The master said not to judge people by their appearance

On the way back to the Prefect's Mansion in the carriage, Xie Yunlan lifted the curtain of the carriage, and glanced back at the lights of Caiyunfang, which seemed a little hazy in the rain.

He asked Shen Fan: "Are you sure the demon is not on her?"

"En." Shen Fan nodded.

There is no demon energy in Yunxiu, nor is there any resentment. Compared with Xie Yunlan, the soul fire is a little weaker, probably because the woman is weak and worried, but it is also within the normal range.

Xie Yunlan frowned, and read the names that Yunxiu wrote to him again. He actually felt that the possibility of the demons among these people was not high, but to be on the safe side, he planned to ask Wang Tai and the others to investigate after returning. Check it out.

Shen Fan saw his thoughts and asked, "Do you doubt that Luo Yong'an is not dead?"

Before coming, Xie Yunlan had told Shen Fan to find out if the demon was on Yun Xiu, but after the search was over, before they left, Xie Yunlan asked Shen Fan abruptly, but he didn't inform Shen Fan in advance Pass.

"One thing." Xie Yunlan said, "I think Yun Xiu's attitude is a bit wrong."

In fact, in the two conversations with them, there was nothing major wrong with Yunxiu's performance, but some small things made Xie Yunlan feel a little strange.

For example, what she said about Luo Yong'an's whereabouts, the widely circulated statement in Cangzhou City was clearly fabricated by Luo Hongyuan, Luo Yong'an was worried about being retaliated, so he fled back to his hometown overnight, and his image in Cangzhou became a heartless and heartless person. She shouldn't have heard this saying before, but she didn't mention it at all in her speech with Xie Yunlan that time, and even in her description, Luo Yong'an was clearly an extremely affectionate and dedicated person.

After the seeds of doubt were planted, when Xie Yunlan looked at Yunxiu again, she felt that something was wrong again. For example, the pause before Yunxiu just answered was because she didn't react for a while and couldn't digest so much information, or did she need to sort it out? Rhetoric, don't let yourself accidentally say what you shouldn't know?

These are currently only Xie Yunlan's unilateral suspicions. The answer may be the former. Yunxiu didn't say where Luo Yong'an is going or it may be that she knows Luo Yong'an's character, so she doesn't believe that Luo Yong'an fled back to his hometown.

Even if he asked directly about the matter, Yunxiu would probably be able to find a similar excuse to explain it, so he didn't ask at all, but when he was about to leave and Yunxiu was relaxed, he suddenly asked such an inductive question , cheat the other party.

It's a pity that it didn't work out. Although Yunxiu is a woman, she has lived in a dusty place for so many years and received mixed people. She has developed a habit of being cautious in her words and deeds.

"If Luo Yong'an didn't die, where would he hide?" Xie Yunlan sorted out his thoughts.

"The snake is in the Cangjiang River, it is the incarnation of the demon, and it will not be too far away from the person possessed by the demon." Shen Fan said. Y. U. X. I.

"That means he is probably in Cangzhou City?" Xie Yunlan asked.

"En." Shen Fan nodded, no matter who the demon possessed was, he should be hiding in Cangzhou City.

"The last time you found out the inner demon was through Yuan Shuo's shadow illuminated by the fire." Xie Yunlan recalled his experience in Beijing, and said, "If you gather the whole city, can you use the soul fire to directly illuminate each other? ?”

"No." Shen Fan explained, "The main body of the demon was on Yuan Shuo's body at that time, so the soul fire could directly cast its shadow. Now the snake is the embodiment of the power of the demon, remaining on the body of the possessed person The power is so small that I have to see it myself to tell."

Just like he touched Yunxiu's hand before, in fact, touching the chest can distinguish it more clearly, but Xie Yunlan didn't let him touch it. Fortunately, touching the hand can do it, but just using the firelight from a distance can't reveal the inner demon.

This road didn't work either, Xie Yunlan fell into deep thought.

While the two were talking, the carriage drove back to the prefect's mansion, Xie Yunlan got out of the carriage first, opened the umbrella and then lent Shen Fan his hand to help him down.

"How long will it rain?" Xie Yunlan said on the way back to the other courtyard, looking up at the rain that hadn't diminished in the slightest.

"It will keep falling." Shen Fan also raised his head, "Unless the snake stops actively, or we destroy the rain-calling formation."

Xie Yunlan: "A rain-calling formation?"

"Well." Shen Fan explained, "The current resentment of the snake is actually not enough to stir up the wind and rain. The rain keeps on because of the dragon power in the rain. People possessed by demons should get items that contain dragon power. And use this as the eye of the formation, combined with the resentment of the snake to bring about the wind and rain."

"Where is the formation set up? Are there any special conditions?" Xie Yunlan asked.

"No." Shen Fan shook his head, "The function of this formation is to combine two kinds of power. It only needs a small scale, and it is possible anywhere in the city."

This is as difficult to find as the hiding place of the snake, destroying the formation will not work, as for the snake to stop on its own initiative?Less likely.

When Hua Snake threatened Hekou Village earlier, he said that if he didn't send him a bridegroom, a flood would break the embankment and flood the entire city of Cangzhou.This threat is actually not a threat, this should be the ultimate goal of the snake.

Whether it's for revenge or to strengthen oneself, the rain will never stop.

Xie Yunlan gave the list written by Yunxiu to Wang Tai to investigate, and called another person to secretly watch Caiyunfang and pay attention to Yunxiu's movements, while he sat at the table and thought about the current countermeasures.

The rain was still falling, and the Cangzhou officers and soldiers searched for another day and night in the rain, but they still had no clues. Wang Tai, who went to investigate the list, got the news as Xie Yunlan expected, and it was useless.

In the evening, Xu Xin, who was sent by Xie Yunlan to inspect the river embankment, came back. He was soaked in the rain, and his loose clothes clung to his body, making his figure even more bloated.

He said before that he didn't pay attention to Hekou Village because he was busy patrolling the river embankment. In fact, he had never gone to the river embankment to see it. Now that he has really walked on the thousands of miles of river embankment, he was exhausted. Enough, he took a long time to recover after he came back, and he told Xie Yunlan: "Master Xie, I have inspected the embankment, there is no problem, and the water level is still far from the warning line."

"Send people to watch day and night, and prepare some sandbags to reinforce the embankment." Xie Yunlan thought.

Xu Xin didn't quite understand Xie Yunlan's overly serious attitude. He said, "The river embankment was only reinforced last year. Mr. Xie, it's not like Cangzhou has never had a bigger rain. This little rain is nothing, just another one." Ten days and a half months, the embankment can withstand it."

It’s not a big deal, although the current rain is fine and continuous, it’s not in the category of heavy rain, but it doesn’t stop day and night, and there is no progress in hunting down the snake. It can last for ten days and a half months. What if it lasts longer?

And who can guarantee that the snake will not continue to harm people during this period?The more grievances there are, the stronger its power will be, and the rain will increase accordingly. At that time, how long can this thousand-mile river embankment last?

Xie Yunlan had a premonition that their time was running out.

Another day and night passed, and this was the third day of rain. The officers and soldiers were running around on patrol in the rain, but there was still no progress. The only good news was that no one died in the Cangjiang River.

The first time Xu Xin arranged for people to tell the people not to go into the water in the near future, not many people took it to heart, but when the rumors that they turned into a snake and knocked over the boat and dragged people into the water came out, the river was suddenly empty, let alone When rowing into the water, the people of Cangzhou don't even dare to get close to the water, lest the monsters in the water suddenly come out and drag them down to drown.

Xie Yunlan stood under the eaves and looked at the accumulated water in the courtyard. It was not too much, just shallow puddles, but according to the news from the officers and soldiers, the accumulated water in some low places in Cangzhou City had already overflowed the ankles. Although it is possible to barely pass by using bluestone bricks as a pad, it is not a long-term solution after all.

Can't wait any longer.Xie Yunlan put his mind to one side, ready to take a gamble.

But before he could take any action, Xu Xin, who was supposed to be busy reinforcing the embankment outside the city, suddenly came back. He was accompanied by another person, Luo Zhantu, Luo Hongyuan's father who hurried back to Cangzhou after receiving the news.

"Treasurer Luo, I really did my best on this matter. Then Xie Yunlan didn't listen to persuasion at all, and rushed into Luo's house to take someone. I couldn't help it." Xu Xin complained.

Luo Zhantu had a gloomy face and didn't answer.

This is already the result of his restraint. When he received the news two days ago, he smashed the teacup in his hand angrily. Luo Hongyuan is his only son. Xie Yunlan was so ruthless that he broke into their Luo residence with a knife Kidnapping, the Luo family has never been bullied like this in all these years!

Fortunately, the return trip gave him time to calm down, so that he would not yell at Xu Xin when he saw Xu Xin, and managed to maintain his dignity.

But this dignity, when he arrived at the cell and saw his disheveled and barely recognized son, he couldn't maintain it any longer.

Luo Zhantu tremblingly said: "Yuan, Yuaner..."

Luo Hongyuan, who was sleeping on the straw, raised his head when he heard the sound, and when he saw Luo Zhantu's face, his eyes turned red immediately.

"Father!" He cried as he clawed at the bars of the cell door, "You've come, my son has suffered a lot these days!"

Luo Zhantu said angrily: "What did they do to you?!"

Luo Hongyuan rolled up his sleeves and showed Luo Zhantu the wounds on his body. Although he took all the moves within a few strokes, he had never suffered such flesh and blood since he was a child. The bruises underneath are shocking to look at.

"How dare you torture him?!" Luo Zhantu looked at Xu Xin angrily.

Xu Xin hurriedly said: "This is all Xie Yunlan's idea! The torture and extortion of confessions is all done by Xie Yunlan! They are all people he brought from Beijing, I really can't stop them!"

Luo Hongyuan also said: "Yes, it's all thanks to Xie Yunlan! Dad, you must be the master for me!"

"Well, Xie Yunlan!" Luo Zhantu shook his sleeves angrily, "He dared to break into a house and take people without proof. Is there any law in this world? I will tell His Majesty about this. Let Your Majesty come down to comment!"

"Father, you must not let him go!" Luo Hongyuan yelled, "You take me out first, I don't want to stay in this place for a day!"

"Release him soon!" Luo Zhantu shouted.

"Let's let it go now!" Xu Xin called the jailer beside him and shouted, "Open the cell door!"

The jailer took out the key and was about to unlock the door when he heard another yell from the direction of the prison gate.

"Who dares!"

This drink was so imposing that everyone was startled, they all turned their heads to look at the door, and saw a man with a handsome figure and a frightening coldness between his brows leading a group of guards with swords walking towards them .

Before Xie Yunlan arrived, Luo Zhantu, who was already overwhelmed by the fierce aura, unconsciously took a step back. He immediately came to his senses, and hurriedly stood back to his original position, and said in the same cold voice, "This must be Mr. Xie. Dare to ask Mr. Xie, what crime did my son commit and why should he be imprisoned here!"

"What crime did you commit?" Xie Yunlan gave Luo Hongyuan a playful look, and said with a smile, "Master Luo might as well ask your son himself."

Luo Zhantu turned his head to look at Luo Hongyuan.

Luo Hongyuan shouted: "That's because he was beaten into a trick, Dad, don't trust him!"

"Shopkeeper Luo, that's the case..." Xu Xin briefly talked about the case of Xu Liniang and Luo Yong'an that Xie Yunlan interrogated before.

After hearing this, Luo Zhantu was so angry that he wanted to pick up a stick and slap his stupid son a few times without asking. Based on what he knew about his son, there was a high probability that this matter was true.Ten years ago, Luo Hongyuan had been thinking about Xu Liniang, and when he learned that she and Luo Yong'an were getting along, he was so angry that he smashed Caiyunfang. For this reason, Luo Zhantu punished him and grounded him at home. Wait for the asshole.

However, it was his own son after all. He gave Luo Hongyuan a look of resentment, then turned to Xie Yunlan and said, "Master Xie, Yuan'er is timid. Maybe he did it because he was afraid. This confession is not credible. Thank you." Do you have any other evidence, my lord?"

This is really not true. Ten years have passed, and the physical evidence has been almost destroyed, but...

Xie Yunlan smiled: "If he recruited randomly, he must have nothing to do with Xu Liniang's death ten years ago. The snake in the water came here to seek revenge and would not attack him. Dare Mr. Luo go?" How about a walk on the lake?"

What snake?Luo Zhantu was stunned for a moment, he hadn't heard of this matter yet.

Luo Hongyuan turned pale and exclaimed, "I won't go!"

After Xu Xin explained the matter of turning into a snake again, Luo Zhantu's expression turned ugly. His incompetent son was just killing people, but he even provoked such monsters. What should we do?

Seeing his expression, Luo Hongyuan was worried that his own father would not care about him, so he said in a panic: "Father, you can't ignore me! I'm going to die, and our family will never be seen again!"

"Shut up!" Luo Zhantu couldn't help it, he reached into the cell door and slapped Luo Hongyuan across the face.

After the clear applause, Luo Zhantu said again: "Master Xie, I have no way to teach my son, please forgive me, but this case is full of doubts, in my opinion, it is best to escort him to Beijing, and let His Majesty decide."

When he arrived in the capital, Xie Yunlan could no longer be so rampant. Mrs. Luo would never ignore her nephew. Yuan Yi would also help her at her mother's request. He was hiding in the Cangjiang River, staring at him, and might come to seek revenge at any time, and sending Luo Hongyuan to the capital was also for refuge.

This is a good abacus.Xie Yunlan looked at Luo Zhantu for a while with a half-smile, then nodded, "Yes."

Everyone around was stunned for a moment, they obviously didn't expect Xie Yunlan to be so easy to talk, so they let go.However, they heard a sentence immediately after.

"It's fine to go to the capital, but before he goes, he has to take a boat and cruise the Yanshui River for a day."

What does a cruise do?Before Luo Hongyuan could react, Luo Zhantu's expression changed drastically, and he exclaimed, "You want to use Yuan'er as bait!"

"Not bad." Xie Yunlan admitted generously.

"No!" Luo Zhantu was decisive, the monsters in the water were dangerous and unpredictable, he would never risk his son!

"If you can't do it, you have to do it!" Xie Yunlan was more determined than him. The rain kept falling, and he couldn't wait any longer. He wanted to lure the snake to appear on its own initiative, and Luo Hongyuan was the best bait.

"Father, save me!" Luo Hongyuan said in horror.

"Master Xu!" Luo Zhantu wanted to find foreign aid.

"Master Xie, I'm afraid it's inappropriate to do this..." Xu Xin was about to speak.

Xie Yunlan directly showed a gold medal, and shouted: "This is the emperor's imperial order. Seeing it is like seeing a king. I am ordered by your majesty to patrol the world on behalf of the emperor. I have the right to do things cheaply. Now, to protect the safety of the people in Cangzhou, I want Luo Hongyuan to catch the snake." As bait to lure the enemy, do you want to resist the decree!"

As soon as the golden medal arrow was shot, Xu Xin didn't dare to make a sound, and even knelt down on the ground directly, and made a face-to-face salute.

"You, you..." Luo Zhantu was so angry that his voice trembled, "I'm going to Beijing to file a complaint, you are taking human life like a fool!"

"Go ahead and sue!" Xie Yunlan sneered, he flung his sleeves and turned to leave.