"Dead?"
Lu Liangsheng withdrew his gaze from the Toad Taoist and turned to the opposite side. Zuo Zhengyang, who was sitting over there, did not look like he was making fun of him.
After a moment, the scholar's smile faded and he frowned.
"Captain Zuo, did you kill him?"
Even Sun Yingxian who was sitting under the eaves looked over and stared closely at Zuo Zhengyang who was standing beside the easel.
The latter shook his head and said in a low voice: "It's not me... I will handle cases according to the law. Even if I use lynching, I will not kill people indiscriminately."
From the treetops, sporadic pine leaves floated down, and with the cool breeze, they quietly passed between the two people who were looking at each other. When they fell to the ground, Lu Liangsheng laughed, sat down opposite Zuo Zhengyang, and picked up the brush again.
"The Chief Constable won't suspect that I killed him, right?"
"You have a past... Never mind, let's not talk about the past."
Zuo Zhengyang shook his hands and quickly pressed his knees. He was tall and twisted a little uncoordinatedly when sitting on the low stool. He finally steadied himself and continued:
"In fact, I'm not doubting you, but the death of Taoist Yangming is a little strange."
In front of the easel, Lu Liangsheng's spirit seeped into it, feeling the cultivation brought by the art of painting. His wrists trembled rapidly as he stared intently, outlining with blue ink and painting fine dots the scales on the long body, and he also responded softly.
"How did that Taoist die?"
After all, the two had fought last night. If he hadn't used his strengths in advance to scare the opponent with his "number" advantage, if a fight really came, Lu Liangsheng felt that he would not be a match for this old veteran, at least for now.
Zuo Zhengyang thought about the scene at that time. Even though he was a man who was used to seeing life and death, he was still a little frightened.
"It was right there on the rack. No one else touched him at the time. The Taoist screamed in pain for a moment, and then his skin, flesh, tendons and bones burst and he died."
On the scroll, Lu Liangsheng stopped his wandering pen tip, looked at the snake body that had taken shape, and frowned.
The whole body explodes without being touched by outsiders
…It’s somewhat similar to when I killed Chen Yaoke.
The hand holding the pen dropped, and Lu Liangsheng turned his head to look at Zuo Zhengyang.
"Does he have anything else strange on him?"
Sun Yingxian, who was basking in the sun under the eaves, couldn't help but prop up her body and laughed twice when she heard this.
"There aren't many such sinister spells, but there are quite a few, too. Captain Zuo had better think about it carefully."
The tall figure bent his knees and fell into silence.
On the low table on the other side, the Toad Taoist was sitting cross-legged. He glanced around with his toad eyes, then saw the soup bowl in front of him. He hesitated for a moment, then slowly stood up, climbed up and took a look inside.
Only a little soup residue remains.
"Such a waste..."
The Toad Taoist smacked his lips and turned his head slightly to the side.
"No, I am not worthy of your status, how can I..."
Bang!
Suddenly there was a loud bang, and the startled toad slipped on its webbed feet, and its mouth landed on the residue at the bottom of the bowl. It stared at the bottom of the bowl with wide eyes, and struggled to squeeze out a sound from its lips.
"How can this be possible... I am so ashamed..."
The remaining soup flowed over my lips... and then I couldn't help but lick it.
there.
Zuo Zhengyang slapped his thigh, remembering something. As for the toad on the low table opposite him, which had most of its head buried in the bowl, he didn't pay any attention and spoke.
"Now that I think about it, I remember that everything on that Taoist was taken away and put away. The only strange thing was the strange pattern on his chest."
"What kind of pattern?" Lu Liangsheng became interested when he heard the word "picture".
Zuo Zhengyang pondered for a moment, as if he was organizing his words, but still shook his head.
"I can't really explain it, but I do remember what it looked like. Can you lend me your pen?"
As he spoke, he took the brush with a strange handle from the scholar and started drawing on a piece of white paper. Lu Liangsheng stood to the side and watched him outline the pattern bit by bit.
"Five lanterns?"
"It's five fireballs!" Zuo Zhengyang put down his pen and stared at what he had drawn. "The pattern on the Taoist's body is bright red, and the fireballs are arranged in a circle. I guess they should be the symbol of a sect of a cultivator. Am I right?"
Lu Liangsheng probably understood why the chief detective came here specially.
He smiled and shook his head, "I'm afraid I can't help you. This kind of pattern is the first time I've seen it. I've been staying in Fushui County before."
The two of them then looked under the eaves, and Sun Yingxian snorted and turned his head away.
"Don't look, I don't know either."
The clue is broken.
Zuo Zhengyang looked at the two of them and probably knew that Lu Liangsheng had never been out of Fushui County before and should not know about it.
Well, let’s just treat it as an unsolved case.
"Oh, right." When the captain was about to say goodbye, he remembered that there was a master behind the scholar in front of him, so he quickly asked: "... Liangsheng, where is your master? Does he know this pattern?"
The atmosphere in the courtyard became tense, and the Taoists under the eaves were all nervous. Lu Liangsheng reacted quickly, and while sending the big man out, he said:
"My master is far away in Mount Qixia, practicing for years without caring about worldly affairs. Captain Zuo will not suspect my master again, right?"
"This... naturally won't happen."
Lu Liangsheng walked casually past the easel, flicked his sleeves and put them behind his back, looking at the pine branches extending over the courtyard wall, the light spots cast in the gaps, and the light dust dancing.
"In fact, Captain Zuo's suspicion is nothing, but although my master is knowledgeable and well-informed, he has a cold and arrogant personality, like a lone rock on the top of a sea of clouds, overlooking the ups and downs of the mountains..."
In the slow and gentle words.
The toad, with its legs sticking out of the soup bowl on the low table, raised its head, looked around, then continued to bury itself in the soup, taking every opportunity to lick the soup madly.
The figure is moving forward and the words are still continuing.
"… And he rarely goes out. Even if I go to the mountains, I may not see him. I might even make him angry and be driven down the mountain."
Zuo Zhengyang felt his scalp tingle when he heard this flowery speech. He could only sigh, "A hermit should have such a temperament."
After saying this, he bowed and said goodbye to the scholar and the Taoist priest under the eaves.
"Just send it here. Oh, there is one more thing. There have been several murders outside the city recently. The victims were all scholars who came to take the imperial examination. There are rumors in the countryside that it was done by a fox spirit. If you want to leave the city, be careful. Bye!"
Lu Liangsheng looked at the figure turning and leaving, feeling confused.
"Zhang Dongming's son was bewitched by a fox demon. Could this be related to this incident? No wonder we saw him leading a team through the streets when we went out of Zhou's mansion that day and night. It turned out that he was going to investigate a case outside the city."
It reminded me of the four scholars who were being chased by a fox demon when they stayed at a mountain temple on the way to Hegu County.
I was just taking an exam, but all kinds of strange things happened.
However, this trip did give me a lot of knowledge.
Lu Liangsheng smiled, turned around and went back to the yard. Only then did he notice the Toad Taoist lying beside the soup bowl.
"Master, you are..."
At the bottom of the bowl, the toad retracted its long tongue, which was swinging wildly, and slowly stood up, raising its flippers.
"Liangsheng, we should remember the good times and the bad times, and we should not forget our roots. When I was a teacher, my family was poor, and we were lucky to have something to eat. We should not waste food."
He jumped off the low table, licked his lips, and walked under the eaves on the floor tiles with a clattering sound, speaking in a solemn and majestic manner.
"Remember, to cultivate the Tao you must first cultivate yourself!"
The corners of Lu Liangsheng's mouth twitched and he bowed.
"Yes... I will teach you."
Just as he stood up, he suddenly felt a burning sensation in his lower abdomen and his face was instantly covered with sweat. Lu Liangsheng felt his vision spinning around and he took two shaky steps, holding on to the easel with one hand.
"What's going on..."
The Taoist priest under the eaves was about to shout, "Old Toad." But when he saw the scene over there, his words suddenly changed and blurted out.
"What’s wrong with you?!"
Hong Lian also leaned out and looked at the scroll in the room, peering through the window lattice.
"Young Master..."
Outside, the easel that Lu Liangsheng was holding made a crackling sound and instantly exploded in the scholar's hand, sending wood chips and scroll debris flying everywhere.
The supporting figure immediately fell to the ground.