Pawn Crossing the River

Taoist Zhou pondered: "Now it seems that the simplest and most direct way is to directly search Xiang's house. There should be some clues."

After all, Shi Baihu is a member of the officialdom, so he needs to think more carefully: "Xiang Yuan is a member of the imperial family, and the old man of the Xiang family also has some old friends in the officialdom. Scholars always like to stick together, and pay attention to whether students are of the same age. If we can really find out something special, If there is no evidence, then that’s it, these are just trivial details, but if we find nothing, it will be a crime.”

"Furthermore, Mr. Xiang was unconscious at the moment. We passed him and searched his house directly. Later he said back that there was missing property in his house. What should we say? He is not an ordinary citizen, and he does not just want to take advantage of it. It’s a matter of course. And the people down there may not be clean. If someone does commit a petty theft, the two of us are both selfless and selfish, so we can’t argue with each other.”

Taoist Zhou hissed: "It's indeed a bit tricky."

He looked at Qi Xuansu again and asked, "I wonder what Brother Wei has in mind?"

Qi Xuansu originally wanted to push back, but then he thought about it and said, "Why don't we invite the local magistrate here? He is in charge of the government affairs of a county, and he is also in charge of raising people, scholars, and children. Let's invite him here. There is no need for him to send people to search the house, as long as he is a witness."

"Brother Wei, this is a good idea." Shi Baihu clapped his hands, "If he is willing to bear witness, then even if we don't find anything in the search, it can prove that we did not act without authorization. If he is unwilling to bear witness, then in the future he will No matter what the consequences are, he will not be able to escape the blame for failing to handle the case. "

Qi Xuansu secretly said that the people in the Gongmen were very narrow-minded. Although this Qingluan Guard Baihu came from the military, he was not bad at all. He only thought about the first level, and he had already thought about the second level.

Shi Baihu said: "I will personally go and ask the county magistrate."

Taoist Zhou then urged: "Just as Daomen, the men in black, and the Qingluan Guards have all arrived, he, as the representative of the civil service, must not be absent. If he shrinks his head this time, he will have to look at it next time when the matter is discussed. Let’s see if he has the nerve to talk loudly.”

"That's right, that's right." Shi Baihu nodded with a smile, turned around and strode away.

After waiting for more than half a day, not long after Xiang Yuanwai woke up, the local magistrate and the hundreds of trial households who came to invite people also arrived.

Because this dynasty did not emphasize literature over martial arts, Confucianism also began to advocate the revival of the six arts of the gentleman, which are etiquette, music, imperialism, mathematics, calligraphy, and archery. Imperialism means riding a horse and driving a car. Therefore, although the county magistrate is a civil official, he has never Instead of sitting in a sedan chair, he rode all the way in the wind and snow.

Although the magistrate was somewhat reluctant, he had no choice but to come forward if something like this happened. And you can't just think about the worst in everything. If it goes wrong, he will certainly be responsible, but if the case can be solved, he, the county magistrate, will also have a share of the credit.

So the county magistrate conveyed the decision to search Xiang Rulin's house to Xiang Rulin. After Xiang Rulin protested to no avail, his eyes darkened and he fainted again.

Taoist Zhou was proficient in medical skills and examined Xiang Rulin. He twisted his beard and said, "Although he is short of breath and attacking his heart, his body bones are too weak and his yang energy is slightly insufficient."

Shi Baihu said: "I didn't realize that Mr. Xiang, who is a very old man, is still so unrestrained in that regard."

"It's a lack of Yang Qi, not a lack of Jing Qi." Taoist Zhou said helplessly, "Yang Qi and Yin Qi are two incompatible things. If they are in the same room, either the east wind will overwhelm the west wind, or the west wind will overwhelm the east wind. Otherwise, In other words, either the yin energy destroys the yang energy, or the yang energy destroys the yin energy. As for the reconciliation of yin and yang, that is the ability of Taoists."

The test hundred households are martial artists and the magistrate is a Confucian disciple. They are not as good at Yin and Yang as Taoist priests from Zhou. The magistrate couldn't help but ask: "What will happen if the yang energy is weak?"

Taoist Zhou said: "A weak body will lead to the entry of external evils into the body. The entry of external evils into the body will make the body even weaker, and the cycle continues until death. If the yin energy in the body is too heavy, I am afraid that there will be no peace even after death. There is also the risk of corpses being raised.”

Hearing this, Shi Baihu said, "It seems that the search for Xiang's house is urgent."

Taoist Zhou nodded and said: "Let's search, we are at least 80% sure."

Shi Baihu no longer hesitated, strode out, summoned the Qingluan Guards he had brought, first explained the tasks, and then emphasized discipline, and then the Qingluan Guards spread out and searched Xiang's house. Although the trial of hundreds of households has emphasized discipline, the Qingluan guards are not good men and women. They will inevitably be arrogant and shout loudly, and even become very lively for a while.

Seeing this scene, the people outside watched the excitement, and rumors spread. At first, there was a murder case. The eldest wife and the second wife were murdered. Later, it became the case that Xiang Yuanwai was the victim of the lawsuit. Finally, it was Xiang Yuanwai who committed the crime. It's a big crime, the government is confiscating your home.

There is no public anger, but there is quite a lot of gloating.

Taking advantage of the search, Taoist Zhou introduced Qi Xuansu to the county magistrate. The magistrate did not dare to neglect and was very polite. The two greeted each other. Qi Xuansu couldn't help but sigh, whether he has that level of identity is really crucial. If he didn't have the identity of the man in black, even if he had the cultivation level of Yuxu stage, he would not be treated with such courtesy.

It was already dark in the blink of an eye, and the search was almost complete, leaving only a small garden with the door closed and locked.

Qi Xuansu, Zhou Daoist, the county magistrate, and all the trial households all came to the door of the small garden. The Qingluan guards all held torches to shine brightly.

By this time, the heavy snow had stopped. People from the trial household called Xiang Zhai's housekeeper over, pointed at the garden gate, and asked, "What is here?"

"This is the cemetery of our master's first wife." The housekeeper glanced timidly at Baihu, and quickly lowered his head when he saw his sharp eyes. "The missing eldest wife was married later."

The magistrate said: "What a joke. How can anyone build a cemetery at home?"

The steward knew something was wrong at this time and quickly distanced himself: "Who says it's not true, but the master insists on doing this, and we can't stop it. Besides, no one else is allowed to take a step inside on weekdays, and we don't know what's inside."

Shi Baihu said: "So, you don't have the key?"

The steward lowered his head: "Yes."

Shi Baihu waved his hand to ask him to retreat, and used his eyes to signal the two Qingluan guards to watch him closely, and then said to the three of them: "What do you mean by three?"

Taoist Zhou and the magistrate looked at each other and said, "It seems that the only option is to break down the door."

Qi Xuansu, who had been silent all this time, said: "This matter started because of me, so I will take action."

Shi Baihu immediately said: "Okay."

Qi Xuansu didn't waste any time. He stepped forward suddenly and stepped deeply into the ground. While stopping his forward momentum, his whole body stretched like a bow like a full moon. The punch he held in his chest was a bow, an arrow, and then a punch. It blasted out fiercely, like a crossbow firing from a bed, each sound was like a firecracker exploding, and the entire movement was completed in one breath.

"Good punch!" Test Baihu is a martial artist, he knows the best, and his eyes light up.

The next moment, Qi Xuansu punched the door.

In an instant, an illusory magic circle appeared on the door. However, faced with a punch blessed by true energy and blood energy, this simple magic circle only lasted for a moment before it completely collapsed, and then the garden gate also shattered.

Seeing this scene, the magistrate and Taoist Zhou couldn't help but shrink their heads, secretly thinking that if this punch landed on them, they would lose most of their lives even if they didn't die.

Qi Xuansu clenched his fists and walked into the cemetery first.

The other three followed closely behind, followed by Qingluan Guards, Yamen servants, and Taoist priests.

As soon as they entered the cemetery, several people couldn't help but take a breath.

It is true that this is a cemetery. There is a masonry-structured solitary grave in the middle, but around the solitary tomb are many white bones, and they can be identified as human bones at a glance.

Scenes like this can easily remind people of a poem: "White bones are exposed in the wild, and there is no rooster crow for a thousand miles."

Taoist Zhou came to a white bone. This white bone was obviously different from the surrounding white bones. It had a light jade-white color. It should be the remains left by a person who had accomplished cultivation. Besides, there was another piece beside him. The Iron Bagua seems to be some kind of magic weapon, but it has been damaged.

Taoist Zhou sighed softly, pointed at the bones and said, "This should be the person who wrote the talisman on the wall of the guest room. Sure enough, he was poisoned."

At this time, the county magistrate knew that he had to make a decision, and said in a deep voice: "Arrest Xiang Rulin immediately, seal off Xiang's house, and no one is allowed to escape."

Shi Baihu waved his hand.

The Yamen servants and Qingluan guards immediately dispersed.

There was another cry in Xiang's house.

The rumor suddenly became true.