I become a god in another world

Chapter 360 Key Clues
Chapter 360
As soon as Meng Po finished speaking, Old Man Zhang shuddered.

"Yes." He didn't notice anything strange yet, and nodded with his head down.

"Wu Laocai's family is rich and powerful. I heard from the villagers that he has been eating all kinds of delicacies from land and sea as meals all his life to keep his body healthy—"

The more he spoke, the more blood and energy Meng Po felt like overflowing.

There was a bitter medicinal smell in the blood, and Zhao Fusheng immediately grabbed Meng Po's hand.

Although Meng Po is still alive, her power is related to ghosts after all. It will be of no benefit to living people if they are affected by her evil spirit.

Old man Zhang is not young anymore, there is no need for him to shorten his life by talking nonsense.

As soon as Zhao Fusheng pulled her hand, Meng Po held it with her backhand.

Both of their hands were cold, but Meng Po's hands were colder, making Zhao Fusheng's palms seem warm.

As soon as she held Zhao Fusheng, Meng Po began to tremble.

"My lord, my lord, I——"

"Don't be impatient, listen to what he has to say first." Zhao Fusheng comforted her gently, then turned around and scolded Old Man Zhang:
"Let's stop talking nonsense and talk about the ghost case first."

"Yes Yes Yes."

Old man Zhang vaguely guessed that he had said something wrong.

Zhao Fusheng mentioned the red shoes ghost case 43 years ago, and specially called the old woman in to talk about it together. It must be that this old woman had some connection and relationship with the red shoes female ghost back then.

At this time, when he mentioned Wu Laocai, his face was full of envy, which must have made Meng Po unhappy.

Thinking of this, he said tactfully:

"Look at my mouth, I have no control over it. My lord treats me like a piece of shit."

After saying that, he slapped himself.

After the fight, he said:

"I followed the instructions of the adults and went to Huanggang Village to inquire about the whereabouts of Wu Laocai's family--" When he said this, he secretly raised his eyes to see Zhao Fusheng's reaction.

She did not refute, but tacitly agreed with what he meant. Old Man Zhang immediately knew that he had accomplished his goal.

"This old guy knows how to enjoy life. Later he took two concubines and had two children." Old man Zhang is used to changing his attitude according to the situation.

After guessing that Zhao Fusheng and Meng Po disliked Wu Laocai, his tone immediately changed when he addressed this person.

As he spoke, he looked at Zhao Fusheng's face, and seeing that she did not ask any questions when she heard these words, he guessed that she was not interested in this news, and immediately changed the subject:
"When Wu Laocai was young, he committed murder and robbery, and made many enemies. When he got old, he was afraid that his son could not control the situation, so he intended to abandon Huanggang Village and move away from the village."

Old man Zhang said:

"His two sons who were born later were young, and people prefer older sons. He was afraid that these two sons could not compete with their older brother, so he wanted to find a backer for them."

Zhao Fusheng knew that he was talking in a haphazard manner, and fearing that he would go off topic, he brought the subject back to the topic:

"Do you know where they moved to?"

After asking, she noticed another message revealed in Old Man Zhang's words: Wu Laocai was looking for a backer for his youngest son.

"Your Excellency has asked the right person."

Old man Zhang's eyes lit up and he quickly replied:

"According to the villagers, it seems that they have moved away," he scratched his head.
"Bingzhou? Yes! Bingzhou."

He affirmed.

When Zhao Fusheng heard this, he turned around and looked at Meng Po:
"Bingzhou?"

Seeing the strange expressions on the two men's faces, Old Man Zhang couldn't help but feel puzzled, and turned to look at the mayor Kong Youde.

But Kong Youde didn't know what this meant.

He was afraid of evil spirits and ghost cases, and even heard about them as bad luck.

The reason he came here this time was purely because Old Man Zhang was from Changtiao Town, and Huanggang Village was under the jurisdiction of Changtiao Town, so he had no choice but to sit here.

Kong Youde was afraid that he would be cursed by evil spirits if he heard about the ghost case, so he kept his mind blank and listened attentively when these people were chatting. At this moment, he had no idea what was going on.

When Old Man Zhang looked at him, he also looked at Old Man Zhang. The two of them looked at each other, both with confused expressions.

Meng Po looked at Zhao Fusheng and said:

"Sir, Bingzhou, is the ship from Changping County that is sending the ghost fetus also going to Bingzhou?"

Kong Youde shuddered all over and wished he could install a door on his ears.

Zhao Fusheng nodded:
"According to what Zhong Yao said, if this trip is correct, we will travel by water to Shangyang County in Bingzhou, and then..." Before she finished her words, Old Man Zhang's eyes lit up when he heard the familiar name.

He wanted to speak, but did not dare to interrupt Zhao Fusheng, and was so anxious that he scratched his ears and cheeks.

Zhao Fusheng was talking, and saw his movements from the corner of his eye. He was moved and immediately stopped talking and asked Old Man Zhang:
"Could it be that Wu Laocai and his family moved to Shangyang County?"

"Your Excellency is so awesome!" Old Man Zhang took over the topic, nodded repeatedly and flattered him, then said:
"I went to Jin County, Shangyang County!"

"Jin County?" Zhao Fusheng asked in surprise.

"Jin County!" Meng Po also said in a deep voice.

The two said in unison, and Old Man Zhang nodded continuously:

“Went to King County.”

Zhao Fusheng's gaze immediately became long and gloomy.

This is too much of a coincidence.

It is not very likely that Old Man Zhang is lying.

He was just a country boy who had lived in Fengmen Village all his life and probably had never stepped out of Wan'an County.

The villagers were not well-informed. They were confined to a small area and knew nothing about the outside world. At that time, transportation was not well developed. If Old Man Zhang had not heard about it from others, he might not have known about Shangyang County in Bingzhou, let alone the specific name of Jin County in Shangyang County.

But this is just routine deduction.

After all, the old man is from Fengmen Village. Fengmen and Huanggang villages have been plagued by banditry for decades. Born in such a village, the old man is not a good person either. What he says has to be screened to ensure that the information is correct.

Zhao Fusheng said:

"How do you know King County?" The clues of the red shoes case emerged in her mind.

This ghost case is suspected to be related to Meng Po, and the sealed evil ghost has revived and disappeared, which may become a disaster in the future. She is also concerned about this case.

Zhao Fusheng was suspicious and meticulous by nature, and while asking questions, he couldn't help but think of another thing: the ghost case was transported by Ding Datong from Changping County, and the one who received the ghost fetus might be an "ancestor" of the Xie family.

The person who handled the Red Shoes Ghost Case back then was Xie Jingsheng, who was sent by the prefecture. His surname was also Xie, and it was unknown what his relationship was with the 'ancestor' of the Xie family who was guiding the ghost fetus this time.

If the information that Old Man Zhang had found out was accurate and he himself did not lie, it would be very interesting that Old Man Wu moved to Jin County, Shangyang County, Bingzhou in his later years.

Many years ago, Wu Laocai and his family went to Jin County. Now the Xie family, who are suspected to be related to Xie Jingsheng who handled the Red Shoes case, set the meeting point for receiving the ghost fetus in Shangyang County.

The group from Changping County disembarked in Jinzhou. Was it a coincidence or was there a connection that others were not aware of?
She was thinking about something when Old Man Zhang said:
"I asked the villagers." He seemed to see that Zhao Fusheng didn't believe it:

"I've been hanging out in Huanggang Village for the past month, often chatting with people."

He brought with him a bamboo stool. Wherever he went and saw many elderly people, he would sit down there and join the group of people he knew.

Ever since Zhao Fusheng swept through the ghost troubles in Huanggang and Fengmen villages last month, the two villages have become much more peaceful. In addition, it is the slack season during the farming season and everyone has nothing to do, so more people have started to gossip.

"Seven or eight days ago, when I went to Huanggang Village, I talked to people about the almanac, and someone mentioned the whereabouts of Wu Laocai's family."

This person's name is Wu Yong, and he is also a relative of Wu Laocai.

The two men were within the five generations of uncles and their grandfathers were brothers, but when they came to Wu Laocai's area, their relationship became much more distant.

"When Wu Laocai was in the village, he often brought my mother to visit for fun and to ask for money."

The whole family performed funny acts to entertain people. Sometimes, when Wu Laocai's wife and children were in a good mood, they would give them some money for food.

"As a result, the two families visited each other more often, and I got to know something about the Wu family." Old man Zhang became excited and wanted to take a stool and sit closer to Zhao Fusheng.

As soon as he moved, Zhao Fusheng raised his foot and stepped on the leg of the stool.

Old man Zhang finally came to his senses and realized that he was not chatting with people in the countryside. He laughed dryly and scratched his head:
"It is said that Mr. Wu moved to Bingzhou for a reason."

Zhao Fusheng asked:

"What's the reason?"

Old man Zhang said:
"It is said that more than 40 years ago, when Wu Laocai was shipping goods, he went to Bingzhou and met a big shot there. Later, he was protected by that big shot and had roots in Jin County."

Hearing this, Zhao Fusheng's heart was moved:
"What important person? Have you found out?"

Old man Zhang looked embarrassed:
"I didn't find out much."

The other party was very tight-lipped. After all, he had only been in Huanggang Village for a short time. Old Man Zhang said with some regret:

"If you give me more time, maybe I can learn more."

After he said this, he was still afraid that Zhao Fusheng would blame him.

Zhao Fusheng said:
"Not bad." You were able to find out such a useful and important clue that the Wu family had moved to Shangyang County, Bingzhou in such a short time. "It's worth it that I assigned you to Huanggang Village."

Her praise immediately cheered up Old Man Zhang.

"Oh, I remembered one more thing."

Old man Zhang said quickly:
"Wu Yong said that the reason why Wu Laocai got to know that important person was because he gave him an evil object."

This is a useful clue. Zhao Fusheng thought:
"Evil thing?"

"Evil thing!" Old Man Zhang said affirmatively.

Anything that can be called an "evil thing" must be an ominous thing that carries a bad aura - in other words, it is a very evil thing that is related to evil spirits and is born with evil spirits.

Zhao Fusheng thought about this and asked:

"What kind of evil thing?"

"I'm not sure about that," Old Man Zhang pouted and shook his head, with his hands clasped together between his legs:
"They say it was dug out from behind Huanggang Mountain. It was also what they were shipping out on this trip. As a result, many people died on that trip. Wu Laocai almost died when he returned that year."

Although Wu Yong and Wu Laocai's family are related, they are two generations apart and are not that close anymore. He can only get some information when they visit each other, but he is not very clear about the details.

"But what is certain is that this thing was given to some big shot in Jin County, and from then on, Wu Laocai had a foothold there." With Old Man Zhang's knowledge, he couldn't imagine what kind of big shot Wu Laocai could get to know - to him, getting to know Zhao Fusheng was already the biggest person he could imagine meeting in his life.

But he didn't dare say such things.

Although Old Man Zhang likes to eavesdrop and talk nonsense, he also knows what is important and what should be said and what should not be said.

"There is one more thing—" After he finished speaking, he said again:
"I don't know if it's a coincidence or if it's related to the Red Shoes Ghost Case—"

Zhao Fusheng said:

"Just tell me what you know, don't hesitate."

Old man Zhang laughed:
"I'm just afraid that I'll mislead adults by saying something without any basis."

"You can say what you want, as long as it is not fabricated, as for whether it is useful or not, I can tell for myself." As soon as Zhao Fusheng finished speaking, Old Man Zhang said:
"I feel relieved when you say that, sir." He glanced at Meng Po and said:
"According to Wu Laoyong, Wu Laocai later took his concubine home after he met this important figure in Bingzhou," he lowered his voice:
"His mother told him afterwards that maybe the concubine was a gift from the lord of Bingzhou!"

He slapped his thigh, spit flying everywhere:

"That concubine who jumped into the well and died, leaving behind only her shoes!"

……

Zhao Fusheng was right to send Old Man Zhang to Huanggang Village to collect taxes that day. He was there for more than a month and actually found out a lot of useful clues.

After that, the next things he talked about were all gossips about other people, and had nothing to do with the Red Shoes Ghost Case.

After Old Man Zhang finished speaking, Zhao Fusheng ordered Kong Youde to take him out, and asked someone to call Fan Bishi and ask him to tell Pang Qing that Old Man Zhang had made a great contribution this time and would be rewarded with two strings of large coins.

After sending the person away, Zhao Fusheng looked at the stunned Meng Po:
"What do you feel after listening to what Zhang Sande said?" She was afraid that Meng Po didn't understand what she meant, so she just said it more directly:
"It's about the time and place. Do you feel that there is any intersection with your life trajectory back then?"

"No no."

Meng Po was obviously uneasy at this time, and shook her head repeatedly:
"Your Excellency also knows that I am from Su County, Changzhou, and I married to Wuli County, Tongzhou."

Before her daughter Shen Yishu disappeared, Meng Po's life trajectory had always followed her husband's family.

The Han Dynasty was divided into nine provinces. Changzhou was located in the center of the Dynasty, Tongzhou was located in the cold and bitter north, and Xuzhou and Yizhou were located in the southwest.

When Meng Po's daughter was abducted, she set out from her home in the north alone, spent many years traveling across several states, following her daughter's trail to Xuzhou, and finally settled down in Xuzhou.

"Mother Meng."

Zhao Fusheng called out to her:
"You have been searching for your daughter's whereabouts for decades."

Meng Po left her husband's home and lived alone. In addition to the tenacity and love for her daughter that supported her, she was not an ignorant and rash person.

Zhao Fusheng's mind turned and his eyes fell on her:

"Since you came to Xuzhou and settled in Wan'an County, there must be a reason."

After she said this, Meng Po said nothing and lowered her head.

'Ugh--'

After a long time, she suddenly sighed, and she seemed to have aged a lot in an instant:

"Your Excellency is right. The reason why I ran away from home, gave up my previous life, and settled in Wan'an County, Xuzhou, was because I had my own difficulties."

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