Volume 2: Female Corpse in Monk's Clothes Chapter 104: Exchanged Ingots
"Aren't we looking for Xiaofeng?" Lu Mingyue reported to Xu Zun, "Lin Na's servant just sent a message saying that when Xiaofeng's family disappeared, someone saw them outside the north gate!"
"Oh?" Xu Zun frowned. "Outside the north gate? A family?"
"Yes," said the blue-dressed Miss Lin Na, "My family owns the Yuntong Inn outside the North Gate. The innkeeper said that he saw Lu Xiaofeng and his family leave the city at 1:00 a.m. on September 14, heading north..."
Mao time?
That is, around five or six in the morning in September, the sky should be bright.
"Are you sure?" Xu Zun asked, "You really saw Lu Xiaofeng's family? You're not making a mistake?"
"The innkeeper knows Xiaofeng's father," Lin Na replied, "He would never make a mistake! He said that Lu Xiaofeng's family, including the servants, numbered about eight or nine people, driving a carriage. Everyone was dressed lightly and had no luggage.
"From the looks of it, it looks like he's out of town to visit relatives or go for an outing, not a long journey!"
"Oh?" Xu Zun was even more curious, "He wasn't traveling far, but he disappeared for three months?"
"Brother Xu," Lu Mingyue said worriedly, "I have a bad feeling that their family may have encountered something unexpected. You should quickly talk to the government officials and go over there to investigate!"
"Logically speaking," Lin Na said, "our Shangyuan City has been peaceful for many years, there shouldn't be any bandits!"
"Wait..." Xu Zun suddenly said, "Ladies, this matter... doesn't seem right, right?
"Even if Dr. Lu and his family really go out of town to visit relatives or go for an outing, there must be someone left at home to look after the house, right? How can they all go out without leaving anyone behind?"
"This..." Lu Mingyue looked at Lin Na and realized the problem.
"Maybe..." Lin Na guessed, "Something urgent happened to their family?"
"The innkeeper you mentioned," Xu Zun asked, "did he talk to Dr. Lu at that time?"
"No," Lin Na said, "The shopkeeper saw it through the bedroom window early in the morning, so it's inconvenient to say hello!"
"Brother Xu," Lu Mingyue begged, "No matter what, this is an important clue! I know the most urgent thing is to check the female corpse in the monk's clothes first, but... Xiaofeng's safety is also what we are always concerned about.
"Besides, if their entire family is in danger, this is not a small case!"
"Yes, yes," Lin Na agreed, "No one can say for sure whether these two cases are related. What if we can find clues to the female corpse in monk's clothes?"
"Hmm..." Xu Zun pondered it carefully, nodded and said, "Okay! I'll talk to the county magistrate later and try to send someone to check that area. Hmm..."
Xu Zun was about to say something when one of Ju Ran's men suddenly came to report.
When the detective saw two girls present, he was hesitant to speak.
Seeing this, Ju Ran let him talk.
"Xu Tixing, Ju Beitou," the detective reported, "I was responsible for finding out the deposit information of Lu's bookstore, and found that all their money was deposited in Wude Bank.
"So, we went to Wude Bank to check, but we got some shocking news," the detective glanced at Lu Mingyue and the others, and then lowered his voice and said, "According to the person in charge of the bank, a man came yesterday and took away five gold ingots with the ticket from Lu's Bookstore!"
"Ah?" Everyone was shocked, but Xu Zun still frowned.
"Five gold ingots," Ju Ran sighed, "you can buy a house in Shangyuan City! Tell me, who took the gold ingots?"
"You also know the rules of Wude Silver Bank," the captain said, "We only accept receipts, not people. However, since he didn't make an appointment, he could only move 5 ingots of gold that day.
"If there were no restrictions, that person would probably just get more!"
"Xiao Feng..." Lu Mingyue was getting more and more worried, "It's obvious that their family was robbed, and when the robbers saw that no one reported it to the police, they boldly went to Wude Silver House to take away the gold ingots!
"Brother Xu, Captain Ju, you must investigate this!"
Tsk tsk…
At this moment, what Xu Zun was thinking was completely different from what they were thinking.
Just think about it, if it was really the work of robbers, then the Wude Silver Bank was spread all over Tangzhou, why would they have to take the risk and return to this one in Shangyuan City to take the gold ingots?
"Fortunately, the shopkeeper and his assistants felt something was wrong and were on guard," the detective continued. "They found that the man who took the gold ingots was wearing ordinary clothes but was wearing a pair of ten-square boots. He was also riding a jade lion horse when he left. So, that man is very likely a Taoist priest!"
"Oh? A Taoist priest!?"
This time, everyone was surprised again.
The so-called Jade Lion Horse is a relatively expensive breed of horse. Nowadays, with the rise of Xuan Taoism, various Taoist temples are very popular and are competing with each other, so only Taoists like to raise this kind of horse.
"Lu Xiaofeng's family... do believe in Taoism," Lin Na speculated, "otherwise they wouldn't have allowed Xiaofeng to come to Qinglan Academy. But... it doesn't make sense to let a Taoist take away their family's gold ingots!"
"Well," Ju Ran said to Xu Zun, "Master Xu, it seems that Dr. Lu and his family may have indeed met with disaster."
"Wait... in the north of the city, there is a Taoist priest," Lu Mingyue seemed to have thought of something and said immediately, "We should focus on checking whether there is any Taoist temple after we go out of the north gate?
"I thought of it. I'll go ask Taoist Master Wei," she turned and walked towards the door. "He's knowledgeable and may be able to help us!"
Seeing Lu Mingyue go out, Xu Zun also followed her out of the side yard.
"Mingyue, Mingyue..." Seeing that there was no one around, Xu Zun pulled Lu Mingyue and whispered, "Do me a favor, I need a coroner who can perform surgery on the corpse!"
"What?" Lu Mingyue was stunned and blinked her eyes, not understanding what was going on. "Operating on a corpse?"
"Yes," Xu Zun said, "I need to know why the monk killer cut open the victim's stomach, so I need a very professional person. I wonder if you know such a person?"
"Hey?" Lu Mingyue was dumbfounded. "Brother Xu, what's wrong with you? Have we swapped roles? You're the chief judge, why do you want me to be a coroner?"
"This..." Xu Zun wanted to say, it was your father who asked me to ask you.
But I promised the Marquis to keep my mouth shut, so I had to keep it quiet.
"Let's find Xiaofeng first! Um...wait..." Lu Mingyue behaved exactly like the Marquis. She took two steps, then stopped and asked in surprise, "Oh my God, you don't want me to call her, do you?"
"..." Xu Zun's cheeks were covered with sweat. He was really troubled by this father and daughter.
"Brother Xu, um..." Lu Mingyue said awkwardly, "Well, I can help you try, but I want to ask you, is it really necessary to operate on a corpse?"
Xu Zun nodded vigorously, this statement also seemed familiar.
"Okay," Lu Mingyue hesitated for a few seconds and finally made a decision, "I can help you find her. But, one thing is that she may not agree, and the other is that even if she agrees, you have to listen to my arrangements."
"Mingyue," Xu Zun was even more curious, "Who is this person you are talking about?"
"Don't ask anymore," Lu Mingyue said, "It may not work yet, I advise you not to hold out too much hope.
“But whether there is hope or not, you have to do what I say.
"Brother Xu, if you really want her to help you, you can't sleep tonight. You have to stay by the corpse at three o'clock in the morning. There can't be another living person next to it..."
