There was only the rustling sound of a few people stepping on the stones in the air, and I couldn't feel their mood.
The group of people walked for about half an hour. The mass grave was very large and it would take more than an hour to walk around it. But it was obvious that they were just going from the mass grave to Zitao County.
I don't know where it is, but Fang Wu took a step back and slowly squatted down, squeezing a layer of shallow loess on the ground with his hands.
When Zhang Xuan saw it, he squatted down in an inconspicuous manner, looked at the place where Fang Wu's eyes were staring, and asked: "Horse hoof?"
"No, cow hooves." Fang Wu propped his chin and looked at the soil in his hand seriously, his eyes had no space between them, and they were as empty and lifeless as the lotus root holes.
Ji Xuan heard this, squatted on the other side of Fang Wu, and looked over.
Suddenly, I saw a mark lying quietly on the ground. It was as big as a child's hand and had sharp edges and corners, like a concave circle with unclear boundaries.
Looking into the distance, it seems that there are still faint traces of the windlass, but they have obviously been cleaned up, so the footprints must have been ignored.
I just don’t know who cleaned up the footprints, the person who left the body, the murderer of the horse, or whether these two groups of people are the same person.
"How are you sure?" Zhang Xuan hoped in his heart that it was a horse's hoof, because that would at least mean that the horse was still alive before entering the mass grave.
"Horses have single hoofs and are semi-circular, while cows have cloven hoofs and are indented like this. The corpses transported by the government must be carried by people. Also, the soil is fine and easy to granulate. It is loess." Fang Wu spread his fingers and said,
The few grains of soil on the belly of the finger are distinct.
Ji Xuan also added: "This shows that our guess is correct. The corpse came from Zhouxue County and was transported in an ox cart."
Loess is the first choice for people in Zuitao County to grow peaches, while humus soil is the common soil used by people in Zhouxue County to grow vegetables.
However, only the people of Zhouxue County can feed cattle within a hundred miles, and use them to plow the land or carry some things.
"Then why are the corpses left here? Does the Yamen know about this person's death? Young Master... I remember that the Yamen has help for people who die from such diseases, so why are they dragging them to a mass grave? Or is this something else?
Is there something fishy?" Zhang Xuan originally sat down on the ground and said, but when Ji Xuan looked over, he hurriedly squatted down, biting his lip and muttered.
What’s so strange about this matter is that they obviously appeared together. According to common sense, they should be investigated together.
But now I can't find any connection. The people in Zhouxue County are not rich, and the vegetable sellers who make a profit from the price are working hard. How come they don't care about the government's help and silver?
When people in Zhouxue County see horses, they hide them. They are precious things. Who dares to bully those without power? But if they are powerful, why would they throw a vegetable vendor who died of a normal death?
Mass grave.
I dragged the yamen to the police and found the family members, and the matter was solved in a matter of seconds. A vegetable seller would not be taken seriously by others at all.
"Check slowly, you can always find out clearly." Ji Xuan patted Zhang Xuan on the shoulder and said.
He knew that Zhang Xuan's impatience had returned again.
They didn't find anything strange along the way. Once they entered the fields, there were more people raising cattle in the area.
As they walked, they would ask the people next to them from time to time to see if they knew anything.
But nothing useful was found.
"Come on, it's getting dark soon, or else this will be the case today." Zhang Xuan was really annoyed and said while holding up the soil.
Fang Wu looked at the two of them and said with some embarrassment: "I'm a little thirsty. Do you want some water to drink? Are you making plans?"
Ji Xuan didn't speak. She just stared at the yard in the distance. The yard was bare and didn't look like someone's home, but the still-dry slop above the door clearly told Ji Xuan that there was someone inside.
Zhang Xuan glanced at Ji Xuan's eyes, nodded silently, strode up to knock on the door latch and said, "Is Aunt Zhang at home?"
Zhang Xuan's voice was clear and clear, and there was no hint of discomfort.
Fang Wu subconsciously moved over after hearing this. Ji Xuan stared at the yard, got off the stone and followed.
"Here I am."
An aunt in her forties or fifties soon came out of the yard. Her eyes were very swollen, and her clothes were dirty and had not been tidied up at first glance. When she saw it was Zhang Xuan, she said, "Zhang Wazi."
"Yes, aunt, I came here from here. I've been walking for a long time and want to ask for a bowl of water." Zhang Xuan smiled, taking care of her, and followed the aunt into the yard comfortably.
Aunt Zhang responded and hurriedly entered the room.
Leaving the three of them alone in the yard, Zhang Xuan pulled Fang Wu and sat on a stool in the yard.
But Ji Xuan's eyes were fixed on their cowshed.
I walked into the yard and could see more clearly. There was a calf in the cowshed. It looked like it had just been born.
It's just that the cow dung piled up not far away doesn't look like it was pulled out by the calf, nor does it look fresh. It looks like it must have been around for some time.
Before he could think about anything, he saw Aunt Zhang coming out with a pot of water and several bowls. She called him: "Why don't you sit down, sir? Sit down quickly and drink some water."
Ji Xuan nodded, turned around and sat next to Zhang Xuan, drinking some water silently, her eyes still looking in the direction of the bullpen from time to time.
"Aunt Zhang? I remember you have two cows at home. Why is there only one left?" Zhang Xuan asked, seeing Ji Xuan always looking over there, and looked at her strangely.
"Well, I sold the cows some time ago because of the poor harvest, so I only kept this one." The aunt said naturally.
Zhang Xuan nodded without saying anything. He drank the water and handed the bowl back to his aunt.
Ji Xuan drank water a little slower, but no one noticed.
"Where is your little daughter? Why haven't you seen her? Are you at home alone?" Zhang Xuan continued to ask, sentence by sentence.
Aunt Zhang said naggingly: "Well, I went to stay at her sister's house. It will probably take a few days before I come back."
This time there was a tremor in his words.
A few people sat there for a while before going out.
After that, the three of them went back, but this time they walked under the city wall and went back to the Yamen from the city gate.
"I'm afraid you have to go home in the next two days." Suddenly, after entering the city gate, Ji Xuan faced Fang Wudao.
"What's wrong, Master? Isn't there a case?" Fang Wu felt a little strange, but asked.
Ji Xuan remembered that Fang's family came to the Yamen for the second time a few days ago to look for her, so she said, "Someone from your family said that your sister is out."
"When did it happen?" Fang Wu was stunned, remembering that day in the Yamen, Ji Xuan asked her about going home.
"The day you two went to the Yamen School." Ji Xuan thought for a while and said.
Fang Wu smiled and said nonchalantly: "I know, I'll go back in a few days."
Ji Xuanyi snorted in response. Although there was a hint of strange color in his eyes, he did not show it.
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