Chapter 277: The Tavern Murder Case
Chapter 277: The Tavern Murder Case (V)
"Rustle..."
"Rustle, rustle..."
Like the sound of a giant python crawling by.
The dull sound is caused by the friction between heavy objects and the ground.
There were five drag marks on the road from Lengcui Mountain to Fuzhou City, just like someone had used a giant rake to plow the ground made of loess, sand and gravel. Fortunately, there were few pedestrians on the road, otherwise they would have been shocked.
“Rustle…”
Five small trees as thick as bowls were stripped of their branches and leaves, leaving them bare. They were tied into a raft with hemp ropes and dragged by four horses, grunting as they headed towards the city.
There was a black bear lying on the raft, its body was huge, like a small mountain.
The small half of the body connected to the bear's head was also fixed with a hemp rope and put back in its original place.
Although a lot of blood was lost and his heart, liver, lungs and internal organs were also pouring out of the wound, the bones, muscles and flesh supporting the frame were still there, weighing at least 400 kilograms. The beast's naturally fierce and brutal power looked quite terrifying.
"Where did everyone go today?"
Lin Pingzhi was riding on his white horse, feeling regretful. Usually, there should be some merchants, pedestrians and passers-by on this road. But today, after walking for such a long time, he just came out of the territory of Lengcui Mountain when he met a few hunters. They were so scared that they kowtowed repeatedly. They said that this bear was over a hundred years old and was a lucky beast raised by the mountain god, and it would be unlucky to kill it.
Now that you have accidentally killed it, you should choose an auspicious day, prepare gifts and gifts, and go to the mountain temple to make amends. You must not take the body of the lucky beast away without permission, as that will bring disaster to your family.
Those hunters kept persuading the few people to hand over the black bear to them for disposal. Head escort Zheng was particularly superstitious about gods and ghosts, so he was tempted at that time.
"The saints all say, respect ghosts and gods but keep them at a distance. What do the ignorant country folk know?"
Lin Pingzhi naturally did not believe it. Instead, he thought that the hunters were taking advantage of his youth and wanted to steal the bear carcass. He called the porter Bai Er, and whipped the hunter who stubbornly blocked the way of the horse and drove him away.
Chen Qi led the horse and followed behind on foot. He looked down at the soles of his shoes which had holes worn out by sharp rocks in the mountains. The soles of his feet felt burning with pain, probably from bleeding. He cursed in his heart that he was unlucky.
He looked at Bai Er beside him and complained in a low voice: "I really don't know what the young escort leader was thinking. Wouldn't it be easy to cut this old bear into pieces and bring it back? Why did he have to get a raft and drag it back intact? It's a waste of energy."
Bai Er rolled his eyes and shook his head, "You are such a blockhead. The young escort leader went through so much trouble, isn't it just to show off in Fuzhou? If you cut it into small pieces, what do you call it... wearing new clothes to travel at night."
Although Chen Qi was not as smart as Bai Er, he understood the principle. He just felt sorry for his shoes and feet, and muttered, "We didn't hunt this old bear in the first place, so how can we show it to the public?"
Bai Er glanced at him and sneered, "You can only say this here. When we return to Fuzhou Prefecture, we will tell you that this old bear was hunted by the young escort leader. Even if the king of heaven comes, you can't change your words."
"Don't forget, we are just porters, but we get the salary of escorts, and we don't have to go through fire and water to escort. If you don't want to make up your mind, you can just tell the truth."
Shi Dajin was walking in front and saw the familiar sign of wine on the tree. He looked back and saw that the four horses were so tired that they were almost foaming at the mouth.
"Young Escort Captain, this place is only five miles away from Fuzhou City. Why don't we find a place to rest and eat some hay? I think even though we are not tired, the horses can't hold on any longer. Although these horses are not as good as Xiao Xuelong, they are also old friends in the escort agency. If too many horses are damaged, the chief escort will scold us."
Zheng Biao had a different idea. From the wound and the broken tree behind it, he guessed that the old bear was killed by an unknown master with a single sword. This guess was so shocking that even Zheng Biao, not to mention the young escort leader, could only believe it 50% to 60%.
He thought to himself, "Even if... it's not a single sword strike, the person who can kill such a ferocious beast must be a rare expert in the whole of Fuzhou. If I and the others take the bear's corpse away, it would be bad if the real owner catches up with us."
Zheng Biao said, "Young Escort Leader, we should hurry into the city. If it gets dark, who will be able to see what we have gained from going into the mountains today?"
Shi Dajin laughed and said, "Old Zheng, you forgot that Fuzhou City is more lively at night than during the day."
Lin Pingzhi glanced at the sky. The sun was setting. In another hour, it would be completely dark. The lights would be on, and Fuzhou City would be the busiest. If he brought the bear into the city at that time, the news would surely spread throughout Fuzhou the next day.
"Okay, let's go to Lao Cai's Tavern. I'll treat you."
Shi Dajin said happily: "Young Escort Chief is wise."
Lin Pingzhi laughed loudly, turned his horse around, and the group of people dragged the bear's carcass, got off the official road, and walked towards the banyan forest.
"Where's Old Cai? Why hasn't he come out to greet the guests yet?" Shi Dajin handed the reins to Bai Er, walked to the door of the store and shouted, but he only saw a young girl in green standing next to the wine stove, with two braids on her hair, warming the wine, her face facing inwards, without turning around.
"Where's Lao Cai?"
Lin Pingzhi walked over.
He pointed at the young girl in green and said, "Young Escort Leader, look at this person's back. Does she look like the girl we rescued at the Jianghai Dragon God Club that night?"
That night, Shi Dajin drove the Eagle Strike Boat and sent the beautiful girl to the shore. Afterwards, the girl did not come to thank him. It seemed that she disappeared in the vast crowd. Lin Pingzhi was depressed for two days and gradually forgot about him.
He nodded and said, "It's a bit similar."
Bai Er and Chen Qi placed the raft in place, untied the tow rope, walked into the store, stretched out their hands to pull open the long bench, brushed off the dust with their sleeves, and let the young escort leader sit down.
The white-haired old man came out from the inner hall, coughed a few times, and asked, "Are you guests here to drink?"
Shi Dajin said angrily, "If you don't want to drink, what are you doing here? First, get five catties of Bamboo Leaf Green. Where is Lao Cai? Why, when did the owner of this shop change?"
The white-haired old man turned around and shouted to the girl in green, "Wan'er, filter five catties of wine for the guests."
"Wan'er?"
Shi Dajin asked: "She is your daughter? Who are you from?"
The white-haired old man coughed a few times and said, "To be honest with you, my surname is Sa. I have been doing business in the north since I was young. A few years ago, my son and his wife died of an epidemic, leaving only a little granddaughter. I am old and my relatives are not around. I feel very sad. I thought that people will eventually return to their roots after traveling thousands of miles, so I took Wan'er back to Fuzhou. It happened that the previous owner of this store, Old Cai, also wanted to return to his hometown, so he sold the store to me for thirty taels of silver."
Lin Pingzhi felt that the old man had a miserable life and was moved. He comforted him, "Now you are back in your hometown. You have relatives and friends to support you. After all, you have someone to rely on."
The white-haired old man shook his head and said, "I have been away from my hometown for more than 40 years, and none of my former relatives and friends are around anymore. However, I hear that everyone here speaks the Fujian dialect. Although I can't speak it anymore, it still benefits me greatly."
The girl in green came over holding a wooden tray, with her head lowered, put down four pots of wine and the bowls and chopsticks on the table, then walked away with her head lowered.
Lin Pingzhi saw that the girl had a graceful figure but dark and rough skin, and her ugly face was even more frightening. He shook his head secretly in his heart and felt more and more pitiful for the grandfather and grandson.
Shi Dajin laughed softly and said, "Young Escort Captain, I was mistaken, I was mistaken. I thought it was the girl I rescued from the water that night, but I never thought it was a..."
Lin Pingzhi glared at him, and Shi Dajin quickly stopped talking.
At this time, Bai Er's eyes turned slightly, and he called the grandfather and grandson to follow him to get prey outside the door and fry some game to go with the wine.
He untied a pheasant and a yellow rabbit from the horse's back.
"Old man Sa, wash and peel them, dry them thoroughly, and stir-fry them in two large plates."
As the girl in green stepped over the threshold, she saw a huge bear corpse lying on the raft behind five horses. She looked closely and saw that the two front paws of the bear were empty and had been neatly cut off. She was stunned.
Bai Er stood in front of the door and said with a proud smile: "This old bear was also the prey of my young escort leader. It's a pity that your small shop doesn't have a pot big enough to stew it."
The white-haired old man showed a look of surprise on his face, and responded: "No, no, what a big pot this is! But... where are the two front paws?"
Bai Er was slightly stunned and glanced at Lin Pingzhi. He was quick-witted and explained, "The beast's only powerful bear paws can break wood and split rocks. My young escort leader is very skilled in swordsmanship. He minced the two paws into minced meat in no time and subdued the beast."
Upon hearing this, Lin Pingzhi nodded slightly, as if he thought Bai Er's explanation was very reasonable.
The white-haired old man had a strange look on his face and chuckled, "So that's how it is."
I have apologized at the third watch. The closed training is over and I am going home. I will make up for the debt I owe this month.
(End of this chapter)