Chapter 13 When the Fog Rises Again 1
The next morning, it started to drizzle, and it cleared up at noon. Every autumn rain brings a chill, and the occasional gust of wind on the street makes people shiver.
"I wonder when this case will be solved?" Meng Fan muttered as he watched a group of soldiers from the patrol battalion passing by. "Since the incident, I haven't slept well for many days, and I haven't been with Qinqin for many days. I wonder how her handwriting has been doing recently."
Meng Fan has a younger sister named Meng Qin, who has been close to her brother since childhood. In this regard, Meng Fan often said proudly that Qinqin is the girl with the best taste in Chang'an City.
Zhou Zhenzhen took a bite of wonton, the taste is really not comparable to the one in Man Yue Tea House, but this stall is close to Dali Temple, so they can only make do with it. She can make do with it, but she won't allow Cheng Daren to eat this thing, thinking about buying some snacks for him from the shop in front later.
Huo Chi ate all the wontons in a few bites. Suddenly, he heard a sound beside his ear. His expression froze and he shouted in a low voice: "Everyone lower your heads!"
Several people immediately did as they were told. With a whoosh, a long arrow was nailed to the table, and the tail was still trembling. Huo Chi's eyes were like an eagle, and he stood up and chased in the direction of the arrow.
Zhou Zhenzhen and Meng Fan were huddled together under the table, heads touching each other. They slowly crawled out when they saw there was no danger.
"It's so dangerous under the emperor's feet in broad daylight." Meng Fan curled his lips, still feeling a lingering fear.
However, Zhou Zhenzhen did not share his indignation as usual. Meng Fan turned his head and saw that her face was pale, her profile was tense, and she was staring at the arrow on the table without blinking.
Meng Fan followed her gaze and his mind went blank. There was a doll strung on the arrow, with its back facing upwards, allowing him to easily see the words written on it.
Those fifteen words were like death runes from the abyss of hell.
——August 23, at the academy’s martial arts arena, at the hour of Hai, save your sister.
An hour later, Huo Chi returned to the Dali Temple. The atmosphere in the Detective Division was tense. Meng Fan sat on a chair with no color on his face. Zhou Zhenzhen stood beside him and whispered to comfort him. Seeing Huo Chi coming back, Zhou Zhenzhen looked at him inquiringly. Huo Chi shook his head and Zhou Zhenzhen sighed.
If Huo Chi could track him down so easily, he wouldn't be the murderer that even Cheng Jue couldn't do anything about.
The window of the Detective Department was open, and Cheng Jue stood quietly in front of it, saying nothing.
Compared to his usual calm thinking, Zhou Zhenzhen saw that Cheng Jue was different at this moment. He was suppressed and trying his best to stay calm, but in fact he was already panicking.
In the past, she often heard people talk about Dali Temple Chief Justice Cheng Jue, and what they mentioned most was that he was cold and indifferent, and did not talk about personal feelings. He was like a golden Skanda, who lived only for the truth. But the more she interacted with him, the more she understood that although he did not show his emotions, he was loyal to the people around him.
This was true for Lin Yuxiao in the past, and it is also true for Meng Fan today.
He didn't dare to take risks with Meng Fan and Meng Fan's sister Meng Qin, so he was hesitant and indecisive.
Zhou Zhenzhen walked to his side and stood beside him, looking at the dry leaves soaked by the rain outside. After a while, she spoke, her voice a little hoarse: "Why is it Meng Fan?"
Cheng Jue's eyes moved and he said, "Hmm?"
"Du Ruyue and Liu Yan are both from aristocratic families, and Meng Fan is from an ordinary family. Why did the murderer choose him this time? I don't believe that a murderer who follows the rules will easily change his standards. Or is there something in common between these three people that we don't know?"
Cheng Jue closed his eyes and frowned.
The two were speechless for a moment. Meng Fan, who had been sitting paralyzed, propped himself up and said in a deep voice, "Master Cheng, I will go to the martial arts field on time. If you have any plans, just arrange them. Don't worry about me."
Cheng Jue turned around, blocking out half of the sunlight. Meng Fan stood in his shadow, his outline still a little blurry.
"Since the day I entered the Dali Temple, I have decided to do my best for the Dali Temple. Even if I cannot bring glory to it, I cannot hinder its development. The murderer has made some moves this time, and this is the best time to seize the opportunity. If we miss this opportunity, we don't know when the next one will come, and we don't know how many innocent people will suffer."
"Meng Fan..."
"Master Cheng!" Meng Fan stood straight, his voice trembling uncontrollably, "Qinqin is still young, she still has a good life to live. No matter what the murderer wants me to do, as long as I can save Qinqin's life, I am willing to do it. If I can't come back this time... please help me take care of Qinqin in the future, Master Cheng."
Meng Fan said this with a long bow, pushed away Huo Chi who came to stop him, and quickly walked out of the Detective Department.
Zhou Zhenzhen looked at the chestnuts on Lin Yuxiao's desk and couldn't help sobbing softly.
Meng Qin was studying at Tianqing Academy in the south of the city, and this day was no different from any other day. The servant of the Meng family sent her to the academy in the morning and then went back, waiting to come back to pick her up at the end of the afternoon.
On rainy days, pedestrians were in a hurry. Everyone came and left in a hurry, only caring about themselves and not doubting the slightest abnormality. When Meng Fan saw the doll on the stall and rushed to the academy, he learned that the teacher of the academy had not seen Meng Qin today. He thought she didn't come because of the rain, so he thought of going to Meng's house to ask in the afternoon when the rain stopped.
But before I could ask, Meng Fan came to the door.
The last bit of hope in Meng Fan's heart was shattered. Qinqin was really taken away by the murderer.
…
Zhou Zhenzhen didn't want to disturb Cheng Jue, so she called Huo Chi to go out together, leaving the Detective Department to Cheng Jue alone.
"Where did Meng Fan go?"
Zhou Zhenzhen looked up at the sky and said, "If I'm not mistaken, we should have gone to Junzi Cliff."
Huo Chi already understood, he sighed slightly, and said: "This is the first time I see Master Cheng hesitate like this."
"Brother Huo, I need your help with something." Zhou Zhenzhen said seriously.
"What is it?"
Zhou Zhenzhen approached and whispered in a low voice. Huo Chi's expression became more and more serious. Finally, he replied, "I know."
The clouds rolled and dispersed in the sky, and the sun was about to set.
The pink and bright red colors spread out one after another, so magnificent and beautiful. I'm afraid few people still remember the rain in the morning, the rain that took Meng Qin away.
Just before midnight, Meng Fan arrived at the martial arts arena of Tianqing Academy.
It is called a martial arts field, but it is far from Tianqing Academy, almost to the outskirts of the city. It was originally the training ground of the patrol camp, but later the patrol camp moved to another place, and the training ground here became vacant. The director of Tianqing Academy had some friendship with the commander of the patrol camp at that time. He said that there was only a place for learning literature in the academy, but no place for practicing martial arts. The commander of the patrol camp submitted a memorial and gave this vacant training ground to Tianqing Academy as a martial arts field.
Students from Tianqing Academy come to the martial arts field once every half a month. There is usually no one else here, and when you walk in, you will see nothing but emptiness and endless space as far as the eye can see.
It was already dark. Meng Fan walked forward with a lamp in his hand. His footsteps were particularly clear in the silence, "da da da..." like the tapping of drumsticks.
Further ahead was the place where they usually practiced archery. There was a row of targets placed at a certain distance against the wall. Meng Fan stopped at the starting line. Next to it was a large desk with a damaged and wrinkled table top, on which were several bows and buckets of arrows.
A gust of wind blew by, and the bells made crisp sounds, swaying in the wind.
Meng Fan remembered the sound transmission mechanism on the roof of the Murer Building and walked forward. He raised his hand and held the lantern high. There was a "pop" sound, as if something was knocking. The next moment, the targets in the shadow in front of him all moved backwards. Meng Fan's eyes widened.
There was a person tied to the target in the middle, and he recognized who that person was at a glance.
"Qinqin! Qinqin!"
Meng Qin was awakened by the shout. She opened her eyes and tried to struggle, but she was powerless all over. She could only make a "squeaky" sound with her mouth open. It was because she had been drugged.
Meng Fan thought of what happened on the roof of Muer Building before, and didn't dare to act rashly. He just restrained himself and stood here, saying loudly: "It's midnight, just do whatever you want!"
The bell rang again, accompanied by a piercing laugh: "Among the people I called here, you are the first one who is so anxious to find me."
…
Under the wall of the martial arts field, Zhou Zhenzhen and Cheng Jue hid in the dark, watching inside from afar.
Cheng Jue selected several agile and quick-moving people from the Dali Temple and scattered them around, ready to act when the opportunity arose.
The murderer's every move was carefully planned, and he made good use of tricks. The opponent was not in the martial arts field, so no matter how many people he arranged, it would not have any effect and would only alert the enemy.
"Are we just going to wait like this? I'm worried about Meng Fan..."
Cheng Jue didn't turn around, but just leaned closer to Zhou Zhenzhen, put his thin lips against her ear, and said in a deep voice: "Hasn't our rapidly improving Lord Zhou already arranged it? This time, I will be the examiner to check the results."
Zhou Zhenzhen's face suddenly became hot: "You...you know everything, Master Cheng, I just..."
"I know." Cheng Jue didn't let her continue. His half-drooped eyebrows trembled, as if he was laughing. "If someone told me last year that I would rely on a little girl to solve cases in the future, I would definitely ridicule him. But now, I have to believe it."
Zhou Zhenzhen acted alone without telling him, and Cheng Jue understood her intention after a brief thought. She knew his inner conflict and couldn't bear to use Meng Fan's case as a breakthrough to investigate further, so she would do it for him, help him solve the case, and also help him block all the bad consequences if this matter failed.
Cheng Jue's eyes were filled with tears. He was young and rebellious, with a cold personality. He would never have expected that he would meet such a Zhou Zhenzhen many years later.
She always gave him surprises and unexpected things, and made him go back and forth to the peach forest.
He was silent for a long while. Zhou Zhenzhen only felt that his breathing was heavier than before. Then her shoulder felt warm. It was his big hand that embraced her. "After we get married, if you are so bold as to act on your own again, I will punish you according to the family rules."
Hearing him say the word "husband" so naturally, Zhou Zhenzhen bit her lower lip in shame to stop the coquettish anger that was about to burst out.
Meng Fan in front of them made a move. The two of them calmed down and looked over again. Meng Fan picked up the bow on the table, pulled out three arrows from the quiver, and turned his face towards the target.
The air suddenly condensed.
Zhou Zhenzhen secretly said something bad, and pinched Cheng Jue's arm unconsciously. Cheng Jue covered the back of her hand with his palm: "Don't be afraid."
"Meow--meow--" In the silence, the night cat cried, adding a bit of weirdness to the vast night. Cheng Jue relaxed his breath and narrowed his eyes.
At this moment in the martial arts arena, Meng Fan put an arrow on the bow, and his hand was trembling slightly.
He was born as a civil official, and he was not good at martial arts and swordplay, let alone in such an environment. If he was not careful, it would be very likely that Qinqin's life would be taken away. The consequence of being careful was that he aimed at the target for a while, but he didn't muster up the courage to shoot the arrow.
The voice in the bell was full of sarcasm: "Everyone says that all the subordinates of Dali Temple Minister Cheng are fearless and capable, so why is Lord Meng so useless that he can't even shoot an arrow properly? Or are you like Liu Yan, who says that he loves his sister and is willing to sacrifice his life for her survival, but actually loves himself more than anything else in the world."
The target that Meng Qin was tied to and the target next to her were each equipped with a mechanism. As long as two arrows hit the target, the mechanism would be activated and the explosives would explode. If the two arrows hit the target behind Meng Qin, the explosives on the target would explode instantly. If the two arrows hit another target, the fuse wrapped around the target would ignite the explosives buried at the location where Meng Fan was standing. If he was lucky and ran fast, he might still be able to survive.
This is once again a choice between his own life and that of his sister.
Meng Fan has three arrows to use.
He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down, and with a whoosh, the arrow shot towards the edge of the target next to Meng Qin. Meng Fan wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, thankful that he had not missed the target.
Holding the second arrow in his hand, Meng Fan turned and looked at Meng Qin.
The little girl was frightened and could not speak, but tears fell in strings. Meng Fan touched the bag around his waist, where he usually put a few pieces of candy. When Qinqin cried at home, he would comfort her with candy.
"Qinqin, be good. You must listen to your father and mother in the future. When you grow up, find a husband that suits your heart. Don't look for someone who is not as good as your brother... If you like to study, you can also take the imperial examination and enter the government. It would be best if you can enter the Dali Temple. My brother likes the Dali Temple the most and likes everything there..."
Meng Qin shook her head in panic. She didn't understand what her brother said, but his words made her sad and heartbroken.
Meng Fan couldn't bear to watch any longer, so he took a deep breath, put the second arrow on the bow, and drew the bow to the full length, with the direction of the bow unchanged from before. The taut bowstring was blown by the wind, making a "clang" sound. He was afraid of losing his aim, so he waited for the wind to blow past, and his palms were already wet.
"Qinqin." Meng Fan muttered, closed his eyes, and shot the arrow suddenly.
He moved his feet, but did not run, he just walked backwards. He did not want Qinqin to see her brother in such a miserable state, nor did he want her to see him die in front of her.
In front of Qinqin, he wanted to be the good brother who stood tall and upright in her heart all his life.
The arrow hit the bull's eye, and the ground under Meng Fan's feet made a "sizzling" sound of the gunpowder fuse burning. However, he waited for a while, and the imagined earthquake had not yet arrived. His mind was wandering, and he heard footsteps in his ears, and then his shoulder was sizzling.
"Untie your sister!"
Meng Fan opened his eyes, his face full of disbelief: "Zhenzhen...you...why are you here?"
"I don't have time to explain to you, take your sister away."
"No." Meng Fan insisted, fearing that Qinqin would be in any danger.
Zhou Zhenzhen pressed her forehead and said patiently, "When you were dealing with the murderer just now, Brother Huo found the murderer's location by following the direction of the wires buried by the mechanism. Now Master Cheng has brought people to surround him. The mechanism must have been destroyed by Brother Huo, otherwise you wouldn't be standing here in peace."
