"Shen Wu, this is Shen Lang, Shen Battou of the Divine Catcher Hall. Why don't you show your respects to Shen Cattou soon?"

Hearing what Head Zhou said, the tall and heroic eldest disciple Shen Wu was slightly startled, and bowed his hands to Shen Lang:

"Shen Wu pays homage to Shen Batou. Shen Batou's reputation is as powerful as thunder. When we meet him today, his reputation is indeed well-deserved."

Reputation like thunder?

Brother, are you already famous in the world now?

Well, that should be it.

Previously, when He Wei and Feng Wei heard my name clearly, they were so frightened that they knelt down.

When Headmaster Zhou heard that I was visiting, he quickly took eight elders out to greet me, as if he was under surprise inspection by a big leader.

But judging from the reactions of He Wei, Feng Wei, Master Zhou and others, I'm afraid my brother's reputation is not very benevolent...

Shen Lang was murmuring in his heart. He took a look at Shen Wu's expression and posture, and thought to himself:

I, Shen Captou, amazes the world. He and Feng are frightened to their knees by my name. Headmaster Zhou is also a little too enthusiastic. This kid Shen Wu claims to be "like thunder in his ears" about my reputation, but his expression remains unchanged and he is calm and composed, not the slightest bit strange.

nothing……

Is it because he was so foolish and bold that he dared to climb a rope across a hundred-foot-deep gorge when he was thirteen?

Or is it that he doesn’t do anything wrong and isn’t afraid of ghosts knocking on the door?

or……

He had already been mentally prepared for the arrival of the chief arrester from Shenhuatang?

Shen Lang was now like an old catcher, habitually doubting everything. Just because Shen Wu was too calm when facing him, he had some doubts in his heart. Of course, his face was calm and he only smiled slightly.

said:

"There is no need to be polite. Brother Shen is worthy of being the chief disciple of the Wind Chasing Sect, and he indeed has the demeanor of a master from Yuan Ting Yue Zhi."

Shen Wu said in a deep voice:

"You should not praise Shen Captou. Shen Captou is powerful and famous all over the world. Who dares to boast that he is a master in front of Shen Captou?"

Shen Lang chuckled, stopped talking nonsense, and got straight to the point:

"I came here today because I have a piece of information that I would like to ask your faction to assist in the investigation. Are you familiar with Brother Shen, Cheng Xin, and Guan Yue?"

Shen Wudao:

"Of course. Junior Brother Cheng and Junior Sister Guan went to the mountain to learn martial arts six years ago. I was responsible for receiving the new junior brothers and sisters, so I got to know them. After that, we often interacted with them in the mountain gate."

Shen Lang nodded and asked again:

"Cheng Xin and Guan Yue started their careers in July last year and first worked in the escort bureau under the name of Zhuifeng sect. Later, they found a better job, so they resigned from the escort bureau and went to work in Tongshan County. I heard that the path in Tongshan County

, was it you who introduced me?”

Shen Wu answered honestly:

"Junior Brother Cheng and Junior Sister Guan's family have been farmers for generations, but they don't have any land of their own. They have to rent land from large households and are exploited by them. They each have several younger brothers and sisters, and their families are very poor.

"They work in the escort agency under the name of our sect. Although they have no worries about food and clothing and can save some money, it is not something they can do in three to five years if they want their parents and brothers and sisters to live a good life. So I

Introduced them to a new job."

Shen Lang's heart moved and he asked:

"It's not that they begged you to help them find jobs, but you took the initiative to introduce them to errands?"

Shen Wu said calmly:

"As the eldest disciple of the sect leader, it is my duty to support my junior brothers and sisters."

After hearing his words, all the elders nodded with approval.

Although Master Zhou had no expression on his face, there was a hint of pride in his eyes, which made him feel quite relieved that his disciples were trying to live up to their expectations.

Shen Lang remained calm and said calmly:

"What errand did you introduce them to Tongshan County for?"

Shen Wudao:

"It was to introduce them to work in the mine of Hu Yuan's wife's family in Tongshan County..."

Tongshan County has had many copper mines since ancient times, and they have not been mined out until now.

Of course, after years of mining, all the mines that are easy to mine have been excavated. The remaining mines are mostly in deep mountains and old forests. Not only are they full of poisonous insects and ferocious beasts, but occasionally there are also some exotic beasts and even low-level monsters that are a threat to ordinary people.

Taste monsters.

From time to time, bandits and thieves roam the mountains.

The government felt that the mining costs of those mines were too high, so they outsourced them to large households in Tongshan County.

Shen Wu happened to know a large company named Hu that contracted the mine, so he introduced Cheng Xin and Guan Yue to work there. They were mainly responsible for maintaining the safety of the mining area, expelling strange beasts and monsters, and guarding against bandits.

Although the work is a bit hard and a bit dangerous, the income is many times higher than working in an escort agency.

Cheng Xin and Guan Yue were very satisfied with this job and went to work in Tongshan County in September last year.

After listening to Shen Wu's story, Shen Lang asked again:

"How did Brother Shen get to know that Member Hu?"

Shen Wudao: "This matter is quite a coincidence..."

Listening to his story, his experience of meeting Mr. Hu was not an ordinary coincidence, but a coincidence that seemed like a story.

The year before last, Shen Wu was traveling down the mountain and passing through Tongshan County, he met a flower picker who wanted to do evil to a young girl.

There were several guards around the girl, but their martial arts were mediocre, and they were easily knocked down by the flower-picking thief.

However, when the flower-picking thief was about to drag the girl into the woods to do whatever he wanted, Shen Wu happened to bump into him and knocked down the flower-picking thief with a few moves, saving the girl.

And that girl is the daughter of Hu Yuan’s maternal wife from Tongshan County.

Shen Wu is tall and heroic, with extraordinary bearing and strong martial arts. Although his background was not good, he is the head disciple of the largest sect in Wuyang Mansion, the Wind Chasing Sect. He will be able to inherit the mantle of the head and take charge of the sect in the future. Now his status is not good.

Considered low.

So when General Shen Wu took the flower-picking thief to the Tongshan County government office and escorted Miss Hu home, Yuan Hu was extremely enthusiastic about him, and his words seemed to suggest that he was marrying off his daughter.

However, Shen Wu had already mastered the fifth level of martial arts at that time and was focusing on reaching the fourth level. His trip down the mountain was also to prepare for the fourth level. Therefore, he declined Hu Yuanwai's kind offer.

Hu Yuanwai was also an open-minded person and did not become angry because of this. He still regarded Shen Wu as a great benefactor.

With this relationship, Shen Wu wrote a handwritten letter introducing Cheng Xin and Guan Yue to work in the Hu family's mine, and Hu Yuanwai readily arranged it.

After hearing this introduction, Shen Lang nodded calmly and asked:

"When will the Hujia Mine take vacation before the Chinese New Year? When will it resume work after the Chinese New Year?"

Shen Wulu hesitated:

"Well... I don't know how the Hu family's mines take holidays during the Chinese New Year. However, according to the customs of Fucheng, private workshops, industries and mines usually take a holiday on the 25th day of the year, and will not start work until the 10th day of the Lunar New Year."

Shen Lang stroked his chin with his hand, thoughtfully.

He and his senior sister returned to the capital from Xianwu Mountain, and the night they discovered the victims of the Four-Winged Demon Owl on the way was the sixth day of the Lunar New Year. Judging from the condition of Cheng Xin and Guan Yue's bodies, they had not been dead for more than two days.

He was killed on the fourth or fifth day of the Lunar New Year.

If the New Year customs in Tongshan County are the same as those in Fucheng, then Cheng Xin and Guan Yue should have been celebrating the New Year at their respective homes when they were killed.

However, Venerable Liuli concluded that the last place they appeared was Tongshan County.

In other words, during the Chinese New Year vacation, Cheng Xin and Guan Yue did not go home and were still stranded in Tongshan County?

However, judging from the family circumstances of Cheng and Guan, as well as their eagerness to support their families and improve their family circumstances, it seems that during the Chinese New Year, they should go home with the salary they earned last year so that their families can have a good year.

So, Cheng and Guan went home to celebrate the New Year and couldn't wait to return to Tongshan County on the first or second day of the Lunar New Year?

After pondering for a while, Shen Lang looked at Shen Wu and said:

"Brother Shen, does he know where Cheng Xin and Guan Yue's family are?"

Shen Wu nodded:

"I know. It's in Pingpo Township, less than fifty miles away from Fucheng."

"Well, please ask Brother Shen to accompany me to Pingpo Township." Shen Lang stood up and looked at Master Zhou: "Master Zhou, can you lend me your eldest disciple to help me investigate the situation? Is that okay?

"

Headmaster Zhou also stood up quickly with a smile on his face:

"Of course it's no problem. It's Shen Wu's blessing to be able to assist Mr. Shen in his investigation."

Shen Lang raised his hand to Master Zhou:

"Well, thank you, Master Zhou, for your warm hospitality. Shen is busy with official duties, so I won't bother you and take my leave."

After saying that, he bowed his hands to the elders and strode out the door.

Head Zhou and the elders quickly got up to see him off. Not only did they send him out of the mountain gate hall, they also took him all the way to the deep gorge cable bridge. They even wanted to send him down the mountain. However, Shen Lang repeatedly dissuaded him. Head Zhou and others then

Then he stopped in front of the rope bridge and watched Shen Lang and Shen Wu cross the bridge and leave.

After the two figures disappeared, an elder whispered:

"Master, Shen Wu is assisting Chief Shen in his mission this time. If he can be favored by Chief Shen and join the Divine Hall..."

Master Zhou put his hands behind his back and said calmly:

"Join the Shen Cat Hall? The Shen Cat Hall does have a very good reputation among the common people, but in the world of martial arts, it has a mixed reputation. As for the officialdom...hey, that's called a god-hating thing! It's said that even the emperor doesn't want to see him.

them.

"Once you enter the Divine Catcher Hall, don't even think about getting promoted and making a fortune. On the contrary, there will be bloodshed, cold knives and secret arrows. In short, those who can continue to work in the Divine Catcher Hall are not normal people."

The foreign affairs elder sighed:
To be continued...