Exploring Hongya Mountain and finding the bones of children, entering the Changshi Mansion and encountering a suspect
The next day, a gray mist rose from the foot of the mountain like a phantom sea. The group could not see each other. They followed the current upstream and came to an open area. There were only lush trees and deep grass, and bursts of insect sounds came from between, which was disturbing. The six people were not familiar with this place, so they did not rush into it.
Gu Yanzhou said, "This place is very dangerous and treacherous. It is not convenient for us to go deep into it. Among the group, only Lin Yan, Pei San, and Shen Er can still protect themselves. The rest of us will find it difficult to protect ourselves if we encounter danger. So I want Lin Yan and I to explore forward, and the rest of us will stay here to provide support."
"Don't worry, I'm here. I'll protect you even if it costs me my life." Pei Linyan said
Feng Liunian and Pei San stared at the two men, their gazes quizzically, their gazes lost in thought. Before they could move, Shen San said, "Look, there's someone in the water." Everyone looked and saw a body floating in the riverbed. It was a child, swollen from being submerged for so long, but with no other fatal injuries. Shen Er was sent to the military camp for reinforcements. Feng Liunian and Shen Shaobai stayed behind to guard the body while Gu Yanzhou, Pei Linyan, Pei San, and the others made their way up. Bodies drifted in groups of two or three in the river, and upon closer counting, there were dozens. Buried in the dirt were piles of bodies, large and small. Everyone was astonished. Even Pei Linyan, a veteran of battle, had never seen so many children's bodies. A closer look revealed around forty.
After returning to the camp, Liu Nanxing carefully examined the bodies and found that the deceased were all children around eight years old. The causes of death were different, including drowning, suffocation, burning, strangulation, poisoning, beheading, and excessive bleeding. Among them, more than a dozen bodies that died later had their heart blood taken away. Even though Liu Nanxing had saved countless people, for eight-year-old children, such a death was too horrifying. They all died in torture. Who on earth had such a deep hatred for the eight-year-old children? Everyone couldn't believe it.
"Have you noticed that these children are all boys around eight years old?" Feng Liunian said.
Everyone looked at Liu Nanxing when they heard this. "Yes, even the skeletonized bodies are boys. There are forty bodies in total, eight-year-old boys. The first body died twenty years ago. The back of the head was hit by a heavy object, and the skull was fractured. The most recent one died of suffocation yesterday."
"A boy, eight years old, with blood on his heart, are these the common characteristics of all children? What does it mean to the murderer?" Pei Linyan said
"I think the age of eight is very important to the murderer. It must have special significance. Let's start by investigating the identity of the body that died yesterday." Gu Yanzhou said
"Don't you smell a faint fragrance?" Shen Shaobai said
"Is there any fragrance?" Everyone looked sideways and took action without much thought. Pei San and Shen Er began to visit, one in the open and one in secret.
In the afternoon, Pei Linyan and Gu Yanzhou made an appointment to stroll around Wuwei City. When they reached the downtown area, they heard a voice saying, "Master Cui, please have mercy on us. Our child has been missing for a long time and we don't know whether he is dead or alive. Please help us." The woman cried.
"Yes, Lord Changshi, we are still waiting for you to save our child." Someone said
Pei Linyan asked, "Auntie, what is the connection between this missing child and Cui Changshi? Why are so many people looking for him?"
"Young man, I think you are a foreigner." said the old lady.
"Yes, my family and I came to Wuwei from the capital to do business. When we saw the crowds, we came to ask around." Pei Linyan said and looked at Gu Yanzhou.
"Let me tell you, a child has been missing in Wuwei since twenty years ago. A lame wandering Taoist priest once said that this was because Wuwei had been at war for many years and there was a lot of resentment, which turned into demons and monsters, specifically to steal the blood of children. If the problem was not solved, a child would disappear every month. Everyone was terrified for a while. Later, the wandering Taoist priest figured out that someone born in a positive year, month, day and hour must fast and cut blood for nine days to control the situation. Later, he discovered that Cui Changshi was the person, and he was grateful to Cui Changshi for saving his life. A few days ago, another child happened to go missing, and the families of the children came to Cui Changshi for help." said the old lady.
Gu Yanzhou pondered, "What's the connection between the child's death, fasting and blood-cutting, Cui Changshi, the Taoist priest, and the demons?" Before he could think about it, Pei Sanxun came over and said, "Young Master, Special Envoy Gu, I've secretly investigated and learned that the person who died recently was Xiao Niuzi from Lihua Lane. It was raining heavily that day, and Xiao Niuzi went out and didn't return for a long time. His mother went to look for him but found nothing. She then mobilized the villagers, but there was no trace of him. I showed the portrait to the neighbors, and they all said it was him."
Gu Yanzhou and Pei Linyan came to Xiao Niuzi's house in Lihua Lane together. Before they entered the house, they heard a woman crying and complaining. "Why didn't you stop him that day? Why did you let him go out alone? Now look what happened. Your son is missing. What do you say we should do?" a woman said.
"How could I have known it would be like this? If I had known this, I would never have allowed him to go alone." The man sighed.
The man looked up and saw two men walking into the room. For a moment he was a little alert and looked at them, but didn't say anything.
Then the tall man said, "I am from Chang'an, my name is Pei Nianzhou. I am a merchant with my family. When I first came to Wuwei, I heard some strange things and was very interested. I took the initiative to come here. I hope you can understand."
The man pondered suspiciously, not yet answering. The woman sat up and said, "I hope you will forgive me, my husband is not very good at speaking. What do you mean by strange?"
"I heard that in Wuwei, a child has been disappearing every year since twenty years ago. A wandering Taoist priest once said that because Wuwei was constantly at war, there was a lot of resentment, which turned into demons and ghosts, specifically to steal the blood and essence of children. If the spell wasn't broken, a child would disappear every month. Later, it was discovered that Cui Changshi could solve the problem. Is this true?"
"It is true. We, as parents, have sought help from Cui Changshi for peace of mind. The woman said,
"When the little calf disappeared, was there anything suspicious?" Gu Yanzhou asked
"Is there something suspicious? Oh, right, Xiao Niuzi has been going out frequently at night lately. I don't know who he's meeting, but every time he comes back, he brings back some candied haws. We didn't notice it at first, but on the day he disappeared, he said he was going to buy some candied haws, but he never came back." The woman sobbed.
"Every time I come home at night, there are always more candied haws. Is there anyone here who makes a living from this?" Pei Linyan asked.
"I remember 20 years ago, there was a family of three from the Shi family who made a living from this. Then one night a fire broke out and the whole family was burned to death. Since then, few people have made a living from this. I always returned home at night and became indifferent to it. Otherwise, I wouldn't have ended up in this situation." The man said with regret
"Tanghulu, a fire twenty years ago, three people were burned to death, is this not a coincidence?" Gu Yanzhou thought.
After a while, the two said goodbye to the Niu Shi couple and walked towards Cui's mansion. When they arrived outside the door, they saw a small and dilapidated three-courtyard house, which was dark and looked lonely and desolate.
I knocked on the door, and an old man opened it and asked, "Who is knocking? What's your business?"
"Old man, how are you? I am from Chang'an, my name is Pei Nianzhou. I came to Wuwei for business with my family. It just so happened that I received a favor from the Prime Minister. When the Prime Minister knew that I was going to Wuwei, he wrote a letter to be delivered to Cui Changshi of Wuwei. I made inquiries and came here. I saw that Cui Changshi was the governor of a border county after all, so why was his mansion so deserted?" Pei Linyan said
"My master has been in Wuwei for decades. Seeing how impoverished and starving the people are, he has always used his salary to buy food and treat the poor. As a result, he has no money left to repair the mansion, which is why it looks so rundown." The housekeeper said as he welcomed the two into the living room.
"I see. No wonder the people in Wuwei City all praise Cui Changshi for his integrity and upright conduct. The furnishings in this house are not as magnificent as those in the homes of merchants." Gu Yanzhou said.
All I saw were rotten old chairs emitting a musty smell, the words engraved on the plaque had lost their color, the tattered curtains, the cracked pillars, and the overgrown weeds, all revealing a sense of desolation.
"I hope you will rest for a while. I will go and inform the master."
After the housekeeper left, the two discussed, "This Cui Changshi is truly remarkable. He is praised by all the people, and his colleagues have no complaints. Even General Fu praises him highly. He lives a simple life and has no trace of extravagance or debauchery." Pei Linyan said
"First, this person is not really poor; second, this person may be good at disguise and have excellent acting skills." Gu Yanzhou said
A moment later, a man in his thirties approached, carrying tea. Gu Yanzhou caught a whiff of the refreshing aroma and took a sip, only to find it bitter, like swill. He frowned and swallowed it, his face pale.
Pei Linyan saw this and asked, "Are you feeling unwell?"
Gu Yanzhou smiled and said, "Not yet. When the servant brought the tea, I smelled a fragrance and thought it was from the tea. But after drinking it, I found that the tea was like swill, bitter and disgusting."
Pei Linyan picked up the tea and wanted to drink it all. Gu Yanzhou grabbed his wrist and said, "You know this tea tastes bad, why did you drink it?"
"Of course, you and I are one, we share happiness and difficulties together." Pei Linyan said with a smile
"Don't talk nonsense." Gu Yanzhou snatched the teacup and drank it all in one gulp.
The two looked at each other, their eyes moving freely, the air built a barrier between them, and the wind from all directions was carried with the scent of love.
"Excuse me for waiting. My master has not returned home yet due to unfinished business. If you want to visit, please come next time." said the housekeeper.
"Trouble you, I will come back another day. I have been entrusted with the letter and I must personally hand it over to Cui Changshi. I hope you can understand." Pei Linyan said
"Okay, okay. Thank you for your help," said the butler.
After saying goodbye, Pei Linyan and Gu Yanzhou returned to the military camp together.
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