While the Xie family was boiling over like scalding water, Third Master’s party had already arrived at the Water Moon Nunnery.

Third Master was someone who, when he could lie down, would never stand; when he could save effort, would never waste even a bit of energy.

“Miss Yan’s leg is injured, so I’m here to ask questions on her behalf.”

He pulled out his patrol office badge and set it down heavily before Hui Ru.

“I’m a rough person with a crude temper and no patience. Tell them that when I ask something, they answer—don’t give me any of this ‘I don’t know this’ or ‘I don’t know that’ nonsense.”

Hearing this, Hui Ru’s face immediately paled.

Last time when they explored the tomb at night, this man had followed behind Miss Yan without making a sound. Who knew he’d turn out to be such a fierce demon?

Not daring to delay, she hurried off with Lanchuan to gather everyone.

Li Buyan nudged Zhu Qing with her elbow and whispered behind her hand, “What’s wrong with your master? After recuperating these past days without going to pleasure houses to relieve himself, has he started feeling frustrated again?”

Zhu Qing nearly toppled over. “How can a young lady talk about pleasure houses all day long? Aren’t you ashamed?”

Li Buyan didn’t even lift an eyelid. “Better than certain people who strike from behind without a word.”

Zhu Qing: “…”

In no time at all, a hall full of nuns stood before Third Master Xie, all in identical nun’s robes with shiny bald heads.

In the capital’s military circles, there was an unwritten saying that encountering a nun when going out was bad luck.

Third Master silently recited “all taboos are void” and glanced at Li Buyan.

Li Buyan cleared her throat.

“Now divide yourselves into two groups—one group familiar with Jing Chen, one group unfamiliar with her. The familiar ones stand on the left, the unfamiliar on the right.”

The nuns exchanged glances. Without a single cough, they silently divided into their groups.

Xie Zhifei looked up and was shocked enough to forget about crossing his legs.

The left group had only two people total—one fat, one thin.

A full eighteen years, and this few people knew her?

Xie Zhifei stood up and said coldly, “You two, come with me. The rest, Zhu Qing, you’re in charge.”

“Yes!”

With so many people, Zhu Qing was about to call Li Buyan to help when he looked up and discovered she’d actually followed Third Master.

“Li…”

Li Buyan turned her head with an expression of “I won’t work with underhanded bastards.”

Zhu Qing silently recited “Amitabha” and suppressed his anger.

…

Jing Chen’s room was so simple and plain that Xie Zhifei looked disgusted.

Lanchuan brought hot tea. He took a sip and set it down heavily on the table. “What kind of tea is this? Tastes terrible. Bring something better.”

Seeing how fierce this official was, Lanchuan didn’t dare say “no.”

Li Buyan scratched her head.

Strange—on that trip to Nanning Prefecture, no matter how harsh the conditions, Third Master had never been this picky.

Was he doing this deliberately?

The second time tea was brought, before Official Xie could take a sip, Lanchuan ran off, thinking as she fled: That Master Pei from before had such a good temper and was so amiable.

At this point, Official Xie called out coldly, “Come in, one of you.”

The first to enter was a fat nun, her face somewhat pale. After bowing to Xie Zhifei, she didn’t know whether to stand or sit, looking very uncomfortable.

Xie Zhifei didn’t invite her to sit and asked directly, “What’s your name?”

“Qing Zhu.”

“How many years have you been at the nunnery?”

“Fifteen years.”

“Three years after Jing Chen?”

“Yes.”

“In your eyes, what kind of person was Jing Chen?”

The fat nun froze. Before she could think it through, the official above had already lost patience and slapped the table, shouting sternly:

“What are you thinking about? Speak!”

The fat nun was startled into a shudder and blurted out, “Very quiet, didn’t talk much.”

Silent;

Quiet.

Xie Zhifei quickly extracted two key points and made a mark on the paper with his brush.

After writing, he looked up and asked again.

“How did you become familiar with her?”

“I’m slow-witted. I couldn’t comprehend some Buddhist teachings, so I often had the nerve to ask her. Once, twice—gradually we became close.”

“In what way close?”

“I’m responsible for cooking at the Water Moon Nunnery…”

“Wait.”

Xie Zhifei interrupted coldly. “I asked you how you were close, and you tell me you cook. Don’t give me irrelevant answers!”

“Official, you wrong me.”

Qing Zhu’s face flushed red. “It’s precisely because of this that we gradually became familiar.”

“So you’re saying everyone at the Water Moon Nunnery has their own duties?”

“Yes, Official.”

“You’re responsible for cooking—what about Jing Chen?”

“She understood Buddhist scriptures well, so she was responsible for teaching the nuns.”

“Where did she teach?”

“In the main hall.”

“When?”

“One hour every evening after dinner.”

“Besides that, what else did she do?”

“She organized Buddhist scriptures. Nothing else.”

Xie Zhifei lazily leaned back in his chair. “All right, now tell me specifically how you were close?”

“Yes, Official.”

Qing Zhu hurried to say, “Because she had to teach, she always ate dinner earlier than us. I would often secretly prepare special dishes for her, making things she liked to eat.”

“What did she like to eat?”

“She didn’t like bland food. She preferred stronger flavors, spicier.”

“Oh?”

Xie Zhifei’s brows rose.

Buddhist meals were habitually bland. For instance, the vegetarian food at Guanyin Temple could be bland enough to taste like nothing.

This habit of hers was quite interesting!

He lowered his head and made another mark on the paper.

“Did she ever tell you about her past?”

“Never.”

“Did she ever do anything that struck you as incomprehensible?”

“Also no.”

At these two questions, Third Master Xie grew angry and slammed the table with a “BANG!” “You’d better think carefully. What I hate hearing most are those two words: ‘also no.'”

Qing Zhu was so frightened she dropped to her knees, about to defend herself when her eyes suddenly lit up.

“Of-Official, there is one thing—I don’t know if it counts.”

“Speak!”

“Jing Chen… she very rarely left the nunnery. In eighteen years, she only went out three times—yes, the abbess said just three times.”

Only three times out of the nunnery in eighteen years, spending the rest of her time within these walls?

Xie Zhifei was secretly shocked.

“Can you nuns leave the nunnery often?”

“The nunnery rules allow it during festivals. Some of our young nuns love New Year’s and festival times.”

“That means their six roots aren’t pure!”

Qing Zhu’s face flushed red. “Official, the young nuns are young with lively minds, they…”

“What about Jing Chen?”

Xie Zhifei had no patience to hear about other young nuns. “Were her six roots pure?”

Qing Zhu clearly paused. “Re-Reporting to Official, if her six roots weren’t pure, then there’s no one in this world with pure roots.”

“Bullshit!”

Xie Zhifei loudly cursed.

“Before she died, she took off her nun’s robe and changed into other clothes, applied rouge, wore embroidered shoes—what kind of pure roots is that?”