Chapter Thirty-Eight: Chasing down the evil spirits
The master is busy training the oiran in the Jiaofang Department.
In the Inspectorate, Chi Shen, together with Zong Hongqing and other colleagues, has been running around for the past year, investigating evil intelligence and looking for enemy spies.
I just returned to Kyoto today and was ready to take a rest. I made an appointment with Zong Hongqing and Lan Yanjie to go to Jiaofangsi for a drink in the evening.
The three of them were approached by their boss Pei Haijiang again.
In the simple hall, Pei Haijiang sat behind the desk and pushed a file to the edge of the table.
He said: "Two of the patrol guards who went to inspect the south of Kyoto yesterday disappeared near Yanhua County. The three of you go on a trip to find out the cause of the disappearance. If you encounter evil spirits, try to catch them alive if you can deal with them.
Otherwise we will be killed on the spot."
"If the evil spirit is too powerful, come back immediately to report it, and it will be dealt with by Taoism and Confucianism."
"Yes, sir."
After Lan Yanjie took the file, he left Pei Haijiang's hall with Chu Ge and Zong Hongqing.
As soon as he came out, Zong Hongqing complained loudly:
"I thought I could rest for two days, but now I'm back to work just now. The ladies in the Jiaofang Department will miss me."
Chu Ge revealed ruthlessly: "With your little tribute, the little lady of Jiaofangsi has no idea about you."
The three of them laughed and laughed and walked out of the Procuratorate's Yamen. After getting their horses, they quickly headed outside the south city.
Yanhua County belongs to Fuguo County of Kyoto, and is not far from Kyoto.
The three of them rode fast horses and arrived at their destination in about two hours.
According to the records in the file, the two patrol guards came yesterday for a routine inspection, but they have not returned to Dianmao today, and the spies who contacted Yanhua County have not responded.
It is very possible that he was harmed by evil spirits.
Zong Hongqing snorted coldly and said: "These monsters and evil ways have become more and more arrogant recently. They dare to go directly to the vicinity of Kyoto to cause trouble. They are really audacious."
Chu Ge said: "It's very possible that he was passing by. He committed a crime near Kyoto and killed someone from the Procuratorate. If he doesn't run away, then this evil spirit must have something wrong with his mind. We are here to investigate."
Checking the cause of death, there is not much chance of meeting the other party."
Lan Yanjie nodded in approval.
The three of them entered the county seat, took care of the horses, and prepared to investigate.
Yanhua County is a neighboring country on the edge of Kyoto, so it is naturally very prosperous.
There are thousands of households in the county, and it would take at least several days to check them one by one.
Several people were walking on the street, and there were all kinds of shouting and hawking sounds beside the street.
"Tanghulu, big and sweet candied haws..."
"We are selling steamed buns, hot steamed buns freshly baked..."
"Master, come up and have a drink."
The three of them turned to look at each other in unison.
A two-story building with a Yuexiangyuan hanging on it is located at the corner of the street.
As someone who is half in the industry, Chu Ge knows that the specifications of brothels in Dali can be judged by their suffixes.
The first and second-class brothels are mainly suffixed with "yuan", "guan" and "ge".
The third and fourth grades are mostly named after "lou", "class" and "dian".
There is actually a first-class brothel in Yanhua County. It is worthy of being in the vicinity of Kyoto, and its spending power is really good.
After all, although the price of this first-class brothel cannot be compared with that of Jiaofangsi, it still costs at least five taels of silver to pay for drinks. If you want to sleep with a girl, you will have to pay one to three taels depending on the quality.
Most people can't afford it.
It was already noon, and the girls in the brothel were already opening their doors diligently. Several beautiful girls in light gauze were leaning against the beauties on the second floor, looking at the passers-by with sweet smiles.
When I see someone who is well-dressed and can afford to eat seafood, I immediately wave the colorful handkerchief in my hand eagerly, hoping to sell the fresh, tender and juicy seafood that I produce to the other person.
Chu Ge and the three of them looked at each other.
The thoughts in their hearts were immediately seen in their eyes.
Chu Ge smiled and suggested: "It's noon now, how about we have a meal here?"
Zong Hongqing smiled and said: "This is very good. Only when you are full can you have the strength to catch monsters."
Lan Yanjie: "Good!"
As soon as the three of them approached the Yuexiang Courtyard, the Madam, who had already noticed it, came up to them with several of the best girls in the Courtyard.
After all, those doing business would definitely recognize the official uniform of the Procuratorate.
"Masters, please go upstairs to the private room and invite me. I will arrange for the best girls to come and serve you."
Under the attentive reception of the madam, the three of them went to the private room upstairs.
Soon, the little turtle man brought out top-quality drinks and dishes.
The few of them were enjoying the massage from the girls' little hands while eating the food. They had a tacit understanding of not drinking a drop of wine.
Chu Ge patted the small hand of the beautiful lady with round and charming eyes who was pouring wine next to her, and asked casually:
"Has anything strange happened in Yanhua County recently?"
Chu Ge and the others chose to come in for dinner, naturally not only to enjoy the services of the young ladies, but also to investigate intelligence.
After all, places like brothels are the most well-informed.
After a few ounces of wine, the old men like to hold the little lady's hand and brag about their proud things and novel experiences.
Sure enough, the young lady frowned slightly, thought for a moment and said:
"Sir, there is nothing special about this county. I just walked through a flood in the west yesterday. Fortunately, it was put out quickly. The damage was not big, but a few people were burned to death."
The eyes of Chu Ge and the others moved slightly.
Chu Ge continued to ask: "Has the county government found out the identity of the deceased?"
The young lady said: "Last night, I heard a servant in the government office mention that the body had been burnt and it was difficult to identify it. However, after checking the nearby residents, only a grocery store owner was missing. It might be that
One of the deceased, the others are probably not locals."
Chu Ge already had a guess in his mind.
It seems that the grocery store owner should be the secret agent of the Procuratorate, and the others are probably the missing patrol guards.
After lunch, Chu Ge and others declined the young lady's kind invitation to stay for seafood.
After leaving Yuexiangyuan, I came to Yanhua County Government Office.
After receiving a notice from the government officials that three inspectors from the Procuratorate had come to investigate the case, Zhu Gao, the magistrate of Yanhua County, quickly ran out from the back hall to greet them.
After seeing Chu Ge and the others, he immediately said with a flattering smile: "You three adults, you are tired from traveling, please come in and have a cup of tea first."
As Yanhua County is a large county with over 10,000 people, the official rank of the county magistrate is naturally higher than that of ordinary county magistrates. The official residence is from the sixth rank, which is half higher than Chu Ge and others.
But Chu Ge and the others are members of the Procuratorate and cannot be judged by their ordinary official ranks.
Chu Ge and the others didn't talk nonsense either.
He asked directly: "Yesterday there was a fire in Yanhua County. How many bodies were there, but they were in the government office?"
After hearing this, the government official felt his heart skip a beat.
Then he quickly said: "Yes, yes, it's in the mortuary at the back."