Dali Temple Conspiracy Records

Chapter 1 Wedge snake wrapped around the neck

The night was deep, pitch black as ink.On a moonless night, darkness enveloped the city of Chang'an, only the startled jackdaws wailing in the air.

Suddenly, an exclamation came from a private house.

"Oh... ah, kill, kill! Help!"

----

"Lieutenant Xu County is not good!"

Yamen servant Zhang San yelled at the door, and Wannian county captain Xu Chaozong raised his head calmly.

"I've said it many times, change the order, I'm fine."

"It's not good, Captain Xu!"

"what happened again?"

"Xuanpingfang, someone has come to report the crime again!"

"Just the thing about choking your neck in the middle of the night?"

"Yes."

"There are two more reports, and now everyone is in a panic!"

Over the past ten days, people in Xuanpingfang have reported one after another, and they were strangled while sleeping in the middle of the night, but the suspect has never been seen.After Wannian County sent arresters to investigate, it was found that the doors and windows of the home of the reporter were closed well, and there was no theft in the home, and there was no entry such as footprints.

At the same time, no abnormalities were found during the night watch.The current fangshi system has long been relaxed, and even few fangshi still maintain complete walls, but they still follow the usual practice and have a night watch system.According to reports from Marquis Wu, Fangzheng, and the guards, everything in Tianfang is normal these days, and no suspicious persons were seen during the night patrol.

"Understood. You and Xiao Wu go to appease you."

"Yes."

After Zhang San left, Xu Chaozong thought about it, compiled several cases into a book, and asked the county magistrate to send someone to Dali Temple.He had always heard that Dali Temple had a department that specialized in dealing with conspiracies, and the matter of Xuanpingfang was also quite strange, so he should report it first according to the regulations.

Xu Chaozong originally thought that the conspiracy department of Dali Temple was just a placard to show his position, but he did not expect that he actually received an inquiry letter from Dali Temple a day later.The official document asked him if there had been any criminal cases or missing persons in Xuanpingfang recently, and asked him to talk about the specific circumstances of the choking incident.Xu Chaozong wrote down what he knew one by one, and after sealing the reply letter, he remembered to check the name of this mysterious department.

Hmm, Dali Temple... Unspecified Division?

-

Just after Shen Zheng passed, a tall and thin young man took a list and knocked on the people involved in the Xuanpingfang choking incident one by one, asking about the situation.

"Oh, didn't you ask it before? Why are you asking again! I haven't caught anyone after asking for a long time, and I only have those few words when I ask again. Bang!"

"I'm sorry to arrest you, but our master hasn't come back yet, so I don't know the details."

"The young man is so diligent, and the value has not been released yet. Ah? What are you talking about, Goose Book? What kind of neck? Goose neck? Oh, old man, my ears are not very good, please speak louder! "

After several setbacks, the young man finally asked an aunt who could communicate smoothly.

"My lord, you have to check it carefully. Now at night, I feel panicked, and I can't sleep well."

"Well, ma'am, think about it carefully, and be more specific, maybe I can find a clue."

"There's nothing to talk about! I slept until midnight, and suddenly I felt my neck tightened and I couldn't breathe well, so I woke up. I didn't see anyone when I woke up, and there was nothing on my neck, but it still hurt!"

"Are there any marks on the neck?"

"Yes, yes! There was a circle of red marks, but it disappeared by the next morning."

"A circle of red marks, not fingerprints? You mean, more like a rope?"

"You say so, yes. But...it doesn't look like it."

"how?"

"The rope is so rough, the one that strangles the neck is much smoother, and it's a little watery, like... like a snake! Oh, there can't be snakes, right?!"

"No, there is no trace of snakes crawling in your house. Has anyone disappeared in the workshop recently?"

"No, everyone is fine."

"Is anyone leaving home?"

"I don't know, go ask Fangzheng."

When the young man found Fangzheng Huquan, he was still sleeping soundly, because he was kept on duty all night because of the neck-strangling incident, and he had been catching up on sleep during the day for the past few days.

Hu Quan looked at the person who came, rubbed his eyes, and was still a little confused.However, he was quite vigilant, and when he heard that Li Er claimed to be a Wannian County arrester, he immediately lifted his spirits, "Then why haven't I seen you?"

Li Er didn't argue, and showed his badge.

"Ah, it's the master of Dali Temple! The villain has poor eyesight, the villain has seen—"

"Don't make a fuss. Think about it carefully, has there been any changes in the personnel in the workshop recently? Those who disappeared, those who left home, and those who haven't heard from them for a long time."

"Some people have left in the workshop, but my lord knows, it's approaching the end of the new year, and many people have returned to their hometowns."

"I didn't leave a message, but the person is not there?"

"Well... think about it, little man... Hey, there really is! In Anfangli, there is a widow named Tian, ​​we all call Axiang, she is from Chang'an, and she has never seen Nian leave in previous years. My lord Said, it seems that I haven't seen her for a while."

"You take me to see."

Hu Quan called out Mrs. Xu, who was familiar with Tian Shi, and followed Li Er to Tian's home.The furnishing utensils in the house are neatly arranged, and the mattresses are also very tidy. There should be no fighting, theft or the like.After counting by Aunt Xu, some of Tian's usual clothes were missing. Considering the situation at home, she should pack up and leave by herself.But the neighbors in the neighborhood didn't notice when she left.

"In the past few months, has she mentioned that she is going to travel far away, or talked about something? Has there been any strange behavior? Anyone new?" Li Erwen asked gently.

Hu Quan called a few more neighbors, a group of people thought hard, and finally someone said: "I have to say something special, that is, Ah Xiang has been complaining of headaches for the past few months, and then a traveling doctor cured her. Sometimes I would chat with that barefoot doctor."

"Then where is the traveling doctor now?"

"Leave early? I haven't seen you for a long time."

"Oh, you mean Mr. Song! His little black balls are useless to me, A Xiangfei agreed."

"What meatballs, that's called Yangshen Pill."

Once everyone was reminded, they all remembered this person and talked about it in a hurry.Li Er had no choice but to raise his voice, "I will invite someone to ask you later, and give portraits of Ah Xiang and Song Langzhong."

Li Er went back and made some arrangements. After nightfall, he came to Xuanpingfang again, saying that he would be on duty with Hu Quan.Hu Quan was a little panicked. Although he didn't know what position the young man held in Dali Temple, he was an official anyway.However, Li Er was not overbearing, and his words were concise but his attitude was very gentle, so Hu Quan gradually felt relieved.

By the time of Chouchu, Hu Quan had already been dozing off again and again, and his hair was flowing all over his front, and after a few nods of his head, he was about to knock on the table.Li Er on the roof held the horizontal knife in his arms, still full of energy, watching the sleeping Xuanpingfang under the silent night.

Suddenly, there was a scream somewhere in the night.Li Er's eyes were fixed, and he immediately rushed towards the source of the sound.

Boom!
"Ouch!"

Hu Quan was startled, and finally knocked his head on the table.When he found Butcher Zhang's house following the movement, the Zhangs and his wife were still huddled at the door in panic, while the official from Dali Temple was jumping and jumping between the streets and houses, as if he was dodging something.Hu Quan told Butcher Zhang to light the lantern quickly, and only then did the three of them see that there was something rampaging in all directions, which looked like a snake and a piece of rope.The stick attacked Li Er several times, trying to wrap it around his neck, but it seemed a little afraid of him.

"Captain Li, be careful!"

Amid the screams, the strip wrapped around Li Er's upper body, tightening it tighter and tighter.But suddenly, a golden light flashed around his waist, forcing the monster to let go.Li Er shrank calmly, slid out of the noose like a loach, and after deftly avoiding the entanglement, he took the opportunity to send and rewind the horizontal knife, and precisely pressed the strip under the knife.

The neighbors who were woken up all opened their doors to look, and everyone surrounded by the firelight took a look, they were all taken aback for a moment, and then they all cried out in surprise.

"this is not--"

"Stalk!"

"It's still blistered and wet."

"Oh, it's this strangulation? No wonder I said it feels weird."

It turned out that several straws were twisted together like ropes, and the straws were soaked in water and softened, so they were much more flexible.

Li Erdao: "Okay, this is the one who made trouble at night, now everyone can sleep in peace."

"Wow, Catcher Li is really a god!"

"Then does this have something to do with Axiang?"

"I'll send for her."

-

Two days later, at Jiuxiang River in the western suburbs of Chang'an.

The farmers gathered on the ridge of the field, watching the officials of Wannian County carry out a female corpse from the pit, and there was a lot of discussion.

"My lord," Xu Chaozong respectfully reported to the young people on the side, "according to your instructions, we tracked down the doctor named Song all the way, and finally found this Xianlin village. The villagers reported that this group of people came here for about three months. I rented an empty house just outside the village. The kitchen was smoky all day, cooking things.”

"Caught it?"

"The principal culprit, Song Yi, has already confessed. A few of them used folk remedies to make a pill for nourishing the spirit, boasting that it can cure all diseases, and sold it everywhere. After Song Yi got acquainted with Tian's by taking advantage of the cure, he lied to her that the prescription could make money. Big money, let her come to the small workshop to help. Tian was put under house arrest after she came, and Song Yi and others ignored her wishes and committed misdeeds several times. Tian couldn't bear the humiliation, and couldn't escape, so he committed suicide."

"Did she hang herself with a wet straw?"

Xu Chaozong was very surprised: "Yes, because Song Yi and others usually watch Tian's closely and don't let her touch any sharp objects, so she came up with such a way to twist wet straw into strips and tie them to the window sill. Hanged himself. But how did your lord know about it?"

"The straw rope that caused troubles in Xuanpingfang was caused by her obsession. The responsibility of closing the case and appeasing the public is left to you."

"Yes. I wonder if my lord can tell me your identity, your lord? This case is so weird, without your help, we would never have thought of Tian's murder. But my lord still doesn't know your name."

"Li Guan, Dali Sizhi."

"Ah, it's Li Sizhi! I'm being rude."

Xu Chaozong crossed his hands again to salute, Li Quan nodded, turned and left.

----

In the middle of the night, the Dali Temple has not been detailed.

Under the flickering candlelight, the young man opened a thick book, turned to a blank page, thought for a moment, and wrote:
A snake wrapped around its neck.In the ninth year of Wenguang, several families in Xuanpingfang reported to Wannian County, and they were strangled repeatedly when they were asleep at night...

After a long time, he put down his pen, stroked the jade pendant around his waist, closed his eyes and fell into deep thought.

It's been almost 20 years... 20 years have passed since then, and he has solved a lot of strange cases. When will he be able to find clues, unravel the dusty fog, and find out the truth of that weird thing?
(End of this chapter)