Chapter 6 Chapter Six

Before the lunch was dismissed, Duke Di hurried to the Yamen Hall, where Hong Canjun and Fang Xiaowei were already waiting. ——Di Gong and Hong Canjun put on the official sedan chair in their robes, and the eight yamen servants lifted them up like flying out of the gate of the county yamen.Go straight to the east gate. In the sedan chair, Hong Canjun asked: "Master, I still don't understand why the murderer wanted to change the body of the dead body." Mr. Di smiled wryly: "I can't guess this at the moment, but there are two things that can be inferred. One, the murderer wanted to cover up his crime of killing another person, and two, he didn't want to expose Shen San's body. Our top priority right now It is to find Shen San's body and the other head as soon as possible. With these two things, it is not difficult to judge the murderer's purpose of committing the crime and the intention of exchanging his head. I guess, these two things must be hidden in the hidden places inside and outside Ziguang Temple place."

The official sedan chair left the east gate and soon reached the foot of Ziguang Temple.At the foot of the mountain, there are about ten families and a small hotel.The beggars and refugees in the hotel looked at the official sedan chair curiously, and Er surrounded a group of idlers who watched the excitement. "Hong Liang, the Chuanming fan only said that he went to the temple to find a cage, so that no one else can find out the inside story." Di Gong and Hong Liang got off the sedan chair, and climbed the mountain according to Fang Xiaowei's instructions.Four yamen servants followed, and the other four guarded at the root of the mountain, arranging prohibitions.

After entering a tall stone archway, there is a gentle mountain road.The ancient cypresses along the road are erected, covered with thick shade, blocking the afternoon sun.Along the way, the mountain birds chirped and the cool breeze was blowing. Watching in sequence, I didn't feel tired. I felt dizzy on the shaded road. When I was lingering and enjoying myself, I didn't realize that I had reached the top of the mountain.A red wall meanders in front of you, revealing the green trees. Outside the mountain gate, there are four cang qiu, and it is difficult to distinguish the years.There is an ancient plaque under the eaves of Chongxie Mountain, with four large gold characters written "Ziguang Temple".Before and after the ancient plaque, sparrows flew in groups, chirping and singing.

Di Gong looked up for a long time, appreciating in his heart, what a quiet place.Thinking of the terrible murder happening in this monastery, he couldn't help but frown. Fang Xiaowei said: "There is a narrow path on the right side of the mountain gate, which leads directly to Qingfeng Nunnery. Ziguang Temple has been abandoned for many years, and Qingfeng Nunnery still has incense and Buddhist rituals. The abbot's name is Baoyue." Mr. Di stroked his beard and nodded, this Baoyue was the only guest invited by Mrs. Di for her birthday tonight. "Let's go to the main hall to see the murder scene first," Di Gong said.

Fang Xiaowei led the way, and Di Gong and his party entered the mountain gate.In front of you, you can see a pair of seven-level stone pagodas covered with wisteria.One of the cobblestone paths is flanked by two neat rows of steles.The two meditation rooms on the left and right are dilapidated, and there is a side hall in the middle of each room. The side halls were originally flower beds with uneven fences.The green grass in the fence is desolate, and the wild flowers are lonely. "A Niu was sitting under the ginkgo tree on the other side of the flower bed when he was arrested, playing ton." Fang Xiaowei pointed out.

After hearing this, Duke Di went straight into the Daxiong Hall without saying a word. The Daxiong Hall is empty and lonely, and the wind is overwhelming.The faces of the three big Buddhas in the middle are filthy and black, and the canopy of the spiritual banner is filthy and dilapidated.The altar in front of the Buddha's seat was about ten feet long, and there were no candlesticks and ritual utensils on the table, but it was covered with broken straw mats. ——That was Shen San's bed all the year round, and he was leaning on one leg of the altar table when he died. Except for twelve giant nanmu pillars, there is nothing else in the hall.The arhats on the two walls are swaying to and fro, covered with spider webs, bat feces and raccoon traces are everywhere, and the smell is pungent.There are several piles of charcoal embers behind the gate of the temple.

Hong Canjun knelt down to examine one leg of the altar table carefully, and there were indeed dried blood splattered on the leg of the altar. "Master, the footprints on the front, back, left, and right sides of this desk are disordered, as if they have been covered several times and then lifted up. Looking closely at these footprints, it is definitely not Shen San's alone." Di Gong also bent down to inspect it carefully, and wiped the dust with his palm a few times.Then he ordered Lieutenant Fang to lead four yamen servants to search the entire temple, only to find the stolen goods of the thieves.All suspicious areas need to be checked thoroughly. If there are loose traces of wall and floor tiles, they must be pried up and inspected carefully, and should not be easily let go.If suspicious objects are found, additional rewards will be given.

Fang Xiaowei ordered the yamen servants to first bring the two Fangtian halberds and a divine ax in the alcove of the east side hall for Di Gong to inspect, and then scattered to search for the cage. In a moment, Fang Tianji and the cranked axe were lifted.Di Gong took a closer look, and found that it was a blazing cold blade that threatened people, so he ordered him to carry it to the government office when he went down the mountain. Di Gong and Hong Canjun followed Fang Xiaowei to the apse first.The four yamen servants went straight to the side hall of the meditation room in the west chamber.

The apse is empty, and there is no Buddha statue.The murals of Sakyamuni III on the three walls are still fresh in color and lifelike. ——Mr. Di found a lot of lotus floor tiles that died later, and it seems that someone has carefully searched here. After a long while, four yamen servants came to report one after another, and people searched the side halls of the meditation rooms on both sides.Almost all the lotus floor tiles in the west side hall have been dug up and stacked neatly against the wall.Although the lotus floor tiles in the eastern side hall have not been excavated, they were obviously dug up and carefully placed together.There are traces of excavation on the stone slabs on the walls of each meditation room.One by one, the yamen servants tossed and tossed, but found nothing.They said that the stolen goods in the cage might have been robbed by the first strikers.

Di Gong groaned in his beard, and remained silent for a long time. He asked Hong Canjun to follow the yamen servants to the side halls of the side halls of the two chambers to check them one by one.He also ordered the yamen servants to pry up the floor tiles of the Daxiong Hall and the apse for careful inspection, and it turned out that someone had tossed them.So he ordered the Yamen servants to search all over the temple again, including the flower beds, roads, bushes and turf, and checked them one by one. After the yamen servant left, Di Gong said: "Someone has searched this monastery carefully, of course not to find the hidden corpses and heads, nor yesterday or the day before yesterday, but some time ago. I can conclude that the person who came here is looking for A small thing, less than a foot in radius, should be gold and silver treasures."

Hong Canjun asked in surprise, "How can you see that?" "The people who came to dig up the floor tiles only checked five or six inches of earth and rocks, and the wall was only three or four inches thick. Hong Liang, I can also conclude that there are more than one person looking for treasures, at least two. One careless, digging at random The floor tiles were piled up on one side. The other had a deep scheming, and after searching, they put the floor tiles together one by one so that they were not exposed. As a result, some meditation rooms are intact as before, while others are in a mess." Hong Canjun nodded frequently, and said again: "But is the person looking for objects related to Shen San? Besides, is Shen San one of the two people looking for objects?" Mr. Di clapped his hands and said: "This is consistent. I am afraid that Shen San and another victim had a relationship with the murderer in the search for the object, and were eventually killed. ——It seems that the body and head are not in the temple, and I have not seen them before and after." I saw a drop of blood. Of course, it might not be easy to search for it in the flower bed garden, in front of the eaves and in the back of the pavilion. There is a stretch of rubble trees, where can I dig them?" While talking, Fang Xiaowei led four exhausted yamen servants and turned back empty-handed, with a dejected look on his face. Di Gong ordered the yamen servant to search in the surrounding walls and garden bushes. He and Hong Canjun first went to Qingfeng Nunnery together. Di Gong and Hong Liang left the mountain gate of Ziguang Temple and turned to the right into a sheep bowel stone path. ——Qingfeng Nunnery is three miles away from Ziguang Temple, and it is not too far to walk. Along the way, Hong Canjun said again: "I think the murderer must have accomplices. He killed Shen San and the other two one after another, chopped off his head, exchanged his head, and hid Shen San's body and the other head. Forget to splash blood on the sleeping A Niu again. The murderer is the same as the treasure hunters who came to this temple, there are at least two people, what is their reason?" Di Gongdao: "When the world is in turmoil, the monks in the temple often hide Buddha statues, ritual objects, gold and silver belongings to prevent theft. Therefore, when temples are usually built, they often have secret rooms secretly. The public may not know the inside story, and the abbot, the only second-in-charge abbot, holds the secret alone. If this Ziguang Temple has buried a batch of treasures in the past, then the treasure hunters and murderers can be traced from the beginning to the end. However, I have never I have heard that Ziguang Temple once buried treasures, and it has been abandoned for many years, and I have never heard that anyone has come here to search for treasures." "My lord, maybe someone found the news in some kind of book, book or letter, and gathered three or four rascals to try to get away with it. Shen San and the co-dead man are probably in the toilet. When the treasure is revealed, the internal strife will be seen." Red, blood ax beheaded, logically, treasure hunters and murderers are strung together on this line." Di Gong was convinced in his stomach: "Hong Liang, after you return to the Yamen today, you should carefully check the historical records of this Ziguang Temple to see if there is really a record of treasures." The two sides discussed and explored, and they were very interesting. They didn't realize that they had arrived at the gate of Qingfeng nunnery. Qingfeng Nunnery is located in the green forest on the mountainside, far away from the world, small and quiet.An exquisite whitewashed wall is wrapped in the shape of banana leaves, the outside of the wall is decorated with bamboo, and the inside of the wall is full of pomegranates, just like a painting. Hong Canjun tapped the copper ring on the dark gate with his hand.After a while, someone activated the latch, and the door of the nunnery was opened, revealing a handsome almond face. "I don't know what the two benefactors are doing?" The question was lukewarm. "This is my name card, please pass it to Master Baoyue, the abbot." Di Gong handed over the name card with the fiery red seal. Unexpectedly, the girl didn't even glance at the name post, she lightly parted her cherry lips and said, "Master is going to the city at night to celebrate his birthday at the magistrate's house, and he's sleeping at noon now. —— Word has been passed on, and there will be no vulgar visitors at all." The door is about to close. Di Gong sighed: "Come on, since the master is resting, we don't want to disturb you. I just ask the girl a word, and then I will leave." "I wonder if the benefactor has any questions?" The girl was polite. "Last night there were scoundrels and hooligans stirring up trouble on the mountain and down the mountain. Did you hear any unusual noises in Bao'an in the middle of the night?" "Offending the benefactor, we fell asleep as soon as the sun went down, and we didn't hear any noise." After saying that, he lowered his eyelids and said nothing.He kept the bolt on the door with one hand, and refused to let people into the nunnery. Hong Canjun was about to open his mouth to show off, but when he saw Di Gong's signal, he fell silent. Di Gong thought that the ancients also had Yeban Zuiwei's gatekeeper. The girl in front of him was modest in her speech, neither arrogant nor humble, but she had a lot of scheming, and she didn't feel her approval.It's inconvenient to force her, not to mention that Baoyue was about to enter the mansion at night to celebrate his wife's birthday; some words, it's better to ask Baoyue in person during the night banquet, so she bowed and said goodbye, saying that she was disturbing. ——Seeing the layout of Qingfeng Nunnery, Di Gong began to believe that Baoyueduan was not bad, and he was also relieved that his wife knew an outstanding scholar outside the world. When Duke Di and his wife returned to Ziguang Temple, Lieutenant Fang led four government servants and they still couldn't find any cages. Di Gong said: "It's getting late, let's go back to the yamen. Lieutenant Fang, you seal all the door bells of the halls and pavilions in the temple, and leave two guards here to guard them, and send someone to change them after night."