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Starting in the afternoon, Huang Ruxing went to deal with his files as usual.

The bear kid Ah Xiang was reduced in number because of lunch, and he seemed very depressed. The specific manifestation was that he couldn't even get up to play with me. He just caught me touching a few feathers on the tip of his wings, and let go when he was pecked. Run away lazily.

The one big and one small were not there, so, as a bird, I flew out of the house and squatted on the top of the tree in the corner of the yard.

The weather is fine today, the sun is shining, and after three consecutive days of cloudiness, I can’t help but stay in the yard when I see the sun come out, blowing the wind to dry my feathers or something, so as not to get moldy and bugs all over my fur, o( ╯□╰) o.

As a bird, it is obviously impractical to take a bath. Although Ah Xiang wanted to push me into the water a few times with great interest, he always ended up being resisted and escaped by me.

A wagtail whose feathers are soaked in water will look like a shedding chicken. I don’t want that brat Axiang to see such a detrimental thing, (╯﹏╰)b.

Uh~ Maybe it's because I'm getting old, I like Ah Xiang better than the flowery and jade-like Huangmei.

Although the child is a little bit of a bear and eats a lot, he is only eleven or twelve years old, which is a very good age for Auntie Wei's aesthetics, so... I like Ah Xiang better.

The existence of Huang Ruxing, who is obviously a man, can actually make women feel a lot of pressure... Let's forget it ~ There are advantages and disadvantages when there is a comparison, and in addition, it is good if there is no fish or shrimp.

……

I picked up the branch and squatted down safely, then I quietly started to stare through the gap between the branches and leaves.

Eat and drink enough every day, choose an angle to look at the window facing the canopy of the tree, and line up what the people in the two rooms are doing.

What can a bird do?

I really can't think of what else to do besides eat and sleep every day and fly again.

You can't pick up branches to build a nest, can you?

……

Maybe this tree is in a good location. When the windows of the two houses side by side in the backyard are opened, it is clear at a glance from the perspective of the treetop where I squatted.

Huang Ruxing was sitting behind the desk, holding a brush in his hand, writing vigorously.

Ah Xiang was next door, holding a book, his body vaguely exuded a pitiful aura like that of a discarded animal.

Probably because he was hungry... But I think it was for his own good that Huang Ruxing ordered Ah Xiang not to eat a bucket. The child didn't know what he ate outside yesterday, and he was not feeling well all night.

I wondered if Huang Ruxing wanted to let the brat clear his stomach?

Don't look at Mrs. Huang always looking like a glamorous beauty, in fact, he takes good care of Ah Xiang, feeding him food and covering him with quilts, he is even more of a mother than a mother.

The relationship between the big and the small is really good, and the days go by day after day... Maybe they look envious?So I recovered and was able to fly, and I didn't leave.

I... now that I am alone, I have nothing left.

Even if I get free, I can't think of where to go.

……

Master Huang Ruxing Huang is the parent officer of Ningbo County, commonly known as the magistrate of the county. The house I am staying in now is the backyard of the Ningbo County Government. The county magistrate has no female family members, only a bamboo horse who came with him from the capital, the bear boy Axiang.

The chores in the backyard are handled by a few helpers. If there is something in the front, the yamen servant will pass it on. Huang Ruxing handles the affairs every day, and the rest of the time is teaching Ah Xiang to read.

There is no legendary red/sleeve fragrance, and there is no nightly singing in the Qinlou Chu Pavilion. This time and space seems to be in a peaceful and prosperous age, so there are not too many affairs.

Of course, gossip also exists~

As a bird, I can often hear some gossips that are not suitable for the ears of the county magistrate, because most of them are rumored to be Master Huang.

People in the Ningbo County Government worship Mr. Huang very much, and their enthusiasm is comparable to that of modern fans chasing stars, but their county magistrate has always been strict and unsmiling, so ah~ the admiration and longing can only be in the heart.

And so, everything about idols was circulated in private, and I listened to it several times by the way.

Huang Ruxing's real name is Huang Can, and his character is Ru Xing.

A man from the capital city, aged [-], unmarried, with a bamboo horse, Axiang, and a wagtail that came uninvited.

At the age of 15, the beautiful and flowery Mr. Huang won the first prize. During the palace examination, the current emperor gave him the word "like a star", which is said to praise his eyes that are as bright as stars.

The 15-year-old number one scholar... I remember that the ancient scientific examination was held every three years, and all the students from all over the world gathered in the capital.

As the saying goes, it is also said that the ten-year cold window was named on the gold list, and Huang Ruxing won the first place at the age of 15. In addition to luck, his own strength is also evident.

However, Zhuangyuan Lang served as the county magistrate in the small Ningbo County. The reason seems to be...um~ the people in the county government don't know the reason, but I think it is probably Master Huang who...offended the powerful in the capital?

……

But that reason is just a thought, after all, it has nothing to do with me; compared to the ups and downs of Mr. Huang's official career, I care more about the bear boy Axiang.

At this very moment, Axiang's little friend... staring at a pair of bean eyes, I hate to stare at him, and I don't know when he has already slept soundly.

After thinking about it, he flapped his wings silently, flew out of the hidden branch, carefully bypassed Huang Ruxing's line of sight, and passed through the window of Ah Xiang's room from another angle.

A pair of paws stopped on the edge of the desk, and I tilted my head to look at the little friend lying on the desk.

Perhaps the backyard of the county government office was too quiet, so I did my best to pay attention, and he was already asleep, (⊙o⊙).

At this time, the afternoon sun was just right, and the little friend was pressing his cheek on the desk, pouting his mouth, and holding a volume of book in his hand, which probably was the homework given to him by Huang Ruxing.

After observing for a while, I couldn't help jumping forward a few steps, and leaned closer to look at the open book in Ah Xiang's hand.

For me, the vertical traditional characters are difficult to read, but the opportunity is rare. I would like to revisit the charm of the square characters. How can such a good opportunity come here? If someone knows A bird can read a book, I don’t think I’ll have to wait until tomorrow, I’ll have to be disembowelled, plucked and skewered, right?

uh-uh-uh-

The book in Ah Xiang's hand...is not the Analects of Confucius. After spending a long time, I finally recognized the few lines written...what?

This awkward traditional character without punctuation, plus punctuation is: "In the 26th year of Qin Shihuang, there was an adult who was five feet long and six feet long. All 12 people were seen in Lintao, and they were the twelve golden men. '

According to my modern way of reading, understand the summarized content: 'Qin Shihuang cast twelve golden men'?

This book is Searching Gods, right?Strange novels?

Turning my head back to the original angle, I stared at a pair of bean eyes, only to find it inexplicable, this kid Ah Xiang actually read strange novels?Haven't scholars always advertised that 'the son does not talk, the strange power and the gods'?

If you don’t read the Analects of Confucius and read idle books, you will be as brilliant as a star when you come here. I’m afraid Ah Xiang’s dinner will be deducted~ Thinking of this, I immediately looked at the sleeping bear child with some sympathy, but I wanted to go home. I think, when the time comes when Huang Ruxing turns mad, I will definitely sit on the sidelines~...

Afterwards, I spent some time reading the two pages of the book that the bear boy was holding in his hand, and then I had nothing to do, so I decided to fly back to the treetops in a corner of the yard and continue to watch.

As a result, before I could move, there was a sound of hurried footsteps approaching from far away.

The visitor moved nimbly, and there was a hint of anxiety in the sound of his footsteps.

Not long after, there was a knock on the door of the next room.

"Your Excellency." It was the voice of the county yamen servant in front. After getting permission to enter, the person who came came said again, "Someone is beating a drum."

Hearing this, I stopped thinking about flying out, poked my neck out and looked through the gap in the window lattice, and saw the people in the next room coming out quickly, the yamen servant and Huang Ruxing who came to report the letter came forward together After a while hurriedly left.

After waiting for a while, I followed suit.

Over the past few months, I have come to understand that the old costume dramas shown on TV in the past, the county magistrate's promotion to ask questions is actually not the same, usually in the side hall to ask the ins and outs first.

Ningbo County is not big or small, and ordinary people usually have nothing to do, let alone come to complain. Just now, I heard the voice of the neighbor talking, and I didn't feel very good.

It's also good to understand the difference between ancient cases and modern ones.

……

According to the old rules, I picked up the open window and quietly flew to the beam to squat. When I arrived, the side hall had just started.

A couple with very simple temperaments knelt on the ground. They looked middle-aged and their clothes were a little old. They lowered their heads and couldn't see their expressions clearly, but there was an obvious sense of sadness all over their bodies.

Huang Ruxing sat in her seat and didn't speak, probably waiting for the couple to ease their emotions.

After a while, the man lowered his head and kowtowed again, then began to narrate.

When the husband of the couple was talking, his wife was sobbing softly, and when the incident was critical, the crying gradually turned into a continuous low howl.

But it's no wonder that parents will be heartbroken when any child encounters that kind of thing.

Here's the thing:

The couple's husband, surnamed Li, is from a village on the outskirts of Ningbo County. A few years ago, because of poor life, they couldn't afford to support too many children, so they sent the youngest son to a rich family named Zhou in the city. work.

The son of Mr. Zhou's family passed the examination as a scholar, and the son of the Li family worked as a book boy next to the scholar.

Yesterday Zhou Xiucai went out to play, but he never came back. His family members searched for it all night, but they only found the book boy in a mountain depression on the outskirts of the county, but Zhou Xiucai was nowhere to be found.

Li's couple heard the news and went to visit, but they didn't want the child to wake up and go crazy.

Now that the Zhou family is busy looking for the missing person, Master Zhou invited the Li family couple to the county government office for help.

……

This is a disappearance case. After hearing about it, Huang Ruxing let the couple go down first. When they left, the yamen servant waiting in the side hall stepped forward and said in a low voice, "My lord, it is the valley where the Li family's child was found. Near Meishan Wild Temple."

Hearing this, Huang Ruxing, who was about to get up, sat back down again, "Meishan Wild Temple?"

"Yes." As if remembering something, the yamen servant's expression became uneasy, "Ten years ago, people often disappeared near the Meishan Wild Temple, and it was a famous murderous place, but it happened one year, and it never happened again. Disappearance."

"If yesterday's missing person..."

The yamen servant didn't say anything further, but his meaning was obvious. If Zhou Xiucai went to the Meishan Wild Temple during his leisure time, the rumors about the ominous place ten years ago might start all over again, right?

After a moment of silence, Huang Ruxing said, "What happened back then?"

"It is said that someone from a certain village on the outskirts of the county got lost at night and happened to break into the wild temple, and saw a wandering monk trying to subdue spirits."

"After daybreak, the man went to the city to spread the word. At that time, no one believed it. It was only after it was confirmed that no one was missing that I gradually realized that the man was not lying."

The yamen servant's answer made my head full of black lines, and Huang Ruxing must have found it inconceivable, so he said in a cold voice, "It's just a one-sided statement from a lost person, what can it explain?"

After a pause, Xu felt that he was too anxious to make a judgment, and Huang Ruxing continued, "Do you know where he lived?"

"This—" the yamen servant scratched his head and replied in embarrassment, "No one paid attention at that time."

……

Regarding Zhou Xiucai's disappearance, whether it was related to the Meishan Wild Temple ten years ago, Huang Ruxing did not assert for a while, but only ordered the yamen servant to do the most urgent things first.

Send someone to Zhou's house to help find the missing person.

In addition, if the situation permits, bring back the children of the Li family.

In the end, I assigned people to inquire about the unknown person who came to the city a few years ago to promote the wandering monk.

A few things were arranged, and soon, the originally leisurely afternoon became busy.

……

In the evening, the servants who went out to run around heard back one after another. Zhou Xiucai's whereabouts were still unknown, and the unknown person was nowhere to be found, but it was the Li family child who was brought back to the county government.

That child was really...something was wrong, the first time he was brought into the side hall, he hid behind the chair, even his parents stepped forward to comfort him, they just buried their heads and remained motionless.

No talking, no crying, no laughing... The eyes that stared at people at the beginning were also particularly dull.

Huang Ruxing invited the doctor to make a diagnosis, and gave a slightly pessimistic conclusion that the child was greatly frightened, and he didn't know if it would get better after a period of time. It is best not to stimulate him at present.

Moreover, the child was injured, with countless cuts on his head, face, hands, and feet. Although they were all non-life-threatening skin injuries, the back of his head was also hit.

The couple hugged their child and wept silently. Huang Ruxing who was waiting at the side watched quietly for a while, then sighed again, and asked someone to take them down to rest.

……

As the sky gradually darkened, candles were lit in the side hall.

The yamen servants turned back to report and went out again, together with the Zhou family's own family members, they continued to run around looking for the missing person. Although it was already dark at this time, the house was very deserted.

Huang Ruxing sat in the very center, thinking of something alone.

As he remained silent for longer, the atmosphere became more and more oppressive, and I, squatting on the beam, sighed in my heart.

The reason for Huang Ruxing's heavy face is very simple.

Because the longer the missing time, the less likely it is to survive.

The child of the Li family was frightened and unresponsive to the outside world to the extreme. If the situation did not improve, then the child's intelligence...

Counting Zhou Xiucai, there were two victims in a disappearance case.

And still clueless.

……

After a long, long time, Huang Ruxing slowly got up and walked out of the hall, and when he stepped over the threshold, he suddenly turned his head, raised his eyes a little, and met me who was caught off guard and had no time to avoid it.

After a while, he pursed his lips, lowered his eyelashes again, turned around and left without saying a word.

For some reason, I always feel that there is something deep in his eyes.

Before leaving, Huang Ruxing seemed to want to say something, but he changed his mind in the end, but at this time there was only me squatting on the beam in the side hall, in the shape of a bird.

Huang Ruxing wants to talk to me?

He...wouldn't be...

Does Huang Ruxing know that I am actually more than just a wagtail?

If he knew, then what did he want me to do just now?