Chapter 315: Chapter 313: Is This How You Welcome Me?

"Is it really Tian Min?" Chu Xingrou plopped down onto a chair.

Lu Zhishen patted Chu Xingrou’s shoulder.

Chu Xingrou let out a soft sigh.

Su Miaoyi said, "In any case, Tian Min’s reaction was definitely suspicious."

"What about her other reactions?" Chu Xingrou asked.

"Most of her reactions were probably genuine." Su Miaoyi rubbed her fingers back and forth. "After everything she’s been through... she’s very brave."

Hearing this, Chu Xingrou sighed again.

Lu Zhishen looked at the two of them but said nothing.

After a while, Su Miaoyi said, "Let’s go check out the Sheep Horn God’s temple. Captain Duan said there’s a place in town that worships the Sheep Horn God."

"Now?" Chu Xingrou glanced at the sky outside, which was about to turn completely dark.

"Yes," Su Miaoyi said. "We’re going now."

Chu Xingrou suddenly shivered.

Lu Zhishen said, "Get your jackets. Let’s go."

They went to the place they were staying next door to grab their jackets, then the three of them walked to the place where the Sheep Horn God was worshipped.

It wasn’t very far; a twenty-minute walk got them there.

It looked just like all the other houses in the area, made entirely of wood.

It didn’t cover a large area, about the size of a normal family’s home here.

Only the entrance was built to be rather grand.

It looked like it had been around for some years; the color of the wood had faded.

By the time the three of them arrived, the sky had grown completely dark.

The Sheep Horn Temple was just about to close.

The three of them identified themselves and were let into the Sheep Horn Temple without any trouble.

"You are...?"

"I’m from the town, the caretaker here." The man looked to be in his sixties. "I’m in charge of cleaning and watching over the Sheep God Temple, opening and closing on time every day. At night, I’m basically on duty. Usually two of us take turns, and tonight is my turn."

"How long have you been working here?" Su Miaoyi asked.

"About twenty years."

"Have you seen her?" Chu Xingrou showed him a photo of Tian Min.

"Is this Xiao Min?" the man said. "She comes here often. She has since she was little. I hear she’s working in Chang City now, but whenever she comes back, she always stops by to pay respects to the Sheep Horn God. Anyway, pretty much everyone from around here comes by often."

"Xiao Min can’t speak, and for a while, she came very frequently, so she left a deep impression on me," the man said.

"Does she come by herself?" Su Miaoyi asked.

"Mostly by herself. Sometimes she brings her younger brother," the man said.

"What does she do when she comes here?" Lu Zhishen asked.

"She offers incense to the Sheep Horn God, prays for a bit, and then stays in the side hall for a long time," the man said. "Our side halls have murals depicting the stories of the Sheep Horn God. If you tell your troubles to the murals, the Sheep Horn God will help sweep them away and bring you good fortune. That’s why most people, after praying to the Sheep Horn God, go to the side hall and silently tell their troubles to the murals."

"Xiao Min is a sincere child. Sometimes she even helps clean up around here. To be honest, most young people have moved away now and have grown distant from this place. But Xiao Min is different. She’s always remembered this temple, always remembered the Sheep Horn God."

"What parts does she help clean?" Su Miaoyi asked.

"The courtyard. And inside the rooms. When the temple was built, they put in a lot of tables, chairs, and decorations. There are also sculptures of the Sheep Horn God inside, along with some related ornaments. She helps dust them off when she comes by."

"Girls are meticulous. Us rough old men, we’re getting on in years, our eyesight isn’t what it used to be. Sometimes we don’t clean things very well. If Xiao Min sees a spot that isn’t clean enough, she’ll help wipe it down."

"Besides her brother, has Xiao Min ever brought anyone else here?" Chu Xingrou asked.

"No, I don’t think so."

"Are the people who come to the temple all from this town? Are there any outsiders?" Su Miaoyi asked.

"They should all be from town. Around here, only our county believes in the Sheep Horn God. Every town has a Sheep God Temple like this one. People pray at their own town’s temple, so everyone who comes here should be from our town."

The man continued, "The roads here are terrible. Besides you all, and the folks who come back from working or studying elsewhere, who else would come here? The mountain road just winds and winds, it’s a bumpy ride. No one wants to make the trip."

Su Miaoyi thought for a moment and asked, "Do you know everyone in town?"

"More or less. Everyone in town comes here to pray. I’ve been here for almost twenty years. Even if I can’t put a name to a face, I recognize most of them," the man said.

"What about the people who leave for work or school? Do you know all of them too?" Su Miaoyi asked again.

"No, not them. They’re not home often, so I don’t see them. I don’t know many of the ones who live elsewhere," the man said. "A lot of young people come here now, and I don’t recognize most of them. Unless they come with their parents or elders, I wouldn’t know whose family they belong to. Some of the young ones even have different accents, so they really do seem like outsiders."

This situation meant it was very possible an outsider could come and be mistaken for one of the local families.

Su Miaoyi glanced at Lu Zhishen.

Lu Zhishen took out his phone, found the sketch he had drawn today, and showed it to him. "Have you seen this person?"

The man took the phone, held it at a distance to look at it for a while, then shook his head.

Lu Zhishen took back his phone. "Is it alright if we look around?"

"Of course."

The main hall was dedicated to the Sheep Horn God.

The trio entered the main hall and first paid their respects to the Sheep Horn God. Lu Zhishen opened his wallet and left some money for incense.

Only then did the three of them look around the main hall and the side halls.

Both side halls were covered in murals about the Sheep Horn God.

There was nothing out of the ordinary.

And it seemed like quite a few people came here every day.

’No one would try anything in a place with so much foot traffic.’

After looking through the main and side halls, the three of them checked the other rooms.

There were indeed many tables, chairs, and decorative objects.

They examined everything carefully but still found nothing unusual.

The temple wasn’t large. After checking all the rooms, the three of them left and headed back.

On the way, they found a place to eat dinner.

They decided not to go to Yanjing Village. Instead, they would wait a couple of hours and then go question Tian Min again.

The three of them were walking toward the police station when they passed by the place they were staying and noticed an SUV parked at the entrance.

It had a local license plate, but they didn’t recognize it.

The place was a rental, where only the four of them, including Duan Wenrui, were staying.

Duan Wenrui had gone out on patrol. The three of them had closed the gate when they left to get their jackets.

But now, the gate was open.

The three exchanged a look and entered the courtyard.

The door to the house was ajar, but they were sure they had closed it properly when they left.

As they walked further in, Su Miaoyi heard a noise from inside one of the rooms.

"Who’s in there?" Su Miaoyi called out.

No one answered.

Even the noise from inside stopped.

’If it were the landlord or Captain Duan, they would have answered instead of going silent.’

"Who’s in there?" Lu Zhishen also shouted.

Still, there was no reply.

The three of them exchanged another glance, then spread out and approached the house.

After a moment, footsteps echoed from inside the room, moving toward the door.

Su Miaoyi’s hand went to the dagger behind her back.

Just as she drew the dagger, the door suddenly opened.

Su Miaoyi saw a huge... Zhuang Yanzheng appear in the doorway.

Zhuang Yanzheng looked at the gun in Chu Xingrou’s hand, the club Lu Zhishen had snatched up, and the dagger in Su Miaoyi’s hand.

He let out a yell, "Is this how you welcome your captain?!"

...

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