Dafeng Night Watchman

Chapter 2: Demonic Haunting



Xu Xinnian frowned: "Why do you want this?"

I want to solve the case...Xu Qi'an said in a deep voice: "I want to know what happened, and I will die knowingly. Otherwise, I will not be willing."

If he directly said to solve the case, Xu Xinnian would probably think that he was crazy, so Xu Qi'an changed his words.

After all, the original Xu Qi'an was stubborn and stubborn.

Xu Xinnian pondered for a moment and said: "I have read the files, and I can tell you..."

These days, he ran around for the Xu family. The case was too big and no one dared to help. With nowhere to turn, Xu Xinnian changed his mind and tried to break the deadlock by recovering the tax silver.

Relying on the original connections of the Xu family and the relationship with the academy, as well as the money, Xu Xinnian bribed the clerks of Jingzhao Prefecture to copy the files for him.

But he had no experience in criminal case judgment and investigation, so he had no choice but to give up.

Xu Qi'an raised his hand to interrupt, "Write it down, there is no point in speaking."

All the details of the case are in the text, which needs to be considered and chewed. If you devote some energy to listening, your brain will not be able to think and analyze calmly.

Xu Qi'an's logical reasoning ability has always been outstanding in his previous life, and he is the best in his grade.

In the past, Xu Xinnian would not pay attention to him, thinking that the two brothers' separation this time may be a farewell forever.

He agreed to his brother's last request and whispered: "Wait a moment."

He walked away quickly.

The footsteps disappeared in the corridor, and Xu Qi'an sat down with his back against the fence, feeling uneasy and complicated.

He was not sure of a comeback. He wanted to solve the case, but he was unwilling to give up.

This was the only way to save himself that he could think of. He had to try it and struggle to death.

In modern criminal investigation methods, crime scene investigation, monitoring, and autopsy are three indispensable components.

No one died in the missing tax silver case, there was no surveillance in ancient times, and he was in prison, so he had no conditions to contact the above three elements.

Fortunately, the files can restore the crime scene to a certain extent.

While digesting the original owner's memory, he forced himself to get rid of all negative emotions. Only a calm brain can have clear ideas and complete rigorous reasoning.

"Whether he lives or dies, it depends on what happens next..." he murmured.

An incense stick of time passed slowly, and Xu Xinnian hurried back and handed him a few pieces of rice paper with ink not yet dried.

"Time is up, I have to go." Xu Xinnian hesitated and said, "Take care of yourself."

Xu Qi'an didn't say anything, his eyes were already attracted by the handwriting on the rice paper.

Time was short, and the handwriting on the paper was cursive. If Xu Qi'an hadn't studied in a private school for a few years, he wouldn't have recognized these ghostly talismans at all.

"Reading is still useful. The original owner is illiterate...... Finished." Xu Qi'an said self- deprecatingly.

The story of the missing tax silver case is as follows:

[Three days ago at 2:00 a.m. (6:30 a.m.), Xu Pingzhi escorted a batch of tax silver into Beijing. At 1:00 a.m., he arrived at Guangnan Street. Just after crossing the bridge, a strange wind suddenly blew up, and the horses were frightened and rushed into the river beside the street. After a while, a deafening explosion was heard, and the river water exploded six feet high, with turbid waves surging.

The soldiers responsible for escorting the tax silver jumped into the river to look for silver, but only found 1,215 taels of silver, and the rest of the silver disappeared...]

In addition to the story of the case, there are also confessions of passers-by collected by Jingzhao Prefecture and confessions of soldiers who participated in the escort.

In a series of confessions, Xu Qian'an noticed a sentence outlined in red cinnabar pen: Demons are causing trouble!

"Demons are causing trouble?!" Xu Qian'an's pupils shrank, and his heart sank to the bottom of the valley.

...

Jingzhao Prefecture, back hall.

After three days of running around, the three main persons in charge of the missing tax silver case gathered together.

Jingzhao Prefecture Governor Chen Hanguang held a white porcelain blue and white tea cup in his hand, the tea lid gently knocked against the edge of the cup, his face solemn.

The fourth-rank official wearing a scarlet robe embroidered with clouds and geese sighed: "There are still two days. The emperor ordered us to recover the tax silver before Xu Pingzhi was beheaded. The two adults, we must hurry up."

The two people mentioned by Chen Prefecture Governor were middle-aged men wearing black uniforms and black cloaks, with high nose bridges, slightly sunken eye sockets, and light brown pupils.

Half of the southern barbarian blood.

Another oval-faced girl in a yellow skirt, with picturesque eyebrows, skin like cream, and a radiant look.

She held a piece of sugarcane in her hand, a small deerskin bag and a bagua feng shui plate hanging around her waist, and a pair of small boots embroidered with cloud patterns under

her skirt.

Swinging.

These two are assisting in the investigation. The middle-aged man is called Li Yuchun. He comes from an organization that is feared by officials in Dafeng: night watchmen.

The "night watchmen" organization is engaged in reconnaissance, arrest, interrogation and other activities. They also participate in collecting military intelligence and inciting enemy generals to revolt.

It does not belong to the six ministries, nor does it belong to the military system.

It is the intelligence organization of the royal family and the guillotine hanging over the heads of all officials.

All officials in Dafeng have heard a saying: If you don't do bad things during the day, you won't be afraid of night watchmen at night.

And the girl in the yellow skirt is from the Sitianjian. She is of high status and is a disciple of the director of the Sitianjian.

The middle-aged man with a silver gong embroidered on his chest glanced at the sugarcane residue vomited by the girl in the yellow skirt at his feet, frowned, and spun his palm, and the

air flow rolled, gathering the sugarcane residue together.

The middle-aged man nodded slightly, revealing a fleeting joy.

Then he replied to Chen Fuyin with a heavy face: "This case is shrouded in mystery and is very strange. Maybe we are going in the wrong direction."

"What are you talking about, Lord Li?" Chen Fuyin frowned. After analyzing the case so far, it was basically locked in that it was a monster that robbed the tax silver.

"We don't have much time. What we should do now is to catch the monster as soon as possible, and don't think about these messes." Chen Fuyin said.

In recent years, the treasury has been empty, and there have been frequent disasters in various places. Fifteen thousand taels of tax silver is equivalent to the annual tax revenue of

an ordinary county.

Your Majesty's anger is understandable.

I don't have any money, and you still let me down. I'm so angry.

Chen Fuyin took over this case conscientiously. The burden on his shoulders has made him eatn/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

and sleep poorly recently.

The middle-aged man shook his head, without arguing, and said, "What new gains did Xu

Pingzhi have?"

Chen Fuyin shook his head: "He is just a warrior, he can only keep complaining about injustice, he doesn't even know how the tax silver was lost."

The girl in the yellow skirt said lightly: "I have seen his 'qi', he is not lying."

Li Yuchun and Chen Fuyin nodded, and did not continue to talk about this person.

As a criminal, Xu Pingzhi was the first to be investigated and tortured, and his interpersonal

relationships and financial situation were all touched. Combined with the qi-watching technique of the Sitianjian, the suspicion has been ruled out for now.

Of course, the tax silver was lost and Xu Pingzhi was derelict in his duty, and he could not

escape the death penalty.

The middle-aged man and Chen Fuyin looked serious and heavy-hearted.

Only the girl in the yellow skirt, who was under the least pressure, chewed the sugarcane

heartlessly.

At this time, footsteps were heard, and a yamen runner hurried in, holding a small bamboo tube in his right hand and a butter paper bag in his left hand, which contained a steaming big

meat bun.

The yamen runner handed over the bamboo tube first.

The girl in the yellow skirt did not take it, but glanced at the big meat bun with her bright eyes

like stars.

The yamen runner wisely changed the order. The girl in the yellow skirt happily ate the big meat bun. Then she took the bamboo tube, pulled out a piece of paper, and read:

"My people said that along the 20-mile journey, no demonic aura was observed in the river,

and there was no trace on the shore."

"Bang!"

The oppressive atmosphere finally exploded. Chen Fuyin slammed the table angrily, his face livid: "Where can 150,000 taels of silver be taken? It has to go ashore, it has to go ashore. It's been three days, and there is no trace of the other party."

"Damn it, which demon dares to intercept my Dafeng tax silver? This official will destroy it!"

If the tax silver cannot be recovered, he has to take the blame. The emperor will not care whether he is wronged or not. Once he sits in this position, he has to take the blame. This is how the officialdom is. It's hard to climb up, but it's easy to fall down.

The middle-aged man Li Yuchun exhaled and continued the previous topic: "Maybe we are investigating in the wrong direction, maybe it's not the work of the monster."

Chen Fuyin looked at him, took a deep breath, and suppressed his anger: "If it's not a monster, then how can the evil wind come? How can the silver disappear out of thin air when it enters the river? How can it explode into waves several feet high and crack the banks?"