Records of the Lost Cases of Helaitang in the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 62 The old beggar

The north window of the west room was closed tightly, and there were several Four Treasures of the Study placed on the long table beside the window. There was still water in the basin, but the tip of the brush was dry. It can be seen that the old man was not lying, and Mr. Yuming did leave early in the morning.

Mr. Yuming seemed to be leaving in a hurry. There were some miscellaneous items piled randomly on the desk. There were only two books picked out. Wang Heng picked up one of them. It was a strange booklet. The title page of the book was printed with " Mr. Yuming is a native of Yunchuan County, and his nickname is "Yunchuan Yelao". It seems that this is indeed his temporary residence.

Turning to the first page, there is a circle-like text printed under the Chinese characters:

Brother, where are you from?

I come from Wangjing, Korea.

Where to go now?
I'm going to BJ.

When did you leave Wang Jing?
I left Wang Jing on the first day of this month.

Looking at the book, Wang Heng couldn't help but feel confused, and Yueting was also very suspicious. He saw that the cover was called "Old Beggar", with the same Chinese characters written in a circle under it. The title of the book was so vulgar that it made people confused.

Wang Heng said softly: "I read something about Goryeo Wang Jing in the book. I think it is Goryeo script."

At that time, it was already the Lee Dynasty of Korea, and many people from the Lee Dynasty still considered themselves to be Koreans.

Although Yueting is a child of the old family, his writing is also sparse, and he waved his hands to express that he didn't understand even more.

Another book, which seemed very old, was nominated for "Xingcha Shenglan", written by Fei Xin. Wang Heng looked at it carefully and said: "This is an old book from the Zhengtong era."

Yueting thought for a moment and said, "Isn't this "Xingcha Shenglan" written by Miss Yue'er's ancestor, Mr. Song Yansheng, a record of the Three Treasures eunuch's voyages to the West?"

Wang Heng said: "It seems that Mr. Yuming has plans to travel far away."

Yu Ming, a dignified scholar with two rankings, is idle in the field and does not go to the ministry to be a candidate. He is from the West and from the Eastern Kingdom and the Li Dynasty. It is difficult to figure out.

Wang Heng leaned down and looked under the long case.There was a Xiang Fei bamboo basket placed on the left hand side of the chair with a long desk and a hanging chair. There was nothing in it.There is also a Xiang Fei bamboo basket of the same style at the far left end of the long case against the wall. In the paper basket there are several balls of waste paper with some meaningless lines drawn on them.

Wang Heng said: "I haven't heard that Mr. Yuming is good at painting?"

Yueting said: "I haven't seen him paint before, but I think it shouldn't be difficult for a scholar to paint a few freehand strokes."

Wang Heng solemnly folded these pieces of waste paper and put them into his own cloth bag, keeping them for future reference.

This study was too plain, with not even a single calligraphy or painting on the white wall. Of course, there was no mechanism that could be discovered.

Wang Heng suddenly thought of the Shenliu Courtyard where Mr. Yuming lived that day. The wall by the north window looked whiter. Apparently there had been calligraphy and painting hanging there. The calligraphy and painting that had been taken away must have been Mr. Yuming's favorite thing, so You carry it with you, why don't you hang it out here?
Yueting stamped his feet vigorously, and the water on the ground polished the blue bricks, making a deep muffled sound, and it did not look like there was any sign of hollowing out.

There were no treasures on the ancient shelf that separated the study room from the bedroom. There were a few strange stones on it. Yueting moved them down and put them up again without touching any mechanism. It looked like it was really just an ancient shelf.

Wang Heng sat down in front of the chief's case in the study and said, "Mr. Yuming must be involved in this case. It is impossible for him to have all the flaws."

After saying that, Henhen punched the paper window in front of the case, only to hear a "creak" sound. The paper window had reached the entire wall and slowly rotated, revealing a dark hole in the ground.

The two of them stared wide-eyed, there really was something wrong with this room.

There was a tinder candle in a conspicuous place in the study. Wang Heng and Yueting each held a candle and looked into the cave. They could see neat steps going down in the cave.Yueting said: "Most of the thieves from the Immortal Sect are hiding through this tunnel or going elsewhere. I have to go down and take a look."

Wang Heng stepped up the steps lightly and said, "Let's go back quickly, so as not to disturb others."

Going down the steps, you can vaguely discern the path under the candlelight. After sinking less than a foot, you came to an underground passage. The temperature was much cooler than outside, and the fishy smell of earth entered your nose and mouth.

The tunnel was dug very deep, and a tall man like Yueting could walk upright. The passage seemed very long, and there was a faint light in front of it.

"Why do wealthy people dig such long tunnels?" Yueting said softly.

"Probably to avoid Japanese chaos. During the Jiajing period, Japanese pirates landed at Qiyakou and caused great harm to Guozhou City." Wang Heng said: "Brother Yueting, will the tunnel lead outside the city?"

"Outside the city gate?" Yueting shook his head: "How much manpower will it take to do this? However, it is not completely impossible. Rich families have countless children, so naturally they have to keep a life-saving trick. As the saying goes, if you are a scholar, you want to be an official. When you have a thousand coins, you want to make thousands of dollars; when you become an emperor, you want to become an immortal."

When Wang Heng heard "I want to be an emperor and become an immortal", his steps suddenly stopped. Thousands of thoughts were spinning in his mind, and he was stunned for a moment.

Yueting supported him and said, "Seventh Young Master, watch your steps carefully."

After passing through the long tunnel, the place where the weak light took them was not the exit as imagined, but it looked like a secret room. It could be faintly seen that there was an incense table in the room, and several thick incense candles were lit. , it seems that there are still some top seats.

Wang Heng gradually felt dizzy, and the huge force of gravity pressed against his Tianling Cap. He held on to the cave wall and said with all his strength: "Brother Yueting, we seem to have found a way."

Yueting was physically stronger than Wang Heng. Hearing this, he drew the sword hanging from his waist. However, it was too late. He also felt that his mind had begun to lose control.

At this moment, two black figures suddenly appeared, very cautiously staying a foot away from them. Seeing the two men staggering to the ground, they slowly approached them.

Seeing them unconscious, a man in black raised a long knife and said ferociously: "These two people have ulterior motives and are bound to do bad things. Let me finish them off."

As he spoke, he was about to draw his sword, but he was separated by another person who waved his sword, "Qi Laosan, you are crazy." The person who spoke was a young Taoist nun.

Qi Laosan said fiercely: "This world is the underworld. Whoever dares to harm our affairs, I will get rid of him."

"Qi Laosan, what is your seniority? What did your incense master tell you when you went out to do business?" The Taoist nun pointed her sword at him and her tone was extremely stern.

Seeing her toughness, I prayed that the third child would not dare to be stupid, and said calmly: "I will listen to the fairy aunt's orders."

The Taoist nun frowned and said: "These two people are dressed in gorgeous clothes. They must be children of famous families in the city. If they are killed, it may trigger a city-wide search by the officials and ruin the leader's affairs. Since they have fainted, they have not seen our faces clearly. , just abandon them in a remote place, and forgive them for their suffering and dare not look for them again. If we really dare to bring people back, we should have withdrawn long ago, and we will have Wang Ti’s disciples to deal with them."

The secret of getting out of the cave is indeed in this secret room. The Taoist nun gently pressed the wall, and then a slight rumble sounded, revealing the exit, and the sun shone in. This was a river beach, and the white grass and needle grass grew half as tall as a person, which was very impressive. hidden.

The Taoist nun instructed Qi Laosan to drag the two of them out of the cave, and ordered him to go to the study to check whether the entrance was covered, and then return to the exit to gather.

After just a cup of tea, Qi Lao San Feng Feng Huo Huo came back and said: "Report to Fairy Girl, the tunnel entrance has been restored to its original state." He leaned down and looked at the ground, and said in surprise: "Xian Gu, why is there one person missing?"

The Taoist nun said: "That man fell into a coma early. He was moving his hands and feet, and he was afraid he was about to wake up. So I had to drag him to the big tree on the bank in front and put him down. Let's go quickly and put him down on the bank of Yantietang River. For a while, let him fend for himself, it’s important to go back and recover.”

(End of this chapter)