Talk about the world of mortals in detail

The pier is either big or small, and there are many shops and dealerships waiting there. It’s still dark, so there aren’t many people.

Zhong Xingwen asked the boatman to dock, and after paying the money, he went up to the pier from the stone steps.

A gust of cold wind blew, and Zhong Xingwen, who had not had a good rest in recent days, couldn't help but shiver again, stretched his muscles and then strode away.

When we arrived here, we were not far from our destination. Zhong Xingwen walked towards the edge of the pier. There were many carriages parked there. Some of the coachmen in the carriage shop stood up, thinking that he was coming to call a carriage.

"Hey, sir, where are you going? Do you want a carriage?" "Sir, please take my car. The horse in his carriage is old and thin!"

"Alas, that's not what they say. As the saying goes, an old horse knows the way, and my horse knows the way!"

Drivers in twos and threes came to take passengers. Zhong Xingwen looked at the one who spoke first, approached him and said.

"This old man, I would like to ask you a question!"

Ask.

The group of people suddenly lost interest. It seemed that they no longer knew how to hire a carriage. The older man also lost most of his enthusiasm, but he was not ignoring people.

"Ask me, young man. There is no Tao around Dahekou that I don't know!"

Zhong Xingwen nodded, took out ten cents from his pocket and handed it to the old coachman.

"Excuse me, old man, how to get to Qingtang County in Dingfeng County?"

The old coachman stretched out his hand to collect the copper coins with a smile on his face.

"Young people take the road. Well, on the road out of Hekou Pier, follow the road to the west and you will reach Dingfeng County. However, the old official road passed through the mountain collapsed and the road is not easy to walk. You can take the dirt road on the side to the southwest. It will be faster if we take the road in Shanwu County, but when we get to Shanwu and go northwest, it won’t be much slower!”

"Thank you, old man!"

Zhong Xingwen bowed his hands and bowed in thanks, then walked quickly to the stables and animal sheds at the rear and gave a piece of business to the sleeping businessman there.

An old horse, which the vendor boasted was a retired war horse.

After some haggling, the deal was settled for twenty taels of silver, which shows that the price of a truly good horse is high, and it can be called a real four-hoofed horse.

With only the last section of the road left, Zhong Xingwen rode fast, trusting the old coachman's guidance, and took the road through a neighboring county before heading to Qingtang.

From dawn until the sun set in the west, we drove continuously to Qingtang and then arrived at Xiaogu Village after asking for directions.

After asking for directions and inquiries, Zhong Xingwen arrived at Xiaogu Village. The sun was already setting in the west. He got off his horse, reached out to caress the old horse, which was very tired today, and led it forward little by little.

The village is located on the edge of a mountain ridge. At first glance, you can't tell how big it is. You can only tell that the lanes are deep and there are many trees, and the houses are not densely arranged.

Zhong Xingwen, a travel-worn stranger, led his horse into the village. The villagers who occasionally passed by looked at him curiously, but no one asked anything. It seemed that there was some indifference to people here.

At the same time, Chai Wang was already on the mountain road. At this moment, the horse neighed and the horse's hooves stopped on the mountain road.

Chai Wang got off his horse and looked around. The mountain road collapsed here. It happened to be a cliff road. People might be able to climb over it with Qinggong, but horses couldn't, so it would be better to take a detour!

On the other side, not long after entering the village, Zhong Xingwen met an older man sitting on the side of the road and hurried forward to salute and ask.

"Excuse me, this old man, does he know where the Guan family is?"

The old man glanced at the visitor in surprise and looked him up and down. The man holding the horse looked at the dusty man.

"The Guan family are all gone, so it's useless for you to ask."

Upon hearing this, Zhong Xingwen's eyes lit up and he quickly saluted again.

"Old man, I sincerely ask for advice. I was entrusted by someone to come here to find the location of the Guan family. I traveled all the way through mountains and rivers without stopping. Even if there is no one in the Guan family, I still need to see it with my own eyes. I hope I can tell you!"

The old man stood up on his knees, patted his butt and pointed forward.

"Keep walking along the path and turn left at the end. There is a yard full of weeds. But it's useless if you go there. There is no one in the Guan family."

Zhong Xingwen was a detective and had some tricks of his own. When he heard this, a look of surprise appeared on his face.

"Why are the Guan family members gone? But I heard that there is another woman from the Guan family here? Is she also gone?"

The old man looked at the person coming, shook his head and said.

"Ms. Zhang is no longer here. She was very irritated when she received a letter of divorce, saying that she was going to find her husband. Later, she left and never came back. It's a pity that Mrs. Zhang was lonely when she was young. She thought that the couple would love each other until they grow old."

Speaking of this, the old man suddenly remembered what the person in front of him had just said, and his eyes suddenly turned evil.

"Are you here to find the Guan family? I heard from the Guan family that you were just a poor man, and it seems that you have a good background. Are you here to find your relatives?"

Zhong Xingwen quickly shook his head.

"I misunderstood. I am not a relative of the Guan family, but I was entrusted to come here for the Zhang family. I just didn't expect that there is no one at home here."

The old man's face softened slightly when he heard this, and he couldn't help but sigh quietly when he thought of Zhang.

"Oh, there are so many hard-working children. It's been almost two years, and I don't know if they have been found. If there are any shortcomings, that kid named Guan will definitely die!"

"Old man, are you talking about Guan Xinrui?"

The old man glanced at the man.

"Who else could be there besides him? Back then I told Mr. Zhang that he would definitely be promising and he would definitely be able to get the honors. I was really blind."

The old man felt like he couldn't stop talking as soon as he opened his mouth. He kept talking for a long time until he had nothing to say and then left.

Zhong Xingwen had been listening quietly, frowning with anger in his heart, and stood there for a long time without moving.

It wasn't until the old horse in front of him nuzzled his head that Zhong Xingwen came back to his senses, looked left and right, and then led the horse to follow the old man's instructions.

The place is right and the person is right, Mr. Guan, no, the man named Guan really divorced his wife first!

But at this moment, Zhong Xingwen's heart sank slightly. According to the old man's suggestion, Zhang had found out, so the place where the murder occurred was probably not here.

The place the old man mentioned was not difficult to find. It was a yard overgrown with weeds. The sun was setting in the west, the sky was getting dark, and the surrounding area was relatively quiet.

But Zhong Xingwen was not afraid at this moment. He tied the old horse to a tree on the side, and then jumped gently into the courtyard.

This house was not occupied by the villagers. Zhong Xingwen easily opened the doors of several houses and found nothing special, but he also saw some things used by scholars.

After rummaging around inside and outside, Zhong Xingwen sat in the courtyard with a slight dejection.

Obviously, the murder didn't happen here.

To be honest, there is already a lot of information obtained so far. At least Mr. Guan does have a family, and at least his first wife is indeed missing.

But as a public criminal who is not just getting along, Zhong Xingwen also has his persistence, especially his persistence on corpses and murder scenes.

Was he thrown into the mouth of a large river?

That's not right. There are frequent ships there, and corpses are easily found.

Zhong Xingwen sat in front of the broken house and clenched his fists. He sat there for a long time.

Unknowingly, the sky became dark, and at the gate of the courtyard, the old man he had just met came over to check. Zhong Xingwen heard the movement and raised his head.

As soon as their eyes made contact, the old man sighed.

"Young man, I see that you are too busy and haven't eaten yet. Why don't you come to my house for a light meal?"

Zhong Xingwen hesitated for a moment, then stood up. After saying thank you, he chose to lead the horse and the old man home.

About a hundred meters away, under the old poplar tree, was the old man's residence. When Zhong Xingwen came, he discovered that the old man lived alone. The food was naturally meager, but it was not his turn to dislike it.

The people who talked the most at the dinner table were the Zhang family and the Guan family, which also let Zhong Xingwen know that this old man had received a lot of care from the Zhang family, and his words were full of regret.

Zhong Xingwen listened more and spoke less. Later, he took out pen, ink, paper and inkstone from his luggage to record what the old man said. All of this can be part of his future testimony.

Zhong Xingwen pretended to be Zhang, and after contacting him, the old man allowed him to rest at home.

It's just that tonight Zhong Xingwen couldn't sleep. It was already very late when he fell asleep. It was also midnight. Chai Wang, who had made a long detour, tied his horse to a tree outside the village, and then quietly entered the village. .

Zhong Xingwen was originally in a dream, but at the moment Chai Wang came here, there seemed to be some kind of qi movement invisibly.

Zhong Xingwen was also dreaming at this moment, and the scene in the dream seemed to be the scene of him supporting an old man on the streets of Haiyu County that day.

The old man said that Zhong Xingwen was in danger of dying young, then stretched out his hands and patted Zhong Xingwen in front of him.

This beat was silent that day, but in today's dream it was extremely loud.

"Pa~"

Zhong Xingwen opened his eyes all of a sudden, and then as if he felt something in his heart, he quietly got up and went to the window, only to find that looking through the window to the outside of the fenced courtyard, there was a dark figure flashing away lightly.

Zhong Xingwen was instantly alert. Already nervous, he instinctively connected the other party with his purpose.

Danger!

But it might not be an opportunity!

Zhong Xingwen put on his clothes quietly and thought about it for a while, rummaging through his baggage. There were many things given by Taoist Xue in it. He pulled out a spell and recalled the Taoist's instructions, and then he became convinced.

The next moment, Zhong Xingwen moistened the talisman with his saliva, then pressed it on his forehead, then stuffed it into the brim of his hat and pressed it down, and then he climbed out the window gently.

Judging from the silent feeling when the other party passed by just now, it seems that the person coming here is extremely high in qinggong, and his martial arts is not bad at all.

Zhong Xingwen never thought that his martial arts skills were very high, not to mention that his injury was not healed yet. He was worried and chose to believe in Daoren Xue, but he also tried to take a gentle pace.

Perhaps Zhong Xingwen's Qinggong was better than he thought, or perhaps the charm given by the Taoist Master worked, and the man in front did not realize that he was being followed.

Sure enough, the other party arrived directly at the original Guan family yard.

The person who came was none other than Chai Wang. He arrived here in the middle of the night, but he was not sure whether Zhong Xingwen had been here before. After walking around the original courtyard.

Chai Wang, who felt uneasy, went to another place. Zhong Xingwen hesitated and chose to follow.

After that, the other party walked further and further out of the village and reached a corner of the back mountain. When he saw a pile of rubble that had been dealt with originally, Chai Wang breathed a sigh of relief.

It seems that the person named Zhong may not have been here yet. I will try to find out tomorrow.

The man chose to leave temporarily, but Zhong Xingwen did not choose to follow. He pressed his forehead with one hand to feel that the spell was still there, but looked at the place where the man had just been.

After waiting quietly for more than a quarter of an hour, Zhong Xingwen moved. He quickly walked to the place where the man had just wandered, and after scanning the surroundings, he chose to take action.

Some rocks were carefully moved away by Zhong Xingwen. After handling some of the rocks and throwing away some soil, the strong intuition in his heart was fulfilled, revealing a well that seemed to be covered by a stone slab.

At this time, Zhong Xingwen recalled his previous conversation with the Taoist Priest. Based on Liu's description at that time, the Taoist Priest judged the characteristics of the ghost.

The previous conversation between him and the Taoist priest seemed to be ringing in his ears.

"This evil ghost should have been hit by a sword and thrown into the water before she was alive. When she died, it was not because of the sword, but because of suffocation from drowning."

"Been thrown into the water after being stabbed?"

"Yes, it was thrown into the water and no one found it. Maybe it was a well."

Thinking of this, Zhong Xingwen looked around again, without thinking too much, he directly struggled to move the stone slab pressing on the wellhead. Sure enough, there was a deep wellhead below.

If that person hadn't "led the way" tonight, Zhong Xingwen felt that he probably wouldn't have found it.

The bones must be down there!

The other party has found this place, I have been exposed, and there is not much time left for me.

There is no need to think too much, and Zhong Xingwen even ignores some of the instructions from the Taoist priest, because maybe he only has a little time left and must race against time!

So Zhong Xingwen actually chose to jump lightly in this dark night, using his hands and feet to support the well wall and slowly slide down.

Looking at the dark and smelly well water below, Zhong Xingwen took a deep breath and jumped down gently.

There were ripples in the water, but there was not much noise when entering the water. Zhong Xingwen tested the water depth and then dived directly.

"Wow!"

After a long time, Zhong Xingwen couldn't hold his breath and rose up, but he didn't touch the bones. He just leaned against the well wall and gasped.

It has been two years. The body has long since rotted and the bones should be scattered. Maybe it needs to be touched to the ground for a while!

Just as this thought came to mind, strange ripples suddenly appeared on the surface of the well in front of Zhong Xingwen. Under the dim moonlight, a corpse slowly floated up, so ferocious and terrifying.

Zhong Xingwen felt as if his whole body was frozen, and he even realized that the talisman was also wet!