Chapter 180: Rat, Rat, Me
The bloody human head rolled on the deck, and the wealthy businessman stared at Yu Xiucai with wide eyes.
Yu Xiucai was stunned for a moment, and his throat seemed to break free from restraints. He burst out with a scream that tore through the night, and said in panic: "Ghost... ghost... there is a ghost! There is a ghost!"
Yu Xiucai stumbled backwards as if he lost control of his steps, and fell heavily to the ground, his back pressed against the cold deck, shivering.
The guests who were resting in the cabin were awakened and came out to check.
When they saw the heads on the deck, some timid people turned pale with fright, and some even vomited on the spot.
When they heard Yu Xiucai shouting, some people also started shouting.
For a time, the passenger ship was in chaos.
"Quiet! Everyone, please be quiet!"
Jiang Shouzhong was about to step forward to check when a burly man with an angular face suddenly spoke out.
The big man had a strong body, stepped in front of the head, took out an identity token, and said loudly: "I am an official from the Six Gates of Qingzhou. Don't panic, everyone! Be quiet! Don't panic!"
Awed by the authority of the six-door officials, the originally noisy and chaotic passenger ship gradually returned to calm.
“Where is the steward!?”
The big man turned his head and asked.
After hearing the news, the steward of the passenger ship wiped cold sweat, walked a little hastily but tried his best to maintain a respectful attitude, stepped forward and said, "Sir, I am the steward of this passenger ship."
The big man took out the token and said: "My surname is Chu, and I am an official from the Six Gates of Qingzhou. From now on, we will find a few crew members to seal off the scene and not allow anyone to approach."
"Yes, yes. "
The steward of the passenger ship responded hurriedly, instructing the crew to block some guests who were trying to join in the fun.
The big man pointed to the head on the ground and asked: "Do you know the identity of this person?"
The steward nodded with a white face, "Yes, he is the boss of Fengcheng Baotuo Trading Company, his surname is Mo. The next time I went to Qingzhou to attend the funeral of a friend. It was said that a murder occurred in a brothel in Qingzhou not long ago, and one of his friends died there.”
"Is he alone?"
"Yes, in the past he would bring women with him, but this time he is alone." The steward said quickly.
The official surnamed Chu squatted down and carefully observed the broken head and neck. He found that the skin and tissue of the wound were broken and broken. It was obviously caused by a blow from a sharp weapon. He secretly speculated on the type of weapon the murderer might have used and the strength of his attack. .
The official surnamed Chu stood up and asked, "Which room does he live in? Take me there."
"Okay, sir, follow me."
The steward took out a handkerchief to wipe the sweat from his forehead, and led the official named Chu to a guest room on the third floor.
The rooms on the third floor of the guest building are quite luxurious, with red sandalwood furniture, brocade curtains, celadon vases... They are completely different from the ordinary rooms on the second floor, which completely explains the difference between a person and a person.
However, what is surprising is that apart from a pool of blood, there is no body of the wealthy businessman in the room.
“Where is the body?”
The official surnamed Chu asked in confusion.
The steward was also confused and hurriedly asked the crew to look around.
But even the bottom cabin was searched, but no body could be found. Only the head was thrown alone on the deck.
When I asked the guests next door, they all said they had never seen the body.
Not even the sound of fighting was heard.
The steward guessed in a low voice: "Sir, could the body have been thrown into the river by the murderer?"
The official surnamed Chu asked: "Why did the murderer throw his head on the deck?"
The steward was speechless for a moment.
The official surnamed Chu remembered Yu Xiucai who first discovered the body, came to him and asked: "What is your name?"
At this time, Yu Xiucai was still in shock, his face turned pale, and asked After a few calls, he came back to his senses, his legs were still swinging, and he said in a trembling voice: "I...my name is Yu Wuwei."
This name was lost in vain.
The official surnamed Chu curled his lips and continued to ask: "You are the first person to see the body. Let me ask you, have you seen where his body went? Have you seen who the murderer is?"
"I...I didn't see who the murderer was."
Yu Xiucai shook his head.
The official surnamed Chu frowned, "But what did you mean when you called 'ghost' in the first place?"
"I only saw one...a woman."
Yu Xiucai's eyes were full of fear, and he pointed to his neighbor's house and said, "I came back from the latrine and saw a woman in white standing in front of the door. She... her body was floating."
"A floating woman?"
The official surnamed Chu heard Yu Xiucai's words and became suspicious.
Could it be a monster?
He headed towards the house pointed by the other party to investigate.
Turns out there was no one in the house.
The steward who followed said: "Sir, this guest room has not been sold yet, and there are no guests living in it. I can guarantee that it has been vacant since the ship set sail."
The official surnamed Chu looked around, once again confirmed that no one had lived in the house, and asked Yu Xiucai: "Tell me what that woman looks like."
Yu Xiucai swallowed, but his voice was still loud. Trembling, "I didn't see her appearance clearly, I just remembered that she was wearing white clothes. I accidentally looked over and found that her feet were off the ground, so I was so scared that she rolled down the second floor."
The official surnamed Chu touched his chin, thought for a moment, and planned to ask other guests.
When I came to the deck, I saw a handsome young man squatting in front of the wealthy businessman's head to check. The official surnamed Chu's face darkened, he stepped forward and asked: "Who asked you to destroy the present——"
Before he finished his scolding, he saw the other party taking out a token with exquisite carvings and complicated patterns. .
The words "Six Gates of the Capital" carved on it are clearly visible.
“Are you from Liumen in the capital?”
The official surnamed Chu was surprised.
Jiang Shouzhong stood up and said with a smile: "If Mr. Chu doesn't believe it, you can verify it yourself after the ship docks."
The official surnamed Chu took the token and looked at the name on it carefully, handed it over and said: "Let Jiang Your Excellency is laughing. I didn’t expect to meet my colleagues from the Six Gates in the capital on this ship. I’m going to the Six Gates in Qingzhou. I wonder if Lord Jiang will take over this case?”
Jiang Shouzhong waved his hand and said with a smile, “No. Since this ship is heading to Qingzhou, I will only cooperate with Mr. Chu’s investigation.”
“In that case, Chu Qi will take full responsibility.”
It can be seen that Chu Qi. I am still very confident in my investigative abilities.
According to the rules of the six doors, if you encounter a case involving monsters outside. If there is no assignment from the local department, you can take over the investigation yourself and report it after the investigation is completed. It is a first-come, first-served basis.
However, in order to show respect, Chu Qi informed Jiang Shouzhong of the situation he investigated.
Jiang Shouzhong nodded and asked: "So Mr. Chu thinks, does a monster commit the crime?"
"It's very possible. I don't think that Yu Xiucai is lying." Chu Qi expressed his guess, "If the monster has left the boat, it is most likely a monster in the water. If the monster is still on the boat, it will be in trouble if it cannot be caught as soon as possible."
And Chu Qi's voice changed and he added: "But if Yu Xiucai lied, then this case may be a man-made murder. After all, I found no traces of evil spirit on that head."
Jiang Shouzhong didn't express any opinions and just nodded in agreement.
If you don’t understand the other person’s character, rashly speaking out your suggestions will only annoy the other person.
After all, for some people with arrogant personalities, the most taboo thing about investigating a case is someone pointing fingers at them, making him look like he is mentally retarded.
......
After detailed questioning of everyone on the ship, except for Yu Xiucai himself, no one claimed to have seen the woman in white with her feet off the ground and a strange appearance. .
However, someone saw that after Yu Xiucai had a dispute with a wealthy businessman. About evening, Yu Xiucai went to the third floor and lingered in front of the wealthy businessman's door for a long time before leaving.
Now, Yu Xiucai undoubtedly becomes a suspect.
Just looking at Yu Xiucai's helpless appearance, his strength is obviously not that of ordinary people. It is too difficult for him to cut off the head of a man who is taller than him, especially when he has to hide the body.
Chu Qi does not think that the other party is related to the murder.
But since it was an investigation, no clues could be missed. Chu Qi immediately went to Yu Xiucai’s room to search.
Jiang Shouzhong followed.
What surprised Chu Qi was that he found a knife under Yu Xiucai's bed.
A bloody, extremely sharp knife.
After Yu Xiucai saw the bloody knife under his bed, he felt as if he was struck by thunder. Venus seemed to be dancing in front of his eyes. He almost fainted and cried out: "This is not my knife! This is not my knife." "Sir, someone must be hiding in my house to frame this..."
"Sir Jiang, what do you think?" Chu Qi's face was as dark as water.
Jiang Shouzhong weighed the knife and said calmly: "It's a heavy knife, and ordinary martial artists find it heavy."
Chu Qi nodded, "Yes, even if it is really Yu The person Xiucai killed would not just leave the murder weapon in his house after hiding the body. There is a high possibility of being framed.
But now that the murder weapon has been found in his house, we must first follow the rules. He will be detained here. If there is no further progress, he will be handed over to the government for investigation after the ship docks."
"Mr. Chu will decide for himself."
Jiang Shouzhong smiled.
At this moment, Jiang Shouzhong's eyes were moving, and his eyes suddenly froze on a long box displayed prominently on the side of the wooden bed.
The box body is painted in bright yellow with patterns engraved on it.
Jiang Shouzhong felt that this long box was vaguely familiar, and had a feeling of déjà vu. Upon closer inspection, the pattern carved on the box gradually became clear, and it turned out to be a lifelike rat shape.
Isn’t this box the one I saw in the inn before?
Jiang Shouzhong's head shook slightly.
In the Chunquan Inn in Muling County, two big men lost something at that time, and they identified Wen Tong as stealing it. At first Wen Tong did not admit it, but later Meng Niang found it secretly and put it on him, making Exposed in public.
The thing that the two big men lost at that time was this long box with a rat-shaped pattern engraved on it.
“Where did this box come from?”
Jiang Shouzhong turned to look at Yu Xiucai and asked.
Yu Xiucai's face changed slightly, with a hint of panic in his expression. His eyes wandered and dodged, as if he was deliberately avoiding the sharp gaze of the other party, but he still said calmly: "This is my thing, used to hold pen and ink."
"Have you been to Muling County?"< br>
Jiang Shouzhong stared at him expressionlessly.
Yu Xiucai was shocked, "You...how did you know?"
Jiang Shouzhong picked up the long box and opened it. It did contain Yu Xiucai's writing and ink fragments, and said lightly: " I have also been to Muling County and seen this box with my own eyes.”
thump!
Yu Xiucai collapsed on his knees with a look of shame on his face.
He then told the truth.
It turns out that there was a monster turmoil in Muling County at that time. Many people abandoned their homes and left, but it also allowed some people to fish in troubled waters and take risks to steal things.
Yu Xiucai discovered this box under the ruins of the inn. He thought the box was a bit exquisite and thought it contained something valuable, so he secretly took it out of Muling County and planned to take it to Fengcheng and sell it to Yan Rong merchant.
However, after finally opening it, I found that there was nothing inside.
Looking at the exquisiteness of this box, Yu Xiucai liked it more and more, so he simply kept it for himself.
"Master Jiang, is there something wrong with this box?"
Chu Qi asked.
Jiang Shouzhong shook his head and lied, "It belongs to a friend of mine."
Chu Qi didn't see anything special, and when he heard that Yu Xiucai had stolen it, he didn't care and said, "Since it belongs to Mr. Jiang's friend, it's just right for Mr. Jiang to take it and return it to your friend."
"Okay."
Jiang Shouzhong nodded and put away the long box.
According to what Zhang Que'er said afterwards, she saw the bodies of the two big men in Long Yuanyuan's room, which means that the long box has become ownerless, but she is not sure about the box. There is another owner.
Yu Xiucai failed to clear away the suspicion, so Chu Qi found a rope, tied him to the bed, and sent two crew members to guard him outside the door, while he continued to investigate.
Jiang Shouzhong stopped following him and prepared to go back to his room.
While passing by a guest room, I suddenly heard the breeze blowing in my ears, and a door suddenly opened.
Immediately, a slender white wrist stretched out from the door, accurately grasped Jiang Shouzhong's sleeve, and dragged him into the room.
The light in the room was dim, and a young girl could be seen.
It was actually the fortune-telling girl.
The first thing the girl said when she saw Jiang Shouzhong was, "Why are you still alive? Shouldn't you be dead?"
Jiang Shouzhong didn't know how to reply.
Is this girl mentally ill? You say such unfavorable things when you meet.
Seeing Jiang Shouzhong staring at her without speaking, the girl waved her jade hand in front of him, "Don't you remember me? We met in the capital, and I told your fortune. By the way, what's your name? Are you here? My surname is Jiang, right?”
“I remember you, what’s wrong?”
Jiang Shouzhong asked.
The girl was immediately stopped by the question and looked a little embarrassed, "It's... nothing's wrong, I'm just surprised to see you. Because dad said you... forget it, forget it, it seems dad is watching. Wrong. By the way, my surname is Leng, and my last name is Jing. Just tell me to calm down.”
The girl’s smile was full of energy, and her eyes were full of agility
This name... is interesting.
Jiang Shouzhong greeted politely, "Hello, my name is Jiang Mo. If I have nothing to do, I'll leave first."
Seeing that the man was about to leave, Calm was a little confused, feeling like he was a broom star in the other's eyes. Yes, avoid it.
The girl quickly said: "Wait a minute, you still owe me two taels of silver."
Jiang Shouzhong looked at her with a strange look, "I gave it to you at the time, didn't your father not want it? "
"That...that's because my father didn't want it, but I didn't say he didn't want it."
Calmly took out his daughter's nonsense and stretched out his fair little hand, "Anyway, I'll show you your fortune, tell you your fortune, and you have to pay the money. That's my hard-earned money."
< br>"I'm sick."
Jiang Shouzhong turned and left.
——
In the room, Yu Xiucai looked sad and sighed deeply from time to time.
If I had known better, I would not have boarded this broken ship.
Now that he is a murder suspect, he can't even hide the theft. Even if he is cleared of the murder by then, he may not be able to escape the crime of theft.
A whole future is ruined by greed.
Thinking of this, Yu Xiucai couldn't help but wet his clothes with tears, and fell into deep self-blame and regret.
“Hee hee.”
Suddenly, a strange laughter suddenly appeared in the room.
Yu Xiucai looked up, his eyes widened in an instant, and a cold air penetrated from the soles of his feet to his back.
I saw an additional woman in white in the house.
The woman’s feet were off the ground, floating faintly. The contrast with the candlelight in the house adds to the spooky and spooky feeling.
Yu Xiucai was so frightened that his lips trembled and he wanted to shout, but his throat seemed to be blocked and he could not make any sound.
Suddenly, the woman lay on the ground.
Before Yu Xiucai could react, the woman's body turned strangely.
The sound of dislocated bones crackling and exploding, like a dead branch breaking in the cold wind, is jarring and shocking.
The woman's legs and hands, like a spider spinning silk and spreading its legs in an instant, twisted and lay on the ground with a flexibility that is difficult for humans to achieve. The shape was grotesque and creepy.
The head first slowly tilted back, almost in line with the body, and then suddenly moved forward, twisting far beyond what ordinary people could imagine, until it faced Yu Xiucai.
There is a long tail at the end, swaying slowly.
"Hee hee..."
The woman in white was like a mutated mouse at this moment, her legs and hands crawling rapidly on the ground, rushing towards Yu Xiucai.
Yu Xiucai was so frightened that he almost fainted.
Fear and helplessness intertwined, making him almost suffocated.
However, the woman in white did not hurt him. Instead, she climbed on Yu Xiucai's body. Her lips with rat whiskers were slightly split, and she said with a smile: "I, rat rat, am here to repay my kindness."
(End of this chapter)