Chapter 183 Incident
Pan He watched from a distance and whispered, "This Ji Yanwang is indeed worthy of his reputation. Such courage...tsk."
However, Jinluo narrowed her eyes and sniffed the faint scent wafting from the cave entrance. The playful expression on her face gradually faded, replaced by a rare solemnity: "Old Crane, this smell... is a little wrong."
Pan He's face also suddenly showed a solemn expression, "What's wrong?"
"It's not just the smell of death," Chenluo lowered her voice to a whisper, carrying the alertness of a predator. "There's something else as well...very faint, but unmistakable. A tiny brothel in a small county could hide so many goodies from the Thousand Evil Sect. Interesting."
JIULUO's eyes were fixed on the front, as if she could penetrate the darkness and see everything hidden underneath.
"Then my disciple...A Luo." Pan He looked at Jin Luo earnestly.
A faint smile appeared on her lips as she looked at Li Baisong. "Boy, call me Master's Wife. I will also help your Master save your Second Senior Brother's life."
Pan He's eyes widened, "You... are taking advantage of someone's misfortune."
Li Baisong glanced at his master and said resolutely, "Master's wife."
Pan He slapped his beloved apprentice, and Jinluo immediately protected him. "Try hitting him again. Come on, Bosong, let's stand over here and ignore this annoying old man."
Pan·Old Annoying Crane: "..."
The atmosphere here is lively and cheerful, but the atmosphere inside the cave is depressing and dull.
The halo of the torch danced in the narrow passage, barely dispelling the darkness in front of them, but making the shadows farther away even more eerie.
The air was thick, damp and cold, filled with a strong smell of dust, mold, and a faint, extremely uncomfortable and nauseating fishy odor.
The stone steps under your feet are covered with slippery moss, and you need to be extra careful with every step you take.
Nan San was pushed by two yamen runners to walk in front, his whole body shaking like a leaf in the wind, and the sound of his teeth knocking against each other was particularly clear in the silent passage.
Ji Zhongqin followed closely behind, holding a torch in one hand and the other on the hilt of the knife at his waist, his eyes as sharp as an eagle scanning the stone walls in front and on both sides.
The yamen runners followed closely with bated breath. The occasional collision of their waist badges and scabbards made a slight sound, adding to the tension.
The passage went down in a winding way. After walking for about an incense stick of time, the front suddenly opened up and a relatively spacious stone chamber appeared.
The firelight shone in, faintly illuminating the outline of the stone chamber.
There were some scattered boxes and cages piled in the corner, which seemed to have stored things in the past, but most of them had been emptied, leaving only some tattered linen and scattered straw.
There were obvious traces of excavation on the stone wall, and a thin layer of dust covered the ground.
"Sir... it's right here..." Nan San said tremblingly, his voice shaking. "I sneaked in... and saw Mother Ban here... She seemed to be looking for something. I didn't dare to get too close."
Ji Zhongqin ignored Nan San and examined him carefully with the torch in hand.
Suddenly, Yamen Runner A called out, "Sir, look this way!"
The torch moved over there, and saw that the ground in the corner of one side of the stone chamber seemed to be a little different.
The dust on the ground showed signs of being dragged, and on the nearby stone wall were a few dark stains that had dried up and were in a splattered state.
Ji Zhongqin squatted down, rubbed a little of the stain with his finger, took a closer look at the torch, and then put it under his nose and sniffed it gently.
It's blood, and it's been going on for quite some time.
His face instantly darkened, and he ordered in a cold voice, "Search carefully! Don't miss any corner!"
The yamen runners immediately dispersed, knocking on the ground and walls with their scabbards and checking the empty boxes.
"Sir! There seems to be something here... here." When the yamen runner B was checking a pile of particularly messy and rotten straw, he seemed to have touched something. He used his scabbard to push away the surface, and a corner of cloth was revealed underneath - it was coarse linen.
"Move it away and have a look." Ji Zhongqin walked over with a torch, so he missed the strange smile that flashed across Nan San's eyes.
Two yamen runners stepped forward and carefully cleared away the covering.
In the light of the fire, a corpse that had already stiffened was exposed!
The corpse was curled up in the corner, its face distorted, as if it had experienced great pain before death.
He was wearing worn-out servant's clothes, which had mostly rotted away, revealing some of his bones.
The most frightening thing was that the exposed skin and bones of the corpse were covered with abnormal, purple-red patches, which looked very strange in the firelight.
"Everyone step back!" Ji Zhongqin shouted immediately to stop the yamen runners from getting too close.
He frowned and stared at the purple spots. This was definitely not the appearance of a normal death.
At the cave entrance above, Lieutenant Qiu paced anxiously. A personal guard quickly approached him and whispered, "Lieutenant, Master Ji and his men seem to have discovered... a body."
"A corpse?" General Qiu's eyes sharpened. "What kind of corpse?"
The personal guard said solemnly, "I heard the death was strange."
General Qiu's heart sank, and his bad premonition grew stronger.
We must not allow Ji Zhongqin to continue investigating!
General Qiu's eyes hardened. He gestured to his deputy general and whispered, "Find an opportunity... let something happen down there, like the torches going out or the rocks getting loose... Do it more cleanly."
"Yes!" The deputy general understood and quietly retreated.
"Go call the coroner to check. This place is dangerous, so you all need to be careful." Ji Zhongqin had just finished speaking when something strange happened.
"Click--" A slight mechanical sound came from above!
At the same time, a scream and the dull sound of a heavy object falling to the ground were heard at the entrance of the passage.
Then came the exasperated roar of General Qiu from above, "What's going on?! Quick! Move the stone away! Master Ji, Master Ji, how are you?"
A huge rock that had somehow loosened and fallen was stuck right at the entrance of the passage where Ji Zhongqin and the others came down. Although it was not completely blocked, there was only a narrow gap left. Several torches suddenly went out, and the stone chamber was instantly in chaos.
"Stay calm!" Ji Zhongqin calmed himself down, raised his head suddenly, and looked at the swaying figure above through the gap. General Qiu's face full of shock and anger flashed by.
Was it an accident? Or was it man-made?
"General Qiu, quickly tell your men to move the stone!" Deng Wenyan immediately stepped forward to push the stone. "Master Ji, be careful. I will immediately take my men to move the stone."
At the same time, Nan San, who had been shaking like a sieve, suddenly had a strange and fierce light flashing in his eyes when the light suddenly dimmed and everyone's attention was attracted by the change in the entrance.
He somehow cleverly turned his wrist, and a sharpened gold hairpin with a faint blue luster slipped out from his tattered cuff.
Changquan noticed it immediately and pushed Ji Zhongqin away, "Master, be careful!"
Changquan thrust out the long sword in his hand suddenly but missed.
Nan San's target was not Ji Zhongqin who was nearby, but the newly discovered corpse with purple-red spots.
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