Chapter 4.1 the Jinxiu Workshop
Upon returning home, Li Gongfu took off his sword and hurriedly invited Fa Hai to take a seat, personally pouring him a cup of tea. Li Gongfu was busy inquiring about the case, and he asked directly, "Since you, Master, have fought with the culprit, have you seen his appearance clearly?"
Fa Hai put his hands together and said, "Amitabha, the demon disguises itself in various forms to deceive people. It cannot be recognized by appearance or sound."
Li Gongfu was confused by Fa Hai's words and looked at him in bewilderment, asking, "Master...what did you say...what demon?"
Fa Hai patiently explained, "The culprit causing chaos in Lin'an City is a centipede demon with a cultivation of nearly three thousand years. It is not an ordinary human who can deal with it."
Li Gongfu couldn't believe it and said, "A centipede demon?"
Before he could say anything more, Fa Hai suddenly looked towards the door and got up to go outside. Standing outside was Xu Jiaorong carrying a basket.
Xu Jiaorong was startled by Fa Hai and took a step back. Li Gongfu asked in confusion, "Master, this is my wife. What are you..."
Fa Hai made a gesture for silence and looked towards the alley behind Xu Jiaorong. He immediately went around her and walked towards the alley.
Xu Jiaorong pulled Li Gongfu aside and whispered, "Who is this person? He looks like a fierce god. I thought you were investigating the case. Why did you bring back a strange monk?"
Li Gongfu lowered his voice and said, "He is a senior monk from Jinshan Temple. He said that there is a big demon in Lin'an City, so I specially invited him to come and ask for advice."
Xu Jiaorong carried her basket and pouted, "A senior monk? Is that true or false? Does he know how to read feng shui? Let me tell you, the roosters in our backyard have been crowing all night recently, making my head ache. Let this monk take a look, maybe there's something wrong with them?"
Li Gongfu stomped his foot in disgust and said, "He was invited to help investigate the case, and you are a woman. Don't make trouble. Where is the Master?"
The two of them saw Fa Hai walking towards the alley, and quickly caught up.
When Fa Hai arrived at the alleyway, he shouted, "Demon, where are you running?" He swung his exorcism staff, but stopped just before hitting the person who had arrived.
Xu Xian was surprised at first, but then quickly calmed down and asked coldly, "Who are you?"
Fa Hai looked up and down at Xu Xian, his brows slightly furrowed with doubt. "Who were you with just now? Why do you have demon energy on you?"
Soon afterwards, Xu Jiaorong and Li Gongfu arrived, and Fa Hai's actions frightened them. Hearing Fa Hai's words, Li Gongfu quickly explained, "Master, you may have mistaken him. This is my brother-in-law, and I am familiar with everyone on this street. There are no demons here."
Xu Xian allowed Fa Hai to scrutinize him and said mockingly, "I haven't seen any demons, but I have met a flower thief. A few days ago, a monk who claimed to be catching demons trespassed in my house and had ulterior motives. I don't know if this 'Master' recognizes that monk?"
Xu Jiaorong exclaimed, "What? A flower thief?"
She immediately stepped back and put her hands in front of her chest. Seeing her husband still standing there dumbly, she roared, "What are you still standing there for? Arrest him and take him to the magistrate! It's all your fault for bringing a wolf into our house!"
Fa Hai stared at Xu Xian and said, "Sir, I have encountered you twice when catching demons. This may not be a coincidence, so you must be careful."
Li Gongfu felt he had been deceived and was now angry and embarrassed. He angrily grabbed Fa Hai's sleeve and said, "Ah, you lascivious monk. You are the one who is deceiving people with your words. You almost hurt my brother-in-law. Stop talking about a thousand-year demon to deceive me!"
Fa Hai was misunderstood and unable to explain, so he recited a Buddhist chant and said, "Amitabha, the demon is good at deceiving people's minds. Gentlemen, I have said all I can. Goodbye." He turned around and left, with Li Gongfu chasing after him.
As Fa Hai and Li Gongfu walked away, a white light flashed, and Bai Suzhen and Xiaoqing appeared.
Xiaoqing looked towards the alley and warned, "Fortunately, we found that monk and left with an excuse in time, otherwise, there would have been a confrontation. Hey, you have to be careful of Xu Xian. He has been targeted by the monk from Jinshan Temple. We should stay away from him in the future."
Bai Suzhen tilted her head in confusion and asked, "Why do you always target Doctor Xu? I think he's quite interesting."
Xiaoqing rubbed her nose and replied, "Miss, I..."
Bai Suzhen glared at her and prompted, "Hmm?"
Xiaoqing quickly changed her tone and said, "Do I need to target a mortal? I'm just afraid he might cause trouble for you. Let me tell you, when a girl chooses her husband, she should pick someone who can help her solve problems. Like someone as majestic as me..."
Bai Suzhen smiled and finished her sentence, "...a man?"
Xiaoqing looked at her body wrapped in green silk and suddenly felt embarrassed, so she shut her mouth.
She protested, "You said men and women are different. If I didn't look like this, you wouldn't let me follow you. But when you're in front of Doctor Xu, you forget that men and women are different."
Bai Suzhen raised an eyebrow and chuckled, "You acted very strangely at that time, it seemed like you had some ulterior motives. But Doctor Xu is an honest person. We just talked a little more today because of the elixir of life. Besides, I don't have any trouble that needs someone else to solve for me."
Xiaoqing pouted in frustration, "I have ulterior motives, but he's an honest person? Hmph, we'll see. If there's nothing strange between you and him, I'll write my name backwards!"
Li Gongfu returned home dejectedly, and Xu Jaorong helped him take off his coat and brought him some food. Li Gongfu was very hungry, so he grabbed the food with his hands and put it in his mouth.
Xu Jaorong frowned and scolded him, "Did you wash your hands? You're so careless."
Suddenly, Xu Xian smelled a familiar fragrance and asked, "Brother-in-law, what's that smell on your hand?"
Li Gongfu rubbed his hand on his body and sniffed it, then realized, "Oh, I remember now. When I visited the Liu family, the young master was missing, and I touched his fan and sachet."
Xu Xian furrowed his brows, "I saw a sachet left behind by the abducted child at Changsheng's house before. It had the smell of dragon powder, and your hands have the same scent."
Li Gongfu put down his chopsticks and said, "Who puts centipede powder in a sachet? Don't tell me... The silk used in those sachets is very expensive, and the embroidery is very exquisite."
Xu Xian listened carefully and analyzed, "A family like Changsheng can't afford expensive sachets like these. The origin of these sachets must be suspicious. I was also puzzled before. The culprit always targeted only the only child of a family, and the target was very clear. But during the Lantern Festival, there were so many people. How could he find these children so accurately? Now that I see these sachets, everything becomes clear. This person put dragon powder in the sachets, and he must have extraordinary talent and a sense of smell beyond ordinary people. Therefore, he can quickly find the child he wants to capture in the crowd by smelling the scent of the sachet."
Li Gongfu was excited and slammed the table, "The person who gave them the sachets is likely the culprit. But... is the culprit still in Lin'an City?"
Xu Xian stood up and walked slowly in the room, "He must still be in Lin'an City. This person can quickly evacuate after committing the crime, indicating that he knows the street layout of Lin'an City very well. There are guards at all four city gates of Lin'an, but the night guards did not find anything unusual, indicating that he did not leave Lin'an City. He kidnapped so many children without being noticed, so he must have a hiding place in Lin'an City. Moreover, he always selects targets before attacking, indicating that he has searched for information in advance. The only people who can inquire about the news of each household without arousing suspicion are merchants."
Li Gongfu felt that it made sense. The merchant who sold sachets was probably an embroidery shop. But there were so many embroidery shops in Lin'an City, where should they start?
Xu Xian seemed to have guessed his doubts and continued, "The embroidery on the sachet uses the most exquisite double-needle embroidery of Bian embroidery. Most of the embroiderers in Lin'an City are proficient in Su embroidery, and there are not many who know Bian embroidery. Brother-in-law just needs to ask the families of the missing children which embroidery shops they have visited before, and then check which one is good at Bian embroidery."
Li Gongfu suddenly had a flash of inspiration, slapped his head, and thought of something. When the children first went missing, a girl was not kidnapped, but she inexplicably had a rattle in her hand, which was also embroidered with Bian embroidery! This matter might really be related to an embroidery shop.
He would bring people to investigate tomorrow!