"The shopkeeper of Li Ji Clothing Shop, did you see a gangster running out of Hongyi Alley last night?"

"Yes, my lord, the four Jianghu people looked very hasty and suspicious."

The snow in Los Angeles has not yet melted.

The cold wind whistled close to the ground, and the swaying torches swayed, illuminating the spies' hands that suddenly grasped the handles of their waist knives, and the white air exhaled from their breath under their bamboo hats, like hungry beasts finding new prey.

The spies subconsciously looked at Chen Ji, waiting for him to make a decision.

Chen Ji covered his face with gray cloth and lowered his head in thought.

As the saying goes, three strikes kill with a powerful stick to break up the loyalty of Jianghu. Three pages of confessions, every sentence is full of brothers. These Jianghu knights are not hard-core. If the secret agent catches them, the prince and Bai Li will definitely be implicated.

But if he did nothing on purpose, Xifeng was not a fool.

In the flickering light of the fire, the burning oilcloth melted by the torch, and droplets of flame fell on the bluestone road.

Suddenly, the wind stopped and the fire stopped swaying.

Chen Ji raised his head and looked at the spy who reported the news, and said calmly: "Bring the shopkeeper of Li Ji Garment Shop for questioning."

After a moment, a middle-aged man dressed as a member of staff came up to him with a flattering smile: "My lord Wan An, and my lord Li Bing."

Chen Ji looked at the other party and asked calmly: "Where did you see those knights and knights? Tell me carefully."

Li Bing hurriedly replied: "When my lords blocked Hongyi Lane, they were escaping from the back alley of Hongyi Lane. One of them was so frightened that he dropped his knife on the ground. After running for two steps, he turned back to pick it up."

Chen Ji frowned and said in disappointment: "Such a coward is not like the behavior of thieves from the Jing Dynasty."

Xifeng was also a little disappointed: "Although the thieves in Jing Dynasty are hateful, they are all well-trained, and they are by no means such young people."

Li Bing suddenly added: "By the way, there seemed to be people in the back alley calling for help in climbing over the wall. One of them went to help, but before he could help others climb out, he escaped again and said to his companion, 'Go quickly.

They couldn't be saved, they were surrounded by six people. They passed by me when they were talking, and I heard them clearly."

Xifeng's expression changed and he looked at Chen Ji: "Sir, those who surrounded them should be our colleagues. The killer wanted to protect the people in the backyard before he took action! Although I don't know who the people surrounded are, they must be very important!"

Chen Ji took a deep breath in silence. The shopkeeper listened so carefully that he couldn't hide it even if he wanted to: "Shopkeeper Li, where did you see them running to?"

"Go west along Luoyi Street, but I don't know where they ended up."

Chen Ji breathed a sigh of relief again. It was not easy to drag four people out of Luo City in such a huge city. At least it could delay them for some time.

However, at this time, Li Bing gasped: "But the villain knows where they live!"

Chen Ji: "Huh?"

Li Bing said quickly: "These four people came to Luo City half a month ago. I have an impression of them because they are obviously dressed in ordinary and shabby clothes, but they spend a lot of money. These four people just came to Luo City.

So I customized two sets of outfits in the villain's shop, both of which are stand-up collars and plackets that are often worn in autumn, and I also chose the elegant gold-leaf rat pattern."

Li Bing continued: "The four people took the measurements and left. They told me to make the clothes and send them to Fulai Inn in the west."

The so-called golden gourd and mouse pattern is an embroidery pattern on the sleeve and collar edges. The embroidery process is complex, it is very popular among officials and nobles, and it is expensive.

The more Li Bing talked, the heavier Chen Ji felt.

He had met these four people before. Among the twelve people who met Liu Xingshou in the embroidery building in Baiyi Lane that day, except for Chen Ji, Shizi, Bai Li, She Dengke, Liu Quxing, Liang Gouer, Liang Maoer, and the young monk

Outside, there are these four people.

At that time, these four people were wearing stand-up collars and large lapels, and their cuffs were embroidered with gold-leaf and rat patterns!

Moreover, the other party came to Luo City at the same time. These four people were originally living in embarrassment, but it was only after they met the prince that their lives became easier.

But even though the Crown Prince was so kind to them, when they encountered danger, they still left the Crown Prince and Bai Li behind.

Xifeng looked at Chen Ji's profile from the side: "Sir, what should we do?"

The old voice has no ripples: "Surround Fulai Inn and arrest people."

The only thing he can hope for now is that these four people are not so stupid and returned to the inn after escaping from Red Lane.

…

…

Outside the Fulai Inn, dozens of spies carried knives at their waists. In just a dozen breaths, they quickly surrounded the Fulai Inn, including the backyard, the left and right sides, and the stables.

If those four people of the acquired realm were in the inn, they would be unable to fly.

Silently, Chen Ji crossed the threshold of the inn first.

I saw that the first floor of the inn was a simple wine shop. It was closed at this time, and the wooden chairs had been cleaned and turned upside down on the table. Behind the counter, a young waiter was sleeping soundly on the abacus, with an oil lamp lit next to him.

Chen Ji came to the counter and gently patted the waiter on the shoulder.

The waiter raised his head sleepily and said in a dreamy voice: "Do you want to stay in the hotel? The sky-size room is 140 cents a night, the ground-size room is 45 cents a night, and the stable is only 12 cents a night.

…”

As he was talking, the waiter suddenly woke up when he saw the traces of the mask and several spies carrying knives behind him!

He trembled and said, "Sir, I...I have never committed any crime."

Chen Ji asked: "Don't be afraid, I just want to ask you a question."

"Excuse me, sir."

"Do you have four sword-carrying warriors living here?"

The clerk quickly replied: "Yes!"

"Are they still in the inn?"

The waiter replied: "Yes, when they went out yesterday, they said they were going to Hongyi Lane to have fun, but they came back early before midnight, looking in a hurry. After that, the four of them ordered wine and food directly to the room.

Inside and never came out again.”

This was the answer Chen Ji least wanted to hear. He was silent for a moment: "Which guest room are they staying in?"

The clerk pointed to the stairs: "The third room on the right after going up the stairs is the Tianzihao room. There is a sign of 'Spring Water' hanging in front of the door."

Before Chen Ji could give the order, Xifeng winked at the spies, and immediately several spies drew out their sabers and cautiously bent down to go upstairs.

Chen Ji wanted to follow, but Xifeng didn't expect Xifeng to hold his shoulders and say: "Sir, Master Jinzhu said that you have no martial arts skills, and specifically told us to protect you. It's okay for us to do such dangerous things, you

Never put yourself in danger.”

Chen Ji looked at the other party's expression under the bamboo hat, serious and sincere, his eyes unwavering: the other party did not doubt himself, Jin Zhu really said so.

He sighed in his heart and stood by the counter without moving: "Be careful."

The secret agent suddenly kicked open the door of Chunshuijian, and the secret agent filed in with a long knife in hand, full of murderous intent.

However, the next moment, someone suddenly shouted: "Sir, come and see!"

Chen Ji rushed forward first with the oil lamp on the counter. He pushed aside the spies in the corridor and came to the door of the room. He raised his head and looked up at the beams, and his breath suddenly stagnated.

On the beams of the house, they saw the four Jianghu people they were looking for, being strangled by four pieces of white silk around their necks, hanging neatly on the roof!

Not only that, all the skin on the faces of the four people was cut off, leaving only the bloody facial muscles exposed in the air, which was extremely terrifying.

The spies looked indifferent, as if they had seen this kind of thing a lot, but Chen Ji suddenly felt a chill in his heart, and these four people were silenced in advance.

He endured the discomfort in his heart and went to examine the body.

The corpse was cold and stiff, and the stiffness spread throughout the body. It had been dead for at least two hours.

The traces came to the door, but the latch was not damaged.

He came to the window again, only to see that the copper plate used to close the window had been cut off with a sharp weapon. The murderer came in through the window.

"Take them off and take off all your clothes!" Chen Ji said coldly.

The spies took a ladder and took off the four corpses and placed them on the bed.

After the clothes of the four people were stripped off, everyone saw through the moonlight outside the window that each corpse had a copper nail nailed on the heart. The copper nail penetrated cleanly, but not a drop of blood came out.

The deceased did not cry out for help. The person who killed them must be a master among masters, and did not even give them a chance to respond.

Chen Ji opened the mouths of these four people again and saw that all of them had a short copper nail nailed on their tongue.

"This is not silencing, this is judgment."

"Someone is punishing them!"

Xifeng looked solemn. They had just found a new clue. Before they could be happy, the clue was disconnected again.

Chen Ji looked at Xifeng: "Have you ever heard of this kind of trial method?"

Xifeng thought thoughtfully: "There seem to be two cases in the world, but you have to go to the inner prison case library to know the details. Sir, there is something fishy about this matter. The person they left behind must be very important, and they would not hesitate to kill him for this."

Let them shut up forever. Moreover, the murderers specially cut off their faces to prevent us from finding witnesses who are familiar with them. Who do you think did it?"

Who did it?

It's simple, whoever gets the most benefit is the one who does it.

Chen Ji stood in the dark room, still holding the oil lamp in his left hand. He recalled the prince's bold and cheerful smile, and it was hard to believe that the other party had such a deep and vicious intention behind him.

Moreover, if there are such experts around the prince to deal with the aftermath, how could it be his turn to save him last night?

But if the prince didn’t do this, who else could?!

The brilliant impression of the Crown Prince in his old memory suddenly became blurred, as if a layer of haze gradually enveloped the Crown Prince's face.
Chapter completed!