Bo Ruoyou got out of the carriage and walked straight towards the children. It was a cold snowy day, and the children's cheeks were flushed red from the cold, but they were smiling and their eyes were bright. Mei's elder sister walked over, and they all looked at her eagerly.
Bo Ruoyou first smiled at a few people, and then walked up to the masked child, "Son, where did you buy the mask you are wearing?"
Her tone was gentle, and these children were all six or seven years old. After a little nervousness, she relaxed, and the masked child said: "Mother bought it at the stall outside, here, it's over there, now too It's early, the stalls haven't been set up yet—"
Because he was wearing a mask, the child's voice was muffled, and even if he was so close, he couldn't hear it clearly. Bo Ruoyou looked in the direction he pointed, and only saw an open space under the outer wall of the restaurant in the distance.
She understood in her heart, and looked back at his mask. The children were about the same age, and they seemed to be from nearby people's families. They were also very familiar with this area. Is that the only place that sells masks?"
The child saw that she really liked the mask on his face, so he took off the mask, revealing a childish face, "That's the place, the mask seller is an old man, he's very skilled, you see , isn’t this mask scary…”
He put the mask back on suddenly, and leaned towards Bo Ruoyou, as if wanting to scare her. How could Bo Ruoyou be frightened, and his smile deepened for a moment, and he felt a little embarrassed when he saw this, so he took off the mask again, "Will my sister buy a mask for someone?"
Bo Ruoyou met the child's innocent eyes, and said slowly: "My sister has a younger brother who also likes these little things."
The child looked up at the sky, "Sometimes the old man will come before it gets dark."
As soon as the words fell, there were several firecrackers in the distance, and the children scattered with a whoosh in shock. The child with the mask waved at Bo Ruoyou and ran to the northwest alleyway. Bo Ruoyou still wanted to Asked some questions, seeing the children running in a hurry, they didn't open their mouths.
Zhou Liang followed from behind, "Miss, what's the matter?"
Bo Ruoyou stood up and took another look at the open space. The snow had stopped now, and many shops had set up stalls. It would be more lively at night, and I don't know if the old man will come tonight.
"I didn't hear the child read nursery rhymes just now, but in fact he did, and when he turned around, not only was he wearing a mask, but the mask was also red. The red pigment found in the nails of the deceased today is not the same as this mask. The paint on it is very similar."
Zhou Liang showed surprise, "Miss, can we go back to Beijing?"
"I won't go back, wait for the old man who sells masks." After Bo Ruoyou finished speaking, he went to explain to the Yacha. After a while, the Yacha went back to the Fanyin Inn to look for Wu Xiang. Not long after, Wu Xiang who hadn't gone far just come over.
Wu Xiang asked immediately, "Xiao Bo, what's going on?"
Bo Ruoyou told about the matter just now, Wu Xiang reacted quickly and said, "Do you think that the young master of the Astronomer family may have worn a mask? It covered his face and his voice, so he was quietly caught Take it out?"
Bo Ruoyou said: "It's possible, and the mask is made of wood, and the paint on it is quite rough, and the mask that the child was wearing just now is the same color as the one I found in Wen Jin's nails. Now, I want to see if there are many of these colors, maybe this old man has seen the murderer."
Wu Xiang's eyes lit up, "It would be great if someone saw it!"
It was already late in the day, and Bo Ruoyou knew that Wu Xiang was going to Xiangguo Temple, so he didn't let him stay any longer, and waited for the old man in the carriage, and when the sky was getting dark, the houses on both sides of the long street were lit up , the market became lively, even though it was snowing and cold, many tourists came out of the inn to walk around, not long after, a series of firecrackers sounded, and even jugglers performed tricks on the street.
The long street was gradually bustling, but Bo Ruoyou looked anxiously at the open space under the wall, the night was coming, but the old man who sold the masks hadn't appeared yet.
She was a little impatient for a while, but at this moment, a series of horseshoes sounded at the end of the long street. The noise of horseshoes indicated that there were many people coming, and under such a weather, who would come
Bo Ruoyou opened the curtain and looked over, and saw a familiar figure at a glance. Under the glowing lights, the person who came was actually Huo Weilou. He rode his horse and searched the crowd. She arrived at the carriage window.
Looking at each other, Bo Ruoyou's eyes sparkled, she jumped out of the carriage in surprise, but after a while, Huo Weilou was in front of her, he pulled his whip and got off the horse, and Bo Ruoyou went up to meet him: "Why is Hou Ye here?"
Huo Weilou threw the horsewhip to the attendant, and came up to shake her hand, "There is another case outside the city, I saw that you haven't returned in the afternoon, so I guess you will stay outside the city for another night, what, what is the case?"
The last time Bo Ruoyou went to Qianjia Town for an overnight bone examination, which made him worry all night. Now that he guessed that she would not be able to go back tonight, he went out of the city by himself. The meaning spreads from the fingertips to the limbs.
She briefly explained the case, and then said: "Now I am waiting for the old man who sells masks—"
As soon as he finished speaking, Huo Weilou looked into the distance, "Do you think that is the person you are waiting for?"
Bo Ruoyou followed and looked over, only to see an old man with gray temples pushing a wheelbarrow towards this side. The road was slippery in the snow, and he walked quite slowly. A mask was hung on it, and Bo Ruoyou's eyes lit up instantly.
"It must be him!"
Huo Weilou waved his hand, and an attendant came up to help immediately, the old man was taken aback when he saw this, and he came to his senses when he saw that the people were not malicious, the attendant pushed the wooden cart to the open space under the wall, and put down the chopping boards on both sides. He opened the stall together, and then Bo Ruoyou and Huo Weilou came up.
The old man showed a nervous look, and Bo Ruoyou stepped forward to look at the masks on the chopping board. The masks were of different shapes and sizes. Among them were the ghost messenger masks he had seen in the afternoon, and there was a big one and a small one. Touching it with her hand, the paint was evenly applied, but the paint itself was inferior and had a grainy feel to it. She tried to pick it out with her hands. Although it was difficult to remove the front side, the paint came off at the edge of the mask.
"Hey girl, what are you doing..."
The old man felt sorry for the things he made, and Bo Ruoyou hurriedly said: "Don't worry, old man, I will buy these two masks. Dare I ask old man, are there other masks with the same color? On this day, did a five or six-year-old doll come to buy a mask?"
The old man glanced at Huo Weilou, clasped his hands nervously and said: "There are not many red masks, most of them are ghost messengers, and there are more fox fairies with crows, green and moon white faces. The girl said Dongyue 11th, and the villain is a bit forgetful." I don't know, but most of the villains here are adults who bring their children to buy, how dare a five or six-year-old doll buy a mask by himself?"
Bo Ruoyou had a bad heart. If the murderer coaxed Wen Jin and bought the mask as a family, the old man wouldn't feel weird. Bo Ruoyou tried to draw the mask on his face, and then looked at it again. Huo Weilou, Huo Weilou's eyes were full of smiles, and he raised his hand to give the money.
"But a useful clue?" he asked again.
Bo Ruoyou looked at the two masks, one big and one small, and shook his head, then asked the old man, "How many people buy this ghost mask?"
The old man smiled and said, "Miss, you can see that there are only two or three ghost messengers in the villain's pile of masks. These masks are a bit scary. Ordinary timid people would not buy them, but they would not buy them just for the sake of looking fresh." , not many people like to buy.”
Bo Ruoyou understood in her heart, "Then please think about it, old man, have you sold any of them recently?"
The old man thought about it for a moment, then shook his head, "Nothing in the past one or two days anyway, the girl just asked Dongyue Eleven... the villain can't remember at the moment, it seems that one or two copies have been sold in the past ten days, but who bought it? Not very impressed."
Bo Ruoyou also knew that there was no direction, and the old man probably couldn't think of anything based on such interrogation. She looked at the mask, thinking that she might as well let it go, so as not to affect the old man's business, so she thanked her and prepared to leave with Huo Weilou.
But just as the two of them took two steps, the old man said, "Miss, do you want to ask about the red mask?"
Bo Ruoyou looked back, and the old man said: "There are still some masks that have not been brought out today, not only the ghost messenger is red, but also the Monkey King mask is also red, but the mask is exquisitely crafted and sold more expensive. Good sell."
Of course Bo Ruoyou didn't want to let go of any clues, but when she murmured the words Monkey King Mask twice, she suddenly felt that this thing seemed familiar, as if she had read these words in some book, she Walking slowly towards the old man's stall, the moment she stood still in front of the stall, a flash of light suddenly appeared in her mind—
She had seen these words in the old archives of the government office, which recorded the case of Ming Guilan's kidnapping that year!