As soon as the rain stopped, there was mist between the mountains and valleys. Bo Ruoyou thought that the mountain road could not be dug out for a while, so he asked Wu Xiang to take her to see the vacant houses.

Wu Xiangzheng couldn't understand his thoughts clearly, so he took Bo Ruoyou to the northwest.

Here, the valley is surrounded by mountains on three sides, but there is a gap on the northwest side. The mountain road goes down from the southeast and heads to the northwest, and the terrain becomes increasingly low-lying. The houses mentioned by Wu Xiang are indeed in a wet and water-stacked place.

It rained heavily last night. Before I got close, the carriage was hard to move. Bo Ruoyou got off the carriage and followed Wu Xiang to one of the farmers' houses. As Wu Xiang said, the farmhouse was covered with weeds, and now it was filled with water, the doors and windows were rotten, and the walls that were originally standing outside also fell to the ground, while the houses were all mud walls. At this moment, the doors and windows were all gaps, and the roofs collapsed, which were actually difficult to stop the wind and rain.

Bo Ruoyou looked at the nearest place, then looked at several families not far away, and chose a family with a slightly higher terrain and walked over. Wu Xiang led the yamen to her side and said as she walked: "You must live here safely. You have to dig a ditch in advance on heavy rains, otherwise water will be poured back into the yard and it will be so cloudy that it will not be able to live."

Bo Ruoyou nodded and did not answer. Before she arrived at the second vacant farmhouse, she frowned.

The houses here are also surrounded by weeds, the trees in front and behind the houses are also long covering the sky and the sun, the doors and windows are rotten into black gaps, and the roof collapses slightly. As Bo Ruoyou looked at them, the strange feeling in his heart was even more.

"Captain Wu, do you feel that these vacant houses have a feeling? It seems... The vacant time of their houses seems to be similar. Grandma Zhang said that they all had a promising future outside and moved out. But there is no reason why several families moved out together, and Grandma Zhang and the others are all sick. What about the families who moved out?"

After Bo Ruoyou said that, Wu Xiang's eyebrows pounded, looked back at the small village, and felt a little chilling, "If you want to investigate this matter, you have to go to Qingshui County Government to see if there is any change in the household registration booklet. However, this place is remote and there is no place in the right place. I am afraid that even if someone changes the residence, the government government government will not be able to manage it."

After Wu Xiang finished speaking, he went to see the vacant farmhouse in front of him. He only saw the shade of trees covering the sky and the sun shrouded the house tightly, giving people a gloomy and terrifying feeling like a wild grave in the wild village. He frowned a few times, "Do you want to go in and take a look?"

Bo Ruoyou didn't mind the terrifying place, so he nodded and walked towards the dilapidated courtyard gate.

Therefore, there is no water accumulation in the yard, so it is not so troublesome to walk. Wu Xiang pulled out his sword from his waist and opened the way. Soon the group walked under the eaves. Wu Xiang said, "I haven't seen this place just now. We entered the yard of the two households below. The houses are empty, and some used houses have long been decayed."

Wu Xiang pushed open the door of the deserted house, and the door panel, which was only half left, fell to the ground with a "clang", shocking a flying dust. Wu Xiang coughed twice and swung his sleeves to remove the dust before walking in. Bo Ruoyou followed behind, and after entering the door, he saw the empty main hall.

The house was covered with dust, spider webs were covered with beams, and the bodies of reptiles were shriveled on the spider webs. I don’t know how many years have passed. There were no tables, chairs, beds, ornaments and curtains in the house. Only some used felt carpets and rags were piled on the ground. It seemed that any other valuable things that could be moved were taken away. Bo Ruoyou took out a scarf and wrinkle and covered her mouth and nose and walked towards the inner room. As soon as she reached the door of the inner room, she paused suddenly.

There were a few footprints with mud stains on the dusty floor in the inner room. Her expression changed slightly and she hurriedly called Wu Xiang in. Wu Xiang walked to the door and saw that something was wrong immediately.

Wu Xiang looked around and saw only the empty rear window, and the footprints on the ground were still wet, which showed that someone had only come in a while ago. "Someone has come here." Wu Xiang's hand holding the knife tightened and went straight to the rear window. Outside the rear window was also a wasteland. The wall further away fell to the ground. No matter who came, he was in and out of it.

Wu Xiang jumped out on the windowsill and soon found a row of footprints on the weeds. He looked in private vigilantly, but did not find anyone. When he walked out of the wall that fell to the ground behind, he saw a dense weedy field. The footprints could be seen at first, but they could not find them after looking forward.

Wu Xiang came back a little depressedly, but Bo Ruoyou was already comparing the size of his footprints: "The footprints are more than seven and half inches long, and this person should be more than five and half feet tall, and most of them are men." After saying that, he stood up straight, Bo Ruoyou frowned and said, "The house is so dilapidated, how could anyone come here? And it happened to be that we came not long before we came-"

The footprints in the inner room were quite messy, but they did not go to the main hall. It was obvious that the visitor's purpose was obvious. Bo Ruoyou looked carefully and found that the footprints were walking towards the wall facing north of the inner room. She looked up and saw two dilapidated boxes and cages piled under the north wall, and some used clothes and paper piled on the ground with dust. It was obvious that the pile of things had been turned over.

Bo Ruoyou called Wu Xiang back, "Captain Wu, there is something different here-"

Wu Xiang flipped through the window and saw Bo Ruoyou pointing at that place, so he strode over and used a knife to clear the debris. However, there was a two-foot square wooden pedal on the flat ground. There was a lock on the pedal. Wu Xiang opened the lock neatly and pulled the pedal up again. As soon as the pedal was pulled up, a black buzzing hole was instantly exposed.

This is the cellar in the house!

Wu Xiang frowned and said, "Is this the cellar that was originally available? Did the person entering the house come to this cellar?"

Bo Ruoyou nodded, "The footprints were walking around the house, but they were heading here. Should the captain go down and take a look?"

Wu Xiang nodded and ordered the yamen to wait in the house. He took out a fire note and lit it. He then stepped down and stepped in. The cellar was down a wooden ladder. The wooden ladder was disrepaired for a long time and lacked two steps. Fortunately, Wu Xiang was skillful and fell to the ground soon. Bo Ruoyou looked down with some concern, but he could only see a little dim light.

Wu Xiang took the fire note and calmed down before he could see the appearance of the cellar clearly. It was four or five meters square here, but the place was quite large. The year-round humidity made the cellar full of moss. Several wooden cabinets and bamboo baskets were piled in the corner of the cellar. On the moss, there were obviously messy footprints, which further confirmed that someone had gone down to the cellar a while ago.

The house has been abandoned for many years, and this cellar is even less likely to be discovered. Why do people come to the cellar?

Wu Xiang narrowed his eyes and looked around. At first, he didn't see anything unusual. Although the debris were piled up, they were all ordinary things and were covered with moss and mould spots. However, soon, he saw a pile of shriveled insect pupa shells on the ground.

After handling the case for many years, Wu Xiang is very familiar with such a pupa shell. This is a corpse worm!

His heart tightened, and he followed the traces of the corpse worm pupa shell and walked a few steps north of the cellar. At this time, he finally saw clearly the dense corpse corpses piled up with the basket cabinet, and some things that looked like spider webs. It was a handful of grayish-colored hair and dried with moss stains. Only when it was close could he see strands.

Wu Xiang's expression changed and he shouted up again, "Xiao Bo, I'm afraid you'll come down."

Bo Ruoyou was a little worried, but when he heard this, he immediately realized that there must be a discovery in the cellar. She carried her skirt and climbed down the wooden ladder carefully. As soon as she stood still, she saw the corpse insect pupa shell on the ground.

Only when a person has died and the corpse has been left for many days will so many corpse insects and pupa shells be born. She quickly walked towards Wu Xiang and saw the hair on the ground with another glance. The corpse will rot for many days, and only when the body is decayed or the body is eroded by the corpse insects and the flesh is almost revealed to the point where the bones appear, the hair will fall off.

Bo Ruoyou shouted upwards and asked Zhou Liang to bring the wooden box for the autopsy. Zhou Liang turned around and came out. Wu Xiang also asked the yamen above to prepare the torch. The two of them left the door. Not long after, Zhou Liang trotted all the way and carried the wooden box over and sent it to the cellar. Soon, the torch also came, making the cellar brighter.

Bo Ruoyou brought his handguard and carefully picked up the hair that was stuck to the moss on the ground. The hair that was tied together has been here for many years and can be broken when touched. Bo Ruoyou carefully put away his hair, and then picked up the corpse of the worm and the pupa shell on the ground and put it in a wooden box. Wu Xiang was placing a fire note next to him, and his face became heavier and heavier. At this moment, Bo Ruoyou found a suspicious thing under the bamboo basket.

It was a strange-shaped thing that looked like a stone. It fell into moss all year round and was stained with a lot of green moss stains. Bo Ruoyou picked it up and saw Wu Xiang came up, "What's it? Stone or wood?"

Bo Ruoyou shook his head, "It may be human bones."

Wu Xiang felt a chill on his back, the corpse of corpses and pupa shells all over the ground, human hair and suspected human bones, all of which indicate that there had been at least one corpse in the cellar here.

Bo Ruoyou first put the human bones in his hand into the wooden box, and then leaned on the ground to fumble carefully. The dampness and suffocation in the cellar were very uncomfortable. The moss and mold spots on the ground had accumulated for many years, and it was not easy to find that the broken bones fell into it. Bo Ruoyou groped for a while, and after Wu Xiang moved the bamboo basket and wooden cabinet, he found two hard objects like stones.

After careful identification, she found that it looked like human bones. In addition to bones and hair, there were also some broken strands of clothes in the cellar. Bur Ruoyou also put away these strands. After careful examination, there was no other abnormality before she climbed out of the cellar with Wu Xiang.

As soon as he left the cellar, several people breathed a sigh of relief. With the bright light outside, Bo Ruoyou even confirmed that the thing in his hand was human bone. "You can confirm that it was human bone, but it was from which part, but I still don't know."

Bo Ruoyou looked at the dark hole again, "If it were really like Grandma Zhang said, those people from these families had moved away, there would be no bones in the cave. This is the inner cellar, and precious things are usually stored. There is no reason to put the human body in it. Now it can be concluded that there must be a murder in this house."

Wu Xiang's expression suddenly became sober. He had not found a mother before, nor had he found any baby who died in another family. Therefore, he only felt that this village was strange, but he had not found any evidence. Now it is very different. Wu Xiang immediately said: "If you find the road digger, you won't have to leave for a while. People have come here, but I'm afraid that the bones will be taken away. This person is very likely to be the murderer."

The yamen went to call for someone, Bo Ruoyou looked around, and hesitated, Wu Xiang said, "What's the matter?"

Bo Ruoyou said: "You have to find a place to clean the bones so that you can determine where the bones are on the human body."

Wu Xiang thought for a while, "Either go back to Grandma Zhang's house or go to Hei Shui Pond. I've checked it out in the morning. The Hei Shui Pond in their village is just northwest."

Bo Ruoyou immediately said, "Then go to the Black Water Pond to have a look."

Wu Xiang nodded and took Bo Ruoyou to check the house before leaving. The carriage was not fast along the village path. After arriving at the Black Water Pool, it was already two incense sticks. The black water pool in Grandma Zhang's mouth was hidden under the mountain wall on the northwest side. It was surrounded by towering trees. The entire pool was five feet square. The water in the pool was so black that it could not be seen. Only the gurgling sounds were heard. The pool water came from the mountain and flowed out along the thin stream, not knowing where it was flowing.

Bo Ruoyou took out the human bones and washed them by the stream. Soon, the bones showed their original gray-brown color, and the three bones were of different shapes. She identified for a while and said: "The first section is a finger bone, and the second and third sections should be broken skulls. Judging from the bones and the length of the finger bones, they should be the bones of an adult man."

Wu Xiang stared at, "There were people who died in the house, either the master or someone knew the cellar. After killing people, he hid the body here." As he said that, his face darkened, "It's a pity that the people in this village don't have a truth. They just ask them, they are afraid they can't ask them. We have to find clues by ourselves. How tall did you say just now are the people who go to the house?"

Bo Ruoyou stood up, "five and half, less than six feet."

With such a stature, it can be considered tall. When Wu Xiang recalled, "The eldest brother of the Wu family is not so tall. But the Zhang family brother is not short. I will go and ask and see what they were doing just now this morning."

Bo Ruoyou put away his good human bones as evidence, washed his hands and put them away, then got up and left with Wu Xiang. Not long after she walked, she suddenly felt like she was lit up on her back, as if someone was hiding in the dark and peeking at her.

Bo Ruoyou turned around and looked at it, but he saw the pool water blowing by the mountain wind, and the surrounding trees and weeds also moved, but there was no one. Only a few birds flew up from the forest.

Wu Xiang didn't know what was wrong with her, so he turned around and asked, "What's wrong?"

Bo Ruoyou shook his head and returned to the carriage along the path. Wu Xiang suspected the Zhang brothers in his heart, so he wanted to take Bo Ruoyou to the Zhang brothers' door to take a look. However, he never expected that before he could reach the Zhang brothers' door, he saw the yamen servants who were going to dig the road and the Zhang brothers walked down the mountain road together.

Wu Xiang's expression changed slightly: "Why are you together?"

Hou Yang also went to dig the road, and heard this and said, "The two Zhang brothers knew that the road was blocked and were still working, so they helped us dig the road together. It took two hours to dig it."

When they entered the door, the footprints in the house had not been completely dry, so most of the people who went to the abandoned house went within an hour, but the Zhang brothers had already dug for them for two hours. A group of yamen servants testified. Wu Xiang had swallowed up what he wanted to ask, but except for the Zhang brothers, other adult men in the village were unable to find a tall and tall man.

There are only four adult men in the village. In addition to the Zhang brothers and the Wu brother, there is also a one-armed old man. It is not that the one-armed old man came here. The old man was disabled and his body was not very tall.

Wu Xiang looked at the mountains and forests in a daze for a moment. It was not that there were other people hidden in this village that they didn’t know?

Wu Xiang said: "You are here just in time. Do you know how many years have the owner of the house at the highest point east of the village left?"

The Zhang brothers looked at each other for a moment, and the Zhang brother stepped forward and said, "It's been more than ten years, I can't remember it. People moved away when our brothers and parents were still there."

When they said this, both of them looked ordinary, and Wu Xiang frowned, "What is the name of the family who moved away?"

The two brothers looked at each other again, a little confused. The elder brother said, "I can't remember this, but it's also the surname Zhang. The people in our village used to be a family, but later there was a surname Wu. Over time, there were only two surnames in the village. It doesn't count as distant relatives, but there was always something to do with the two generations."

Wu Xiang asked again: "Who in your village disappeared without an explanation? Or something happened?"

The two of them were still confused, "No, the villagers who have no skills like us, so they farm honestly. Some craftsmanship, or those who are young and powerful, go out to find a livelihood. This is true for Grandma Zhang's son. Everyone lives in the same place, and they are like their own people. I have never heard of anyone missing or something."

Wu Xiang felt a little anxious, always feeling strange in the village, but there was no trace of it. "Do you know why Grandma Zhang and Sister Wu's illness caused?"

The eldest brother of the Zhang family scratched his head honestly, "Grandma Zhang heard that she is old and the sister of the Wu family is a weak disease brought out from the womb. What's wrong? Does this have anything to do with what the officials are going to investigate?"

This was another question and no idea. However, Wu Xiang could not find any mistakes. It seemed that some clue had been sent to him, but he was always unable to touch and see through a layer of gauze curtain. He waved his hand and ordered the Zhang brothers to go back first. After the two of them walked away, he ordered Hou Yang to have a few, "I found human bones and corpse insects in the house in the east. There should be a murder case in the house. Now I don't have to dig the road. I will go and search the empty houses in the east to see if I can find anything more."

Hou Yang and his wife were excited. They were originally coming for the infanticide case, but they actually found human bones in the deserted house again?

Everyone was heading towards the northwest at this time, and soon arrived at the farmhouse with water. Not only were there weeds and dilapidated, but there was also a lot of rain in the yard. Wu Xiang asked Bo Ruoyou to wait in the carriage, and he brought people into the yard. Bo Ruoyou had to sit in the carriage, watching them search through the window frame, while subconsciously holding the handguard in his sleeve.

She has been away from the capital for two days and stayed here again today, and she had not returned home for two nights. Cheng Yunzhi would most likely be worried, and Huo Weilou. I don’t know if he knew that she had left the city. The warmth of her hand she held her guards also made her feel a little astringent. Although there were many yamen servants beside her, there was no need to worry about safety, but in this remote and strange mountain village, the feeling of strangeness and loneliness and fatigue all came to her heart, and she was a little nervous.

As soon as this thought came, I felt my heart suffocated and sore, and my thoughts seemed to be pressed by something and couldn't lift my energy.

If Huo Weilou was here, it would be great.

Thinking of this, she sighed again. Huo Weilou was Wu Zhaohou, and there was no need to do anything for this case. At this moment, he was busy with the affairs of the court in and outside the palace. He was an indefatigable person. As long as the emperor had orders and as long as the country needed him, he could go through hardships and hardships. He was as tall as a mountain, and he could bear the responsibility no matter how difficult it was.

Bo Ruoyou's heart was suddenly filled with a sense of intent, and his fatigue and depression were swept away. He felt that his whole body was full of energy. She put the guard down and got off the carriage, and walked into the hall along the mud beside the yard.

As soon as he walked to the door, Wu Xiang walked out of it. When he saw her coming, he said in surprise: "There is water everywhere here, not for you to rest in the carriage."

Bo Ruoyou shook his head, "What can I find out?"

Wu Xiang didn't say anything, but took her into the west wing of the house, and then pointed to the few pieces of broken porcelain piled on the ground, "Do you recognize this thing?"

The porcelain flakes were covered with dust. A yamen man pushed the porcelain flakes, revealing the patterns below. She first felt familiar, and then raised her eyebrows, "This should have been a porcelain bottle. Have you seen it at the Wu brothers and sisters' home?"

Wu Xiang's eyes were slightly bright, "That's right! I stood outside and looked at this house in the morning. At that time, I saw only the pile of debris in the wing room, but I didn't know what it was. I just realized that it was a piece of porcelain. I thought it was the fragments left by the owner of the house when he moved out, but when I saw it, I felt a little familiar."

Bo Ruoyou frowned, "Can you not move it away before leaving, and then gave this item to the Wu brother and sister?"

Wu Xiang frowned and shook his head, "I don't think so. Look at this house, there are big objects? Ordinary families wear clothes, benches, cabinets, beds, and all of them are large pieces of furniture. These things are gone. How can a porcelain bottle be given to others? Although these porcelains are not expensive, for ordinary farmers, they are valuable things. What should I do if they give them to others?"

At this point, Wu Xiang said: "Besides this thing, there is another discovery."

After he finished speaking, he took Bo Ruoyou to the back door of the house. Outside the back door, a yamen was squatting on the ground, using the accumulated water in the backyard to roughly clean something. Wu Xiang walked to the door and asked, "Have you finished cleaning?"

"Okay, headmaster, look—"

The yamen turned around and held a wooden board that was decayed to the point where only half of it was left. There was no idea how much dust and mold spots were grown on it. At this moment, it was washed clean and you could see the tiny holes that were edible. In addition, you could also see the mottled black lacquer. Under the black lacquer, there were a few intermittent words.

Bo Ruoyou identified for a while and said in surprise: "Is this a tablet?"

Wu Xiang responded, "That's right, it's a tablet. This thing is piled with a pile of ragged curtains and cloth in the back cover room. Most of it was edible into a pile of wood chips, but the remaining half could still be seen. This should have been a tablet, but now the top half is left. No matter how it moves or what, it is impossible for ordinary people to leave the tablet. Even if the tablet is damaged, they will choose to repair rather than discard it. Otherwise, it will be disrespectful to their ancestors, which is quite unlucky."

Bo Ruoyou understood this truth, and she looked at the wet half-box tablet and suddenly leaned over to take it over. She signaled to Wu Xiang after a while: "Catcher, look at this word, no matter what, it is impossible to have the words "Zhang" and "Wu".

The handwriting was originally written in lacquer, but now there are only a few spots left. Bo Ruoyou gestured on it for a while and was sure that this was not the surname of the village. Wu Xiang also gestured twice, then frowned, "The Zhang brothers are lying. There are not only two surnames of Zhang and Wu in this village."

Bo Ruoyou looked at the tablet and suddenly frowned and said, "To know this problem, you only need to go and see the tombs of the village. They have lived here for generations, and there are always inscriptions on the tombs."

Wu Xiang's expression was slightly refreshed, "It's really feasible!" He said as he walked out, and ordered several yamen to search for the other two empty houses. He also clicked on the two to look for the graves in the village. When he entered the house again, he saw Bo Ruoyou's face was particularly heavy.
Chapter completed!