Chapter 155

The place where they stopped was on the lower slope of a rugged mountain road in the rolling mountains. The area is relatively low, and the Shu water flows this way. The gurgling water passes through the mountains and disappears into the forest.

Among the intertwined ancient cypress trees, there is also a green and beautiful bamboo forest hidden.

Xu Yi knew where the thigh bone in Xiao Huang's mouth came from.

The bamboo forest growing upwards made a snapping sound like it was breaking. When A Xu and A Jin followed him in, they were frightened by the harsh sound.

They instinctively followed Xu Yi, holding their breath and not daring to look around for fear of seeing something terrifying.

However, they still came to the corpse impaled among the bamboos.

The limbs of the corpse were scattered around, and the skull, which was connected to the ribcage bones, ribs and cervical vertebrae, was placed on the bamboo.

A Xu and A Jin took a deep breath.

"Lang Jun, this corpse..."

It's so scary.

Ah Jin held her brother's arm tightly, and Ah Xu's arm hurt from her grip, but she didn't push her away and let her sister hold her.

The pain made him clear-headed, and he didn't lose control because of fear.

After Xu Yi inspected the bones, he said: "This body did not die naturally."

He pointed to the ribcage bone and there was an obvious knife mark.

A Xu and A Jin didn't understand why someone killed people and dumped their bodies here.

What a hatred that is.

They soon thought of Er Qing, who had just left.

The direction Erqing left happened to be opposite to the bamboo forest, so did he know there was a corpse here?

Xu Yi raised his hand to signal them to be quiet. He frowned and looked behind the bones, as if there was something there.

Blocked by a stone.

Xu Yi wanted to step forward, but A Xu reacted and followed his sister to stop him.

"Lang Jun, let's go." Although Ah Jin was scared, she didn't want Xu Yi to take risks.

Xu Yi shook his head. This bamboo forest was strange, but there was no danger.

He is not afraid of corpses or bones.

Of course, if there is any danger, Xiao Huang will warn them.

After the little guy followed them into the bamboo forest, he was digging here and there, always giving him the feeling that there were still many things buried in the forest.

A Xu said from the side: "Lang Jun, let's go together."

"Okay." Xu Yi did not object.

They walked around the stone and saw a small pit. Inside, they saw bamboo shoots breaking out of the pit, exposing the bones inside which had been corroded until only the bones were left.

The bamboo shoots that grow out of corpses in the autumn are truly breathtaking.

Half an hour later.

Xu Yi, who had searched the bones from front to back, suddenly said to the two people next to him: "Let's change our route and go to the small mountain village today."

...

The small mountain village is very small.

As its name suggests, this village is located in the middle of two valleys, surrounded by mountains on three sides. Within two-quarters of an hour's walk, you can see the dense forest.

There is no village in front of it, no shop in the back, and few people come in here by turning the corner.

There are only about 20 households in the village. The nearest village to their village can only be reached by climbing over the valley on the left and walking about ten miles.

So, when Xu Yi and others appeared in their village driving a donkey cart.

In an instant, many people in the village were attracted by this low-key and luxurious donkey cart.

"Who is this?"

"Which family in our village has foreign relatives?"

"Could it be the old Zhou family?" "

A cousin of the old Zhou family is a small official in the county town and can afford a donkey cart. "

..."

They were secretly discussing behind their backs, and someone had already quickly run to notify the village chief.

After a while, the village chief came with a cane.

At this time, the villagers saw a pair of slender white hands stretched out from the carriage, and a good-looking female servant opened the curtain.

The female envoy had bright eyebrows, yellow velvet flowers on her head, and a silver lily-of-the-valley hairpin in her hair. She wore a goose-yellow waistcoat and a taupe-red skirt. A pair of watery eyes fell on them.

The villagers opened their mouths unconsciously.

They have never seen such a beautiful girl in their village.

"I am the village chief of a small mountain village. I dare to ask this little lady, what are you doing here?" The biggest official the village chief has ever seen is the village chief.

The head of their small mountain village couldn't afford such beautiful clothes for his sisters.

As a result, he became much more polite when speaking.

Ah Jin asked him: "Hello, father-in-law, we met a young man on the way, his name is Erqing, but he is from your village?"

The village chief was stunned: "That boy Erqing is from our village, is he not?" Did he accidentally hit the noble man in the car?"

"No, he left something behind." Ah Jin shook his head.

The village chief asked: "What is it?"

Ah Jin looked at him, seeming hesitant: "Where is Erqing Xiaolang's home? My husband wants to return it to him in person." "

This..." The village chief still wanted to say What.

But they saw the female servant returning to the carriage. People outside only knew that there was a gentleman sitting inside, but they could not see his face clearly.

The village chief had no choice but to turn his attention to the young boy above him.

A Xu nodded towards him and said, "Please, father-in-law, please find someone to lead the way."

Village chief: "..." It seems that the people in this carriage will not listen to him.

The village chief saw that they were going to find Erqing, so he had to find Erqing's third-ethnic uncle among the villagers watching the excitement.

The uncle from the three clans had a sinister eyebrow and a black mole at the corner of his mouth, and a very long mole hair could be seen on it.

He had a slight limp and walked with an odd posture when leading the way.

People outside the carriage couldn't see clearly what the people inside looked like, but Xu Yi could see who was leading the way through the gap in the curtain.

He squinted at the man and then opened the car window to see the small mountain village.

The small mountain village is very remote, with low thatched houses surrounded by yards and some domestic animals.

Several skinny little children were lying on the fence wall, secretly watching the huge donkey cart.

They followed the donkey cart away with curious eyes, but timidly did not follow.

After a long time, the uncle from the three tribes finally brought them to a dilapidated thatched house.

This thatched house was different from others. The huge courtyard was empty. There was no vegetable garden, livestock pens, nothing.

Uncle Sanzu looked at the carriage with greedy eyes. This carriage was so big, there must be something good in it.

He swallowed and saw the young lady who had just been talking to their village chief getting out of the car carrying something. Then, she squatted next to him and opened the curtain.

A handsome young man came out.

The uncle of the three tribes was stunned. Among the three masters and servants, how come each one is more handsome than the other.

There are no such fair people in their village.

Xu Yi didn't pay attention to his appraising eyes, and his eyes fell on the thatched hut in front of him.

Then, he waved his sleeves to Ah Jin who was beside him.

After receiving the message, Ah Jin smiled and said thank you to the uncle from the three tribes who was leading the way. He took out a money bag from his sleeve pocket, took out some money and handed it to him.

When Uncle Sanzu saw that there was still money to take, he happily took it and left with satisfaction.

Erqing hasn't come back yet.

Not long after they waited in the carriage, they heard footsteps.

The footsteps were getting closer and faster.

The young man was even more surprised than the other people in the village when he saw Xu Yi's donkey cart in front of his house.

"Doctor Xu? Why are you here?" Erqing was holding a rabbit in his hand. The rabbit was also injured, on its hind leg.

A Xu and A Jin both looked away from the rabbit.

Xu Yi said: "Come to deliver something, maybe you will know each other."

Erqing was confused, but still invited them into the room to talk.

This thatched house was much smaller than the one Xu Yi lived in originally. Both the left and right rooms were damaged, but only the main room could still be seen.

But this ability to meet people is only relative.

Inside were placed tables and chairs that had not been polished and looked very rough. On them were earthenware pots and pottery bowls with their mouths cut open.

Erqing washed the only pottery bowl and poured the water in the pot to Xu Yi.

Xu Yi took it, looked at the turbid water in the bowl, and didn't drink it.

He signaled Ah Jin to bring the things to Er Qing.

"That thing seems to be found only on hunters. I think if you hunt in the mountains, you might recognize it."

The thing he brought was wrapped in a piece of linen cloth. Erqing took it and looked at them hesitantly before opening it.

When he saw what was inside, he was stunned.

It was something very familiar yet strange, his father's knife.

How could this knife appear on Xu Yi and the others? Erqing suddenly raised his head and stared at Xu Yi with wolf-like eyes.

"Here, where did you get this knife?"

After Xu Yi said where he picked it up, as soon as he finished speaking, Erqing turned around to get the wooden bow and went to the bamboo forest.

Seeing this, A Jin opened his arms to stop him: "It's getting late. You can go back and look for it now. It will be dark before you find it."

Seeing Er Qing's expression relax, A Jin added, "The night dew is heavy. What should I do if I get lost in the forest and encounter a wild animal?"

Erqing gritted his teeth and said, "This... this thing belongs to my father."

Xu Yi's eyebrows moved, and that was how he felt sometimes.

When he saw the corpse, he became suspicious, and there was another corpse behind it, which was also very strange.

If someone inspected the bones at this time, it would be obvious that the two bones died in the same way.

But after all, Xu Yi is not a coward, and he doesn't have that ability.

If it was an ancient battlefield, the bones would have traces of calcification, unlike now, where they still look like new human bones.

He thought deeply and felt that the matter should be reported to the official.

Erqing was stunned by what he said. Report to the official?

"Yeah." Xu Yi nodded and looked at him seriously, "Did you know that your father had offended someone before?"

The man killed someone with a knife, which showed that he had a deep hatred and was an acquaintance. Otherwise, with Orion's His skills would prevent him from being fatally stabbed.

Erqing was immediately stunned. He was only ten years old before his father died. At that time, the news that his father had entered the miasma forest and failed to come back was brought back by who...

it was his uncle from the three clans.

On the other side, when Uncle Erqing was limping home, his mother-in-law was waiting for him at the door. When she saw him, she asked in a low voice: "Who are those people?"

He stepped in and poured water on his own. After drinking, he said: "They didn't say anything."

His mother-in-law was a little unhappy: "You didn't ask?"

"Why did I ask? You didn't look at how grand the donkey cart was. It seemed like we couldn't mess with it. You can afford it."

"Then you took them to Erqing, and they didn't give you a reward?"

Uncle Erqing shut up.

His mother-in-law wanted to continue asking, but he scolded her impatiently and urged her to cook.

After his mother-in-law left, he pinched the copper coins in his arms and thought about how much money the money bag contained.

After dinner, while it was still dark, he groped outside Erqing's hut and poked his head around.

I found that the donkey cart was still there, and I was afraid it was going to stay in their village for the night.

Then, he discovered that not only was he secretly observing, but there was also a figure opposite.

The man also saw him. After a while, the two met at the creek behind the village and whispered together.

...

Xu Yi changed his route and would not be able to stay in the hotel tonight.

They lit the stove and cooked in the courtyard of Erqing's house. When the food was ready, the aroma floated into the house. Erqing smelled the smell but did not move. He sat there in a daze, eyes lowered and not knowing what he was thinking.

Ever since he remembered that the news that his father died in the miasma forest and could not come out was brought back by his uncle from the three tribes, his mind was in a mess.

Among the uncles from the three tribes who adopted him, he was the one who treated him the best, and would give him some other food in exchange for meat.

Erqing is a man who repays kindness. Uncle Sanzu is kind to him. If he hunts a lot, he will give away the extra.

"Come here and eat." At this time, Ah Jin came into the room and called him.

Erqing turned his head and looked at her blankly.

Then, his arm was grabbed by Ah Jin who stepped forward and dragged him out.

A Jin said softly from the side: "You believe Lang Jun, he will not lie to you. You can't do it yourself if you do it yourself. You have to do it according to Lang Jun's instructions. Someone from the government will report the case. We will send someone to check. If you don't believe it, we can stay and help you."

Er Qing nodded solemnly.

He seemed to have no choice but to listen to them.

After several people finished eating, Xu Yi learned from the cases he had heard from Pang Boyi before and told Erqing some.

As for how much Erqing can listen to, it depends on him.

Erqing's family couldn't stay at night, so Xu Yi planned to spend the night in the carriage.

A Xu opened the custom-made wooden screen and divided the carriage into two ends. He and Lang Jun slept on this end, while A Jin slept alone on the other end of the screen.

The lantern was hung on the wooden hook of the carriage. A-Xu and A-Jin expertly laid out soft cushions and blankets, then took out the bedding from the cage and covered them up to sleep.

The space was narrow and Xu Yi was tall, so he could only sleep with his legs stretched out and his eyes closed.

What they encountered today was too bizarre. It was already past the usual bedtime, and none of the three of them had fallen asleep.

Ah Jin was sleeping alone at one end. He looked sideways at the wooden screen, bit his lip, and whispered, "Lang Jun, brother, are you asleep?"

"A Jin." Xu Yi closed his eyes and moved his lips slightly as he responded. Got her.

Hearing Lang Jun's voice, A Jin breathed a sigh of relief: "Lang Jun, I can't sleep."

Xu Yi said: "Recite the Thousand-Character Essay silently."

A Jin pouted: "..." and started to recite it silently.

After she had memorized almost half of the "Thousand-Character Essay" silently, suddenly, in the quiet night, there was a rustling sound approaching.

Ah Jin opened his eyes suddenly.

Immediately, Xu Yi and A Xu also heard footsteps.

They stood up quietly, without speaking to each other, only looking at each other.

Then, A Xu and A Jin leaned against the car, holding their breath and waiting for the footsteps to approach.

More than one person.

It was the footsteps of two people.

The other party seemed to be confident and didn't take it easy, and quickly reached the back of the car.

The rear of the carriage is specially designed with a door that cannot be opened from the outside.

The two men tried to open the door, but gave up when they found that the door could not be opened. They planned to go around the car and get in from the top.

Before they could get around, they heard an impatient donkey bray.

The donkey outside heard someone approaching, a stranger. It brayed a few times, trying to drive the person away.

The two people were shocked by the donkey's reaction, but there was something good right in front of them, so they were not willing to give up.

Stay away from the donkey, climb up clumsily, and carefully open the curtain outside.

Seeing that there was a door inside the curtain, both of them fell silent.

Does the carriage of this donkey cart look like this?

Fortunately, the door could be opened and it was not locked on the outside. They opened the door with some effort.

They were overjoyed and wanted to go in.

Unexpectedly, as soon as he got his head and upper body in, a gust of wind suddenly came to him.

Immediately afterwards, a miserable scream broke through the silence.

"Ah -"

He covered his cheek in pain, but he didn't expect that the other party was still continuing and kicked him out of the car.

He kicked out the person behind him who tried to touch him.

The two of them flew upside down and fell to the ground, making a dull sound.

Suddenly, the sound of dogs barking came from my ears.

Xiao Huang, who was guarding Erqing's house, flew over and barked at the two of them.

When the two people saw the dog, they were so frightened that they covered their injured backs and did not dare to move.

At this moment, a bright light came from the carriage, and the two followers they had seen during the day appeared in front of them.

Uncle Erqing and his fellow villagers couldn't care less about the pain on their bodies, and their whole bodies tensed up.

They were caught in the act.

Xu Yi walked out of the carriage and looked down at the two people on the ground: "You sneaked into my carriage in the middle of the night to steal?"

"No, no, no, we didn't..." They immediately denied it.

Ajin sneered: "No? Then tell me why you got into our car."

Xu Yi said: "If you have anything to say, I'd better wait until your village chief comes."

After he finished speaking, the thatched hut behind him lit up. light.

Erqing walked out holding the candle in his hand and looked at Uncle Sanzu and the other person who were paralyzed on the ground. The young man's face tensed up, as if all his guesses had specific answers at this moment.

Soon, the small village was shaken by huge waves in the night.

The old village chief looked at the two people who were tied up, his expression uglier than anyone else's.

He knew these two people very well. He usually liked to be sneaky, but these two people dared to target foreigners.

The foreigners who suddenly appeared today do not look like ordinary people.

How dare these two people!

These days, being able to travel with an entourage without a bodyguard, it is obvious that the young man driving the car has some skills, and these two people were beaten by this young man.

Looking at the cold-looking young doctor sitting in the main room drinking tea, I saw that the old village chief had a big head.

Not long after, under cross-examination by the village chief, Uncle Erqing and his accomplices confessed that they did not want to steal anything, but they thought that the carriage was so big and there must be a lot of good things in it. If they secretly took one or two items , the other party will not know.

Who knew that the master and servants were not sleeping in the house, so they were caught on the spot.

Hearing this, the old village chief's eyes darkened, but he still licked his face, apologized to Xu Yi, and said, "Doctor Xu, what do you think we should do with these two people?"

"Report to the official." Xu Yi looked indifferent. .

The old village chief's heart skipped a beat and he hurriedly looked at Er Qing who was standing next to him.

Er Qing was young, but his face was dark and sullen at the moment, and he seemed to be even more generous than the village chief.

He couldn't help but be surprised. Is Erqing so angry because his uncle stole from a foreigner?

The old village chief thought to himself and swallowed the words that came to his mouth.

"Er Qing, Er Qing..."

"Er Qing, say something." Uncle Sanzu shouted several times, but Er Qing was stunned and didn't react at all.

Uncle Sanzu was annoyed and wanted to go forward and grab him by the collar. But he was tied up and it was difficult to move.

The accomplices next to him shouted: "Don't report it to the official, don't report it to the official, we don't dare to do it anymore."

"This gentleman, we really just want to steal something, nothing else."

They are in their village , he didn’t dare to steal too much, he just thought that with so many things, no one would know if they stole a little and sold them in the city.

Seeing that those people were not easy to talk to, the accomplices went to seek help from Erqing.

"Er Qing, you can't just watch your uncle being taken away. If your father's spirit in heaven sees you refusing to save him, he will definitely scold you for being unfilial."

He blurted out these words, but Er Qing was extremely shocked. reaction.

Er Qing's eyes were fixed on him, and he asked him with heavy breathing: "You said my father's spirit is in heaven?"

His accomplice was stunned, and he gritted his teeth and nodded: "Yes, your father's spirit is in heaven. Seeing that the past could not be better, If my brother is in trouble, he will definitely scold you for not saving me. For the sake of your uncle treating you well these past few years, please speak kindly to this man and let him let you and me go. Uncle Three Clansmen..."

The old village chief suppressed his blush, but said nothing.

He looked at Er Qing with cloudy eyes, thinking about what decision he would make.

However, neither he nor the two people kneeling on the ground expected that Erqing didn't say anything else and only took out something from his arms.

The thing was wrapped in linen and slowly opened in front of everyone.

It was a tattered pocket knife.

He was stunned, looking at the knife with some confusion.

On the contrary, the two people kneeling on the ground suddenly showed a look of panic after seeing the knife, and they hurriedly opened their eyes, too panicked to dare to continue looking.

"You know whose sword this is." Erqing looked at them with a firm tone and said.

The old village chief was confused: "Er Qing, what is this knife?"

Er Qing raised his eyes, with tears in his eyes: "Village chief, this is my father's knife."

"Your father?" the old village chief exclaimed, and quickly He took it carefully, and soon remembered that Erqing's father did have such a knife. He shook his hands in shock, "How could this knife be on you?"

Erqing did not immediately answer the village chief's words, looking at him with eyes. Towards Xu Yi.

Xu Yi nodded towards him.

Erqing then slowly told the old village chief what Xu Yi and the others had discovered.

While Er Qing was talking about this, Xu Yi had been silently observing the two people on the ground.

When Erqing told the location of the bones, the two people had other reactions. Their shoulders and arms were shaking uncontrollably.

Looking at the shocked expressions on the two people's faces, it seemed that these two people had a great relationship with the death of Erqing's father.

If we think about Er Qing's behavior just now, it's not difficult to guess. Maybe Erqing had a suspicion in mind when he got the knife.

After listening to what Er Qing said, the expression of the old village chief changed significantly. He looked at the two people kneeling on the ground with a sullen face, and involuntarily raised the crutch in his hand and waved it to them.

The old village chief beat them several times, and after listening to the two men screaming in pain and running away begging for their lives, the old village chief stopped.

He looked at Er Qing and said after careful consideration: "Now that your father's bones have been found, I will send two villagers to follow you tomorrow and bring your father's bones back for burial."

After a long time, Er Qing said slowly: "No. "Really?"

The old village chief sighed: "My child, you are still young. Your father has left you like this. I have really wronged you in the past few years."

Xu Yi drank the bitter tea in silence.

He put down the tea bowl, stood up and walked out of the main room of the old village chief's house.

Seeing this, A Xu and A Jin quickly followed out.

There were only people from the small mountain village left in the room.

Ah Jin followed Xu Yi closely, looking at the thatched house behind with confusion, and asked softly: "Lang Jun, I don't understand. Judging from the old village chief's reaction, he should know who killed Erqing's father. Then why don't you help punish the criminal? "

The moonlight was dim, and the small mountain village was surrounded by mountains. The dark mountains were like lurking ferocious beasts, trying to devour this small village.

It seems that the weaker the human being, the more afraid of conflicts.

Once conflicts arise, accidents will easily occur.

For the old village chief, Erqing's father had died a long time ago, so what if he knew who killed him.

It would only make this peaceful mountain village feel uneasy, or break the surface tranquility.

When the old village chief made his choice, Xu Yi knew that it would be impossible for Erqing to let the old village chief uphold justice.

His staying here will only bring trouble to Erqing.

The next morning, half of the people in the small mountain village went out.

They came to the place Xu Yi told them about and dug up two skeletons.

One of the skeletons had a broken section of the left little finger, which belonged to Erqing's father.

The other skeleton had no distinguishing features, but among the villagers who followed him, some still recognized the few small perforated stones beside his buried body.

These small stones were originally strung into chains and worn on the wrists, which he gave to his brothers.

Back then, his brother followed the villagers to look for Erqing's father in the miasma forest. As a result, he never returned. Everyone thought they had died in the miasma forest like Erqing's father, but they didn't expect to be here.

Because of this incident, he hated Er Qing very much. He felt that it was Er Qing's father who killed his good brother. He had a bad look towards Er Qing in the past few years.

Suddenly, something occurred to him.

"It's you!" He jumped out and pointed at Erqing's uncle from the third clan and the other person.

That was the news they brought back!