Red Mansion: Picking up a Lin Daiyu

Chapter 357: Ghosts in the Mountains

Before dusk,

Three riders on fast horses quickly arrived at Longgang Village outside Jinling Town.

Zhao Hao in black and Liu Xianglian in white both had weapons hanging from their waists, guarding Yue Ling on their left and right, and stopped at the stone tablet in front of the village entrance.

Zhao Hao jumped off his horse and said, "My Lord, please wait a moment. I will go find the village chief here to question him."

Yue Ling nodded slightly and looked at the terrain and water conditions here.

The mountains in the distance are not steep, especially halfway up the mountain, where there seems to be an open area, like a giant platform, bare and without any vegetation.

The small village is at the foot of the mountain, a few kilometers away from Jinhu Town. It has fields stretching across the country and is not considered barren.

Liu Xianglian broke the silence and asked doubtfully, "My Lord, we have traveled dozens of miles to get here. Could it be that the case in the city is related to this place? Maybe it is a bigger case than the one in Cangzhou?"

Yue Ling shook his head and said, "It's hard to say at this moment. Everything is just speculation."

"But if we assume the worst-case scenario, it will probably be worse than the cases in Cangzhou and Suzhou."

"Is it so sinister?"

When in Cangzhou, Yue Ling went on a killing spree, eliminating all the old powerful people in Cangzhou. He even re-selected officials, as if he was tearing down the entire city and rebuilding it.

In Suzhou, the Japanese pirates were implicated and the prime minister of the province was punished. As a result, the court no longer set up provinces in the local areas, but gradually turned to setting up the Ministry of Civil Affairs, the Ministry of Criminal Justice, and the Ministry of Military Affairs to replace the overly redundant Xingzhongshu Province.

This proposal caused an uproar in the imperial court, especially since the Xingzhongshu Province was gone. The Zhongshu Province no longer had the power it had in the past to control the local areas, and had only become a department that delivered and submitted documents to the emperor.

There is no prime minister, and even if there is power, it is far less than in the old days.

In Yangzhou, the case was not led by Marquis An Jing, but it was not worse than the other two, which made Liu Xianglian very alert.

Before he could do so, Zhao Hao came carrying an old man on his back.

"This is Marquis Anjing. I hope Muramasa can tell you as much as possible about the corpse being dumped in the wilderness."

The old man was standing on the ground, and when he heard the name was Marquis Anjing, he almost lost his balance and fell to the ground.

Fortunately, Zhao Hao was quick-witted and helped the old man to stand up straight.

Muramasa was really shocked. A mere corpse was found in this remote place, but it attracted such a famous figure.

He bowed three times and Muramasa started to explain: "Marquis Anjing is right. The people in this village are all honest farmers. There has never been a murder case in many years. And the body is not from the village, let alone a relative or old friend of the village. It has nothing to do with the village."

Yue Ling raised his hand to support him and said in a soothing tone, "Father, there is no need to do this. I came here today because I am staying in Yangzhou and have no official duties. I heard that a body was found in Jinhu Town. I was afraid that it was a bad case and the government would be at a disadvantage. I ignored the welfare of the people and came here in person to solve the case and settle the case."

"Father, please be assured and speak boldly. I have a good reputation and will not wrongly accuse a good person, nor will I tolerate a bad person."

Muramasa bowed respectfully again, then sighed and recounted the whole story of how the villagers found the body in the mountain early in the morning.

Since Muramasa was not among the group that went up the mountain to pick mushrooms, he called over several villagers who were present at the time to restore the original appearance as best as possible.

Because the body looked like it had been abandoned for a long time and its face was so rotten that it was impossible to tell the features. The villagers did not dare to touch it, fearing that a wronged spirit might possess it and demand its life, so they fled down the mountain.

Hearing this, Yue Ling took a deep breath, looked at Zhao Hao and Liu Xianglian, and said, "Then, let's go up the mountain to take a look at the body."

"No, no!"

"It will be night soon. My Lord, you must not go up the mountain."

The surrounding villagers stepped back a few steps in fear, waving their hands and trying to stop them in unison.

This unusual behavior made the three people very confused.

Many of these farmers should go to the mountains, but what taboo could there be in going up the mountain at night?
The people in front of him were all simple farmers, and one could tell from the thick calluses on their hands. Yue Ling did not doubt that they had any bad intentions, so he listened to their reasons patiently.

"Well, then tell me, why can't we go up the mountain at night?"

An older villager said mysteriously, "This mountain was originally fine. A few years ago, a group of people from the town came and dug up saltpeter on the mountain. They started digging stones to make fireworks."

"Digging through the cave would anger the mountain god. But those outsiders don't care and don't pay any attention to it."

"Sure enough, a few months ago, miserable noises were always heard from the mountain at night. The fireworks workshop Peijifang sent people to the mountain to investigate every day, but found nothing unusual. But they still abandoned the mine and went to the other side of the mountain."

"Later, people in our village didn't dare to go up the mountain at night."

"Oh? Is there such a thing?"

The originally unremarkable case now aroused Yue Ling's interest.

Due to the peculiar nature of Yue Ling's occupation in his previous life, he was certainly not a timid person, nor did he believe in monsters and demons.

Since there is something unusual, we have to go up the mountain to take a look.

But the villagers were unwilling, so Yue Ling did not waste any more words, but took out a silver ingot from his bosom and said to everyone: "Here is five taels of silver. I will find someone who found the body this morning, is familiar with the mountain, and can lead the way. Anyone who is willing can take this job and go up the mountain with us now."

Hearing this, the villagers were frightened. Although they wanted to persuade Yue Ling a few more times, due to the huge difference in their status, they could not influence the other person's decision at all, so they kept silent.

However, there will always be brave men when there is a big reward, this is an eternal truth.

Moreover, in this world, farmers could barely make ends meet, let alone have extra money at home. Five taels of silver was enough for a family to eat and drink for several years, and soon someone agreed to it.

Squeezing into the crowd was a burly man with broad shoulders and a strong waist. His figure and physique were similar to Zhao Hao, strong and sturdy.

But he still looked a little hesitant, and then he glanced at the shining silver ingot. He thought that the Marquis of Anjing, who was in a high position, would certainly not fool the people. The strong man gritted his teeth and said, "I am Dou Er, a humble citizen. I am willing to accompany you all the way."

……

It was difficult to ride horses up the mountain, so Yue Ling and his group chose to walk lightly, carrying only some necessary personal belongings, tools and weapons.

You know what, there are some weird things on this mountain.

When the setting sun was shining in the sky, there was nothing strange about it, as the four of them were still walking and talking and laughing.

Until night fell, a light mist appeared in the forest, and there seemed to be no living things on the mountain. It was strangely quiet. Apart from the sound of footsteps, the only sound I could hear was my own heartbeat.

Dou Er, the sturdy man leading the way, felt his legs becoming weaker and weaker, his steps became smaller and smaller, and cold sweat was pouring down his head.

After Yue Ling realized the situation, he signaled to Zhao Hao, the guard behind him, to go to the front to accompany Dou Er.

Zhao Hao, who was used to traveling around the world and escorting convoys everywhere, did not believe in ghosts and gods. He talked to Dou Er warmly and asked, "The people in the village seem to be very afraid of this mountain. They don't even want five taels of silver. How dare you stand out?"

Zhao Hao patted Dou Er's shoulder and asked with a smile. Dou Er felt relieved and said truthfully: "To be honest with you, sir, having money is one thing, and having the life to spend it is another."

"I have an old mother, a pair of children, and my wife is ill. I don't have money to pay for her treatment, so I have no choice but to do this risky business with a few officials."

Hearing that it was because of his wife at home, Yue Ling had a better impression of him.

How bad can a responsible man's heart be?

He immediately asked, "What disease is your wife suffering from?"

Dou Er sighed, "What disease is it? The village doctor couldn't tell. He got the disease while working at the fireworks shop in town, but no one cared."

"Oh, there is such a thing."

Speaking of fireworks shops, Yue Ling couldn't help but ask a few more questions: "I heard that the fireworks business in Jinhu Town is very big, and half of the fireworks in Jiangnan are produced here. If this is true, wouldn't this fireworks shop treat its neighbors with favor and gain a good reputation?"

Dou Er said again: "Good reputation? They don't care. They are not from our area, they hired villagers and treated them like animals. The monthly salary is not much, and they often deduct money. I really don't know where their money goes."

"My Lord, they haven't done anything too harmful, but they are always bullying us, which is unbearable. Can you still control them?"

Yue Ling nodded slightly, "Tell me about it?"

Dou Er had already lived a hard life, and now that he had the opportunity to pour out his grievances, he told them all without hesitation.

"For example, when they went up the mountain to dig, they drove us far away. And the river in front of the village, they took the water route and drove us away, even when we were doing farm work."

"Although I am a rough man and illiterate, I know that they must have some connection with the government in Jinhu Town. Otherwise, how dare they act like bandits?"

Realizing that he had said too much, Dou Er couldn't help but cover his mouth and asked with some concern: "My Lord, I spoke ill of the government behind their backs, you can't punish me, right?"

Yue Ling and the other two smiled when they heard this.

"Things are inherently good and bad, and people are not allowed to comment on them? How can you silence the people and whitewash the situation? This is not what I do."

Dou Er sighed, "That's good, that's good. The Marquis is different from those vulgar people. People say that a prime minister has a big heart. I think the Marquis has at least five, no, ten."

Dou Er stretched out one hand and made a number of five, then felt unwilling, so he stretched out the other hand and made a number of ten.

The slightly clumsy flattery made Liu Xianglian and Zhao Hao laugh, and the depressing atmosphere of the group was relieved a lot.

After walking a little further, it became increasingly darker.

Along with this, the climate on the mountain has become increasingly colder. From time to time, you can hear the forest breeze blowing. If it blows directly into your neck, it will really give you goose bumps.

Suddenly, Dou Er fell to the ground, trembling all over, and whispered, "My Lord, I can only send you here. The place ahead must be the place that angered the mountain god. Walk forward a hundred steps and you will reach the mine."

"If I didn't deliver it to the body, you can just give me half of the money. But I also want to advise you that the body has been there for a long time, and there are no birds or animals in the mountains, so why do you have to come to see it at night?"

Seeing his cowardly look, Zhao Hao was dissatisfied and said, "You have accepted the task from the adults, how dare you give up halfway?"

Holding Dou Er's neck, Zhao Hao was about to pull him up again.

Dou Er begged for mercy again and again, saying, "Sir, sir, please listen to what's going on in front of you first."

Everyone stopped making noise and listened carefully, only then they heard intermittent hissing sounds not far ahead.

The neighing and crying sounded neither melodious nor sweet; it was just very strange.

There is a slight rhythm, but it is all in the same tune.

Zhao Hao and Liu Xianglian both became cautious and slowly put their hands on their weapons to deal with any emergencies.

The two of them turned around at the same time, looking down on Yue Ling who was leading the group.

Yue Ling frowned and said nothing. He just made a formation gesture commonly used by the Cangzhou army and continued to move forward.

Then, Zhao Hao picked up Dou Er, who was the same size as him, by the waist, drew his sword and held it across his body, took the lead, and walked quickly out of the woods.

Liu Xianglian and Yue Ling each held a fire stick to light the way and followed closely behind.

Dou Er covered his cheeks tightly with his hands and dared not make a sound until a group of people arrived at the mine.

As Yue Ling and his group got closer to the mine, the sound became clearer and clearer.

Woo, woo, woo...

It sounded like some animal calling, deep and rich.

After lighting the torches, everyone looked carefully but did not find any suspicious figures.

"Could it be that there really is some ghost?"

Yue Ling frowned and said, "Come closer and search carefully."

The crowd approached the place where the sound came from again, and Dou Er, who was at Zhao Hao's waist, had fainted from fright.

With the torches lighting up the area, they were able to make out some of the situation on the ground, and soon everyone discovered what was wrong with the sound.

Liu Xianglian rubbed it with his hands, shone a torch, and called out loudly: "My Lord, there is a body here!"

Yue Ling quickly turned around and came to Liu Xianglian, put the torches together to gather more light, and carefully identified them.

"This should be the body that the villagers said they found this morning. It has a strong smell of dampness and decay, and is unrecognizable. The sound also came from him."

"But, this thing on him..."

As Liu Xianglian and Zhao Hao dug up the soil, Yue Ling noticed something strange. There were many crystals on the corpse, which appeared dark under the light of the fire. It was not ordinary soil.

"It seems that this body has been buried. Someone must have deliberately killed it and dumped it in the wilderness."

"Besides, this location is an abandoned mine, so the people from the fireworks shop should be more likely to be suspected."

"Carry him out first, and I'll take a good look at him."

The clothes on the body had been completely torn into rags, and the sound came from a protruding object at the waist and hip area of ​​the body.

Yue Ling held his palm and looked at it, and said in surprise: "This is the bone flute that Lingguan once mentioned. She said that this thing is quite exquisite and can only be seen in Yangzhou City..."

(End of this chapter)