To Hold One’s Joy

  Chapter 158 Shadow

  From early this morning to now, Lin Teng didn't know how many times he had walked along this road.

   Over and over again, I turned a blind eye to this old tree that had existed here for an unknown number of years.

  But just now he accidentally caught a glimpse of a black line, stopped and looked carefully, it was a tree hole hidden among the branches.

  The tree hole is not big, and its location is also coincidental. It would be hard to find if it wasn't for a coincidence.

  Even if it is found, it is just a tree hole.

   Ke Linteng stared at the tree hole, but suddenly had a guess.

   Not guesswork either.

  When there are too many cases investigated, there will always be some kind of intuition that cannot be explained clearly.

   or experience.

  The villain lurked in the tree and shot King Pingnan. When he fled, he held a bow and arrow and would be exposed immediately if he was bumped into. Even if it is not exposed, it is a hidden danger for the villain to bring the bow and arrow back to the residence.

   What if you pass by this old tree while running away and throw your bow into the tree hole?

  Although the tree hole is hidden, it does not rule out the possibility of accidental glimpses, or the existence of this tree hole has long been known.

  He carefully inspected the tree where the gangster was lurking, and there were some traces that could prove that the gangster had premeditated and stepped on it many times in advance.

  The gangster should be familiar with this place.

   "My lord?" Seeing that Lin Teng was still not moving, a subordinate yelled in wonder.

  Lin Teng did not respond to his subordinates, but walked up to the old tree step by step, and reached out to touch the tree hole.

  Cold and creamy.

   It feels strange to the touch, inexplicably creepy.

  Lin Teng grabbed something he touched from the tree hole and withdrew his hand.

  A turquoise snake held its head up, spitting a message ferociously at those who disturbed it.

   Even if the two subordinates are men who often deal with murder cases, they couldn't help but scream at this moment.

  Lin Teng raised the hand and threw the snake out.

  The green snake hit the branch, shaking the fallen leaves.

  The tail of the snake wraps around the branch flexibly, and the green snake crawls away quickly.

  Lin Teng shook his hands, his expression very ugly.

   These hands have touched all kinds of corpses, and he has never felt sick when describing how miserable they are.

  In his heart, there was only sympathy for those who could not keep their dignity due to violent death.

  What he has to do is to find the murderer for them, and to avenge their grievances.

   But feeling a snake out of a tree hole is really disgusting.

  He will probably have shadow on the tree hole in the future.

   After a while, Lin Teng strode forward.

   "My lord, where are you going?" The two subordinates chased after him.

   "Go to a restaurant." Lin Teng replied and quickened his pace.

  He has to wash his hands before continuing to investigate the case.

   "Why is Mr. Lin here again? Our restaurant hasn't opened yet."

  Hongdou was instructing the bearded man to repeatedly wash the bluestone slabs in front of the restaurant, when he saw Lin Teng coming over and asked impatiently.

   Didn't it mean that there should be no drinkers coming tonight? Why did this person surnamed Lin come so early?

   Do you understand or not!

   "You are—"

   "It's bad luck, such a scary thing happened last night." Hongdou replied as a matter of course.

  The corner of Lin Teng's mouth twitched.

  He didn't see a trace of fear from the face of the red bean lady.

   "Eldest Master Lin hasn't said what to do yet."

   "Uh, let me borrow a ladle of water—" Lin Teng was talking, when he saw Luo Sheng coming out of the lobby, and the words behind him got stuck for a moment.

  Luo Sheng came out, his tone was light: "Is Mr. Lin thirsty again?"

  Lin Teng felt hot at the base of his ears.

  Hearing what Miss Luo said, it seemed that he had bad intentions and purposely approached him by drinking water.

   No, you have to explain clearly.

   "I just encountered a snake and wanted to borrow a ladle of water to wash my hands."

   "Isn't Mr. Lin investigating the case, why are you still playing with snakes?"

  Lin Teng stagnated.

   Telling the reason, I always feel a little embarrassed.

  A subordinate was very considerate and explained for Shangfeng: "My lord saw a tree hole, so he reached out to dig it out—"

  Luo Sheng's heart skipped a beat, and he looked at Lin Teng expressionlessly.

  She was not afraid of the bow thrown into the tree hole being found, but she was surprised by this man's sensitivity and carefulness.

   No wonder Zhao Shangshu would bring Lin Teng to drink with him because of his distress. It seems that his subordinates are too capable and worry-free.

   She doesn't like that this kind of power is used on the villain who assassinated King Pingnan.

  Hong Dou laughed: "Mr. Lin is like a child, digging out a tree hole..."

  Lin Teng's face darkened, and he really wanted to correct a sentence: the child does not dig out the tree hole, but the child digs out the bird's nest.

   "Master Lin found a snake from the tree hole?" Luo Sheng raised his eyebrows, his tone somewhat surprised.

  In fact, the surprise in her heart was more than that.

  She never took the bow prepared for King Pingnan.

  It is obviously a murderous bow, why did it turn into a snake?

   Could it be that the bow is not a bow, but a snake spirit?

  At this moment, Luo Sheng, who is as rational as Luo Sheng, couldn't help thinking wildly.

  Lin Teng coughed lightly with a straight face: "Is it convenient for Fang to let me wash my hands?"

   "Come in." Luo Sheng took a deep look at him, turned and walked inside.

  Lin Teng followed silently.

  Luo Sheng brought Lin Teng to the courtyard, and pointed to the well at the base of the wall: "Young Master Lin, please help yourself."

  Lin Teng went over to fill half a bucket of water, and washed his hands thoroughly.

  Luo Sheng silently counted and washed at least seven times. It seemed that he was disgusted.

  She felt a little dark, and asked leisurely: "What does the snake look like?"

  Lin Teng was scooping up a handful of water and slapping it on his face. Hearing this, he looked at the girl who asked this in astonishment.

  Why is it always so strange what Miss Luo cares about?

  Although I was surprised, I still had to answer the question, after all, I used someone else's well water.

  Lin Teng straightened up and said in embarrassment, "It's green."

   "Uh." Luo Sheng nodded, and kindly reminded, "Young Master Lin, you should be more careful in the future. In case it is a poisonous snake, it's better to take a bite."

  Lin Teng's face turned blue.

  He only wanted to touch a snake to make him sick, but he forgot that a poisonous snake would be life-threatening.

  Looking at the smiling girl, he twitched the corners of his mouth.

   Thank you Miss Luo for reminding me.

   "Master Lin, do you want to continue investigating the case?" the girl asked casually.

  Behind her was a vine, and at this moment, clusters of grapes were hanging down, as crystal clear as blue and red agate beads.

   The smell of meat coming from the big pot outside the kitchen seems to be stronger.

  Lin Teng suddenly lost the will to continue working.

   What else to investigate, a good meal is serious.

   "It's getting late, we'll check tomorrow."

  Luo Sheng picked up a purple-red grape bead and threw it into his mouth, then raised his foot and walked towards the lobby: "Master Lin is really hardworking, I'll take you out."

  Lin Teng returned to the lobby and stopped: "Is it time for the restaurant to open?"

  He won't leave, he wants to stay for dinner.

  Luo Sheng smiled: "Master Lin is going to take his subordinates to have dinner at the restaurant?"

  The eyes of the two subordinates lit up.

   Dinner please?

   That's great. I've heard that the food in this restaurant is delicious and expensive.

  Anyway, it's not something that small government servants like them can afford.

  Lin Teng suddenly remembered that there were two other subordinates, and turned his head stiffly to look at the two men who were five big and three thick, and said awkwardly: "No, I just asked casually. Today is the first day of the new year, and the family is still waiting for me to go back for dinner."

Good morning.

  (end of this chapter)