(two)
Displeased at being interrupted, Zhao Jingtao stepped on the gas and sped away, dropping the four people off at their hotel before leaving.
What happened just now was a minor incident. After checking in, everyone settled into the hotel. Just as Zhou Ziqiu was about to order takeout, Fatty suddenly suggested loudly, "Why don't we go out to eat!"
Considering that going out to eat would also allow them to visit the police station on the way, everyone readily agreed. They found a well-reviewed restaurant near the hotel, had a meal, and then went to the police station to complete the handover procedures. When they came out of the police station, it was only 2 p.m., at which point the fat man revealed his original purpose: "Let's go to the beach! Now is the perfect time."
“Go by yourself if you want, I’m not interested.” Wen Su raised an eyebrow and turned to walk towards the hotel. Fatty quickly grabbed him. A boss like that on the beach is a weapon of mass destruction, so he has to be taken there.
When the two sides were at odds, Zhou Ziqiu suggested, "Let's wait until this case is resolved before we go. The case is more important."
That's a good idea. The fat man let go of his hand: "Then let's walk around around here. It's only two o'clock now. How about we go to Tuoyue Square? It seems like there's an event there!"
Tuoyue Square was near the hotel, so Zhou Ziqiu decided to go back to the hotel on the way. Although he didn't want to go, he still followed the group.
After inquiring around there, everyone learned that it was the anniversary of the death of Xie Xingzhou, the young general of the Xie family. To commemorate the young general, an event was held in the square every year at this time. In the past, it was used for commemoration, but now it was more like a cultural festival. There were many men and women dressed in ancient costumes in the square, laughing and chatting. Fatty's eyes were glued to the group of beautiful women dressed in Zhou Dynasty dress.
On the central stage, actors in costumes were performing the famous play "The Young General's Arrow Trick on the Wan Army." The audience, mostly middle-aged or elderly tourists, cheered as the martial arts actors performed agile acrobatics.
General Xie's life story is well-known. Whether it was his birth into a fallen noble family, his resolute enlistment in the army and his outstanding military achievements on the battlefield, or his raising the banner of war against a neighboring country only to die on the battlefield, even his only son surpassed his father in talent. He showed remarkable talent in his first campaign with his father, using his ingenious strategies to outwit the enemy. The story of "The Young General's Arrow Trick on the Wan Army" tells of how, when the Wan army was besieged and about to collapse, the young general spread the news that the neighboring Wu Kingdom had sent troops to aid the Zhou Dynasty, causing some confusion among the Wan army. He then sneaked alone near the Wan army camp and used his excellent archery skills to kill the Wan army's general inside his tent.
The fat man and the bespectacled man weren't interested in the young general; they wandered around the food stalls. Zhou Ziqiu and Wen Su, however, stood below the stage with a group of middle-aged tourists.
Wen Su watched the performance quietly, but suddenly chuckled.
This sound brought Zhou Ziqiu, who was lost in thought, back to his senses. He turned to look at Wen Su and asked, "What's wrong?"
Wen Su pointed at the martial arts actor and said, "People always say how brave the two Xie family generals are, but I've never understood why the young Xie general would die so easily on the battlefield if he were really that powerful."
After a long silence, Zhou Ziqiu finally said, "He...didn't die in battle."
"Why do you say that? History says he died on the battlefield," Wen Su asked. Zhou Ziqiu's statement was quite novel to others.
"History is written by the victors, and it is a mixture of truth and falsehood. Official history may not be true, and unofficial history may not be false."
Wen Su clearly agreed with Zhou Ziqiu's point of view, and then asked, "So he was murdered?"
Sure enough, Zhou Ziqiu nodded, confirming Wen Su's guess, but he did not say who killed Xie Xingzhou, only saying, "He was a man of loyalty and righteousness."
"Alright." Hearing this, it seemed he was dying for so-called loyalty, but Wen Su felt nothing for such people. However, he was slightly interested in this Young General Xie's strength. "Was he really this powerful according to unofficial histories?"
He was a brilliant strategist, even more capable than his father.
Zhou Ziqiu nodded, a slight smile on his face: "Of course. There is a song in unofficial history that goes, 'A gentleman of noble character, as if cut and polished, as if carved and refined. Solemn and dignified, majestic and imposing. A gentleman of noble character, never to be forgotten.' That describes him."
After speaking, he turned his head to look at Wen Su, only to meet Wen Su's surprised eyes. He didn't know what he had done to surprise Wen Su: "What's wrong?"
Wen Su shook his head and looked back at the stage: "It's nothing, I just didn't expect you to have such a high opinion of him."
Zhou Ziqiu smiled and denied Wen Su's words: "It's not that the evaluation is high, it's just what is recorded in unofficial history... But it's a pity that he was able to achieve great things like his father."
"Alright." Wen Su shrugged and stopped asking questions. After a short walk in Tuoyue Square, the group returned to the hotel.
The next day, the two followed the search team to the place where the disappearance was reported. It was a relatively remote part of Tuoyue Town, near the forest area in the north of Yubei. The path that the missing person mentioned before disappearing was a path that passed through the forest area. Fatty and Glasses were called there in advance, but no one knew why they were called there.
Zhou Ziqiu frowned as he looked at the woods surrounding the path. Perhaps he was overthinking things, but a forest area near the sea should normally be full of coconut trees, but this forest was also interspersed with willow trees. This phenomenon is very common in the north, but it is strange in the south. Willow trees are rare in the south, but here there is a large area of willow trees.
Willow trees hold different meanings for people who practice metaphysics.
To confirm whether he was overthinking things, Zhou Ziqiu looked at Wen Su. Wen Su was turning his head to ask a question to the police officer next to him. He caught Zhou Ziqiu looking at him out of the corner of his eye, so he winked at him. After finishing his question to the police officer, he turned to Zhou Ziqiu and asked with a smile, "What's wrong?"
Zhou Ziqiu pointed to the willow tree.
Wen Su exclaimed, "Ah! I just confirmed with them that these willow trees have been here for a long time, but I don't know exactly how long."
It seemed that Wen Su had just been asking the police officer about the willow tree. Zhou Ziqiu nodded and continued walking forward.
As they walked, the police officer beside them described the current progress to the two. After the anti-smuggling department's search and rescue dog smelled the missing person's clothes, the dog led them to a nearby stream. Upon reaching the stream, the dog plunged into the water, circled for a minute, and then came ashore. It led them south for a kilometer before suddenly losing the missing person's scent and circling around the stream. The initial deduction was that the missing person may have fallen into the water, climbed back ashore shortly afterward, walked downstream for a kilometer in the low temperature, and then suddenly disappeared without a trace. Therefore, the police set up a sluice gate at the bottom of the stream to block objects in the water. So far, no cadaver dogs have been dispatched to search for the body.
When the two arrived at the stream the police officer had mentioned, they saw that the so-called stream was no more than three meters deep and the current was not very rapid. They walked down to the place where the missing person was last seen, but found that it was a small pond formed by a low-lying area. Several people were standing by the pond, including Glasses and Fatty, who were leading a dog that kept running forward.
Hearing footsteps, Glasses and Fatty looked up and saw Wen Su and Zhou Ziqiu walking towards them. They were immediately moved to tears: "Boss! You've finally come! Please save me!"
No wonder he said that. Just now, for some reason, the dog in their hands suddenly went berserk and tried to run upwards. They pulled hard on the leash from behind, but it was no use. They were almost dragged to the ground by the dog.
Zhou Ziqiu's brows twitched slightly. When he met the dog's fierce gaze, he smiled gently. The dog immediately whimpered and cowered on the ground.
Glasses and Fatty were immediately dumbfounded. How come the dog became so obedient as soon as Wen Su arrived? They repeatedly gave Wen Su a thumbs up: "As expected of the boss!"
Wen Su laughed and scolded the fat man for being cheeky, while glancing behind him and seeing Zhou Ziqiu.
"What's wrong?" Zhou Ziqiu asked, his expression unchanged, seeing Wen Su looking at him. "They must be talking about this place, right?"
"It should be." Wen Su's expression remained unchanged as he smiled and replied, then took out his notebook and began drawing a topographical map of the area.
After working together a few times before, Zhou Ziqiu knew that Wen Su would record some discoveries in his notebook. Seeing that he had taken out the notebook, he moved closer to him, and a few lines of writing in a flamboyant style on the blank pages came into view.
"What is this?" Zhou Ziqiu pointed to the lines of text. "Pure Kan? Is it the Eight Trigrams?"
"Mm," Wen Su responded.
During the handover yesterday afternoon, everyone received more detailed information. After returning to the hotel, with nothing to do, Wen Su casually performed a divination based on the time the person disappeared to predict their fortune. Fortunately, the result was not bad.
"What were the results of the divination? Is he still alive?"
Wen Su looked at Zhou Ziqiu, who was as curious as a baby, with amusement and patiently explained, "Kan represents water and danger. Two Kan overlapping each other is danger upon danger, with one yang trapped by two yin. But fortunately, the yang is strong and the yin is weak, so it can be suddenly clear and unobstructed."
Zhou Ziqiu understood and nodded, "That's good."
"But let's calculate it again to ensure his safety." Wen Su lowered his head and drew something in his notebook. After a moment, he picked up his pen and looked relaxed.
"Is he alright?"
Wen Su nodded: "All is well."
Zhou Ziqiu breathed a sigh of relief, relieved that he was alright: "Then how should we find him?"
Wen Su raised an eyebrow, not understanding why Zhou Ziqiu asked such a simple question: "Isn't it enough to just walk his path?"
"......?"
18:56:51
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
