Volume 1 Zhangqiao Iron Coffin Chapter 26: The View of Longevity
"Isn't it amazing?" Zhao Yu reported excitedly, "We asked about the origins of this Taoist priest, and an old man reminded us that there is only one Taoist temple in Qijiawu in Xinye County, and it's called Changsheng Temple!
"Changsheng Temple, where officials often get promoted, the locals even made up a jingle for it, I think I heard it when I was a kid!
“Although Qijiawu has been abandoned, we still followed this clue.
"Guess what? We asked a few people whose hometown is Qijiawu, and some of them said that when they went to their hometown to visit graves recently, they often saw an old Taoist priest living in Changsheng Temple. His appearance and features were almost exactly the same as the one in the iron coffin!"
"Yes, sir," another detective added, "They said that the Taoist priest was mentally ill, had an unshaven beard, and was dressed in rags. He looked like a beggar. Isn't the old Taoist priest in the iron coffin like that?"
"Sir, let's hurry into the mountains! Don't let anything happen again if it's too late, um..." It was only then that Zhao Yu realized something was wrong. He quickly pulled Xu Zun aside and asked in a low voice, "Sir, why is Huo Wangwang here?"
It turns out that Huo Wangwang was the nickname given to Huo Anu by the detectives, and "Wangwang" is the same as "Wangwang".
"Nothing," Xu Zun said, "My father-in-law was worried that I might be in danger, so he sent Huo Wang... um, he sent Miss Huo to protect me!"
"This..." Zhao Yu wiped the sweat off his face, his expression suddenly becoming unnatural.
"Captain Zhao," Xu Zun said solemnly, "Since we have found the identity of the Taoist priest, you guys should take the trouble to go to Qijiawu to investigate!"
"This?" Zhao Yu looked at Xu Zun, then at Huo Anu, and said with embarrassment, "Why don't you go over and take a look? The identity of a Taoist priest must be very important!"
"I won't go!" Xu Zun said, rubbing the back of his head. "My head hurts so badly that I can't even walk on the mountain road. You guys should go! You're right. It's too late before anything else happens. We need to find out the Taoist's identity as soon as possible."
"Well... all right!" Zhao Yu glanced at Huo Anu guiltily, clasped his fists and said, "I obey your command. We will go check it out right away. My Lord, please be careful!"
He deliberately emphasized the word "be careful", which seemed to mean that he was afraid that Xu Zun would be bullied by Huo Anu.
They all knew that Huo Anu almost crippled Xu Zun a few months ago, and now he has become Xu Zun's bodyguard. They were really worried about Xu Zun.
When Zhao Yu and the others left in a hurry, Huo Anu whispered from behind him:
"It seems that you can't trust any of these people!"
"Yes," Xu Zun nodded, "Let's try to get in front of them and see how they react!"
"Great!" Huo Anu said eagerly, "Finally there is something to do!"
Xu Zun glanced at the foreign girl. It seemed that the reason why she always caused trouble for the detectives was because she was too bored.
…
Since all the roads lead into the mountains, there are several routes to take from Xinye County to Qijiawu.
Huo Anu was familiar with the mountain roads in this area, and immediately took Xu Zun to choose the nearest one.
It is conceivable that the shortest road is often the most difficult to walk. Presumably, in this dark night, only Huo Anu, who is skilled and brave, would dare to walk there, right?
It is precisely because of this that they were certain that they would not take the same road as Zhao Yu and others, and would be able to successfully get ahead of Zhao Yu and others.
Huo Anu was indeed very curious. He asked a lot of questions along the way and was determined to get to the bottom of the two cases.
Xu Zun told her the story selectively, and whenever he came to the topic of You Dalang killing his wife, Xu Zun did not dare to go deeper into the subject, for fear of saying something he shouldn't say.
Before, Xu Zun had asked Huo Anu whether Shen Qian agreed to her being Xu Zun’s bodyguard?
Huo Anu did not answer at that time, but Xu Zun already knew the answer. And now, he is more convinced that this answer is correct.
The reason why Shen Qian agreed was simply to let Huo Anu find out about Xu Zun's privacy so as to achieve her goal of breaking off the engagement.
At the same time, we also need to verify whether what Xu Zun said in the silk shop is true?
well!
The human heart is unpredictable. Xu Zun thought that he could be away from calculations by living again, but unexpectedly he was closer to right and wrong!
From this we can see that life is not easy and we have to work hard wherever we go!
When Xu Zun climbed up a dangerous slope swiftly, Huo Anu looked at Xu Zun strangely again and couldn't help but say:
"Why do I feel that you are not that paralyzed?"
Xu Zun sneered and began to show off: "Having talent is like being pregnant, it takes a long time for people to know about it!"
"Ouch..." Huo Anu retched.
Xu Zun originally wanted to make a joke and asked her "Are you pregnant?" But the words were swallowed back as soon as they came to his lips.
There's nothing I can do. Who can't afford to offend this woman who plays with an iron umbrella?
With this shortcut, the two of them arrived in just half the time of the agreed two hours.
The weather was particularly good tonight; it was a bright full-moon night. Although there were occasional dark clouds, it hardly affected their vision.
Qijiawu is located in a valley, and most of the buildings are gone.
Decades ago, people could sail along the reservoir to the provincial capital, Wude City. However, due to geological disasters, the reservoir dried up, and the mountain road was blocked, so this place gradually became deserted.
"Over there," Huo Anu pointed to the hillside, "that Taoist temple is very conspicuous. This place is so dilapidated. I really don't know how the Taoists live there?"
"Oops!"
At this moment, Xu Zun had already discovered that something was wrong. He saw a reflection on the dark mountainside, as if there were signs of a fire.
When the two of them arrived and took a look, they found that the Taoist temple had been burned down by fire!
"Then let's go!" Huo Anu cursed Xiyu Street, "It was actually burned!"
Xu Zun squatted down and took a closer look, and found that the traces of the fire were very recent, as if it had been burned within the past two days.
"It seems that," Xu Zun concluded, "the Taoist priest in this temple is the one in the iron coffin!"
"It's over. It seems the murderer has been prepared." Huo Anu pouted, "How can we investigate now?"
Looking at the burnt Taoist temple, Xu Zun was lost in thought, and felt more and more that this case was too unreasonable.
Why does it have to be so complicated to kill a Taoist priest?
If they wanted to destroy the evidence with fire, why did they keep his body in the iron coffin? Wouldn't it be better to just burn him to death and cremate him?
It seems that the murderer must have his own intentions for doing this!
Is he trying to reveal something to the world?
Or...is the Iron Coffin Case related to Qijiawu decades ago?
Xu Zun thought that the Taoist priest had horrific scars on his body, and it was obvious that he had suffered inhuman torture during his lifetime. However, when Huo Anu saw the Taoist priest, he was not restrained.
Does this mean that the wounds on the Taoist priest's body were caused long ago?
For example: He was a prisoner who had been tortured, and later gained his freedom or escaped, so he hid in the Taoist temple?
Then, he was discovered by the murderer, which led to his death?
Who could this Taoist priest be?
And what connection does the chief clerk Liu Zhang have with him?
"What should I do?" Huo Anu said depressedly, "It's a wasted trip, so annoying!"
"Not necessarily," Xu Zun said to Huo Anu, "Forensic law: not all evidence can be destroyed by fire! Come, give me the flashlight, I will inspect the scene first!"
"What?" Huo Anu frowned, "What hand? Do you want to relieve yourself?"
