No. 30 Peony Lantern (3)

  Fengxian County Government Office is not far from our lodging inn, although it's raining and the road is not easy to walk on, we arrived quickly.

  The county government office is a standard-style building, similar to those seen on TV. Outside, there's a drum that can be beaten when someone wants to appeal for justice, and inside, there's a plaque with the words "Mirror hung high". It's late now and no one's around, the intimidating rods in the main hall are all leaning against the wall on their racks, and those signs that read "Martial" and "Silence", it really makes you feel like you're on a movie set.

  The corpse was stopped in the middle of the hall. Captain Hu let us sit on the chairs in the hall first and had someone bring tea, then he hurriedly went to the inner courtyard. After a short while, Captain Hu led a person out quickly. That person saw us and gave a neat bow.

  "In Feng County, under the jurisdiction of Magistrate Ge Qing-song, a distinguished guest has arrived, and I have failed to extend a distant welcome. Forgive me, forgive me."

  Ge Qing Song was dressed in casual attire and appeared to be in his thirties. He didn't have the typical appearance of a government official, being neither stout nor flabby. Instead, he was slender and neat, with a crisp tone when speaking, devoid of the usual officialese and empty chatter.

  Having met the Magistrate of Ge County and Hu Captor, my impression of Fengxian County has suddenly risen to a new level. It seems that the local parents are capable officials!

  It's worth mentioning that Feng County and Yichuan County are adjacent to each other, so it's quite necessary for the two county magistrates to interact with each other. Nie Qiuyuan stood up, bowed, and briefly introduced us, exchanging a few pleasantries.

  As they spoke, the servants had already been called over, Ge Qing Song waved his hand to signal them to start examining, but he himself hesitated for a moment and said: "Niece's guest room has been arranged by me. Should we send the two young ladies back to rest first? There is a dead person here after all, it's unlucky."

  I stood gently and quietly behind Nie Qiuyuan and Luo Dachun, but my heart was anxious. Let's go back first, won't we not see the autopsy results then?

  He glanced at us and then at his work, suddenly saying: "Then thank you, sir. Please have someone take them down first."

  This time he was not considerate at all. I turned around and saw that the undertaker had started to undress the corpse.

  After all, it was a man who died, and he made us avoid him, which is normal, right?

  I bid farewell to Mei Lan and left. My heart was tangled, but I had no choice, so I took the opportunity to quietly call out to my allied army:

  "Hey, are you there at night? What happened, you have to take a good look and turn back to tell me!"

  But this time, Young Master Yu Ye unexpectedly stood her up.

  The guest room in the county government office of Fengxian County is simple but clean and comfortable to live in. I lay on the bed, tossing and turning, unable to sleep, with all sorts of ghost stories in my mind.

  The third watch has passed. Originally, the third watch was the time when he would appear at night, but he didn't come. I lay in bed for half an hour, and he still didn't show up.

  He went where? Didn't he hear me calling him? Or is there something else?

  In my heart, there is a little inexplicable unease.

  The window flashed with a faint light.

  "Tonight?" I felt a surge of joy in my heart, turned over and got out of bed, pushed open the window and looked outside.

  The rain outside has stopped, and the night wind brings a refreshing scent of damp earth.

  But my little heart suddenly solidified for a moment and stopped beating for a while.

  A faint pink lantern floated slowly and lightly to the left of my window and soon drifted into the garden.

  I took a deep breath of cool air. This seems to be a peony lantern!

  I rubbed my eyes hard, but the lantern was gone, and I was so scared that I didn't see clearly whether the lantern flew over by itself or someone carried it. It should be no one carrying it, right? I was a bit uncertain for a moment.

  But this peony lantern should be related to the case!

  I grasped the dagger of night and hid it in my bosom, then went to knock on Han Meilan's door.

  I don't know why my first thought was to knock on her door.Maybe it's because she's a girl and it's more convenient to find her, or maybe I feel that no matter what request is made, she will blush and agree, especially easy to order.In short, I knocked hard on her door, the result...she...isn't...there!

  What is a woman doing at midnight?

  Then I didn't know whose door I should knock on again.

  The two of us came back early last night, I don't know which room Nie Qiuyuan and the others are in, and besides, I don't want them to know that I'm interested in the case.

  Suddenly I found out that in my heart, I have such a strong dependence on the existence of night.

  But one clue... is so confusing! And mainly, it's the lantern ghost... this is too scary!

  I hesitated for twenty seconds and finally shouted in the corridor: "Brother! Luo Da Ge! Where are you?"

  No one answered me. In fact, it was eerily quiet around me, so quiet that it was scary, with no signs of human existence at all.

  I was suddenly plunged into a sense of the end of the world. When I woke up from my dream, there were only two living things left in the world: me and cockroaches. Maybe the next moment, these familiar people would float in front of me, each carrying a pink lantern. As I looked closely, oh my god! None of them had feet!

  I shook my head vigorously and restrained the excessive imagination that could be called shameful for a detective. Everyone was gone, thinking rationally, what should I do now?

  I touched the dagger in my bosom, gritted my teeth, and quietly made my way to the garden where the peony lantern had disappeared.

  The night is cool as water, and the ground is slightly muddy. There are no stars or moon in the sky, and it's pitch black all around.

  I feel my heartbeat clearly audible. A faint scent of grass and wood wafts from the garden, where a bright light is emerging from the pavilion in the center.

  That bright light was a warm yellow, not the terrifying pale pink of the peony lanterns, and my heart suddenly fell back into my stomach. I quietly approached the pavilion, understanding the feeling of the moths that were attracted to the fire.

  A lantern hung high in the pavilion, an ordinary lamp with a decent brightness. A person sat inside, fiddling with something on a small stone table.

  It's a man, a young man, with legs and feet, a living person!

  The young man was about twenty years old, wearing a simple green shirt, with his hair casually tied up and a few loose strands falling on his forehead, adding a hint of charm to his appearance.

  I can only see his profile, but this one profile is already stunningly beautiful.

  The man's appearance was in no way inferior to Nie Qiuyu's. Autumn's demeanor had a sense of solemnity and grandeur, with a hint of loneliness and coldness, while this man, even when he was concentrating on his work alone, had a subtle smile playing on the corners of his lips, warm like the spring breeze in March.

  The man was intently staring at something in his hand, with a focus that was mysterious and captivating. I was drawn to him for a moment, because I've always thought that the moment when a man is fully concentrated on doing something seriously is the most heart-moving. But when I saw what he had in his hand, I was suddenly stunned.

  Datang Chang'an Evening News Express

  Hello everyone, I'm Journalist Jun from Chang'an Evening News. Today's news content is a special interview with Miss Liu Yue. Hello Miss Liu Yue.

  Ye Liu Ying: Hello.

  Reporter: The author hasn't been around for the past few days, no one has been trying to torture you in every way possible, so I'm sure you've had a very relaxing and carefree time, right?

  Ye Liu Ying: Hi, don't mention it! That hateful author is better off dead!

  Reporter: Oh? What happened to make you so indignant?

  Ye Liu Ying: She! Before leaving, she was writing a very urgent article, then, she came up with a very bloody plot, letting a man suddenly knock her to the ground, and then, she pushed her laptop away and went out for training!

  Reporter bacteria: Ah?

  Ye Liu Ying: So, that man was pressed on me for three whole days!

  Reporter: (Pfft! No way, endure it, professional ethics...) This... if he were a handsome guy, even if I had to do this for the rest of my life, it wouldn't be bad at all!

  Ye Liu Ying: You think it's okay, you try it? Pressed for three days, the posture hasn't changed at all. If it were you, you'd have a killer's heart too!

  Reporter bacteria: It's also... If you kill Author bacteria, it will never wake up again for the rest of its life!

  Ye Liu Ying: Oh, right! Author Jun, hurry up and come out, write quickly, finish writing this section before you die!

  Reporter: Cough cough... Who is this man after all? Let's look forward to this new episode "The Most Memorable Slam Dunk" together...