埋葬了整个罗家之后,陈老三找机会参观了省城检查站.令他惊讶的是,它被阻止了.他不甘心放弃,改变了方向,却发现不仅通往省城的检查站被封锁,周围的所有路线也都在被守卫着.
青崖县已经被控制住了!
这个发现让陈老三感到彻底的不安.虽然他不知道幕后到底发生了什么,但很明显,这样的情况对于他们这样的普通人来说,绝对不是一个好兆头.
当他想起前几天埋葬的皇室尸体时,他再也坐不住了.
"我们不能就这样等待死亡."
这样想着,陈老三立刻前往王老戎家.老爷子既然能把孙女送出去,那他肯定有自己的处事方式.
当他回到内城时,已经是黄昏了.
经过一整天的寻找,陈老三已经筋疲力尽,但此刻,他已经不在乎自己的疲惫了.顺着他的记忆,他很快就来到了王老帅的家.
这是一座相对简单的房子.
比陈老三自己破旧的住处要好,毕竟王老三还有个孙女要照顾.他不能让孩子受苦,哪怕他自己也要吃苦.
陈老三深吸一口气,环顾四周,然后快速走到门口,轻轻敲了敲门环.
丁冬.
声音响了起来,但里面没有回应.
他们睡着了吗?
陈老三心中升起一丝不安,但随后他想起了自己早些时候在罗成家见过王老轩.这种轻微的不适很快就被压制住了.王老轩比他谨慎得多,肯定有一些意外情况.这样想着,他压低了声音,向房子里喊道.
"王老轩,开门,是我,陈大河."
陈大河是陈老三的真名,只是他在日常生活中很少用,县府里知道的也只有少数人知道.王老轩由于工作关系,过去对他的名字很熟悉.
可惜,无论陈老三怎么敲门,里面都没有回应.没有脚步声,没有人来开门.
他停下脚步,将眼睛贴在门缝上,向里面张望.他一靠近,一股刺鼻的气味就传到了他的鼻子里.
血?
陈老三的心怦怦直跳.
幸运的是,当他向院子里看时,一切似乎都很正常;他没有看到任何特别令人担忧的事情.然而,他不敢再逗留了.显然,王老轩出事了,否则院子里就不会有血腥味了.
意识到这一点,陈老三连忙站起身来,头也不回地朝着大街跑去.
那个地区人口稠密,对方可能不敢在那里公然杀人.
在陈老三看不到的门后,一具尸体半挂在上面,血滴顺着尸体的嘴角滑落.这具尸体就是白天和陈老三谈过话的王老帅.不仅是他,白天被他通过人脉派出去的孙女也在里面,还有几具无关的尸体.这些人就是帮助王老帅孙女逃跑的特务,幕后黑手决心断根.
目前尚不清楚此人为何等到现在.
惊慌失措的陈老三匆匆忙忙地回到了家.
当他看到自己的侄子陈洛没有回来时,他松了一口气.他是否在马奎子的地方,都无关紧要;毕竟马奎子是个武者,如果出了什么差错,他至少可以帮忙挡下几下.
虽然他对朋友有些愧疚,但当涉及到侄子的生命时,即使是马奎子这样的朋友,也可能被牺牲.他最多会在假期里为他烧更多的纸祭.
"钱!是的!钱!!
惊慌失措的陈老三冲进自己的卧室,掀开了地板.他撬开藏在下面的第三块木板,露出一大叠银钞.这些是他的积蓄——他一直留给侄子陈罗,以备将来娶妻之用.
但现在,面对生死,他再也顾不上这种事了.
Without hesitation, Chen Lao San grabbed the stack of silver notes and turned to rush toward the county office.
He had already made up his mind. Tonight, he would take his nephew Chen Luo to stay at the county office. He didn't believe that anyone would have the guts to kill inside the county office.
Knock knock knock!
Just as Chen Lao San was tucking the money into his clothes, a sudden knocking sound came from outside.
"Old Chen! Old Chen! There's work!"
The voice startled Chen Lao San, causing him to instinctively grab the dagger by his bedside. However, once he identified the source of the voice, he relaxed slightly.
The person calling out was someone he knew—Captain Jiang Dainian. The two of them often drank together, and they shared common interests, making them something like confidants.
"What's going on?"
Chen Lao San didn't let his guard down. Instead, he yelled out loudly.
It was almost nightfall, and Jiang Dainian showing up at his door suddenly felt suspicious.
"Another case over there. They told you to go handle it." Outside, Jiang Dainian was grumbling, clearly unhappy about being assigned a task at this time of day.
Another death?
Chen Lao San's heart skipped a beat.
His mind instinctively went back to the encounter outside Wang Laoshuan's house earlier.
It couldn't be related, could it?
"Why don't you send Wang Laoshuan? I just finished dealing with Luo Cheng this morning, and I was about to go to bed," Chen Lao San quickly replied, trying to divert the conversation.
His mind raced, coming up with a way to subtly inquire about Wang Laoshuan's situation.
"Then you want me to go to the underworld to find him?"
Outside, Jiang Dajian cursed loudly, and it sounded like he had already entered the room.
"What?!"
Chen Lao San pushed open the door, his face filled with shock.
The unease that had been gnawing at him was suddenly confirmed.
In just one day, both Luo Cheng and Wang Laoshuan had died. Was he next? The thought struck Chen Lao San like a cold dagger, and he felt as though he had fallen into an ice-cold pit. He couldn't even pay attention to what Jiang Dajian was saying next.
"Not sleeping? Good, hurry up and come with me. Xiao Taohong won't be available later."
Jiang Dajian didn't seem to notice Chen Lao San's panic. Seeing that Chen Lao San had dressed quickly, he grabbed him, ready to handle the aftermath.
In this world, things were never peaceful. If the bodies weren't dealt with quickly, problems could easily arise.
Grave diggers were the ones who handled such troublesome matters.
The bodies of Wang Laoshuan's family were all in the county, and their discovery disturbed the peace of the county magistrate. Naturally, an order was issued overnight.
Thus, Chen Lao San and Jiang Dajian arrived at the scene.
As Chen Lao San pushed open the door, his steps faltered.
A pungent, overwhelming smell of blood rushed at him, confirming that the scent he had caught earlier at the door was indeed real.
In the yard, five corpses lay scattered in all directions. Two of them Chen Lao San recognized—Wang Laoshuan and his grandson. Despite Wang Laoshuan's efforts, he had failed to protect his granddaughter, and she too had met her end. The remaining three were unfamiliar faces. According to Jiang Dajian, they seemed to be hired men from Qingya County, specialized in smuggling people to the provincial capital.
Beside him, Jiang Dazhi rambled on about a lot of meaningless chatter.
Chen Laosan didn't hear a single word. His mind was entirely consumed with the gruesome fate of Luo Cheng and Wang Laoshuan.
And their families.
"They're trying to silence us!!!"
Chen Laosan's eyes were bloodshot. By now, he finally understood the true purpose of that dead eunuch.
Eradicating all traces.
He was determined not to leave any potential source of information unchecked. Even if there was the slightest possibility, it had to be severed.
Better to kill an innocent than to let a guilty one go free!
In the eyes of these people, those of them at the bottom, like ants, weren't even considered as lives.
The only thing he couldn't understand was why that eunuch had allowed them to return. Could it be that something had been overlooked? Or perhaps the other side wanted to kill more people?