Daqing Criminal Division

Because of this oolong, Duan Xiao, who had just arrived, was invited out together with the catcher.

As soon as I left that place, the sky outside became much brighter.

On the street, traffickers and pawns are just like before, but the scene inside is also like a hallucination.

Before leaving, Duan Xiao finally glanced at the secret scroll of 'Four Questions' thrown on the table below, but he just said nothing expressionlessly.

The owner of the 'haunted house' did not go downstairs to see off the guests either.

Just like this weird place, it gives people the feeling that strangers should not get close.

Duan Xiao didn't have a serious face to face with him from beginning to end, except for the upstairs and downstairs, the two of them didn't take a closer look at what each other looked like.

However, that Zack was good at being an official, and he didn't have the unusualness of his 'friend' in terms of life.

Not only when he came out, he was very ashamed to pay him for the innocent disaster just now.

Seeing Duan Yuanbao squatting at the door, and hearing that they were going to the Songyang Yamen to have an errand, he said that he might as well treat them to a meal first, and then take the two of them there together.

"Huh? How good is this? I don't know the policeman, why don't I invite you?"

Hearing this, Duan Xiao, who obviously had no money on him, smiled politely with his eyes narrowed.

"You're welcome haha, just call Zha Keshan. Besides, I'm sorry for you. I can still afford a bowl of Yangchun noodles. It's fate to meet you. Now that you've arrived in Songyang County, let's take it as a clean-up for Mr. !"

Saying that, holding the scabbard with his hands on his hips, Zakshan, who doesn't look like a government official but like a Jianghu person, also laughed.

With these words, Duan Xiao and Zha Keshan have just met for the first time.

When you go out to make friends with others, you should always pay attention to how you come and go. They are only coming to Songyang for the first time now. It is a good thing to have a local policeman to recommend them.

It happened that there was an alley not far from the old coffin shop.

After a few steps around, there happened to be a food stall.

There was a big soap cloth in front of the stall, a few broken tables and chairs in front of the door, and an old woman with a bun was selling Yangchun noodles in a pot on the side of the street.

When they came together, there were two local people wearing satin mandarin jackets at the next table, and a local man covered with a cloth birdcage was also sitting and eating noodles.

Seeing the three fast catchers sitting aside, they greeted each other, but when they saw Duan Xiao's face, the two of them stopped coming again as if avoiding it, and only beckoned Zha Keshan to go and see the new bird.

Duan Xiao watched from a distance as one of them opened the curtain with a thin stick and teased the birds inside.

The wax-billed bird with a candle-yellow beak in the cage is jumping back and forth with its eyeballs 'tattling'.

One eyeball of the wax-billed bird was also gray.

Seeing as if he was blinded by something, he remembered the pair of unspeakably weird eyes staring at him in the dark just now.

After some pleasantries, the two finally left.

Zha Keshan, who was rubbing the sweat on his head, heaved a sigh of relief, and hurried back to greet Duan Xiao, who was sitting and drinking tea.

"Yes, I'm sorry, Mr. Duan, those are two well-known juren in this county, and they usually like to be a little fussy. Don't be surprised."

"It's okay."

Duan Xiao, who poured a cup of tea, said this with a normal face.

After so many years of wandering outside, he has long been used to what happened just now, his own face is really ugly and frightening, even if others look at him, he will be very clear.

That is to say, Duan Xiao, who still had a box and his son by his side, sat down with Zack Shanxing, and the three of them chatted while eating noodles in this lively street.

During the period, it was mainly Zakshan who was reporting to himself.

This little fellow Duan Yuanbao only cared about eating his noodles with his head down, pretending to be polite to his father and deliberately deceiving him for a meal, and not commenting on the fact that he was still talking here.

The stupid big man also had a good time talking, and Duan Xiao told all his life in a few words.

For example, he is a policeman with a knife in Songyang County.

He is twenty-six years old, lives in the west of the city, his parents are dead, and he has not yet married a wife. Whether Guangai makes friends or not, Duan Xiao also listens patiently.

But since talking about today's matter again, seeing that Zha Keshan had talked so much but never mentioned the owner of the 'haunted house' just now, Duan Xiao, who was sitting in front of the noodle stall, couldn't help but ask a question.

"Oh, who are you talking about? That's Fuchaerji. The whole Songyang County knows him. He is a detective, just like the sign at the door says."

"detective?"

Duan Xiao suddenly felt that this line of work was unheard of.

"Yes, according to "Ten Strategies on Murder Cases in the Ming and Qing Dynasties", the crime is the murder. Those who commit homicides are often called criminals. The methods of killing and destroying corpses are very strange, and the folk courts are rarely heard of. The theory of detectives comes from here. As for Fucha, he is a detective here who specializes in helping the Yamen catch criminals."

It is estimated that he really knows a lot about the various deeds of that person.

Zach Keshan, a fast catcher, spoke clearly and logically, as if he was bragging for the "haunted house" weirdo, he opened his mouth and continued,

"Don't look at him just now, he is a very smart person, but there is no murder case that he can't think of a way to solve, and there are countless strange cases solved by him. I have admired him in my life. people!"

"Oh? But there are officials in the Yamen, why do you have to find a detective when there is a murder?"

After hearing so much, it seemed that he understood the specific identity of the person who didn't like to go out during the day.

Thinking of a certain point, Duan Xiao asked.

But originally Zakeshan was still talking vigorously, but when he heard the words, he also showed embarrassment. He was afraid that there was something hidden in it. Seeing this, Duan Xiao didn't interrupt him, and then he saw the outspoken policeman tell him the truth. ,

"Hey, you are from Yanzhou. You may not be clear. From Shuntian to Songyang, there have been clear regulations in the government offices of all counties and prefectures since the time of Shengzu. Our catchers are also called 'Ma Kuai', and Ma Kuai belongs to The yamen hires internally to be responsible for criminal investigation cases, and the 'horse fast' is faster than a horse in handling a case, so whenever such a murder case is encountered, the yamen has a time limit called 'bi' to solve the case."

"Compare?"

It was the first time Duan Xiao had heard of this, so he rolled his eyes when he asked this question.

"Yes, the 'ratio' is generally three to five days."

"If the people in the government can't solve the case at this time and catch the murderer, they will be punished by the officials of the head office and fined their salary. This is why I am so anxious, because for any vicious murder case, the yamen must be in such a short period of time. It is simply impossible to catch the murderer in such a short period of time.”

"I'm not the only arrester in Songyang County. There's another arrester named Liu... Sigh, but how can I solve the problem my friend asked? There are 1 cases waiting for no one. ..."

With these words, Zakshan was helpless.

The case he was talking about must be the new murder case in Songyang County that he had mentioned to that person when he was upstairs in the Investigative Chamber.

Stone Buddha.

homicide.

Duan Xiao silently thought about this in his heart, but didn't speak.

……

Not a moment.

Songyang Street

Duan Xiao and Zha Keshan ate this bowl of noodles on the street, and went to the local yamen to report together.

He was the work of a servant who was transferred from Yanzhou Prefecture. When the two of them talked just now, they had already informed each other.

Look at the dead, untie the corpse.

It is the job that Duan Xiao has done the most in the past three or four years.

It just so happened that the previous local job in Songyang County had just been transferred away not long ago, so he came at the right time.

But because Zakshan had some important business to do in the afternoon, he approached the back door of the yamen, so he called two of his servants to come out to help guide Duan Xiao and his son, and introduced various matters in the yamen, so he also hurried away.

After Duan Xiao thanked the head of the police who had helped him a lot in the past half a day, he led Duan Yuanbao into the Yizhuang next to the county government.

The two young yamen servants were only eighteen or nineteen years old.

One is Zhao Fuzi and the other is Zhang Yuanlang, both from this county.

Usually, the two brothers listen to all directions and look at all directions.

Their personalities are also quite forthright. I heard that there is a new workman coming to Songyang as an errand, and their little boss Zha Keshan instructed them to treat them well, so they don't ask for rewards, and call Duan Ye one by one first.

Duan Xiao and Duan Yuanbao were led into the place by the two of them one after the other.

I put down all the suitcases that had been bumpy for several days along the way, and had a cup of tea at the door.

At this time, Duan Xiao was able to take a good look around the place where he was going to live temporarily for the next few days, and see the daily furnishings in the Yizhuang.

As far as the eye can see, Yizhuang in Songyang County is a small courtyard with low houses.

It was clearly broad daylight, and the place was quiet and cold, with a very strange smell.

There are several unsealed coffins outside the house, and a large piece of white cloth is pulled around to prevent others from prying in by mistake.

On the side shelf, there are a few baskets drying some Atractylodes saponin that smells like corpses.

And chopped fishing nets, together with oyster shell ash, seem to be used for sealing the coffin of the deceased later.

Going out and walking two steps to the east is the gate of the Yamen. On the left and right, there are also some Yamen servants who live in official uniforms and take turns on duty at night. Therefore, no one dares to come in the middle of the night to destroy the evidence of the corpse.

The room where Duan Xiao lives is the one in Yi Zhuang that can be seen to the end.

A dilapidated low bed is connected to the bunk next to it, and there is an old table and some teapots. This place is hard to reach, and it may be difficult to find saliva at night.

But he didn't care much about these basic necessities of life.

If there is a place to lie down and sleep casually at night in a personal residence or something, everything will be normal for him.

Yin Yizhuang also closed its doors during the day and did not light the lights.

When entering the house, you need to wipe your hands with herb ash and chew a piece of ginger in your mouth to avoid being stuck by the pungent and strong corpse smell inside, so only the more courageous Zhao Fuzi and Duan Xiao came in with a lamp to take a look.

"What's the name of this male corpse?"

As soon as he entered the cemetery, he first smelled a stench and familiar smell, Duan Xiaowen looked down at the corpse that was placed alone in the dark cemetery.

"Oh, Master Duan, his name is Ruiqiong."

Zhao Fuzi answered by lighting a lamp for him.

Ruiqiong.

It was the dead body that Duan Ou saw when he entered the city gate in the morning.

"Has his family come to recognize him?"

Duan Xiao said.

"At noon, his aunt had already recognized him, and he was right."

"..."

"He is studying in a local academy. He is a boy. He usually lives in the academy. He disappeared three days ago. He usually has the habit of believing in Buddhism. It was autumn encirclement. He brought incense to the mountain alone. Who would have thought that there would be no news like this? It was not dawn this morning. A woodcutter from this county went up the mountain and found him, and he was dead at this time, we went to carry the body when we received the letter."

Zhao Fuzi's words explained the ins and outs of Rui Qiong's disappearance on the mountain three days ago, and his body was found again. Duan Xiao asked again after hearing this.

"Has anyone else come to examine the body before?"

"No one has touched it yet. Officers Liu Cen and Zha Keshan both said that they wanted to go to an outside police officer for inspection. I didn't expect you to be just right. We packed up the original clothes and physical evidence on the corpse. If you want to try it, I just light a lamp beside you."

"Well, then thank you very much."

After saying this, Duan Xiao also thanked him, Zhao Fuzi lit the lamp for him, and the two of them also looked seriously at the corpse of the man named Ruiqiong beside the coffin.

Coincidentally, he clearly remembered the strange smell emanating from under the white cloth.

The smell is sour after fermentation, a bit like rotten beans, and it seems to be mixed with other sour smells.

It is different from the living creatures that have just died.

It should be that he has lost his breath for many days, and the blood in his body has basically drained.

I'm afraid that just a small wound can't cause such a state of blood loss, not to mention the peculiar stench under the stretcher that is almost rotten when raw meat is completely rotten.

Also because I have already arrived at the Yamen Yizhuang, there is no need to shy away from being in front of others.

As he spoke, he also directly opened his own box, took out a knife for autopsy, and lifted the white cloth.

Under the light of a candle covered by a palm, Duan Xiao saw a male corpse with wrinkled skin and slightly rotted cheeks and neck in the coffin.

Because I remember that when I came in the morning, the coachman said that it had rained all night in Songyang.

Presumably, the corpse was killed first, and then soaked in the rain overnight in the ruined temple to become this dead.

This is actually very unfavorable for the government to solve the case and find the murderer.

Because I want to know that the scene of the first crime on the top of the mountain has been almost destroyed by the rain last night.

Looking at it this way, the male corpse is about 23 or [-] years old.

His body was weak and pale, and his earlobes were a bit large.

The hair on all parts of the body is also thinner than that of men of this age, and it seems to have been carefully trimmed.

It seems a strange habit for a man to trim his own hair.

However, his hands and feet are well manicured and clean, probably because he really has some kind of cleanliness in this regard.

Witnessing all this, Duan Xiao wiped his nails and ears with a white cloth, then squinted his eyes and took a look at it, and only used his fingers to stir the wet mouth of the corpse.

It was discovered that there were some incense ash on the palate and rotting lips, and the teeth and nails were loose and falling off due to the long time of death.

A layer of blood film around the eyeballs was cloudy, and the pupils inside could still be seen. The corpse was very cold, and body stiffness had already begun. If you tried it with your hands, you could roughly guess the time of death.

He had two bruises on his ribs, but it was obvious from the appearance of his death that he had lost blood, because there was an obvious fatal wound on his neck.

The incision was deep, and the flesh on the surface curled up.

The wound was wrinkled with blood, it must have happened during his lifetime, presumably it was this knife that killed him.

In addition, there was a not-so-obvious concussion wound on the back of the head, which should have been caused by a violent fall to the ground while fighting with the wounded person. However, there was another small wound on the body of the deceased, which caused Duan Xiao to be injured for a while. Some thoughts.

The wound is very small.

The edge is red and swollen, and near the blood vessel half an inch of the arm, it is a small round black spot that was bitten by some unknown mosquito, which must be difficult for ordinary people to notice.

But because of its color and scab state.

It should have happened within about the same time as the wounds on other parts of the body, so this also makes people think a little bit.

Thinking about it this way, Duan Xiao, who was standing next to the coffin, also exerted some strength, bent down and flattened the limbs of the male corpse with his hands, but glanced at the dead finger on the palm of his right hand.

But this finger, which cannot be broken no matter how hard it is broken, seems to be pointing to a certain place.

Seeing this, Zhao Fuzi quickly explained from the side.

"That's right, Lord Duan, when we went, he kept pointing his finger at a Buddha statue in the temple like this, and when he was supposed to die, he saw what the stone Buddha statue in front of him wanted to say."

——After all, it was a stone Bodhisattva again.