No taboos

Chapter 277: The Cao Gang is just a big dog (three in one)

"Xiangyuzhi" is like a silver chain, connecting various clues from Champa to the canal dock.

"Cocooning" implies the boundary between life and death.

If an ancient corpse is evil and wants to "reincarnate from the dead", it will of course need a large amount of cocoon food.

The princess's tomb was near Champa. After a long period of observation, they discovered that someone was smuggling cocoon food on the canal, so they secretly stole the cocoon food worth 1.12 million taels of silver.

Since she is a princess, even if she is an ancient corpse, she must love beauty. Perhaps she disguised herself and went into the city to buy "fragrant jade fat".

Or maybe... that gang of tomb robbers had already been subdued and controlled by the Ancient Corpse Princess.

They bought makeup powder for the princess.

At present, all of this is just Mr. Xu's private speculation.

Lord Xu agreed to let Miao Yu go with him.

But Miao Yu still refused to tell Xu Yuan the location of the ancient tomb directly.

"You and I will act together." Miao Yu had a feeling that Xu Yuan wanted to shake him off: "I will lead the way, and when we get there, we will advance and retreat together."

"You are a high-ranking official, so you have the final say." Xu Yuan deliberately acted indifferent, as if he really wanted to go and take a look on a whim.

But today, for some reason, Miao Yu's intuition was as accurate as a woman's.

And Miao Yu is very stubborn...

Xu Yuan was very surprised and muttered secretly: Lord Miao, you should be busy with your strange robbery case. The case of this gambler and tomb robber should be the responsibility of our Exorcism Department. Why do you have to follow me instead of investigating your own case?

But we can't go today because Miao Yu said, "The ancient tomb is on the other side of the canal. It's forbidden to go near the river today. We can only go tomorrow."

Xu Yuan made an appointment with him that Miao Yu would come to the South City patrol room early tomorrow morning and they would set off together.

Then Xu Yuan went back by himself, and it was not until dark that the captains and Zhang Lao Ya came back.

In addition, there is Lang Xiaoba who has not been seen for many days.

Lang Xiaoba took care of Xiaoloufang's funeral and paid off all the debts he owed during his lifetime.

The funeral was not a grand affair, and Xiao Loufang's life was not glorious after all.

But we have everything we need, and we never treat the dead unfairly.

During this period of time, Lang Xiaoba also slowly felt the magic of "Xiao Lou Fang".

This doesn't seem like Xiao Loufang is guiding Lang Xiaoba, but rather that Xiao Loufang is selling all her cultivation to Lang Xiaoba.

With the help of the secret records left by Xiao Loufang, Lang Xiaoba got the hang of it quickly.

After returning this time, he kowtowed to Xu Yuan and said, "Sir, I sell Xiao Ba's life to you!"

Xiao Loufang taught him the method, and the adults asked him to kowtow three times to Xiao Loufang.

In fact, it is a recognition of this lineage.

But without the adults, he couldn't even be a good martial artist, let alone practice two martial arts at the same time!

Moreover, Xiao Loufang is at the seventh-rate level. Even if her level has dropped significantly due to taking opium, it is still at the eighth-rate level, and it can be easily restored.

After Lang Xiaoba kowtowed and said this, he did not mention returning the more than 300 taels of silver he had used to pay off his debt to the adults.

I have sold my life to you, so there is no need to calculate the money so clearly.

"You've been tired for many days, go and rest first." Xu Yuan asked Lang Xiaoba to go back.

Di Youzhi, Mao Dabing and others were also very tired.

It was very troublesome to clean up the scenes of several strange incidents.

Di Youzhi waited until Lang Xiaoba left before he weakly reported to Xu Yuan, "Don't worry, sir. Everything has been handled. The brothers will not be lazy at work."

Xu Yuan nodded: "I remember the hard work of my brothers."

If there are opportunities in the future, we will give everyone more chances to “make money”.

Di Youzhi thanked the adults with a smile, and then everyone finished their shift and went home quickly.

Zhang Laoya had been standing aside waiting. When Xu Yuan was left alone, Zhang Laoya came over and said, "Let's eat. Let's talk while we eat."

The stepmother had indeed prepared dinner and was waiting for her.

Xu Yuan suddenly took out a jar of wine from the carriage.

Zhang Lao Ya's eyes lit up: "Hehua Distillery's thirty-year-old wine!"

This was something Xu Yuan secretly hid when he was with Miao Yu in Baiyue Pavilion last time.

"As a reward for you." Xu Yuan said with a smile.

Zhang Laoya has indeed been full of resentment recently.

The key is that he doesn't know who to direct his resentment at.

In fact, he was the one who implicated Xu Yuan in the whole thing.

It makes me feel even more depressed.

Zhang Laoya opened the wine, drank three cups in a row, and let out a long sigh of relief.

"Good wine!" Zhang Lao Ya shook his head and tasted it for a while before saying, "I've checked with Ronglianhao. This is really hard work. There are more than 20 women in the city who use this stuff all year round.

These are easy to check, but there are also people who come to buy occasionally. In the past three months, there have been more than 30 such individual customers. The three of them tried their best, but they only found eleven.

There is no suspicion among these people.”

Xu Yuan: "So, this clue about the Ronglian has yielded nothing?"

Zhang Laoya nodded helplessly.

Zhang Laoya had no idea what to do next.

Xu Yuan then asked, "Master Wen Bin, what do you want to do?"

Zhang Lao Ya was stunned. "Him? I haven't asked...you didn't ask me that either."

Xu Yuan was at a loss for words. "Do I need to explain this specifically? You're already old, and you still can't think of this?"
Zhang Lao Ya's face flushed, and he reluctantly said, "Okay, I'll ask the three of them tomorrow."

In fact, when Zhang Laoya was with the three Mengmo sisters, he always felt guilty and was in an extremely weak position.

Zhang Lao Ya tried not to speak, for fear of being scolded again if he said something wrong.

"Did you gain anything?" asked Zhang Laoya.

"We will continue the investigation tomorrow." Xu Yuan did not disclose any details.

There was nothing more to discuss, so the two of them focused on eating.

Mr. Zhang was trying to drown his sorrows in alcohol and drank the entire jar of wine.

Before going to bed at night, Xu Yuan released the trick of "Gaze at Symptoms" from the mud surface and refined it into an external pill.

As soon as the sun rose, he went to his yard and used the alchemy furnace to "re-refine" the external elixir.

I was a little unskilled the first time, and it took me more than half an hour to finish it.

The level of weirdness of the festering eyeballs is about eighth-rate.

This trick is naturally also eighth-rate.

But now, what is released by this "ghost pill" is already seventh-rate.

When the festering eyeball releases this trick, it needs to stare at the target for about five finger snaps of time before it can start infecting the body.

It takes ten snaps of the fingers to infect the soul.

When Xu Yuan used the strange pill, it only took two snaps of his fingers to infect the body, and four snaps of his fingers to infect the soul!
If you combine it with the Haikou Toad Shadow Play, fix the target, and then use this strange pill, you will be invincible!

"It's a pity that the quality of Haikou toad shadow puppetry is a bit low." Xu Yuan couldn't help but feel regretful.

After cleaning up the alchemy room, Xu Yuan came out and locked the door, then returned to the South City Patrol Room.

Miao Yu had been waiting for a while, complaining naggingly, "What were you doing so early in the morning? Why weren't you on time for our appointment today?"

When Lord Miao arrived, he was told that Lord Xu was not there. He suspected that this guy had found out the location of the ancient tomb from somewhere and left him alone.

Xu Yuan apologized with a smile and didn't say what he had done.

This time Xu Yuan only brought Qin Ze, Lang Xiaoba and four captains.

Miao Yu...still only has two confidants.

Miao Yu discovered a very strange situation, which was:
Now, as the chief lawyer in the Champa Office of the Mountain and River Division, I look down on my captains and don't want to take them with me no matter where I go or what I do.

The remaining officers in the office were far from loyal to the Chief Lawyer. Wu Qingzhao's death and the strange changes at the Fugui Casino had made them feel that the Chief Lawyer was somewhat ominous.

So they were unwilling to follow Lord Miao out.

The dignified Lord Attorney, the highest official of the Champa Office of the Mountain and River Division, and his officers and lieutenants were actually in a situation of "dislike for each other"!
Miao Yu secretly cursed these idiots for having no vision and no ambition.

I felt a little more envious of Xu Yuan.

Look at other people's subordinates, then look at your own...

Lord Miao looked up to the sky and sighed.

The team came out of the south gate of Champa, and everyone was riding their horses at a fairly fast pace.

Miao Yu walked in front and soon arrived at the canal dock outside the south gate.

One of Miao Yu's confidants said, "Please wait a moment, my lords. I will go and arrange the ferry."

There were almost no bridges on the canal, and that man hated building bridges on the river. He felt that too many bridges would be like chains and iron hoops fastened around him.

So if you want to cross the river, you have to take a boat.

The canal docks in various places are under the jurisdiction of the Canal Yamen, while specific affairs are generally handed over to the Canal Gang.

Miao Yu's confidant was named Zhang, and he also held the position of inspector.

He found a big boss of the Cao Gang and said, "The Lord Chief Lawyer wants to cross the river. Please arrange a boat."

The big boss rolled his eyes and said, "No matter who comes to cross the river, they have to line up in order. This is the rule of our Cao Gang!"

The canal dock was extremely busy.

It was forbidden to go to the river yesterday, and a large number of cargo ships were docked at the shore.

At this time, the boatmen and trackers cooperated with each other, shouting and releasing the boats one by one.

The laborers were moving the goods, some boat owners were shouting loudly to recruit people, and there was already a long queue on the ferry side.

The head waiter pointed at the team and said, "Look, there are so many people waiting. If we let you go first, how are we going to explain this to everyone?"

Inspector Zhang frowned and said, "We are from the Mountain and River Division."

"So what about the Mountain and River Division?" the head waiter said displeasedly, "Something's missing from the warehouse, and you've been searching for days with no luck. You just keep coming back to us. Why don't you go catch the thief?"

Inspector Zhang returned with a dark face, clasped his fists and bowed to Miao Yu, saying, "Sir, I am incompetent."

Miao Yu waved his hand and said, "It's not your fault. The Cao Gang is deliberately making things difficult for me."

The last time he came to check the files, Miao Yu already realized how complicated this case was.

This time, I came here to give myself a warning.

Xu Yuan also understood that the Cao Gang would never dare to embarrass the Shanhe Division - they had someone backing them up.

I don’t want Miao Yu to always keep an eye on the warehouse.

Qin Ze stepped forward and whispered in Master Xu's ear, "Master, would you like me, Old Qin, to go find the Iron Boat Gang..."

Xu Yuan shook his head and said nothing.

The Cao Gang and the people behind them obviously don't understand Miao Zhanglu's character well enough.

As expected, Miao Yu sneered, "Hehe," then glanced at Lord Xu's side, then pointed at the tall and strong Qin Ze and said, "Inspector Xu, can you lend me your men?"

Miao Yu’s two confidants are not martial artists.

"Of course there is no problem. Lao Qin, everything will be subject to Master Miao's instructions."

"Respect!"

Miao Yu put his hands behind his back, took Lao Qin to the big boss, and said, "Fight!"

Old Qin was stunned and looked at the Lord Lawyer.

Miao Yu remained calm: "Hit him!"

Lao Qin smiled broadly. No wonder Master Miao picked me, Lao Qin, at first sight. He knew I was very strong. Lao Qin took a step forward and slapped the boss so hard that he staggered. Half of his face swelled up quickly!
"what!"

The big boss screamed, covered his face and roared, "How dare you hit someone from the Cao Gang!"

After this shout was made, the dock suddenly became quiet.

Hundreds of Cao Gang members put down their work and surrounded them angrily.

Miao Yu had a cold and arrogant expression on his face, showing no fear at all. He glanced at Lao Qin calmly and said, "Did I say stop?"

"Hahaha!" Old Qin laughed loudly. This official has a slicked-back appearance, but his temper is really to my liking!
So Lao Qin stepped forward, grabbed the boss's neck like an eagle catching a chicken, and lifted him up, then hit him in the face.

With a snap, the big boss's nose was broken.

Suddenly, blood covered his face.

Old Qin listened carefully and found that Lord Miao had not yet said stop.

Then he kicked him in the stomach again, and kicked the big boss out of his hand three meters away!

"Ow—"

The big boss hit the pile of cargo hard, curled up in pain and vomited.

Lao Qin chased after him again, attacking him left and right, and swinging his fists to hit him hard.

The surrounding Cao Gang members rushed over, cursing angrily. Miao Yu showed his badge and shouted, "Open your dog eyes and let me see clearly!"

"I am the Chief Lawyer of the Champa Office of the Mountain and River Division!"

"Whoever dares to take another step forward, I'll chop off the left foot if he takes his left foot, and chop off the right foot if he takes his right foot!"

Hundreds of Cao Gang members suddenly stopped.

Ordinary people may not recognize the badge of the Chief Lawyer of the Ministry of Mountains and Rivers, but the Cao Gang, who make a living by the canal, all know it.

Lao Qin didn't care about the gang members around him. Since Lord Miao didn't say to stop, he would just keep fighting.

He beat the big boss until he lost his human form. If he continued to beat him, he would probably be killed.

But Miao Yu still didn't say "stop".

Old Qin glanced at Xu Yuan secretly and found that he was also calm and composed. He stood in the distance with his hands behind his back, looking at the scenery on the other side of the canal.

What else is there to say? Keep fighting!
"Lord Miao is so majestic!" Finally a voice appeared.

The gang members automatically dispersed, and a middle-aged man who was a lot bigger than Lao Qin strode in with a dozen of his men.

"Boss." The gang members around him saluted.

The Cao Gang's chief steward at Champa Wharf is the Cao Gang's boss on this section of the canal.

"Stop!" The steward saw that Lao Qin was still fighting even after he showed up. He shouted angrily and pounced on him, grabbing Lao Qin's neck with his big hands.

Lao Qin had just grabbed the boss's neck, and he was going to do the same to Lao Qin.

But unexpectedly, a sword ball suddenly flew across.

There was a slap on his wrist.

Lord Xu did not transform the sword ball into a flying sword, but kept it in the form of a "ball".

But the sword ball was also extremely heavy and hard.

The speed was so fast that the steward had no time to react.

Snapped!
The steward couldn't even lift one of his arms.

He turned his head suddenly and looked at Xu Yuan in surprise and suspicion.

There was a hint of confusion in his eyes because the other person was wearing the official uniform of the Inspector of the Exorcism Bureau.

The Mountain and River Division and the Impurity Removal Division have always been at odds. How did these two get together?
After being hit, the steward knew that his wrist was broken.

He was a seventh-rate martial artist, and he broke his bones with one blow. The opponent must be a sixth-rate alchemy practitioner!
A mere patrol officer, yet he's already a sixth-rate officer?! Who on earth is he? The chief steward speculated in his mind.

Just from his inner evaluation of the "mere" inspection, we can tell that his mentality has long been wrong.

No matter how powerful the Cao Gang was, they were still just "people" in the Ming Dynasty, but he looked down on the official "Inspector".

He came into contact with many officials from the Canal Office on a daily basis, so he thought he could be among them, but he forgot that your "friend" is not yourself.

Everything your friends have does not belong to you.

Even for the steward, "friends" are not friends, but masters.

Xu Yuan said coldly: "I am protecting my people. Those who attack me will pay the price!"

Lao Qin didn't even turn his head and continued to beat the boss.

But when I heard what the adults said, my mouth grinned from ear to ear.

"Okay, Lao Qin, take a break." Miao Yu gave the order, and Lao Qin stopped immediately.

"Hmph!" Old Qin returned to Xu Yuan with an arrogant look on his face, standing with his hands on his hips, like a black iron tower.

The chief steward glanced at his men, who were barely breathing, and it was a horrible sight.

"Take him away to heal."

Several men quickly took the big boss away to save his life.

The chief steward angrily asked, "Master Miao, what does this mean?"

Miao Yu said coldly: "Lü Tianxing's crime: insubordination!"

The chief steward Lu Tianxing immediately felt a huge pressure gathering from between heaven and earth, weighing heavily on him.

With the strength of a seventh-rate martial artist, he only managed to put up a slight resistance before being forced to his knees with a thud!

The gang members were in an uproar: "Big Steward..."

Lu Tianxing's eyes were bloodshot as he glared at Miao Yu.

Miao Yu sneered and commented: "Idiot!"

Lu Tianxing really wanted to say some harsh words, after all, his gang members were watching.

But he also knew very well that if he spoke nonsense again, Miao Yu would punish him!
Miao Yu waited for a while and looked around, but no one from the Canal Yamen showed up. He immediately lost interest and shook his head, muttering, "Your master actually refuses to show up and bully you dogs. It's boring..."

Miao Yu waved his hand and said, "I am magnanimous and will forgive you."

Lu Tianxing immediately felt that all the pressure on his body disappeared.

He stood up quickly, and Miao Yu said, "I need to cross the river. Arrange a boat immediately!"

Lu Tianxing gritted his teeth, didn't say a word for a long time, then turned and left.

He secretly signaled to one of his men, who stayed behind and said cautiously to Miao Yu, "Sir, please follow me. I will arrange for you to cross the river immediately."

"Ah."

Lu Tianxing stepped forward, but was hit by a sword ball from Lord Xu and a "law" from Lord Miao, and fled in disgrace.

Miao Yu put his arm around Xu Yuan's shoulders and said, "Brother, you really should come to the Shanhe Division. Look how well we work together!"

"Let's combine our two swords to slay all the evil in the world and realize our ambitions!"

The more Miao Yu spoke, the more excited he became. There was a bright light in his eyes, and the five fingers of his other hand were slightly opened, pointing forward, as if he had already grasped a bright future in the distant future!

Unfortunately, the two had not yet boarded the ferry. If Brother Xu and I were standing at the bow, riding the wind and waves, and I had spoken these words passionately - this scene would be enough to be recorded in history!
Xu Yuan was very embarrassed and Lord Miao was very excited, but Xu Yuan not only failed to empathize with him, but also rejected him.

It's a bit inhumane...

How should I phrase it so that Lord Miao wouldn't feel so hurt by the overwhelming emotions he was feeling?
Just when he was feeling embarrassed, Xu Yuan suddenly heard a cry from behind him: "Great!"

Then a certain black iron tower impulsively and forcefully inserted itself between the two adults, forcibly squeezing Miao Yu's arm off Xu Yuan's shoulder.

Miao Yu frowned secretly, he didn't like subordinates who had no sense of boundaries.

But Old Qin had just done something for me, so I can’t call him “Inspector Qin” when there’s something wrong and “Old Qin” when there’s nothing wrong, right?

"What are you..."

Old Qin roared excitedly, "Master Qin, you are so domineering! What is the purpose of a man seeking fame and power? Isn't it just like today, when someone humiliates you, you can fight back without hesitation!
"Master Qin's behavior is exactly what I, Old Qin, like!"

Lao Qin patted his hard chest loudly: "Don't worry, Master Miao, if something like this happens again in the future, just say the word and I, Lao Qin, will help you!"

Miao Yu forced himself to maintain a smile on his face.

I am different from you, a crude martial artist. I became an official to represent the people and redress their grievances...

You won’t understand even if I tell you this.

But Miao Yu already felt that the "atmosphere" between him and Brother Xu just now was gone, and he could only sigh secretly and say it was a pity.

I clearly feel that Brother Xu has been infected by my impassioned speech!

As long as I ask him, he will definitely hold my hand and call me "big brother"!
Old Qin seemed to be unaware of everything and was still shouting.

Miao Yu suddenly pointed ahead and said, "The boat is coming."

At the canal dock, most of the good and large ships are arranged to transport cargo.

Only small boats and old boats are used as ferries.

However, the Cao Gang had just been taught a lesson, so of course they arranged a good ship for Miao Yu.

It is 90% new, having been launched no more than two years ago, and the paint on the hull has not even peeled off.

In the Champa section of the canal, the river is wide and the water flows smoothly.

From the pier to the other side, it is about 150 meters, and the river water is green and rippling.

The water birds in the sky compete with the fish under the water in a battle of wits and courage.

There are no absolute predators and prey here.

Water birds eat fish, and there are also big fish and giant frogs in the water. They can catch low-flying water birds by spitting water swords, leaping over the water, and wrapping their long tongues around them.

Who knows, one day, these things in the water might eat too many water birds and suddenly become something strange.

Xu Yuan wanted to take the opportunity to quietly put the "leather dragon" into the water for a "trial run", but Miao Yu was right next to him, so he thought about it and gave up.

Lu Tianxing's subordinate stayed with them all the time, serving them carefully.

Even the chief steward was dealt with, so what is he?
The ferry was not slow, but there was no wind or waves on the river, so the ride was not bumpy.

It took about two quarters of an hour to reach the other side.

"My Lords, take care."

Miao Yu ignored him. After getting off the boat with Xu Yuan, he pointed in a direction and said, "Go this way."

Over there you can vaguely see the undulating mountains.

That mountain is also part of Xiaoyu Mountain. The mountains near Champa are given various names by the locals, but they are actually all Xiaoyu Mountain.

Everyone mounted their horses and galloped away. After more than an hour, they arrived at the foot of the mountain. There was a village not far away, and the people were working in the fields.

He rolled up his trouser legs to his thighs and stepped barefoot into the muddy water of the rice field.

They were startled by the sound of horse hooves and looked at the crowd in horror.

For the common people, the arrival of the "officials" is definitely not a good thing.

Among these people, the ratio of Ming Dynasty subjects and local natives is roughly half and half.

A hundred years after the Ming Dynasty conquered Jiaozhi, intermarriage between the two sides had led to the initial integration.

For example, among these people, there were more than a dozen couples, the men were citizens of the Ming Dynasty, and the wives were local natives.

They leaned against each other in panic.

Those couples who are both locals are even more at a loss.

Fortunately, the horse team galloped past and headed into the mountains.

Miao Yu rode his horse into the entrance of a valley, then reined in his horse and pretended to observe the terrain.

It took a while to say how to go.

Xu Yuan understood at a glance: This guy doesn’t know the way at all!
He was not a local, so even if the tomb robber told him the location, he could only find a rough direction.

If you really go to the mountains, you will definitely need a local guide.

Xu Yuan then ordered, "Xiao Ba, it's your turn."

(End of this chapter)