Groups of soldiers swarmed in and blocked the city gate. The fat Taoist driver subconsciously raised his sleeves to cover his face. The crazy old man stood up from his tent and put one foot on the wooden railing, gesticulating with his fingers and speaking.
More than a hundred uniformly dressed soldiers raised their hands and shouted in unison: "Greetings, sir."
Sima, the captain of the capital, stepped forward to stand in front of the bullock cart with his sword in hand, and knelt down on one knee in front of Chen Yuan.
"My right-hand captain has invited you to come over and have a chat with me!"
Hearing this, the fat Taoist quickly put down his sleeves and laughed dryly: "I'm scared to death, so that's what happened." He patted the crazy old man who was stepping on the guardrail and still chattering. The latter then stopped his voice and looked serious: "This
Are you not fighting again?"
While the two were talking, Chen Yuan frowned and got out of the car to greet him, then returned the salute.
"I'm just a sideshow, so how can I be called sir? What's more, I don't know the prince of your family. Why are you stopping me here? Could it be that you have recognized the wrong person?"
There were so many people here, so Sima didn't know what to say. He stood up, came a little closer, and lowered his voice and said, "Did you forget the Xiaojiang Town Inn?"
Xiaojiang Town?
Inn?!
How could Chen Yuan forget the small town inn where he stayed yesterday? He immediately became wary. The government was very fast and even prepared his portrait.
Then I thought about it, the fact that the other party came to invite me to come over to the government instead of the county government directly sending people to arrest him, it was enough to show that there was something else going on.
Holding such a big scene can be said to be a big deal, and you should be asking for something.
Having roughly figured this out, at this juncture, Chen Yuan couldn't refuse, so he had to stretch out his hand and said, "Can you please lead the way?"
Hearing this, the captain's face suddenly broke into a smile, and he hurriedly walked forward, dismissed the extra soldiers, and only brought a dozen people to help guard the ox cart, and immediately walked beside Chen Yuan.
"This way, sir."
Chen Yuan saw him take a step slower, and it was not difficult to tell that such a person was very suitable for flattery, and he should be the confidant of the Duhou. Captain Sima, who was a little slower, was also quietly sizing up the young-looking man in front of him.
gentlemen.
Judging from his simple clothes, simple ox cart, a chubby Taoist priest and a slovenly old man, and even some puppets in the cart, he is completely a street acrobat. If Duhou hadn't specifically told him, there would be no way to tell what he was.
Master.
Although he didn't read much, he still knew terms like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. He couldn't say that the person in front of him was an outsider. However, after a brief contact, he didn't have that kind of arrogance, but instead felt close and gentle... Well,
To be precise, down to earth!
"I haven't asked Sima's name yet."
Passing by the street in front, pedestrians retreated one after another. Chen Yuan calmly found a topic and asked. Over there, Sima also answered respectfully: "Sir, my surname is Chen."
"Haha, you are from the same family as me."
"Don't dare."
"Oh, by the way, do you know why the prince of your family is looking for me?"
Seeing Chen Yuan's look, Sima shook his head: "I don't know about this matter either. Duhou only said that I would use this drawing paper to conduct an interrogation at the four gates. If I meet Mr., please ask him to come over.
Let’s discuss something.”
"I see."
Chen Yuan nodded and didn't ask why there was a portrait of him. The innkeeper came into contact with many people every day, so he naturally remembered people's appearances clearly.
What's more, it was a late night stay that day, which was quite special. The other party wrote down his appearance and relayed it to the people in the Yamen. This was not difficult to do.
The group of people walked through the noisy market, and soon came to a house. A pair of majestic stone lions carved from white rock, a painted red door panel under the eaves, and several rows of copper door nails on it. The Sima clapped the copper ring, and for a moment
, an old concierge opened the door and saw that it was his master's confidants, he immediately opened the door and welcomed Chen Yuan and the others in.
"Sir, please come in. The ox cart will be placed here, and my son-in-law will take care of it."
"Um."
Chen Yuan nodded, lifted the hem of his robe, and stepped into the threshold. On both sides of the feng shui wall, thick green mulberry branches and leaves blocked out the sun above. There was some moss crawling through the cracks in the wall bricks, and there were large and small trees on both sides.
Corridors paved with different bricks and stones lead to the east and west courtyards. After going to and from several houses, Chen Yuan could tell from the structure alone that this was a large house, but it was a bit gloomy.
After crossing the Feng Shui wall, there is the front yard. Na Sima invited Chen Yuan to wait in the side hall where he was waiting for guests. He went straight to the back hall and waited for the maid to come and serve tea to the three of them. Not long after, Na Sima accompanied an elderly man.
A man about thirty years old came over.
The opponent has sharp cheeks, a broad forehead, a goatee, and a thick build. He is obviously a man who leads troops all year round.
The moment he saw Chen Yuan, he hurriedly stepped forward and handed over his hand: "Xu Huaiyu, the Marquis of the Right Capital of Linjiang County, has met Mr."
"Chen Yuan." Here, Chen Yuan bowed his hand in return and looked at the warrior in front of him. The blood was surging all over his body, but he was powerless. He was undoubtedly an ordinary person.
On the side, the fat Taoist reminded them softly in a voice that the two of them could hear: "Pretend, you have to pretend. Boss, I'm familiar with this."
Chen Yuan ignored him, said a few words to Xu Duhou, and then sat down one after another. Then, Chen Yuan's voice slowed down and asked again.
"I don't know why the lord of the capital is looking for me if he has sent soldiers to guard the city gate."
The maid served tea to the master and left. Sima followed him out and closed the door. After everyone left, Xu Huayu suddenly stood up and knelt down on the ground.
"Sir, I also ask you to save my Yu'er. He is only three years old. He has been missing from home for several days and his whereabouts are unknown now..."
"Duhou gets up first and speaks."
Chen Yuan finally passed by the mother and son in Liu's house and knelt down. She was not frightened at the moment. She went over to help the man up and said, "I just travel around and perform wood carving and juggling. I don't deserve to be held high by the emperor... not to mention the matter of searching for someone, the house
Wouldn’t it be better to catch the police quickly?”
"Sir, please don't be humble."
Xu Huaiyu's eyes were wet and red. It was hard to imagine that a military man would shed tears like this. He sat down and softly talked about how he knew about Chen Yuan.
"If you hadn't shown off your magical powers in Xiaojiang Town, I wouldn't have known that there was such an expert as you... When the yamen servant reported the case, I discussed my son's matter with the county magistrate... The body in the coffin had been dead for several months, but...
It is still not rotten, so it is obvious that it is an extraordinary thing. There are sawdust on the hand, which coincides with the damaged shed pillar... The zombie's head is missing, so it must have been beheaded by the gentleman. As for the people who transported the corpse in the inn, they must have been too.
Evildoers."
"Duhou's inference is quite accurate." Chen Yuan smiled, "But I have never done this kind of thing like searching for people, so I can't say that I can't help you much."
The man suddenly stood up, then knelt down again.
"Sir! Xu begs for your help. If you are asked to do anything in the future, Xu will never refuse!"
After saying these words, Xu Huaiyu actually had no choice but to do anything. A few days ago, his son suddenly disappeared at home. Everyone in the house, even the toilets and wells were searched, but there was no trace of him.
There have been several cases of missing children in the city recently, and sometimes even women who were about to give birth disappeared.
He was so anxious that he called in scouts from the generals and experienced policemen from the yamen one by one to search and investigate, but it was difficult to find any clues. They had been married for more than ten years and had seven or eight daughters. The son he had longed for had just been born. This was
If the 'incense burner' that carries on the family line is gone, his lineage will be considered extinct.
In the past, he didn't believe in ghosts and gods, but now that things have happened, and there are several cases of missing children and pregnant women in the city, he can't delay it. If it drags on for too long, he can't imagine the consequences.
After deducing what happened in Xiaojiang Town, he quickly sent people to wait for him, just in case he met an expert.
There is no hope of saving this precious child.
…
Children were lost one after another, and even the woman who was about to give birth disappeared.
In the last life, Chen Yuan was considered a peaceful person, but after doing such tragic things to children and pregnant women, he still had anger in his heart.
After listening to the whole story of his story, Chen Yuan over there did not rush to reply, let alone finish his words, and just let Xu Huaiyu get up first.
"It might as well be like this. Lord Du will take your son's clothes first and I'll give them a try."
"Thank you, sir, for your help! Thank you, sir, for your help!"
Xu Huaiyu was so excited that he called the steward and happily asked him to go to the backyard.
"Hurry and tell Madam to bring you a piece of clothing that Yu'er often wears. The master wants to show off his magical powers and is looking for Yu'er!"