The dilapidated temple was very close from the teahouse. If one continued walking along the path from the teahouse, they would soon come across an abandoned temple that had been left in disrepair for a long time.
One side of the decaying red - wood crossbeam had fallen from a great height. Occasionally, broken glazed tiles could be seen on the ground. Since no one had been here for ages, the place was covered in dust everywhere.
Xin Zizhao, who had a bit of a cleanliness fetish, frowned slightly in disgust, trying his best not to let his snow - white clothes touch anything in the temple.
Wei Shuxuan, on the other hand, didn't mind at all. She observed the outside of the dilapidated temple for a while and then strode in quickly. Outside, there was only an abandoned wellhead full of cobwebs, and she found nothing there.
Inside the inner hall where the statue was enshrined, it was also covered in dust, and cobwebs had formed in the corners. Wei Shuxuan looked up and saw several holes in the roof. The ancient red tiles must have been blown down by the strong wind and broken on the ground.
In front of the statue, there was a pile of burnt firewood that had turned to carbon. Wei Shuxuan glanced to the side of the statue and saw a thick layer of straw there. On the straw pile, there was a dirty piece of clothing whose color was hardly recognizable. Wei Shuxuan picked up the clothing and unfolded it. It seemed to be men's clothing.
"Hey, Mr. Iceberg, take a look. Is this men's or women's clothing?" Wei Shuxuan really didn't understand the types of ancient clothes, so she had to turn to Xin Zizhao, who had been silent behind her, for help.
Xin Zizhao didn't want to touch the clothing. "Stay away from me first, and then unfold the clothing."
Seeing his reaction, Wei Shuxuan couldn't help but pout, but she still did as he said. She spread the clothing on the dusty ground. Xin Zizhao took a careful look. "It seems to be a man's outer garment. The size is slightly larger than that of a woman's clothing."
"Do you have a cleanliness fetish?" Wei Shuxuan moved the clothing to one side and asked Xin Zizhao.
"What's a cleanliness fetish?" Xin Zizhao didn't quite understand the term she used.
"Do you dislike dirty things very much?" Wei Shuxuan changed to a more understandable way of saying it. She suddenly remembered that Xin Zizhao didn't understand modern popular terms.
"Don't you dislike dirty things?" Xin Zizhao's rhetorical question left Wei Shuxuan speechless.
"Okay, okay, it's my fault."
Wei Shuxuan was too lazy to waste more words on this man. She went to look at the straw pile again. The straw pile wasn't very big, and there was a lot of straw outside the inner hall. If it was for an adult man to rest on, it didn't seem reasonable. It should be for a child or a girl to rest on.
Although Wei Shuxuan wasn't sure if the beggar siblings had lived here, they must have stayed here. But... she couldn't find the beggar here. If he wasn't here, where could he be?
Wei Shuxuan bit her lip. The clue ended here, and she had no idea what to do next.
"Since we can't find the person, let's go back first."
... You just don't want to stay here, right? Wei Shuxuan thought silently. However, Mr. Iceberg was right. They should go back first. She really had no idea now, and staying here wouldn't help.
Not long after Wei Shuxuan and Xin Zizhao rode away on their horses, a figure appeared in the abandoned dilapidated temple.
It was a man with a limp.
He was dirty all over, and there were several obvious marks on his feet and body. But because his clothes were so dirty, the marks on his body weren't easy to notice if one didn't look carefully. His left hand was tightly clenched, as if he was holding something. He walked quickly to the side of the statue and saw a piece of clothing casually thrown to one side.
He quickly picked up the clothing and hugged it tightly in his arms. Finally, he got it back. He lowered his head and sniffed the smell of the clothing carefully. A look of relief appeared on his dirty and black face, as if he had returned home.
During dinner that evening, Wei Shuxuan still had no idea. Holding her chopsticks, she leaned to one side and looked at Xin Zizhao, who was eating elegantly. "Do you have any ideas?"
"No."
Xin Zizhao always spoke very directly. Wei Shuxuan stirred the sweet - and - sour spare ribs in front of her with her chopsticks. Xin Zizhao quickly slapped her hand with his chopsticks. "Don't move around."
"Okay, okay, I won't move."
Seeing that Wei Shuxuan seemed to have no appetite, Xin Zizhao didn't want this person to bother him later. He put down his chopsticks. "Haven't I already ordered the soldiers to look for him? What are you still worried about?"
"I'm worried that he might have escaped!" Wei Shuxuan said straightforwardly.
"I don't think so."
"Why?" Wei Shuxuan looked at him in confusion.
"Think from a different perspective."
After saying that, Xin Zizhao left the dinner table and went back to his room.
Wei Shuxuan thought that she might have missed something. She propped her chin and thought carefully. She had inferred that it was a revenge - motivated murder, and based on the evidence, it was most likely the case. The reason the murderer took revenge was that Mrs. Zhang and the two human traffickers had killed his younger sister. There was no mistake in this deduction.
Just then, the words of the teahouse owner flashed through her mind. "He said he had no other family members left."
"So that's it!" Wei Shuxuan slapped the table. The noise was so loud that it attracted the attention of others. Feeling the gazes from all directions, Wei Shuxuan retracted her hand awkwardly and apologized repeatedly. "Sorry, sorry."
This beggar had depended on his younger sister for survival. After finally finding his sister, he discovered that his only family member had become a corpse. He was the only one left in the world, with no other relatives. So, he decided to avenge his sister.
However, even after taking revenge, he knew that his sister would never come back to life. So, perhaps... he never even thought about escaping. Instead of enduring the malice from the world, it would be better for him to reunite with his other family members.
"Mr. Iceberg, do you also think so?" Wei Shuxuan ran upstairs right after dinner to share her newly - reached conclusion with Xin Zizhao.
Originally, Xin Zizhao hadn't told her in the hope that she wouldn't bother him, but he didn't expect that this person could think so quickly. She was quite amazing.
"Then go and look for him. I'm going to rest."
"Leave this matter to you to discuss with the county magistrate. Then you can set off earlier." Wei Shuxuan squinted at Xin Zizhao, who was cleaning his sword.
Xin Zizhao paused in his movements. "The door is over there."
This person really didn't seem to be influenced by either persuasion or coercion, Wei Shuxuan thought as she left his room.