Except for stealing

Chapter 8

Magistrate Hu seldom woke up before noon, and trembled like a frightened bird when there was any disturbance outside.

Just at noon, the housekeeper passed on the meal, and he only took two bites when the master rushed in panting.

The piece of fat on the chopsticks of County Magistrate Hu fell to the ground just like that.

He hurriedly stood up and asked anxiously: "What's the matter? That adult is here again?"

The master breathed a sigh of relief, before he could speak, he said anxiously: "Speak quickly!"

The master supported his waist and nodded: "Yes, yes."

County magistrate Hu turned around twice in a hurry, stopped abruptly, and asked, "What's the matter?"

Master shook his head: "It doesn't look like a good thing."

County magistrate Hu changed into his official uniform with a sad face, and couldn't listen to the gentle comforting voice of the beautiful servant girl, so he ran to the living room panting, and saw many people sitting or standing inside.

He smoothed the folds on his clothes, took a deep breath, walked into the living room, and saluted Pei Yan decently: "Master Pei, do you have any orders?"

Pei Yan stood up, pointed the folding fan at the old woman sitting on the chair beside him, and said, "Does Magistrate Hu recognize this person?"

"This..." County magistrate Hu took a look, then walked up to her and bowed to take a closer look, hesitatingly said: "My lord, I haven't seen it before..."

"cough!"

Everyone's eyes focused on the master, who turned his head to cover up, and coughed a few more times, pretending that he had a bad voice.

County Magistrate Hu received the hint, but couldn't remember it, scratched his head, and tried his best to wink at the master.

The master sighed deeply in his heart, walked over bravely, and whispered in County Magistrate Hu's ear: "My lord came back last night and was drunk, and she happened to be beating drums at the gate of the county government office, and you asked someone to throw her out. "

Magistrate Hu: "..."

He vaguely remembered that there was such a thing, but he remembered that it was a beggar...

Except for Shen Yiqing, everyone in this room has kung fu and has good ears and eyes, so what he said naturally couldn't hide it from them.

Li Yunshan sneered, "What a stupid official."

He walks in the rivers and lakes, and he is a character who licks blood with the tip of a knife. He has a fierce aura and a strong sense of oppression on his body, which makes the county magistrate Hu tremble.

Shen Yiqing refilled a cup of hot tea for the old woman, and said: "The county magistrate is here, just tell me if you have anything to do."

The old woman knelt down on the ground with a plop, clacked her head three times, and the flesh on the magistrate Hu's face trembled in panic, and her eyes peeked at the person who was not easy to mess with in this room. Eyes, stammering: "You...you tell me."

"Fang's wife, took her grandson from Lingxi County to Ge County to join relatives three days ago, when it rained heavily the day before yesterday, she went into an inn to hide from the rain..."

Fang's family suffered a man-made disaster, and both his son and daughter-in-law died in a foreign land, leaving only his little grandson and her, an old woman buried up to her neck in the loess.She really couldn't afford to support her little grandson, so she thought about going to a relative's house to seek refuge. The only money she had on the way was spent, and she had no money to stay in the store, and it rained heavily again, so she could only ask the store owner to take them in for a night.

The store owner was also kind-hearted, and promised to let them stay in the lobby overnight. She didn't dare to cause trouble to the store owner, so she shrank in the corner. The child was crying from hunger, and she could only feed him with chopsticks dipped in cold water.

Shen Yiqing and the others knew what happened after that. The child was really hungry and crying at the top of her throat, and she was also dizzy from hunger. Although some people hated them, there were also kind people who helped them.Shen Yiqing gave her a few pieces of jasmine cake, which was a great favor to her, and she firmly remembered Shen Yiqing's appearance.

After nightfall, all the guests returned to their rooms, and she huddled in the corner of the lobby. The candlestick in the lobby was blown by the second brother, and it was so dark that she couldn't see anything. She fumbled and took a bite of the jasmine cake. She stuffed the pastry back into her arms, and shook her little grandson to lull him to sleep.

It rained heavily that night, and there were thunder and lightning. The child was afraid, and finally put the child to sleep. She was really tired and fell asleep in a daze.

When she woke up again, the sun was already high, and the store was bustling again. She looked into her arms dizzily, but found that the child in her arms was gone.

"I was terrified. I searched everywhere but couldn't find it. I asked the second brother, but he said he didn't see any children at all."

Fang said in a trembling voice: "He said that I was old-fashioned, I was the only one staying last night, without children."

County magistrate Hu took a peek at Pei Yan's face, scratched his head in disbelief, and asked, "Then did you bring it?"

"The woman brought it, brought it..." Fang hurriedly said: "My lord is in charge of the woman. These young masters have all seen the little grandson of the woman."

Pei Yan frowned and said, "The clerk from the shop is still the one from last night?"

Fang said: "Yes, women will never remember wrongly."

Shen Yiqing: "There were many people in the store yesterday, did no one testify for you?"

Fang: "I don't know why, I slept very deeply last night. When I woke up, the sun was already high. There were quite a few people in the inn, but they were all unfamiliar faces. All the guests from last night had left, only..."

She wiped away her tears and said: "Only the few people who wanted to drive us, grandpa and grandson, out last night were there, and they also said they didn't see them, and said that I didn't take the children with me at all."

When she woke up, the child was lost. Everyone said that she had never seen the child, and even she herself wondered if she had made a mistake, but the child's clothes in the bag, the jasmine flower cake in her arms, and the hardships along the way How could it be a lie.

She begged the innkeeper to help her find the child, but was thrown out by the second brother.

Last night, the kind-hearted little brother looked disgusted, pinched his waist and said: "It turns out that you are a crazy woman. You kindly took you in last night. Not only are you ungrateful, but you dare to play tricks here."

"How unreasonable!" Zhang Yuan slapped the table angrily, and said, "Did our eyes see a ghost last night? How dare the shopkeeper open his eyes and talk nonsense."

County magistrate Hu: "This... this... which inn is this?"

Shen Yiqing: "It's the Jinshui Inn thirty miles away."

County Magistrate Hu heaved a sigh of relief, pretending to be incredulous on the surface: "The lower officials of that inn know about it, but...but it doesn't belong to Zhaoxian County, and it's not under the management of the lower officials..."

Pei Yan's sharp gaze made what he said behind him more and more confident and weak, and finally fell silent.

"The inn happened to be at the junction of the two counties. If something happened, County Magistrate Hu didn't care about it, and the county magistrate over there thought the same way, so it's over." Shen Yiqing said with a half-smile, "No wonder that black shop is so blatant, and everyone Rely on the blessing of the Qingtian master like Hu County Magistrate."

County magistrate Hu couldn't express his suffering, so he lowered his big jar-like head.

Pei Yan narrowed his eyes slightly, and said: "Call all the arresters in the county government office, take a step slower and be careful of your black yarn."

Hu county magistrate hurriedly said: "I dare not!"

The arresters in this county government are more reliable than the county magistrate, and they seem to be a bit fisty.

The sky was getting more and more gloomy, at the gate of the county government office, Pei Yan got on his horse neatly, and stretched out his hand to Shen Yiqing very skillfully, while turning his robes, Shen Yiqing sat down on the horse safely.

Li Yunshan snarled: "I want to see what kind of person dares to be so lawless!"

A group of people urged their horses to gallop, crossed the street, and under the surprised eyes of the people, they left the county in a short time and returned to the way they came.

Thirty miles along the way, the vegetation is lush and deserted. Jinshui Inn is located at the junction of two counties, with no villages or shops in front of it. It is indeed a good place to open a black shop.

Shen Yiqing recalled the details of that night's stay, and said with his head sideways: "I was a little suspicious when you said that the smell of blood was strong that night, but Brother Jia and the others didn't find anything unusual, so I didn't think much about it, but now it seems, If there are really some shady activities in that shop, it must be done very covertly."

Pei Yan responded, and said: "If there is a fight, you must remember to hide back, so as not to get hurt."

Shen Yiqing pursed her lips, drooped her shoulders after a while, and said in a low voice: "It would be great if I could know kung fu."

The voice was very low, but Pei Yan heard it, he looked down at the dejected young master, his heart softened, and said: "I'll teach you when I go back."

When Shen Yiqing heard this, she shook her head again and again: "You might as well kill me."

After a pause, he looked at Lu Yi speeding past by the side of the road, and said, "Don't get hurt either."

Pei Yan raised his lips lightly, and replied, "Okay."

Goldwater Inn.

The gate is open, and there are passers-by coming in and out, which is a very ordinary appearance of welcoming guests.

A young man in white walked in, waving a fan, and the waiter greeted him eagerly: "Guest officer, do you want to be a sharpie or stay in the shop?"

The handsome young man closed the folding fan, looked Xiao Er up and down for a week, raised his eyebrows and said, "Do you still remember me, Brother Xiao Er?"

The waiter in the shop was stunned, looked at the young master carefully, and said with a smile: "It's you, young master, remember, I can't do anything else, but I have a good memory, and besides, you can't forget a person like young master once you see him once. "

"Oh?" The young master closed the folding fan, with a smile on his lips, but the smile didn't reach his eyes, and he said slowly: "The store owner remembers that there was a pair of grandparents and grandchildren living in that nightclub?"

The waiter's expression changed, but his words remained steady: "This... so many customers every day, the little ones don't remember."

"Tsk," the young master said foolishly, "Look, I just said that I have a good memory."

The shop clerk glanced towards the counter indiscriminately, and said with a smirk: "My lord, you are joking."

"My son always likes to joke." He casually twirled the folding fan on his fingertips, looked at the inn carefully, and said: "I lost something here that day, and I came back to look for it. convenient?"

The shop clerk squeezed the rag in his hand, a look of gloom flashed in his eyes, and said, "I don't know what the young master lost?"

Pei Yan chuckled, stared at him, and said slowly, "I lost a child."

The dazzling light outside the door flashed by, making the faces of the two of them pale.

There were only two or three guests sitting in the lobby, who had just finished their meal and paid the bill hastily.

"Hurry up, or you will sleep in the wild again tonight."

"Yeah yeah……"

The conversation gradually blurred and went away, leaving only the two people confronting each other in the lobby, and the shopkeeper who was thinking in the shadow behind the counter.

The crackling sound of the abacus was not loud, but it was very clear at this moment. The open door was blown in, and a piece of paper on the counter was lifted. There is no pause.

The waiter in the shop straightened his slightly hunched back, lowered his head and slowly wrapped the rag around his hands, raised a pair of three white eyes, vicious and fierce, he stared straight at Pei Yan, and lightly said: "I don't remember any children , Young Master, do you want to look elsewhere?"

The sky was very cloudy, there were no candlesticks in the lobby, and it was gray.

Pei Yan glanced over the shadows, and said unhurriedly: "The child is lost here, so naturally we have to look for it here."

Those people who quietly appeared in the shadows slowly came out, holding hooks and bone chopping knives in their hands, which are all utensils commonly used in the kitchen. Most of them are shirtless, with well-defined muscles and very strong faces There were no waves and no words, and they surrounded Peiyan quietly like a ghost.

"Since the young master wants to meddle in other people's business, let's see if he has the ability." The waiter in the shop gave a sly smile, stepped forward and attacked first.

This person's moves were fierce and vicious, and he went straight to Pei Yan's life gate, but Pei Yan had no intention of fighting, and cleverly dodged to avoid his offensive, and fought and retreated, all the way to the gate.

The shop clerk shook his wrist and said contemptuously, "I thought I was some kind of expert, but it turned out to be an embroidered pillow."

He attacked Pei Yan again, and sternly shouted: "Come on."

Pei Yan tapped his toes and landed lightly in the courtyard.

The thunder in the sky suffocated in the clouds, and suddenly there was an explosion, and then, the rain fell, and the surrounding fields were silent, and the drizzle hit the bamboo forest outside the shop, rustling.

The sound of the rain became more and more dense, fog rose in the forest, the young man in white stood tall, and more than ten people poured out silently from the door, overflowing with murderous aura.

A drop of clear raindrops fell, and with trembling eyelashes, Pei Yan unfolded his folding fan and said with a light smile, "There are so many people hidden in this small inn."

"Damn it! This is really a black shop!" A sword qi slashed down from the room, and the group of people raised their heads one after another, and heard a thunderous shout, and then, the sturdy figure fell down with the aura, and immediately The dozen or so people gathered dispersed.

In the blink of an eye, twenty people poured out from hidden places such as the forest and the house. Seeing that something was wrong, the shop clerk retreated calmly. On the edge of the bamboo forest, Shen Yiqing called out: "Pei Yan."

Pei Yan turned sideways, caught the saber he threw over, and with a backhand shake, the scabbard flew straight out, hitting the back of the waiter in the shop.

Li Yunshan and the others were not weak in martial arts, and they were able to fight with the dozens of people with ease. Pei Yan entered the shop with a knife in his hand.

Pei Yan ignored him, and looked behind the counter with her dark eyes.

The boss seemed to have just realized that the situation was wrong, and he stopped muttering about making plans behind him, and slowly backed away. Pei Yan stretched the hand holding the knife, tightened it again, and walked over slowly.

In the next moment, his eyes sharpened suddenly, and he quickly raised the knife.

After a chilling sound of metal collisions, the thing that flew over suddenly hit the pillar of the hall with such force that it directly pierced a hole in the pillar.

It was a plum blossom sleeve arrow.

Pei Yan looked coldly at the waiter on the ground, and walked forward slowly.

The waiter in the shop suffered internal injuries and couldn't get up for a while, so he could only struggle and hide on the ground.

Pei Yan leaned over, raised her slender hand, and grabbed one of his arms. Under his horrified gaze, her hand slightly shifted.

After the sound of "click", a mournful howl resounded throughout the lobby.

When Pei Yan got up again, the waiter was already lying on the ground, his hands and feet limply paralyzed.Pei Yan raised his head, but frowned.

The shopkeeper was gone.

It shouldn't be... If I run away, I won't be unaware.

Pei Yan walked quickly to the counter, but didn't find any clues.

really ran away?

Pei Yan turned around and walked out. Just as he took two steps, he stopped abruptly. Looking at an upside-down wine bottle on the counter, he narrowed his eyes slowly.

There was a burst of fighting outside the bamboo forest, and the blood stained the rain that fell on the ground red, and slowly flowed to Shen Yiqing's feet along the water.

Shen Yiqing watched Pei Yan disappear after entering the store, a little worried, and was about to change places to see if he could see what was going on in the store, and was slightly taken aback when he caught sight of something.

He walked into the bamboo forest, looked around, then squatted down, and took a piece of dark blue rag from the broken bamboo joint.

The rag looked familiar, he took a closer look, the material of the cloth was luxurious, and the embroidery on it was also of high quality, it was scratched by sharp bamboo knots and hooked on it.

He frowned and thought for a while, slowly tightened his knuckles, and looked up into the depths of the bamboo forest. The bamboo forests were intertwined, dense and deep, hidden behind the mist, and the clues could not be seen clearly.

A bamboo leaf was dropped by raindrops and slowly fell from his eyes. Shen Yiqing stepped up and walked towards the depths of the bamboo forest.

The wild bamboos are closely spaced, and the bamboo leaves become more lush as you go in, and you can't see the way when you look back.

Being in it is like being trapped by a bamboo wall, surrounded by bamboo, every direction has the same appearance, and it is easy to lose direction.

I don't know how long he walked, the rain rolling down on the stacked bamboo leaves has wet most of his clothes, Shen Yiqing stopped, only the rustling of the rain hitting the bamboo leaves, and the sound of weapons intersecting did not know when he could no longer hear up.

He lifted a layer of bamboo leaves, looked down, and sure enough, he saw the traces of broken branches and leaves. Just as he was about to continue walking, his eyes narrowed slightly, he bent down, brushed off a layer of fallen leaves, and picked up a handkerchief.

Both the handkerchief and the embroidery were weaved in the south of the Yangtze River. The embroidery workshop of his maternal ancestor's family was usually sent to the palace as a tribute, and it was hard to find a piece of gold that went to the people.When he came in that day, he saw a woman used it, and she was with that bad-tempered rich businessman. Because he felt familiar, he took a second look, and he would never make a mistake.

Bamboo branches were broken from time to time along the way, and the bamboo leaves that fell on the ground were not completely withered. This road was not like the usual road, and all kinds of traces seemed to be left by people fleeing in a hurry.

Shen Yiqing patted the dirt on his hands, and continued to move forward along the trace. After walking about a hundred or so steps, he pushed aside the bamboo branches, and his eyes suddenly opened up.

This is a path hidden among the bamboo forests, not wide enough for two people to walk side by side.

After leaving the bamboo forest, the rain was obviously much heavier. Shen Yiqing stood on the road, looked back and forth, and walked forward.

Not long after, a courtyard appeared in front of him, and at the same time, he smelled bloody smell, which became more intense due to the rain and the humidity.

There was no one outside the courtyard, and Shen Yiqing didn't dare to go in directly. After looking around for a while, he was surprised to find that this place was not far from the back door of the inn, only a hundred or so steps away.It's just built on the earth hill, the location is high, and it is hidden among the bamboo forests, so ordinary people can't see it.

Shen Yiqing hid outside the courtyard and listened carefully for a while, but walked in quietly without hearing anything.

The chimney on the room was emitting white smoke, so there might be someone inside, Shen Yiqing cautiously lay down by the window and looked in, only then did he see the furnishings inside clearly.

The house is very spacious, and there is a huge table from east to west, with marks of knives and axes on it. A big hideous pig's head is facing his direction, with organs and bones lying on the table, bloody Tick-tock dripped down the edge of the table. Above the table hung a row of knives and axes for meat removal. There were many sundries in the room. There was a large iron pot on the northernmost side. I don’t know what was cooking in it. The water has boiled, and the steam is permeating, bubbling and bubbling.

The firewood under the stove was burning vigorously, Shen Yiqing looked around inside, and walked in bravely.

There was a bloody smell in the room, and a dense layer of flies came in. Shen Yiqing almost vomited out. He had never been in such a dirty place, and he almost wanted to turn around and leave.

However, as soon as he took a step back in accordance with his instinct, he saw a touch of dark blue.

There was a pile of rags on the pile of firewood beside it, with blood stains on it, and there was a piece of dark blue cloth in it, which was exactly the same as the rags he picked up in the bamboo forest.

Those people are probably more ill-fortune than good.

Shen Yiqing resisted the nausea and moved around, looking inside.

The lost child should not be placed in the inn in front of him. If he hadn't had time to send it away, he would be here.

The wind in the forest was stronger, and it blew in with moisture, just blowing away the steam on the boiling cauldron.

Shen Yiqing passed by the pot, glanced at it casually, and raised his heart, his eyes suddenly widened, and he almost cried out in horror.

His stomach was churning, and when he looked closely, the gradually gathering steam clearly boiled an intertwined human body, including limbs, torso, and the neck was completely broken, without a head.

He backed away in horror, but was stunned by something, bowed his head and looked old, it turned out to be a human leg, very fresh, with blood still oozing from the fracture, a layer of white sweat suddenly appeared on him, his hands and feet were cold and stiff .

His face was pale, he forced himself to calm down, looked away from the severed limb, and continued to walk inside.

After walking four or five steps, his eyes lit up, and he walked quickly to the corner.

There were several rabbit cages piled up in the corner full of sundries, made of bamboo, with a small fleshy hand protruding from it, motionless.

Couldn't be something wrong?

Shen Yiqing frowned, walked over quickly, squatted down to open the cage, and it turned out to be the child she saw that day.

The child closed his eyes tightly, remained motionless, his face was pale, his chest heaved slightly, and he was still alive.

Shen Yiqing breathed a sigh of relief, and reached out to lift the child out of the rabbit cage.

He hugged the little nephew of the second sister's family, chubby, soft, and very heavy.

Unlike the one in my arms, who is skinny and has no flesh on his face, holding him is really like holding a young rabbit.

Shen Yiqing stood up and walked towards the door, but her ears moved suddenly, and her heart soared.

The sound came from the place where the firewood was piled up. It was the only way he had to go out. The house could be seen at a glance, and there was no place to hide.

There was a "squeak" sound, and in desperation, he could only squat down.

Looking through the gap under the table, I saw a wooden board lifted up beside the woodpile, and two people came up from the bottom.

Those two were also shirtless, dressed in the same clothes as those who were fighting in front of the inn.

One person said: "Why is there no one?"

Another person said: "Go to the front to deliver the goods."

"All gone?"

"The shopkeeper has a job to look for them, and he probably wants to deliver live meat again."

The two of them didn't seem to notice Shen Yiqing, they added firewood to the stove while chatting.

The previous man said: "The sheep slaughtered this time are fat enough for us to squander for a while."

The other person snorted and said, "Wu Si specially asked me to scratch that man's face."

Shen Yiqing watched the strong man take two steps in his direction, raised his heart high, and watched the man's footsteps with bated breath.

Fortunately, he stopped, and just two steps away from him, he continued: "The oily skin on his face was scratched by that fat sheep, and he was so angry that he stabbed him several times."

There was the sound of a knife being sharpened in the room, and the sound of "chacha" seemed to rang above Shen Yiqing's head.

When these people talked about killing people, it seemed as if they were chatting about family affairs, and the calmer their tone, the more terrified Shen Yiqing was.

"Fat sheep are getting easier to catch now," the man before said slowly, holding a silver knife, "Some of them don't need us to do anything, just jump into the pot by themselves. Tell me, right?"

Shen Yiqing suddenly opened his eyes wide, and there was a buzzing in his ears. The next moment, he instinctively hid to the right, and the knife brushed his left ear and cut into the wall.

A few strands of hair fell to the ground, the knife was so sharp that it cut into the wall as if cutting tofu, pulled it out easily, swung it horizontally, and slashed at Shen Yiqing's neck.

Shen Yiqing was holding the child in his arms, unable to move, and rolled on the ground in embarrassment, narrowly avoiding the blow, and then an iron hook went straight to his face.

Shen Yiqing does not know martial arts, and has been pampered since he was a child. His actions are not as flexible as those who practiced martial arts. He has been blessed by the Bodhisattva to avoid two blows. Now there is a hook in front and a knife in the back. His mind is full of "my life is over".But death can't be too ugly, if Pei Yan sees his bad face, he might not like him anymore.

Upholding the last bit of backbone, he squatted down, and actually dodged the pincer attack of those two people.There was a sound of gritty ice blades rubbing above his head, Shen Yiqing didn't care too much, and tightly protected the child in his arms, burying his face in his knees.

He could feel the rough breathing of the two butchers and the chill when the knife fell, but he couldn't avoid it.

"when!"

There was a loud tremor in his ear, but the knife didn't fall, and he heard Pei Yan's slightly changed voice: "Shen Yiqing!"

He thought he had entered the gate of hell, and he was a servant.

But then there was a scream of pain in his ear.

He raised his head in a daze, and saw a strong man beside him sway twice and fell on the table.

The other man held a bone-chopping knife, let out a low roar, and attacked Pei Yan. The knife in Pei Yan's hand had already been thrown, and he took out a folding fan from his waist, twisted it slightly, and the bone of the fan protruded with a dense white blade, and received the heavy blow .

Before the blade trembled and buzzed, Pei Yan clasped his wrist upside down, slammed the bone-chopping knife away, dodged forward, and his hand touched the man's neck like a ghost, and then there was a sound of bone breaking. After that, the man hit the ground with a "plop".

This set of moves was extremely fast and ruthless, Shen Yiqing was stunned for the first time seeing Pei Yan's skill.

The room fell silent, only the quiet sound of rain outside the window, and he shivered belatedly.

Pei Yan walked towards him quickly, he wanted to stand up, but his legs were so weak that he couldn't move at all.

"Pei Yan..." Shen Yiqing looked at the person squatting beside him, with red eyes, slightly trembling lips, and whispered: "Pei Yan, I'm sorry..."

Pei Yan's fingertips trembled slightly, and he raised his hand to gently touch Shen Yiqing's side face, and then suddenly hugged him into his arms.

His stiff body slowly relaxed, his hands and feet gradually warmed up, and only then did he realize that his body had been trembling slightly.Listening to the rapid heartbeat in Pei Yan's chest, he closed his eyes, and continued the words just now in a dry voice: "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have dragged you down by running around knowing that I'm not capable."

He was useless in the first place, and he caused trouble for Pei Yan by running around, it really shouldn't be.

Pei Yan stroked his hair reassuringly, and said softly, "I didn't drag me down, Yiqing is very good and smart, I'm the one who came late."

His voice was so gentle, it passed through his chest to his ears, making his ears soft, but his heart seemed to be soaked in warm water, scalding all the way to his eye sockets.

After a long time, Shen Yiqing gently rubbed her face against Pei Yan's chest, and said, "Go back to Chang'an and teach me martial arts."

Pei Yan said "En", and after a while, kissed him on the forehead, saying: "Yiqing is not afraid."

Shen Yiqing sniffled and gave a soft "hmm".