From that day on, Fu Yuanlong returned to the county government office and occupied the inner hall as before, never leaving again.
Based on this, Xu Chong guessed that during the half-month period when Fu Yuanlong disappeared, he was probably secretly searching for the fragments of the cave sky.
Now that I'm back, I guess I haven't been able to get any clues in the past half month, my patience has been exhausted, and I finally gave up.
How ridiculous.
He keeps saying that Taiping Road has not been found for more than ten years, and it is impossible for him to find it.
What’s the result?
It’s not Baba’s job to go find it.
Xu Chong was disdainful and did not provoke Fu Yuanlong. He stayed in Dianshi Yamen and waited for the 'abnormal situation' mentioned by Wuxie Daozi to appear.
Tell the truth.
At first, he didn't think anything unusual would happen in the county.
So what if the fragments of the cave are really in Canglong?
There has been no commotion for more than 20 years, but they react when the two forces come together?
What a coincidence.
Therefore, Xu Chong did not take this matter seriously.
However, in just the past three days, problems have arisen in the county.
To be precise, there is something wrong with people.
……
……
"Are you sure?"
Xu Chong closed his eyes and raised his hand to pinch his eyebrows.
"Make sure, Brother Wu Zuo has already rushed over."
Zhao Liu answered.
An old woman flashed through his mind, and Xu Chong opened his eyes, "Let's go and have a look."
The two of them left the Yamen without saying any more and went straight to Baiyang Lane.
When we arrived, the small courtyard at the end of the alley was already full of people.
There are neighbors and widowers.
"Master Xu is here, please get out of the way, get out of the way quickly!"
Soon someone discovered Xu Chong and shouted to the crowd to get out of the way.
Xu Chong didn't even exchange greetings with these people and walked directly in.
Then the pupils shrank sharply.
There is an extremely thin body on the ground.
How thin is it?
The patched coarse cloth clothes were not big, but they still couldn't be held up much. They seemed to be many sizes too big, hanging together loosely.
This is Aunt Ma, Aunt Ma who has shrunk a lot.
Yes, shrink.
Aunt Ma curled up, with only her face, neck, hands and feet exposed.
Without exception, there is only a piece of dry skin left in these parts, clinging to the bones.
"My lord."
Wu Zuo stood up, clasped his fists and bowed to Xu Chong.
"Say."
Xu Chong spit out a word.
"Yes."
Wu Zuo nodded and looked at the corpse with horror: "I have been doing autopsy for nearly ten years, and I have never encountered such a strange situation."
"There are no wounds on the body surface of the corpse. Except for the human skin and skeleton, all the internal organs and body are all withered and shrunken. There is not a drop of blood, as if it has been dried, so that it is impossible to judge the time of death."
"The deceased's body was abnormally curled up and his fists were clenched, which must have been caused by the tremendous pain he suffered before death, indicating that death was not instantaneous."
It is indeed a mummy...
Xu Chong nodded, "What do you think?"
"You can tell that this is definitely not homicide."
Wu Zuo pretended to be calm, but his voice was still obviously trembling, "I have never heard of any killing method that can cause such a death."
If he wasn’t killed by someone, how did he die?
The crowd of onlookers became commotion.
In whispers, various ghosts and monsters in rumors were brought out.
"Who discovered it?"
Xu Chong asked.
"Yes, it's me!"
An old woman squeezed out from the crowd, with a look of shock on her face: "Mr. Xu, I don't live in Baiyang Lane, but I often run a stall with Sister Ma at the vegetable market. I didn't see her yesterday, and I haven't seen her today either, so I came over to have a look. Who knows...
…”
"I understand, you should go back to the Yamen first."
Xu Chong said something to Wu Zuo, turned around and faced everyone, and said loudly: "There is no need to panic, everyone should work and eat and drink."
"I will find out the cause of Aunt Ma's death as soon as possible and give everyone an explanation."
"In addition, if there are any new clues, report them to the Yamen immediately."
Xu Chong's words seemed to have an amazing magic power, making the neighbors who were still worried and considering whether to move out instantly feel at ease.
"Okay, we believe your Majesty."
"Adults, don't be too tired."
"Gone, gone..."
After everyone dispersed, Xu Chong took one last look at the small tile-roofed house, turned around and left.
"Take the body with you and follow me back to the Yamen."
"Yes."
Zhao Liu suppressed the fear in his heart, wrapped Aunt Ma in linen, and followed.
Xu Chong was thinking as he walked.
The mummy...is it caused by the cave fragment?
No, it could also be man-made.
Just because ordinary people don't have this means doesn't mean that warriors don't have it either.
Don’t forget, Canglong County suddenly had more than a hundred warriors.
"Let's test it first..."
Xu Chong had an idea, turned his feet, and changed direction.
Two hundred steps away in this direction, there was a blood-clad guard named Xiaoqi, walking aimlessly.
Xu Chong led Zhao Liu closer, and when he was about ten steps away, he pretended to suddenly see Xiao Qi and trotted forward.
"Xu Chong, the lower official, has met your Excellency."
Xu Chong cupped his fists and saluted.
Xiaoqi is from the seventh rank, so it is not out of the ordinary to call himself a lower official.
"Uh...are you, Mr. Xu?"
Xiaoqi was stunned for a moment, and then the scene at the county government office was heard, and a smile immediately appeared on his face: "Where did Mr. Xu come from?"
The adults in hundreds of families are close to this classic, so it is always right to be polite on the surface.
So it fell right into Xu Chong’s heart.
"Hey, there's a life lost."
Xu Chong sighed and said with a hint of dissatisfaction and helplessness: "I don't know who did it. They turned people into mummies. They can't even tell how long they were dead... Hey, I have a headache. I don't know how to explain it to Master Fu."
."
Turns out that’s what I was worried about.
Xiao Qi understood immediately and said with a smile: "Don't worry, Lord Baihu is very fond of you. How can he blame you for this kind of thing?"
"Oh? Sir, please don't lie to me."
Xu Chong showed a surprised look.
"Believe me, just find a place to bury the body, and just write that you died of illness on the file."
Xiao Qi looked at Xu Chongyi meaningfully.
"This... I would like to thank you, sir, for your advice."
Xu Chong thought for a moment and then thanked him repeatedly.
"Little things."
Xiaoqi patted Xu Chong on the shoulder and passed by.
Xu Chong maintained the posture of cupping his hands, and the smile on his face disappeared little by little.
The formation of mummies is not that simple.
At least he himself would never be able to mummify a living person.
When Xiaoqi, a mere blood-clad guard, heard the word "mummy", no matter in his eyes, expression, or tone, he was not surprised at all.
This made him have to suspect that Aunt Ma's death was related to the blood-clad guards.
Xu Chong stood up slowly and looked back at Xiaoqi's back.
There is a question that he can't figure out.
The Bloody Guards have been here for more than half a month. If something must be accomplished with human life, why wait until now?
In other words... Aunt Ma was not the first to die like this, but just the first to be discovered?
"Sir, are you taking it back to the Yamen?"
Zhao Liu whispered in his ear.
"Let's bury it next to Liu Er. There are a lot of open spaces in the forest."
Xu Chong stretched out his right hand from the sleeve of his robe and handed Zhao Liuyi five taels of silver. "You keep the rest. Don't come to the Yamen these days. Go check on the old and weak people living alone in the county. Look at them."
Are there any such mysterious deaths?"
"Thank you sir."
Zhao Liu hesitated for a moment before taking it.
He has been with Xu Chong for so long. Although his salary and status have increased, he does not earn as much as before. If he only buries these five taels of silver for one person, he can still have a lot of surplus. He cannot refuse.