Records of the Lost Cases of Helaitang in the Ming Dynasty

Early three days later, four government officials took Shen Mu into a carriage without shackles on him.Soon they arrived at the river crossing and changed to a rowing boat.

After the boat sailed for about an hour, the water surface gradually opened up, the sails were faintly seen, and water birds gathered in the sky. Shen Muzhi felt that he had arrived at Taihu Lake.

In the afternoon, the boat docked, and the guards took him on foot for a long time. Before sunset, they came to a lake and took the boat to the island in the middle of the lake.

Shen Muzhi couldn't help but ask: "Brother Cha, where are we?"

A slightly kind policeman said: "This is Dongting West Mountain. There is a quarry on the island in the middle of the lake. We are going to the quarry."

Shen Muzhi secretly thought that he should be able to survive. After a lot of troubles, he was brought to the quarry, most likely without his life.

This place turned out to be Dongting Xishan. He traveled thousands of miles just to visit his relatives in Dongting Xishan, but he never expected that he would come to Xishan as a prisoner.

The four government officials handed Shen Muzhi over to the officer at the quarry and left. No one came to question him. The officer gave him a uniform and a pair of slippers and led him to the designated cell.

There was already a person in the room, a majestic big man, sleeping barefoot on the pile of firewood. This big man didn't speak or bully Shen Muzhi, so Shen Muzhi leaned in the corner and huddled all night.

Early the next morning, the guards drove the prisoners in the cells to work in the quarry. The management of the quarry was not very strict. It was probably because the island was surrounded by water and there was no boat access, so it was difficult to swim to the other side.

Shen Muzhi discovered that he and the big man with the same number were given preferential treatment. There were no guards watching them to cut stones, dig out squares, and carry them. He could just follow the others and contribute a little bit.

After a month or two of confusion, although the conditions on the island were difficult, Shen Muzhi endured it because of his previous experience of fleeing and being displaced.

In the blink of an eye, one day, the officers called him and the big man with the same name, saying that Lord Liu had come to the island and wanted to interrogate them.

The big man went in first and came out after a long time, his head lowered and his face expressionless.

Then came the interrogation of Shen Muzhi. Master Liu was still sitting far away in front of the hall, the panic he had not felt for a long time oppressing Shen Muzhi.

After a long time, Master Liu asked coldly: "Did Barefoot Liu Da tell you anything?"

"Barefoot Liu Da? Oh?" ​​Shen Muzhi was stunned for a moment when he heard this unfamiliar name, and then he guessed that it referred to the big man with the same name: "He has never spoken to me."

"Oh." Master Liu whispered to his left and right, then turned back to Shen Muzhi and said, "If Barefoot Liu Da talks to you, you should keep it in mind."

After finishing speaking, he walked away.

This continued for three consecutive years, and at the end of the year, Master Liu came to interrogate them once. It seemed that they did not get a satisfactory answer.

The police officers on the island had even looser control over Shen Muzhi. He sometimes ran around in the mountains and fields, and could only return to the quarry at night.He couldn't escape without food, water, and ships entering and leaving the island.

Liu Da, who was in the same room, still said nothing to him. He heard from people in other rooms that this barefoot Liu Da was a Taihu thief with a vicious reputation.

In the summer of the fourth year, one morning in the early morning, there was a sudden burst of birdsong in front of the room. Shen Muzhi had been very alert when sleeping since the incident at the Yuzhang Palace Guest House. He secretly looked at barefoot Liu Da with cold eyes. Barefoot Liu Da He seemed very anxious, pacing back and forth in the cell, and then imitating the chirping of birds, but the chirping of birds outside started again.

Two people, seemingly a man and a woman, rushed over in front of the door. They came to chop down the door with big swords and iron rods.

"Second brother, third sister, please leave quickly. This cell is filled with fine steel, you can't open it." Liu Da rushed to the door.

"Brother, please hold on tighter, and I'll catch some jailers and grab a key." The man threw a dagger from the door grid, and it shone brightly under the dim light.

"It's necessary. If you alert the jailer, you won't be able to escape. I was drunk with poisoned wine by that dog officer, and I have long since lost all my martial arts and become a cripple. It is impossible to escape."

The woman said sadly: "Brother, we live and die together."

The sound of footsteps gradually started to sound outside the door. The guards probably realized something was going on and rushed over one after another.A man and a woman still couldn't break through the door. Liu Dalian waved his hands and said: "You run, the dog officer keeps me useful and won't kill me. If he catches you and threatens me, it will be even worse."

When the man and woman heard the chaos coming towards the room outside, they had no choice but to hurry outside and disappear into the dark night.

When the officers came over and saw that the two men were there, they turned a blind eye to the mess on the ground and looked at the barefoot Liu Da and Shen Muzhi inside with warning eyes.

The two people inside were silent. Liu Da knew that Shen Muzhi saw the dagger thrown in by his second brother. Shen Muzhi did not want to go to jail for the rest of his life, and he had no intention of continuing to be Liu Fu Zun's lackey. He dealt with Bai Yuan last time. He had no choice but to keep his mouth shut.

From then on, the two of them occasionally spoke a few words behind each other's backs.

In the fourth and fifth years, Liu Fuzun still came to interrogate them once at the end of the year. Barefoot Liu Da still didn't get the answers Liu Fuzun wanted. The two of them were detained like this, and other inmates were released one after another after serving their sentences. , their sentences are far away.

In the sixth year, Liu Fuzun did not come to the quarry.

Barefoot Liu Da said to Shen Muzhi: "Little brother, there must be changes outside."

Shen Muzhi has little experience and has been in prison for many years, so there is no way he can figure it out.

At night Liu Da said: "Little brother, do you want to learn martial arts?"

Of course Shen Muzhi wanted to become a strong man, so Liu Da taught him carefully and exercised his body every day.

I don't know what happened outside, but Master Liu never came to interrogate the two of them again.

Shen Muzhi gradually got better at practicing martial arts, and he devoted himself to practicing martial arts and had no time to care about anything else.

Three years later, Liu Da said that Shen Mu had achieved some success in both internal and external martial arts.

Liu Da had observed for many years that on the first day of every month, ships loading rocks came in for loading, and there would be a break in between shifts. They decided to wait for an opportunity to fight their way out, seize the ship and escape.

Unfortunately, Liu Da fell seriously ill immediately. Shen Muzhi was very grateful to Liu Da and took care of him for a long time. The quarry was short of doctors and medicine. Liu Da finally ran out of money and took out the gold before his death. Give the shining dagger to Shen Muzhi.

Shen Muzhi saw that the dagger was studded with gems and knew it was worth a lot.

Liu Da Dao: "Little brother, you also know that I am Barefoot Liu Da, the great thief running rampant in Taihu Lake. The reason why I was trapped by the dog officer of Liu Zhifu was because I found this gem-encrusted dagger at Piaomiao Peak. By chance, I discovered the treasure of the Whitehead Army from the last years of the previous dynasty."

"Treasure?" Shen Muzhi was not very interested. He didn't even have freedom, so what was the use of the treasure?

"How could the dog official keep his word? I refused to tell you, which allowed me to live for ten more years." Liu Da laughed and said, "I won't tell you the secret of the treasure for fear of getting you killed." Woe, if you are serious, just read this dagger carefully."

Shen Muzhi followed the instructions and hid the dagger close to his body.Liu Da smiled and passed away.

After Liu Da's death, Shen Muzhi was timid and did not dare to follow the plan.

Master Liu never came to see him again, and he was forgotten by everyone.

Another two years later, one morning, the policeman stopped him. He had served his sentence and was released today. He was given back the clothes he had worn when he entered the quarry.

Shen Muzhi felt mixed emotions and sighed. When he put on his old clothes, he couldn't help but choke.

He took a boat out of the quarry, then asked two questions, and walked on two legs. Of course it was very slow, but he always reached Wanhuzhuang.