Chapter 9 The Eighth Spring Breeze Thaws

At the end of the long street, a person walked slowly, with arduous and heavy steps, it was actually Fu Hongxue. Of course, he still held the knife tightly in his hand, and walked forward step by step, as if no matter what happened to him, his pace would never change, let alone speed up. He was alone, and Leleshan and Murong Mingzhu were still missing. Ye Kai walked across the long street, met him, smiled, and said, "Are you back?" Fu Hongxue glanced at him and said coldly, "You're not dead yet." Ye Kai said, "Where are the others?" Fu Hongxue said, "I walk slowly."

Ye Kai said: "Are they all walking in front of you?" Fu Hongxue said, "Yes." Ye Kai said: "The person who walked in front, why hasn't he arrived yet?" Fu Hongxue said: "How do you know they are determined to come back here?" Ye Kai nodded, then smiled again, and said, "Do you know who came back first?" Fu Hongxue said, "I don't know." Ye Kai said: "It's a dead man." With a mocking smile on the corner of his mouth, he said again: "The one who walked fast did not arrive, and the dead who could not walk arrived first. There are many things in this world that are indeed very interesting."

Fu Hongxue said, "Who is the dead person?" Ye Kai said: "Flying spider." Fu Hongxue frowned slightly, remained silent for a while, and suddenly said, "He was originally staying behind to accompany me." Ye Kai said: "Accompany you? What are you doing?" Fu Hongxue said, "Ask." Ye Kai said: "Ask you?" Fu Hongxue said, "He asked, and I listened." Ye Kai said: "You just listen, don't talk?" Fu Hongxue said coldly: "Listening is already very difficult." Ye Kai said: "What happened next?"

Fu Hongxue said, "I walked very slowly." Ye Kai said: "Since he couldn't ask you, so he rushed forward?" A sneering smile appeared in Fu Hongxue's eyes, and he said lightly, "That's why he arrived first." Ye laughed, but the smile was a bit unpleasant. Fu Hongxue said: "You asked, I told you, do you know why?" Ye Kai laughed and said, "I'm wondering too." Fu Hongxue said, "That's because I also have something to ask you." Ye Kaidao: "You ask, I'll tell you too." Fu Hongxue said, "Now is not the time to ask."

Ye Kaidao: "When will I ask again?" Fu Hongxue said, "When I want to ask." Ye Kai smiled and said: "Okay, whenever you want to ask, whatever you want to ask, I will answer." He moved away, and Fu Hongxue immediately walked over, without even looking at the corpse in the coffin, his gaze seemed to be very precious, no matter whether you were dead or alive, he would never just glance at you casually. Ye Kai smiled wryly, sighed, turned his head, and saw that Yun Zaitian was about to interrogate the drivers. He didn't even bother to listen—if you wanted to get something out of these coachmen, it might be easier to ask the dead.

Dead people sometimes tell you secrets too.It's just that the way he talks is different. The flying spider's corpse was already stiff and cold, but its hands were still tightly held, as if it was tightly holding some invisible jewel, and it refused to let go. Ye Kai stood beside the coffin, stared at him for a long time, and murmured: "It's as dense as a gossamer, as fast as lightning...do you have anything else you want to tell me?..." After noon, in the dark sky, there was sunshine again. But the mud on the street was still wet, especially since another string of loaded carts had just passed by.

Now this train has entered Wanmatang. If they don't ask in detail, Yun Zaitian will never let them go when the truth comes to light. The gorgeous carriage pulled by eight horses was still in the town, and four or five people were washing the mud on the carriage and mixing soybean fodder to feed the horses. Next door to the grocery store is a butcher, and there is a greasy signboard hanging on the door, which reads: "Monopoly in cattle, sheep and pigs." Beyond that is a small restaurant with a greasy sign and a darker interior. Fu Hongxue was sitting inside eating noodles.

His right hand seems to be particularly dexterous, and he can do well with one hand what others need to do with two hands. Further on is the alley where Fu Xuehong lives. Although there are many people living in the alley, there are not many people going in and out. A piece of red paper that had been smeared with paste was carefully pasted on the corner of the alley, and then walked back with a stooped body. It was written on the red paper: "Auspicious house for rent, one elegant room, new beds, breakfast provided. Monthly rent is 12 taels of silver, pay in advance. Only single and no children."

The old woman just received fifty taels of silver for the rent in the morning, and she seemed to have tasted the sweetness, so she wanted to rent out the room she lived in to someone else, and the monthly rent was increased by two taels. The grocer is dozing off again. In the silk and satin shop opposite, there were two beautifully dressed young daughters-in-law, who were buying needles and thread, talking and laughing, but they were much uglier than the third aunt and Ma Fangling. What about Ma Fangling and the others? Although the carriage was still in the town, their people seemed to be lost.

Ye Kai walked up and down the street twice, but he didn't see any of them. He originally wanted to have something to eat in the small restaurant, but suddenly changed his mind, so he walked over and took off the red paper pasted at the entrance of the alley, rolled it into a strip, and stuffed it in his boot. There seemed to be something hard in his boot. I don't know if it was a gold bar or a short knife? The narrowest door on the street is the gold selling cave here. Although the door is the narrowest, the room occupies the largest space. There is neither a signboard nor a label on the narrow door, only a pink lamp hanging on it.

When the lights come on, it means the place is open for business and ready to take your money. When the lights were off, almost no one was seen coming out of this door, and of course no one went in. It seemed like the quietest place in town. Ye Kai yawned, his eyes were a little tired, he hesitated for a while, and finally pushed the door and walked in. In the dark and gloomy room, there is actually a person, not Xiao Bieli, but Ma Fangling. The person Ye Kai couldn't find anywhere, turned out to be waiting for him here. Isn't the girl's actions elusive? Ye laughed and said, "Why are you here?" Ma Fangling glared at him, stood up suddenly, turned her head and left. She had been sitting there in a daze, and she couldn't help showing joy when she saw Ye Kai coming in, but for some reason, she suddenly put on a straight face, turned her head and left. Ye Kai knew that this young lady must have been very angry waiting. When you see the eldest lady is angry, the best way is to wait until her anger subsides. If you still want to stop her and persuade her at this time, you must be an idiot. Ye Kai is not an idiot.So he didn't say anything, just sighed and sat down. Ma Fangling was about to rush out the door, but suddenly turned back, glared at Ye Kai and said, "Hey, what are you doing here?" Ye Kai blinked and said, "Come to find you." Ma Fangling sneered, "Come to see me? Just now? Do you think I will wait for you?" Ye Kai laughed and said, "Aren't you waiting for me now?" Ma Fangling said: "Of course not." Ye Kai said: "Not waiting for me, who are you waiting for?" Ma Fangling said: "Wait for Third Aunt." Ye Kai was startled, and said, "Third Aunt? Is she coming too?" Ma Fangling said: "You think only men can come to this place?" Ye Kai smiled bitterly: "I didn't think anything, and I didn't know you were here, so I was looking for you all over the street." Ma Fangling stared at him for a long time, and said, "You've been looking for me all this time?" Ye Kai said: "If I don't want you, who can I look for?" Ma Fangling suddenly gave a "puchi" smile and said, "Idiot, do you think there is only one door to enter here?" It turned out that she came in through the back door. When a girl comes to this kind of place, of course she must avoid the eyes and ears of others. Ye Kai sighed, smiled wryly and said, "I never thought you would go through the back door." Ma Fangling said: "It's not that I want to leave, it's Third Aunt." Ye Kai was startled again, and said, "Is she here too?" Ma Fangling bit her lip and said with a smile: "Idiot, didn't I tell you just now?" Ye Kai said: "Where are her people?" Ma Fangling pouted towards the third door on the left, and said, "It's inside." Inside this door is Cui Nong's boudoir. Ye Kai's eyes widened, and he asked in surprise, "Is she in there? What are you doing there?" Ma Fangling said, "Chat." Ye Kai said: "Chat with Cui Nong?" Ma Fangling said: "They were originally friends, every time Third Aunt came to the town, she would talk to her." She suddenly opened her eyes again, stared at Ye Kai and said, "How do you know her name is Cui Nong? You also recognize her?" Ye Kai murmured: "I seem to have seen it once." Ma Fangling's eyes widened, and said, "Is it as if I've seen it before, or has I really seen it?" Ye Kai smiled wryly, "I've really seen it before." Ma Fangling tilted her head, glanced at him out of the corner of her eyes, and said, "You seem to have come here the night before yesterday." Ye Kai said: "Yes." Ma Fangling asked, "Where did you live the night before yesterday?" Ye Kai said: "It seems...it seems to be..." Ma Fangling bit her lip, turned her head suddenly, and rushed out without looking back. This eldest lady's temper is really a bit like the weather in May, it changes really fast. Ye Kai could only sigh, what else could he do besides sighing? Men should be careful when talking in front of women, especially women who like you. After an unknown amount of time, the door was pushed open again, and Ma Fangling walked back slowly, walked up to Ye Kai, and found a chair opposite to sit down. Her complexion was much better, she looked at Ye Kai with a half-smile, and suddenly said, "Why don't you speak?" Ye Kai said: "I dare not say." Ma Fangling said: "Don't you dare?" Ye Kai said: "I'm afraid I'll say the wrong thing again and make you angry." Ma Fangling said: "Are you afraid that I will be angry?" Ye Kai said: "I'm very scared." Ma Fangling's eyes fluttered, and he burst out laughing again: "Idiot, you don't stop talking when you shouldn't, but you don't talk when you should." Her gaze gradually softened, she stared at Ye Kai, and said, "This morning, someone asked where you were last night, why didn't you tell me?" Ye Kai said: "I don't know." Ma Fangling said softly: "I know, you are afraid of hurting me, afraid that others will gossip about me, aren't you?" Ye Kai said: "I don't know." Smart men always choose a good time to act stupid. Ma Fangling's eyes became more gentle, and he said, "Aren't you afraid that they will really kill you?" Ye Kai said: "Not afraid, I am only afraid that you will be angry." Ma Fangling smiled sweetly, as gentle as a spring breeze that could thaw glaciers. Ye Kai stared at her, as if he was a little crazy again. Ma Fangling lowered her head slowly, and said, "Did my father talk to you this morning?" Ye Kai said: "Yes." Ma Fangling asked, "What did he say?" Ye Kai said: "He wants me to go, wants me to leave this place." Ma Fangling bit her lip and said, "What did you say?" Ye Kai said: "I won't go!" Ma Fangling raised her head, stood up suddenly, held his hand, and said, "You...you really don't want to leave?" Ye Kai nodded. Ma Fangling said: "No one is waiting for you elsewhere." Ye Kai said softly: "There is only one place where someone is waiting for me." Ma Fangling immediately asked, "Where?" Ye Kai said: "Here." Ma Fangling smiled again, the smile was sweeter, her eyes were hazy, as if in a dream, and she said softly: "In my whole life, no one has ever talked to me like this, and no one has ever held my hand ...Do you know? Do you believe it?" Ye Kai said: "I believe it." Ma Fangling said: "Because others think I'm fierce, so I feel more and more fierce. In fact..." Ye Kai couldn't help laughing and said: "Actually, you are very fierce." Ma Fangling smiled sweetly, and said, "Actually, sometimes I get angry with you, and it's not true at all." Ye Kai said, "Why are you pretending to be angry?" Ma Fangling said: "Because... because I always feel that if I don't lose my temper often, others will come to bully me." Ye Kai said softly: "In the future, no one will dare to bully you again." Ma Fangling blinked and said, "If someone bullies me, you go fight him hard?" Ye Kai said: "Of course, it's just...you are not allowed to pretend to be angry in the future." Ma Fangling bit her lip again, and said, "But if you dare to live here again in the future, I will be really angry." Without saying anything, Ye Kai took out the roll of red paper from his boot. Ma Fangling opened it and looked, and a gentle smile like a spring breeze appeared on her face immediately. Ye Kai looked at her and felt that she was a very cute girl, straightforward and innocent, sometimes just like a child. He couldn't help but took her hand and kissed her gently. Her face was red again, burning hot. At this moment, someone suddenly heard someone coughing gently. The man was smiling and looking at them. Ma Fangling's face turned redder, and she immediately hid her hands behind her back. Third Aunt smiled and said, "We should go back!" Ma Fangling lowered her head with a blushing face, and said, "Yes." The third aunt said: "I'll wait for you outside first." When she went out, seemingly intentionally or not, she looked back and smiled at Ye Kai. Fascinating smile. Ma Fangling's smile is bright and lovely, just like the sunshine in early spring. Her smile is like thick spring, so thick that you can't melt it, so thick that you can't drink it and get drunk. In front of her, Ma Fangling looked more like a child. No matter who saw her go out, they would feel a special taste, as if something had been stolen by her. Of course Ye Kai couldn't show this feeling, so he suddenly asked, "Every time you go to town, do you take that carriage?" Ma Fangling obviously didn't understand why he asked this question, but she nodded anyway. Ye Kai said: "How many carriages like that do you have?" Ma Fangling said: "There is only one. People here prefer to ride horses." Ye Kai sighed and said, "Because you want to take this carriage, they can only come back by themselves." Ma Fangling asked, "Who are they?" Ye Kai said: "The guest who went with me last night." Ma Fangling said with a smile: "They are not children anymore, what does it matter if they come back by themselves? Why do you sigh?" Ye Kai sighed again, and said, "Because thirteen of them came, one of them is dead now, and eleven are missing." Ma Fangling opened her eyes wide and said, "Who is dead?" Ye Kai said: "Flying spider." Ma Fangling asked, "Where is the missing one?" Ye Kaidao: "Mr. Le Da, Murong Mingzhu, and his nine followers." Ma Fangling said: "He is such a big man, how could he disappear?" Ye Kai said slowly: "There are always strange things happening in this place." Ma Fangling pursed her lips and said, "Maybe it's just your suspicion. Maybe they will come back soon." Ye Kai shook his head, and suddenly said: "Can I take your carriage to the front?" Ma Fangling said: "Of course. It's just... what are you doing in front?" Ye Kai said: "Go and find those who are missing." Ma Fangling said: "How do you know they are still around? Maybe they went back by another way?" Ye Kai said: "No." Ma Fangling said, "Why not?" Ye Kai said: "I know." Ma Fangling asked, "How do you know?" Ye Kai said: "Someone told me." Ma Fangling asked, "Who told you?" Ye Kai looked down at his hands, and said word by word: "It's a dead person..." Ma Fangling said in shock, "Dead?" Ye Kai nodded, and said slowly: "Do you know that dead people sometimes talk, but their way of speaking is different from living people." Ma Fangling looked at him in surprise, and said slowly: "Do you believe what the dead man said?" Ye Kai nodded again, with a mysterious smile on his lips, and said: "Only what the dead tell you will never be false... because he doesn't have to lie to you anymore." The dead man's tightly clenched fists had loosened, and his fingers were bent and stiff.Even though the dead man can tell some secrets, his hand will never let go.The tightly clenched fists of the flying spider were loosened, and its fingers were bent and stiff. Ma Kongqun stood beside the coffin, staring at the hands with burning eyes. He neither looked at the distorted face of the dead man, nor at the congealed blood stains at the corners of his mouth, but just stared at these hands. So everyone is staring at the hands. Ma Kongqun suddenly said: "What did you see?" Hua Mantian and Yun Zaitian looked at each other and remained silent. Gongsun concluded: "These are just the hands of two dead people, and they are no different from other dead people." Ma Kongqun said: "Yes." Gongsun said: "What's the difference?" Ma Kongqun said: "These hands were held tightly at first, but they were pulled away later." Gongsun said: "Can you see it?" Ma Kongqun said: "The dead man's bones and blood are already cold and hard. It is not easy to open the dead man's hand, so his fingers are twisted like this, and there are scars on them." Gongsun concluded: "Maybe he was injured before he died." Ma Kongqun said: "Absolutely not." Gongsun said: "Why?" Ma Kongqun said: "Because if you were injured during your lifetime, there must be blood stains on the wound, only people who have been dead for a long time will not bleed." He suddenly turned to Yun Zaitian and said, "When you saw this corpse, did he have been dead for a long time?" Yun Zaitian nodded, and said, "At least he's been dead for an hour, because by that time his body was completely cold." Ma Kongqun said: "Where was his hand at that time? Did he hold it tightly?" Yun Zaitian pondered, lowered his head, and said, "I didn't pay attention to his hand at that time." Ma Kongqun lowered his face and said coldly: "What did you pay attention to at that time?" Yun Zaitian said: "I...I am in a hurry to question other people." Ma Kongqun said: "What did you ask?" Yun Zaitian bowed his head and said, "No." Ma Kongqun said in a deep voice: "Next time you'd better remember that the dead may tell you more things than the living, and they are far more reliable than the living." Yun Zaitian said: "Yes." Ma Kongqun said: "He must be holding something tightly in his hands. This thing must be a very important clue. Maybe he grabbed it from the murderer. If you found such a thing at that time, we might be able to kill it now." I know who the murderer is." Yun showed a look of awe in his celestial eyes, and said, "I will definitely pay attention next time." Only then did Ma Kongqun's expression soften, and he asked again: "Who else was near this coffin besides you?" Yun Zaitian's eyes suddenly flashed light, and said: "There is also Ye Kai!" Ma Kongqun said: "Did you see him move this corpse?" Yun Zaitian lowered his head again, shook his head and said, "I didn't pay attention either, but..." Ma Kongqun said: "Just what?" Yun Zaitian said: "It's just that he seems to be very interested in this corpse. He stood by the coffin and looked at it for a long time." Ma Kongqun sneered, and said, "This young man may have seen far more things than he thought." Gongsun Duan couldn't help but said: "This man is just a snitch, whether he is dead or alive, what does it have to do with us?" Ma Kongqun said: "Yes." Gongsun concluded: "Is it related?" Ma Kongqun nodded and said: "Although this man is a snitch, he is the most shrewd snitch. As long as he makes a move, he is sure to be safe. It can be seen that he must be very accurate and careful in observing others." He slowly continued: "That's why I specially asked someone to find him here..." Gongsun Duan lost his voice and said, "Did you find this person specially?" Ma Kongqun said in a deep voice, "I paid five thousand taels of silver to invite you here." Gongsun said: "What do you want him to do?" Ma Kongqun said: "Ask him to investigate secretly for me, who is the one who came to seek revenge." Gongsun said: "Why are you looking for him?" Ma Kongqun said: "Because he has nothing to do with this matter, others will naturally be less vigilant about him, and he will naturally have more chances to find out the truth." Gongsun Duan sighed, and said: "It's a pity that he didn't find out anything, and he died." Ma Kongqun said in a deep voice: "If he doesn't find out anything, he won't die!" Gongsun said: "Oh?" Ma Kongqun said: "It was because he had discovered the murderer's secret that he was killed to silence him!" Gongsun Duan widened his eyes and said: "So we only need to find out who killed him, then we can know who is the one who came to trouble us." Ma Kongqun said coldly: "That's why the clues in his hands are so important!" Gongsun concluded: "I'll ask Ye Kai, did he take that thing?" Ma Kongqun said: "No need." Gongsun said: "Why?" Ma Kongqun said: "When he died, Ye Kai was in the town, so the murderer was definitely not Ye Kai." He continued coldly: "Besides, if Ye Kai really took something from him, no one will be able to ask." Gongsun Duan put his hand on the handle of the knife again, sneered, with an expression of disbelief. Ma Kongqun pondered, and said again: "Before he died, who was with him?" Yun Zaitian said: "Mr. Le Da, Murong Mingzhu, Fu Hongxue." Ma Kongqun asked, "Where are their people now?" Yun Zaitian said: "Fu Hongxue has returned to the town, but Leleshan and Murong Mingzhu have disappeared." Ma Kongqun lowered his face and said, "Go find them, take forty people to find them." Yun Zaitian said: "Yes." Ma Kongqun said: "A group of ten people, divided into four groups, bring plenty of food, water and rations, if you can't find any clues, you are not allowed to come back!" Yun Zaitian said: "Yes." No matter what Ma Kongqun said, his face was always submissive. In front of Ma Kongqun, this martial arts master who was once a master in the past seemed to have turned into a slave. Gongsun Duantu shouted again: "I'll go find Fu Hongxue!" Ma Kongqun said: "No need." Gongsun Duan said angrily: "Why is there no need? Could it be that this kid can't be found?" Ma Kongqun sighed and said, "Can't you see how this man died?" Gongsun Duan lowered his head to look at the handle of the knife in his hand, and said, "Who stipulates that those who carry a knife must use it to kill?" Ma Kongqun didn't answer this question immediately, Yun Zaitian retreated knowingly, and closed the door behind him. Gongsun Duan raised his head and asked again: "Who stipulated that he must kill with a knife?" Ma Kongqun said: "He himself." Gongsun said: "His own?" Ma Kongqun said: "If he is really here for revenge, then the knife in his hand is a symbol of his revenge. If he wants to kill someone, he must use a knife!" He smiled faintly, and continued: "If he didn't come for revenge, why did you go to him?" Gongsun Duan didn't speak any more, he turned and walked out, his footsteps were heavy like an angry bull. Ma Kongqun looked at his huge back, his eyes suddenly showed melancholy and fear, as if he had already seen some very tragic and unfortunate things from this person. Forty men, forty horses. Forty large sheepskin bags were filled with clean water and dry food. The knife has been sharpened, and the arrow has been wound. Yun Zaitian checked carefully twice, and finally nodded in satisfaction, but his voice was more stern: "Ten people in a group, search separately, if you can't find you, don't come back!" Gongsun Duan has returned to his house. Although the room looked a little messy, it was spacious and comfortable. The walls were lined with shiny and bright animal skins, and the tables were filled with all kinds of delicious wine. On lonely nights, as long as he wanted, someone would come from the town to serve him. He sends the woman. This is what he deserves.He's bleeding and sweating enough. But he has never been satisfied with this kind of life, because deep in his heart, there is still a knife and a whip buried. He buried it with his own bloody hands! No matter what he was doing, the knife was always stirring in his heart, and the whip was always beating his soul. The big gold cup on the table was still full of wine, and he drank it in one gulp, tears were already choking out of his eyes. Now someone has finally come to take revenge, but he can only sit in the room like a shameless little daughter-in-law, secretly wiping the tears from the corners of his eyes with his sleeves—no matter what the reason is, the tears are always tears. He poured another full glass of wine and drank it down. "Patience! Why do you have to be patient? Since you may come to kill me, why can't I kill you first?" He rushed out. Maybe he didn't want to kill someone, but he was too scared. Not hatred, not anger, but fear! When a person wants to kill, fewer people kill out of hatred and anger, and more people kill out of fear! When a person wants to kill, it is often not because others hurt him, but because he hurts others. This is also the greatest tragedy of mankind since ancient times.