I was just solving crimes, how could I become an immortal?

Chapter 103 Three Zeng County Magistrates

"Run, there's an avalanche!"

"Help! Master Cao, help me!"

"Rush out, the cave is likely to collapse!"

The sudden vibration caused chaos on the scene. The ice in the cave began to break and fell from the roof of the cave, hitting everyone heavily.

Magistrate Zeng behind him was weak and scurried away. Fortunately, everyone was a top-notch expert, so protecting him was no problem at all.

Of course, it is not advisable to stay here for a long time, because no one knows whether this cave will collapse, and no matter how powerful it is, it cannot resist the landslide! With their strength, it would be safer to rush out.

Everyone hurried on, Sanyang dragged Magistrate Zeng and ran wildly. When they arrived at the entrance of the cave, they saw heavy snow pouring down the mountainside.

Ying Huorong and Captain Shi joined forces and used a terrifying force to stop the avalanche for a moment. Everyone rushed out, thus resolving the crisis.

"It's a near miss! It's a near miss!" Magistrate Zeng patted his chest with lingering fear, feeling like he was surviving a disaster.

On the other hand, Lieutenant Shi's face was as dark as half a Tisi's face now.

Although judging from the movement, the cave should not have collapsed.

However, a large avalanche directly buried the entrance of the cave, and the situation inside must not be much better. The plan to return home from work within three days may be delayed again.

"There must be a monster causing trouble. I finally felt the monster's energy, but it was too short-lived and I didn't have time to capture the location."

Ying Huorong stepped forward immediately. She had the best say in how to sense the evil spirit.

When Captain Shi heard this, he got angry and said, "They must be those monsters that Magistrate Zeng saw just now! They caused the snow disaster and wanted to kill us! Divide into two teams, one team digs a cave, and the other team Find those monsters for me! Kill them!"

The furious Jin Wuwei began to search the mountain. I'm afraid that for a while, there will be no end to the fuss.

"Do we need help?" Ying Huorong approached Cao An and asked quietly.

The red fox is a powerful fire-type monster, and he came here to find the mountains beyond the mountains for her. If he needs to take action, the red fox will definitely not be stingy.

"No need, it is a good thing to let these Jinwu guards continue to cause trouble."

"Eh? Is this a good thing? What's better?"

"You don't really think that Jin Wuwei is just here to transport the ice sculptures, do you? Pang Shi, I'm afraid a trap has been laid in the capital."

Cao An warned Pang Shi in advance that the thieves might take action in the near future. For safety reasons, Pang Shi could not fail to remind Emperor Wan Jing.

And now, looking at it, even the Jinwu Guards have been mobilized. To establish a great dynasty, elites need to be dispatched to open the way?
  Isn't this obvious, luring the snake out of its hole?

When Cao An left the capital and Jin Wuwei left the capital, they just showed the empty internal defense in their faces and waited for the enemy to jump in.

"What's more, if the avalanche is buried, the convoy transporting the ice sculptures will probably have to make more trips back and forth. Just in time, let's inform the official of the transportation department and ask him to follow behind and make more trips. Free snow shoveling team, no need It’s all for nothing.”

"What about us now?"

"Now? Go back to bed."

As Cao An spoke, he let out a breath of white air from his mouth, rubbed his hands, and glanced at the white world around him.

This snow!
  There seems to be some clues.

……

On the third day, there was still heavy snow, flying all over the sky.

The only change seems to be that there was another fire in the county office last night.

Fortunately, it had no impact. Early this morning, Magistrate Zeng was still diligently distributing disaster relief food to the villagers.

The people of Tianshan Town now have enough food to satisfy their hunger and rely on firewood to keep warm, so they are a little better off.

But Cao An knew very well that Tianshan County was just an exception, and the entire Beiyan Prefecture was affected by the disaster. In places where he couldn't see, people were starving to death every day.

He is very anxious, but he must not show it now, because someone is more anxious than him.

With nothing to do, he came to the teahouse in Dongtou.

However, no one drinks tea in this place now. In the cold weather, no one is leisurely and elegant, but it does house a lot of homeless refugees.

We huddled together in the house to keep warm, and the kind-hearted shopkeepers brought us a cup of hot tea from time to time. We all had a hard time without a meal.

Cao An's arrival did not arouse much reaction. After all, he had only arrived two days ago. It was freezing cold, so he would not be inhumane in dragging everyone to the square to line up to welcome him.

The common people only knew that an imperial envoy had come, brought a lot of food, and was thinking of ways to resolve the snow disaster, but they knew nothing about the rest.

As for the reason why he came here, it was because the people in this place were chatty and you could hear all kinds of nonsense stories.

For example, this gentleman from Liang Shang met a ghost when he was walking at night.

I wanted to go to the county government office late at night to steal some gold and silver, but as soon as I turned into the yard, I saw the county magistrate being chased and fell into a pool of blood;

The thief was frightened and quickly climbed over the wall and left.

Not wanting to be outside the wall, he met the county magistrate again, and the magistrate was hacked to death in front of him again.

This man was stunned on the spot. How could this county magistrate die again in another place?

He was so frightened that he desperately fled into the teahouse without daring to go out. If it weren't for the heavy snow blocking the mountain, he would have wanted to convert to Buddhism now.

Cao An in the corner listened with interest. At this time, a little boy also ran over, pulled up Cao An's sleeve and said: "Brother, someone asked me to give this to you."

Cao An took the note from the boy's hand, with a line written on it: [Meet you in the back alley of the teahouse].

The writing looks very delicate, it must have been written by a scholar.

"But judging from my many years of traveling in the world, I'm afraid there may be some fraud involved." Ying Huorong stood aside, showing off his few analyses.

Even this person feels like he's being deceived, so it seems like he's completely deceived.

"If there is a scam, this small county will be more exciting!" Cao An smiled slightly. He now wanted to see a bloody storm.

Without hesitation, he passed through the teahouse and went out through the back door, when he saw a suspicious guest in a bamboo hat.

It was a cold day, with snow still falling on my head. I stayed away from home and came to wait for them by the dead tree in the back alley of the teahouse. It was obvious at first sight that something was wrong.

Walking over, before he could ask a question, the other party raised his head first. The face under the bamboo hat was actually very similar to Magistrate Zeng.

"you……"

"Master Cao, the current situation is very dangerous. Please come with me and we will go into the house to discuss it in detail."

The second Magistrate Zeng appeared. Cao An and Sanyang looked at each other, and they both saw surprised looks in each other's eyes.

These days, someone really dares to pretend to be an official of the imperial court! The three of them quickly followed, turned into a small, narrow bungalow, and closed the door. Magistrate Zeng breathed a sigh of relief.

He took off his bamboo hat, patted the snow on his body, and sat on the bed a little weakly: "Master Cao, please forgive me. I am really embarrassed when I look like this."

"It doesn't matter. Are you injured? Sanyang, please take a look."

"Yes." Monk Sanyang said in a low voice. He didn't give Magistrate Zeng a chance to resist. His eagle claw hand directly grasped the pulse.

This approach eliminates the possibility of the other party pretending to be pitiful. The pulse can reflect many things.

After two puffs, Sanyang nodded and said, "It's true that the injury has not healed, but it shouldn't be a big problem. When did you get injured?"

"A month ago, I was assassinated on the bridge and fell into the river. Fortunately, I am good at water and was able to escape."

Magistrate Zeng’s explanation was exactly the same as what the beggar saw! It seems that this matter cannot be taken off.

But why was this dignified county magistrate replaced by someone else?
  "Do you know who that group is?" After confirming their identity, Cao An sat down and talked in detail.

Magistrate Zeng's eyes showed hatred: "He is not a human at all, he is a monster."

"Demon?"

"That's right. After I was attacked, I escaped from the waterway and wanted to go back to the county office to seek help. But I saw a six-eared monkey transform into me and become the county magistrate."

"You didn't show up?"

"No, I was seriously injured at the time, and the trusted chiefs under my command were also missing. I was afraid of their strength, so I hid. I only dared to come out when I heard Master Cao was here."

"Well, hiding is the right thing. If you don't have enough strength, you will only die. Don't worry, I will definitely seek justice for you."

After receiving Cao An's promise, Magistrate Zeng also breathed a sigh of relief.

I hide in this small room every day to heal my wounds, and I am terrified. I am always worried about being discovered.

"Then when will we set off? The sooner we deal with these thieves, the better for the people to avoid suffering."

Cao An pressed his hand slightly to let him calm down: "Now is not the time. In my opinion, tonight is the best time."

"Hai Shi? Why should Hai Shi take action?"

"Because I can pull out a table of horse cranes."

"???"

……

At night in Tianshan County, the snowstorm subsided slightly.

In the cold night sky, the moon seemed to be stained with blood red, as if it was destined that there would be no peace tonight.

In the backyard of the county government office, [Magistrate Zeng] sat in front of the desk, carefully looking at the report on the relief materials, thinking for a moment, and then looking around suspiciously.

Although he was worried and frightened, he worked hard to govern. This [Zeng County Magistrate] is also a good official!
  Just as he was thinking about it, a servant suddenly came to report to Cao An outside the house and asked to see him. [Magistrate Zeng] frowned in confusion. He had not seen Cao An all day. Why did he come to see him so late at night?

But then, [County Magistrate Zeng] seemed to have thought of something, and his face lit up with joy: "Hurry up and welcome me."

As he said that, he ran out of the study at a fast pace. This skill was much faster than in the cold cave yesterday.

As soon as they arrived at the door, they saw Cao An coming with three people. [Magistrate Zeng] was overjoyed and quickly bowed to greet him: "I didn't know that Master Cao was coming, but I have to wait a long way to greet him."

"No, the moonlight is good tonight. I have something to discuss with you, so I won't disturb you."

"No need to disturb, no need to disturb, please come inside."

He warmly welcomed them into the study and boiled water to make tea for Cao An and the others. The smile on his lips could hardly be suppressed.

Cao An was a little curious: "Mr. Zeng, why are you so happy? I see you are smiling all the time."

[County Magistrate Zeng] was a little embarrassed, touched his beard, and replied: "To be honest, Tianshan County is not peaceful at night. There are often attacks by spirits. Mr. Cao is very capable. With you here, I can feel more at ease tonight." .”

"Haha! That's it!"

Cao An's smile seemed more sincere than that of [County Magistrate Zeng]: "Don't worry, all my brothers from the Tsing Yi Department have arrived in the afternoon. They are now near the county government office. I will catch one if they come tonight, and no one else will." Want to run."

"That's good, that's good!"

[Magistrate Zeng] was very happy. He was carrying tea and water all the way, and soon came to the last person.

It's snowing heavily on weekdays, and it doesn't hurt to wear a bamboo hat, but it's already inside the house, why doesn't this guy take it off?
  "I wonder what I would call this lord?"

"No, you can call me Magistrate Zeng."

The latter raised his head and revealed his true appearance, it was the 'Magistrate Zeng' who had begged Cao An during the day.

Bang!

Magistrate Zeng, who was originally smiling, dropped his kettle on the ground in panic. The two of them looked very similar. If they weren't close friends, it would be difficult to tell the difference.

But Cao An actually had the confidence to bring people here, which naturally confirmed his identity.

[Magistrate Zeng] knew the danger, turned around without hesitation, and wanted to jump out of the window.

It's a pity that this guy seems to have forgotten what Cao An just said. The courtyard is already surrounded by his brothers from the Tsing Yi Department.

boom!
  At the window, a Golden Flag guard punched him back into the room, and then continued to stand guard with an expressionless face. Our Golden Flag's discipline is very good.

[Zeng County Magistrate] was beaten back to the house with an ashen face. He was a demon. Cao An had countless ways to verify his identity. He must be doomed tonight.

But while thinking about this, there was suddenly new movement outside the door.

After a period of scuffles and screams, Pan Daxi personally carried one person and threw him in.

The visitor fell to the ground, let out a painful "ouch", raised his head, and everyone was stunned.

"Hey, isn't this Magistrate Zeng, why is he visiting his own house so late?" Cao An joked.

Ying Huorong exclaimed from the side: "Wait, is this Magistrate Zeng again? The third Magistrate Zeng?"

It was strange enough that she heard someone pretending to be an official of the imperial court during the day, but why did it seem like there was more than one impostor?

Moreover, looking at the expressions of 'Zeng County Magistrate', [Zeng County Magistrate] and 'Zeng County Magistrate', they seemed to be confused by each other.

"Which one of them is the real one?" Ying Huorong couldn't help but ask.

Cao An chuckled and took a sip of the freshly brewed Tianshan green tea. The story was about to begin.

"Three of them, none of them really."

(End of this chapter)