Murder

Soaking in a medicated bath requires removing the whole body and submerging the whole body except the neck and head under the liquid medicine.Sima Feng was very resistant when he took the medicine bath for the first time, holding on to his clothes and refusing to take off.In the end, Chi Yebai felt that it was too annoying, so he directly touched his acupuncture points, and peeled him off himself.

After soaking for a few times, Sima Feng became thick-skinned, and undressed in front of Chi Yebai.

Even Ah Si felt embarrassed: "Master, there is no need for you to take off your pants in the direction of Master Chi."

Sima Feng: "How do I know where he is? I can't see him."

He later pretended not to want to, wanting Chi Yebai to strip him of his clothes again, but Ah Si was too short-sighted, and proactively and enthusiastically stepped forward to serve his young master.Sima Feng still remembers Chi Yebai's sneer when he stood by the tub that day.

When the water boiled, it was very hot, Ah Si quickly removed the firewood, and when Sima Feng planed himself naked, the water temperature also dropped a bit.

According to Gan Hao's instructions, when soaking, Sima Feng also needs to use his internal energy to gather the toxins that are free in the meridians.This process is very troublesome, and now it has been a few days since the course of treatment, the only difference Ah Si and Chi Yebai can see is that the spots on Sima Feng's eyelids have disappeared.

"Still can't see." Sima Feng stretched out his hands and scratched, "It's so desolate, so desolate. Xiaobai, come here, help me."

Chi Yebai remained silent with a cold face, the two of them were in a stalemate for a while, it was Ah Si who stretched out his hand on his own initiative: "Young Master, let me do it."

As soon as he helped Sima Feng into the tub, Sima Feng grabbed his wrist tightly, causing him to scream out in pain.

"Sima?!" Chi Yebai was taken aback.

"It's okay." Sima Feng said calmly, "I'll try Ah Si's kung fu. This bastard, playing here day and night at Gan Hao, has ruined his martial arts."

He grabbed it with great strength, and Ah Si's eyes were full of tears, and it took him a while to realize that this was Sima Feng's revenge.

To retaliate Ah Si for deliberately mentioning Shuanghua in front of Chi Yebai.

Ah Si felt that he was not wronged this time—he did mention Shuanghua on purpose.

Shuanghua has the best relationship with Sima Feng in Jinyan Pond.One is because of Shuanghua's personality and Sima Feng likes it very much, and the other is because Shuanghua is a pure lady, and Sima Feng's relationship with her does not involve any sexual desires between men and women.Everyone in Jinyanchi knew it, and of course Chi Yebai knew it too - Chi Yebai had already paid for the repair of the Shuanghua door in Qinshuangyuan several times.

Ah Si rubbed her paws with tears in her eyes, thinking that I am not wronged, and neither are you.You know that Chi Dangjia is here, why are you so happy to talk about me?

"Stop rambling." Chi Yebai said, "Ah Si, does it hurt?"

"Don't dare to be hurt." Ah Si said, "The young master often tells us that beating is pain and scolding is love."

Sima Feng couldn't help laughing: "You little bastard, you're getting better at talking."

He immersed himself deeply in the potion.The scalding liquid medicine and the strong and pungent herbal smell made him frown uncontrollably.In the old days, someone made a bathroom that could be bathed in all seasons. It used beautiful jade as the embankment and amber as the bottle ladle. In summer, it led cool water into the pool. Hundreds of gauze bags were soaked in the pool. Precious and fragrant medicines, medicinal mist or mist melt in the water, or curl up in the room.In winter, dozens of copper dragon pots are prepared. The pots are also filled with medicinal materials, each weighing dozens of kilograms, and they are burned to red with a warm fire.It's all about Sima Feng's luck, he only felt that the top of his head seemed to be steaming, and with the ups and downs of the medicine bag in the water, it felt refreshing to soak in that warm pool in winter.

"Xiaobai, do you still remember Wenxiangqu?" Sima Feng finished his work and started chatting, "The book said Wenxiangqu."

"Remember, what's wrong?" Chi Yebai was puzzled.

The Wenxiang Canal is the sewage flowing from the four-season bathroom in winter.Because of the long-term warmth in the bathroom in winter, the warm water in the pool is also called Jiaolong Wenchi.Rich people or the children of officials and eunuchs often go to the bathhouse to wash, accompanied by palace people or concubines, playing all night long, and the lights are brightly lit.As for the spring banquet, the water discharged from the bath flows through the stone canal and flows into the inland river.That canal has an elegant name, it is Wenxiangqu.It is said that the canal water still has a fragrance after several miles, and the people rushed to drink it, and brought the water home with buckets and pots, and everyone was happy.

"Pouring out the water in my medicine bucket can also warm the entire Xiangqu Canal," Sima Feng said.

Chi Yebai: "You stink."

Sima Feng: "It doesn't smell bad, come here and smell it carefully, the fragrance is very mysterious." He said, grabbed the medicine sachet from the bucket, and handed it to Chi Yebai's nose.

He was too lazy to speak, and silently withdrew his hand.There is an iron plate under the wooden barrel, and the firewood is under the iron plate.Although the firewood has been removed, it is also a hard thing to stick your hands to the hot barrel wall for a long time.Ah Si also withdrew her hand, puffed her cheeks and blew on her palm.

Sima Feng still needs to soak in the bucket for another half an hour, Chi Yebai doesn't want to accompany him anymore, so he gets up and walks out with the paper he just wrote.

Before reaching the door, Gan Hao's voice came from far away from the courtyard door: "Ah Si! I'm here to sort out the herbs for your young master! I'll tell you how to cook it for the next few days! "

Ah Si dejectedly agreed, and moved out of the room with his shoulders slumped.

As soon as Ah Si left, Chi Yebai couldn't leave.He had no choice but to put the things in his hands back on the table, and when he turned his head, he found Sima Feng lying on the edge of the medicine barrel looking at him.

Although he knew that he couldn't see him, Chi Yebai's heart still beat several times.

"Xiaobai." Sima Feng smiled, "I just mentioned Shuanghua, are you unhappy?"

"Is Master Chi unhappy?" Gan Hao asked enthusiastically, "What did your young master do again?"

Ah Si was staring at more than two dozen baskets of herbs under the eaves in a daze.

"Don't worry about this, why are there so many medicines?" Ah's eyes were blurred, "I'm not the late master, I can't remember."

"Each type of medicine is different, and the time to take it is also different." Gan Hao gave him advice, "These twelve kinds are for the first time in the morning, and you can't add Liu Jinu to the second medicine at noon, but Xu Changqing I have to drink it again at night, and this time I need to add more red ladies and privets..."

Ah Si really couldn't remember, so he just found a pen and paper and asked Gan Hao to say it again, and he wrote it down one by one.

Gan Hao said it slowly. Seeing that he wrote seriously, he couldn't help shaking his head: "Oh, you are really not a medical student."

Ah Si: "I really am not."

Gan Hao paused for a moment, rather inquiring: "Would you like to have a good time with you?"

"Okay." Ah Si nodded, "Although Gan Lingshi is bored, he is very serious in his work. The young master and us all trust him."

"Lei is a genius who studies medicine, or to be more precise, he is born to study poison." Gan Hao said with a smile, "It's a pity that he actually learned the art of scribbling from my father in the end."

Ah Si raised his head: "Isn't the art of making things bad?"

"You have been a pariah since ancient times in this business." Gan Hao tapped Ah Si's paper and reminded him to continue writing, "If you are willing to study medicine or poison with me, your achievements will be higher than mine."

"But Gan Lingshi is really powerful." Ah Si put down his pen and said seriously, "The master said that there is no such thing as 'destined' in all kinds of business in the world. A powerful person like Gan Lingshi is admirable from the bottom of his heart. You must have never seen his bone examination technique, it is amazing."

"That's because you haven't seen his ability to identify medicines and cure diseases." Gan Hao sneered, "Some people are born to be in a certain line of work. Look at your young master and Master Chi."

"Born is born. If you have such abilities, you have to be taught." Ah Si was not convinced, "Luck, destiny, if you believe in these things too much, you will be doomed."

Gan Hao looked at him very curiously: "You are quite interesting, kid."

Ah Si felt proud and shy at the same time.These words are all heard at home on weekdays, and he just said them casually.

Just thinking about how to respond to Gan Hao, Gan Hao asked again: "In this line of work, have you ever met someone who was born to be a murderer?"

Ah Si was taken aback: "What?"

"If there are people like your young master and Chi Yebai in the world, then there should also be monsters who are born to know or like to kill people." Gan Hao nodded while talking, "One thing is one thing."

"How could it be?" Ah Si shook his head, "How could it be possible to kill someone naturally? Such a dangerous thing."

"But you have always seen some strange murder cases, right?" Gan Hao became interested, "Some people just like to kill people and like to do this thing. Is this impossible?"

"But what you said is that you are born to like this..." Ah Si's mouth twitched, "No."

"Is there such a person?" Gan Hao asked again, "After a certain amount of teaching, they will learn the ability to kill more easily than others?"

Ah Si didn't answer right away this time.He put down the pen and paper in his hand, with a dignified expression.

"Mr. Gan, what exactly do you want to say?"

"I'm just curious." Gan Hao said with a smile, "I'm a few years older than you, and I've seen more people and things than you. Some people have a bloody smell in their shadows from the moment they are born. You If you haven’t seen that kind of strong malice, it’s your luck.”

At this time, in the side room filled with the smell of medicinal herbs, Chi Yebai was lighting the big white acupoint on Sima Feng's hand with a paperweight.

Sima Feng was so painful that his whole hand went limp, begging for mercy repeatedly: "Don't touch it anymore, don't touch it anymore, it hurts, hurts..."

He was in real pain and his fingers were shaking.

Chi Yebai put the paperweight away and looked at him silently.

Sima Feng couldn't see with his eyes, but he had very good ears.He asked Chi Yebai if he was upset, but Chi Yebai refused to answer, so he reached out to grab Chi Yebai's belt, and almost dragged him into the bucket.

After pretending to be a disciple, he pretended to be a poor man.Sima Feng rested his chin on the side of the bucket: "You hit really hard, it hurts there."

"This is to remind you not to mess around." Chi Yebai kicked the barrel, "Do you think a blind man can really catch me?"

Sima Feng smiled: "You are really angry."

"Even if you marry Qiaoqiao or Yingying tomorrow, I won't be angry." Chi Yebai said calmly.

Sima Feng thought for a while and wondered, "Who is Qiaoqiao? Who is Yingying?"

"The Qiaoqiao who draws all kinds of fans for you all day long is the eldest daughter of the head of the Jiangnan Security Bureau, and Yingying is the younger sister of Zhang Zhaizhu of Jiujiang Shisan Village. A few years ago, when we were hunting water thieves, Miss Zhang was not there. Jiang Shang sang a song for you..." Chi Yebai said half of the words, swallowing the rest.He saw Sima Feng smiling happily.

"You really like to help me remember these things." Sima Feng looked very happy, "I can't remember it myself, but you remember it so well. You must like me very much, don't you? Right?"

He said with a smile, and stretched out his hand to reach Chi Yebai again.

Outside the window and door is the sound of rain that rules the world, rushing down.

"You can't see me." Chi Yebai whispered.

"I can't see you." Sima Feng repeated his words, "So don't worry."

He finally grabbed Chi Yebai's hand.Perhaps because he was away from the heat source, his thin and powerful hands were cool, dry and comfortable, and the tiger's mouth had calluses, which was left by years of sword practice.

Sima Feng rubbed against his palm.He heard the sound of rain, the sound of water waves in the barrel hitting the wall of the barrel, and Chi Yebai's breathing.It was very different from the frequency he was used to, it was a little rushed and hot.

"I can't see you." Sima Feng repeated again, and then stood up dripping wet.The medicinal liquid rolled down from his shoulder, flowed over the smooth and tough skin, and sank into the lower part.

He couldn't see himself, so he couldn't see the embarrassment and shaken on his face.Chi Yebai's heart seemed to be tormented by the hot water, and also soaked in the cold rain, ups and downs, ups and downs.

Sima Feng only felt that his breath was getting closer, and his warm fingers moved slowly against his temples.

His chest felt hot, and he grabbed Chi Yebai's hand and pulled him to his side.

Breathing and smelling each other, even the heat of the body is clearly palpable.

Just when he almost touched Chi Yebai's lips, the sound of the dense rain was suddenly torn apart, and a clear eagle's howl approached from far away, leisurely falling into the courtyard.

Sima Feng: "..."

Ah Si's footsteps also slapped: "Master Chi! The eagle is here!"

Chi Yebai let out a breath of relief slowly, and said in a low voice, "The eagle is here."

Sima Feng wished he could bleed the eagle and pluck its feathers, so that Gan Hao could have another meal tonight.He held Chi Yebai's hand tightly, and pressed his lips hard.

"It's too bad time." He said angrily, "I need to get dressed, help me."

The one who arrived with Ying was a spy from Ying Beishe.Incidents similar to Xu Ying's case had dozens of pieces of paper, which he carefully wrapped in oiled paper and kept close to his body.

The argument between Ah Si and Gan Hao has not stopped, Gan Hao said that he is also very curious about this case, so he must come over to listen.Chi Yebai didn't chase Sima Feng away because he thought that Sima Feng still needed him to detoxify.

"In the past ten years or so, there have been 32 incidents of killing people by hitting the back of the head with a hammer." The spy handed the paper to Chi Yebai and said with his head down, "No murderer has been found. There were 27 cases in total, two of which occurred in Pengyang. The dead in these 27 cases were all beggars or refugees, and no one reported or investigated.”

"anything else?"

"Five cities form a line along the coast. Jiuhua City was the first place where the hammer murder happened, exactly 18 years ago." As soon as the spies named the five cities, everyone immediately understood: the place where the murder happened, it seems It is the route of the murderer's movement.

"What happened to Jiuhua City, who died?" Sima Feng asked.

"We can't find out whether Xu Ying was the murderer in the rest of the cases, but there was a murder case in Jiuhua City, and the murderer happened to be named Xu Mingying." The detective said, "Xu Ying was 12 years old at the time, and the deceased was his seven-year-old cousin."

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*Four Seasons Bathhouse, Jiaolong Wenchi, Wenxiangqu: From "Supplements of Relics" by Wang Jia of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, it is a collection of (very interesting) stories.