White Bone Monkey King

Penglai Inn.

As the name suggests, we welcome friends from afar to stay at the inn.

Just by looking at the name, you will think that the innkeeper is warm and hospitable.

When the Bi'an carriage stopped in front of the Penglai Inn, the inn was still open for business as usual, and everything looked normal on the surface.

"Commander."

Several criminal investigation officers who were hiding in the dark and responsible for keeping an eye on the Penglai Inn came out of the dark to welcome Jin'an.

When the carriage was stable, Jin'an, the old Taoist priest, and Fatty Li got off the car together, and the old dog who learned to wear clothes also followed this time.

Maybe the food in the Wuzang Taoist Temple was too good, the old dog gained weight rapidly, and gradually had the tendency of a pig and dog, and made a muffled sound when jumping off the carriage.

This old dog was brought by Jin'an on his own initiative. When he came out to handle the case, he had to rely on the sensitivity of the dog's nose.

The innkeeper is a short and fat middle-aged man with a big belly. The news of the spice shop has already spread. The Criminal Investigation Department chopped off the head of a ninth-rank eunuch as soon as he arrived, and wanted to conduct a large-scale search of the spice shop. Seeing the Criminal Investigation Department's commander's car parked in front of his inn, the cowardly innkeeper had already run out of the inn like a meatball, and greeted the Criminal Investigation Department with trepidation.

"I, Li Dajin, have seen the god, the Marquis of Shenwu... No, I have seen the commander of the Criminal Investigation Department... No, I have seen the martial arts, the martial arts immortal..."

In theory, people who can open a shop and do business in a spice shop filled with all kinds of people are people with extraordinary vision. They have seen all kinds of swords and swords. This innkeeper should not be so timid because the Criminal Investigation Department came to his door.

It can only be said that a man who knows the times is a hero. The Criminal Investigation Department dares to chop even the eunuchs. Only a fool would confront the Criminal Investigation Department at this time.

People who can open a shop and do business in the spice shop are indeed extraordinary, but they also know how to read people's expressions and judge the situation.

If a stupid and dull person were to do business in the spice shop, he would have been eaten up by others without leaving any bones.

In business, one must be able to bend and stretch, and make money with harmony.

What is dignity?

Can dignity be eaten?

Can dignity make the neck invulnerable to swords and guns?

Fatty Li said casually: "We are all members of the Li family. I am Li Zhiqizhuang, and you are Li Kui. If you don't make sense, you will be so scared."

"?"

The innkeeper was a little confused for a while. What the hell is Li Zhiqizhuang and Li Kui.

Fortunately, he reacted quickly and cried out for justice: "I am innocent, Commander!"

"Now the whole capital knows that the Criminal Investigation Department went to the Spice Shop to arrest spies and rebels! Anti-corruption requires evidence, anti-gangsters require lists, and suppressing rebellion does not require evidence or lists, but directly punishes the entire family! The commander suddenly came to my shop, and I was so scared that my legs went weak that I couldn't stand even if I was innocent, for fear that with a snap, the heads of the whole family would fall to the ground!"

Are all the Li family members so funny?

Jin'an, the old Taoist priest, and the old dog all looked at Fatty Li, which made Fatty Li a little angry. He kicked the innkeeper lightly with his foot and told him to straighten his back and speak properly, and not to make them look like evil officials who only oppress the people. As long as you have not done anything wrong, you are naturally not afraid of your shadow.

Plop, the other party sat down on the ground without being kicked.

It seems that his legs are really weak, not pretending.

The accompanying criminal inspectors were all experienced in the underworld, familiar with various procedures, and directly carried the innkeeper to the inn.

Jinan and his companions also entered the inn and were taken all the way to the back kitchen of the inn.

"Commander, my exorcism talisman caught fire for no reason at the door of the back kitchen."

"I was afraid of alerting the enemy, so I left Penglai Inn after a hasty inspection and asked Liu Ping, Song Laowu, Hai Fu, and Han Xuyin from the same group to stay and keep an eye on the inn to prevent anyone from getting wind of it and escaping. Then I reported the abnormality here to Deputy Commander Sun as soon as possible."

Among the criminal inspectors who carried the weak-legged Li Dajin, a thin forty-year-old man who did not look strong but gave people a sense of calmness and sophistication in the underworld, reported the situation to Jinan with a fist.

Jinan looked at him with appreciation: "What's your name?"

The big man clasped his fists and dared not look at Jinan: "My Lord Commander, I am Zhang Yong."

Everyone praised Jinan: "You did a great job this time. The personal safety of the brothers is always the first priority. When encountering uncertain dangers, there is no need to risk yourself. Being cautious will never be wrong."

"As long as people are still here, there will be no difficulties that cannot be solved. You will not lose any of your achievements."

Jinan's remarks that put human lives first instead of using his subordinates as cannon fodder to gain credit greatly boosted the morale of the Criminal Investigation Department.

This is the importance of following the right master.

When the innkeeper heard about the exorcism talisman, his face changed immediately: "Exorcism talisman... yes, there are evil spirits?"

Jinan did not answer, but asked the old Taoist priest and Fatty Li to go in to see what was going on. When he heard about the evil spirit, Fatty Li immediately became energetic and clasped his fists to Jinan: "Thank you, Taoist Jinan, for your help."

Then he laughed and went into the kitchen with the old Taoist priest one after another.

Next, there was the sound of rummaging in the kitchen, and soon, Fatty Li came out with a khaki-colored linen bag.

Bang.

Fatty Li threw the linen bag on the ground, revealing some South Asian spices that looked like water spinach leaves.

"Little brother, do you still recognize this South Asian spice?" the old Taoist priest asked mysteriously.

Jin An recognized it at a glance and said: "The last time we cooked mutton hot pot in Beijing, I remember that there was a kind of flavoring condiment, and this one, it seems to be called laksa leaves?"

When it comes to mutton hot pot, everyone in the Criminal Investigation Division couldn't help but think of the last time Jin'an and his friends were chased by goats all night just because they ate mutton. Jin'an even hid in the Criminal Investigation Division for several days and didn't dare to return to the Five Zang Taoist Temple.

That time in Jin'an, they chewed some raw garlic, but they couldn't suppress the smell of sheep. When they returned to the Taoist temple, they were still smelled by goats.

The more I recall the memory of that day, the more profound it becomes. Everyone in the Criminal Investigation Department looked at the spices in front of them, and their eyes were obviously different. Even raw garlic could not suppress the aroma. Next time you make mutton hot pot, why not try adding some of this Nanyang food? Spices add flavor?

When investigating a case, you encounter evil spirits and your life is threatened at any time. At this time, you are still distracted and want to eat. This is the unique sense of security that Jin'an brings to the Criminal Investigation Department.

People will only think about solving the problem of food and clothing in an absolutely safe environment.

The old Taoist priest nodded: "Yes, it's laksa leaf. This spice is famous for its unique spicy taste. It prefers a mixed taste of mint and thyme."

"If it weren't for your high official position and generous salary, little brother, we wouldn't be able to enjoy this blessing."

With Jin An's cultivation level, he could tell at a glance that there was something wrong with the spice in front of him.

At this time, the old Taoist priest said to the innkeeper: "Black dog blood can ward off evil spirits. Do you have black dog blood here? If you don't have black dog blood, yellow dog blood will do."

"As long as it's bloody."

As soon as the old dog heard that his hair was blowing, he immediately pretended to be lame, deliberately raised his front legs and howled in pain.

"Taoist Master, is rooster blood okay? I remember that the chef would leave rooster blood alone every day, and then secretly sell it to the Fushou restaurant to enrich his own pockets. Although I know that the chef is a bit dirty, I usually turn a blind eye. Eyes, as long as it's not too much," the innkeeper said fearfully.

The inn cook and the gangster who stood aside honestly lowered their heads in shame. It seemed that these people usually did some petty theft, but they just met the owner who was talkative and did not expose their little thoughts in person.

Seeing the old Taoist priest nodding, the innkeeper hesitated for a while and said that he was timid. Could the Taoist priest accompany him to the kitchen to get the rooster blood?

The old Taoist priest agreed happily.

The process of getting the rooster's blood went smoothly. After getting the rooster's blood, the old Taoist priest took out a blank piece of yellow talisman paper in front of thirty or forty pairs of eyes. He used a wolf brush to draw the rooster's blood on the yellow talisman paper. Draw the talisman.

"This is called the curse to cure evil."

The old Taoist priest put away his pen and picked up the yellow talisman, then placed a porcelain bowl brought from the kitchen. He poured out half a bowl of Sanyang wine from the wine gourd, then ignited the anti-evil spell and threw it into the Sanyang wine bowl. .

Wait until the spell burns out.

He drank the talisman water and sprayed it onto the linen bag. Suddenly, he saw a black ghost handprint appear on the linen bag.

The ghost's handprint was as black as ink, and when it touched the sun, it would emit foul-smelling black smoke, which was even more stench than the smell of rotten pork that had been left out for a long time in the summer.

Of course the old Taoist priest was not going to such trouble just for a linen bag. He began to walk into the kitchen, kept drinking talisman water and spraying it, looking for other ghost fingerprints in the inn.

After a while, the old Taoist priest walked out of the kitchen and shook his head at Jin An: "The kitchen is very clean. Only this bag of Nanyang spices brought back something unclean."

Fatty Li was careful. He observed the size of the handprints and palm prints on the linen bag, and analyzed: "People who do heavy and hard work all year round will have thicker and shorter fingers. The palm prints on the linen bag have long and slender fingers, indicating that this person does not work all year round." People who do heavy and hard work, or who are very young and have not been in the inn for a long time.”

"First we can exclude the cooks, and then we can exclude the clerks who are over thirty years old. Then by comparing the size of the palm prints, we can preliminarily infer that this person is very young, has not done any hard work, and can freely enter and exit the kitchen..."

Fatty Li stood up and said to the innkeeper: "You are the most familiar with the situation of the waiters in the store. Call all the waiters who meet the above conditions. I will know who is a human and who is a ghost."

Unexpectedly, the innkeeper said: "I already know who it is!"

Then, with a livid face, he pulled out a tall, thin boy of 17 or 18 years old from among the rows of inn clerks, threw him at Jin An's feet, and said with a livid face: "This man is going to be beaten or killed. It all depends on the judgment of the Criminal Investigation Department. I hope the commander will know everything. This person’s activities have nothing to do with our store. The villain really doesn’t know anything.”

When the seventeen-year-old boy saw that the innkeeper was about to abandon him, he immediately turned pale with fear. He knelt down and hugged the innkeeper's leg, regretting and crying that he was wrong.

Jin An always looked calm, neither happy nor angry, making it difficult for outsiders to figure out what he was thinking.

In fact, with Jin'an's Yang Nian, he could see the source of the problem as soon as he entered the kitchen. He could see from the beginning that the 17 or 18-year-old waiter who was kneeling on the ground and crying bitterly had a strange fortune.

This person's forehead has black hair, which represents the heavenly realm of his parents, and is a sign of having no father or mother. People who have no father or mother, less rich and more poor, but this person's wealth palace has gold. However, this little gold is looming, indicating that he is not born rich, but must have made a windfall recently, and there is evil in the gold. A black energy is forced towards the Life Palace, and the Life Palace shows signs of collapse, indicating that this windfall has an improper origin and will lead to an unexpected death.

Looking at the bulging veins on his ears, we can clearly see that this is due to insufficient yang energy, stasis of qi and blood due to cold and dampness, and a weak spleen. He must have seen something he shouldn't have seen in the past few days, and he has been in a state of panic.

Jin An did not reveal all this at the beginning, but watched the old Taoist priest and the people from the Criminal Investigation Department struggling there. He wanted to train the Criminal Investigation Department.

All good things must come to an end. He will leave the Criminal Investigation Department one day. Now he will help the Criminal Investigation Department as much as he can.

After all, the other party is just a young man of seventeen or eighteen years old. In addition, he has been frightened by the changes in the past few days and lives in fear every day. His mind is at its most vulnerable. Fatty Li threatened him with a few words and easily interrogated all the inside stories.

This person, Li Yan, is not a native of Beijing. He can barely be regarded as a distant relative of Li Dajin who has nothing to do with him in eight generations.

A few years ago, Li Dajin returned to his hometown to worship his ancestors. Seeing that this person was pitiful because he had no father or mother, and they both had the surname Li, he felt sympathy and brought him to Beijing to help and give him a meal.

Perhaps because he lost his parents early and matured early, Li Yan's cleverness made Li Dajin love talents and cultivate his confidants, so he transferred Li Yan from the front hall to the account office as an apprentice to the accountant to help him manage some unimportant business.

Because of the shortage of manpower, he just handed over the purchase of the kitchen to Li Yan last year.

It stands to reason that Li Dajin treats Li Yan well. As long as people are kind, they should know how to repay kindness. Moreover, Li Yan is only responsible for simple purchases and is not responsible for specific financial transactions. There is no chance for him to take kickbacks.

However, Li Dajin underestimated the temptation of the prosperous capital city for a person who has lived a poor life since childhood.

Li Yan is indeed very clever, but it is precisely because he is too clever that he gradually becomes more thoughtful.

The rich man behind Li Dajin was quite powerful in the spice shop in the capital. Some people saw that Li Dajin's freight carriage was rarely checked in the spice shop, so they bribed Li Yan with gold and silver to help them secretly transport some shameful things.

The things he smuggled for the first few times were normal. Although Li Yan did not see it with his own eyes, he knew in his heart that the other party was a middleman who was engaged in reselling Nanyang spices.

The huge profits in the spice shop were almost monopolized by a few companies, so there were always some fearless stinking ditch rats who were eyeing this huge piece of fat meat.

He did not need to help the other party smuggle every day, usually helping the other party smuggle two or three times a month, so Li Dajin never found anything unusual. And the other party was also generous, giving him a hundred bucks every time.

It's just that it's not so easy to make money from side jobs.

Li Yan thought he didn't ask anything, he just needed to help people smuggle things honestly, not look at things he shouldn't look at, and not ask things he shouldn't ask, so there would be no trouble.

But there is a saying that goes, "Too clever is the end of life."

A person is not afraid of not being smart, but being too smart.

The first few times seemed to be just a test of whether his mouth was tight, and the trouble began. In addition to smuggling and reselling spices, the other party actually smuggled living people. Several times, he smuggled people wanted by the court into the spice shop.

However, the reward for smuggling living people is also high, and you can get two hundred yuan each time.

Money makes the devil work.

Seeing that the other party gave enough money, Li Yan chose to remain silent and pretend that he knew nothing. He planned to do a few more jobs, then quit his job at the inn, and then leave the capital, return home to open a restaurant, and this life would be worth it.

However.

He still underestimated how much trouble he was entangled in.

Until one day, the other party used the effect of spices to cover up the stench of corpses and let him smuggle dead people...