Gu Nanfeng was caught and the bad Taoist priest revealed his true form
Today happened to be a day off, so Gu Yanzhou and Pei Linyan were reading under a tree while one practiced swordplay in the courtyard, a scene of peace and tranquility. But Gu Nanfeng still had the heart of a child. Furthermore, their thatched cottage was located in the West Market, a bustling and noisy place where there were either opera performances or acrobatic shows. He had never seen the bustle of Chang'an before, so he would peeke out from the doorway whenever he had nothing to do. Seeing his curiosity, Gu Yanzhou let him go out for a while. Nanfeng's face lit up with joy, and he disappeared in a flash.
At lunchtime, Gu Yanzhou noticed Nanfeng hadn't returned yet, and he felt strange. This kid was always the most active eater, usually hungry by this time, and would have returned home to eat. Why was he still quiet today? There was a knock at the door, and it was his neighbor, Aunt Li, who opened it. "Master Gu, you need to keep a close eye on your children. A few days ago, beggars appeared in the West Market, and the grandson of Wang Po, a neighbor, was almost kidnapped," Aunt Li said with a beaming smile. Gu Yanzhou suddenly felt something was wrong and ran outside, with Pei Linyan quickly following.
"Hey, where are these two people going? They don't even want to eat." Aunt Li asked in confusion.
Gu Yanzhou ran to Aunt Zhang's house in the outer alley and hurriedly said, "Aunt Zhang, has the south wind ever been to our house?"
Zhang Xiaoguo said, "Just now I saw Nanfeng walking towards the street, and it seemed that some adults were chatting with him."
When Gu Yanzhou and Pei Linyan arrived at the street, they saw crowds of people and heavy traffic, but there was no sign of Nanfeng at all.
"Yanzhou, you don't need to worry. Nanfeng is smart and clear-headed. He has a plan to deal with danger even if he encounters it." Pei Linyan comforted him.
"Nanfeng is still young. Even though he is very smart, he is still afraid." Gu Yanzhou said anxiously
"Then think about it carefully. Even if he is caught, he will leave traces." Pei Linyan said
"Yes, a few days ago, I was afraid that he might be in danger, so I gave him the firefly powder that my mother-in-law left me for self-defense. This firefly powder has a special smell and lasts long. Dogs are particularly sensitive to it. Let's find a dog and look for it carefully." Gu Yanzhou said
Pei Linyan was seen leading the way with his dog, and Gu Yanzhou followed behind. When they came to a small door at the corner, Pei Linyan carried Gu Yanzhou over the wall and entered. While groping around, they saw several maids coming out with washbasins in their arms, and the basins were full of blood.
"Master, the hemoptysis is getting worse. I'm afraid he won't have much time left." said the maid.
"Speak softly. I heard that the master was frostbitten in Wuwei when he was in the army, and his injury worsened while he was saving the emperor. Now he is relying on Taoist Baimei to keep him alive for more than ten years. I think he is almost at the end of his life." said the maid.
"I joined the army in Wuwei and was injured while rescuing the emperor. Could this be the Weiwei Mansion?" Pei Linyan thought to himself.
Not long after, a middle-aged man who looked like a Taoist priest walked into the room. Pei Linyan and Gu Yanzhou followed him. Through the window, they saw the Taoist priest rotating the vase on the bookcase, revealing a secret passage. The two looked at each other and felt something was wrong. Then they followed him and walked through a long passage. They saw the Taoist priest sitting cross-legged on a cushion, as if meditating. There was a fire burning in the furnace in front of him. Looking up, they saw a young child hanging there. After a closer look, they wondered who else it was but Gu Nanfeng.
Pei Linyan rushed forward and pushed the Taoist priest to the ground. Gu Yanzhou put Nanfeng down, only to see that he was unconscious.
"How dare you! Do you know who I am? I am a distinguished guest at Weiwei Luo's residence. I advise you to let me go immediately. Otherwise, I will report to Weiwei and you will suffer a miserable death." The Taoist threatened fiercely.
"Oh, do you know who I am?" Gu Yanzhou said
"Who are you? Tell me your name quickly." The Taoist said
"I am Gu Yanzhou, a clerk in Chang'an County." Gu Yanzhou said
"Who do I think you are? You're just a small official in Chang'an County, a lowly official. The Weiwei could crush you to death with ease, even easier than crushing an ant. I advise you to kowtow and admit your fault quickly. Maybe I'll leave your body intact," the Taoist said arrogantly. Pei Linyan then increased the force in his grip, causing the Taoist to scream and beg for mercy.
"Let me ask you, why did you capture the child?" Gu Yanzhou said
"Tell the truth." Pei Linyan said with more force
"Oh, sir, check it out. This child was captured to treat Weiwei Luo. I am just following Weiwei's instructions. This matter has nothing to do with me." The Taoist priest defended himself.
"Really?" Gu Yanzhou took out a pill and put it into the Taoist's mouth.
"You...what did you give me to eat?" The Taoist priest retched
"Have you heard of Dusk Blood?" Gu Yanzhou said
"You mean the Dusk Blood, developed by the Medical Immortal, which can turn a person into blood in one day?" the Taoist said in horror.
"Since you know, why don't you tell me the truth?" Gu Yanzhou said.
"Impossible, the Medical Immortal has long since passed away. How could you possibly have this medicine?" the Taoist questioned.
"Oh, if you don't believe me, then we can wait. In less than an hour, your mouth will fall off. A little later, your eyes, nose, and ears will melt like snow and turn into a pool of blood." Gu Yanzhou said with a smile.
"Okay, I'll tell you, but after I say that, you have to give me the antidote. Because the Weiwei suffered frostbite in his early years, and then the injury worsened while saving the emperor, he needs to drink the heart blood of a boy all year round to treat it. In the past, the heart blood was directly supplied, but I don't know why they tied up the child and dug out his heart to take the blood this time." The Taoist explained
"Drinking blood to cure diseases is unheard of. You must be talking nonsense." Pei Linyan said
"Sir, how dare I lie to you? This Weiwei has indeed started drinking it more than ten years ago, which is why he has lived until now." The Taoist priest defended
"Is that true? There's nothing to hide?" Gu Yanzhou asked.
Before she could answer, she heard the maidservant yelling, "Oh no! The master is dead! The master is dead!"
After hearing this, Pei Linyan escorted the Taoist priest, and Gu Yanzhou held Nanfeng, and they came to Luo Weiwei's room together, only to see circles of people surrounding them. Everyone turned around and saw Pei Linyan, and the housekeeper said, "Mr. Pei, why are you here?"
"Master Gu and I are here to track down the murderer." Pei Linyan said
"What do you mean?" asked the butler.
"It was this man who lured the child and dug out his heart to extract his blood." Pei Linyan said as he escorted the Taoist priest to the bedside. "Do you all know this man?"
"To be honest, this person is the master's healer." said the housekeeper
"That means what this person confessed is true." Gu Yanzhou said
"Back then, the master was frostbitten while serving in the army in Wuwei. His injuries worsened while he was saving the emperor, and medicine proved incurable. Soon, the White-Eyebrowed Taoist priest came to our house and said he had a way to cure the master. He said drinking the blood of a young boy would cure him, but the master refused. One day, when he fell ill, we had no choice but to kill a young boy to get his blood. Unexpectedly, the master recovered after drinking it, and so we began using the boy's heart blood as medicine." The housekeeper said
"Then give me the medicine bowl." Gu Yanzhou said, taking the bowl and smelling it. "No, there is something else in the bowl. Taoist Baimei, please quickly explain the whole story. If drawing blood from the boy's heart can cure it, why do you need to add other medicines?"
Upon hearing this, Pei Linyan immediately dismembered Baimei's two arms. Baimei screamed, "More than ten years ago, I was still selling ointments. One day, a man told me that Weiwei Luo was ill. If I took this medicine with a boy's heart blood, he would survive for a few years. So I bravely went to the Weiwei Mansion, but I didn't expect to stay there for more than ten years."
"Who is this person? How often does he give you this medicine? Where is the contact?" Gu Yanzhou asked
"This person calls himself the Master of Immortality. Give me this medicine once a month. We will meet at Huaixiang Tower." Baimei said
"I guess that the leader of the Changsheng Sect poisoned Luo Weiwei before, and then led Baimei to tell Luo Weiwei that the boy's heart blood can cure diseases. In fact, he secretly added the antidote. By the way, Lin Yan, do you still remember that in the Wuwei serial murder case, more than a dozen children's bodies were also dug out and their blood was taken. Moreover, Cui Cai and Luo Weiwei were both in Wuwei before, so they must have had some intersection. That is, Cui Cai used a stone to provide Luo Weiwei with the boy's heart blood. No wonder Cui Cai was furious and took everything on his own. For their own selfish interests, these two people treated the people as pigs and dogs, like livestock in a pen, killing and scraping them according to their mood. What do they think of the laws of the Han Dynasty? What do they think of the people of the world? They are the termites of the court and the jackals of the people. If everyone in the court is like this, then the country will no longer be a country. Officials are greedy for pleasure, and the people live in dire straits. It will only take a moment for the country to be destroyed and the race to be extinct." Gu Yanzhou said
"Yanzhou, please don't get angry and hurt yourself. Now that we know the real culprit behind this, we can follow the clues and arrest him one day." Pei Linyan comforted
Afterwards, Gu Yanzhou imprisoned Taoist Baimei and all the people from the Weiwei Mansion, and Pei Linyan reported the incident to the palace.
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