treacherous world

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang got an ambiguous clue from the ruffians, walked into the alleys criss-crossing the streets, and looked for the hall of the boss.

According to the ruffian, Qiu Boss lives in South Lane, Tianzi Lane, Zongwu, Hengshiliu, Haikou, Baimeimen and Baozilou at the fifth intersection.

Zhan Zhao was dizzy when he heard the name, and thought to himself, who would have thought of the name of the place? If you don’t have a good memory, you can’t find it.

The streets and alleys in this area are like a big net, divided into large areas according to the azimuth, heavenly stems and earthly branches, and then divided into sub-districts according to the twelve o'clock.Each district has a number, and each door has its own symbol, and then mark the house number according to their own habits.Therefore, without the guidance of passers-by, it is almost difficult for strangers to find the location.

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang crossed the street, turned into an alley, and counted the intersections one by one.

The ground is a bluestone slab, and the ground is covered with a layer of uneven stones. Every time you step on it, you have to be careful, because there may be puddles under the stone slab, and a puddle of water will gradually rise when you step on it.There is also a lot of moss growing on the stone road, which is a little slippery.

With his hands behind his back, Zhan Zhao saw Bai Yutang concentrating on counting the alleys, and somehow wanted to make trouble for him, "Where did the count go?" Hmm. "Bai Yutang pointed to the intersection ahead, "There are vertical four and horizontal fifteen, and vertical five should be at..."

"After sixteen." Zhan Zhao interrupted.

"Eh?" Bai Yutang thought for a while, "But horizontal fifteen..."

"Horizontal fourteen."

"..."

Bai Yutang rubbed the center of his brows, "Cat, it's five vertical and sixteen horizontal."

"Isn't it four and fifteen?" Zhan Zhao asked, "Or three and seventeen?"

Bai Yutang opened his mouth, just about to speak.

"Ah!" Zhan Zhao seemed to have remembered something, "Seven vertical and eighteen horizontal!"

In the end, Bai Yutang really confused him, looked up at the sky, "Cat..." Bai Yutang reached out and poked Zhan Zhao, "Guard Zhan, I'm helping you find a place!"

Zhan Zhao blinked, "Oh, then Tianzi Lane, facing west, vertical five, horizontal sixteen, Haikou, Baimei Gate Tower at the fifth intersection, inside is Leopard Tower."

Bai Yutang was stunned, Zhan Zhao stretched out his hand and patted him on the shoulder, "Be firm, Yutang." After speaking, he walked forward with a cheerful smile, but the cat was so proud that he stepped on a large piece of moss.

"Ah!" Zhan Zhao staggered and slipped backwards, Bai Yutang reached out to support him.Fortunately, Fifth Lord Bai moved swiftly, thus preventing the handsome Master Zhan from accidentally falling on all fours. At that time, there would be a big lump of moss on his back, and his fame for the rest of his life would be ruined in one fell swoop.

Zhan Zhao let Bai Yutang stabilize himself, took a long breath, and looked back at him.

Bai Yutang leaned over and asked, "Master Zhan, who is not firm?"

Zhan Zhao patted his robe and stood firm, "I was not careful at the moment, I used to walk this kind of road when I was young."

Bai Yutang was a little surprised, "You also lived in the alley when you were young?"

"I'm born in Jiangnan anyway." Zhan Zhao smiled, "When I was young, I often ran in alleys. Aren't you born in Jinhua Mansion? Have you never lived in an alley?"

Bai Yutang shrugged, "I've been on the island since I was very young, so I'm not familiar with it."

"Oh..." Zhan Zhao nodded, and then walked forward.

"Actually, the numbers are not difficult to count, but it is too difficult to tell the east, west, north and south clearly." Bai Yutang said to himself.He looked up at the line of sky in the middle of the high wall, "I can't see where the sun is either.

"Then look at the wall." Zhan Zhao stretched out his hand to poke the wall, "Look at the moss growing at the base of the wall, but the moss on the opposite wall is higher."

Bai Yutang looked up, and immediately understood, "Oh...because the light can shine on this side, and we have to wait until the sun sets in the west...so try to grow as tall as possible?"

Zhan Zhao sighed, walked over, and put his hand on Bai Yutang's shoulder, "Everyone said Fifth Master Bai was extremely intelligent, but I guessed it wrong!"

Bai Yutang was surprised.

"Of course moss grows in dark places. The less sunlight there is, the more dark and humid places will be." He said, pointing, "This side is south and this side is north."

Seeing Bai Yutang's embarrassment, Zhan Zhao didn't forget to add, "Don't be depressed, the fourth son also guessed wrong that day!"

Bai Yutang looked at him weakly, "Mao'er, if you make trouble again, Wu Bu'e will run away."

Zhan Zhao withdrew his hand, walked forward with a smile on his face, and hummed a little song made up by the fourth son two days ago. He likes to laugh, has a gentle face, runs all over the street in Shangfang Jiewa..."

Bai Yutang followed him dumbfounded, touched him with his arm, and asked, "Cat, are you in a good mood these days? You were obviously very anxious before."

"Well, I suddenly got some enlightenment." Zhan Zhao said with a smile, "Xie Baihua is heinous, and he was reformed by probation in the end. It shows that there is always a good side in everything, and the evil will not overwhelm the good."

"It doesn't matter whether it has been improved or not." Bai Yutang reminded him, "We have to wait and see."

"In short, there are no absolutes in the world, and I also believe that the eldest brother may have difficulties." Zhan Zhao put his hands behind his back, "So I decided, until I find out the truth, I will stop thinking about it and suspecting no one."

Bai Yutang nodded, "It's a good thing to get your elder brother out of your head, he took my place."

Zhan Zhao naturally heard something in his words, "Why have you learned to be glib recently?"

"Have you?" Bai Yutang approached him and asked, "Have you tried it?"

"You said you were glib, but you didn't say you were sweet-tongued." Zhan Zhao didn't show weakness, and compared his cheekiness with him.

Bai Yutang was naturally surprised, this cat... has a thick skin.

Zhan Zhao is proud, Bai Yutang is also an honest character, at most he just takes advantage of his mouth, he hasn't become a real hooligan yet.

The two of them managed to find the right way because they were "flirting and cursing", turned into the alley, and began to look for the porch with the "Baimei" sign.

After walking a few steps and talking and joking, I heard the sound of footsteps in front of me, as if someone was rushing forward wearing wooden clogs.

After a while, a girl in a blue flowered sarong turned in, saw Bai Yutang who had come to the front, screamed, took a closer look, breathed a sigh of relief, and quickly ran between the two of them.

Zhan Zhao saw her running behind the two of them, leaning against the wall and panting, a little puzzled, so he asked, "Girl, what's wrong with you? Someone is chasing you?"

The woman nodded repeatedly and pointed behind her, "Ghost, ghost..."

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang frowned, and looked forward at the entrance of the alley, but they didn't see anyone.Both of them were a little puzzled, is the Gorefiend's light work so good?

At the same time, she looked back at the woman. She took a breath and ran forward to look at her. Seeing that the other party hadn't caught up, she patted her chest and let out a sigh of relief, "I was scared to death. I thought I would end up like Xiaoyu."

"Xiaoyu?" Both Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang looked at her.

The woman raised her head, startled.I was too anxious just now, obviously I didn't pay attention to the appearance of the two, but now I see...

"Hey, are the two gentlemen here to have fun?" The woman immediately leaned over Jiao Didi, "I know a good place, do you want to have fun?"

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang looked at each other, Zhan Zhao asked, "What's your name?"

"You can just call me Meier." The woman replied, while carefully looking at the two of them, "The two gentlemen seem to be decent people at first glance, do you want me to introduce the girl to you?"

"Miss Mei'er is not from Kaifeng, is she?" Zhan Zhao didn't answer, but asked her, "Aren't you afraid of the dark after seeing a ghost?"

Mei'er was taken aback, and quickly waved her hand, "No way, I'm so unlucky, two young masters, I have beautiful sisters there."

There was a smile in her words, and she scratched her head for a pose, but Bai Yutang didn't speak, but just watched from the side, his eyes thoughtful.

Zhan Zhao asked, "What kind of ghost was chasing you just now?"

"I heard people say that there are ghosts, wearing a mask or something." Mei'er said with a smile, "Don't just stand here, come and sit with me?"

Zhan Zhao saw that she kept trying to bring them back to "home", so he looked up at Bai Yutang, as if asking, "Are you going?"

Bai Yutang shrugged his shoulders slightly, with a half-smile - it doesn't matter.

Zhan Zhao was keenly aware that Bai Yutang seemed to have noticed, so he nodded to Meier, "That's excuse me."

"Don't disturb, don't disturb." Mei'er was overjoyed, and walked back with the two of them.

Zhan Zhao said while walking, "Is Xiaoyu your friend?"

"Well, it belongs to our family." Mei'er replied, somewhat vaguely, as if trying to hide something.

Zhan Zhao nodded.

Mei'er said a few words to Zhan Zhao, then turned to look at Bai Yutang behind her, as if she was a little puzzled, she asked, "Did the two young masters come together?"

Zhan Zhao didn't quite understand why she asked such a question. After thinking about it, it might be a bit strange for two big men to visit private prostitutes together, and he didn't know how to answer.

Bai Yutang looked at Meier kicking the clogs, and suddenly asked, "Why are you wearing clogs?"

Mei'er was taken aback, "Huh?"

"The bluestone boards here are very slippery, is it easy to walk in clogs?" Bai Yutang was puzzled.

Mei'er didn't speak, she just walked forward with her head down, as if she wanted to hide something.

Zhan Zhao saw that she was hiding one hand in the sleeve, and the other hand was holding the cuff of this sleeve, so he asked, "What are you holding?"

Mei'er was taken aback, looked at the two of them, and said, "You two don't seem to be here to have fun, so I won't bother you..." After speaking, she was about to escape from the box beside her.

Zhan Zhao frowned slightly, took a step to stop her, "Wait."

Unexpectedly, Mei'er quickly pulled out a dagger from her sleeve, "Don't mess around!"

Zhan Zhao startled her, wondering if this woman is the sister of a private prostitute?Why did you bring a weapon with you?

The woman looked fiercely at Zhan Zhao, but Bai Yutang gave a low laugh.

Meier nervously leaned against the wall to watch the two of them.

Zhan Zhao winks at Bai Yutang—what's the matter?

Bai Yutang shook his head, "Only you, a cat, can't tell the difference between a kiln sister and a woman from a good family."

Zhan Zhao was startled, looked at Meier, "Aren't you the kiln sister of the private prostitution house?"

Meier blushed, "I..."

Bai Yutang pointed to her clogs, "Wearing shoes is to attract attention, right?"

"That's right." Zhan Zhao thought that was the case, "If it's really sister Yao, you should go to the intersection ahead to solicit customers. Why do you come to this narrow alley?"

"There was no one chasing you just now." Bai Yutang said, "You heard our voices, so you came here?"

Meier blushed and wanted to run away.

Zhan Zhao stopped her, "Wait, why are you carrying a knife and where do you want to take us?"

Mei'er pointed at Zhan Zhao with a knife, "You monster, today I want to avenge Yu'er!"

As he said that, he rushed over to stab Zhan Zhao.She doesn't know martial arts at all, so it's impossible for Zhan Zhao to be hurt by her. Of course, he wouldn't hit a woman who is helpless, so he just took her dagger lightly with one hand.

Meier still slammed her head against the wall, she had used too much force just now, she turned her head and glared at Zhan Zhao fiercely, "You monster, if you want to kill it, kill it, I went to the underworld to find Xiaoyu, and we will seek revenge on you!"

Zhan Zhao was troubled so much that Monk Zhang Er couldn't figure it out, and thought for a while, "Oh...you think I'm a murderer, so you want to lure me to you to avenge the dead Yu'er?"

Bai Yutang nodded, "This is the only explanation."

Meier looked at the two of them and frowned slightly, "What are you pretending to be?! The one who killed Yu'er was a monster with demon eyes. Although he sometimes wears a mask, he is just a young man!" "Aren't you a demon pupil?!

"Based on this, you call me a cannibal?" Zhan Zhao also got angry, shook his head, reached out and took out a golden token from his waist to show her, "I even said that you are not a native of Kaifeng anymore. .”

Mei'er leaned over to look at the token, and saw that on the front was Yuci Yuqian fourth-rank guard with a knife, and on the back was Zhan Zhao of Kaifeng Mansion.

"Ah!" Mei'er was startled, "You are Mr. Zhan from Kaifeng Mansion?"

Zhan Zhao nodded, took the token, and pointed to Bai Yutang behind him, "This is Bai Yutang."

"Oh! I've heard of it!" Mei'er finally let go of her vigilance, "I thought..."

"There are some problems with my eyeballs, and it's not your fault." Zhan Zhao returned the dagger to her, "Why didn't you report to the police when someone died?"

Mei'er hesitated for a moment, then bowed her head, "I'm afraid, we will be kicked out of Kaifeng Mansion, we are not from here, we are here in exile."

"How is that possible?" Zhan Zhao put on a serious face, showing the appearance of a righteous person in Kaifeng Prefecture, "Kaifeng Prefecture is not only for Kaifeng locals to live in, I am from Changzhou Prefecture, and brother Bai is from Jinhua Prefecture, so it is different. All right? Lord Bao is from Luzhou, and the emperor was not born in Kaifeng either."

Mei'er pursed her lips, looking a little frustrated.

Bai Yutang looked at the sky and asked Meier, "Are you out to find the murderer and want to avenge Xiaoyu yourself?"

Meier nodded, "Yeah!"

"Tell me in detail." Zhan Zhao said seriously, "We are here to find the murderer."

With a look of joy on Mei'er's face, she led Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang through the streets and alleys to an alley.There was a woman looking around at the gate of a corner, and when she saw Meier coming with two people, she ran back quickly.

Just as Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang stepped into the corner door, a group of women with knives rushed out. The two hurriedly took a step back, but Meier hurriedly stopped them and revealed their identities.

Many girls looked at each other in blank dismay, quickly put away their knives, and let the two of them enter the room and sit down.

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang looked around and thought to themselves...he fell into the Pansi Cave!I saw that the house was not big, with four rooms inside and outside, but there were quite a few women living there, and there were people of all ages.

Zhan Zhao was puzzled and asked, "Where are you from?"

Mei'er sat down and poured water for Zhan Zhao, "We are all criminals who were exiled to the frontier because of family accidents. After the amnesty, we don't have to be displaced, but we have no shelter. Everyone gathered in Kaifeng, rented I bought this cheap house. If I want to make a living, there are sisters in the kiln nearby. They are all good people and will help us. Here, the older ones wash and sew clothes for others, and the younger ones also go out to do their own work. To make a living, to earn money to support the children."

Zhan Zhao frowned when he heard this, "Dragon and snakes are mixed here, you have so many women..."

"That's why they all carry knives." Mei'er sighed, "It's really nothing to be mixed with dragons and snakes. The local ruffians know that we are hard-working people, so if they don't come to embarrass us... instead, they are officials."

Zhan Zhao patted the table, "Which Kaifeng government official bullied you?"

Bai Yutang held his forehead, the cat immediately frowned when it heard this, it's so funny.

Mei'er and several women were happy, and shook their heads, "The officials in Kaifeng Mansion won't bully us, that's why they settled here. I don't know how many people like us are here, everyone is like a family." Yes, Boss Qiu is taking care of us again."

"Didn't he charge you a head fee?" Zhan Zhao wondered.

"But he also finds a job for us, trying not to let us become prostitutes, the head fee is very little, and they are all errands." Mei'er said, sighing, "I used to live a good life, but I just came here. the devil!"

Afterwards, all the girls chattered about what happened to Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang.

A blood demon has appeared in Kaifeng Mansion, and the people here have more or less heard of it.A kiln sister was lost before, and the body was drained of blood and thrown in the back alley.As a result, the sisters in the kiln stopped accepting unfamiliar guests, and they all gathered on the main road ahead.

But then, she started throwing away people who weren't kiln sisters. At first, she was a ruffian, and then the ruffians were careful...and it was Xiaoyu's turn.

Xiaoyu is the youngest girl in their family, only 17 years old.Through the introduction of Boss Qiu, she worked as a maid in a nearby Yuanwai's house.It was agreed the day before yesterday that she would go home for dinner, but no one saw anyone until midnight.When I went to Yuanwai's house to inquire, he said that he would be released in the evening.

So everyone knew that something had happened, and searched the whole alley, and finally found her body in the alley to the south.

Mei'er and the others burst into tears when they said this, "A lot of people around here have started to spread rumors...that they can see ghosts sometimes, wear a mask, and have red eyes."

Both Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang nodded.

"Everyone is really not reconciled, so we have been walking around the back alley these days, wearing clogs and making footsteps to attract attention, and carrying a knife. Once the monster comes out, it is best to lure it back, and kill him together , can't be lured back, and he will stab him with a knife if he wants to know, we are not easy to bully!"

Both Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang felt a little helpless, these girls did have backbone but they didn't care about the severity, how could they deal with the blood demon?It's just a waste of life to meet them, but fortunately I met them today.

"We want to catch that monster, can you provide some more specific clues?" Zhan Zhao asked, "For example, where does he often move?"

"As far as the place where I ambushed just now, there are a lot of people who saw him coming and going." Mei'er sighed.

Bai Yutang had been walking around the rivers and lakes for many years, so he had some feelings, so he deliberately asked, "Why, don't you ask Boss Qiu to help you?"

Mei'er and the others looked at each other in blank dismay, and lowered their heads hesitantly.

Zhan Zhao understood, "That's the residence of Boss Qiu, isn't it?"

Meier and the others all nodded.

"The dead gangster and kaojie are not people who hated the boss, right?" Bai Yutang continued to ask.

Mei'er said in embarrassment, "Boss Qiu has kindness to us, but...it's really weird! None of Boss Qiu's subordinates have any accidents, but others have accidents one after another."

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang exchanged glances, blood demons are most effective if they eat men's blood, women are much less useful.Will he take the initiative to settle for the next best thing? Will Wu Bu'e be under the protection of Boss Qiu all the time?If that's the case, luckily I didn't go there just now, otherwise I'd be alarmed.

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang felt that there was a good opportunity to wait for the rabbit, so they asked everyone to go out together, close the doors and windows, and don't do stupid things.If you really want to avenge Yu'er, carry the body and report to Kaifeng Mansion.

After Zhan Zhao and the others left, Meier and the others really carried the body to Kaifeng Mansion to report the crime.

As soon as Bao Zheng heard that the Gorefiend was indeed in the place that he didn't care about, he discussed with Zhao Pu and sent hundreds of soldiers to the area to re-investigate and count the number of people. Anxious.If it is true that he hid Wu Buxie, he will be forced to drive him away!

As for Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang, they squatted near the Qiu Mansion with their shadow guards, waiting for Wu Bu'e to finally show up.