Star Gate

Zhang family's old house.

In the small courtyard.

Li Hao is still sweating and terrified.

Li Hao has gained something from his one-year career in the Inspection Department. If it were during his time at the Yincheng Ancient Courtyard, Li Hao might not be able to act like he is today, keeping a straight face and concealing the truth.

"Look for me quickly, we have to leave immediately to prevent the other party from retaliate!"

"Black Panther!"

Li Hao turned his attention to Black Panther. He was very familiar with the Zhang family's old house, but the more familiar he became, the harder he often found what he needed to find.

Bringing the black panther this time actually means using the black panther.

Black Panther looked up at Li Hao.

Li Hao looked around, lowered his voice, and pointed to the jade sword on his chest, "Have a look. There should be something similar to this here. If you have a good nose, search for it."

Yes, Black Panther may be found.

Black Panther was very attracted to Li Hao's jade sword when he saw it.

Moreover, Li Hao wondered if the Black Panther might have been attracted by the jade sword when he wandered to his doorstep?

Of course, Li Hao had never taken out the jade sword before, so Black Panther had no chance to lick it.

It wasn't until today that the Black Panthers got their chance.

That being the case, can Black Panther smell the stone knife?

The Zhang family has always lived here. Li Hao felt that if the stone knife was really still there, it would be in the house and would not be taken away. No one would go out with nothing to do but a stone.

besides?

Black Panther got it!

Now, I felt energetic instantly.

As for the smell, the black panther didn't smell it, and it could only smell something if it got very close.

I don’t know, maybe I missed it.

But now that he knew it, the black panther was instantly interested. His nose began to twitch, his forelimbs lay down, his nose was on the ground, and he smelled bit by bit.

If Li Hao finds another one, maybe this dog can also benefit from it.

Black Panther was searching hard, and Li Hao was not idle either, and began to search in the courtyard.

Corner, floor...

Hongying's party must have looked for these places, but Li Hao judged that these people didn't know what a stone knife looked like, and maybe they didn't even know that the Zhang family's knife was a stone.

Just like Li Hao, if he told others that the cross he wore on his chest was the sword of the Li family in the slang, probably no one would believe it.

Cognitive barriers!

The swords of the Li family and the swords of the Zhang family. Just listening to the slang, I am afraid that these swords are treasures that can be sharpened like clay. Not to mention the shining light, they must be fierce and domineering.

But in fact, the Li family's sword is just a small jade pendant, and the Zhang family's sword is an inconspicuous stone.

…

Ten minutes, twenty minutes...

Li Hao was a little anxious and couldn't find it.

Is it gone?

Did Hong Ying find it, or did the Zhang family really lose it? Not only did he not find it, but Black Panther sniffed around and couldn't find it either.

If the black panther is close, you should be able to smell something, right?

"No!"

Li Hao can't stay here forever. Just because he scared the other party away doesn't mean that the other party won't come back. Besides, he can't keep searching here. Sooner or later, someone will discover that he has ulterior motives.

He stood in the center of the courtyard, looked at the main room and the second bedroom, and thought, if he were Zhang's father, where would he put this stone?

Perhaps only by assuming the role of Zhang's father can we judge.

"At first, Uncle Zhang didn't care at all and just threw it away so casually. Later when I came back, I didn't care whether there was that stone knife on the ground. But then I came to Zhang's house many times and didn't seem to see it. If it was still there, after all these years , I should have seen it."

"Uncle Zhang most likely wouldn't have kept it, otherwise he wouldn't have had that attitude at the time and it would have been too casual to throw it away."

He quickly recalled everything that happened back then, although his memory was a little blurry.

But now that I think about it, I can still vaguely remember it.

"Xiaoyuan was beaten up. It seemed that he didn't go out to play with me for two or three days. After that, I came back... Maybe several days had passed. Was the stone knife taken away by Uncle Zhang during that period? Already?"

“What would he do if he took away a stone?”

"It is very likely that the stone knife disappeared during that period, otherwise I would definitely see it again after so many years."

Li Hao slapped his head.

He was so young at that time that he really can't remember it.

What happened in the intervening days? Or did Uncle Zhang think the stone was in the way and just threw it away?

If it's really lost...then there's no way to find it.

A piece of stone has been swept away for more than ten years. I don’t know where it has been swept away.

"The black panther can't even smell it... Is it too far away, or is the sense of smell disturbed?"

"The distance is too far, so needless to say, if the sense of smell is disturbed..."

Li Hao's eyes suddenly moved.

There are two places where the sense of smell is most likely to be disturbed.

First, the kitchen.

Second, the pit!

This kind of old house used to have a latrine when I was a kid, not a toilet.

Of course, it's best not to be like this.

"By the way...it seems that the pit and kitchen of Xiaoyuan's house were repaired when I was a child. Wouldn't a stone...have been filled in?"

When Li Hao thought about this, he had some guesses and some uncertainties.

This is the greatest possibility!

If these two places are not available, then there is really no way to find it.

"After Uncle Zhang beat Xiao Yuan, did he repair the kitchen first or the latrine first?"

Can not remember!

But at this moment, Li Hao judged that if the stone knife was still in the Zhang family, it would most likely be in these two places.

Without hesitation, he immediately walked towards the kitchen.

As for the latrine... Unless he couldn't find it in the kitchen, he wouldn't go there. And if the stone knife was really in the latrine... Li Hao wouldn't want to soak that thing in water in the future. It would be more like giving it to the black panther.

He has the Starry Sky Sword anyway!

“Hope is in the kitchen!”

"Black Panther, follow me!"

Li Hao shouted quickly, and Black Panther hurriedly followed.

The kitchen had not been used for many years. When I pushed the door open, I saw that there was still a large pot on the stove. The iron pot on it had long been rusty and the lid of the pot was somewhat rotten.

"Smell and see!"

Li Hao pointed to the stove: "Black Panther, don't be disturbed by the smell!"

The kitchen has not been used for many years, but due to long use, there is still a faint smell of fireworks. This smell may have disturbed the Black Panther, and it is also mixed with some lingering oil smoke smell.

Black Panther was indeed a little dizzy in the kitchen, mainly because there was a strong musty smell in the kitchen.

The black panther came in and smelled it before, but found nothing.

At this time, Li Hao said that the black panther moved quickly and jumped on the stove, smelling it bit by bit.

Soon, the nose was stained with a layer of black wood ash.

And Li Hao was not idle either. In the kitchen, there was no need to look too much at the places that had been repaired later. The main thing was to look at the places that had been repaired more than ten years ago. Stone knives were probably used in those places.

In such a place, the forces behind Hongying may not be willing to take a closer look.

This is where the Zhang family would hide the Zhang family's knife?

Of course, Li Hao took a brief look around and found that Hong Ying and the forces behind him probably really took it seriously. There were signs of stirring in the kitchen, and even the ashes under the stove had been stirred.

The ashes that have been lying dormant for many years may have been turned over instead of what they are now.

"Sure enough, the other party is also looking for it, even the furnace is not spared. They are quite dedicated!"

Will the Zhang family heirloom be hidden in the ashes?

If it were Li Hao, he probably wouldn't think so, but the other party still searched, which shows that he was quite rigorous.

After waiting for a while, Black Panther still found nothing.

Li Hao was a little disappointed. Was he really in a pit?

That's too disgusting!

Just as he was thinking about it, Li Hao's eyes moved slightly, and suddenly he looked at the big chimney on the stove. The kitchens in old houses like this are all equipped with a brick chimney. If there is no chimney, there will be no chimney when cooking. Law to be treated.

"Um...chimney?"

Li Hao suddenly remembered something. Was this chimney built after Uncle Zhang beat Xiao Yuan that time?

He seemed to have some vague impression!

The black panther is not big and tall. It is always smelling on the stove, but it cannot climb up the chimney that is as tall as a person.

"Is it here?"

Li Hao moved instantly, and with quick movements, he jumped onto the stove, grabbed the black panther with one hand, and whispered: "Smell it!"

He carried the panther and used it as a detector.

As for the black panther, the eyes of the two dogs were full of helplessness.

His nose twitched and he smelled all the way up Li Hao's arm.

More than a meter up the stove, Black Panther's nose suddenly twitched, and a somewhat familiar smell gradually filled the tip of his nose.

"Woof woof!"

Black Panther's eyes suddenly lit up.

And Li Hao also has sharp eyes!

Found?

Really here!

Chimney... This is probably something that the forces behind Hong Ying could not have imagined. Who would have thought that the Zhang family would build their ancestral sword into the chimney.

They may have even searched along the chimney!

Or maybe Hong Ying has simply searched. Hong Ying is invisible and has no quality. Li Hao doesn't know if the other party can escape through the wall, but the other party should have searched the walls and the ground. But their target may be some crack, mezzanine, box, etc. Treasure boxes and the like.

They don't think that the knife they care about is just a stone.

Li Hao's eyes were bright and he stared at a slightly raised spot on the chimney. Is the stone knife on it?

The mottled plaster walls have fallen off.

Some of the bricks inside the chimney are exposed.

Li Hao reached out and touched it, and some of the lime exterior walls fell off again. The next moment, a piece of earthy gray stone was revealed on the chimney. It was not completely exposed, but when he saw the incomplete shape, Li Hao's eyes completely brightened!

"This is it!"

Li Hao's heart was beating. This was it. Although it was not completely exposed, Li Hao's memory already had a vague image of it, like a stone like a knife. It was not too big, just a little bigger than a fist.

"Uncle Zhang... you really respect your ancestors!"

Li Hao suddenly felt dumbfounded. He had beaten his son for this stone.

Good guy, when I renovated the kitchen at home, I built in the stones left by my ancestors. You don’t respect your ancestors as much as you do!

If your Zhang family ancestors were still alive, they would probably be angry to death.

Among the eight families, Li Hao didn't know about the others. Anyway, the Li family's sword has been passed down as a family heirloom. Li Hao felt that it was really not easy for the Zhang family to pass down this stone!

Maybe it didn't look like stone back then?

But it gradually turned to stone, and by Zhang's generation, it completely turned into stone?

With no time to think, and no inclination to think, Li Hao looked at the stone embedded in the chimney in front of him and frowned slightly.

found it!

However, it’s not easy to get!

It's not that it can't be taken away. The key is that after taking away the stone knife, the marks on the chimney are very obvious.

After staying in the Inspection Department for a year, Li Hao still has experience. Once you move this place, Hong Ying and the people behind him come back, and they will definitely check to see what Li Hao's purpose is.

There is a stone missing from the chimney, maybe the other party will react soon!

If Li Hao was still a student of the ancient academy at that time, he would have taken away the stone knife immediately. When Hong Ying came back, he would probably have immediately thought that the Zhang family's knife might be the stone that was taken away. Then Li Hao was in big trouble!

At that time, Hong Ying will know that if the stone knife is in Li Hao's hands, it will cause him a lot of trouble.

He could even tell that Li Hao had already guessed something, and even knew about the Eight Families, so he could reveal all his secrets at once!

"what to do?"

Li Hao thought quickly. Since he saw it, he couldn't ignore it, so he put the stone knife here. He felt that the Zhang family's knife was not only a treasure, but also must have other functions.

The Hongying side attaches great importance to it, otherwise it would not be possible for them to risk their lives and keep surveillance here a year later.

Li Hao frowned, took away the stone knife, and filled it with another stone?

But when the other party found out, there was no three hundred taels of silver left!

The old and new traces are still different.

"The only way is to completely destroy the corpse and destroy the evidence so that the other party can't investigate. The best way is to destroy the chimney... But wouldn't that be too deliberate?"

"Find the same stone, preferably a stone with a similar appearance...and then destroy the chimney. Even if the other party restores it afterwards, there will be no missing stone, and something will be discovered..."

As an inspector, Li Hao has mastered basic professional skills. How to destroy evidence, how to create false evidence, and confuse the other party. This is what he has learned and seen in the past year.

If it was simply destroyed and the Red Shadow party secretly restored it afterwards, it would be possible to restore the original appearance of the chimney and find that a stone was missing.

After deciding what he wanted to do, Li Hao did not take away the stone knife immediately.

It has been here for many years, but no one cares about it and is not in a hurry.

Thinking of this, Li Hao breathed out softly, just find it and wait for a while, but this time he has to trouble the teacher.

…

Walking out of the kitchen, Li Hao directly dialed the teacher's communication.

Soon, almost immediately after the fight, Yuan Shuo's voice came: "Are you okay?"

"Teacher, it's okay!"

With some gratitude, Li Hao said quickly without saying much: "Teacher, I didn't find anything at Zhang Yuan's house, but I found that someone seemed to be staring at Zhang Yuan's house, and Zhang Yuan's house seemed to have been disturbed. Tell me, is the murderer looking for something?"

Yuan Shuo listened and understood the meaning, and said thoughtfully: "Then what are your thoughts?"

"I was wondering if I could lure the snake out of its hole?"

Li Hao quickly said: "Since the other party has come to Zhang Yuan's house, what else are you looking for? Didn't you find it? But I am a soft-spoken person and can't talk to the Inspection Department. Why don't you bother the teacher and ask the Inspection Department to send someone to come and see if there is any movement? Bigger, demolish some of the Zhang family’s buildings, alert the enemy, and see if we can lure out Zhang Yuan’s murderer.”

Demolish your home?

is this necessary?

Of course, Zhang Yuan's house was not the scene of the crime, and the demolition of this area had already begun. It would not matter if it was really demolished.

Yuan Shuo was just guessing, did Li Hao discover something?

So what do you want to get through this method, or can it really lead to the things behind it?

At this time, Li Hao also knew that demolishing the house would probably attract the attention of Hongying, but it didn't matter. The more publicity, the better. It would be better if there was an insider in the inspection department.

It would be more in line with Li Hao's wishes to tell the other party the situation in detail.

He only needs to do one thing, replace the stone knife with the same stone. Even if the other party restores everything afterwards, it doesn't matter.

Hong Ying's side would only guess at that time whether Li Hao noticed something, but would not confirm what Li Hao really took away.

At most, it is believed that Li Hao has strong reasoning ability and discovered some clues.

What Li Hao wants to do is to make the other party suspicious but not sure, delaying time, gradually making the matter worse, and thus attracting the night watchman.

"Revealing dark matters into the public eye... Neither the night watchman nor the red shadow seem to be willing to appear in front of the public, nor are they willing to make things a fuss!"

"As for me, as an ordinary person, I need more attention, and I can also remove myself and leave the impression to both parties that I am a smart person, but an ordinary person who really doesn't know what's going on!"

"In order to avenge my friend, I chose to make the matter bigger... to attract greater attention, which is also in line with my identity!"

"..."

After weighing the pros and cons, Li Hao finally made this decision and choice.

Maybe in this way, he could attract the attention of the night watchman in advance, and even get close contact. Li Hao could even report to the superiors that he found some clues, such as the people who were being watched outside before.

As for Hong Ying, he naturally didn't notice it, but there was a person outside!

Li Hao even found a footprint on the outer wall. This is the best evidence. The other party obviously didn't pay much attention to the footprints he left.

After thinking quickly and determining the possible consequences, Li Hao chose to amplify the matter a little.

On the other side of the communication, Yuan Shuo asked a few questions to confirm his choice as a student.

Yuan Shuo knew that Li Hao was very smart and would not do this for no reason.

Since this is not a big deal, then just support some.

"Okay, I'll call the Inspection Department right away! Moreover, Zhang Yuan is a student of Guyuan. If it is really a murder, Guyuan will not let it go! You evacuate there first, and Guyuan will send someone within an hour at most. In the past, the inspection department will also go there..."

"Thank you, teacher!"

Li Hao quickly thanked him. He is a very interesting teacher sometimes.

Because of this, Li Hao was even more reluctant to tell the teacher about Hong Ying.

No matter how authoritative he is, Yuan Shuo is just an ordinary person.

Li Hao did not want to involve the teacher.

"Why are you so polite!"

Yuan Shuo didn't care much about this, he said a few more words and chose to hang up the communication.

…

Yincheng Ancient Courtyard.

Deep in the ancient courtyard, in a large classical mansion, Yuan Shuo is over seventy years old, still full of energy and sharp eyes.

His body is also quite strong, and he looks more like a soldier than a top professor in Silver City.

At this moment, Yuan Shuo also had a file in front of him.

Files on six self-immolations!

"The Inspection Department...is really a sieve!"

Yuan Shuo hung up the call, rubbed his temples, and cursed in a low voice. The Inspection Department has become increasingly useless in recent years. It was so easy to leak this case file. If you want to pay attention to it now, Yin Shuo Many people in the city can get this file.

"My student... is really careless. I dare to investigate this matter secretly. Forget it, I dare to report it directly to the Inspection Department. You can tell it's unusual at a glance!"

Sighing softly, young man, you are really inexperienced. The Inspection Department is a big sieve, don’t you know?

As soon as this case file comes out, anyone with a discerning eye can actually see some problems.

"The Li family's sword, the Zhang family's knife, the Zhao family's fists, the Liu family's legs..."

After humming Yincheng slang for a while, Yuan Shuo quickly made a judgment. Is there any connection between this and his student?

"Six people died. I don't know if it's related to this song."

As an old Yincheng native, he knew this tune, and he was a well-known scholar. When he saw the file, he actually connected it with this tune, because these surnames together were somewhat special.

After judging for a while, Yuan Shuo took out the communication and quickly dialed a number.

After waiting for a while, Yuan Shuo spoke in a majestic tone, even with some anger: "I am Yuan Shuo! Don't talk nonsense to me. My students are in danger now. The self-immolation case that occurred in Guyuan a year ago may have been a homicide. You guys Does the Inspection Department have no information at all?”

"..."

"I don't care about that. Li Hao is my student. He entered my school as soon as he entered the Ancient Academy. Do you know why? He is a genius, a top explorer, and the future of the Department of Ancient Civilization Exploration. For your dereliction of duty, he We have to withdraw from the Ancient Courtyard, how much damage have you caused to the Ancient Courtyard?"

"..."

"Li Hao has discovered something now, but your inspection department is like a sieve, exposing him all at once. He is now in danger and may die at any time! Now he is at the home of Zhang Yuan, the deceased student in the ancient courtyard. I don't care what happens. , even if you clear that street, you still have to rescue Li Hao and catch all the ghosts and monsters in the dark!"

"..."

"Stop talking nonsense, you must send someone over immediately. I don't care if the movement is big or not. I will immediately surround that street and push forward bit by bit to surround the possible murderer in the dark. I have only one request. Li Hao must come back intact! "

"..."

"That's it, if you can't do it, I will go directly to the night watchman to deal with it! There are six cases of self-immolation. Do you think that I, Yuan Shuo, am blind and can't see the possible problems? Don't you, the Yincheng Inspection Department, I hope the night watchman will intervene, but my student is dead, and if I make a fuss to the top, I will have to skin you Yincheng Patrol Department!"

"Mr. Yuan, calm down and deal with it immediately. Don't worry, Mr. Yuan!"

On the other side of the communication line, the director of the Yincheng Inspection Department had a headache.

Although this old guy has no real power, he knows a lot of people. He has been a professor in the ancient academy for forty or fifty years, and some of the students he has brought out are now big shots.

If the commotion is really big, the Yincheng Inspection Department will also feel uncomfortable.

"Don't worry, people from the Ancient Academy will also leave. If that doesn't work, I'll go there myself! I want to see who in the world of Yincheng is so bold as to kill my Ancient Academy students! Killing one is not enough, even I, Yuan Shuo, have to move all my disciples who have been closed down, are they going to eat the courage of a bear’s heart and a leopard’s courage?”

Yuan Shuo was like a furious tiger.

Since Li Hao wants to make a big fuss, it seems to be to elicit something... then he should make a big fuss!

Yuan Shuo doesn’t think it’s a big deal!

If there is really a big fuss...if there is really trouble, it is also other people's trouble.

As for himself, all parties need him now and will not do anything to him. As for Li Hao, it is simple. Give this guy the status of an assistant. If those people dare not touch him, they will naturally not touch Li Hao.

After hanging up the call, Yuan Shuo lost his anger just now and just looked outside the room and sighed softly.

Boy, ordinary people, it’s better not to get involved.

Regarding Zhang Yuan's matter, even if there is any problem, you have done enough now and can no longer get involved.

"such a pity!"

An inaudible word of regret came slowly from his mouth.

It's a pity that I can't really introduce mystery, otherwise...it wouldn't be so troublesome.

If I could introduce mystical energy, and with my attainments in the Five Animals New Book, I might be able to produce it three times a day. At that time, all ghosts and monsters would be false!

"snort!"

A low hum came out again. The night watchmen may not want to enter the mysterious realm. Otherwise, why should I cooperate with them?

Over the years, I have been talking about finding a way, but there is no way at all. Do you really think you are stupid?

"Li Hao..."

"The Li family's sword?"

With a murmur, Yuan Shuo closed his eyes and stopped thinking. That guy should just go back to the ancient courtyard and work as my assistant. Now that he is old, he really needs to train a successor.

PS: I have written almost 7,000 words, more than 10,000 words every day. If I keep writing like this, my new book issue will be finished!