The woodshed is not far away. Turn left after entering the garden gate and you will see it. Under the light of the lantern, you can see a small woodshed alone in a small open space, which looks a bit strange.

The moment the woodshed door was pushed open, a black shadow suddenly jumped out, scaring Ah Zhu into screaming. Li Hui reacted quickly, raised his foot and kicked, and a shrill scream rang out. The small black shadow was kicked.

He fell to the snow two feet away. He turned over and ran away.

"Don't be afraid, it's a wild cat." Li Hui was also startled.

On a snowy day, this cat hid in the woodshed to keep warm, but was disturbed and even kicked himself. I felt a little sorry for this wild cat.

Ah Zhu took a long breath, her face turned a little pale, and her breathing was a little short.

The two entered the woodshed, closed the door, and shut out the wind and snow. Li Hui took a lantern and looked around. There was indeed a lot of firewood piled in the woodshed, bundles of which were stacked against the wall.

There are really quite a lot of them. There are also some wooden hammers, baskets, baskets, picks and other tools inside, piled haphazardly in a corner.

"Where is the entrance of the cave?" Li Hui asked in a deep voice.

Azhu stepped forward, pointed to the corner of the room and said, "It's right here."

Li Hui stepped forward to check, stretched out his hand to move a bundle of firewood, and saw a thick bluestone slab. The bluestone slab was originally embedded in the ground, but now there were signs of movement. The bluestone slab was two feet square and very thick.

It weighs at least a hundred kilograms. A hole was cut into the corner of the bluestone slab, and a short wooden handle was inserted. It was obviously a handle installed for ease of movement.

Li Hui was originally a little confused as to why A-Zhu would move such a heavy stone slab and why she would be interested in a bluestone slab on the ground. But after seeing the handle, she understood. Anyone who sees this bluestone slab will feel strange.

The stone slab with a wooden handle looks like a deliberately crafted bluestone cover, so it's hard not to be suspicious.

Li Hui reached out and grasped the wooden handle and lifted it hard, and the stone slab lifted up a corner. He tilted his head and looked, and he saw a dark hole in the corner. Li Hui moved the stone slab aside, and a hole about a foot in size was exposed.

The dark cave entrance is unfathomable, and the lantern cannot illuminate the ground below. A slightly putrid smell mixed with cold air wafts out, making people feel a little scared.

Li Hui knew that this kind of cellar could not be easily entered, so he lit a branch and threw it down. The branch fell into the hole and continued to burn, and it took a long time to extinguish. From this, Li Hui also judged that the height of the hole was not more than ten feet, and the air inside should be

It was normal. He decided to go down and have a look.

"I'll go down and take a look, and you'll keep watch from above." Li Hui said.

"Young master, it's better...don't go down, I look a little scared," Azhu said.

Li Hui smiled and said: "What are you afraid of? I'll come up after just one look. You can help me twist a rope."

Azhu had no choice but to take out the random grass from the corner and quickly twist a thick straw rope. Li Hui took a wooden hoe, tied the straw rope between the wooden handle, stuck the wooden handle at the entrance of the hole, and pulled it a few times to confirm.

The rope was secure, so he pulled the rope and went down from the hole.

The entrance to the cave was narrow, but Li Hui was not fat, so he could squeeze through the one-and-a-half-foot-square hole. Going down the rope, Li Hui soon stepped on the ground. It was dark all around, but there was nothing unusual. Li Hui looked up.

, Ah Zhu held a lantern and looked at the entrance of the cave, with panic and concern on his face.

"Throw down the firewood and I'll light a torch." Li Hui called.

Azhu said: "Master, let me come down too. I'm scared up there alone."

Before Li Hui could agree, Ah Zhu had already hung the lantern down with a rope, and then grabbed the rope and climbed down. She was light and her movements were flexible. As soon as Li Hui grabbed the lantern in his hand, she had already landed.

Li Hui held the lantern and squinted his eyes to look around. Suddenly, Ah Zhu screamed and threw himself into Li Hui's arms, trembling with fear.

"What's wrong? What's wrong?" Li Hui was so frightened by her that he asked quickly.

"Underfoot, underfoot, you are stepping on it..." Azhu shouted.

Li Hui shined the lantern on the ground, looked down, and jumped up in fright. One of his feet was actually stepping on a skull. His face was ferocious, and his dark eyes were looking upward, as if he was looking directly at him.

.

Li Hui quickly pulled Ah Zhu and jumped aside, standing against the earth wall on one side, holding a lantern in one hand and holding Ah Zhu with the other to protect her behind him.

It was quiet in the cave, except for the panicked and rapid breathing of the two people.

Under the illumination of the lantern, Li Hui saw two sets of skeletons on the ground. There was another skull next to the one he stepped on just now. The two skeletons were next to each other, one big and one small. There were some almost weathered bones scattered on the ground.

Clothes and bones were scattered around, and the roots were clearly visible. Two pairs of shoes, one large and one small, were scattered aside.

Ah Zhu put his head on Li Hui's back, closed his eyes and said tremblingly: "Master, let's... go up, this is not a good place."

Li Hui did not speak. Instead, he slowly walked to the two sets of skeletons. Ah Zhu clung to his back and did not dare to leave. Li Hui looked at the two sets of skeletons for a moment, then stretched out his feet to pick up the rags next to them.

Lift it up and cover it on the two skeletons.

"Azhu, don't be afraid. They are just the bones of dead people. I have covered them. There is nothing to be afraid of. You are a human being when you are alive, and you will turn into bones when you die. If you are afraid, you can just go up and wait."

Li Hui said in a deep voice.

Azhu was silent for a moment and said, "I'm not afraid."

Li Hui nodded and walked towards the darkness of the cellar with a lantern in hand. Ah Zhu followed him step by step. Soon, the two of them walked through the entire cellar and saw nothing scary.

The cellar is not big, but the size of a normal house. It is surrounded by mud walls and does not have any other decorations. There is a wooden bed inside, with blackened bedding on the bed, a large water tank, and some

Cups, plates, dishes and chopsticks were placed on a small table. There was a rice bucket next to the water tank, with some moldy rice still inside.

There is a recess on the wall, and there is an oil lamp. It has long since run out of oil and is covered with dust. Near the corner, there is a small wooden frame with two cages on it, both equally gray.

A layer of dust fell.

This is all the furnishings in the entire cellar. It does not look like a secret cellar for storing food or gold and silver treasures, but more like an underground refuge.

Ah Zhu followed Li Hui and looked at all this, and whispered: "What is this place? Why are there two skeletons here? Is this a dungeon? Someone was imprisoned here and died?"

Li Hui handed the lantern to Ah Zhu without comment, then stepped forward to pick up a box from the wooden frame and placed it on the ground. Ah Zhu quickly brought the lantern forward to illuminate it. Li Hui gently lifted the lid of the box.

Come on.

Inside the cage were some well-preserved clothes belonging to women and children. At the bottom of the cage, there was a small rouge box and a bronze mirror.

Li Hui rummaged around a few times, but found nothing special except these. So he closed the box and got up to move the second box. But to Li Hui's surprise, the second box was very strange.

It's heavy and it's very difficult to move it down.

Li Hui had some expectations in his heart. Could it be that this box contained copper coins or some kind of gold and silver treasure?

But after the box cage was opened, what came into view were rolls of yellow leather files and some books bound with yellow paper. No wonder it was so heavy. The paper these days was rough and thick, and it was very heavy after being bound into books and files.

Li Hui flipped through it quickly and saw a familiar file with a seal in seal script. It was an official certificate. After opening the official certificate, it was written: Huang Tingbai of Runan County, courtesy name Hengqiu, Zhongzheng Review of Runan County

In March of the first year of Xingning, in the third month of the first year of Xingning, the Ministry of Civil Affairs selected and appointed the magistrate of Juchao County. Holding the official title, he took office, and all counties and counties provided him with the convenience of passage.

The second page contains Huang Tingbai's basic information, such as his age of thirty-three, height of five feet and eight inches, white face and long beard, scar on left eyebrow that is one minute longer, and other detailed information for comparison with the person.

Li Hui took this official certificate and looked at it for a while, and he almost understood who this person was. This person should be the Huang County Magistrate of Juchao County who was killed by Feng Heizi and his gang.

Li Hui had previously learned from Mr. Zheng that the surname of the county official who was killed by Feng Heizi's gang was Huang. The surnames matched.

From a time perspective, it was seven years ago in the first year of Xingning. The murder of officials by Feng Heizi and his gang occurred in Juchao County five years ago. Based on a three-year term, it happened to Huang Tingbai County

During the term of office.

Therefore, Li Hui can basically conclude that the owner of this official certificate is the previous county magistrate.

Li Hui quickly rummaged through a pile of files and quickly found more than a dozen official documents. They were all official documents sent from Liyang County to Juchao County. The content was to inquire about the number and actions of the Feng Heizi gang in Juchao County, and to supervise Huang

The county magistrate asked the county magistrate to exterminate the bandits as soon as possible. There were also several letters informing Huang Tingbai that Liyang County would dispatch troops and horses to suppress the bandits soon, and asked Huang Tingbai to cooperate.

After reading the entire dozen or so related official documents, Li Hui seemed to have seen the development of the whole thing. How Feng Heizi and his gang rose up. Liyang County ordered Huang County Magistrate to extinguish the banditry. Huang Tingbai failed to do so and asked Liyang County to send troops. Liyang County

After sending out troops several times to annihilate them without success, Feng Heizi became powerful and gradually became difficult to control...

Although it happened between the second and third years of Xingning, more than five years have passed now. But Li Hui can still feel the urgency and anxiety from the official document.

In the bottom corner of the box, Li Hui finally found a square mahogany box. After opening it, there was a copper county magistrate's official seal and Huang Tingbai's private seal engraved with the word "Hengqiu". There was also a letter.
Chapter completed!