Master Zhao at the foot of Mount Qingcheng

Lin Chaoyu and Zhao Xuan really went to the government to report to the officials, and the magistrate did not delay for a moment, he was promoted immediately, and during the period he ordered people to entertain them well.

Zhao Xuan looked at the people around him: "Do you know each other?"

"Liang Sheng, the magistrate of Qinzhou City, got a good rank in the imperial examination at a young age a few years ago. Although his rank was not one of the best, he was young after all, and he was still a sensation in the capital at that time. But this person cares about the common people. He is a good official, and he will probably be recalled to Beijing in a few years." Lin Chaoyu said with a smile, "At the same time, he is also my friend for many years."

Zhao Xuan was very surprised: "You still have friends for many years?"

"We met at a poetry meeting a few years ago." Lin Chaoyu had a deep meaning, "The friendship between literati is so wonderful. Back then we admired each other's literary talent very much."

Zhao Xuan's expression was a little strange: "You actually participated in these..."

Lin Chaoyu said proudly, "Naturally, I am both civil and military."

As soon as Lin Chaoyu finished boasting, Liang Sheng trotted in after leaving the hall: "Brother Lin!"

Lin Chaoyu got up and bowed his hands: "Long time no see, Brother Liang."

"Okay, okay, Brother Lin is still the same as before." Liang Sheng took out a collection of poems from his arms after a brief politeness, "This is a collection of poems I wrote a few months ago, I can't wait to be with you Share and ask Brother Lin for more comments."

Lin Chaoyu flipped through it quickly, and didn't know what this person read, so he sighed there: "Wonderful, especially this sentence, this word is used vividly and appropriately, it's really wonderful..."

Lin Chaoyu flattered him without thinking, and Liang Sheng was very useful: "Brother Lin has praised you absurdly, ahaha."

Zhao Xuan: "..."

The two boasted enough to each other, Liang Sheng remembered that there was another Zhao Xuan, and hurriedly apologized, Zhao Xuan didn't care, Lin Chaoyu introduced Zhao Xuan by the way, and explained that they came to Chengjian Villa to order swords.

Liang Sheng: "I know this. There is indeed a Jianghu sect called Chengjian Villa nearby, and some Jianghu people will come from the city to order swords from them."

"To be honest, we came here this time to inquire about Chengjian Villa. After all, we don't know much about it, and they charge a high price." Lin Chaoyu said with a smile, "When doing business, you should always be cautious."

"I understand, but I'm afraid I won't be able to help you much this time." Liang Sheng blushed, "I wanted to visit when I first came here, but I was turned away. That's when I realized that this sect has never seen outsiders. It's been around 70 years."

Zhao Xuan and Lin Chaoyu knew it well, 70 years ago roughly coincided with the time of Zhao Sifan's death.

"Anyway, I would like to thank Brother Lin and Brother Zhao this time. I originally planned to place them in the porridge shop, but a few people recruited them to rob you. Now I have temporarily housed them in the yamen, so that They do their work, and then we will decide whether to let them go or not."

Zhao Xuan nodded, no wonder Lin Chaoyu had such a high opinion of this person, it was indeed a proper way, but what he didn't expect was that those beggars actually recruited them.

Liang Sheng: "Brother Lin and Brother Zhao repay grievances with virtue. I really admire this kind of mind."

"Where is it?" Lin Chaoyu was modest, and the two of them were polite again, Zhao Xuan was stunned to listen to the nonsense.

"But having said that, not only Lianghe County, but also Qinzhou City seems to have lost a lot of people." Liang Sheng scratched his head, "In recent years, I often go to the porridge place. Now that I think about it, there are many The familiar faces seem to be gradually disappearing, and I thought they would stop begging after finding a job, but now that I think about it, it’s really suspicious. After all, when I think about it, I’ve never seen them before.”

Lin Chaoyu was serious: "This matter really needs to be investigated."

"The missing are all beggars and vagrants. It's not easy to find out, and it must take some time." Lin Chaoyu said goodbye, "I won't bother Brother Liang."

Liang Sheng was very polite: "Brother Lin and Brother Zhao are newcomers, why don't I show you around?"

Lin Chaoyu: "No need, we can walk around casually by ourselves, if we have time, we can come to you for a sit-down."

"Okay, then we can discuss poetry together again, and Brother Lin's works will definitely be shared with me. I haven't seen him for many years. I think Brother Lin's talent has improved to a higher level."

"It's absurd and absurd."

Zhao Xuan silently watched Lin Chaoyu pretend there until he left the Yamen, and couldn't help asking him: "What works do you really have?"

"I used to bite the bullet and wrote some, but most of them seem to be moaning for nothing now, and I can't get it out. But I have read some of those poems and books seriously, why don't I read you something else." Lin Chaoyu looked forward and drew the tone , and chanted, "Yijun's heart is like the water of the West River, flowing eastward day and night without a break."

"I know." Zhao Xuan nodded: "Yu Xuanji's poem."

After walking a certain distance, Zhao Xuan said slowly again: "This poem is quite well written."

Lin Chaoyu fully agreed.

……

Two major events occurred in Qinzhou City the next day.

One is that a new beauty has arrived in Zhufangzhai, and she can play the pipa well, causing rich children to come to see her true face.The second is that man-eating beasts appeared outside the city. A woodcutter went up to the mountain to cut firewood, but he was taken away and eaten, leaving no bones left.

The rumors spread around the city very quickly, and the rumors became bigger and bigger, and the more terrifying it was, it even had the tendency to become a monster.

Anyway, since they had nothing to do, Lin Chaoyu and Zhao Xuan went to have a look.

Liang Sheng was worried. When he saw Lin Chaoyu, he immediately asked the people from the yamen to let them in: "It's just right for you two to come. Brother Lin is a lot of books, and Brother Zhao is a well-informed man from the Jianghu. Come and help me take a look. What beast's footprints are these?"

Lin Chaoyu and Zhao Xuan stepped forward, and saw several very clear and huge footprints with strange shapes in the mud on the ground, and there were some sprayed blood and traces of fighting around them. It looked like people and beasts had passed by for a while. Fierce fight.

"This hoof print doesn't look like a tiger, like a bear, or like a horse." Zhao Xuan shook his head, looked at Lin Chaoyu, "I don't recognize it."

"I don't know either." Lin Chaoyu looked around, "How do you know that people are eaten?"

Liang Sheng replied: "It is said that she didn't come back after she went to cut firewood last night. Her wife asked someone to look for it this morning, and she saw this scene. The woodcutter's shoes and clothes fragments were left on the ground, and we have collected them." Get up. Her wife came to report to the official, we rushed over immediately, and this is what we saw."

"It does look terrible." Lin Chaoyu continued to ask, "Have there been any rumors about the beasts here before?"

"Never, this is the first time it has appeared." Liang Sheng pondered, "Strange, although this place is a mountain, but because there are people going up the mountain on weekdays, there were at most wild dogs and wild boars before."

"What do you think?" This time Lin Chaoyu asked Zhao Xuan.

"Perhaps it's not a beast, but a human being." Zhao Xuan smiled contemptuously, "Humans like to cheat the most."

"I think so too." Lin Chaoyu nodded, very satisfied with Zhao Xuan's answer, "Xuan'er and I really have a good understanding."

Liang Sheng humbly asked for proof: "How can you see it?"

Lin Chaoyu: "This footprint is so big, how heavy do you think this beast is?"

Liang Sheng thought about it for a while: "At least... it must be like a big black bear."

Lin Chaoyu walked to those footprints, stretched his legs and stood still, and raised his feet after a while, which was roughly the same depth as those footprints on the ground.

"Looking at the depth, the other party should be heavier than me."

"So that's how it is!" Liang Sheng suddenly realized and was very indignant, "Who the hell is so daring!"

Lin Chaoyu said "hmm": "Let someone look around again, maybe they can find the body. It might be thrown into the wilderness, or it might be buried, or it might still be alive. In short, it's just missing."

"Speaking of disappearances, I searched for beggars and homeless people here yesterday. After visiting for a day, I dug up the previous files and found that about 30 people have been lost in the past two years. This is only what I have found so far. There are still some Those who didn’t report to the police, those beggars disappeared without anyone paying attention, I guess there are actually 50 people.” Liang Sheng frowned, “If you add neighboring counties, there might be even more.”

"So many people?" Lin Chaoyu was also taken aback, "This is not a small matter."

"Yeah, it's definitely weird, and based on what we've found so far, the number of missing men is similar to that of women. There's nothing wrong with men, but those women are all young women." Liang Sheng looked serious, "Is this possible It's human trafficking."

"Brother Liang took the trouble to investigate."

Liang Sheng was full of fighting spirit: "Of course, I will definitely find out who is behind this scene. If it is really human trafficking, it is a serious crime!"

Lin Chaoyu was able to help in this matter, so naturally he had to help, and after resigning from Liang Sheng, he asked Qinglinwei's hidden stumps to secretly investigate and assist Liang Sheng.

At the same time, in Zhufangzhai, yesterday's son really came, trying his best to get close to Wen Renyue, and Tang Feng's teeth itch.

There are quite a few people who come here specially to see Wen Renyue. This time, seeing that young master almost came back to sit down, someone said in a strange way: "Your surname is Chen, don't you still have a young lady from Chengjian Villa? It is said that they are about to get married. Now you are still pestering Miss Wenren like this, what's the matter, don't you want Missy anymore?"

When Tang Feng heard about Chengjian Villa, Tang Feng naturally pricked up his ears and paid special attention.

"Don't mention it, we are a marriage contract made by the elders. Last time I went to Chengjian Villa, I didn't even see her face. Who knows if it is beautiful or ugly? I thought to myself that if it is beautiful, it must be beautiful. I'm a girl." That Mr. Chen said "Hey", "No, the owner invited me to Chengjian Villa for a dinner tonight, probably because he wanted me to meet the eldest lady."

"Just show off, Chengjian Mountain Villa is not a pheasant school, and others can't get in if they want to go." The group of friends patted him on the shoulder, "When you come back, you have to tell my brothers how the eldest lady looks. If she is beautiful, let us see her, if she is ugly, tell us to make us happy."

"Yes, all of you are waiting to see my jokes." Mr. Chen smiled, and took out the envelope with the seal of Chengjian Villa from his arms with a proud expression, "See? It's real, I'm about to become The first person in years to be invited up the mountain."

Those wine and meat friends were very supportive, and began to praise him as "excellent".

"I have to leave early." Mr. Chen straightened his clothes, and he seemed to be planning to leave, "Don't make people wait too long."

The others laughed and said, "You want to rush to see if the eldest lady is a human or a ghost."

Mr. Chen left amidst the laughter of the crowd, Tang Feng was secretly thankful that he controlled his temper and did not beat him up, otherwise he might end up with Liang Zi from Chengjian Villa.