The master said not to judge people by their appearance

"Come, come, Mr. Luo, drink, don't spoil the fun tonight." Xu Xin handed over the wine glass and greeted with a smile.

Luo Hongyuan didn't pick it up, and even waved his hand, knocking over the wine glass. He said angrily, "What kind of thing is Xie Yunlan? How dare you flirt with me!"

The wine glass fell to the ground, making a crisp crackling sound, disrupting the harmonious music playing in the room.

Xu Xin waved his hand and signaled Yunxiu and other virtuoso maids to go out first. After they were all gone, Xu Xin said with a smile: "Mr. Luo, why should you be angry? Then Xie Yunlan has such a temper. I heard that he was a badass when he led the soldiers Stinghead, no one will give face, sometimes he won't listen to His Majesty's orders!"

Luo Hongyuan sneered and said: "I don't care what his temper is, this is the border of Cangzhou, it's not his turn to be presumptuous!"

"Yes, yes, who doesn't know that Cangzhou is your territory, Mr. Luo!" Xu Xin helped Luo Hongyuan calm down, and at the same time apologized, "It's just that Xie Yunlan has the emperor's life, Mr. Luo, I was also forced to help, Zhang Li's Please don't take offense at me."

"Zhang Li?" Luo Hongyuan reacted for a moment before remembering that he seemed to have such a number of people under him. He frowned and asked, "What's the matter with Zhang Li?"

"Master Luo doesn't know yet?" Xu Xin said, "Xie Yunlan arrested Zhang Li and tortured him for a day!"

Luo Hongyuan poured himself another glass of wine, and asked casually, "What is he doing to torture Zhang Li?"

Xu Xin: "It's about Xu Liniang."

"Xu Liniang..." Luo Hongyuan stopped drinking, and his expression was no longer casual. He asked eagerly, "What's the matter with Xu Liniang? Why is Xie Yunlan looking into this matter?"

"Isn't it because of the river god's apparition!" Xu Xin told the story of Hekou Village, and then said, "Yesterday morning, Master Shen Fanfan used himself as a sacrifice to lure the river god out. It really appeared, the real body seems to be some kind of transformed snake, a snake-tailed human body, a monster formed by the resentment of drowned people. There are eleven transformed snakes under the water, besides ten men who have recently drowned, there is also a transformed snake that looks like a woman The snake, and the other snakes were wiped out, but the woman-like snake escaped. Xie Yunlan began to investigate the origin of the woman's snake, and found out that the river god had appeared ten years ago, and was sacrificed that time. The woman in question is Xu Liniang."

"Mr. Luo, tell me, why are there these monsters and goblins in Cangzhou? I've been so busy these two days that I didn't even have time to take a sip of wine. It's all because of Xie Yunlan, who came to Cangzhou so well..." Xu Xin complained He is dissatisfied with Xie Yunlan, if Xie Yunlan doesn't come, Hekou Village's sacrifice to the God of the River will not happen, and he will not find any snakes, as an official, just do the tasks assigned by the above, monsters are not monsters , The god of the river is not the god of the river, so what to do with so much.

Xu Xin complained a lot, but Luo Hongyuan didn't listen to a single word, his mind was still on the snake that Xu Xin had just mentioned.

Turning into a snake...a monster made of the resentment of a drowned person...Xu Liniang...Luo Hongyuan unconsciously picked up the wine glass, trying to use the wine to soothe his chaotic mind, but he found that his hands couldn't stop when the wine spilled all over his body shivering.

"Master Luo?" Xu Xin also noticed Luo Hongyuan's strangeness, and asked tentatively.

Luo Hongyuan came back to his senses, put down the wine glass, and said anxiously: "Did Zhang Li say anything?"

"No." Xu Xin said, "That kid's mouth is still quite stiff, and he didn't confess even after beating up shit and urine."

Luo Hongyuan felt relieved, and asked again: "Where is he imprisoned now?"

Xu Xin: "It's locked in the prison of the prefect's mansion."

Luo Hongyuan's eyes flickered for a moment, then he suddenly waved to Xu Xin, and he whispered something in Xu Xin's ear.

"This..." Xu Xin showed hesitation, "The matter is not difficult, but how can I explain it to Xie Yunlan later..."

"Do you want to explain to him or to me? Don't forget how you got here as a prefect!" Luo Hongyuan's face darkened.

Xu Xin quickly apologized and said with a smile: "Of course I have to explain to you, Mr. Luo. Don't worry, Mr. Luo, I will take care of this matter later."

Luo Hongyuan snorted coldly, picked up the jug directly, and poured a big gulp of wine on the spout.

……

Not long after Xie Yunlan returned to the prefect's mansion, Wang Tai, who went out to inquire about news during the day, also came back. Wang Taihui reported: "Master Zhang, the biggest characteristic of Zhang Li is that he likes to gamble. He has lost all his family property long ago. He also owed a lot of debt to the gambling house, and was almost beaten to death by the debt collector."

This point is similar to what the guards said earlier, Xie Yunlan asked: "When did he curry favor with Luo Hongyuan?"

"I was just about to say," Wang Taidao said, "it was ten years ago, not long after the river god appeared, Zhang Li suddenly became the steward of Luo's gambling house, and his gambling debts were paid off. That kid Poverty jingle, where can I get the money back?"

"Master Hou, I also inquired about another thing. Luo Hongyuan knew Xu Liniang ten years ago, and he would go to support Xu Liniang every time she performed on stage. He has always wanted to occupy Xu Liniang, but unfortunately Xu Liniang refused to follow him. Luo Hongyuan found a good friend named Luo Yong'an. When Luo Hongyuan found out, he was furious and smashed Caiyunfang in a rage. Almost everyone in Cangzhou knew about this incident. He even threatened to take revenge on these two people, and then followed Then Zhang Li saw the God of the River appear." Wang Tai speculated, "Master Hou, in my opinion, Zhang Li and Luo Hongyuan must have reached some kind of secret deal, otherwise why are these two people not too late? Why did they hook up at that time? Maybe Luo Hongyuan is the mastermind behind the river god's apparition!"

Wang Tai felt that he had done a good job this time, and the truth was almost obvious, but Xie Yunlan was silent for a while, and said after a while: "Where did Luo Yong'an go after that, did you find out?"

"Luo Yong'an?" Wang Tai didn't pay much attention to this person. He recalled and said, "It seems that he ran away. He ran all night before Xu Liniang was sent to the river god. This Xu Liniang is really unlucky. First, she was spotted by a bully like Luo Hongyuan. , the person I like is such a heartless and ungrateful poor scholar."

It seems that what the dancers said is true, Luo Yong'an is ungrateful and ungrateful, and it is widely known that he ran back to his hometown.Xie Yunlan thought for a moment, and said: "You make another trip and go to Yangzhuang, Luo Yong'an's hometown. If he is there, bring him to Cangzhou City. If he is not, you can also find out his whereabouts."

Yangzhuang is not too far from Cangzhou, one day is enough to go back and forth.Wang Tai had good physical strength and didn't need to rest, so he immediately went to the backyard to lead the horse, ready to run to Yangzhuang.

"Do you think the person possessed by the demon is Luo Yong'an?" Shen Fan ate snacks and listened to stories all night, he could see that Xie Yunlan was very concerned about Luo Yong'an.

"According to what Yunxiu said, Luo Yong'an and Xu Liniang are in love with each other, and Luo Yong'an should be quite interested in Xu Liniang." Xie Yunlan unfolded the painting again. He only saw half of it before, but now after unfolding it, he can see the whole picture. You can see many details in the painting, such as the dark lines on Xu Liniang's clothes and the butterfly hairpin on her hair, each of which is inconspicuous at first glance, but in the end they all perfectly blend into the painting, making Xu Liniang's appearance stand out more beautiful.

This painting is definitely not something that can be drawn casually, the painter must have put a lot of thought into it, but is willing to put so much thought into painting a picture for Xu Liniang, is Luo Yong'an really a ruthless person that everyone thinks is ungrateful?

Xie Yunlan said: "If he is not, then based on his deep affection for Xu Liniang, it is very likely that he was the one who created the snake. He wants to avenge Xu Liniang."

Shen Fan thought for a while and said, "Then why didn't he go directly to Luo Hongyuan?"

Although that snake was not as good as Yuan Shuo in Beijing, Luo Hongyuan was just a mortal, if someone possessed by a demon wanted to kill him, it would be as easy as flipping the palm of his hand.

"As you said earlier, he probably wants to strengthen himself with resentment. At the same time, the form of the river god's sacrifice itself is also a form of revenge." Xie Yunlan analyzed, "Luo Hongyuan fabricated the river god's apparition under the guise of Zhang Li's mouth, so that The people who were fooled forced Xu Liniang to sacrifice to the God of the River. Luo Yongan retaliated, pretending to be the God of the River, and asked the people of Hekou Village to offer him a bridegroom. When they arrived in Cangzhou City, the news reached Luo Hongyuan's ears. Luo Hongyuan was guilty of being a thief. After he knew about this, he would definitely be in a state of anxiety and restlessness. Moreover, if I expected it to be correct, this matter would intensify. The people tied up bamboo rafts and offered sacrifices to the river god."

"We disrupted his plan." Shen Fan said.

"Yes, that's why he attacked He Zhu to create panic." Xie Yunlan said, "If we lose underwater, he can continue to carry out the original plan, and the people of Cangzhou will believe in the river god, Luo Hongyuan will not escape death .”

It's a pity that he underestimated Shen Fan, only one of the eleven transformed snakes died, and the escaped transformed snake was also seriously injured.

Xie Yunlan asked: "How's the injury of the transformed snake? Does it still have the ability to harm people?"

"Soul Fire has burned most of the resentment that made up its body, and its strength will be greatly reduced." Shen Fan said, "But as long as there is enough resentment, it can return to its original state and become even stronger."

"People can no longer drown in the Cangjiang River." Xie Yunlan said, if this snake grows to the level of Yuan Shuo, Shen Fan's soul fire will be difficult to deal with. There is no Dragon Temple in Cangzhou, and there is no one hundred and eight dragons. Candlelight.

Simply, he had asked Xu Xin to arrange for people to watch the banks of the Cangjiang River last night, and warned the people not to go into the water in the near future. He thought that the snake would not catch the opportunity to harm others, and it must be very afraid of Shen Fan's soul fire right now, so it would not dare to take it lightly. Show up again.

It's just that if the snakes don't show their faces, they won't be able to catch each other. The main stream of the Cangjiang River is too wide, and there are so many tributaries, such as Cangzhou City, which is so complicated that there are countless waterways. The hiding place of the transformed snake is hard to find by manpower.

Still have to find a way from the person possessed by the demon.Xie Yunlan thought.

Whether this possessed person is Luo Yong'an, and whether their conjecture about the river god ten years ago is true, still needs more evidence.

Xie Yunlan waited for Wang Tai's news, but before Wang Tai came back, he heard another murder case early the next morning.

"Master Xie, someone saw a snake on the Cangjiang River!" the guard reported, "The snake capsized a fishing boat and dragged a man into the water to drown, it seems to be Zhang Li!"