Water Margin: Lu Bu sits on Mount Liang

Chapter 305 Outsiders
The sun's shadow slanted to the west, and the remaining red stained the clouds, slowly moving to one side in the evening wind.The tired bird chirped twice and flapped its wings across the sky. The black figure reflected the afterglow of the setting sun and plunged into an unknown place in the distance.

Dead Man's Alley, this is a famous street in Jieyang Town. It was not called this originally, but since an executioner moved in, many unfortunate things happened to the residents of this street, so they moved out one after another, but those who moved in later were all It was the sewers, executioners, executioners and other low-ranking people in the yamen, as well as some craftsmen who did mundane tasks. Gradually, no one called this street by its correct name, and it was replaced by Dead Man's Alley.

Zhang Anhe lives here. Even if he is looked at strangely when he comes in and out, he thinks it is not bad. All the people living here are colleagues, and they will help each other if something happens. Because of his reputation, , few people come here to visit, even Tiao'er doesn't want to come here, he thinks it's unlucky, and it suits his temperament that he doesn't like bustling and is afraid of trouble. It's quiet and safe, and there is no place more suitable than here.

But he was frowning a little at this moment. Jieyang Lingxia Hotel was burned down in the daytime, and all the people inside were killed and injured. Thinking of all the people in that property, Zhang Anhe sighed. Although he was not a head catcher, he was a gangster after all. People who are familiar with this situation can still sense that the storm is about to come.

Walking through the deserted alley, it was just dusk. This neighbor was either still at work, or he had gone to the wine shop and had not returned. It was rare for him to go home after leaving the office like this. .

Reaching out to push open the door, the man casually walked through the front yard. The chickens and ducks raised at home were pacing in their cages. When they saw him walking past, they made a few "quacking" and "cooing" calls, so they ignored them and opened the door. Zhang Anhe was stunned for a moment when he raised his head at the door. The steps he was taking into the room stopped immediately. Two figures were sitting and standing in the dark place of the room. The person sitting put the tea cup in his hand on the table.

"Zhang Sanlang, come in."

A loud voice came from the person sitting in the house. Zhang Anhe turned slightly. With the light of the setting sun, he could see the appearance of the person sitting clearly. He let out a sigh of relief: "Boss Li, it's you. Scared me."

"How scared are you? You haven't asked anyone to borrow money, and you are still afraid of people coming to your door?" Li Fu glanced at him and said softly: "Apart from the money-gathering people in your dead man's alley, do other people dare to come here?"

"There are two extra people in the house, so I'm always scared." As he said this, the owner of the house walked in. He almost knew why this person was here. He took an oil lamp and lit it, and the suddenly dark room became brighter: "Boss Li. , Are you here today because of the hotel?"

"You know it well." Li Fu said, his somewhat old body leaned forward slightly, and pointed to the chair opposite: "Sit down, let's talk directly, what are the results of today's autopsy?"

This is my home!
Zhang Anhe roared in his heart and twitched his lips, but he didn't dare to say it out loud. He walked over and sat down obediently, licking his lips: "Today...cough, Boss Li, a total of ten corpses were found in the Lingxia Hotel. Ma There were two corpses, among which the horse and five people were burned to death."

"Five people were burned to death?" Zhu Xiaoba looked at him in surprise: "Where are the other people?"

He twisted his body uneasily. Li Fu looked at him sharply and clenched his fists: "Isn't the rest of them dead? Were they killed?"

"It's... we haven't decided yet." Zhang Anhe wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeves, and then added after thinking: "It's just that judging from the traces at the scene, all ten people had their hands and feet curled up, but after the examination, five of them had no internal organs." There was no soot, and there was blood on the ground under the body, and the color was bright red, so it must have been the first scene of murder."

"Master, the five of us... we can't say that our junior brother is fine." Zhu Xiaoba's eyes lit up and he quickly said to Li Fu.

The old man waved his hand to signal him not to interrupt, and looked at the man after thinking: "Can you tell who it is?"

The person opposite shook his head: "The deceased were burned so badly that they are no longer recognizable. I only know that they are all men." After thinking about it, he said: "There is a corpse with broad shoulders and stretched muscles. It must be someone who has been in the water for a long time. "

Squinting his eyes slightly, Li Fu asked again: "Can you tell when he died?"

"This..." Shaking his head and looking at the opposite person with a dangerous look, Zhang Anhe rubbed his hands and thought quickly and said: "I heard Li Dutou say that the hotel is in a remote place. In the past two days, There weren’t many people coming and going, maybe it happened three to five days ago.”

"On the third or fifth day..." He repeated something softly, raised his head and took a breath. The old man looked at the beam and said, "Keep the body in good condition. I will send someone to take it out tomorrow."

"This..." The honest man hesitated, and when he saw Zhu Xiaoba frowning and glaring at him, he nodded: "I will tell the Yamen in the morning, it will be no problem."

Li Fu stood up and said, "Thank you very much, Sanlang. If you need anything in the future, come see me."

Zhang Anhe hurriedly stood up and bowed, with a flattering smile: "Boss Li said too harshly, but he didn't do anything to help. It's all within his own duties."

Li Fu looked at him and nodded: "Xiaoba, let's go."

The man behind him responded and hurriedly followed Li Fu out. Zhang Anhe breathed a sigh of relief and watched the two people leave the house. He followed behind hesitantly. When they walked out of the door, he hurriedly stepped forward and closed the door. He breathed a sigh of relief, thought for a while, and found a stick to bolt the door that was never locked.

Master and disciple Li Fu didn't know the movements of the man behind him. They just walked forward. They walked out of the alley and walked on the streets with people coming and going. Their backs looked a bit desolate.

"Xiaoba..." The sturdy figure in front stopped and turned his head: "Find out who is alive. There are six people on the other side of the second child. Five are dead, so there is one more!"

Zhu Xiaoba suddenly raised his head and looked at the old man pleadingly: "Master, is it possible that the one who is alive is the junior brother?"

"I also hope so..." Li Fu lowered his head and gritted his teeth and squeezed out a sentence, then turned to look at him with red eyes: "Look for them! They are all well-established people here. Let's see who is cheating. !”

"Yes."

While nodding, Zhu Xiaoba's nose also felt a little sore. He had been in the world for a long time. He knew something was wrong when he heard Zhang Anhe talking, but he still had some fantasy in his heart, what if...

Seeing the apprentice behind him nodding, the old man turned around and continued to move forward. A somewhat sad voice came: "Let Brother Jun know again and ask him to be careful these two days. It is best to come back as soon as possible."

"Understood, Master."

……

"Why don't you let me go home?" In the gathering hall of Xiaogushan, Li Li looked at Zhang Kui in front of him and felt a little unhappy.

"Go back?" Zhang Kui sat at the top, looked the red-bearded man up and down, and sneered: "Have you been under Mr. Li's hands for too long and you can't think anymore?"

"What do you mean?" Li Li's face was a little gloomy. This guy was calling people stupid in front of others. Did he really think he had no temper?
Before Zhang Kui could speak, he heard the sound of hurried footsteps outside the Juyi Hall. Ma Xiong walked in furiously and wiped the sweat from his head: "I heard your two voices talking about something when I first came here. very?"

"This guy is so frustrated that he has to go back." Zhang Kui tapped Li Li with his hand.

Ma Xiong glanced at the red-bearded man in surprise, and curled his lips: "Don't say that we don't trust you yet. Even if you are on the same team as us, you will be regarded as a dead person in the eyes of the world. Go back now." What should you do if you meet someone in your home? Are you rushing to tell others that you are still alive? Then sell us?"

Li Li was slightly speechless. He thought for a moment and realized that this was the truth. He refused to admit that he had never thought of it, so he said stubbornly: "It's such a coincidence that we can meet this person."

"Okay, anyway, you should rest your mind and go back." Zhang Kui said more lazily: "You will not join the gang until you help us kill Mr. Li's nephew. You are not qualified to say this or that now. of."

Li Li said with a sullen face: "It's not easy to kill him. He only goes to the woman's house for a few days at the beginning of each month, and spends the rest of the time on the water." Zhang Kui glanced at him sideways: "Who is that woman and where is she?"

Li Li looked at the two of them warily: "Why do you want to do this? When the time comes, I will take you two there."

"Okay, don't forget what you said today." Seeing that Li Li refused to say anything, Zhang Kui thought for a while and didn't push him anymore. He waved to the two minions and pointed to the opposite side: "Take him down to rest."

"Yes, Village Master."

The two agreed, stood in front of Li Li, clasped their fists and said "please." The urging judge snorted and followed the two minions out.

Ma Xiong waited for this man to go out, then touched his chin: "Brother Zhang, when are you going to trouble that Hunjianglong?"

"What's the matter? Are you impatient?" Zhang Kui leaned back, and someone brought the hot wine. He took it in his hand, waved the person in front of him away, and said, "Don't be impatient for now. Li's name is all day long. It's not easy to deal with being soaked in water, and there are two boys surnamed Tong who are mixing with him, so don't end up with a fishy smell if you don't eat the mutton."

"Didn't that guy say he knows where the woman surnamed Li is? Just wait until he takes us there." He took a sip of wine and looked at Ma Xiong and said, "It's a shame that guy refused to tell me where the woman is, otherwise it would be a disaster." It also saves worry.”

"Fortune him."

Staring hatefully at the door, Ma Xiong breathed a sigh of relief: "We must be more careful these two days. My uncle said that if you and I didn't clean our hands and feet, people would see the clues."

Zhang Kui's eyes widened: "Why didn't you clean it up? It's all burned."

"How do I know?" Ma Xiong spread his hands and said, "I'm just saying that if those workers tested something, I'm afraid the news will leak out and make us more alert."

Zhang Kui slapped his thigh with an annoyed look on his face: "I'm so troubled."

Ma Xiong didn't say anything, and just went to get a drink. After a while, the man above him said: "That's it, you can see it when you see it. I also got the news here."

Ma Xiong looked up, and Zhang Kui continued: "Someone is coming from the south to help us."

"Seriously? Why do people come to help?"

Ma Xiong was startled. Zhang Kui, who was at the top, touched his chin and tilted his head: "I don't know where to go. I'm afraid people have their own ideas. In any case, this is a good thing."

"Don't let anyone take away our right to speak." Heisha Shen was stunned for a while and suddenly said something.

When the leader of the village sitting at the top heard the words, his face was uncertain. That night, Ma Xiong was left in the village, and the two of them discussed in the house for a long time with the door closed.

One day at dawn, Ma Xiong, who had dark circles under his eyes, was woken up by Zhang Kui, who was also sleep-deprived. Then he mounted a bad horse and headed towards the county town at the foot of the mountain.

……

The early morning sun shone on the mast of the ship. Several waterfowl stood on the wooden poles and turned their heads. At a certain moment, they seemed to be frightened and flew away from the ship that had been parked all night. The sailors coming out of the cabin below yawned. , stretch.

The night watchman said hello, pulled up the stone, and with the shout of "set sail", the ship continued to move south.

"The weather here on the river is quite cold." Stepping out of the cabin, Li Zhu tightened his cloak tightly: "Brother, are you still used to it?"

"A little chill, but nothing serious." He lowered his head and walked out of the hatch, squinting at the sun in the sky. Lu Bu's tall figure walked towards the bow of the ship: "How much time do we have before we can reach Jiangzhou?"

"It's almost there." Li Assistant followed behind: "Yesterday I asked Yang Min who was my brother. He said that he has already walked most of the journey. It is estimated that he will arrive in about ten days."

"It's much faster than on land." Standing on the bow of the boat, breathing in the cold wind with moisture, looking at the green along the coast, Lu Bu had a smile on his lips: "If it weren't for getting there as soon as possible, I would actually prefer it. Riding on horseback.”

Li Zhu stood aside and smiled. He also knew that his brother came from the Liao Kingdom. Even his good friend Yuan Lang admired his riding skills. It was normal to have such thoughts. He thought for a moment: "What if my brother is It’s not impossible to take the land route, just stay in Jiangzhou and finish your business and then come back by land.”

Looking at Lu Bu's face that turned with interest, he continued: "If you have nothing to do then, just ride on horseback. If you are anxious to go back, you can also find a nearby pier and take a boat. You will not miss anything."

"That makes sense." Lu Bu nodded and smiled: "Then it's settled. When I come back, I will take some people back from the land." In a blink of an eye, he looked at the scenery on both sides that began to retreat rapidly, and heard the roar in his ears. With the sound of rushing water, he murmured: "Look at the changes over the years."

Li Assistant saw the former's lips move but couldn't hear the sound clearly, so he couldn't help but ask: "Brother, what are you talking about?"

"Nothing." Lu Bu stretched out his arms and waved, and turned back with a hearty smile: "I just said that I would like to experience the scenery in the south."

"That must be different from the north." Li Zhu just thought that he had something in his heart and didn't take it seriously. He smiled and blew the wind on the bow of the boat.

Not long after, Teng Kan came out and called the two of them to go back for breakfast. The figure on the bow of the boat turned around and returned to the cabin. The boat was speeding up with the wind and the current.

……

Under the same sky, a Taoist priest and a ferocious-looking man boarded the ship. The swollen sail took the people northward, and a triangular flag unfolded in the wind, revealing the Chinese character "Bao" with flying dragons and phoenixes.

"Master, why did the leader of the cult let Xie go? Then Jiangzhou could just find someone from the cult." The vicious man looked worried.

"What nonsense, this matter was requested by your master and me. Why do you blame the leader for doing so!" The Taoist turned around and cursed: "Besides, we are all members of the religion, shouldn't we listen to the leader?"

"Oh..." Nodding, the vicious man scratched his head and stood beside the Taoist without saying a word.

(End of this chapter)