The hair covering the male corpse’s face was brushed aside, revealing a swollen and terrifying visage.

Everyone couldn’t help but crane their necks to look.

Although the face was somewhat horrifying due to being bloated by the well water, it was still possible to see that it belonged to a very young man, no more than twenty years old.

Suddenly, someone in the crowd of onlookers exclaimed, “Hey, look! Doesn’t this look like the young master from the Liu family’s cloth shop at the east end of town?”

The crowd fell silent as the spectators strained to identify the corpse.

At this moment, a startled cry rang out, sounding particularly jarring in the current situation. Everyone turned to look.

The one who had cried out was a young woman.

She appeared to be sixteen or seventeen years old, with wide eyes and her hand tightly covering her mouth. Tears were falling rapidly, but they didn’t diminish her delicate beauty.

The young leader from Dayang Town recognized the woman instantly and was overjoyed. He quickly stepped forward and grasped her arm, “Sister, I’m so glad you’re alright!”

The woman seemed to still be in shock, trembling as she allowed the young man to put his arm around her shoulders. Her eyes, however, remained fixed on the corpse.

As it happened, the woman was standing not far from Jiang Si.

Jiang Si coldly observed the woman’s reaction, then looked at the young, swollen face of the corpse, lost in thought.

This woman had been standing in the crowd for a while. If she were to cry out in fear, it shouldn’t have been at this moment.

Her reaction upon hearing the corpse’s identity revealed only one thing: she knew the deceased!

More precisely, they must have been more than just acquaintances. After all, many in the crowd recognized the deceased, but none reacted like her.

“Don’t be afraid, Big Brother will take you home now,” the young man comforted her.

The woman hadn’t calmed down. She allowed the young man to pull at her but didn’t move.

“How… how did he die?” the woman mumbled.

The young man seemed to sense something unusual in his sister’s reaction. He pulled her into his arms, shielding her from the gazes of those around them. “My sister is in shock. We won’t disturb your investigation here. Let’s go!”

“Please wait, benefactor,” the middle-aged monk called out loudly, stopping the young man from leaving.

“What does the master mean by this?”

The middle-aged monk chanted a Buddhist phrase: “Amitabha Buddha. There has been a death at the temple, and you, as a key person, are in a hurry to leave. This is not appropriate.”

“Are you being reasonable, master? We found the body. If we were involved in the death, why would we go to such lengths? I came here to find my sister. Now that I’ve found her, of course, I’m taking her home. Do you expect us to stay and help you find the killer?”

“If you’re not involved, why did you bring people to search the well in the back mountain of our temple?” The middle-aged monk was quite aggressive, clearly not intending to let the young man leave so easily.

“We made a mistake!” The young man was getting irritated. Seeing the strange looks from the onlookers, he hurriedly explained, “Someone informed my family that my sister had been killed and thrown into the well in Lingwu Temple’s back mountain.”

“But in fact, your sister is still alive.”

“That’s why I said it was a mistake. Can’t I apologize to the masters and be done with it?”

“May I ask who informed you of this?” Suddenly, a man stepped out from the crowd and asked the young man gently.

The one who spoke was a middle-aged man with a slightly yellow complexion and a long beard. He was followed by two or three servants.

The young man frowned as he looked at the middle-aged man who was meddling in the affair. The onlookers’ attention was also drawn to this man.

The middle-aged man smiled slightly: “I am the County Sheriff of Fu Xing County. I happened to be passing through Qingniu Town and heard about an accidental death, so I came to take a look.”

Standing in the crowd, Jiang Si felt conflicted.

The involvement of an official was unexpected, and the fact that it was the County Sheriff, responsible for maintaining order and catching thieves in the county, made it even more coincidental.

When the onlookers heard that the man standing before them was the County Sheriff, they were at a loss for a moment.

How did the County Sheriff end up here? Was he really who he claimed to be?

The middle-aged man took out his official badge for the young man and the temple monks to inspect.

“Greetings, Sheriff.” The young man had some experience and immediately bowed after seeing the badge.

The middle-aged man smiled, “No need for formalities. Can you tell me who informed you about this?”

“Those people claimed to be from Qingniu Town. We don’t know them, but—” the young man thought for a moment and added, “they looked like idlers.”

“If they were idlers, why did you believe them?”

The young man revealed a helpless smile: “I didn’t believe it at first, but when my mother heard that my sister was in trouble, she panicked and told me to rush here to confirm. My father also said there’s no smoke without fire, and those idlers wouldn’t have come to make up stories for no reason. If my sister had been harmed here, we couldn’t let her die in vain. If it was a mistake, we were willing to apologize.”

At this point, the young man glanced at the monks, implying: “We never expected that although my sister was fine, we would find a body in the well.”

His meaning was clear: they had only misunderstood the situation, and finding the body could be considered a good deed. Neither Lingwu Temple nor the officials should give them trouble.

The middle-aged man looked up at the sky and politely said, “Regardless, your people discovered the body. This is a matter of life and death and cannot be taken lightly. It’s getting late now. You, your sister, and the people you brought should stay at Lingwu Temple for now. I will investigate the situation further. Once the coroners arrive and conduct a detailed examination, I believe the truth will come to light.”

The young man was very dissatisfied and was about to say something when the middle-aged man suddenly lowered his voice and asked, “Your sister knows the deceased, doesn’t she?”

The young man’s hand tightened around his sister’s shoulders, his face showing shock.

If his sister were to be questioned by the County Sheriff in public, it would be too embarrassing. With all these people who had nothing better to do than gossip, who knows what rumors would spread?

Seeing that the young man had softened, the middle-aged man bowed to the onlookers: “Fellow townspeople, those who are familiar with the deceased please stay for now. The rest of you, please return home for the time being. If you’re interested in this case, you can come back tomorrow.”

As soon as the Sheriff finished speaking, the dense crowd immediately retreated, apparently all ready to leave.

It was no joke – what’s the most important thing about watching a spectacle? Of course, it’s not getting involved in trouble! If they stayed and were questioned, and ended up being treated as suspects, that would be terrible. They wouldn’t even be able to enjoy their sunflower seeds anymore.

At this moment, all the onlookers had the same thought: The sweet melons are in season now, so it’s better to hurry home and wash some melons. We can come back to watch the excitement tomorrow. Anyone who stays now is a fool!

This sudden departure left Jiang Si’s group conspicuously remaining in place, immediately drawing many glances.

Seeing the middle-aged man look their way, Jiang Zhan immediately shielded Jiang Si and said with a smile, “We’re pilgrims from out of town. We don’t know the deceased.”

At this moment, a monk suddenly chanted a Buddhist phrase loudly and exclaimed, “This poor monk recognizes this person. He came to the back mountain earlier today!”