Just as that question was asked—

Ji Yinshu understood.

She glanced at him and directly took over the conversation, saying, “You want to ask why, in pitch darkness, the murderer could still accurately pierce the silver needle into Shasi’s fontanel?”

“Exactly.”

“Sir, you’ve heard that cats’ eyes can see things clearly at night, but do you know… humans can too?”

Ah?

“This… I’ve never heard of such a thing.”

“It’s not strange that you haven’t heard of it. After all, it’s one in ten thousand—not everyone can do it.”

Jing Zhaoyin suddenly understood.

But in his heart, he pondered—there are such people?

Truly unheard of.

Ji Yinshu returned to Shasi’s side. Looking at his miserable death and the bloody scratches all over his body, she couldn’t help feeling somewhat sad.

She involuntarily let out a sigh.

She refastened the tattered clothing she had previously removed from him.

“Thud.”

A muffled sound.

It was a stone.

A yellowish-brown stone that had fallen from Shasi’s clothing.

Very smooth.

She picked up the stone and weighed it several times in her palm.

Then she tucked it into her own sleeve.

Shortly after, the village chief found a white cloth and covered Shasi’s body with it.

“What a sin.”

Sighs and laments!

Wen Shisan, who had been silently observing, watched Ji Yinshu handle the case and couldn’t help but recall scenes from many years ago.

He had followed by her side working cases, playing the role of a diligent and obedient apprentice.

And she had taught him many things, never stingy!

What he didn’t know, she patiently taught!

What he couldn’t do, she did!

What he couldn’t figure out, she helped him think through!

The difficult problems he encountered, she solved!

Just as Wen Shisan himself had said, without Ji Yinshu, there would be no Wen Shisan of today.

A teacher for a day, a teacher for life.

Thinking of this, he actually felt somewhat guilty.

That inexplicable feeling wandered through his chest, disturbing his peace of mind.

He even secretly asked himself—was I wrong?

That night, everyone stayed awake the entire night.

Whether it was because Heaven suddenly opened its eyes or not, early in the morning, the heavy rain stopped and the water in the village receded.

To avoid further delay, Jingrong and Jing Yi separately led their people to the ruined temple to continue investigating the dry well case.

Village Chief Zhang accompanied them!

As for Jing Zhaoyin, due to the murder case in the ancestral hall, he remained there and sent someone to report to the Court of Judicial Review, urging them to quickly send someone over.

…

Upon reaching the ruined temple, although the flood waters had receded, the well was still full of water.

Wen Shisan said, “It seems this well is indeed sealed. Otherwise, the water couldn’t possibly fail to flow out. I imagine it’s now impossible to find any mechanism in the well.”

Indeed!

So… was it really moving the great Buddha?

Ji Yinshu’s mind quickly rejected this idea. If it really was moving the great Buddha, there would definitely be scrape marks left on the well’s rim.

But there weren’t any!

For simplicity’s sake, she focused all her attention on the great Buddha statue that had been smashed on the ground.

The Buddha was made of stone but now looked like a pile of mud!

Shattered into pieces.

However… she noticed one particular stone piece that had been smashed on the ground.

That stone was as tall as a person, presenting an irregular rectangular shape. One edge appeared to have been deliberately sawed off, somewhat flat, while the other three sides looked as if they’d been gnawed by a dog.

She thought more about it.

After all, when the great Buddha was smashed down, the broken stone fragments came in all sorts of strange shapes.

Seeing her like this, Wen Shisan actually spoke up and asked, “Are you thinking about how the murderer moved this great Buddha?”

“…” No response.

“Actually, I’m also curious. This should be the key to solving the case.”

“…”

“Although you and I are now adversaries, to understand the question of how the murderer threw the victim into the well, we might need to…”

He didn’t make it explicit.

Ji Yinshu glanced at him sideways.

She asked, “You want to cooperate?”

“Yes, but only on this one point.” He could emphasize that.

Ji Yinshu laughed coldly. “You know it’s impossible.”

Then she moved to the other side of the Buddha.

Wen Shisan didn’t feel embarrassed—it was within expectations.

He took a deep breath and treated the previous interlude as if it hadn’t happened.

But no matter how the two of them searched, they simply couldn’t find even the slightest clue.

Could it be that the clues were truly washed away by the flood?

And looking at the weather outside, it seemed like another torrential rain was brewing.

As a precaution, Jingrong said to Ji Yinshu, “Perhaps Lu Jiang has already found news about that dagger, and the Ministry of Justice, based on the portrait, may have already found clues and verified the list of victims. This prince thinks there may be another heavy rain. Staying here is pointless—we might as well return first.”

Right!

Who knows, while they were running around here like headless flies, there might already be news in the capital.

Plus, there really were no more clues to find at the ruined temple. Staying would be useless.

Jing Yi had the same plan as Jingrong.

So the two groups of people hurriedly left again.

On the return journey.

Inside the carriage.

Ji Yinshu held a yellowish-brown pebble in her hand, examining it up, down, left, and right many times.

Jingrong asked her, “Is this stone very strange?”

“I obtained it from Shasi’s body.”

Hmm?

Something from a dead person!

She said, “I’m just curious why he liked stones so much.”

“Just a personal hobby, I suppose.”

“Do you believe in something?”

“What thing?”

Ji Yinshu rotated the stone between her fingers as she spoke. “If a person has something they love most while alive, then after death, their soul will cover that thing they loved. If they died unjustly or were murdered, that thing will help find the murderer for them. In other words, if the killer also has something they particularly like, that thing will surely give me clues.”

Jingrong said, “It’s not that this prince doesn’t believe you, but what you’re saying is supernatural talk. You yourself said there are no ghosts or spirits in this world. Why are you suddenly saying such things?”

“Does Your Highness remember the case of Miss Zhou and the Zhang Manor murder case?”

“I remember!”

“During her life, Miss Zhou loved that crystal candlestick most. The murderer was found precisely because of the crystal candlestick. And in the Zhang family murder case, the First Lady was the murderer, and we found evidence through her favorite cat.”

Putting it that way, it was true!

However, she shook her head again. “This is indeed somewhat supernatural. Perhaps… I’m overthinking it.”

She smiled.

Jingrong said, “If we follow what you say, this prince is willing to believe it once. Perhaps this stone really can help us find the true murderer. But… since Jing Zhaoyin has already taken over this case and is preparing to report it to the Court of Judicial Review, naturally someone will handle it. However, if you’re not at ease, this prince won’t stop you from investigating Shasi’s death. Although the dry well case cannot be delayed, both cases involve human lives—there is no distinction between their importance.”

He was always so reasonable and understanding.

Ji Yinshu said nothing.

The smooth yellowish-brown stone in her hand seemed to emit dazzling points of light…