Daqing Criminal Division

Ninth day

Child

The passageway on the second floor of the Taiping Mansion Prison.

Because after many days, they were finally able to relax behind the back of the group of prisoners who live in groups like wild beasts every day, and the efficiency of the two of them getting down to business was much higher.

The atmosphere between the two of them was rarely relaxed.

Although they are talking about serious things, they are calm and orderly.

At this moment, the two of them are sitting together with a little distance between them, with their backs against the wall of the air vent, their legs crossed and their heads lowered to talk together. , was lighting a small piece of flint burning with fire paper.

"I chatted with Shaying Cai for three or four days before, and almost talked for half my life."

At this moment, a braid was untied and scattered, and Fucharzi, who was biting a thin rope in his mouth, was talking to Duan Xiao while holding his hair with his hands.

His hair is very long, and once the curly and soft hair falls down, it is difficult to deal with it, covering the entire strong and muscular back muscles, and when it is tied up in a rough way, his very masculine power, once The hand holding the wisdom and powerful charm is open.

There is vaguely something in the other palm, and he is rubbing the smooth lines with his fingers.

As far as the eye can see, the flint with a blue flame on the outer circle is like a will-o'-the-wisp in the dark night.

Shining on the cheeks of the two people, there is a sense of brightness and coldness.

This is Fuchaer, who just finished wiping his back with water, stood up, raised one hand to get close to the ignited one with the help of the air flow flowing underneath, and after lighting it, he shook his hand and sat back.

Both the fire paper and the flint were stolen from the gang of idle prisoners.

In a normal environment with sufficient ventilation on all sides, this very scattered open flint can burn for a long time for lighting.

The jailers in the cells below would not notice the light here, and the fire paper would not leave traces after burning, but this vague fire illuminated a little bit of the entrance of the passage.

At the entrance, two people can communicate normally and exchange clues in front of them.

"Is that useful?"

Beside him, the wall behind Duan Xiao, who was also talking, was coldly attached to the tiger tattoo on his waist, making him really look like a forest tiger that has entered a short rest.

His bloodiness and ferocity were hidden deep in his body, but it was only at this moment that he let out a low and slow roar in front of Fucharzi.

"Most of them are about Cathay's death, and it's mainly their personal guesses. However, according to the autopsy results sent in by Sima Zhun, Cathay's death was really caused by metal poisoning?"

"Well, no accident, Cathay should have suffered from metal poisoning during his lifetime. This may be the reason why he was isolated by the prison guards in order not to be discovered. Not only that, but the cell was burned with vegetable oil but there were no obvious signs of burning. Probably an excess of the same metal in his system."

"Specifically, what kind of metal is it?"

Looking sideways at him, Fucharzi, whose shadow fell on the high bridge of the nose, raised his hand and rubbed his long wet strands of hair that fell on his shoulders and replied,

"Copper, and a small amount of aluminum, but it's mostly an excess of copper."

With one arm resting on his knees, Duan Xiao, who let his half-dried braids hang down on his shoulders, also squinted his eyes thoughtfully and answered him.

"Copper and aluminum?"

As soon as the words copper and aluminum appeared, they coincided with the suspicious clues they were looking for in Cell No. [-] and the slot.

But this result is precisely the conclusion that Duan Xiao came to after pondering for a long time last night.

Before that, Duan Xiao decided to take the risk to call Fucharzi out tonight for one thing.

That is, the informant who appeared in the cell last time during the day had handed over the three physical evidences previously found in cell No. [-] to the government for further comparison of the corpses.

Duan Xiao got the results when he came out of the slot in the morning, and roughly three of them are currently known.

First, the three withered yellow hairs with red dander that they found on the dirt bed of Prison No. [-].

According to the autopsy comparison by the government, the metal content in the three hairs was detected by the author.

However, the first autopsy in the Taiping Mansion did not mention that Cathay died of metal poisoning, so the prison must have concealed the cause of Cathay's death.

Combined with what the prisoners in the prison said about the red dead, and the dandruff on Cathay's hair they found, the burnt state of the deceased when he died is likely to be red skin.

A normal adult male with no major physical ailments.

To cause the redness of the whole body that was already very obvious at the time of death, there are nothing more than two situations, that is, it is caused by disease or the high temperature of the fire.

But contacting the fact that the fire in the cell did not spread, and even only burned around the soil bed, it does not seem that the fire caused Cathay Pacific's red skin state, so there is only one possibility, this red color, which was caused by him during his lifetime lesions that have been caused.

The highly toxic red metal that can poison people, the clue is obvious and clear.

However, according to the laws of the Qing Dynasty, since Emperor Shizu, in the official mining eyesight set up in this dynasty, there are no more than two kinds of ores and metals that can cause poisoning and redness of the skin after illness.

One is iron and the other is copper.

But iron is non-toxic, and its ignition point is not completely incombustible.

On the contrary, copper is a heavy metal mineral that cannot be ignited by an open flame. In some earlier records of state capitals, there have always been clear and detailed document records about the copper smelting workshops opened by the people, that is, private casting copper This type of folk craftsmen themselves have a very high mortality rate.

Combined with the second point, it is very likely that the reason why Cell No. [-] was drenched with vegetable oil at that time, but there was no bigger fire at all except for the surface of the corpse.

"Because Cathay died of copper poisoning, copper had spread all over his body at that time, causing his corpse's skin to be red from head to toe, and it couldn't fade away like a hell ghost after death, which also led to the desire to destroy the corpse that night. People just want to solve the trouble, but find that the ignition point of copper is too low to destroy the corpse, which leads to the follow-up vegetable oil burning corpse and the mystery of Cathay's death."

Duan Xiao recalled this, and also talked about his current guesses with Fucharzi.

Only, if that's the truth of the matter.

So now comes a very important question.

Cathay Pacific, a death row prisoner who has been in prison since half a year ago, how could he have direct contact with Tiantian and Tong, and finally caused skin copper poisoning and died, and people tried their best to hide the truth.

"As you said, people's skin often develops lesions within a few months after direct contact with fused copper. Redness is the most obvious symptom. Therefore, this person from Cathay Pacific was exposed to copper in prison. It’s just a few days, but it’s been a while, right?”

After listening to Duan Xiao's comparison of the secret sent out evidence and the autopsy results, Fucharzi, who had been listening with his head propped up, but was still thinking about something, suddenly said.

"Yes, it should be at least half a year."

Duan Xiao also answered.

"Do you think this matter has much to do with Baltu's group?"

Fucharzi put his hand on the bridge of his nose and asked him a question so suddenly. ,

"Maybe it's related, but there should be a person behind the scenes. I don't think Baltu has the motive to kill Cathay Pacific."

"Well, why do you say that."

Fuchaerzi turned his head and asked Duan Xiao again as if he was listening.

"Baltu told me last time that we have to wait until the 'time' is ripe to show me the real secrets of the prison."

Duan Xiao thought about it and continued.

"He's always been very vigilant, and he's also wary of you, a newcomer from outside. Logically, he shouldn't believe me so quickly. Even if I take the initiative to flatter him and help him once, I shouldn't be so anxious, so I There is a guess that Cathay's death was related to him, but he was not in charge, and he even needs a new subordinate who can help him as soon as possible."

"But there are so many people under Baltu, why do you need a new subordinate?"

"I guess, those subordinates with different nicknames should each have their own uses and cannot be replaced casually, so it must be the disappearance of someone that caused him to target me so quickly."

"..."

"This is a prison. Except for being escorted and executed, no one will disappear in advance."

"Therefore, there is a great probability that Baltu came to me because he was anxious and afraid because of Cathay's death."

I have to say that what Duan Xiao said while leaning against the wall with no expression on his face was too creepy.

He completely put himself in the danger of the position of the last deceased, but he was able to clearly and calmly analyze every aspect of the situation he was facing now.

But having said that, he actually remembered that two-quarter look in his mind.

Before that, Duan Xiao didn't say that he found too many things similar to suspicious evidence from this 'four quarters'.

But speaking of it now, he had a little inexplicable intuition.

That Quarter Two is also a sick yellow hair.

And I don’t know why he has a dry and thin appearance. Usually, Baltu would eat wine and meat to those gangsters, but that Four Quarters looked alive and kicking, but his breastbone was sunken, and he often looked hungry and emaciated. .

"All the people under Baltu are using a strange code name. This may be their own 'responsibility'. As you said, Cathay Pacific shouted four quarters and six before his death. That may not be called Someone, but itself represents a code."

"And judging from the appearance, that four-to-six is ​​actually very similar to Cathay's situation, but he hasn't reached the stage of poisoning yet."

Duan Xiao thought about it but also opened his mouth.

"So, maybe Cathay's death put them on some sort of defense, he hasn't gotten it yet, but he does have the early symptoms of heavy metal."

Fucharzi replied after hearing this.

"But Killing Infant Cai also told me that Cathay Pacific used to be Baltu's subordinate, but he died shortly after he was quarantined to No. thought about it."

Fucharzi said again.

"What's possible."

Originally staring at the flames on the top of the vent, Duan Xiao turned his head to look at him and asked again.

"The small amount of blood left in the toilet, and the experience of the wife murderer trying to hide money and bring in the day we were imprisoned, do you think these two things are familiar to people?"

As Fucharzi spoke, he picked the flame with his fingers and recalled it with him.

But what he said next reminded Duan Xiao of something, and his eyes became darker.

"The wife murderer who was inspected by the jailer in front of us just wanted to bring ten taels of silver, but he couldn't stop bleeding on the spot. It is thirty-seven grams, how much ten taels of silver weighs, each of us knows, so a grown man cannot carry that much silver with his body, because he may not be able to pass the first test."

"But at the same time, there is actually another point, that is, copper is lighter than silver, so a piece of copper of the same size can be carried into the prison by the body, but in the end, too many times will also cause internal hemorrhoids, which is why One reason Cathay got this disease."

"He may be helping people transport copper, or some special copper products, or even not only copper, but also other things. This is a secret business. It may only exist inside the prison of Taiping Mansion, and outsiders cannot know."

"..."

This statement coincides with the third piece of evidence they found in Cell No. [-].

Duan Xiao can fully understand Fucha Erji's thinking, but still has some unresolved personal thoughts, but since all the evidence now points to two key things, that is copper and aluminum.

"You mean, they are using the prisoners to transport copper and aluminum back and forth, and the copper and aluminum spoons that the notch prisoners usually use are brought in?"

"That's what I meant."

The fog in front of this layer was cleared away, and the thoughts on the case in the minds of the two became clear in an instant.

All along, the puzzle about the metal spoons that would be used by the prisoners in the slot seems to be solved for the time being, but the follow-up question comes again.

But why did Cathay Pacific transport light metals such as copper and aluminum to the prison, and what exactly were those transported here for?

What is that secret business?

This point cannot be seen through for the time being, causing the two of them to fall into a moment of contemplation.

"Those copper and aluminum spoons must have been of great use to them, and they were only temporarily left in the Taipingfu Prison in the form of spoons."

"Well, maybe we have to find the source to prove all the conjectures now."

They finally came to such a conclusion.

But then, the two of them also chatted about another strange experience they had seen in the prison of Taiping Mansion in the past few days.

After all, they are all people who are extremely sensitive to criminals, and they will have different judgments before such a mystery, so Fucharzi only pondered for a while before suddenly opening his mouth and saying,

"However, having said that, I think this prison is actually very strange when I see the usual appearance of the prisoners like Cai Yingcai."

Withdrew one arm, fell down and looked at the two of them and said a word.

"What's strange?"

Duan Xiao replied.

"Let's put it this way, do you think that the lower the prisoners, the more they live at the bottom, and the higher they go, the higher their status is, just like the prison map we conceived. This is a place with clear classes. What kind of secret is it hiding?"

This sounds a bit interesting.

After finishing speaking, Fucharzi, who had finally finished tying his long hair, leaned back and breathed a sigh of relief, and pointed to the vault above the two of them.

"We are in a prison that is constantly rising. The lower the people live, the less they can know the secrets on the top. If you want to know what is on the top of this prison, you have to find a way to enter the upper level."

Now they are in the middle of the fourth to third floors of the entire prison fortress.

If you substitute what he said, they are now in an intermediate stage from the bottom to the top.

As for the map he was talking about, in fact, the two of them just made a scale map based on the dwarf trees and fields outside the outer circle of the four-sided fortress.

This kind of scale diagram was mostly used by the old architectural experts for the construction of the former city defense.

For example, if the perimeter of the main city wall of Taiping Mansion is 60 meters and the maximum width of the foundation is 32 meters, this graphic structure is generally imagined at a ratio of [-] to [-]. In addition, the fortress walls and agricultural land will also have corresponding ratios.

But there is no pen and ink in the prison, and it is impossible to fully record the internal structure of the No. [-] Prison in Taiping Mansion.

Therefore, the two of them could only sit cross-legged and shoulder to shoulder in the vent, and with the light of the fire in the corridor of the cell passing through here, they roughly outlined an internal map with their previous fingers.

And the scribbled map in front of him is roughly divided into a plane survey and writing map surrounding the entire Taiping Mansion.

Because the Taiping government prison is like a fortress.

The main body has a finished font, and there are two watchtowers with upper structures on the left and right.

Outside there are tooth walls, pits, and outside the excavation site that is now used as agricultural land.

Therefore, Duan Xiao drew some of the subjects that he could recall, and then Fucharzi supplemented the rest of the arrangement based on what he saw while farming.

In addition, the Taiping Mansion Prison used to be an abandoned former Huidi fortress building, so except for the outer tower, there are four floors of cells here. Each of these cells is next to each other, but because the prisoners held are different, And make each floor not from bottom to top, but from top to bottom.

Among them, because the cells on the east and west sides where they are located are the lowest floor, that is, for the new prisoners, instead of the first floor, they are on the fourth floor.

So it basically starts with Bai.

The order is also between Jiushijiu and Yibai 42.

Lie Ertai, as the head of the prison, was in charge of their group of low-level prisoners, and lived in Lu Shiyi's cell, which was the third floor.

Baltu is on the second floor, which is between Lu Shi and Si Shi Wu.

And the first floor on the top, that is, the fourth floor in the conventional sense, is also the cell where they were imprisoned and Cathay died last time.

"You mean our tattoos?"

Duan Xiao thought about this, but also understood what he meant, so he immediately asked a question.

"Yes, think about it. Apart from the two of us, most of the tattoos on the other prisoners have something to do with where they live. Most of them are rats. The rats live on the bottom floor, and the hyenas live on the third floor. Barr The picture shows wolves living on the second floor, so what is the fourth floor, it seems that no one has ever seen it before.”

But if you think about Fucharzi carefully, it is true that the tattoos on the prisoners seem to have a coincidence and correlation with the structure and living conditions of the entire prison.

This discovery caused the two of them who sensed something was wrong to fall into a moment of thought.

"Should we go from here to that place to have a look."

Hence, Duan Xiao, staring at the prison map in front of him, made such a suggestion.

"If you can't get in, forget it."

Duan Xiao is not attached to this point.

But what's weird is that tonight they really climbed out of the skylights of their two cells according to the original plan of the two of them.

However, they found that the entire prison leading to the top seemed to have only the skylight above the No. [-] cell leading to the special passageway of the entire fortress prison.

When they want to go up from the bottom, they can't find the way up.

This turned out to be a road that only those 'animals' living on the top floor could enter.

"It seems that you are right."

"It seems that the entrance can only be entered from Cell No. [-]. It is also difficult to see where the entrance behind the branding mark leads."

After saying this, he climbed down from the skylight with Duan Xiao, and Fucharzi, whose back was sweaty again, leaned against the wall and talked to him, but also felt that this fact was a bit tricky.

To get into Cell No. [-] again, it means unless they are locked in the brig again.

Otherwise, there is no way to get close to the mysterious 'passage' inside the prison from other cells.

"It's a risk, to startle the snake again."

"Still, the two of us rethink a bolder and more effective method to find the truth behind this door and that circular brand. It seems that we must make a new plan."

As he said this, Fucharzi, with a strand of curly long hair hanging down on Shen Shen's cheek, turned his head sideways to block the owl, and blew out the fire paper in his hand, then lowered his voice and spoke in the dark road,

"However, I have a hunch that we may soon find the truth behind this 'Evil Ghost Cave'."

"Duan Owl."

"What do you think?"