Jiang Si shook her head, refusing politely: “No, thank you. I’ll just take a walk to get some fresh air. It wouldn’t be convenient if I went with you to inquire about things.”
“Alright then, don’t wander too far, and be careful.”
They nodded to each other and went in separate directions.
It took Jiang Zhan a moment to react. He hurried after Yu Jin and slapped him on the shoulder: “Brother Yu, were you just inviting my Fourth Sister to go with you?”
Right in front of him?
Yu Jin rubbed his nose.
Oops, he had momentarily forgotten about Jiang Zhan.
“Yes, I thought Miss Jiang’s thinking was quite clear, so we could discuss if we encountered any problems.”
Jiang Zhan’s face darkened: “Are you saying I’m stupid?”
Yu Jin chuckled lightly: “Second Brother Jiang, why don’t you come along too?”
“That’s more like it.”
Jiang Si glanced back at the two walking side by side towards the other end of the corridor, then turned and walked towards the courtyard gate, with A-Man following closely behind.
“Miss, where are you planning to go?” A-Man asked nervously. It was pitch black and there had just been a murder – her mistress was so brave!
“I heard someone crying.”
“Crying? I don’t hear anything,” A-Man said, listening carefully.
Jiang Si ignored A-Man and quickened her pace through the moon gate, pausing slightly.
“Miss, I do hear crying now!” A-Man exclaimed.
Jiang Si looked around and headed in one direction, lifting her skirts.
Not far from the moon gate, under a tree, a little novice monk was crouching, his small bald head gleaming in the moonlight.
The crying was indeed coming from the little novice, though he was covering his mouth, muffling the sound.
Jiang Si crouched down beside him: “What’s wrong, little master?”
The novice removed his hand, looking frightened.
Jiang Si smiled gently: “It’s me, don’t you remember?”
The novice nodded tearfully: “I remember, nest-sugar.”
Jiang Si gestured for A-Man to hand over her pouch, from which she took out a packet of nest sugar and gave it to the novice: “I still have some candy. Can you tell me why you’re crying?”
The novice was at that innocent age, and being raised in a Buddhist temple, his heart was free of worldly concerns. Most importantly, beautiful people tend to make others lower their guard. Hearing Jiang Si’s question, he lowered his head and said: “Fourth Space Brother was so kind, I’m so sad—”
Jiang Si sighed, raising her hand to pat the novice’s head, but seeing the bald pate, she felt it inappropriate and patted his back instead, comforting him: “Don’t be too sad, little master. Fourth Space Master has surely gone to heaven.”
“Really?” The novice looked up, his eyes bright.
“Of course. Fourth Space Master has completed his karmic cycle,” Jiang Si said. Seeing the novice’s sadness lessen, she changed her tone, “However, the corpse in the well is quite pitiful. I’ve heard that those who die with grievances become wandering ghosts, lingering in the human world.”
The novice covered his mouth.
“Would the little master like to help him?” Jiang Si asked.
The novice nodded eagerly, then frowned in concern: “But how can I help him?”
“First, can you tell me if you knew that person?”
“Yes, he often came to stay at the temple.”
“Did he have any close acquaintances?”
The novice tilted his head in thought, then asked Jiang Si: “Do you mean people from the temple or pilgrims?”
Jiang Si smiled: “Anyone he was familiar with, you can tell me about all of them.”
“Well, regarding the temple – since that patron came often, he knew many of the masters and senior brothers.”
“He even knew your masters?”
“Yes, because he came so often. Once, I even saw him talking with Master Xuan-ci.”
“Do you know when he started coming to Lingwu Temple regularly?”
The novice thought for a moment: “Two years ago.”
Jiang Si felt a spark of realization as if she had grasped something, yet it seemed like seeing through the mist – she couldn’t quite clear away the fog to see the key point.
“Which pilgrims was he familiar with?” Jiang Si set aside her strange feelings for now and continued asking.
“Pilgrims come and go, and I didn’t pay much attention. But I did see him with Miss Li…”
Jiang Si hadn’t expected to hear this from the novice. She asked casually: “What were they doing together?”
“It was quite late that night. He seemed to give Miss Li something, but I couldn’t see clearly from a distance.”
By this point, Jiang Si had a pretty good idea of the relationship between Liu Sheng and Miss Li.
Earlier, when Miss Li discovered the deceased was Liu Sheng on the back mountain, her expression had been telling. With a woman’s intuition, Jiang Si had sensed their relationship was unusual.
“When was Miss Li’s most recent stay at the temple?”
“Hmm… about half a month ago,” the novice replied after some thought.
“And what about the deceased Patron Liu? When was his most recent stay?”
This time, the novice answered immediately: “Also half a month ago. That’s when I saw him giving something to Miss Li.”
Jiang Si pondered for a moment, then, thinking it better to ask too much than too little, she inquired: “When they both came to stay half a month ago, did anything special happen?”
The novice looked confused.
Jiang Si rephrased her question: “Or anything that left a strong impression on you?”
The novice finally nodded: “Yes, there was. A female patron came to stay, disguised as a man. The brother in charge of accommodations recognized her and arranged for her to stay next to Miss Li.”
At this point, the novice suddenly remembered something: “Oh right, that female patron and Miss Li asked for safety talismans together. They asked for the same kind.”
Jiang Si’s heart skipped a beat. She quickly asked: “Little master, do you remember how old that patron was and what she looked like?”
The novice had a strong impression of that woman: “She looked younger than the female patron, and was very pretty.”
“What was her name? Was she a local?”
“She said her surname was Chi. I had never seen her before.”
“When did that patron leave?”
The novice shook his head: “I don’t remember.”
After chatting a bit more and realizing she couldn’t get any more information from the novice, Jiang Si smiled: “Thank you, little master. It’s very late now. You should go to bed early to grow taller. Shall I have A-Man escort you back?”
The novice waved his hand: “I can go back by myself. If the senior brothers see you wandering around, they’ll scold you.”
Watching the novice run off, Jiang Si turned back, just in time to see Yu Jin and Jiang Zhan approaching.
The three gathered together, exchanging information in low voices.
“I asked that young man. He said he heard from his mother that Lingwu Temple used to be a dilapidated mountain shrine. After Liu Sheng’s mother gave birth to him, people saw it as a sign of efficacy, so they all came to burn incense and worship. Gradually, Lingwu Temple’s popularity grew…” Yu Jin paused, then continued, “In other words, Lingwu Temple’s popularity only started to increase after Liu Sheng’s mother gave birth.”
“I found out something from the little novice. Liu Sheng started coming to Lingwu Temple regularly two years ago,” Jiang Si added.
Jiang Zhan interjected: “I asked another young man. He said Liu Sheng used to be a good-for-nothing who often gambled. His family’s clothing shop had to close for a while because of him. Two years ago, he somehow got some capital and reopened the shop.”
“Two years ago…” Jiang Si murmured.
There must be some overlooked key point about that time!