Chapter 13 Chapter Twelve Drinking

In the evening, Sergeant Wu and I came to Ling Mufeng's residence together.This is a small white building hidden in the bamboo forest by the river, with a western-style fence wall standing in front of the building.The fence does not block the light, so when we approached, a woman dressed as a servant in the courtyard had already seen us.She took two steps towards the door, looking us up and down through the gate. "I'm the sheriff from the county seat. I have something to do with your master." Sergeant Wu said with a grin.Although his police uniform is baggy and out of shape, he is still awe-inspiring in this small town.The woman hurriedly opened the courtyard door, and bowed to greet the old man: "Sir, please sit in the hall first. Our master is upstairs in the study, let me report."

Police Chief Wu waved his hand: "Stop sitting, let's wait in the yard first." He led me into the yard while talking.But I saw that the small building in front of me had three floors, and the chrysanthemums were blooming brightly in the open space in front of the building, which was quite elegant. The mother-in-law went upstairs to report on her own, and after a while she turned around and said: "Senior officers, our master has an invitation in the study." "Okay. Then let's go upstairs!" Sergeant Wu turned to look at me, and said jokingly, "Let's go, Chief Feng."

I also smiled "hehe": I didn't expect that a little private detective like me could follow the fox and pretend to be a "sir". We followed the woman up to the second floor and walked into a north-facing house.The house was not big, and there was a faint fragrance of ink in the house.There is a window on the wall facing the door, and outside the window is the lush bamboo forest behind the building.Under the window is a picture table, Ling Mufeng is facing the window, holding a brush and splashing ink on the rice paper.After hearing the sound of footsteps entering the room, he continued to wave his brush and said, "Take Ling'er down, and tell the nanny to take her to sleep earlier."

The mother-in-law let out an "hey" and walked to the west wall.Only then did I notice that there was a small bed over there, and a baby about one year old was sitting and playing on the soft mattress.The child was born with delicate features, pale and rosy cheeks, so delicate that it seemed as if water could be squeezed out.My heart skipped a beat, and I knew that this was the daughter born to Chu Yun and Ling Mufeng.That child is so delicate and cute, she will definitely be a great beauty when she grows up.I stared at her blankly, my thoughts were flying, and my chest was full of jealousy.

The mother-in-law carried the baby girl out of the house.Ling Mufeng will finish it now. He hangs his hand in the air, looks at the painting and admires himself for a while, then puts the brush on the pen holder, turns his head and smiles: "You two, Ling is rude." Sergeant Wu also smiled and said, "We came here uninvited, and we are the ones who are rude." Ling Mufeng pointed to a pair of tea chairs by the wall: "Please sit down." "I won't sit down anymore." Sheriff Wu said, shaking his hand, "I have to hurry back to the county seat."

"Oh?" Ling Mufeng glanced at the two of us, "The two came here in a hurry, why?" "Grandma Meng died, and a spirit tablet was found at the scene, with the names of Mrs. Meng, Ah Chuan and Feng Yuanchi written on it. Do you know about this?" Ling Mufeng nodded slightly: "Well, I heard a little bit." "Mr. Ling is very knowledgeable. In your opinion, what does this spirit card mean?" "The spirit tablet is dedicated to the dead." Ling Mufeng turned his eyes and glanced at me, "The names of these three people are written on the spirit tablet——if I talk about it in detail, I'm afraid it will be unlucky."

"Well, I think so too." Police Chief Wu reached out and patted my shoulder, "This Mr. Feng is my friend of Wu, and I am very worried about his safety now. I intend to tell him to leave the peak." An avoided it, but he didn't listen to persuasion, what should we do about this?" Ling Mufeng pondered and asked: "Then what does Inspector Wu mean?" Since the other party took the initiative to ask, the old man said bluntly: "I would like to ask Mr. Ling: help my friend find a safer place, and don't let him lose his life in Feng'an Town."

Ling Mufeng asked again: "Why did you ask me for this matter?" The old man smiled "hehe": "This Feng'an Town is Mr. Ling's territory. If I don't look for you, who can I look for?" When he said this, his intention was already obvious: I just want your surname Ling to be Feng Yuanchi Be safe and responsible. If something happens to him in Feng'an Town, you, Ling Mufeng, will not be able to get away with it. Ling Mufeng can naturally understand this subconscious, he was silent for a while, and then asked: "Then I would like to ask Sergeant Wu: Where is the best place to place Mr. Feng?"

The old man said: "In my opinion, there is no other suitable place than this small building! With Mr. Ling's prestige in Feng'an, who would dare to come to Ling's mansion to cause trouble? And this bamboo forest occupies the best feng shui in the town. Road ghosts and ghosts are also not allowed to get close. If the Ling Mansion can take my friend in for the night, then I can rest assured." Ling Mufeng was already prepared in his heart, so he smiled and said: "Although Police Chief Wu said so, if I refuse, it seems that I, Ling, have a ghost in my heart. It happens that there is a vacant cabin on the first floor, but it is for the servants to live in—— As long as Detective Feng doesn't dislike it, I'll take care of it."

"Okay." The old man turned around and said to me, "Brother, with Mr. Ling's words, you can just stay at ease." I cupped my fists at Ling Mufeng and said calmly, "Mr. Ling, please excuse me." "I can't talk about interrupting. Mr. Feng took care of my poor wife for a while ago. I should have expressed my gratitude. Tonight is just right, you and I have a chat over wine, how about it?" Ling Mufeng looked at me while talking, his eyes were piercing.Of course I couldn't show my timidity, so I puffed up my chest and responded, "Okay, don't get drunk!"

Sergeant Wu laughed loudly: "Okay, then I can go back to the county seat at ease." After speaking, he bid farewell to his master.Ling Mufeng sent him downstairs, and I was not polite, and sat down on the tea chair by myself. After a while, Ling Mufeng returned to the study, followed by the woman.The mother-in-law held a teacup in her hand, and put a cup of hot green tea on the coffee table.Ling Mufeng said: "Detective Feng, you have a cup of tea first. I have asked someone to arrange a banquet, and I can join the banquet after I finish painting this painting." Before I came, I expected that Ling Mufeng would not be able to refuse the old man's move.But the other party actually entertained me with a whole banquet, which surprised me.But this guy is always double-dealing and a hypocrite of duplicity.The more polite he is, the more precaution I have to take.Thinking of this, I just gave a light "um" and didn't say much. Ling Mufeng went to the window again, picked up the brush and licked it in the inkstone pool, and continued to paint.At that time, bamboo shadows were whirling outside the window, and the sound of running water could be faintly heard downstairs.I suddenly had a thought, and asked, "Chu Yun was thrown into the river by you from this window, right?" Ling Mufeng stopped writing, raised his head and silently looked out the window.After a while, he finally said: "That's right. We had a dispute that day, and Chu Yun accidentally fell from the window during the fight. Fortunately, the bamboo forest downstairs blocked her body and prevented her from falling. But she rolled through the bamboo forest After that, I slid into the river by the forest. It was the summer rainy season, and the river was rushing. By the time I rushed downstairs to save her, she had already been washed away by the river." I said angrily: "You said she accidentally fell down. Hmph, what's the real situation? I'll hear from Chu Yun himself in the future!" Ling Mufeng let out a "huh", half sighing and half laughing, he picked up a pen and traced lightly on the rice paper twice, and at the same time said leisurely: "What does it matter to you whether she says or not?" My chest felt tight, and I was speechless.Yes, they are a couple, so what am I?Even if Ling Mufeng really harmed Chu Yun on purpose, that old man Wu Chunlei has to take care of it. What right do I, a private detective, have to make irresponsible remarks? I stopped talking, and Ling Mufeng stopped talking. He gathered his energy and concentrated on drawing points on the painting table.I was annoyed and unable to break out, so I picked up the teacup and took a few sips angrily.Whether the tea is bitter or fragrant, I have no feeling at all. The effort for a cup of tea is almost over, and the twilight outside the window is getting dark.After a while, the old woman came upstairs, holding an oil lamp in her hand and said, "Master, the dinner and dinner arrangements have been made." Ling Mufeng responded: "It's just right, I'm done with this painting." While speaking, he put the brush aside, picked up the rice paper with his left hand and shook it lightly, and showed the painting he just finished in front of everyone. "Detective Feng, can my picture of admiring bamboo by the window still catch your eye?" He asked me with a sincere tone.I squinted my eyes to look at the painting.It is a bamboo forest outlined in ink, with straight and vigorous bamboo joints, smooth and elegant bamboo leaves, and stars and flowing water behind the bamboo forest. The situation is elegant and lifelike. I knew it was a good painting, but I was a little unwilling to praise it, so I said vaguely: "This bamboo forest is not bad." Ling Mufeng was not angry, instead he said with a "haha" smile: "Detective Feng has good eyesight. This bamboo forest is not ordinary. From the perspective of Fengshui, there must be bamboos where there are mountains and waters. Without a bamboo forest, Ling may not be able to have the smooth sailing he has today!" Looking at the other party's smug look, I was suddenly out of breath.Just about to say a few words of sarcasm, I thought about it: This guy is probably making teasing words on purpose, if I lose my composure, I will be inferior.So I didn't look at him directly, just glanced out of the window and gave him two vague praises: "Not bad. Good forest, good forest." Ling Mufeng put the painting back on the table, showed me his hand and said, "Detective Feng, please go downstairs for dinner." I got up and walked.The woman was in front, Ling Mufeng was behind, and the three of us came to the hall downstairs.A table for the Eight Immortals has already been set up in the hall, with hot and cold meat and vegetables on the table, and all kinds of dishes are available.Two sets of bowls and chopsticks were placed at both ends of the table, and there was also a jar of old wine sealed in mud. "Detective Feng, since you came to my house today, do you dare to drink a lot?" Ling Mufeng said while sitting at the head of the Eight Immortals table.I didn't show any weakness, I just sat down opposite him and said, "Don't talk so much nonsense, just serve the wine." Ling Mufeng hugged the wine jar and slapped the mud seal away.The old lady rushed to come up to serve her, but Ling Mufeng waved her hand and said, "Get back, it's none of your business here." The old lady left with a low sound.Ling Mufeng filled the two wine bowls to the brim—it was high-quality rice wine, clear in color and fragrant. "Detective Feng, please." Ling Mufeng picked up a wine bowl and compared it to me.I also picked up another bowl of wine: "Tell me, how do you drink it?" "Do it first for respect." Ling Mufeng raised his neck, gulped down the whole wine, then put down the bowl and said, "This first bowl of wine is toast to you for coming from afar, and I will show my friendship as a landlord." I simply said two words: "Thanks!" and followed him to finish the wine. Ling Mufeng picked up the wine jar, filled the two empty bowls one by one, and then raised the bowl again and said, "This second bowl of wine, thank you for sending Chu Yun back to Feng'an, so that our husband and wife will not be reunited." I snorted bitterly and didn't answer.But I didn't pull down the drink when the other party was drinking, and the two wine bowls became empty again in an instant. Ling Mufeng filled up the wine again, held up the bowl and said, "This third bowl of wine is to apologize to you - there was a misunderstanding in the morning, how offensive. It's just that Ling, as a big family in Feng'an, has the responsibility to keep the party safe. Feng At that time, my brother appeared in a place of right and wrong as a person of right and wrong, so Ling had to act cautiously." I accompanied the other party to finish the third bowl of wine, and then sneered, "It's not a misunderstanding. Don't tell me who killed Mrs. Meng?" Ling Mufeng put the wine bowl on the table lightly, and said, "Ling doesn't understand that." After drinking three bowls of wine in succession and on an empty stomach, the energy of the wine quickly surged up.I just feel the warmth between my head and face, and I feel even more unscrupulous in speaking. "The people under your command have been guarding outside Pozi Meng's courtyard all night. Who else can touch Pozi Meng?" I asked, staring straight at the one surnamed Ling. Ling Mufeng put his hands together and slowly rubbed against each other: "Detective Feng wants to say: This Mrs. Meng was murdered by Ling?" "Your dog is guarding the door, of course only you have the conditions to commit the crime." My words were already very sharp, but the man surnamed Ling smiled lightly instead. "This speculation is reasonable, but—" he pondered for a moment, and then said: "—but since Brother Feng is a detective, he should be able to think that if Ling is the murderer in this case, there are at least three factors involved. It doesn't make sense." I rolled my eyelids and asked, "Which three o'clock?" Ling Mufeng said: "First, I have no grievances with Mrs. Meng, why should I harm her?" I immediately replied: "Because you don't want Mrs. Meng to summon her soul. You tried to stop it yesterday afternoon, but Mrs. Meng didn't listen to you. So you made a murderous attempt. Why else would you send those two guys to keep watching outside Mrs. Meng's door?" ?” "I really don't want Pozi Meng to conjure up her soul, but it's illogical to say that she would be harmed because of it. I stopped Pozi Meng because that spirit is really vicious. I'm worried that she won't be able to control it and will be hurt by the evil spirit instead. I let that The two servants guarding outside the courtyard not only have no malicious intentions, but want to protect Mrs. Meng." I smiled "hehe" and said, "These words are on your lips anyway. People are far away from your belly, and I have no evidence to refute you. But the two men under your command stayed outside the courtyard all night. You're dead, you can't deny that, can you?" Ling Mufeng was silent for a moment, and asked back: "If Detective Feng believes that I killed Mrs. Meng because of this, then why did you come to my house today?" I frowned, not understanding the relationship between these two things. "You came today uninvited because you were worried that I, Ling, would harm you. But if you live in my house, it will be difficult for me to do anything—is this the wishful thinking of old man Wu?" Since the other party made it clear, I didn't intend to hide it, so I said bluntly, "That's right, that's exactly the case." "Yeah. You also think that Ling has a good sense of things and won't invite suspicion. Then if I really want to kill Mrs. Meng, why do I have to leave two people guarding the door overnight? Wouldn't this be superfluous, not a self-inflicted stinky game?" ? Am I, Ling, so stupid?" I thought for a while and said, "You arranged those two people to testify against me. But you didn't expect to be able to infer the time of death based on the dead body—you can't frame it, but it's self-defeating." Ling Mufeng smiled disdainfully: "Isn't it unusual to be able to infer the time of death from the corpse? Would Ling not understand? If I really want to plant your booty, why wait until after midnight? You go ahead, I'm behind But it hurts Mrs. Meng, so even if Bao Qingtian is alive, he will not be able to judge such a subtle time difference." I squinted my eyes and said: "Who knows if you understand? Anyway, you understand now. Hey, this three-inch tongue can make even a dead man come alive. Why don't you call Mrs. Meng over, and everyone face to face a certificate?" Ling Mufeng shook his head and said: "It seems that you don't believe what I say. Well, I will also say the third point and let you judge together." I hold back my temper and wait to hear what he can say about the third point. "Grandma Meng was suffocated to death by two spirit tablets wrapped with a rope tightly around her neck; and although the courtyard was soaked by rain, there were no footprints on the ground—how should these weird things be done? Anyway, I, Ling I don’t think I have such ability, please enlighten Detective Feng.” "These are all tricks you used to deceive your eyes. Although I can't figure it out now, I will always be able to crack it in the future." I sneered, "Of course, you can also excuse yourself and say: These are all done by spirits. Even if others don't believe it, At least old man Wu will believe it, so he won't come to pursue your suspicion." "Since you can't figure it out, how can you make wild guesses?" Ling Mufeng narrowed his eyes at me, "Speaking of which, it has nothing to do with others, but it is a matter of life and death for you...whether it is a soul or a human being, All in all it was a formidable, elusive opponent, and you were on his death list." These words sounded so familiar, I recalled briefly, and remembered that Sergeant Wu had made similar remarks in the afternoon.These two people are enemies and friends, but how can they say the same thing?I looked up at the person surnamed Ling, half drunk and half confused. But Ling Mufeng continued to say: "If I were you, I would leave quickly and never stay here for long!" I see!I suddenly understood in my heart: He also expects me to leave.It's just that Sergeant Wu wanted me to leave because he was worried about my safety, while Ling's wish for me to leave obviously had other plans. "You want to scare me away? Hey, I tell you, I won't go!" I bit my tongue and said, "I want to stay and play with you to the end!" "Detective Feng, you're drunk, you can't tell right from wrong." Ling Mufeng looked at me indifferently, and after a while he added: "Chu Yun is my wife, so what can you do if you wait here for the rest of your life?" This is already the second time that someone surnamed Ling has choked me with similar words. I endured it when I was in the study before, but now I went crazy with the help of alcohol, patted the table with my hand and shouted: "Now it's the Republic of China. Marriage is free! You have abused Chu Yun for a long time, and that woman has long lost feelings for you! I will help him leave you, and I will save her from suffering!" "You want to take her away?" Ling Mufeng looked at me, his eyes gradually becoming sharp and aggressive. "Yes." I did not back down, and told the other party word by word, "I want to save her, I want to make her happy—this is my promise to her." "You don't even care about your life for a woman you just met?" Ling Mufeng's words revealed a hint of threat, "Is it worth it?" I resolutely replied: "No matter how long we have known each other, commitment is a lifetime thing." "Promise?" Ling Mufeng chewed on these two words, his eyes gradually lowered, he seemed to have thought of something, before he raised his head and asked after a long time, "You seem to care about these two words?" "Yes. All the purpose of my being here is to fulfill my promise." When I said this sentence, I felt an inexplicably sour and complicated feeling in my heart. "Promise..." Ling Mufeng murmured as if he was talking to himself. He held the wine jar and refilled the wine bowl that had been empty for a long time. Then he looked at me and said, "I also made a promise, do you want to hear it?" Since the other party stopped entangled with me, I waved my hand generously: "Say it, if it's good, I'll drink another bowl with you." Ling Mufeng responded, "Okay!" But he didn't speak directly, but asked me first: "Do you know how my mother died?" I shook my head and said, "I only know that the Orion went down the mountain and killed your father and took away your newborn sister. As for how Lingtang died, I have never heard of it." Ling Mufeng smiled bitterly, and said: "My mother was terribly frightened the night Chu Hanshan went down to commit the crime, and the newly born child was taken away, which was even more unbearable for her. How can a woman endure such a confinement?" The blow? She collapsed all of a sudden, and after three days of suffering in bed, she finally let go..." "The Orion's methods are indeed too cruel—" I sighed, "But if it wasn't for the fact that Master Ling Zun did the evil first, how could this matter have come to such a situation?" Ling Mufeng waved his hand: "I won't talk about who is right, and I can't tell clearly. I just want to tell you a conversation my mother had with me before she died." I nodded, putting on a posture of all ears. Ling Mufeng said: "At that time my mother held my hand, and she said to me: Feng'er, you must find my sister back. Otherwise, I will not rest in peace underground. I replied: Mother, don't worry. I I will definitely bring my sister home, and I will let her stay with you for the rest of my life. After I finished saying this, my mother went. She held my hand tightly, and her eyes may not be fixed. She will die with regret! You say , Is my last sentence a promise to my mother?" I said sternly, "Okay, of course!" Ling Mufeng raised his head and sighed, and continued: "After another three days, it was the day when my father died. Then Chu Hanshan sent my sister back, but it was a mutilated corpse! I cried a lot at that time. I almost fainted. I thought I would never be able to fulfill that promise, and my mother was destined to grieve underground for a hundred years. This depression has been with me until one day ten years later." After he said ten years, I immediately thought of one thing, and asked with a frown: "Until one day you caught Chu Yun taking a bath and saw the birthmark on her buttocks. From then on, you believed that my sister's soul was attached to this place." The girl, so you have thought hard, you must marry Chu Yun, let her stay with the Ling Mansion forever, and comfort your mother's underground spirit, right?" Faced with my series of guesses, Ling Mufeng didn't deny it, he just looked at me in surprise and said, "You really know a lot." "So you don't love Chu Yun at all. You are just using her as a sacrifice to your mother. If she is disobedient, you beat her, abuse her with all kinds of shameless means, and even force her to fall Lou, drive her to a mental hospital!" The more I spoke, the angrier I became, and my tone became high-pitched. "You are wrong, I love that woman—" Ling Mufeng reminded me solemnly, and at the same time he said: "But I also hate her. My love and hatred for her come from the same promise, you can understand ?" I vaguely understand.In Ling Mufeng's eyes, Chu Yun is not only the transformation of his sister, but also the daughter of his enemy. These two roles are entangled, which is why his perverted abnormal love is brewed. "You want to take her away because of your promise; I want to keep her because of your promise. We are all people who keep our promises. Let us drink up this bowl of wine just because of our promise!" Ling Mufeng held it up to me again. He lifted the wine bowl, which was not so much a toast as a declaration of war.I also raised the wine bowl high and touched him heavily, the wine poured out and wet my wrist. Then we both drank the bowl of wine at the same time.In the process of drinking, we looked at each other, and the alcohol burned our blood, making our eyes like fire and knives...