In the Blade

The next day, the sun rose as usual.

The warm sun rises over the mountains and shines on this small Sanshan Town, just like it has always done. And the people in Sanshan Town also got up early from their beds, working, working, and lighting. At Dian Mao, ticket sellers sell tickets - if there is any change in this quaint town, it is that two new attractions have recently been opened, and there is an endless stream of people coming to visit, which makes this little town calm. The town has a bit more lively atmosphere.

Unfortunately, only one of the two scenic spots can charge admission tickets, which makes the government officials who were planning to make another fortune sigh with regret.

"What a pity! What are you talking about!"

Hearing the complaints from the government officials, the newly arrived Wu Qingfeng and Wu Captou immediately became angry.

"One or two! Even the dead will make a fortune! Now even the road into the town has to be blocked! What are you doing! Do you still want to lose face?"

Facing the Shangguan's reprimand, the government officials shrank their necks, but they just shrank their necks.

If you get scolded, you get scolded. You still have to make money. What happened to the dead man's wealth? They didn't dig up the grave - they just sold some ticket money. The charlatans outside came to see it themselves. They defended the tens of thousands of people. It’s still hard work to get into the trap, so what’s the point of charging some admission money?

"You guys... okay, okay."

Seeing that these government officials looked like dead pigs who were not afraid of boiling water, Wu Captou gritted his teeth, but in the end he didn't say anything more.

After all, even if the behavior of these government officials is revealed, no one can say anything wrong. God knows who came up with this idea of ​​using waste - not to mention that he was not transferred here to rectify local law and order. He also carried another more important order on his back.

That is, to find out the reason for the disappearance of the last arrester, that is, arrester Zhang.

The superiors had actually been keeping an eye on Zhang Captou, who was colluding with local powerful men, for some time. After going through a tedious review process, the documents to take action against this captor were finally sent from Jiankang - but just now When everyone was ready and about to close the net, the catcher disappeared from the world.

Together with the local powerful He Jianhu, not only the people were gone, but even Zhuangzi outside the town was gone.

This has made everyone sick, and they are all ready to arrest you. Now that you are gone, the approval document that you have been waiting for for more than half a year is in vain?

That won't work. We must not wait in vain. This arrest will require a person to be seen alive and a corpse to be killed.

Since we want to search for traces of Mr. Zhang, we must start with the environment in which Mr. Zhang originally lived. However, this Mr. Zhang is extremely outrageous. He clearly colluded with local powerful people to do such a big business, but he still still... She is single and unmarried, and has no family members either above or below. Even if she is a friend, only the former magistrate of Sanshan Town can be counted. However, the former magistrate of Sanshan Town has already been directly targeted by Jianghu people in the name of "killing corrupt officials". Killed with one sword.

If you can't find the family and friends of Zhang Captou, you can only look for it from Zhang Captou's working environment. For example, these current government officials, as Zhang Captou's former subordinates, may know something. He may As the new head catcher, he should establish a good relationship with these government officials and try to get some words out of him.

But these rubbish that make people lose money...

"What happened to Sanshan Town?"

Wu Captou rubbed his head, he really couldn't bear it.

The sense of justice in his heart still affected his efficiency after all. The few words of reprimand he just thought were nothing, and it was nothing according to common sense. But after seeing the eyes of those government servants, he already knew that he and There is already a thick invisible barrier between these cheap subordinates.

"Because by causing trouble in this matter, you are blocking their way of making money."

In the back hall of the county government office, the magistrate of Sanshan Town personally poured a cup of tea for the distressed Wu Captou.

Although he is a magistrate, perhaps because he has not been promoted to court, this man is not wearing an official uniform, but a green shirt that is more suitable for daily life at home. Just look at the calm appearance of pouring tea. An ordinary green shirt was actually worn with a bit of elegance.

Perhaps because of the warmth of the tea, or perhaps because of the infectious power that the county magistrate exuded, Wu Captou finally calmed down a little.

"Don't be so reckless next time."

Wu Captou thought this while sizing up this honorable man of the county.

Before coming to Sanshan Town, he had already seen the relevant documents of the county magistrate. The county magistrate's surname was Yuan, his given name was Liang, and he was also known as Mr. Feiyan. Of course, this was not a bandit name that people in the world called each other, but a reference to This Yuan Zhixian was good at calligraphy and painting, especially the painting of flying swallows - it was precisely because of this outstanding painting skill that Yuan Zhixian came into the eyes of the former Prime Minister.

Of course, relying solely on his painting skills, Yuan Liang is just a painter. But in his exchange with the former Prime Minister, Yuan Liang actually showed his talent as an official. Of course, Yuan Liang himself has repeatedly He was modest, but in the face of the Prime Minister's warm invitation, Yuan Liang could only settle for the next best thing and come to Sanshan Town to be a small county magistrate.

At the time, this refusal was quite stupid. After all, with the power of the Prime Minister Jia Wen at the time, let alone a magistrate, he would have been able to afford it even if he directly entered the court - but what happened later Everyone also knew that Prime Minister Jia Wen became the false emperor Jia Wen, and was then beaten to death in the Jinluan Palace. The remnants under his wings were also liquidated one by one.

On the contrary, Yuan Liang, the magistrate of Yuan County, on the one hand rejected Jia Wen, and on the other hand his official position was too small, so he was lucky enough to avoid this fatal storm.

Originally, in Wu Captou's opinion, he could even retreat from the rapids, and he must be a scheming person. However, according to the documents, this magistrate Yuan is only in his forties even today.

Even judging from his appearance, even if he said that Magistrate Yuan was only in his early thirties, some people would probably believe him.

“It’s true that people cannot be judged by their appearance.”

Thinking of this, Wu Captou couldn't help but sigh.

"I didn't expect the magistrate to look so young."

"If you spend more time taking care of your body, you will age more slowly... It's just that aging may not necessarily make you age, but overwork will definitely make your hair gray."

Facing Captain Wu's compliment, Magistrate Yuan also smiled and said a few more words.

"In addition, regarding the mass graves, I am here to apologize first. It has nothing to do with the people below. It was entirely my idea."

"Ah? This..."

Wu Captou was so shocked that he opened his mouth wide and was speechless for a moment.

Just looking at Yuan Zhixian's elegant appearance, he never expected that this idea actually came from the other party - not to mention that the other party had studied calligraphy and painting so deeply. He was obviously a scholar and elegant scholar, so how could he make such a conclusion? What about the dead money business?

"Could it be that...the Yamen is short of money?"

Wu Captou thought for a long time and could only find this reason.

"If the magistrate is really in trouble, I can help you think of a solution. If you talk to the superiors later, you can always approve some money and food. But this, this matter..."

"It's not about money, it's really an unreasonable disaster."

Magistrate Yuan smiled helplessly.

"I don't know who spread the news that there is a treasure in Sanshan Town, which attracted a bunch of Jianghu people to come and fight here... You also know those Jianghu people, even though I am the magistrate, I can't afford to offend them. After the beating, he patted his butt and left, but someone has to take care of the body left behind, right? "

"This...is true."

Wu Captou nodded slowly.

He can understand Yuan Zhixian's suffering. Those people in the world are always willing to take revenge and draw swords against each other. It is cool, but someone has to wipe the mess left behind - just like Yuan Zhixian, sitting here I was painting at home, and suddenly more than a hundred corpses appeared on the street. Who could I ask to explain this?

"But since we have a body, wouldn't it be better to just bury it? Why do we have to..."

"That's what they say, but that's not what happened."

Yuan Zhixian sighed.

"It is convenient to bury it directly, but things will not end like that. So many people suddenly died on the street, how can the people live? Every time they go to the intersection, they will remember that there were corpses here, and there were corpses there before. There have been dead people...these dead people can't even be buried very far, they can only be buried in the nearby mountains. Mr. Wu, if you were one of those common people, would you be able to sleep well? "

"I……"

Capt. Wu actually wanted to say that he could.

He is not an ordinary citizen, he is still a head catcher after all. Even if he has not reached the point where the masters of evil spirits can easily use swords and swords, he can already be regarded as the top evil spirit entering his body. He has seen many fighting scenes, and he can do it himself. It had happened several times, so how could he be afraid of dead people?

But as soon as the words came to his lips, Wu Captou swallowed them hard.

Just like he thought, he was not an ordinary person.

Ordinary people would naturally not be able to sleep well when encountering such a situation. Even one or two dead people would be enough to scare them away from sleep at night - not to mention hundreds of corpses. Let alone sleep, they would not dare to close their eyes at night. His eyes are already considered bold.

Either be frightened or move away with your family. What else can the people do when faced with this kind of thing?

There really is.

Yuan Zhixian's move to organize funerals is a good idea.

Although the funeral itself is quite outrageous, the benefits are real - if the county government regards the mass graves as a terrible place to avoid, the people will naturally be even more frightened, but the county government Everyone started collecting tickets to make money, and the people's attention naturally shifted to these money-grubbing government officials.

The yamen servants can earn it, but they can't? Although they couldn't enclose the land in the name of the county government to collect tickets like those government officials, they could at least sell more food and clothing to the wanderers. After going back and forth, not only did these mass graves not bring any There is no harm in doing it, but it gives everyone money to spend.

Who would be afraid of something that can bring him benefits?

What's more, those Jianghu people kept running over to watch day and night. The anger brought by the abortion even dispersed the gloom and fear. A tragedy that would have scared the people away from their hometowns was turned into a tragedy. Everyone can bring great benefits.

"this……"

Wu Captou finally figured out the key, and looked at Yuan Zhixian with a little more respect in his eyes.

Originally, he thought that since Magistrate Yuan was proficient in calligraphy and painting, he must be a so-called elegant person. As for the rumored "very good at being an official", I'm afraid it was just an ordinary compliment, a casual compliment - of course , this may also be a hint that Yuan Zhixian has made his way through calligraphy and painting, and understands the world.

But now it seems that this Yuan Zhixian is really quite capable.

After the whole process, everyone benefited. If anyone had to lose, apart from the dead Jianghu people, it was probably Yuan Zhixian himself who took the lead in doing this.

After all, the name of making money from dead people is not a good one. Especially for those elegant people, this is already a stain on their bodies.

However, the magistrate Yuan did it anyway.

"Instead of wine, I'd like to propose a toast to you."

Thinking of this, Wu Captou simply picked up the tea cup and drank it all in one gulp.

Although he may be a bit reckless in his work, Capt. Wu still has a sense of justice, and when he knew that Yuan Zhixian was willing to do something for the people of this county, he couldn't help but feel a little admiration in his heart.

In addition, Yuan Zhixian was already elegant, easy-going and calm-tempered, so the two of them could be considered to be talking to each other in a friendly manner.

"Since I met with Magistrate Yuan today, I will tell you directly."

Seeing that Magistrate Yuan was very trustworthy, Capt. Wu simply stopped testing him.

"I wonder what my predecessor, that is, Capt. Zhang, said?"

"This matter... I don't even know about it."

Yuan Zhixian shook his head and smiled bitterly.

"Since Capt. Wu asked about this matter, he should know that Capt. Zhang had already been working as an errand in Sanshan Town long before I came here. He is the local gangster. I am actually the one from outside. He has Of course, it is impossible to tell me what happened... As for the disappearance of Zhang Captou, there are many theories at the moment. After all, it involves the local powerful Zhuangzi and the illusory treasure..."

"Um……"

Listening to Yuan Zhixian's introduction, Wu Captou gradually understood the context of the matter.

Zhang Captou colluded with the local tycoon He Jianhu, and then the two of them, together with Zhuangzi outside the town, disappeared overnight. After that, there were rumors that there was actually a treasure buried in the foundation of Zhuangzi, and then there was Hundreds of evil spirit masters died here, and then these corpses were buried in mass graves.

Listening is like not listening, and things have become more complicated.

"Forget it, I'll go check it out myself."

Wu Captou sighed.

But just as he was leaving, Magistrate Yuan stopped him again.

"The new officer Wu Captou took office, and I didn't know what to give him for a while. I just happened to draw two flying swallows. Wu Captou took them, which is considered an elegant thing."

"This...how embarrassing!"

Capt. Wu waved his hands repeatedly, he didn't dare to accept this.

A casual calligraphy and painting, this is indeed a good gift. This thing is not money or treasure, it is just a gift between friends - but this gift is too expensive. You must know that Yuan Zhixian is good at painting flying swallows. It's no joke, the other party's paintings are really expensive, and any painting can be sold for tens of thousands of dollars.

"Captain Wu, don't refuse, just take it."

Saying this, Yuan Zhixian finally handed over the painting.

To Wu Captou's expectation, the painting was actually very small. It was more like a three-inch note than a painting. However, on this small note, there were ink marks outlining the Two swallows, just look at the lifelike posture of the flying swallows, just like real flying birds returning to their nests.

Such a small painting can even be tied with a string and used as a waist ornament. Wu Captou touched the paper and found that the paper was as flexible as leather and possibly waterproof.

"Then...I will be disrespectful."

Wu Captou simply hung the painting with the jade pendant. He really liked the painting.

But what he didn't see was that just after he turned around and left, Zhixian Yuan didn't go back.

Instead, he made a move in mid-air.

A lifelike swallow fell into the hands of Yuan Zhixian.