Wang Qi said that the efficiency of Luo County's police officers was very slow, but when it came to this kind of thing, their hands and feet were still very quick.
In less than half a day, they delivered the information Gu Cheng wanted before it got dark.
Zhao Jingming, Wang Qi and Xiao Yi were also in Gu Cheng's room, looking at the information together.
What Gu Cheng had guessed before was correct. Before this case, three people had been strangled to death, but none of them reported it to the authorities, so it did not attract attention.
The information of these three people are:
Zhang Cong, a twenty-three-year-old scholar, died at home seven days ago.
Song Zikang, a thirty-three-year-old unemployed gambler, died in Yang's noodle shop five days ago after eating twenty-two bowls of noodles. The noodle shop owner paid five taels of silver to his family and gave up the trouble.
Pei Qiu, fifty-seven years old, was the owner of Shengye Grain Store. He ate half a bag of brown rice four days ago and died in the grain store.
After reading this information, Wang Qi couldn't help but grinned and said: "Including the Wang family who died this time, these four people are not related at all. The ghost's killing seems to have no rules, and it just randomly picks some people to kill."
Zhao Jingming asked Gu Cheng, "Did you find anything?"
Gu Cheng thought for a while and said, "I have some guesses, but I'm not sure. Xiao Yi, does Jingyesi have a map of Luo County?"
"some."
With that said, Xiao Yi turned over a map and gave it to Gu Cheng.
Spreading out the map, Gu Cheng said: "Since there is no similarity in their identities, the only place where they may have crossed paths is where they encountered the ghost.
According to this information, Zhang Cong lives in Oil Paper Mill in the south of the city, but he goes to the academy in the north of the city to study every day."
As he spoke, Gu Cheng drew a line on the map.
"Song Zikang lives in Songhua Lane in the east of the city, and his most frequent place is the Shunde Gambling House in the west of the city."
Gu Cheng drew another line on the map.
"Pei Qiu's Shengye Grain Store is in the north of the city. He lives in the backyard of the grain store on weekdays, but the information says that this guy actually has an outhouse living in Qiushui Lane in the south of the city, so he lives every few days.
I want to go once.”
When Gu Cheng drew the last line on the map, everyone already understood it without Gu Cheng having to say anything.
There is only one place where the three lines overlap, and that is the most central and most prosperous street in Luo County, Kangping Street.
Xiao Yi wondered: "But if the three of them bumped into that ghost on Kangping Street, what happened to the Wang family?
She is a housewife and seldom goes out on weekdays, so she only has one home."
Before Gu Cheng could answer, Zhao Jingming chuckled and said, "Women like to dress up very much. Although Wang's family is not rich, they still have to buy some rouge and gouache. There are many shops selling rouge and gouache in Luo County."
It’s on Kangping Street.”
Gu Cheng nodded and said: "The conditions of these three people are all matched, so the clues from Wang's side are not important.
But can ghosts come out and harm people during the day? Of these three people, except Song Zikang, who loves gambling, sometimes returns home in the middle of the night, the other two should not have the habit of walking at night."
"I can't say for sure." Zhao Jingming shook his head and said: "The abilities of ghosts are ever-changing. Although Jingyesi has divided ghosts into nine levels, the abilities of ghosts at each level are different. Some are easy to deal with, and some are extremely difficult to deal with.
.
We will go to Kangping Street to check it out tomorrow, you and Xiao Yi should be careful."
In the early morning of the next day, Gu Cheng and four others came to Kangping Street.
In the month since he came to Luo County, Gu Cheng hasn't gone out much for a stroll. He has been practicing in Jingyesi for most of this month. It was only then that he carefully observed the scenery of Luo County.
Luo County is a large county in Heyang Prefecture. It is located at the transportation hub of Guanlu. Therefore, although it is a county seat, it is quite prosperous, with four urban districts in the east, west, south, north, and twelve cities.
Right now, Kangping Street is the center of Luo County. From brothels and gambling houses to Buzhuang grain stores and street vendors, almost everything is gathered on this street.
Logically speaking, a place with such a dense crowd should not be able to attract evil spirits. Naturally, there is something a little strange about this mission.
After arriving at Kangping Street, Zhao Jingming and Wang Qi went directly to the patrol officers on Kangping Street to inquire about the news. Gu Cheng took Xiao Yi to patrol the streets back and forth, looking for clues.
The market is bustling and noisy, with entertainers and performers, stalls selling food, merchants coming and going, and girls standing on high buildings with half-dressed breasts greeting customers. And standing in front of the gambling house, dressed in a naked body,
A vicious gangster.
The chances of finding clues about a ghost in a place like this are simply ridiculously low.
So after walking around with Xiao Yi, Gu Cheng said to Xiao Yi: "Take a break, eat something, and see if those two can find any clues."
After entering the ninth level, the muscles, bones, skin and flesh became one, and his strength increased greatly, but Gu Cheng's appetite also increased greatly.
It was still morning, and less than two hours after breakfast, Gu Cheng was already feeling a little hungry.
Sitting at the stall, Gu Cheng and Xiao Yi each had a bowl of tofu puffs, and Gu Cheng alone had five fried dough sticks.
The tender and smooth tofu puffs are paired with the salty and thick egg marinade. The familiar feeling made Gu Cheng nod with satisfaction. The tofu puffs should be salty.
Xiao B only wanted a bowl of tofu, so he ate it quickly.
After eating, he looked at the few beggars walking out of the street and said to himself: "It's almost noon, why do these beggars come out to beg for food? Don't they eat in the morning?"
Hearing this, Gu Cheng shook his head and said: "Since ancient times, no one has asked for breakfast. If they could get up early, they wouldn't beg for food.
Luo County is at the hub of the official road, with countless caravans coming and going, and those with hands and feet will not starve to death even if they are carrying large bags.
It’s just that I’m used to eating the food that comes and I’m too lazy to move.”
Xiao Yi's eyes lit up: "Who said this? It makes sense."
There was a strange look on Gu Cheng's face: "It was said by a very famous little black fat man in the capital."
Xiao Yi praised: "It really deserves to be a capital city with so many talented people."
Just as he was talking, Xiao Yi saw something and suddenly retched.
"What's wrong?"
Xiao Yi pointed at the beggars on the street. At this time, someone in the restaurant next to him poured the leftover swill from the morning into a wooden bucket in the corner. A group of beggars went up to fight for it and gobbled it up, looking extremely scary.
"Seeing them look like starving ghosts who were reincarnated to grab food, I thought of the scene in the kitchen yesterday and felt a little sick to my stomach."
Gu Cheng suddenly thought of something and immediately said to Xiao Yi: "Go to Zhao Jingming and Wang Qi immediately and ask them to instruct the county government's agents to evacuate the neighborhood and isolate the crowd."
Xiao Yi was stunned for a moment, then realized and asked quickly: "Brother Gu, have you found any clues about the ghost?"
Gu Cheng stretched out a hand: "Maybe I'm paranoid, but I'm 50% sure."
Xiao Yi's words just now gave Gu Cheng inspiration. The beggars on the street were frantically snatching for food, and they looked like they were reincarnated by starving ghosts. They were really similar to the people who were strangled to death before. The only difference was that they would not strangle themselves to death.
Fifty percent confidence was enough. Xiao Yi nodded and went to find someone immediately.
Gu Cheng walked up to a beggar and asked, "I want to ask something."
The beggar was the one who grabbed it the fastest. By now, his belly was rounded by food, and he was lying on the wall basking in the sun, ignoring Gu Cheng's words.
"Ding ding."
Gu Cheng threw two big coins into his bowl.
The beggar quickly sat up and said with a smile: "What do you want to ask, sir?"
"Are there any strange and abnormal people among you beggars?"
The beggar scratched his armpit and said with a smile: "This is an interesting question, sir. How many normal people are there among us beggars?"
"I mean, has anyone been so weird lately that he doesn't look like a beggar?"
The beggar thought for a while, then pointed to a skinny beggar holding a jar on the wall not far away and said, "That guy is not quite normal.
A few days ago I dug out such a clay pot somewhere, and I kept holding it like a treasure. I didn't even ask for food. I was so hungry that I put the pot in front of people and shouted for food.
.
Although we are beggars begging for food, we still have to follow rules and craftsmanship.
How can you be so demanding when begging for food? When you see a man, call him "Master, please do me a favor". When you see a woman, call her "Madam". If you show kindness and say a few auspicious words, the master and his wife will give you food.
With that dead face on his face, it’s strange that he can ask for food, and he has forgotten all the rules passed down by his grandpa.”
Gu Cheng had no time to think about the beggar and the ancestor. If he was 50% sure just now, he was 80% sure now.
At this time, Xiao Yi also called Zhao Jingming and Wang Qi over, along with dozens of police officers, and began to disperse the crowd and blockade the streets. The excuse he used was that there were bandits sneaking into the caravan and the Yamen wanted to arrest them.
He looked very skilled in arresting him. It was obviously not the first time he had done this.
"Did we find any clues about the ghost?" Zhao Jingming came over and asked.
Chu Xiu pointed at the beggar by the wall: "That's him."
Zhao Jingming frowned: "Beggar?"
Gu Cheng shook his head: "It's not the beggar, it's the jar in his hand."
"Go and take a look, be careful."
The four of them walked towards the beggar. Gu Cheng already had one hand on the hilt of his sword, Xiao Yi also held a piece of talisman paper in the palm of his hand, and Wang Qi took out a pair of black iron fist gloves with spikes.
With it in hand, Zhao Jingming did nothing.
Seeing the four people approaching, the beggar slowly stretched out his clay pot and said in a weak tone: "Begging for food."
Zhao Jingming said in a deep voice: "I will give you the money, and you give me the jar."
Upon hearing this, the beggar quickly held the pottery pot in his arms. Under his unkempt long hair, an extremely vicious cold light appeared in his eyes.
He yelled in a heartbreaking voice: "You don't give me food, but you still want to steal my treasure? Damn it! Just like those people, you all deserve to die!"
As his words fell, the clay pot in his arms suddenly shattered, and thick Yin energy emitted.
"careful!"
Zhao Jingming shouted, but it was too late.
The dark Yin Qi ghost mist poured into the beggar's body along with bursts of ghost cries, and the beggar's figure began to change in an instant.
His originally thin figure began to grow rapidly, and he grew to nearly two feet tall, like a little giant.
But his limbs are still extremely slender, his blue-grey skin is like that of a dead person, his belly is as bulging as those of those who were stretched to death before, and his slender neck supports a huge and ugly head, with a green face, fangs, and drooling saliva.
"Ho ho!"
The ghost roared hoarsely, and Yin Qi exploded. Gu Cheng could even feel that in his black jade space, the inner ghost was holding its head and shrinking into a ball, as if it was extremely frightened.