Chapter 35 Panic but not chaos
February 10th, 2:45 PM
Xu Chong approached carefully. The man was covering his mouth and nose and concentrating on burning the books and didn't notice him. When he was only two meters away, he heard someone shouting on the stairs behind him: "Don't worry, Xu Jieji, we are here."
The shout startled the thief in front. He turned around and saw Xu Chong, and quickly pushed open a door and ran forward. Before he fled, he did not forget to grab something from the basket at his feet and put it on his shoulder. Xu Chong chased after him and saw that the fire was going out. He was also a person who knew the priorities, so he did not stop to put out the fire and chased after the man.
The man was shorter than Xu Chong, and the tunnel was very low and narrow, which was in his favor. Xu Chong was bigger, so it was difficult for him to walk fast, and he couldn't catch up for a while, and gradually he was left behind by the man. A little further ahead, he could vaguely see light, which was probably the exit. Xu Chong chased there and found an exit. He dodged and found that it was actually a cemetery. It seems that Yu Silang not only knew how to disguise the entrance, but also hid the exit well, behind a tombstone without words.
After running out of the cemetery, there was a stream in front of him. The thief's back was at the riverside, untying the rope of a small boat. When Xu Chong arrived, the man had already climbed onto the boat and was rowing downstream. Xu Chong missed him by a few steps and watched the man rowing away, but he could see clearly that he was carrying two bundles of thin ropes. Was this what he had desperately snatched from the red lacquer basket? Just two bundles of ropes, what was the big deal?
He walked back dejectedly, not taking the underground tunnel, but going around to the main gate from the outside. At this moment, the open space in front of the main house was filled with books that had been snatched away but not burned, all of which were snatched away by Shen Kuo and his men.
Shen Kuo saw Xu Chong coming back from outside with empty hands. He was sensible and did not ask any more questions. It was obvious that there was a tunnel leading to the outside, and the thief had escaped.
"We can take these unburned items back and examine them carefully. I looked through some of them and found some Maitreya religious objects, as well as the Yu family's tablets. We also found a lot of gold and silver. It seems that this is indeed their lair."
"It's a pity that we didn't catch the guy. He was just one step away from running away with the boat." Xu Chong said bitterly.
"Now they have become frightened birds, and I think they will not carry out the latter part of the prophecy." Shen Kuo comforted them.
"Not necessarily. Not necessarily."
"Level, how do you know?"
"When I was chasing him just now, the thief was obviously running away in a panic, but he still took away the two bundles of ropes at his feet. They were taken out of the basket carried by the big man who visited yesterday. It can be seen that he was panicking but not chaotic, and he still had some organization in mind."
"But Cui Bao saw the red lacquer basket that someone brought in this morning?"
"That's right. Not only is the basket vermilion, it also has a lid. It must be the one that the man in the bamboo hat brought in. The rope looks very thin and has some oil on it. I don't know what it's used for. I think he could have escaped through the tunnel when we broke into the house. In such a hurry, he didn't forget to burn the evidence. When I caught up with him, he was able to take away the bundle of thin ropes. There was also a small boat parked by the river, so he was definitely not in a panic. These three things show that he was prepared long ago."
"Now that you mention it, I also find it strange. There is only one person left in this huge manor. It does seem like they have made preparations. It's just that we came too early and didn't have time to destroy the evidence that we couldn't take away."
"I am in the Western Army. If we launch a surprise attack on the enemy camp, the enemy will be caught off guard and there will be chaos. However, this place is strange. After we came in, no one said anything. From destroying the evidence to escaping, although it was hasty, it was done step by step. It was not chaotic."
"Go report first."
"That's the only way."
The two men loaded the main evidence and the broken stone tablet into a truck and returned to the Juntou Division, leaving someone behind to guard the house.
Along the way, Xu Chong was wondering who the tall man who came in the morning was. What were the two bundles of ropes in the basket, which Xu Chong said were very thin?
Xu Chong was thinking about another thing, which was how to introduce Monk Huailiang to Lao Bao again. During this period, he took the initiative to reveal a lot of case details to Huailiang. Would this make Lao Bao unhappy? Lao Bao did say that he wanted to meet Huailiang, but he might not mind taking the initiative.
The two men arrived at the Military Headquarters with their own thoughts, but it was already 3 p.m.
Xu Chong directed the officers to move things inside. The broken stele was particularly heavy, so they had to be handled with extreme caution.
Shen Kuo walked straight in. He had not been to report for two days since the hat demon appeared in Pan Street. He had to quickly explain to Lao Bao. When he entered the back hall, he saw Lao Bao drinking tea with someone. The man's back was tall and sturdy, not like Wen Xianggong or Yang Wei De. When he got closer, he was clearly a monk wearing a tattered white cassock. The cassock even looked familiar, bringing back Shen Kuo's memories of more than ten years ago.
When Bao Zheng saw him coming, he also stood up and waited. The monk was still sitting, but when he turned halfway, it was clearly Huai Liang. However, when he was wearing this monk's robe, it seemed that he should be called Huai Bing.
Shen Kuo saluted the two men, Bao Zheng nodded slightly, and Huai Liang stood up and clasped his hands together.
Seeing Shen Kuo's confusion, Lao Bao spoke first.
"I was negligent and neglected the monk."
"I dare not, I dare not." Huailiang said.
"Master, I invited you here. This time, I was able to track down Yu Silang, all thanks to your reminder. I should have invited you to talk earlier. Cunzhong, what did you gain from searching Yu Silang's manor outside the city today?"
"Well……"
"Don't hesitate. Master, you have made great contributions to the country, so you should not shy away from it."
Shen Kuo thought to himself: It was you who set all the secret rules back then, and it is you who are saying that the rules are not valid now. It is really easy to be an adult.
"Today, Xu Jieji and I, together with our brothers from the Jingdong Road Criminal Division, were chasing after Yu Silang. We thought our plan was perfect, but we didn't expect him to escape through the tunnel. He even burned a lot of documentary evidence before escaping."
"Why is Xu Chong so careless in his actions?"
Lao Bao seemed unhappy.
"It's not that Xu Jieji was not careful, but... the thief seemed to have received the news and had hidden the account books and documents in the tunnel, which shows that he had made some preparations. In addition, the mountain kite sneaked into the courtyard wall and tried to open the main door, but he stepped on the trap at the door and got away. He failed to launch a sneak attack and could only break down the door. We broke into the house, but we couldn't find the entrance to the tunnel for a while, and he burned a lot of things hidden underground. But we still found a lot and are moving them to the outer courtyard."
"Why did you run away again?"
"The tunnel has another exit at the riverside outside the house. We surrounded the house, but we didn't expect him to escape from underground. There was a boat prepared by the riverside, and it went downstream along the current. It seemed impossible to catch up with him."
"Hey, Mr. Wen once taught me that the Maitreya Sect has always acted meticulously, unlike ordinary bandits. But I didn't take it too seriously. I just thought that if I could have someone climb over the wall and sneak open the door, I would be able to catch them in one fell swoop. But I didn't expect that the opponent was not an ordinary stupid thief. Alas, the poor planning of this matter was my fault, not Xu Chong." Old Bao took the responsibility.
"Sir, since there is still a case, I'd better take my leave."
Huailiang stood up and said goodbye.
"Wait a minute, wait a minute. Master has repeatedly pointed out the key points of this case to me. I have come a long way today. Why don't we take a look at the evidence together? Maybe there is something you can teach me."
"I only know some petty tricks, and I dare not intervene in such a shocking case. I'd better take my leave first. If there is anything strange and ingenious that needs my help in solving in the future, just send me and I will do my best."
Huailiang didn't seem to want to get too involved, and Bao Zheng couldn't force it either.
"That's fine. But if you have any more questions in the future, Master, would you like to come to my military office to get them answered?" Old Bao asked Huailiang in a very polite tone whether he was willing to come to his temporary yamen to be assigned.
"Sir, if you have any questions, Huailiang will come. But this place is too far, and it will take an hour to go there and back. Huailiang is a monk who is used to being idle. He is also responsible for the business of Daxiangguo Temple. He has to pay a lot of taxes and wine donations every month, so I am sorry that I cannot be deployed all the time."
"Oh, oh, oh," Lao Bao nodded repeatedly, "I was thinking about that too. We can find another courtyard in a busy place near the Imperial Street so that we can investigate the case nearby. If we find one, it will also be convenient for the master to come nearby."
"Amitabha, I'm leaving now."
Bao Zheng, Shen Kuo and Song Huailiang came out of the backyard and walked through the front yard. There was already a large table there, piled with books and other evidence, most of which were half-burned pieces of paper.
Huailiang walked slowly, glanced at the things coldly, and when he reached the door, he said goodbye to Lao Bao and left. Judging from his politeness and politeness in dealing with people, there was no trace of his usual madness.
Shen Kuo walked two more steps to see him off. He asked Huailiang for a few more words. It turned out that Bao Zheng had really figured it out. So he personally asked someone to invite Huailiang to come as a thank you. Then he asked him about his interest in participating in the case. Huailiang answered Bao Zheng the same way. He was not interested in the case. He just didn't want to participate in the case because he had an old friendship with the Yu family. His interest was to help solve some mysteries and strangeness. He told Bao Zheng the truth that Yu Silang had compared his own "Wood Classic" to "Lu Ban Classic" but refused to show it to others. The first volume of this book is unremarkable, mostly about the construction styles of houses, temples, palaces, and towers. The most powerful part of the second volume, which is not shown to others, is mostly about exquisite small wood works and related mechanical techniques. According to Yu Silang's own boasting, there is also a magic spell to control wood works, which can turn wood into a demon. When Huailiang was working on his Sky Overturn and could not figure out the difficult problem of "the situation changing and going back and forth for a short time", he borrowed the mysterious second volume from Yu Silang. At that time, Yu Silang still owed Huailiang a big favor, so he reluctantly copied a few related pages and lent them out. Three days later, he asked for them back and burned them, refusing to leave the knowledge in the volume in the market.
Huailiang reminded Shen Kuo that if he found the second volume of the book while searching for evidence, he must keep it safe. His words made people feel that he had a premonition that the second volume would not be in the pile of things he searched, because he showed no enthusiasm when he walked past the pile of books just now, but it stands to reason that the second volume of "Wood Classic" is very likely in the pile of ashes.
After Shen Kuo saw Huai Liang off, he was walking back, wondering what "the situation has changed, and it won't be long before we go back and forth" meant. Wen Yanbo's sedan chair arrived. Bao Zheng hurriedly took Shen Kuo to the front door to greet him.
Wen Yanbo had never met Shen Kuo, but the letter inviting Shen Kuo to come to Beijing was written in his name. So because of this relationship, Shen Kuo called himself a student in front of him, and Wen Yanbo also praised him with a few words.
He was willing to come because Lao Bao had sent someone to tell him that there might be important progress in the case today, but he didn't expect that he only found a pile of things that were burnt beyond recognition.
