The Taishe is located in a downtown city and is built on a low mountain. At the foot of the mountain is the gate of the stone pillars, engraved with couplets written by the founder of the mountain to encourage learning.

Outside the mountain gate are bustling streets and alleys, with shops crowded around the streets like stars, with the most literary museums and book shops.

Jiang Caishuang and the others walked into the mountain gate, and the student who was studying next to him came over and asked politely: "Do you dare to ask who are you looking for?"

"I'll look for my brother, Jiang Shuihan."

"Please wait for two."

The students of Taishe took turns to visit the school, which could not only communicate with others at any time, but also temper their will to gain quietness through the troubles.

One person stayed to continue to watch the door, and the other person went up the mountain along the stone steps. When he came back, there was Jiang Shuihan wearing a shirt next to him.

"Shuang'er." Jiang Shuihan accelerated his pace and ran down the stone steps.

"Why are you too lenient? But what's wrong at home?" Jiang Shuihan then noticed Yan Anjin beside him and quickly saluted, "I've seen it..."

Yan Anjin held his hand and gestured with his eyes.

Jiang Shuihan swallowed it to his mouth and asked them to go up the mountain.

Stepping on the stone steps covered with moss, the hustle and bustle of the downtown city gradually faded away, replaced by the quietness of the deep forest, and the clear sound of reading vaguely came from the bamboo forest.

"I didn't have time to ask in detail yesterday, Caiqing said you went to catch the monster. What's going on?"

Jiang Caiwei told Jiang Shuihan about everything that happened in the Bo Mansion before.

Jiang Shuihan gradually accepted the fact that his sister was a Taoist priest.

Jiang Caishuang replied: "Yesterday, Sister Caiqing and I were shopping on the street. I happened to feel the evil spirit and chased me. I chased me all the way to Panlou. Unexpectedly, you were debating the article upstairs, so we stayed to watch it. Later, the fish spirit suddenly appeared and wanted to swallow me in one bite, so I started fighting with it."

"Fish spirit?"

Jiang Caishuang nodded, "That's right, he left a scale when he ran away."

As she said that, she took out the scale from her arms and gave it to her brother to check.

As long as the fish scales are as big as half of the palm, how huge should this fish spirit be?

"You weren't injured, are you? The scene was chaotic at that time. When I arrived at the window, I saw only the chaos on the street outside. Fortunately, it was raining and put out the newly ignited fire."

"I'm fine." Jiang Caishuang shook her head, "We came here this time to ask about the disappearance of the Taishe student."

"Have you heard it too?" Jiang Shuihan looked solemn. "In just over ten days, five people have disappeared and their whereabouts have disappeared."

As the five people disappeared, the atmosphere became more and more tense.

As they were talking, a "thump" sound of falling into the water came from the ink-shrink pool ahead, accompanied by a few quarrels.

"Pu Zifan, what are you doing!" Meng Yu accused him violently, then jumped into the mosha pool and, together with several others, rescued the person who was pushed into the water. "You know that Brother Duan doesn't know how to water, do you want to kill him?"

Pu Zifan stood by the pond, showing off his might, "Ha, there are so many people watching. If I want to kill him, would I choose here?"

"That's not necessarily true," Meng Yu stood up, and there was still water ticking on his body, but his expression was resolute and unyielding. "Brother He and Brother Zhou were also killed by you? You dare to push people into the water in front of so many people, and you still don't know how cruel and ruthless they are."

"You said that He Wenle and Zhou Kang were killed by us. Do you have any evidence? If there is no evidence, you will be slandering!" Pu Zifan said viciously.

There were also a few people behind him who agreed loudly, "I'm afraid they have walked a lot for a few nights, so they'll meet him."

"Who knows what they did privately and caused others to retaliate, what does it have to do with us?"

"That's right, even the people in Kaifeng Prefecture can't catch the murderer. Just because of you poor guys, you dare to challenge our Young Master Pu?"

The two sides confronted each other. Although they were both wearing the same shirt, the few people on Meng Yu tied their hair with bamboo hairpins and had no accessories on them.

Pu Zifan was covered in greasy faces, with jade pendants and folding fans on his waist, and there were a lot of bells. At a glance, you could tell that his family was extraordinary.

Although Meng Yu and his family are poor, they have the pride of scholars, so they will naturally not retreat and fear because of the other party’s family power.

The more Pu Zifan's people were scolding, the more ugly it sounded. Some people over Mengyu could not bear the humiliation and couldn't help but take a step forward, "Do you say it again?"

"What, do you want to fight? Then come, let's see if you don't fight, you won't get out of bed for half a year. Don't go to this year's autumn examination. It's just right for us to have a seat, hahaha."

"you!"

Meng Yu grabbed his companion and persuaded him: "Brother Han, don't be fooled by him."

Nowadays, several of their new party members are missing, and they don’t know their lives or death. If they are injured by a fight and cannot take the exam, then will the new officials who will enter the court next year be occupied by their conservative factions? The new party in the court has been suppressed by old ministers and is gradually declining. If there is no new Jinshi this time and the new party is completely suppressed by the conservative factions, then all their efforts will be wasted.

But Pu Zifan didn't want to let them go, so he stepped forward and grabbed Meng Yu's collar, "Why do you want to talk to me in this tone? I'm too lazy to see you as poor as you, and it's not your turn to pick on me."

Pu Zifan relied on his tall and big horses to push Meng Yu to the rugged rockery and hit him hard.

It seemed to be just pushing, but Meng Yu felt the piercing pain, and even felt wet on his back. He endured the pain, "Pu Zifan, don't go too far..."

"My master, I feel disgusted when I see you hypocritical hypocrites. If you have the ability, just like Yu Wenqing, and would rather die than surrender and sacrifice your life for the law. Do you want to give up your own bad life?"

"Pu Zifan! What are you doing!" Jiang Shuihan saw this scene from afar and shouted loudly.

Hearing his voice, Pu Zifan was still worried and reluctantly stopped.

"The prince of the marquis's family, if you are mingling with these sour scholars, you are not afraid of being humiliated!" Pu Zifan said coldly and took his followers away, "Let's go!"

Jiang Shuihan quickly stepped forward and held Duan Jingyuan, who was soaked all over, "Send Brother Jingyuan back to rest."

Several people rushed to support Duan Jingyuan and returned to their residence.

After settled here, Jiang Shuihan led Jiang Caishuang and Yan Anjin to the door of his room.

Too much to be willing to look at family wealth and family background, but only to be knowledgeable. The higher the knowledge, the more appreciated the Master, you can live in a better garden.

There is a small independent courtyard in Jiangshuihan. There is a cluster of purple bamboo planted in the corner and the ground is covered with smooth and round pebbles. There is also a shallow stream in the courtyard, passing by. The windows of the house are bright and clean, and the fragrance of books is elegant.

"Why are there anyone in the house who is provoking trouble to fight?" Jiang Caishuang asked.

Jiang Shuihan poured tea for them and sat down on the opposite side. "It was not the case in the past, but after He Wenle, Zhou Kang and others disappeared, the struggle between the old and the new parties became increasingly fierce, and gradually evolved into this."

At first, they were just fighting articles, but now some people have begun to insult and provoke, hoping to suppress their new party with the help of the large number of people.

"So that's it," Jiang Caishuang looked forward and inquired, "We came here this time to make the disappearance of these people. Brother, do you recognize them?"

Jiang Shuihan nodded, "Of course I recognize that He Wenle and Zhou Kang are my friends with Brother Jingyuan. They are devoted to studying and hardly interact with outsiders. I really can't figure out who they will provoke."

"Is the home of the five of them in Bianjing?"

Jiang Shuihan thought for a while, "Only He Wenle's family is in Bianjing, and the others have no relatives in the capital. They basically only walk around and interact with the classmates of the shepherd."

"Do you remember the specific situation when they disappeared?"

"I think about it," Jiang Shuihan carefully recalled the situation more than ten days ago. "That day, Brother He claimed that he wanted to buy some rice paper outside the mountain gate, and then rented a few ancient books at the bookstore, and never came back."

"Have you ever asked in the shop?"

"We asked with the portrait. The shop selling rice paper claimed to have met Brother He and confirmed that he had bought rice paper. But later we asked the shopkeepers of several bookstores, but they all said they had never seen him."

This shows that after He Wenle bought rice paper, he disappeared and did not even go to rent the book he had agreed to.

"What about the others?"

"I only know that Zhou Kang, he also went down the mountain to buy it until the sun sets. We asked on the street separately, and a grocery store owner said he had seen him go east."

“Where is the east?”

Jiang Shuihan stood up and took a map near the Taishe from the bookshelf. "We have privately discussed where Zhou Kang might go, either a few literary museums in the east, or a temple to study quietly."

Jiang Shuihan pointed to several marks on the map, all of which were specially circled when they speculated about Zhou Kang's whereabouts.

Jiang Caishuang didn't know much about the nearby area. She looked at the map for a long time, but she didn't see any reason.

There are several literary museums in the east, and there are also tiles for storytelling and opera. Students usually go to listen to operas when they are tired of studying. If they walk south, there is a low mountain temple, and a narrow river behind the mountain.

"As for the other two, there is Brother Deng Cong who just disappeared two days ago. I am not very familiar with them, but I heard that they have something to do and have never come back since."

Jiang Caishuang analyzed: "So, they were all missing outside the house?"

"That's right."

"Since they are missing outside the Taishe, why do you still suspect that this is done by the conservatives?"

Jiang Shuihan sighed, "Most of the conservatives come from prominent families, and have both connections in the capital. They dare not take action in the house, and it is possible to kidnap people outside. Now there is not much time left before the autumn examination. If the conservatives deliberately detain people and entrust them together, Brother He and the others will probably miss this autumn examination."

It would be fine if they were really imprisoned, at least they would have a life left. As long as they were found before the autumn examination, they could successfully take the exam.

If you are afraid, you are afraid... These people are vicious and kill He Wenle, Zhou Kang and others directly, so they will never have the chance to go to the imperial examination.

Yan Anjin, who had not made a sound for a long time, said at this moment: "Can you take us to the houses of these people?"

"Yes, I'll take you there."

On the way to go, Yan Anjin asked inadvertently: "Who is Yu Wenqing who Pu Zifan mentioned just now?"

Pu Zifan said that Yu Wenqing would rather die than surrender and sacrificed his life to the Dharma. He had never heard of this.

"Brother Yu came to the sacrificial house a few years earlier than me, full of knowledge and literary talent. His articles often criticized the current ills and were profound in meaning. Even the mountain leader praised him for his first name. He said that when he was in the imperial examination, his first name must be him." When talking about Yu Wenqing, Jiang Shui was cold and his eyes were bright, and his tone could not hide his longing and respect. "Brother Yu was also one of the first students to support the new law. Before the prince was appointed as the prime minister, he often interacted with him and was called his master and apprentice."

"What happened later?"

"Later... it was around this time last year that Brother Yu's talent was valued by Master Dong. If he wanted to win him over to the camp of the conservative school, he pretended to invite him to the mansion and gave him a daughter while he was drunk. On the second day, Brother Yu woke up and was forced by Master Dong's powerful force, and ordered him to marry Master Dong's daughter as his wife. Brother Yu would rather die than follow him and died by the pillar."

Jiang Caishuang didn't expect to hear such a tragic story, and at the same time, she also gained a deeper understanding of these students' tit-for-tat stance.

Just like the green bamboo planted on this mountain, due to common ambitions and ideals, clusters are bound together inseparably, revealing the sharpest bamboo tips and colliding with another cluster.

They are all willing to die, and they will definitely have to stop each other by blood and even give their lives.
To be continued...