The cold wind blew, and Xu Cheng ushered in the first snow. In a blink of an eye, there was a layer of snow on the ground and trees.
Even though his desk was piled high, Magistrate Zhou couldn't help but stare out the window in trance. He was also inspired by poetry and wanted to invite the literati in the city to a snow appreciation party.
"Sir, the investigation notice for the criminal Shi Feng has returned." Several officials came in from outside, holding documents in their hands.
The poetic charm of Zhou Zhifu has disappeared, and there are still many complicated official duties.
"Are you sure?" he asked, motioning to put the booklet on the table.
"Confirmed, the methods of committing crimes are the same." said an official.
"Two government agencies will send people to check it out personally." Another official said, "They have personally seen Shi Feng and fought with him."
Prefect Zhou reminded: "You can look at it, but you can't take the body away."
The official responded with a smile: "Don't worry, sir, the criminal was caught in our city, and naturally he won't be taken away by others."
That was the achievement of their Xucheng government.
"But who killed Shi Feng?" Magistrate Zhou asked, looking at the people in the hall, "Have you found any clues?"
The officials looked at each other.
"It should be that the accomplices shared the spoils unevenly." An official said, "Mr. Lin's family lost an ancestral white jade Guanyin, which is priceless."
Cao Dianli, the current chief, added: "It has not been found yet. It must have been taken away by an accomplice."
Of course, this accomplice was arranged by him.
Let the little beggar take away the Lin family's treasure and make it look like it was stolen, which can lead to fighting among the accomplices.
After waiting for a period of time, the Guanyin statue will be arranged to appear in a pawn shop in another city, and the government there will seize it. In this way, the case will be concluded in a logical and complete manner.
Of course Magistrate Zhou didn't know what happened a few months later. After hearing this, he reached out and pressed his forehead: "Then this case cannot be considered solved."
"You can't say that. If it weren't for your good governance and strict patrols in the city, the Lin family would have lost just a Guanyin." Director Cao said with a smile.
Several officials also nodded: "Mr. Lin already knows the notorious reputation of this thief. Wherever he goes, he will kill people, especially rape and murder." "The last place where Shi Feng was was Miss Lin's embroidery building.
.” “The tiles on the roof have been trampled to pieces.”
Mr. Lin and his family were so frightened that they had not dared to sleep for several days.
"Mr. Lin must come to give you the Qingtian Umbrella, Mr. Cao," said Manager Cao.
Magistrate Zhou smiled and waved his hand: "No need to do this, the case is not over yet." After saying this, he motioned, "Write all these clearly and report them. Of course, we will continue to track down the accomplice, and the Lin family's property must also be recovered."
.”
The officials responded in unison.
As we cooperate in the investigation, we learn more and more how terrible this dead thief is. He has been committing crimes for many years and dozens of people have lost their lives. For a time, Xu Chengfu Yamen became famous.
Regardless of how the thief died, he died in Xucheng anyway. As the supervisor, the Xucheng government office wrote a clear and detailed report.
Since the arrival of Magistrate Zhou, he has been rectifying the administration and getting rid of the bad apples. The officials at the top and bottom are clean and upright, doing their duties day and night, and patrol the city rigorously. Every corner of the city is not spared. The movements of the thieves are detected in time, and the thieves flee in a hurry. During the pursuit, two
The two thieves turned their backs on each other. It was the right time and the right place. Shi Feng died on the spot. Unfortunately, the other thieves escaped and were still issuing orders to investigate.
In a post station on the road outside Dongzhou Heng City, the postmaster laughed from time to time while looking at the newly delivered newspaper.
"Why are you so happy about the news?" the postman asked.
Yi Cheng smiled and said: "This newspaper is really festive."
The postman glanced at it: "A murder case, what a celebration."
"Whether it's festive or not depends on who you tell it to." Yi Cheng said, "It's just like a general's success and the death of thousands of bones. For an official, it's not necessarily a good thing to rule without wind and waves. There are storms and waves.
That’s—”
Before he finished speaking, a big hand reached out and took away the newspaper, and at the same time there was a sneer.
"Why, do you think your inn is too peaceful?"
Yi Cheng turned around with a smile on his face: "Zhang Canjun, you are joking." He said with a solemn expression, "I mean, as long as there is a little storm, it will be a disaster for the people.
, cannot withstand it at all, so generals must protect their families and countries, and officials must be like big trees that protect their people from wind and rain.”
Zhang Yuan shouted: "You guys, apart from a mouth, what else do you have?"
He glanced at the newspaper and sneered again.
"You can talk about all the big things."
Yi Cheng was not annoyed at all and said with a smile: "You are right about joining the army. We small local people are not knowledgeable."
Zhang Yuan glared at him: "Bring me all the newspapers from the past two days." After saying that, he hooked his foot over the stool and sat down.
The postmaster responded repeatedly, urging the postman to "go quickly, go quickly, don't delay joining the army on official business."
The two of them left the hall one after another.
The postman then muttered in a low voice, "Why are you so afraid of him? He's just a young soldier from Jingzhao Prefecture."
Yi Cheng glared at him: "You know nothing, you are already at the Yi Station, and you still have so little information." He lowered his voice, "There is a backer behind this Yuan, Du Cha Si."
The postman took a deep breath, that was really something he couldn't offend. He stretched out his hand and made a clear gesture: "Don't worry, I will take good care of him."
Zhang Yuan didn't care what Yi Cheng and the Yi soldiers were mumbling outside. He knew the behavior of these subordinates. They bullied the weak and feared the strong. If you give them a good look, things would not go smoothly.
So with a straight face and a few curse words, newspapers from all directions were promptly delivered to him.
Naturally, he couldn't see it alone, and several guards were watching.
"Something is wrong." Zhang Yuan suddenly said.
Without even raising his head, the officer smiled and said, "It's definitely not right. The officials in Xucheng are talking about it. In fact, Shi Feng's death had nothing to do with them. It was just a leak after the fact."
"This is natural." Zhang Yuan said, "But what I am saying is that Shi Feng should have no accomplices."
The servants around the table stopped for a moment, and then hurriedly looked through the newspapers about Shi Feng. Indeed, there was never any mention of accomplices.
"What he does is murder and robbery, and he is very good at hiding his identity." Zhang Yuan said, "How could there be an accomplice?"
He threw the newspaper on the table.
In the past, when I didn't care about not being in contact with the Momen, I didn't think anything of it. Now, I know that there is such a group of people and they have personally handled cases involving the Momen, so I feel familiar without realizing it.
The officers sitting around also understood.
"This was done by Mohists. There are Mohists in Xucheng." They said, and they all stood up, "Sir, let's go to Xucheng."
They left the capital just to hunt down Mo Tu.
Now that there are signs, go to Xucheng immediately.
However, Zhang Yuan, who left the capital overnight to investigate a case and had a falling out with the governor, without looking back, was sitting still at this moment.
Zhang Yuan took a sip of the good tea sent by Yi Cheng on the table.
"This has nothing to do with our case." He said, "Why are you going to Xucheng?"
The officers seemed a little surprised: "Aren't they all Mo disciples?"
"I want to catch the murderer of Liu Xiucai's case." Zhang Yuan said, "As for the Mohist disciple, that is the matter of the Ducha Division. I left my criminal alone and went to Xucheng to catch the Mohist disciple. Am I doing this for
Is Ducha Si working?"
Several guards blinked: "Isn't it?"
Zhang Yuan glared at them angrily.
The guards were laughing.
Those who can follow are Zhang Yuan's close confidants, and they can also joke with him at will.
"You won't know until you come out," one of the guards said, "There are so many of these Mohist disciples, and they are still hiding so deeply."
Another officer said: "No wonder he was recruited by the King of Jin to commit treason and injustice."
Another officer flipped through the newspaper in his hand and couldn't help but murmured: "Looking at these clueless descriptions, they don't seem to be treasonous people."
Zhang Yuan put down his tea cup and looked at him: "The state has laws, officials, and soldiers, and if you violate the prohibitions privately, isn't it treason? If everyone is like them, isn't it a chaos?"
The officer nodded hurriedly: "I understand."
Zhang Yuan glanced at everyone: "Remember, law enforcement must be impartial and impartial, and only then can the world have long-term peace and order, and the people be safe and happy."
The officers solemnly responded yes.
Outside the talking room, another police officer hurried in.
"Boss, that boy is nearby." He whispered.
These words made the officers who were sitting down burst into laughter and stood up again.
Zhang Yuan asked: "Are you sure? You can't scare the enemy away. If you miss the target, your efforts will be in vain."
The guard nodded: "Sure." He smiled again, "This kid was digging roots in the field, but he didn't run away when he was discovered. He had to perform acrobatics to avoid it."
Acrobatics, this is consistent with the news that the Jiaozhou Institute found out that an actor was missing.
Zhang Yuan still didn't get up and looked at the others: "Are all the people ready?"
The servants nodded in unison, "Ready." "The actors have been found and rehearsed over and over again." "Everything has been explained. They seem to be afraid of you, Chief Zhang, and they will do whatever they are told."
Well, it's just because there are rumors that Zhang Yuan is Huo Lian's lackey, it doesn't matter.
Zhang Yuan slapped the table and stood up, looking outside with bright eyes, and ordered "Let's go!"
Winter evenings always get colder, pedestrians walk in a hurry, and store clerks look forward to closing early.
"Be careful." The shop owner wore a thick jacket, ear protection, and warm sleeves. "It's not peaceful these days. You guys stay in the shop at night to keep watch."
These words made the store clerks wail in their hearts.
The owner is extremely stingy, and the storekeeper will definitely not be willing to let more charcoal fires be lit. It will be really difficult at night.
This is not the most difficult thing——
"Boss, are there really bandits coming to our place?" a shop assistant asked in a low voice.
The boss glared at him: "Don't talk nonsense. I mean, it's winter and the Chinese New Year is coming. There are a lot of thieves. You all should be more vigilant and don't sleep too hard at night."
Having said this, he glanced outside. The north wind blew, and it seemed like it would get dark in the blink of an eye.
"I'm going back."
After saying that, he walked out, called his servants to harness his carriage, and hurried off on the street.
The store clerk also immediately went to the door and closed it.
"My boss is so greedy for money that he never wants to go home early." A shop assistant said, "He ran away before dark, which shows that something really happened."
"It's true. A relative of mine who works as a handyman in the government told me that a big thief has come, robbing money, sex, and killing people." The waiter in the store next to him who was also knocking on the door whispered, "There are several people outside the city.
The whole village has been damaged by rice seedlings."
These words made the two shopkeepers here look shocked: "Then, why didn't the government announce it?"
The shopkeeper over there lowered his voice: "But don't be afraid. It is said that this thief only committed two or three crimes in one place and then left."
The two shopkeepers here stared wide-eyed: "Then, the government won't arrest you?"
The shop clerk over there said quickly: "Catch it, why not arrest it? Just catch it quietly."
What, seize quietly, what can you catch? It is obvious that you want to wait for the thief to leave before arresting him in a big way. The shopkeeper here immediately understood, and speeded up his hands and feet. Hide quickly, you can't count on the government.
I can only hope that God will not let me become the next unlucky guy.
The shop assistant over there did the same thing. It seemed like all the shops on the street were closed in the blink of an eye, and not a single person was seen.
Hiding in your home is not really safe. Things like doors, windows and walls often cannot stop evildoers.
In the city shrouded in darkness, a scream broke through the dead silence of the streets, but there was no one on the street, not even patrolling patrols, so the scream did not cause any noise.
The next moment the screams disappeared.
The dim indoor lights flickered, outlining a ferocious figure.
"What do you mean - the uncle has chosen you - it's the day of your death - even if the Lord of Hell comes, he won't be able to stop you."
Deep laughter echoed in the room.
"Don't worry, I will let you have a good time before you go to Huangquan Road——"
With these words, another petite figure was pulled up and torn like a rag.
The scream sounded again, but it was much weaker than the last one. No one would save her——
But the next moment, the window lattice shattered with a bang, and a black shadow rushed towards the ferocious figure.
Screams resounded inside the room again.
But it's not a female voice, but a rough male voice.
"Thief, suffer death."
The black shadow that fluttered on the man's chest instantly lengthened, climbing up the man's throat like a snake, and could wring his neck with just one effort, but at this moment, the room suddenly became bright with fire.
A large net fell from the roof and wrapped the two people entangled on the ground.
The actor screamed secretly and grabbed the man's throat, but the man shouted at this time: "Don't take me as a hostage, I am a death row prisoner -"
trap!
The prisoner on death row deserves to die, and the government will not care about his life.
The actor rolled on the spot and was separated from the death row prisoner. The iron net was also wrapped around him and tightly wrapped around his body.
"This boy has the bone-shrinking skill——" he shouted in a deep voice, "close the net——"
With this cry, the iron net was suddenly pulled up, and dense spikes appeared in the net, driving into the flesh. The actor let out a cry of pain, and was suspended like a fish in the net, unable to move.
Dozens of officers poured into the room. The officers at the four corners were pulling on the iron net. A tall man wearing a military officer's official robe slowly walked over and made eye contact with the actor who was suspended in the iron net.
The iron net wrapped the actor into a small ball. Except for one pair of eyes that were shining fiercely, his whole face was blurred. Blood seeped out of his tattered clothes and dripped on the ground.
"Zhang Yuan of Jingzhao Prefecture is handling the case here." Zhang Yuan said, "Jiaozhou Ground Dragon, you are suspected of killing Liu Wenchang, a student from Jicheng, and you have been arrested and brought to justice."