to locate him through secret techniques.
But this is enough to prove that Xie Lingyun is still alive and most likely still staying in Wuning City.
"How to lure a snake out of its hole?"
Lao Liu was full of curiosity.
"First spread the news that Uncle Liu will be escorted back to Beijing tomorrow...and then prepare a carriage to transfer the forbidden objects...prepare according to the highest standards...Finally, Sister Yan, please ask someone to buy some maltose.
There are also various desserts, the more the better. By the way, where did you buy these chestnuts? They taste really good..."
Su Wen was full of praise for the sugar-fried chestnuts in his hand.
"It's Old Man Ding from the east of the city. He has been selling sugar-roasted chestnuts for more than ten or twenty years... I also bought maltose from him. His craftsmanship is incredible..."
Lao Liu thought for a while and said: "It seems to be called Ding Chunqiu. The name still has some flavor... I should have studied in the early years, but I didn't awaken to the literary spirit, so I inherited the ancestral business..."
…
"Hey, Boss Ding!"
The two black horses ran to Ding Chunqiu's side with a "clack-dah-dah" sound, and stopped their hooves together with a "whispering" sound.
After walking around the familiar streets and alleys, he came to the east of the city and set up a stall. Ding Chunqiu had just hung up the stall flag when he saw two black-riding factory guards. His expression stiffened slightly, but he immediately squeezed
He smiled and said, "You two gentlemen, what would you like to order?"
"How much goods do you have, I want them all!"
The factory guard threw him a piece of silver worth about ten taels.
"Oh, there are too many, I can't find them!"
Ding Chunqiu said with a grimace. A cartload of goods only cost five or six taels of silver, and he sold a lot more along the way. He was not really selling for money, so it was impossible to really pile up the goods and sell them. There was indeed not much left.
.
"Then go back and give us more, and we will go to your house to pick up the goods in the evening!"
The factory guard said cheerfully: "We are going to the capital for business soon. He likes your sweets and said to prepare more for the road and to give them away when we get to the capital. You should prepare them carefully and don't neglect them."
"Okay!"
Ding Chunqiu had a smile on his face, grinning from ear to ear.
But he thought to himself: "I'm sure, the factory guards want to transfer the Tian-09 forbidden object to the capital! They are quite courageous, and they are not afraid of anything happening during this long journey! It seems that the province has sent high-level extraordinary people to guard it.
...Well, no matter what, it’s time for me to take action..."
"Wait a minute, gentlemen. I'll pack these maltose and chestnut cakes first..."
Ding Chunqiu's hands and feet were a little slow, but he was able to pack them quickly. The two factory guards were not in a hurry. When they came to buy maltose before, they heard that Ding Chunqiu mentioned that he accidentally burned his hands with syrup a few days ago, so his movements were much slower...