After the immortal disappeared

He Lingchuan asked Zhao Dazui in the car: "Did anyone in the village get hurt last winter?"

"Ah?" Zhao Dazui didn't understand, "What kind of injury do you mean? Frostbite, bruise or fall?"

"...It's not easy to cure." Pig thorns are not easy to deal with.

Zhao Dazui thought for a while: "I haven't heard of it."

Jiao Yu interrupted: "Has anyone died of illness?"

"Ah, yes." Zhao Dazui nodded crisply this time, "Old man Xu from Youtian Town has suffered from tuberculosis for many years, and he didn't survive last winter..."

"Those who will die in their prime of life. This includes villagers and passers-by."

"Oh..." Zhao Dazui thought again, "Yes. In Xujia Village next to the White Pagoda Temple, Xu Laoer, who was in his thirties, lost his leg due to the cold in the mountains. He died of a high fever within a few days after returning home. "

He Lingchuan nodded and took note: "What else?"

Zhao Dazui thought about it carefully and couldn't remember it.

He Lingchuan's heart moved and he suddenly asked: "What about the seriously injured or dead monsters?"

"Then I don't know." Zhao Dazui chuckled, "Monsters don't usually live with us. How can I know what's going on with them?"

"Do all monsters live in the countryside?"

"Yes, most of them live in the countryside and have no contact with us." Zhao Dazui added, "Except for cat demons, cow demons, and bat demons who live under the roof, but I didn't pay much attention to them."

If the monster dies, what does it have to do with humans?

Before dark, He Lingchuan rushed back to Youtian Town and split up with Jiao Yubing.

He went to the largest drug store in the town, and General Ling insisted on following him, as if he was addicted to watching the excitement.

Zhitian Township is the largest distribution center for medicinal materials in Chiyan. One-third of the country's medicinal materials are wholesaled from here. Of course, there are medicine shops and hospitals everywhere.

The house that He Lingchuan found had a medical hall in front and a large pharmacy in the back. After he entered, he went directly to the medicine shop owner, took out the red powder scraped from the pig's nest, and asked what it was.

The shopkeeper was also an expert. After looking at it twice and sniffing it, he didn't understand it, so he mixed it with medicinal powder and water, and called in several doctors to study it.

Seeing their posture, He Lingchuan felt that it was useless. At this time, he missed his Yao Yuan even more. At least Lingguang is not as unreliable as them.

Fortunately, the shopkeeper finally invited an ape out of the back hall.

He Lingchuan was surprised: "Medicine ape?"

"Exactly." The shopkeeper said with a smile, "This is our chief alchemist, Mr. Lu."

Mr. Yaozuru's chin and beard were all white. Hearing that the shopkeeper said he couldn't figure out the origin of the stone powder, he took a handful of red powder on his fingertips and spit.

Everyone, including the four or five doctors, saw that the pink powder had become transparent.

"That's right, this is stone blood." Mr. Lu confirmed, "It's also called stone blood. Where did the guest get it?"

"What's the use?"

"This thing is commonly known as the blood of stones. It is also regarded as the essence of mountains. It is rarely used to make medicines and elixirs, so ordinary pharmacists and alchemists don't recognize it. However, it can actually be used in some folk remedies." Lu The teacher is very familiar with it, "In addition, it is also a material for making certain magical instruments. If the guests take it to the craftsman, it may be easier for them to identify it."

It paused and asked again: "Stone networks are rare and these are very fresh. Isn't the place where the guests dug them not far away?"

"This is mineral powder, not a plant. How can you tell whether it is fresh or not?"

"It has the smell of rock and a bit of rancid smell." Mr. Lu said firmly, "It must have been dug out not long ago."

"Biji, I just dug it out of the pig's nest in Yulun Mountain in the afternoon."

"Moon Mountain?" Mr. Lu was obviously stunned, "There is a stone network in Moon Mountain?"

"What is the problem?"

"I have been in Zhitian Township for eighty years, and this is the first time I heard that there is such a thing in Yulun Mountain." Mr. Lu stroked his beard like a human being, "I just said that Shiluo is very rare, and some It is the most powerful prescription. This thing is very expensive. One tael of purified Shiluo powder can be sold for as high as five taels of silver!"

"I just knocked this off and haven't refined it yet. What do you think of the purity?"

Mr. Lu fiddled with it for a while: "There are very few impurities."

He Lingchuan put away the bottle and smiled casually: "Whoever finds the Shiluo vein will get rich?"

"If the reserves are plentiful."

The medicine shop owner couldn't help but interjected: "Guest, that's not the case. You can't do anything random in collecting local medicine and mining, unless the place belongs to you."

Of course He Lingchuan knew, and laughed: "Yes, the mountains and rivers are owned by their owners, who can mine them at will? That's what I said."

After getting the answer he wanted, he thanked Yao Yuan, put down the small ingot of silver and left the medicine shop.

He Lingchuan knew that Jiao Yu's errands could not be completed so quickly, so he followed the scent and found a small shop to eat.

It's a shop, rather than a stall supported by a snakeskin shed.

But the seven or eight low tables in the shed were all filled with guests, each holding a jar and eating happily.

Yes, this stall specializes in canned noodles.

There are seven or eight jars simmering on the stove, all of which are filled with medicinal foods. Whichever one the customer orders, the stall owner will pour noodles into the jar.

He Lingchuan ordered Angelica Turtle Dove Soup and the local Yunsi Thin Noodles. The aroma is fragrant as soon as the lid of the jar is opened. The soup inside is light brown in color with only a thin layer of oil floating on the surface.

Take a sip and you'll find it has a mellow and warm aroma, and the herbs and meat go well together. The ingredients are also so simmered that the bones are crispy and the meat is rotten, so you can chew it directly.

Smelling the fragrant aroma, the three-headed wind-drilling beast would not treat him badly and ordered something to eat as well. This is a country of monsters, and it is common for monsters to eat in towns. In order to take care of their big mouths, the stall owners serve them large open bowls instead of jars.

As expected, these sheep were omnivores. They gnawed at the little turtledoves and squeaked each one in one mouthful, and asked the boss to add more vegetables.

He Lingchuan Xili Hulu drank one can, and he had already finished three bowls. He raised his hand and asked for another can of soup, this time with hot noodle sugar cakes.

Sweet and salty, the taste is very interesting.

What's even better is that this shed is opposite the drug store he just entered.

When he was eating his second small sugar cookie, he saw the drugstore manager coming out and hurried out.

He Lingchuan smiled and raised his arm to make a gesture.

When passers-by saw him, they just thought he was greeting someone. In fact, there was a crow flapping its wings on the tree, purring and following the big shopkeeper.

Ready-made eyeliner, don’t use it in vain.

There are crows everywhere in Zhitian Township, and no one pays special attention to their actions.

He Lingchuan then asked the stall owner: "Two more sugar cakes, please pack them up. By the way, this Shuojintang has such a big facade, who owns it?"

"Who in Youtian Town doesn't know that this is the Li family's property."

He Lingchuan exclaimed: "It turns out to be the Li family."

After dinner, he went to the medicine market in Youtian Town for a walk.

It was a rare occasion to find a wholesale place for medicinal materials. He couldn't take the opportunity to replenish his inventory? It's just that Lingguang is not here, and He Lingchuan's own quality control is not good.

Walking around like this, shopping, and soon it was time to turn on the lanterns.

He Lingchuan returned to the inn and stayed for more than an hour before Jiao Yu returned under the moonlight.

"how?"

"I checked the account books of the township office and omitted those who died of old age and illness. Last winter, there were seven young and middle-aged casualties, three were missing, and two passing caravans reported that their own employees died of acute illness." It paused, "This It’s human.”

"Monster clan, it's the pig monster that died. Two monsters entered the town to seek medical treatment, so it was recorded, and the others are unknown."

Yes, if the monsters don’t come to seek medical treatment, who would know they have been injured?

He Lingchuan shook his head: "We really can't tell anything from the official records. No wonder Fu Shanji couldn't handle this case. The people behind the scenes know the official family too well."

He recounted his trip to the medicine hall, and Jiao Yu immediately said after hearing this: "In addition to water sources and medicinal herbs, the territory of this nest of pigs now also has a stone network vein. It is really rich in resources."

"It's a crime to possess a jade." He Lingchuan said, "It seems that our suspects are not only the three families of King Li and Tu."

He has already inquired and found out that those three companies are all engaged in medicinal materials business.

Shiluo is little known locally, and none of these big players may have been involved in it.

He frowned again at this point: "But there is one thing I haven't figured out: since the murderer knows our whereabouts, why doesn't he wait until we leave Youtian Town or Zhitian Township before taking action?"

"Yes, if they ambush us in such a hurry and fail, they will expose the fact that they are active nearby." Jiao Yu asked him, "What are you going to do now?"

"Muddy the water first, maybe the big fish will appear on its own." He Lingchuan said to him, "Master Jiao, please find Li Dahu."

"Now?" It's dark.

"Yes, now." He Lingchuan affirmed, "This is the effect we want."

Jiao Yu is a man of action, and as expected, he found Li Dahu in less than two quarters of an hour.

Li Dahu was dug out of his sleep. Although he was fully dressed, he had feces hanging from the corners of his eyes and was yawning continuously. He is fifty-seven this year. Although he takes good care of himself, his energy is far less than that of young people.

The prince's special envoy actually called him to come to the door overnight, and he kept beating in his heart. He kept asking Jiao Yu sideways, if anyone else was going with him?

To be able to make such a huge deal, who has truly clean hands?

If all the old things are brought out, then...

He was feeling uneasy when He Lingchuan took out a note and showed it to him with a smile:

"Someone is reporting you."

…

The next day, at the end of Yin time.

The magistrate of Baishi County had just dreamed that he had been promoted to an official position and was holding a tail-burning banquet to be congratulated by everyone. He was ruthlessly awakened by an old servant at home:

"Sir, Li Dahu and Wang Dahu would like to see you."

"Now?" Magistrate Baishi rubbed his eyes and saw that it was not yet dawn outside the window. He couldn't help but get angry, "Are they crazy?"

"They said it was related to some messenger case."

messenger? The county magistrate sat in bed and was stunned for a long time. He came back to his senses little by little and then remembered the case of the missing messenger in Lingxu City.

From the bottom of his heart, he didn't think that Zhitian Township had anything to do with this case, so he didn't think much about it for the past two days. Why did these two big business owners come to him in such a hurry?

"Let them wait in the study."

Two quarters of an hour later, Li and Wang, two village sages, had finished a cup of tea, and the Baishi County Magistrate arrived belatedly.