At dawn, Huo Weilou opened his eyes suddenly due to the voices outside the house. He listened intently for a moment, then turned his eyes to look at the person lying on the couch. There was a vague outline, she was a person who slept very neatly, lying flat all night without moving much, at this moment her breathing was still long, and she was sleeping extremely deeply.
Huo Weilou leaned over and pulled the robe to her body, got up quietly and walked out the door, the attendants outside the door were resting on the spot in the wing room, and they were talking to two servants at the moment, when they saw Huo Weilou coming out, several people rushed up salute.
Huo Weilou went out and stood under the eaves: "What happened?"
The yacha said: "Master Hou, the arrester asked the villain to come over and say that Granny Zhang's son hid near Wu's house last night and was captured by the villain at dawn. The arrester wanted to reassure Miss Bo."
Huo Weilou stared, "Is he hiding near Wu's house?"
Ya almost nodded, "Yes, he wanted to take the child away, but there were quite a few of us around the yard, and we were found."
"How is Sun Zhao's trial?" Huo Weilou asked again.
"A few people are tough, especially the mother-in-law Zhang, who still wants to commit suicide, but the second brother of the Zhang family seems to be able to speak. Although the Wu family pleaded guilty quickly, he is unwilling to speak in detail, nor is he willing to speak up. There is also a one-armed old man who testifies to the hiding place of other corpses, and because of his age, he fainted before he finished asking people."
The sky is indigo blue, the clouds are stacked, and the bright light is behind it. As the morning is approaching, Huo Weilou raised his eyes and said, "I will go over to have a look later, let's continue the trial."
The Yacha agreed, turned around and went to report back.
The mountain breeze in the early morning was cool, and Huo Weilou felt a little tired after being blown by the mountain breeze, and he felt refreshed. He stood for a while, then turned back and walked to the main room. Before he got close, he heard There was a rustling sound.
He pushed the door and entered, and saw Bo Ruoyou sitting up, she was holding his robe, her eyes were sleepy, she was looking for something in the room at a loss, when he entered, her eyes lit up, "What happened? "
Huo Weilou bent his lips unconsciously, "The yamen came to report, saying that Granny Zhang's son was wandering around Wu's house, trying to take the boy away, but the yamen found the trace and caught him, and said that they are hard-headed , only the second child of the Zhang family confessed a little."
Bo Ruoyou rubbed her eyes, she was getting out of sleepiness little by little, she was rarely in such a daze, Huo Weilou looked at him with enthusiasm, and raised his hand to brush the strands of hair falling from her face, "There is nothing else You can sleep more."
Bo Ruoyou shook her head, completely awake now, and looked at Huo Weilou again, "Did Hou Ye not sleep last night?"
"I've been here all along." Huo Weilou looked at her.
Bo Ruoyou felt her heart skip a beat again, looked at the robe covering her body, and hurriedly got to bed, "I'm not going to sleep, Master Hou, rest, I want to go over and have a look, if someone confesses, I'm afraid I'll have to do an autopsy. "
After putting on her shoes, she handed the robe to Huo Weilou. Huo Weilou took it, as if he expected that she would not rest when she woke up, "Then go and have a look."
He put on his gown, Bo Ruoyou put her hair back into a bun, and the two went to Wu's house.
As soon as he arrived near Wu's house, he saw that there were many yamen guards outside the courtyard. They wanted to search for people, but Zhang Dalang threw himself into the trap, which saved them trouble. They all stepped forward to salute.
In the courtyard, Wu Xiang received the letter and came out first. It was already bright daylight, and Wu Xiang, who had endured for several days, was obviously exhausted, so he saluted and said: "The second child of the Zhang family is recruiting, and your lord is on trial. Want to listen to it?"
Huo Weilou nodded, and several people walked into the main hall. Now Wu's house is being used, Granny Zhang and others are detained separately, and Sun Zhao is interrogating people in the left chamber. The door is closed, and the voices of Sun Zhao and Zhang's younger brother It came out from within.
Wu Xiang wanted to report to Sun Zhao, but Huo Weilou raised his hand to stop him, and said in a low voice, "Just listen here."
After the door, Sun Zhao sneered, "If there was a cure back then, why did you seal up your village? You think it's unfair, but if you are forced to come out and infect more people, how will you explain it?"
"That's your business! The government is incompetent, but it wants us to bury our lives in vain. Why? There were not so many people who fell ill in our village, but the government actually sent all the sick people to our village. Back then, I didn't We are only seventeen or eighteen years old, and my elder brother is not yet twenty years old, we are obviously not sick, why should we be locked up by you?"
Sun Zhao lowered his voice, "This is a natural disaster, and it cannot be changed by manpower. At the beginning, we chose your village because of the concentration of patients in your village, and the terrain is located in the closed mountain. It is nothing if you have resentment in your heart. Later, in the six months You have also survived by your ability, it is a good thing to recover a life, but since you have survived, why don't you live well, and instead do evil things?"
Zhang Jiaerlang seemed to have been touched, and said in a trembling voice: "You people, who have never experienced those purgatory times, how can you accuse us boldly? At the beginning, the village was full of sick people, and those who were not sick at first were also infected later. When we climbed up, we were afraid, so we ran up the mountain and kept running. After half a year in the cave, there were many people who went up the mountain at first, but later some people got sick and some died of starvation. The flying insects and beasts are gone."
At this point, Zhang Jiaerlang also gave a sinister laugh, "Your Excellency must not have guessed how we survived."
Outside the house, Bo Ruoyou showed doubts, turned to look at Huo Weilou but saw him with a look of understanding, he seemed to have guessed what Zhang Jia Erlang was going to say.
"My brother and I survived by eating my cousin's human flesh." He smiled strangely again, "Because she didn't die from the plague, she was injured on the mountain, and there was no medicine to stop the bleeding. In addition to being weak, she died just like that, she was originally destined for my brother's unmarried wife, but in order to survive, we two brothers had to eat her flesh to survive."
"Two months, our last two months, we depended on dying people one by one, eating their flesh and drinking their blood to survive. Most of them are our relatives and friends. If it wasn't for the plague, we would have to be brothers forever , or get married, but who would have thought that they would become our rations for survival in the end."
He gave a numb laugh, "May I ask my lord, if you don't spare your own relatives and friends, what is the life of others? We managed to survive, but does your lord know how hard it is for us to live? Because at that time, if people knew We escaped from Guzhang Village, so we will report to the officials, and if we report to the officials, we will be escorted back, and we will die when we go back!"
"We escaped from the village by relying on the trail on the cliff, because we couldn't survive on the mountain. When we walked from the cliff, some people fell to their death due to exhaustion. The hatred in our hearts, it was hard to survive. Ah, the Wu family... No, it’s the younger sister of the Gu family and the aunt of the Gu family. We can live well after leaving the mountain, so how could we make such a deadly move?"
"We didn't dare to escape to other places. We climbed mountains and waded all the way. We just wanted to go to a remote place and hide and survive. At that time, we ran into this place by mistake. They were ill and could see the clues and dared not show up. In front of people, it was us who went into the village to find food, but we never expected that the villagers still saw us. They looked at us like monsters and said they were going to report to the police. Heh, how could we let them go? The reporter—"
"This place is remote, and there are only ten families in the village. Seeing their attitudes are so clear, we thought about it, and felt that even if we escaped from this place and went to the next place, it would still be the same. We are penniless, and we can't really get along with them Savages generally live in the forest, so why don't we make this village our original home?"
"After all, our original home was destroyed by you people!"
Zhang Jiaerlang spoke out of breath, with a sinister tone, as if recalling the past made him sad and indignant, but his words were straightforward, without guilt, and revealed a shocking coldness and numbness.
Wu Xiang said outside: "That village is called Guzhang Village, because there used to be people with the Gu surname and Zhang surname in the village, and when they arrived here, they changed their surnames to Zhang and Wu. I'm not used to my original surname anymore."
Sun Zhao was probably also shocked by what he said, and he paused for a moment before continuing: "So, you killed the entire village, and then you have to sacrifice the people in the village to your water god?"
"Water God..." Zhang Jiaerlang finally showed a trace of hesitation in his tone, "That plague was the punishment given to us by the Water God. The old people in our village believed in this, but we juniors didn't care about it. Later, the Water God wanted to Use heavenly punishment to punish us, we climbed out of the dead, even if we occupy this place, we dare not be careless, it just so happens that there are many people in this village, we killed them all, so that the water god can protect us."
At the end, his tone was chilling, and Sun Zhao asked again: "How many people in the village were killed by you? Except for the corpses in the black water pool, where did you bury the corpses of others?"
Zhang Erlang was very calm, "Buried behind Aunt Zhang's house."
Wu Xiang frowned, and then Zhang Erlang continued: "There is a pine forest behind their house. The tree was planted after the bones were buried. Because the pool is too small, it is impossible to accommodate so many people. Planting a tree is a must. The safest."
Wu Xiang saw that pine forest when he helped Granny Zhang repair the house! Wu Xiang's eyes widened, and she immediately went out to call Hou Yang, "Take the rest of you to the pine forest behind Granny Zhang's house and start digging now, and bought a lot of corpses."
Hou Yang's expression became tense, and he quickly responded to the call to summon people.
In the room, Sun Zhao asked again: "Zhang... Zhang Yu's father is called Zhang Heqing, right? The baby you sacrificed in Luohe this time is his own daughter?"
Zhang Erlang became calmer when he heard the words, "Yes, the water is cloudy, so it is more useful to use a girl to pay homage."
Sun Zhao couldn't help but coldly said: "That's his own daughter, and his daughter was smothered to death, what about his wife?"
"He's dead. This matter has been decided a long time ago. If the baby is a boy, he will stay, and if it is a girl, he will go to sacrifice to the gods. His wife doesn't know. When she was about to take the baby girl away that day, her wife started to make trouble. I didn't think about what would happen to her, she died after giving birth without caring about her own blood collapse." Zhang Erlang's voice didn't seem to be talking about the death of a mother and daughter, but rather calm as if saying that today is a good day.
"After the baby died, who sent it to the Luo River? Where was her mother buried?"
"It's Qinghe. No one in our village likes to leave the village. He is the only one who walks outside. His wife is also a foreigner. She has been here for a long time. She is stupid and good-natured, so she didn't notice anything wrong. After she died, it seems that she was also buried in the pine forest behind the Zhang family."
Sun Zhaohei said with a sullen face, "Besides these, have you ever harmed other people? In the past few years, have you never harmed any other babies? Have you ever harmed anyone else to sacrifice to the gods?"
"No, a lot of people were killed back then. We also know that it was a murder. It's just that after so many years, I feel more and more uneasy in my heart. I am afraid that what happened back then will happen again, and their illnesses are getting worse and worse. , there is no way to seek medical treatment, so I want to ask the God of Water, Aunt Zhang has also been infected, and her legs and feet are about to be disabled."
Zhang Erlang answered frankly, when he talked about these things, his voice was calm and numb, as if it was a very common thing.
At this point in the question, Sun Zhao understood everything, and said again: "Do you remember how many people you killed back then? There are so many people in the village, how did you succeed? How many people did you kill?"
"I can't remember how many people there are. Anyway, none of them can stay. How to get them... First, a family found that our whereabouts were unknown, and they looked like people who had been wandering for a long time. They asked us to tell us where we came from, otherwise they would report to us. Official, the rest of us dealt with their family first, and then we went back to discuss it, and felt that it would be better not to do nothing, anyway, there was a murder case, and when the government came, we were afraid of being targeted. At that time, most women's families were in the forest. The five of us figured out the number of people in each family. We did it at night, and I can’t remember how many people I killed. Anyway, I cut the mess quickly and didn’t give them a chance to escape.”
Zhang Erlang explained sternly, and his voice did not fluctuate. Bo Ruoyou listened outside the house, and when he thought of the knife marks he had seen in the empty room, he seemed to think that the family was sleeping peacefully that day, but was broken into and killed by bandits. The despair and fear come.
Sun Zhao asked a few more details, but Zhang Erlang explained them one by one. After a while, Sun Zhao walked out of the house, saw Huo Weilou and Bo Ruoyou approaching, and went forward to salute before asking, "How long has the Marquis been here?" ?”
"For a while." Huo Weilou glanced at the wing room, "I have heard most of what was said in it. After the interrogation, the events of that year will be clear. When the person who went to Qinshui County returns, the identity of the deceased can be determined."
Sun Zhao nodded, "Yes, the most important thing right now is to find other people's bones."
Wu Xiang hurriedly said: "I have ordered people to dig it out, I believe it will be dug out soon."
Sun Zhao sighed, "It's evil, it's really evil. Although the plague was a catastrophe back then, these people were really lawless. They stayed up all night last night without asking a few words. This morning, this person suddenly As if thinking about it, I was willing to speak, I haven't seen such a tragedy in many years."
This case is tantamount to massacring the whole village, and it is even more frightening because he did not let go of his own flesh and blood in order to sacrifice to the gods. open your mouth.
Seeing that nothing else could be interrogated for a while, Bo Ruoyou asked where Zhang Yu was, and the Yamen took her to the back room, and Huo Weilou also followed.
The place is cramped and cramped, and there are piles of useless furniture. When opening the door, Zhang Yu sat on a dusty wicker chair. Hearing the sound, he looked over expectantly. After seeing clearly it was Bo Ruoyou, his body Shrinking back, tears flowed more fiercely, but he still held the boat that Bao Ruoyou folded for him in his hand.
The paper was already rough, and it had been deformed after being held by him for a long time, but he still held it tightly. Huo Weilou stood at the door, and Bo Ruoyou walked in, she walked to Zhang Yu and sighed, "Don't be afraid, your mother-in-law and father did bad things, but it has nothing to do with you, no matter how you deal with them afterwards They, the government will give you a place to go."
Zhang Yu's tears were streaming down his face, and there was also fear on his face. Bo Ruoyou didn't comfort him this time, but said sternly: "Don't believe what your mother-in-law taught you. There is no punishment in the world, only wrongdoing." You will be punished only if you do something wrong, and now you still can’t tell these things apart, but when you can, you will definitely know and do more right things.”
Zhang Yu was still a child and was not well-bred, so he only half understood what he said. Bo Ruoyou took out a handkerchief and put it in his palm, then got up and walked outside. The door opened and closed, Zhang Yu whimpered louder inside, and Bo Ruoyou sighed a little worried, and when she came out, she asked, "Where will such a child be placed?"
Huo Weilou thought for a while, "There is a small temple in the Xiangguo Temple outside the city, and there are mostly orphans without father and mother in that temple. They are raised as young monks first, and when they grow up, they can return to the vulgar world if they don't want to enter Buddhism."
Bo Ruoyou was relieved, seeing Huo Weilou looking at him with deep eyes, he said, "Master Hou, do you know that I once had a younger brother?"
Of course Huo Weilou knew, and knew that the child died young, but he looked ordinary, and only motioned for Bo Ruoyou to continue, and Bo Ruoyou said as he walked, "It's only one year younger than me, and its name is Lan Zhou, but there was an accident that year. Passed away, I was still young at that time, and then I also fell ill, I can’t remember many things, I just remember that every time he cried, I folded a paper boat for him and he stopped crying .”
"That's why you take pity on children."
Bo Ruoyou twitched the corners of her lips, "Maybe, actually, I can't remember what he looks like anymore, so when I see someone of the same age, I always feel that if he reaches this age, maybe he will look like this."
The two turned out from the back porch, there was no one around, Huo Weilou took her hand and shook it firmly.
He quickly let go, but this time, the haze in Bo Ruoyou's heart dissipated, and she said: "My father, mother and younger brother all died in accidents, and I am the only one left in our third room, so they said But I hit fierce Shake and killed them."
Huo Weilou let go of her hand and took it back, he stopped and looked at her, "The person who said that is stupid and vicious, you don't have to take it to heart."
Bo Ruoyou blinked, "Aren't you afraid, Lord Hou?"
Huo Weilou smiled, "No one in this world dares to beat my fate."
When Bo Ruoyou mentioned this, although she expected that Huo Weilou would not mind it, she knew that many people in the world would believe her words, until Huo Weilou said that her fate was determined, the nervousness in her heart dissipated.
When we got to the main hall, we saw that the sky was high and the clouds were clear outside. It was a clear day. At this time, Yang ran in from the courtyard and said as soon as he entered the door: "Your Majesty, arresting the head, we found bones in the pine forest. They came from outside. We dug them up." Arrived a female corpse that has never been made into bones."
Wu Xiang said: "It's Zhang Yu's mother, Zhang Er has already recruited, let's go, I'll let you go and have a look."
As soon as Bo Ruoyou heard that the bones and corpses had been found, and knew that he had to work, he went to the pine forest together. Huo Weilou wanted to accompany him when he saw this, and Bo Ruoyou asked him after a pause, "When will the Marquis Back to Beijing?"
Huo Weilou pursed his lips, "Go back to Beijing in the afternoon."
Bo Ruoyou thought about it for a while, but didn't say anything else. Wu Xiang waited for Bo Ruoyou a step ahead, and asked her mysteriously: "Little Bo, what is the purpose of Lord Hou coming here? Why do I just look at Lord Hou?" I've been with you, Xiao Bo, and haven't seen any other personal matters."
Bo Ruoyou's cheeks warmed up, "I don't know, but the head catcher, let's hurry up and return to Beijing sooner after the inspection."
Wu Xiang responded, and went straight to the pine forest behind Zhang's house without caring about the details.
When they arrived in the pine forest, they saw twenty or so yamen working together, they had already dug large and small holes in the pine forest, and some people were cutting down trees, and the female corpse that Hou Yang mentioned was at the outermost edge.
A dozen or so new pine trees had just been planted there, all of which were waist-high. At this moment, the middle one was pulled out, and a simple coffin was revealed in the hole dug by the yamen. In front of him, Bo Ruoyou smelled a rancid smell, and when he walked to the edge of the pit, he saw the female corpse in the coffin.
Bo Ruoyou said: "The corpse must be removed."
The yamen servants took the initiative and lifted the corpse out of the inside with a look of disgust and put it on the flat ground beside him. Bo Ruoyou put on the guards and rolled up his sleeves, covered his face with a handkerchief, and then squatted down for the autopsy.
Huo Weilou stood aside and watched, seeing her busy as an outsider for the first time.
The deceased had been dead for many days, the corruption was serious, and because she died after childbirth, the wounds were even more rotten. Bo Ruoyou had already heard Zhang Jiaerlang's confession, so she should determine the cause of death first. She checked carefully in this remote corner by herself, and after two hours of incense sticks, Bo Ruoyou straightened up.
Wu Xiang strode over from a distance, "Xiao Bo, how is it?"
Bo Ruoyou said seriously: "Zhang Er didn't lie, she really died of a blood collapse."
Wu Xiang stared, "Fortunately, she was not murdered to death, but she still has a little bit of conscience. It's just that she feels sorry for her. She can't save her daughter, and I will take my own life here."
Bo Ruoyou frowned, "Although she wasn't murdered directly, it's because this family is ruthless. Regardless of her obstruction, they insisted on using babies to sacrifice to the gods. If they were soft-hearted and stopped by her, it might not be so far."