treacherous world

This fire burned down the entire post house. Fortunately, the fire was put out in time and the fire was not too late. Therefore, except for a few scholars and post house staff who were burned, no one was killed, and the fire did not spread. , so the loss is not large.

The most seriously injured one might be Ximen Yao. Gongsun carried him to the nearest inn for careful inspection, and found that he had been poisoned by an extremely rare snake venom.

"Snakes?" Zhan Zhao frowned. He hated two things the most in his life, one was snakes and the other was spiders... Either he was afraid, or he felt goosebumps all over his body when he saw it.

It was even worse for Bai Yutang, all those who were crawling on the ground, had no legs or stepped back too much, he was disgusted and panicked when he saw them.

"It's a grass snake, and this kind of grass snake doesn't exist in the Central Plains." Gongsun took out a silver needle to detoxify him and continue his life, and at the same time prescribed a prescription, asking Yingweimen to break down the door of the medicine shop. Complete the medicine.

Zhao Pu also asked Zhe Ying to go to the palace to ask the imperial doctor in the palace, for fear that the medicine might not be available.

"Is he very dangerous?" Dong Xu recalled now, "I saw he was fine an hour ago!"

Madam Kong at the side was so frightened that her face turned ashen, and she nodded again and again. When she first saw the doctor, she still thought that this Ximen Medicine man was very funny. How did she become like this in a blink of an eye?

"It's true that he was poisoned not long ago." Gongsun turned his head and told everyone, "Also, this snake venom is very overbearing. If it wasn't for his deep inner strength, he would probably have died long ago. It won't last long like this."

"Ah?" Xiao Mo and Dong Xu were so startled that they were about to cry, and hurriedly begged Gongsun to save him.

Gongsun waved his hand and said, "Don't ask me, you are Bai Yutang's friends and I will save you, but the antidote is hard to find."

"You mean the medicines you just prescribed?" Zhao Pu asked.

Gongsun nodded, and said to Bai Yutang, who was also worried, "Ximen Yao is a genius doctor, and it's not easy to poison him. This injury should not be caused by a snake bite, but by drinking it."

Bai Yutang frowned at Xiao Mo and Dong Xu, "Who has he offended? Is someone going to kill him?"

The two looked at each other and shook their heads, Ximen Yao is a good old man, although he has a weird temper, but he usually treats illnesses and saves lives, and doesn't get involved with others much, so that he won't cause harm.

"gentlemen."

At this time, Mrs. Kong suddenly asked Gongsun, "What does that grass snake look like?"

Gongsun thought for a while, "Well, this is a grass snake that is only produced in Tianzhu. It has lived in the desert for many years, so it is brown all over, and..."

"There is also a flat neck, shaped like a squashed gourd, and two red spots, and a black spot on the head, which looks like it has three eyes, doesn't it?" Mrs. Kong asked At the same time, Gongsun's eyes widened in confusion, "Madam has seen this?"

Mrs. Kong nodded, "I saw my husband painted it! Before he died, he was awakened by a nightmare in the middle of the night, saying that there was a strange snake chasing him. The next day, I saw that he drew a lot of snake pictures, which looked scary. I asked him what kind of snake it was, and he said it was the snake that chased and killed him in his dream last night. He also said at that time, what kind of geranium snake it is."

Gongsun nodded, "It's exactly this kind. Has your husband done any research on this snake?"

Mrs. Kong was a little helpless, "My husband and I got married not long ago. He is a nerd, he studies by himself all day long, and he doesn't allow me, a woman, to ask too much. Sigh, but I guess I can't find anything right now." Madam looked up at the slightly ruined station not far away, "It's all burned down."

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang raised their heads subconsciously, and looked out through the window. The station behind them had almost collapsed in half, leaving some coke and ruins.

At this time, Chao Mahan ran into the inn and told everyone, "The source of the fire has been found, and someone deliberately set it on fire."

Both Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang frowned, asking where the fire started.

The dynasty said that it was from the woodshed, someone poured kerosene from the woodshed to the west courtyard, and then lit the fire.Because there was a lot of feed for the horses at the gate of the west courtyard, almost all of them were burned.

Bai Yutang frowned and said nothing, sure enough, someone wanted to kill Ximen Yao.

"Madam's room is in the west courtyard." Dong Xu stomped his feet, "Could it be related to Kong Mao's death?"

At this time, two more people came in, Bao Yan and Pang Yu who came to see the excitement.

"Oh, why is there such a big fire." Pang Yu asked as soon as he entered the door, seeing a half-dead lying on the bed, everyone's faces were serious, and they quickly stopped talking, standing aside with Bao Yan to watch the fun.

One after another, the shadow guards came back, and almost all the medicines were found, only missing one.

Gongsun looked at Fangzi and frowned, "Missing Chilianguo?"

"That's right, the shopkeeper said that Chilian fruit was originally there, but some people came here a while ago and bought all the dried fruit. This kind of medicinal material is rare in Kaifeng... They have to go to other places to buy it and dry it."

Everyone frowned, Bai Yutang and Zhan Zhao looked at each other, and asked Gongsun at the same time, "Chilian fruit... Could it be the red fruit that the scholar just used to scare people?"

Gongsun nodded, "Exactly, there should be some in the suburbs just now! If you don't have dried fruit, you can ask for fresh ones. This medicine must be available."

"I'll go." Ziying wanted to use her qinggong and ran back to look for it.

"Hurry up!" Gongsun was anxious.

Pang Yu suddenly took out an oiled paper bag from his sleeve pocket, handed it over and asked Gongsun, "Is it this stuff?"

I saw two round red refined fruits in the oil paper bag in his hand.

"It's this!" Gongsun hurriedly took it and ran outside to make medicine.

Everyone looked at Pang Yu in surprise. After a while, Pang Yu said awkwardly, "I think it's very useful. I picked up two just now and plan to use them for self-defense in the future."

"How do you defend yourself with two fruits?" Bao Yan looked at him puzzled.

"You think, if someone comes after me again, I'll crush one and pretend to be dead!" Pang Yu replied confidently.

Everyone looked at him sympathetically, probably afraid of being caught a few times before.

……

After drinking a bowl of antidote, the poison on Ximen Yao's body was finally cleared, and he gradually regained consciousness.As soon as I opened my eyes, I saw a lot of unfamiliar faces.

"What's going on?" Ximen Yao felt as if he had just rolled down a cliff, his whole body was sore and dizzy.

"It's right to ask you." Xiao Mo looked at him with admiration, "I just came back from the ghost gate and don't remember what happened to me?"

"Ah?" Ximen Yao sat up and put his hands on his forehead, "Wow... why does my head hurt so much?"

"It may be caused by detoxification, just rest for a while." Gongsun came over to feel his pulse.

Ximen Yao looked up at the crowd, looking quite dazed.

"You don't remember?" Bai Yutang walked over with a frown, and told him what happened just now.

Ximen Yao's eyes widened, "Really?"

Dong Xu hurriedly asked, "Are you stupid? Someone poisoned you and you don't know. Where did you go after you left my place? Tell me clearly!"

Everyone also nodded, feeling that this is very important.

"I didn't go anywhere." Ximen Yao scratched his head, "By the way... why am I here? Shouldn't I be on the boat?"

"What kind of boat?" Bai Yutang frowned and asked, "Did you drink on it?"

"Well, I saw that the painting boat was unique, and there were girls asking for a drink, so I went up, and I happened to see a scholar drinking, so I sat down with them and drank two glasses."

"You mean, there is a girl drinking with you on that boat, and then a scholar is drinking?" Zhan Zhao asked.

Ximen Yao saw that this person was very close in stature and size to Bai Yutang. He was young, with a handsome appearance and a gentle appearance, and his big eyes were quite pleasing to the eye.He thought for a while, and then looked at Bai Yutang. Although his head was still hurting, he was keenly aware—could this be Zhan Zhao?

Ximen Yao looked at Zhan Zhaolai with great interest, wondering what kind of person could keep a free and lawless Bai Yutang in Kaifeng Mansion for so many years, not even returning to the empty island.

Zhan Zhao asked a question, seeing that Ximen Yao didn't answer, but just stared stupidly at himself, he was also a little puzzled.

"Ahem." Xiao Mo coughed, interrupted Ximen Yao to look at Zhan Zhao, "Ask you!"

"Oh... yes." Ximen Yao nodded, "The scholar looks quite young and gentle, and he said he came to Kaifeng to catch the exam. I drank Zhuyeqing, and I seemed to fall asleep after a few sips."

"You're so good, you dare to drink other people's wine without knowing you?" Dong Xu looked at Ximen Yao with admiration, "The scholar poisoned you, did you offend him before?"

Ximen Yao was at a loss, "It's a bit weird to say, what happened to me at the time? It was as if I was fascinated by a ghost. How could I go on that boat and drink the wine he gave me? Strange."

"What's the problem?" Bai Yutang asked Zhan Zhao.

"Oh, because the autumn test is approaching recently, talents from all over the world have gathered in Kaifeng, so the emperor just issued an order a few days ago that all painting boats, kilns, and prostitutes are not allowed to receive scholars who drink flowers and wine, let alone drunk scholars. It's an insult to gentleness." Zhan Zhao said, "If you find out, you may be disqualified from the autumn exam, so basically the scholars who come to Kaifeng don't dare to go to the place of fireworks. Even if there are, they must not dress like scholars. so as not to be recognized."

"So that scholar is suspicious enough." Zhao Pu asked the shadow guard to inquire about the characteristics of Huafang in detail, and then went to search.

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang arrived at the door of the house and looked at each other. What made them most suspicious this time was not the scholar or the painter, but the crazy genius they met this afternoon.

In particular, he used Chi Lian Guo to play a prank, as if he was doing them a favor on purpose.

Gongsun also came out and told the two of them, "The medicinal material Chilianguo may only be found in the mountainous area just now in Kaifeng, at most there are less than one or two trees. The crazy scholar in the afternoon is definitely not just a simple prank."

Zhan Zhao folded his arms and wondered, "How did he know?"

Gongsun also shook his head, "He is a little unfathomable."

"The first time he met us, he knew that Bao Yan lived in Kaifeng Mansion, and he knew Zhao Pu's identity..." Zhan Zhao frowned, "Fortunately, Bai Ying and Hei Ying followed him."

Afterwards, Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang left the inn first, and entered the burned-out posthouse to search for clues.

Ouyang Shaozheng stood at the door directing the crowd to clean up the ruins, his head was still smoking, it wasn't from the fire, but he had brought water to put out the fire and heat it up.

"Who the hell is so wicked and set fire to it." Ouyang Shaozheng cursed.

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang came up behind him, and each of them patted him.

"Mother hello!" Ouyang Shaozheng jumped up in shock and turned around quickly.Seeing that it was the two of them, he breathed a sigh of relief, "Can you two make a little noise when you walk? I thought I saw a ghost again."

"What the hell?" Zhan Zhao was puzzled, "Does the arsonist have any clues?"

"Not yet, but it's not too late. I don't believe no one has seen the fire at this moment." Ouyang Shaozheng took a wet handkerchief handed over by a soldier, wiped his face, and sighed, "Huh... hot died."

"You're pretty good at putting out fires." Zhan Zhao saw Bai Yutang walk into the fire and look around, so he chatted with Ouyang Shaozheng, "The movements are much faster than those patrolling the city before."

"That's right, the bandits and foreigners I live in the border like to set fires. There are skills in extinguishing fires. In addition to water, sand is also needed. Cut it off first and surround it to extinguish it." Ouyang said, as if thinking of something, he leaned over and asked, " Oh, let me ask you something."

"Huh?" Zhan Zhao turned to look at him, while paying attention to Bai Yutang not far away.

"Did a scholar hanged here a few days ago?" Ouyang asked suddenly.

"Yes, that's right, Kong Mao, the son of the prefect of Suzhou." Zhan Zhao replied, "He hanged himself."

"Fuck." Ouyang Shaozheng swears, "I really saw a ghost just now!"

"Huh?" Zhan Zhao looked at him puzzled, "What the hell? Are you still afraid of ghosts, Huo Qilin?"

"Just as the fire was being extinguished, Yingchuo Chuo saw a scholar standing in the fire, wearing a suit of blue, floating indistinctly in the fire. At first, he thought it was a person, but after a closer look, it was a ghost." Ouyang Shaozheng was a little angry when he said it.

"Are you sure he is a ghost or not a human?" Zhan Zhao wondered.

"When I saw him for the first time, he was hanging from the beam of the house. Later, when the fire was so big, he slowly climbed down from the chair. It's not a ghost, what is it?" I will go to the mansion, and you ask Mr. Bao to pat me on the forehead twice to bless me."

Zhan Zhao didn't know whether to laugh or cry, but what Ouyang Shaozheng just said was serious and weird, and he asked, "Where is that person? Where did he go?"

"Then a gust of wind blew a lot of smoke over, and the people disappeared." Ouyang Shaozheng shook his head, indicating that he didn't know.

"So evil?" Zhan Zhao frowned when he heard that, he caught a glimpse of Bai Yutang walking into the ruins out of the corner of his eye, and hurriedly followed.

Bai Yutang walked around the ruins for a while, but felt that the fire was very thorough, especially the courtyard on the west, it seemed that the kerosene was only poured on this area.Why only burn down the west courtyard?This is the place where the scholar surnamed Kong lived before. Could it be that he wants to burn some of his clues?Then why kill Ximen Yao again? If he is afraid of knowing some secrets, Dong Xu should know more.

Bai Yutang was in a trance when he suddenly heard a "click".

He froze for a moment, looked around, originally thought that Zhan Zhao was coming from behind, but it wasn't Zhan Zhao, there was no one behind him.And the sound seemed to come from the front. There was a pile of collapsed ruins in front. Could it be that someone was inside?

Bai Yutang was wondering, but sure enough, he saw the pair of collapsed black charred wood tremble.

Are there any survivors down there?Bai Yutang hurried over, and pushed aside some of the ruins, and saw a person lying on the ground, still intact.

"Hello." Bai Yutang stretched out his hand to pat him. At this moment, Zhan Zhao ran up from behind, "What's the matter?"

"There's someone..." Bai Yutang pointed out.

Zhan Zhao was also taken aback, there are still survivors?Hurry up and help people.

But when the two of them reached out to grab the man's shoulder, they suddenly felt their hands were sticky, and they caught something...

Bai Yutang looked down, and saw that he caught something in his hand, it was white, soft and warm, and there were some red bloodshots in it...

"Heh..." Bai Yutang took a deep breath and quickly withdrew his hand, Zhan Zhao also jumped up, the two of them thought of brains at the same time, this person was smashed to death and even his brains were smashed out, so why not? die?

When he was terrified, he suddenly heard the person lying on his stomach groaning, "I have a headache..."

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang's faces turned pale in an instant, and they thought they had a headache, their brains were bleeding out.

"Give it back to me, who took my brain?" The man suddenly raised his face, the beard and flesh on his head were blurred, and it didn't look like a human head. How could a human head be so big, like a pig's head.

He stretched out his hand to pull Zhan Zhaohe Bai Yutang, "Give it back to me..."

Bai Yutang took a step back, and stretched out his hand to pull Zhan Zhao over to block him. He's not afraid of being a ghost or a human, but he's afraid of being dirty, okay?Rubbing the brains with one hand, "Cat, go and see if he is dead or alive?"

"Why should I go?" Zhan Zhao refused desperately, "Or find Gongsun, I probably won't survive right now."

"Give it back to me!" The man rushed over and rubbed his bloody hand against Bai Yutang's snow-white clothes, "Brain, give me back my brain."

"Hey!" Bai Yutang also felt that something was wrong, his head really came out, how could he still be alive and kicking?

"You..." Zhan Zhao blocked him with the giant que, and saw that he was holding a bowl in his hand, half of which was a bowl of pig's brains, why did the head say it was so weird?It turned out to be a pig's head.

"I don't care, give me back the pig's head!" The man's voice sounded familiar, and Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang looked at each other, wondering at the same time—I've heard it recently...

Thinking of this, both of them thought of someone at the same time.

Zhan Zhao picked the pig's head on top of the man's head with the tip of his sword... and saw a pig's head rolled aside, and a scholar's face was exposed underneath, meeting the two of them face to face.

"It's you again!" Zhan Zhao saw at a glance that it was the crazy scholar just now.

The scholar continued to laugh.

Both Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang had blood welling up at the same time, and it was this crazy scholar playing tricks again.

Bai Yutang was about to chop him off with a dark face, but Zhan Zhao was still a little rational, so he decided to ask more questions, so he pulled Bai Yutang back.

The scholar quickly hid aside, "Wait, wait, kill me and no one will tell you who set the fire!"

Both Bai Yutang and Zhan Zhao were taken aback.

"Why are you here?" Zhan Zhao asked him.

At this moment, two people came running from a distance, panting, it was the black shadow and the white shadow following the scholar.

Seeing the scholar talking to Bai Yutang Zhanzhao, the two immediately became embarrassed.

They just followed the scholar all the way, thinking that he doesn't know martial arts, so it's easy to follow him.After he settled down at the inn, he ran out and looked for pig heads from pork shops everywhere. After buying the pig heads, he took out the heads and put them in a bowl, as if he wanted to stew pig brains with green onions.The pig's head was put aside and said to eat bacon, but it disappeared in a blink of an eye.They searched all the way to find it... If it gets out, the two of them don't have to mix up anymore, this scholar is a monkey spirit!

"Who set it on fire?" Zhan Zhao looked at the pig's brain in the man's hand, resisting the urge to hit him, and at the same time felt that Bai Yutang behind him was rubbing the pickle on his sleeve.

The scholar sat cross-legged on the ground and clicked his tongue twice, "Don't talk, don't talk, you two are too young, find a big one!"

Bai Yutang frowned and looked at Zhan Zhao, which seemed to mean—forget it, the case will be solved sooner or later anyway, let's kill him first, I can't help it!

Zhan Zhao held him back in embarrassment, and asked the scholar patiently, "Who do you want to see before you can tell?"

The scholar held his chin and thought for a while, "Well, just Xiao Hei."

As soon as the words came out, everyone around was stunned.

Bai Yutang looks at Zhan Zhao——who is it?Xiao Hei... a black puppy?

Zhan Zhao also didn't understand. At this time, he saw the scholar suddenly stretch out his hand and waved towards the distance, "Yo! Xiao Hei!"

Everyone looked back at the same time, only to see Bao Zheng leading Chao Mahan coming over from a distance, and raised his face when he heard someone talking.

In the dark night, Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang clearly saw Bao Zheng's pitch-black face, and after hearing that "little black", they twisted slightly.