Between the vast sea of ​​clouds

The horse's hoof crushed the moonlight all over the place, startling the birds perched on the trees by the side of the path, spreading their wings and flying up, and threw themselves into the forest in the night.

Qinghui was cold and silent, shining on the isolated village, and the mountains turned into rolling silhouettes in the night. The leader pulled the reins, pointed to a hilltop in front of him and said, "Miss, the Tianhan Temple has arrived!"

Wu Yue got off his horse, took the torch from one of the people and said, "Leave the four of us at the foot of the mountain to look after them. If there is any movement, we will set off fireworks. The rest of us will go up with me. Be careful, and don't disturb the villagers."

After she finished speaking, she strode ahead, using a torch to illuminate the way up the mountain, but after a dozen steps, she saw a few steps built with bluestone slabs, and the edges of the stone slabs were still rough and uneven, apparently not many people visited.

This temple is built in such a place, and the characters in the drama are enshrined. No one would think that this place can have the protection of gods, they just come to see something new and then leave.

The mountain is not high, but after a while Wu Yue stood at the entrance of the temple. The temple is small, and the surrounding area is full of weeds. You can hear insects singing and frogs singing. Treat this place as the abandoned temple wasteland that no one cares about.

She knocked lightly on the door knocker, and after a while, the lights lit up inside, and one person asked, "Who is it?"

Wu Yue tightly squeezed the jade pendant in her hand, which she took from Wu Ying's tablet.If all living beings in this world are suffering, slaughtering and fighting in this world, for the sake of fame and gain, each has its own reasons, and it is for the sake of death that it can be purified, then the final peace of the deceased should not be disturbed.

But there was nothing she could do.

The wooden door opened with a creak, and the Taoist inside was wearing single clothes, holding an oil lamp in his hand, and two little boys stood beside them, looking at them timidly.

"Go and make some tea." The Taoist ordered, and cupped his hands at Wu Yue again, "I don't know why the guest came late at night?"

Wu Yue bowed deeply, and said: "My surname is Wu, I came here this time to fetch something."

The Taoist said: "The small temple fell on this mountain the year before last. There are few incense sticks and the walls are empty. I don't know what the guests are here for?"

Wu Yue stepped into the temple, facing the clay sculpture behind the curtain, he said slowly: "Nine days are cold, and it's colder than thirty-nine, just this crane knot as proof."

She loosened her fingers, and a topaz was tied with a knot, giving off a warm luster.

"It turns out that such a big event happened in Zhaoye City more than ten years ago. It is said that a family went to see the dragon lantern on the sea banquet, but the youngest daughter in the family got lost—"

Qing Ping took a sip of tea and said: "I seem to have heard what you said. Could it be that this family went to report to the government, and then the government didn't take it seriously, and ended up losing six girls in half a month?"

Li Yan choked up suddenly, and said dryly: "Your Excellency knows?"

Qingping put the teacup down, turned on the fan with a swish, and said, "Yes, it's spreading everywhere outside, and it can almost be included in the script."

Li Yan had no choice but to say: "Your Excellency really sees all directions and listens to all directions, and your subordinates are far behind."

Qingping pushed a cup of tea to her, blinked and said: "Let's talk about it, is there anything I don't know?"

Li Yan's fingers touched the teacup, but he didn't feel it was hot, it was already warm.She felt that her ears were burning, and she forgot what to say for a moment, before she said after a while: "The person who reported the case first is Wei Yuanling."

She took a deep breath, turned her head away from the person sitting beside her, and said in a muffled voice: "Wei Yuanling was a well-known stone carving master at that time, and the statues of dragon girls enshrined in the Wanghai Banquet every year were all made by him. , is indeed very extraordinary, but that year's sea-watching banquet..."

Li Yan stopped suddenly, she followed Qingping's line of sight, but saw that she was looking at the door thoughtfully, as if she was waiting for someone to come in.

It's just that it's so late, who is she waiting for?

Qingping drooped his eyes and fanned the wind, and said lightly: "You said that the person who reported the case was Wei Yuanling, then what?"

"That year at the Sea-Watching Banquet, she never presented it as a stone sculpture like in previous years. There were rumors that it was because of her insincerity. Later, the lost children were all found, but her sister Nowhere to be seen. Later, she went to the government office several times to beat the drums to appeal for grievances, but she ended up being punished with a cane. The government dismissed her case file, and the matter was left alone, and she became a little crazy afterward."

Qing Ping yawned slowly, Li Yan hurriedly stood up and said: "If your lord is tired, please rest earlier, this subordinate will leave now."

Qingping covered his mouth and said vaguely: "Don't say it, Chenzhou is really a bit evil, you can go to the temple to offer incense tomorrow."

Although Li Yan was puzzled, he still agreed and withdrew.

Qing Ping sat alone in the room for a while, and when the cup of tea had cooled completely, he heard someone knocking on the door outside.

She said, "Come in."

The man turned around and closed the door, bowed himself down, and said: "The next official, Zhao Ye, mentions Xing Dan Le, and pays homage to Sir Sizhong."

"There's no need to be polite, sit down." Qing Ping pointed to the chair Li Yan sat on just now, and said, "Shan Ti Xing, I think you've already read Mr. Yuan's letter."

Shan Le lowered his head slightly and said, "Yes."

Qingping tapped his hand on the table, and said: "Shan Tixing was newly transferred to Chenzhou in the middle of last year, right? Can you learn something about the local customs?"

Shan Le said: "Responding to your lord's words, the lower officials know a thing or two, so it can't be called enlightenment."

Qing Ping said: "It's not easy to know a thing or two. From what you can see, this place can be regarded as peaceful?"

Shan Le thought about it: "There are no important cases on weekdays. The people here are simple in nature. It is rare for a subordinate official to work in the criminal punishment department for a year."

Qingping paused in his hands: "It's a good place, so there's no such thing as stealing?"

Shan Le said: "Never."

"A place can be so peaceful and peaceful, even the counties near Chang'an have never been so...quiet."

Shan Le's eyelids twitched, but she said in a flat tone: "Is it really nothing, or is it controlled by someone, waiting for something big to happen?"

"In the past few months, there have indeed been some unsavory rumors, but the person who spread them has been taken down." Shan Le said, "However, there has been a case recently, which is indeed very strange. The missing people are all around 15 to [-] years old girls, one a day, but they can’t find whereabouts.”

Qing Ping said: "I also feel very strange, there are people who the government can't find? Then where did these people go, and why did they disappear by such a coincidence?"

Shan Le couldn't help but said: "Lord Li, I'm sorry to say that this matter should be investigated by the Ministry of Punishment or Dali Temple. The Ministry of Rites does not have the authority to intervene in this matter?"

Qingping glanced at her with some surprise, and then said: "You're right, the Ministry of Rites does not have the power to investigate cases, but this matter is of great importance, and it will be handled with the assistance of various ministries. Didn't the former servant of the Ministry of Punishment already send a letter to you? Why, why don't you understand?"

Shan Le was still puzzled, and said, "My lord, you came to Zhaoye before the guard of honor, what kind of case did you come to investigate?"

Qingping raised his eyelids, and closed the folding fan in his hand: "There are people here under the guise of floods, using natural disasters as excuses to talk about the fate of the country, and at the same time slandering the imperial court, and then gathered a group of people to pretend to be ghosts, spread rumors, and confuse the people."

She smiled gently, and said word by word: "In short, it's a conspiracy."

Shan Le only felt a chill creeping up her spine.

The author has something to say: I have a bad cold, I can’t write anymore, sorry. .