On the way, Wei Shuxuan kept thinking about what the human trafficker had said.
It turned out that the beggar and his younger sister were refugees who had come from a far - away place. The human trafficker, along with his eldest and second elder brothers, saw that the beggar's sister was somewhat good - looking. So they forcibly snatched the poor girl from the beggar's hands and then sold her to Mama Zhang.
They had a long - term cooperation with Mama Zhang. They provided girls for Mama Zhang, and Mama Zhang would give them money. To facilitate their abduction of girls, they pretended to be mountain bandits on Aixia Mountain and set up a secret stronghold there. When they went out to look for prey, at least two of them would stay at the stronghold on Aixia Mountain to keep watch.
"So where did you see the beggar and his sister?" Hearing about the process of their abduction of the girl, Wei Shuxuan's eyes instantly turned cold, and her expression became sharper.
Wei Shuxuan's suddenly fierce expression sent shivers down the spines of the three human traffickers in the prison, making the one being questioned too scared to answer.
"Answer my question quickly!" In modern times, Wei Shuxuan hated human traffickers the most. Abducting a child or a woman could destroy a happy family.
"Yes, yes, yes!" The human trafficker kept bowing his head and answering, "It was in the dilapidated temple on the outskirts of the town."
"Tsk."
The beggar might very well have returned to the dilapidated temple on the outskirts.
Now that the target was determined, there was no time to lose. Wei Shuxuan walked out of the prison and saw Xin Zizhao waiting for her outside. She originally wanted to ask him if he wanted to go with her to find the beggar, but then she thought that this iceberg would surely say something like "I'm too busy to go with you" or "Go by yourself", or maybe just give her a look and leave.
Wei Shuxuan basically knew Xin Zizhao's temperament.
"Where are you going?" Xin Zizhao saw that Wei Shuxuan was walking very fast and seemed to be on a different path from his.
Wei Shuxuan was stunned for a moment. She clearly didn't expect Xin Zizhao to ask her this question. "I'm going to look for someone. Do you want to come?"
"Sure."
It was an unexpected answer.
She wanted to take back what she had just said about basically understanding Xin Zizhao's temperament. She still couldn't figure out this iceberg.
"What are you looking at?" Feeling the strange look from the person beside her, Xin Zizhao turned his head to look at Wei Shuxuan.
"Nothing. I'm just a bit surprised that you actually want to go with me to look for someone."
"I don't know what you're surprised about. Master said that one should finish what one starts. Since I took over this case at the beginning, I naturally have to catch the culprit to end it properly."
Wei Shuxuan raised her eyebrows. "Then why didn't you go with me to look for someone yesterday?"
"Searching aimlessly throughout the whole town like you did, I think it's just like being a fool."
Xin Zizhao preferred to do things based on evidence rather than flying around like a headless chicken.
"Humph. I've done plenty of things like this without any evidence. Solving a case doesn't necessarily have to be based on evidence. What if the culprit is very smart and destroys all the evidence? Are you just going to stop looking? Sometimes searching for a needle in a haystack isn't just a futile attempt."
Wei Shuxuan had encountered many such situations before. In modern times, there were advanced technologies to narrow down the scope, but here there was nothing but posting notices.
After hearing Wei Shuxuan's answer, Xin Zizhao didn't reply. He just gave her a cold look.
Since the human trafficker said they had met the beggar and his sister in the dilapidated temple on the outskirts, Xin Zizhao borrowed two fast horses from the county magistrate and rushed towards the outskirts.
On the way out of the city gate of Liuyun Town, there was a small forest, and in the forest there was a tea - house that provided a place for travelers to rest.
Wei Shuxuan looked at the busy owner of the tea - house and stepped forward to ask him, "Hello, boss."
"Two guests? Would you like some tea?" Seeing that Wei Shuxuan and Xin Zizhao looked extraordinary, the boss instinctively thought that their identities were not simple. He warmly invited them to sit down.
"Not for now. I'd like to ask if there's a dilapidated temple nearby?"
"Yes, there is. May I ask why you two guests are looking for the dilapidated temple?" The boss looked at them curiously.
Since the boss had asked, Wei Shuxuan introduced her identity and the purpose of her visit. When the boss heard that they were from the government, he became even more enthusiastic. "So you two are officials. I was blind. Please tell me what you want to know. I'll tell you everything I know."
Wow, he's really good at flattering! Seeing the flattering smile on the boss's face, Wei Shuxuan silently complained in her heart.
But despite the complaint, she still had to focus on the serious business.
"Have you seen these people? It was just a few days ago."
Wei Shuxuan took out a stack of portraits from her bosom. Xin Zizhao didn't expect that she had even prepared portraits of those human traffickers.
The boss took the portraits from Wei Shuxuan. Some of the people in the portraits did look familiar. He pointed at one of them and exclaimed in surprise, "This... isn't this the beggar from a few days ago!"
"You recognize him?" Wei Shuxuan raised her eyebrows, and her expression changed instantly.
"Sure. This dead... cough, this beggar was with his younger sister. They were all dirty. They said they came from a far - away place and had no other family members. They said they hadn't eaten for a long time and begged me for some steamed buns. Do they think my place is a charity hall? If I gave food to every beggar who came, I'd go bankrupt. I drove them away."
The boss looked disgusted when talking about this. Wei Shuxuan nodded and then pointed at the portraits of the human traffickers. "Think carefully. Have you seen these people?"
Following Wei Shuxuan's finger, the boss carefully examined the portraits and pointed at two of them. "I remember these two. They often came here to drink tea and rest."
Wei Shuxuan took a look. Weren't they the two dead human traffickers?
Having got the clues she wanted, Wei Shuxuan put away the portraits. "Thank you, boss. We'll be leaving now. We'll come back for tea some other time."
Then she turned around. The smile on Wei Shuxuan's face disappeared, replaced by a serious expression. "Let's go to the dilapidated temple."