allonlinenovel Chapter 412: Why are there still 0s and whole numbers?
Chapter 412: Why are there still 0s and whole numbers?
Lin Lezhi's expression immediately changed upon hearing this, and he couldn't help but hiss as he said, "This couple is holding short knives and pointing them at me. Are they committing suicide?"
"Everyone thought so too, after all, the door was locked. According to people from Zecheng, the case was eventually ruled a homicide. The officers found the walls of the two men's workplaces covered with talismans for praying for children, and a note telling them to go to Ghost Cry Forest at 9 PM."
The old beggar paused for a moment and continued, "I don't know the specifics or the details. I only know that a Taoist priest was caught later, but he refused to confess. He said that he did send them to the Ghost Cry Forest, but it wasn't him. He claimed that he did see them that night, but after he set up an altar for them to invite the gods to bless them and dispel their bad luck, they left."
"Set up an altar?"
"Since the house is covered with talismans for praying for children, it must be for praying for a child."
"So how did the Taoist priest become?"
"Naturally, he was arrested, but the Taoist priest denied it to the death, and there was no evidence, so the government released him, but required him not to leave Moyu Town until the case was investigated."
Listening, Lin Lezhi nodded thoughtfully.
Just when everyone thought the strange occurrences had ended, the old beggar beside them sighed as if lamenting the impermanence of life, saying, "At first, everyone thought it was a murder case, but half a month later, another strange thing happened. The deceased was a bride-to-be. She was about to get married, but she hanged herself in her boudoir. Her wedding dress was ripped open with a sharp weapon, but the murder weapon could not be found. Blood soaked the wedding dress and flowed all over the ground."
The old beggar felt a pang of pity and paused before saying, "Because of these two strange incidents, in which the brides died in similar ways, no one dares to marry off their daughters to Moyu Town anymore."
The old beggar peered through the railing at the bridal sedan chair on the first floor of the pleasure boat, his eyes filled with worry. "This young lady is the third bride since the strange incident began. I hope nothing bad will happen to her."
Lin Lezhi also looked at that person and her gaze became serious.
"The case of the newlywed bride in Moyu Town is also bizarre. However, the case that is most widely circulated among the people is the case of Huaifeng Village more than two months ago. Therefore, the case of the newlywed bride is only widely circulated in a few towns near Moyu Town."
As he spoke, the old beggar withdrew his gaze and looked at Lin Lezhi angrily, saying, "A few days ago, I heard that the Huaifeng Village case has been solved. The murderer was a deputy general under General Dingyuan. He slaughtered the entire village for that fabricated treasure. It's despicable. He deserved to die!"
Curiosity arose in the old beggar's eyes, and he clicked his tongue in amazement, saying, "I've also heard that the person who solved this case is none other than Jiang Lian'an, who has recently become famous in the martial arts world. She is truly an extraordinary person. I would really like to see her in person if I have the chance."
Upon hearing this, Lin Lezhi smiled somewhat awkwardly, and said guiltily, "I...I've heard about this too..."
Whether it was because the old beggar mentioned Jiang Lian'an and made her nervous, or because it was too cold up there, or because the spicy food caused a sharp pain in her stomach, Lin Lezhi touched her stomach and frowned slightly.
The old beggar looked Lin Lezhi up and down, his eyes filled with surprise, as well as admiration and satisfaction. He said, "You're really different from others, quite interesting, a real oddball. No, strange, very strange."
"...Me...me? What's strange about that?"
"Ordinary people would avoid me like the plague, thinking I'm a beggar, let alone sit next to me and have a heart-to-heart talk. Yet, they remain unfazed when they hear such bizarre and strange things." As he spoke, the old beggar's eyes gleamed with reminiscence, and he said with a touch of melancholy, "Besides beggars, it's been a long time since I've spoken to anyone this close."
That's not the case.
Lin Le thought to himself that he had disguised himself as a beggar many times and had even been warmly invited to join the army of beggars, which showed that he still had the potential to be a beggar.
Besides, I'm penniless and don't even have as much money as a beggar.
Since we're practically colleagues, there's no reason for me to look down on them.
But Lin Lezhi couldn't say that, so he could only smile awkwardly and then say from the bottom of his heart, "Meeting is fate, and getting to know people isn't about status. What matters is sincerity. What you said on the ship earlier, senior, may have sounded a bit unreasonable, but it actually contained great wisdom. I was deeply moved by it and felt great respect for you."
Listen and.
The old beggar's surprise did not diminish, but rather increased, and a hint of emotion flickered in his eyes.
Just then, the sound of footsteps echoed from the pleasure boat.
Several crew members ran around the pleasure boat, shouting in unison, "Ladies and gentlemen, there are no more towns along the way before we reach our final destination. The wind is strong tonight, and we will soon be lowering the bamboo curtains around the boat. We would appreciate it if those of you outside the pavilion could come inside to avoid catching a cold."
"Senior, let's go into the pavilion too."
As she spoke, Lin Lezhi stood up, supporting herself on the railing beside her.
But the old beggar did not get up for a long time.
"senior?"
The old beggar gave Lin Lezhi an expression that suggested he had no sense of propriety, and stretched out his legs, saying, "I just said my legs were numb, and you've already forgotten?"
The old beggar stretched out his hand, which was covered in glutinous rice flour, gesturing for Lin Lezhi to help him up.
A look of regret flashed across Lin Lezhi's eyes as he reached out his hand to the old beggar.
As if he had just tested Lin Lezhi, the old beggar stood up with a satisfied look in his eyes. He then patted his buttocks with both hands, leaving white powder on his clothes from the hand covered in glutinous rice flour.
"Alright, since you're a man of your word and not bad, I'll give you a piece of candy for the Kitchen God Festival." The old beggar readily took out a bag of candy from his pocket, handed it to Lin Lezhi, indicating that Lin Lezhi should take it himself, and added, "You can't refuse."
Although the old beggar was covered in filth, the bag containing the sacrificial candy was spotless, showing that he genuinely enjoyed it. His hands, covered in glutinous rice flour, looked somewhat dirty, but there was no black ash visible between his fingers.
Lin Lezhi smiled and said, "Then thank you, senior."
Lin Lezhi took a piece from the bag and ate it in front of the old beggar.
"Don't call me senior, I'm not some big shot. Just keep calling me grandpa, it sounds kind of friendly since I have no children."
Before Lin Lezhi could speak, the old beggar added, "Although you're not bad, you still owe me a penny. Don't even think about getting away with it. Give it to me before you disembark tomorrow morning."
After saying this, the old beggar waved his hand and walked away, but he hadn't gone far before entering the pavilion, yawning, and resting on the ground.
Lin Lezhi looked at her hands, which were still covered in glutinous rice flour. The sweetness melted in her mouth, and a slight smile appeared on her lips.
He said he was strange.
That old beggar is really strange.
After talking to him for so long, he only charged me one penny. If I weren't completely broke, I would have given it to this old man right away.
"Young master, we need to draw the bamboo curtain."
"it is good."
At the boatman's reminder, Lin Lezhi walked into the pavilion. After taking only a few steps, the bamboo curtains around the pavilion fell down.
Before the bamboo curtain was fully lowered, the waiter entered the pavilion and tied the rope at the bottom of the bamboo curtain to the gaps in the pavilion that were broken on the left and right. Copper rings were embedded in the bottom sides of the pavilion.
Lin Lezhi did not linger. After glancing once more at the old beggar who was sleeping soundly, she quietly walked down the stairs.
The beggar's resting place was very close to the stairs. After Lin Lezhi went downstairs, the old beggar slowly opened his eyes, raised the hand that had just shaken with Lin Lezhi, and there was a slight tremor in his eyes.
Lin Lezhi went down the stairs.
Previously, in San Ceng Ting City, not downstairs, I didn't know how the bamboo curtains around the boat were installed. It was only when I went down the stairs that I saw their structure.
Each deck of the boat has a separate curtain at the bow and stern, tied to the railing of each deck. From the side you are looking at, there should also be three bamboo curtains at the stern.
The three-tiered pavilion is attached to the bottom of the pavilion at both ends.
The second layer is attached to the bottom of the second-floor railing.
The first layer is directly attached to the hollowed-out pillars that were placed in advance inside the hull of the pleasure boat, thus covering the first layer of decks at both ends.
in this way.
The bride, staying in the bridal sedan chair, would at least be less cold.
The left and right sides are connected to the end, just like the bow and stern of the ship. On the second floor, the fabric is replaced with opaque black cloth. Lin Lezhi reached out and touched it. The fabric was not thick, but it was very windproof.
Because the cloth is soft and gets bigger as you go down, and the hollowed-out inlays at the bottom are spaced apart, the cloth tied at each section is slightly concave towards the hull.
The boatman of the pleasure boat stood in the concave space inside the cloth and rowed the boat.
The openwork front pillar was not placed at the bottom, but rather in the lower middle of the inner side of the boat, so that the boatman's knees and below could be seen.
Lin Lezhi walked back to her room and kept thinking about the case of the new bride that the old beggar had just told her until she lay down. After returning to her room, the discomfort in her stomach had lessened a bit.
As sleepiness came over me, I fell asleep.
It wasn't until dawn, when the boatman's shout rang out, "The boat is about to arrive at Moyu Town—!", that he slowly woke up.
Remembering that he had promised the old beggar to give him money, he went to Guan Ziheng's room.
Seeing Guan Ziheng's pale face, dark circles under his eyes, and listless appearance, one could tell that he hadn't slept well last night.
"Ziheng, can you give me some money?"
Upon hearing Lin Lezhi ask for money, Guan Ziheng perked up considerably and asked warily, "What do you need money for? Didn't I give you fifty coins last night?"
"The food on this ship is more expensive than on land, and once it's bought up, there's not a penny left. Last night, I heard that some strange things happened in Moyu Town, so I went out to ask around and found out some information about Moyu Town, and promised to give it to them."
Upon hearing Lin Lezhi's words, Guan Ziheng looked on incredulously, thinking, "Why is she out so late at night instead of sleeping?"
But then he thought for a moment, and his eyes became serious as he said, "I did hear some gossip about Moyu Town last night."
Even so, Guan Ziheng noticed that Lin Lezhi was also wary, clutching the money tightly and asking anxiously, "How much do you want?"
Lin Lezhi wanted to say it was just one coin, but the words caught in his throat. He chuckled and said somewhat guiltily, "Not much, eleven coins."
"How do you ask someone for information, and get details in whole or broken pieces?"
Although Kwan Chi-hang was skeptical of what Lam Lok-chi said, he was relieved to hear that it wasn't as bad as he thought, and handed Lam Lok-chi the money while complaining.
He gave Lin Lezhi exactly eleven coins, no more, no less.
Lin Lezhi smiled, her voice as sweet as honey, and said, "I knew Ziheng was the best."
"Come on." Guan Ziheng looked disgusted, then the boat rocked and he looked like he was about to vomit. He urged, "Hurry up and pack up to get off the boat. I almost got seasick after staying on the boat all night. I can't stand it any longer."
The two packed their things and prepared to leave through the cubicle.
Just as I was about to get up, a sharp and terrified scream suddenly came from the upper deck of the pleasure boat, followed by a series of screams that continued incessantly.