Volume 2: Female Corpse in Monk's Clothes Chapter 84 International Students
The fire was put out the next morning.
Fortunately, Lujia Bookstore has its own independent entrance and yard and is close to a small river.
After the fire broke out, Wuhoupu in the city immediately mobilized nearby residents to use river water to put out the fire. After a night of fighting, they finally prevented the fire from spreading to other places.
This Wuhoupu is the fire brigade officially organized by Shangyuan City. In such a large city, if there is no fire prevention mechanism, the consequences will be disastrous once a fire occurs.
After the fire was put out, almost nothing was left of the Lu Family Bookstore, with black smoke rising and the whole place in a mess.
County Magistrate Taimin, who rushed to the scene after hearing the news, stood alone in front of the ruins, looking lonely, powerless and dazed.
"Sir," Huo Anu, whose face was covered with black and gray stains, sat tiredly next to Xu Zun and said angrily, "It seems that this fire was set specifically for us?"
"How is it?" Xu Zun's hair was messy and he looked extremely embarrassed, but his face was still cool. "Are you still saying that I'm afraid of everything?"
Huo Anu shook his head slightly, looking at the ruins in the distance with a somewhat dazed look.
"Why? Why?"
Looking at Zhao Yu again, the word "embarrassed" was not enough to describe him. His hair was blown, his face was burnt black, and his clothes were torn and full of holes, as if he had been shot out of a cannon.
If they weren't so exhausted and sore all over, Xu Zun and Huo Anu would probably have laughed out loud.
"We were followed and we didn't notice it, Miss Huo..." Zhao Yu complained, "You, the master, are not up to standard!"
Unexpectedly, Huo Anu did not get angry for the first time. Instead, he nodded pertinently and said:
"This can only mean one thing. Either the people following us are so skilled that even I didn't notice them. Or, they have been waiting for us here for a long time!"
"I'm so stupid, look..." Zhao Yu pointed his finger, "These are obviously two different questions!"
"I don't understand," Huo Anu looked at Xu Zun, "You came to the bookstore on a whim tonight. How could the person who started the fire know that we were coming?"
"I was thinking about this as well," Xu Zun nodded, "It should be that whether we come or not, they are already prepared to burn this place down!
"Perhaps, we just happened to arrive, and they had no choice but to take action in advance."
"Who? Who is it?" Huo Anu clenched his fists. "Why did they burn this place down? Are they afraid that we will find Lu Xiaofeng's family? Or are they afraid that we will find the daughter of the Marquis' Mansion?"
"Oh..." After Huo Anu said this, Zhao Yu also expressed his concern, "Master Xu, this place is burned down, can you still find the daughter of the Marquis' Mansion?
"Don't forget, you and the Marquis have signed a military order. If you can't find it, then...tsk tsk..."
When Zhao Yu spoke, smoke even came out of his mouth, which made Xu Zun almost unable to hold back his laughter and he quickly covered his mouth to hold back his laughter.
"Yes, sir," Huo Anu said, "the clue is broken, what should we do?"
Unexpectedly, after asking, the two found that Xu Zun was staring at the Magistrate Taimin in the distance, as if he was thinking about something.
"What's wrong?" Huo Anu was curious, "You don't think there's something wrong with this county governor, do you?"
"No, I just think it's a little strange," Xu Zun stared at Taimin and said, "I mentioned Lu Xiaofeng to him yesterday. Now the bookstore is on fire. Normally, shouldn't he come to question me with a furious look in his eyes?"
"Oh?" Huo Anu also looked at Taimin in the distance and asked, "What do you mean by anxious and irritating?"
"It means being anxious and anxious," Xu Zun explained. "In dialect, it can also be understood as being in a hurry."
"Oh, why didn't you just say you were so anxious earlier?" Huo Anu complained in a low voice, "You had to speak dialect with a foreigner like me, huh..."
"Wait, outsiders?" Xu Zun turned to look at Huo Anu, as if he had thought of something.
"Sir, please don't be so startled, okay?" Huo Anu felt a little embarrassed by being looked at.
"Yes," Zhao Yu was still thinking about the previous topic, "There is indeed something wrong with this county governor!"
But Taimin was still staring at the ruins in a daze, with no intention of coming over to ask Xu Zun and others.
"Anu," Xu Zun said to Huo Anu while he was talking about the topic, "You are wrong, our clues are not broken.
“Just because there’s a fire here, it proves even more that my idea is correct!
"The disappearance of Miss Lu is indeed not a simple matter!"
"Is... is that so?" Huo Anu's brain was no longer able to work. "Are you saying that the mysterious disappearance of Lu Xiaofeng's family is closely related to the disappearance of the daughter of the Marquis' Mansion?"
"Yes!" Xu Zun nodded, "Someone wanted to cover up the fire and didn't want us to find out anything!"
"Since it has been burned, doesn't that mean the clue is still broken?" Huo Anu spread his hands, "I think what I said is correct, right?"
"This clue is broken, but we can still find another one," Xu Zun said with shining eyes, "Anu, go back now, take a shower and dress up, because you will have an important mission today!"
"Ah?" Huo Anu's eyes widened, "What mission?"
Xu Zun glanced at Taimin in the distance again and said two words: "Go to school!"
…
Qinglan Academy is located in Qinglan Temple in Shangyuan City.
Since its establishment, no man has ever entered Qinglan Temple.
However, Huo Anu was different, not only was she a woman, but she was also a foreigner. She came to Qinglan Academy to study, and naturally attracted the special attention of the Taoist nuns in the academy.
Huo Anu is from the Western Regions. Although the Western Regions have submitted to Daxuan, they cannot be considered to be from the same lineage.
Therefore, Huo Anu is a genuine international student!
Previously, Xu Zun had written a letter of introduction to Huo Anu, in which he explicitly stated that Huo Anu was the assistant of Xu Zun, the chief judge of Tangzhou.
The purpose of coming to Qinglan Academy this time is to learn poetry, calligraphy and etiquette to facilitate my future work.
Although Qinglan Academy is quite mysterious to men, it is not very picky about women who come to study there. As long as the women have a certain status and financial resources, they will be welcomed.
After all, in such a feudal background, not many families truly want girls to study.
What's more, the academy only has classes twice a week, and they also hope that more women will come to study.
However, Huo Anu had just arrived, so naturally he could not become a formal student so quickly. He could only be arranged to audit the class and could only become a full-time student after the term was over.
Of course, Huo Anu came with a mission, so just being able to attend a class once would be enough.
Seeing Huo Anu being allowed to enter the academy, Xu Zun breathed a sigh of relief.
However, Zhao Yu couldn't understand it at all:
"Sir, isn't it a little late to look for clues now? Besides..." He looked at the Taoist nun at the entrance of the academy and said worriedly, "She is a family with Miss Lu, what could be the secret?
"You don't think Miss Lu will be hidden in the academy?"
Seeing that Xu Zun was also looking at the academy without saying anything, Zhao Yu continued to express his concern: "Besides, you know Huo Wangwang's impetuous personality and hot temper, right?
"If this guy causes trouble in there, it will cause you big trouble..."
"Hehe," Xu Zun smiled faintly, "I didn't send her in to be a good kid! Let's go..."
"Let's go?" Zhao Yu asked hurriedly, "Where are we going?"
"Yamen," Xu Zun said, "Let's see if there is any progress on the female corpse in monk's clothing..."
