I live in Beihai Jun Nanhai [Rebirth]

Xie Wuyi was speechless for a while, he knew Yinluo's behavior very well, he could fully imagine her usual style, and it was not surprising that he would leave such an impression on Ji Qinglin.

Ji Qinglin didn't continue to delve into Yinluo, but instead asked: "Then Jiyuantang, like Yuxinglu, is in fact under the control of your Four Seasons Valley?"

Xie Wuyi nodded, Ji Qinglin understood it, and then teased: "You guys in Sijigu are really big, what about the others? What is their identity? Is one more capable than the other?"

Xie Wuyi didn't deny it, but said flatly: "You will know in the future."

The two didn't say any more, and they didn't encounter any troubles along the way, and they arrived in Yuzhou not long after.

Walking to the gate of Jiyuan Hall, Xiaobei greeted the two to get off the car, this time Xie Wuyi didn't let Xiaobei continue to wait, but gave him some money and let him return on his own.

Xiaobei is also a straightforward person, he doesn't say much, doesn't ask too much, and takes money to do things without ambiguity. He bowed to the two of them with a smile and said goodbye, then hurriedly drove away.

Standing in front of the gate of Jiyuan Hall, one can already smell the strong fragrance of medicine. There are many people who come to buy medicine, coming and going in an endless stream.

The two walked through the door, and saw that there were many tables and chairs in the hall, and several doctors sitting in the hall were seeing patients, and there were guys weighing and taking medicine standing in the long counter, and they were all very busy. It was a huge row of medicine cabinets, and the small drawers on the cabinet were neatly arranged, and they were pulled open to take medicine from time to time.

The two walked to the counter, and when one of them finished what he was doing, Ji Qinglin hurriedly expressed his intention to come. The man seemed a little surprised, and said, "Why are you looking for the hall master? He was testing medicine in the garden recently, and I don't come to the store very often."

"In the garden?" Ji Qinglin was puzzled, and looked at Xie Wuyi.

Xie Wuyi already understood where it was, nodded and led Ji Qinglin to the outside.

Ji Qinglin was puzzled and asked, "What garden?"

Xie Wuyi said, "His residence."

Not long after they left the house, the two of them arrived at a courtyard near the city gate, with the words "Lingfang Garden" written on the plaque.

Looking around, Ji Qinglin saw that the walls of the house extended extremely long to both sides, which shows that the garden also occupies a large area.

Xie Wuyi raised his hand and tapped the door knocker lightly. After a while, someone pulled the door open from the inside. Ji Qinglin saw that the person who opened the door was an old man with gray hair, presumably the housekeeper here.

The butler seemed to know him well, seeing that it was him, he hurriedly and politely made way for them to come in.

After Ji Qinglin stepped over the threshold, he raised his head and looked around. From the outside, there was nothing special about this garden, but there was something strange inside.

In an ordinary house, the houses have rules to follow, and the main hall in the front hall is essential, but this garden is full of various vegetation and herbs, and only a few houses are randomly dotted in it.

From the courtyard wall, to the roof, and even in the pools of various water areas, there are hundreds of kinds of herbs growing, and the fragrance of the medicine is overwhelming and lingering.

The housekeeper led the two of them through the grass and trees along the path paved with stones. Not long after, Ji Qinglin saw a man in light purple clothes bowing in front of a bush with his back to them, as if he was picking something from the bushes. wearing something.

After several people approached, he seemed to hear footsteps, straightened his waist and turned around.

When Ji Qinglin took a look, his eyes lit up.

This person looks young, but he has a dignified appearance, a gentle face, but calm eyes, which shows that there must be hills and valleys in his chest.

Seeing Jie Wuyi, the man immediately put the object in his hand into the bamboo basket beside him, bowed his hands and said: "Master."

Hearing this title, Ji Qinglin finally confirmed that he was Chi Ruogu, the head of Jiyuantang they were looking for.

"There's no need to be too polite." Xie Wuyi nodded slightly.

Chi Ruogu put down his hands, turned his head and said to the housekeeper, "Uncle Feng, go and do your work first."

The butler didn't say much, nodded and turned to leave.

Chi Ruogu's eyes turned to Ji Qinglin, just like Ji Qinglin's eyes lit up when he saw him, a trace of surprise flashed in his eyes, but he quickly restrained himself and asked, "Who is this?"

Ji Qinglin cupped his hands and smiled, "Ji Qinglin."

Chi Ruogu nodded slightly, and returned the courtesy: "Chi Ruogu."

Xie Wuyi didn't wait for the two to continue their greetings, and asked, "Is there any clue to what you were asked to investigate earlier?"

Chi Ruogu came back to his senses, nodded immediately, and was about to speak, but glanced at Ji Qinglin again, as if he was about to speak but stopped.

Ji Qinglin was a little embarrassed, and was thinking about whether to avoid it for a while, but he understood it and said: "It's okay, Mr. Ji is also involved in this matter, you can just speak directly."

When Chi Ruogu heard the words, he no longer shy away, stretched out his hand and said, "Then please come with me."

As he spoke, he stepped forward and led Xie Wuyi and Ji Qinglin to a distant body of water.

From a distance, it looks like a dug lake pond, in which there are clusters of dense reeds, and the wooden bridge on the water winds, and at the end of the bridge is a water pavilion in the middle of the pond.

However, it is said to be a water pavilion, but it is much larger than the usual water pavilions, and it is square like a widened promenade.

It is obviously a pavilion supported by pillars, but there are straw mats hanging from the top around it, covering it from the top to the bottom, layer upon layer, not like a rolling curtain, but rather like it wants to completely wrap the water pavilion.

Ji Qinglin was puzzled: what is the purpose of this straw mat?If you want the water pavilion to be isolated from the outside world, so that people will not be spied on, why not just build it into a pavilion with doors and windows?Since it has been built like a gazebo, why use straw mats to cover it so airtight?Isn't this superfluous?

After stepping on the wooden bridge, the closer he got, the more Ji Qinglin noticed something, because from here, he could vaguely smell a strange smell mixed with the medicinal fragrance.

When he got close to the waterside pavilion, the smell became stronger, and Ji Qinglin finally realized the function of the hanging straw mats.

This is probably a... mortuary.

Chi Ruogu lifted a straw mat, and the stench that hit his face made Ji Qinglin feel a little nauseous. Fortunately, he was prepared in his heart at this time, so he wouldn't really spit it out, but he still quickly raised his hand to cover it nose and mouth.

A dozen or so stone platforms are neatly arranged in this water pavilion, except for the stone platform in the middle that is empty, the rest of the platforms are covered with white cloth corpses.

Because the entire water pavilion was covered by straw mats, the light was extremely poor. Fortunately, there were a lot of candles lit around, so that you would not lose sight of your fingers.

There are several braziers at the four corners of the water pavilion, each with an iron net, and many unknown medicinal herbs are placed on the net. After being smoked by the flames below, the smell of the medicinal herbs can be regarded as offsetting the stench of these corpses.

Ji Qinglin was still thinking about whether placing the corpse near the water would accelerate the decay of the corpse due to the evaporation of water vapor, but after seeing these braziers, he also understood that these herbs probably also have the effect of removing dampness in addition to covering up the stench.

It's hard to imagine that there is such a place to hide corpses in such a scented garden, and thanks to such a place, otherwise the smell from these corpses would have been blown in all directions by the wind. Can't live.

Chi Ruogu seemed to have gotten used to the smell here. After entering, he first went to the side table and picked up a porcelain bottle, took out some ointment-like stuff and put it on the hands of the two, saying: "This place smells bad, put this thing Apply it under the nose for a little relief."

"Thank you."

Ji Qinglin seemed to be pardoned, and without a word, he quickly put on the thing as he said, and then took a slight breath, and he really felt much better. The thing has a clear fragrance, which makes people feel refreshed.

After returning to normal breathing, Ji Qinglin felt a lot more awake, and then asked: "I think these stone platforms have been built for a long time, have they always been used to put corpses here?"

Judging from the degree of wear and tear of those stone platforms, it doesn't look like they were built temporarily. It seems that Chi Ruogu's use of this place as a mortuary was not a temporary intention.

Chi Ruogu nodded and said, "Yes, before there were no such corpses, this was also where I used for autopsies."

Ji Qinglin raised his eyes and looked around, and sure enough, he saw all kinds of knives and tweezers on the shelves around him, as well as bottles and jars like the porcelain bottle just now, so he knew that Chi Ruogu was not only a doctor, but also a craftsman.

Xie Wuyi did not participate in the conversation between the two of them. He had already walked to the side of a corpse and gently lifted the white cloth covering the corpse.

Ji Qinglin followed up and saw that the corpse was the driver who drove the car on the day he left the palace.

Looking at his still wide-open eyes, Ji Qinglin recalled that he wanted to close his eyes that day, but was stopped by the silver gong. Unexpectedly, he still looked like this until today, so he couldn't help frowning slightly.

Chi Ruogu had also walked to the corpse at this time, and seeing Ji Qinglin staring at the corpse's eyes, he seemed to guess what he was thinking, and said lightly: "The corpse is dead, and it's normal for the eyes to be difficult to close."

Ji Qinglin looked back and nodded. He is not the indecisive person who is always hurting the spring and autumn.

Chi Ruogu picked up the tweezers and gauze next to him, gently pinched something from the temple of the corpse, put it on the gauze, and handed it to the two of them.

This thing is exactly the kind of fine thing like an embroidery needle that I have seen several times before. Although Ji Qinglin didn't know what it was, he didn't find it strange, and asked, "What is this thing?"

Chi Ruogu said: "It should be regarded as pine needles."

"Should... be it?" Ji Qinglin was puzzled.

Chi Ruogu put the gauze handkerchief in his hand aside, turned around and said, "Do you know that folks often have a saying when they celebrate birthdays, 'Fortune is like the East China Sea, and longevity is better than Nanshan'?"

Ji Qinglin nodded, he had heard this too much, how could he not know.

Chi Ruogu asked again: "Then do you know what the 'Nanshan' in 'Shoubi Nanshan' refers to?"

Ji Qinglin frowned, he really hadn't delved into this question, and just about to shake his head, Xie Wuyi who was beside him answered, "Nanshan is not old pine."

Chi Ruogu nodded and said, "Exactly, there is an ancient tree with a lifespan of thousands of years growing on the cliff at the top of Nanshan Mountain. The common people call it the old pine."

Ji Qinglin seemed to understand, and said, "These are the pine needles of the everlasting pine?"

Chi Ruogu nodded, but Ji Qinglin asked strangely, "Then why did you say 'it'?"