Qining stepped forward and squatted in front of the strange man in black cloak. He hesitated for a moment, then finally stretched out his hand and gently held the rough and dirty hand of the strange man in black cloak.
The skin of the big man in black cloak is rough but tough, and there are many scars on his hands, which were naturally left when he was wandering.
The strange man ignored it and still howled miserably. Qining knew why the strange man behaved like this. Although the strange man didn't say anything, Qining knew that he had learned about Su Lan's death.
No one will tell the weird man that Su Lan is dead, and the weird man suddenly disappeared last night. The cause and effect made Qining aware of the tragic situation of Su Lan's murder last night, and the weird man may have seen it.
"My lord, he has always been like this, is he afraid of...?" Duan Canghai came closer and whispered.
After all, this is the Duke's Mansion, and the strange man is very angry. His howling can be heard everywhere. It's no big deal if people in the mansion hear it. If it is heard by people outside, they don't know what is going on here.
"I know you are sad." Qining looked into the strange man's eyes: "Su Lan was killed, did you see the murderer at that time?"
The weird man's howling finally stopped and he looked at Qining, his eyes full of sadness and anger. He suddenly clenched his fist and waved it twice, then pointed in one direction and made a gesture, Duan Canghai But he saw it clearly and whispered: "My lord, he saw the murderer last night and chased after him."
Qining nodded and said: "I am already looking for the murderer, and I promise you that no matter how much it costs, I will let the murderer get the punishment he deserves."
The strange man looked at Qi Ning blankly, and suddenly, tears flowed from his eyes.
Qi Ning knew that he was extremely sad, so he patted the strange man on the shoulder and said softly: "And when the time comes, I will let you punish the murderer with your own hands, so that you can avenge Sulan."
The strange man suddenly held Qi Ning's hand. Although he didn't speak, his eyes were full of begging. Qi Ning immediately understood what he meant. After hesitating for a moment, he finally turned to Duan Canghai and asked, "Sulan Has his body been placed properly?"
"I've found someone to take a bath and change my clothes." Duan Canghai whispered: "Put it in the backyard now and wait for two days before burying it."
"Take the weirdo to take a look." Qining sighed and said softly to the weirdo: "You go over and accompany her now. If she knows that you are by her side, she won't be afraid."
The strange man jumped up. Duan Canghai nodded to the strange man and said, "Come with me."
Watching the strange man follow Duan Canghai away, Ximen Zhanying asked softly: "Ms., does he like Su Lan very much? He... must be very sad when Su Lan is killed."
Qi Ning stood up and said: "If Senior Brother Han sneaked into the house last night, then the murderer of Su Lan was Senior Brother Three."
Ximen Zhanying's face immediately showed a solemn look.
"Zhan Ying, what did you say that Senior Brother Han sneaked into the house last night to find me?" Qi Ning frowned and said, "You said that he treats you very well. Seeing you marry into the Qi family, he should be happy for us. Yes, in that case, does he want to harm me? If he really wants to harm me, wouldn’t he want to make you sad? "
"I...I can't guess what he wants to do." Ximen Zhanying frowned.
Qi Ning sighed: "Senior Brother Han has no deep connection with the Jinyi Qi family. There is no grudge or enmity. There seems to be no deep grudge between me and him personally. I have never figured out why he sneaked into my mansion. Seeing that Ximen Zhanying was in a heavy mood, he held her hand and said softly: "That's all, let's not talk about this anymore. It's getting late. Let's go back and rest first."
Ximen Zhanying remained silent. The two of them had just taken a few steps when they heard a voice coming from behind: "Your Majesty, wait a moment." Qi Ning turned around and saw Qi Feng running over, looking very hasty.
"What's going on?" Qining frowned and said, "The sky is falling."
"Someone... someone fell in front of our house." Qi Feng breathed a sigh of relief: "The guard outside the door said that a man in ragged clothes came to our house. He thought he was a member of the beggar gang, but the man only asked if he was Jin Yi At the Marquis Mansion, the guard agreed, and the man passed out, so he was given water to drink. He drank two sips of water, said he had something urgent to do and wanted to see the Duke, and then passed out again."
"A disciple of the Beggar Clan?"
"No." Qi Feng shook his head and said, "I just took a look. Although he is wearing the clothes of our Han people, the clothes underneath are the clothes of the Miao people."
"Miao people?" Qi Ning's heart tightened and he immediately asked, "Where are they?"
"Now he has been carried into the hall." Qi Feng said: "He hasn't woken up yet."
Qi Ning said to Ximen Zhanying: "Zhanying, you go back to the house first, I'll go see you, and I'll be back later." Without waiting for Ximen Zhanying to say anything, he hurried to the main hall, his steps were very fast, Qi Feng was busy Follow behind.
When we arrived at the hall, the lights were lit, and we saw two guards standing next to a chair in the hall. There was a person sitting on the chair. The person was wearing a gray hat, a coarse gray shirt, and his face was covered with dirt. , the clothes are also quite sloppy, and the look is full of dust.
At this time, the man had woken up and saw Qi Ning. He was stunned for a moment. Qi Ning had already said to the man: "I am Qi Ning, are you looking for me?"
The man struggled to get up, then fell to his knees: "The young one is Xi Mu, the leader of Kangnan Village in Heiyan Cave, greetings... greetings to the Marquis!" Apparently he didn't know that Qining had been promoted to Duke.
"Are you from Heiyan Cave?" Qining stretched out his hand to help him up, and an ominous premonition came to his heart: "Who sent you here? Heiyan Cave... did something happen?"
He knew very well that this person with a dusty look must have rushed here from Xichuan non-stop. To be able to come to the capital from Xichuan, the news this person brought was by no means simple.
Xi Mu looked quite weak, but he still said: "Master Hou, my... my cave master was... killed!"
Qi Ning's heart trembled, and he said sharply: "Who was killed? Is it... Bayali?"
Bayali, the master of the Black Rock Cave, is Eve's brother. He is very prestigious in the Black Rock Cave and has extraordinary courage. Although Qining didn't get along with Bayali for a long time, Bayali was cheerful and enthusiastic, and what's more, he was Brother Eve, Qining has always had a good impression of him.
"Yes...!" Xi Mu clenched his hands into fists: "Many people died... the cave master... the cave master was also killed by them, and... and even his head...!" At this point, he could no longer say anything. Tangtang The man actually burst into tears.
Qi Ning was anxious and just wanted Ximu to explain the matter quickly, but he also knew that he had worked hard all the way and his mood was very unstable at this time. He patiently said gently: "Don't be anxious yet. Tell me what happened slowly. Eve How is she...how is she now?"
"Eve is guarding the Black Rock Cave now." Xi Mu said: "She sent three people to the capital to ask... let us report the matter to the Marquis and ask the Marquis to help us. I... I arrived in the capital at dusk, but … But I lost my way and found it with great difficulty...!”
Qi Ning helped Xi Mu sit down first, and then told Qi Feng: "Go and get him some food." Then he said: "Tell me exactly what happened."
At this time, someone else handed over water. Ximu took it, drank it in one gulp, raised his sleeves to wipe his mouth, and then said: "That night, a fire suddenly broke out in Huangzhai, Heiyandongjiang. The fire was so fierce that several of us... When the village saw it, they immediately gathered people to rescue them. There was a must-pass mountain road to Jianghuang Village. It was the only way to enter Jianghuang Village. When we were about to cross the mountain road to rescue, we found that the mountain road had been blocked. We built a barrier with stones, and there were people guarding behind the stones. Anyone who wanted to pass by would be shot. We saw that the fire in Jianghuang Village was getting bigger and bigger, and there were screams. We tried to force our way through, but they were stopped. Shot five or six people.”
Qi Ning's face was stern. He knew that there were seventy-two Miao caves in Xichuan, and Heiyan Cave was one of the seventy-two caves. There were a total of six villages in the Heiyan Ridge area, all of which belonged to Bayali's sphere of influence. The six villages usually had They live their own lives, scattered in various parts of Heiyan Ridge, not far from each other.
If one village is in trouble, other villages will naturally try their best to help.
"Do you know who the other party is?" Qining asked.
Xi Mu shook his head and said: "They didn't reveal their identities. The Jianghuang village burned for two days. We tried all kinds of methods, but we were still unable to rush over to rescue. When the fire was extinguished and the people blocking the mountain road were evacuated, we Only then can we get over it. Most of the houses in Jianghuang Village were burned down, and more than two hundred people were burned alive, and... and many people were killed. The rest are old and weak, and there are not many strong men left."
Qi Ning was horrified, his eyes were filled with coldness, and he asked: "Those murderers escaped like this?"
"The people in Jianghuang Village said that the gang secretly sprinkled fuel around the village and suddenly started a fire in the middle of the night. Our houses are made of wood, and the vegetation is lush and easy to burn in autumn, so the fire is difficult to put out." Xi Mu said: "After the fire burned, the people in Jianghuang Village wanted to put out the fire. They went to the reservoir to get water, but the mountain road on the other side of the reservoir was also blocked by people. Anyone who dared to get close would be shot. There were also people dressed as He looks like someone from the village, blends into the crowd, kills everyone he sees, kills for a while and then retreats, and then suddenly comes out again when everyone is in shock...!"
A chill ran down Qi Ning's spine. From Xi Mu's narration, the gang not only wanted to massacre, but also to kill cruelly. In addition to killing people, they also wanted to instill fear in the people in the village.
"The master of Bayeli Cave sent people to search everywhere, but no trace of the gang was found." Xi Mu said: "He summoned the masters of the six villages to discuss how to find the murderer. That night, we were discussing At that time, suddenly a sharp arrow shot into the house, and there was a letter on it. We read the letter, which asked the owner of Bayali Cave to hand over a person, and said that if he didn't hand over the person, he would kill several people every day. Individually, until all the people in Black Rock Village are killed."
"Hand over someone?" Qining frowned: "Did the letter say who to hand over?"
Xi Mu shook his head and said: "The letter didn't say clearly who it was, but it said that Bayeli Cave Master knew who should be handed over. Naturally, Bayeli Cave Master would not be threatened by them, so he tore the letter into pieces on the spot, and on the second Oh my God, there are five human heads hanging on bamboo poles in the village...!"