Chapter 97: Thick Fog, Corpse Poison (Three)

  "Ah——this......" Li Baicao stared at the yellow paper's symbol color changing suddenly, and couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.

  Shi Jin carefully held the talisman in his hand, with the silver needle tightly attached to the place where the talisman was changing color. Everyone's eyes were now fully focused on Shi Jin's every move, quietly watching the silver needle, not even daring to breathe. They all stared wide-eyed, afraid that they would miss some even more extraordinary change if they blinked for a moment.

  However, after a period of silence, the Silver Needle did not change in the slightest. Everyone looked at each other, seeing that nothing extraordinary had happened as they had hoped, and their faces all showed a hint of disappointment.

  But Lei Baicao looked at him with a hint of joy and said: "Master, this..."

  Shi Jin slightly raised his hand, and Li Bai Cao immediately stopped speaking as indicated by Shi Jin.

  Shi Jin put the yellow paper talisman aside, took out a handkerchief from his body, and said to Li Bai Cao: "It's too early to conclude now, let's take a look at this change. If the water quality has improved now, then what just happened doesn't explain anything."

  Shi Jin said, and then he dipped the silver needle that had been wiped clean into the water bucket from just now. Under everyone's gasps, the silver needle gradually revealed a black and shiny color.

  Lei Baicao took a glance and suddenly his face was filled with joy. Just as he was about to lift his head and speak, he met Shi Jin's gaze that seemed to be warning him. Although Lei Baicao didn't know what this meant, he knew that Shi Jin must have had his reasons for doing so, and it wasn't convenient to talk about it now, but would explain later. So Lei Baicao opened his mouth, said nothing, and silently stood aside, watching Shi Jin's next move.

  In Shi Jin's heart, it was indeed inconvenient to say anything now. Although Shi Jin didn't let Li Bai Cao say anything, he could roughly guess what Li Bai Cao wanted to say. However, at present, although it can be determined that the symbols on the yellow paper can detoxify, wanting to determine and analyze the formula of the antidote from the mixed vermilion marks is probably too difficult for Li Bai Cao. Not to mention the entire Huayin County, even the entire Hua Prefecture, there might not be anyone who could do it.

  Thinking of getting the antidote through this yellow paper is purely a fantasy. The recipe for this antidote, although I couldn't decipher it myself, now seems to be known by someone, and that person is within this besieged city. But in Huayin County, apart from Li Bai Cao and the unknown doctor, if we talk about reclusive hermits, it's probably a misconception.

  That person who possessed the antidote, yet mixed it into the talisman, and pasted it on the wall of Kongji Dyehouse, was completely unharmed, while the city was ravaged by the poisonous plague. There must be a reason for this, and the prescription that person held must have some inevitable connection with the "Shuntian Book" that Li Bai Cao lost.

  Shi Jin wiped the silver needle clean with a handkerchief and handed it to Li Bai Cao. He turned around, shaking his head and said to everyone: "We've been busy for nothing, let's sit down and rest for a while." As he spoke, he walked up the stone steps to the front door of the main house, calling out for someone to open the lock. At the same time, he looked back at the little leader and the four brothers who had followed him into the courtyard, saying in a friendly manner: "Everyone come in and rest your feet, there's nothing here. Later, we'll go back to Bai Cao Tang to take a look."

  That head heard it and suddenly showed a hint of joy that was not easy to detect, and after this joy, he even more enthusiastically brought his four brothers to invite Li Bai Cao and the two young servants who came with him to rest in the main house.

  But the little head's movement was faster than Shi Jin's turning gaze, and in the instant he moved, Shi Jin passed through his original position and looked over to see a long row of earth piled up neatly at the corner of an unassuming side room.

  At the moment he saw it, Shi Jin didn't notice anything unusual, but as soon as he shifted his gaze and invited everyone into the house, the shadow of that pile of earth also flashed through his mind. In this flash, Shi Jin suddenly felt a sense of doubt in his heart. He abruptly turned his head again to look at the pile of earth, which was piled up too neatly.

  "What's wrong with you, Big Brother?" Lei Baicao stepped up onto the stone stairs and happened to notice Shi Jing's unusual slight movement.

  Shi Jin listened and quickly changed to a nonchalant attitude, saying with a smile: "Oh, nothing, I suddenly had an inspiration, you go in and sit down first, I'll just go to the bathroom." As he spoke, Shi Jin patted Li Bai Cao's shoulder and made a "be careful" gesture.

  When everyone entered the main hall, Shi Jin came out and closed the door, locking in both the people and their gaze.

  Shi Jin quickly walked to the front of the large pile of earth, squatted down and looked carefully. The earth was piled up on one side of the wing room, level with the stone steps, its width and length were all seven big steps. Such a neat and tidy earth platform was suddenly seen as a high platform for placing flower pots. However, if examined closely, there were several places that couldn't be explained.

  First of all, the earthwork is indeed not bad, if it were placed in an ordinary citizen's courtyard, there would be nothing wrong with it. But Kong Ru is a very particular person, and this Kongji dyeing workshop has carved railings and painted windows everywhere, everything is made with silver. Even if the earthwork appeared in an inconspicuous corner of a humble house, it would still seem out of place.

  Furthermore, when Shi Jin pinched a bit of the soil, due to the difference in moisture between the surface mud and underground mud, the feeling in his hand was also different. This soil was obviously not long after being repaired, and it was the leftover earth from digging underground.

  Shi Jin couldn't help but think of the pit in the courtyard, which was dug by Jin Jiu to scare away Kong Gui. When he arrived earlier, he saw that the big pit had already been filled back up.

  So, if the remaining soil here is from that big pit, what's buried under it? If it's the bodies of the Kong family merchants killed by Jin Jiaoban, then judging from the amount of leftover soil, there are still over a dozen people left.

  Shi Jin thought to himself, took the soil in his hand and came to the edge of the refilled pit, sprinkled the soil on top, and indeed the color was identical. It seemed that the place where the soil was dug and the depth of excavation were exactly the same as here.

  At this moment, Shi Jin felt that there was a shadow of truth, which was quietly waiting for him in the underground at this moment.

  Shi Jin hesitated for a moment, then slowly drew out his knife. He deliberately walked to the edge of the pit because Shi Jin knew that if it was Golden Footboard who wanted to bury those seven or eight corpses, the center of the pit would be sufficient.

  Shi Jin thought to himself, the knife in his hand gradually gained strength, slowly and deeply stabbing into the ground around the pit. When the blade was inserted up to the handle, Shi Jin stopped his hand.

  Shi Jin paused for a moment, then suddenly, with a swift motion, he drew out his knife.

  On that cold and shiny knife, apart from the dense sand, there was a faint red bloodstain...