Ye Xin appeared on a rooftop. She stepped on the tiles, found a small alley and jumped down.
The north of the city was undoubtedly the most chaotic area in Anning County; no one there was to be trifled with. She had just emerged from the alleyway when she had already beaten off two groups of robbers.
She felt that this was not the right approach, so she randomly grabbed a little rascal and asked him to lead the way for her.
The little rascal named Hook was tied up by her and was driven forward like a horse in a carriage.
Ye Xin held a whip in her hand and whipped the ground next to Hook from time to time.
The "pa pa" sound lingered in Hook's ears, making the hairs on his back stand up.
Why didn't he check the almanac before going out today? He actually fell into the hands of a young girl. If his brothers knew about this, how would he survive in the world?
"What are you doing? Lead the way quickly."
Another whip cracked, and the stone slab at Hook's feet broke in two.
His body trembled and a few drops of cold sweat fell from his head.
"Lady, I'm leaving now, I'm leaving now."
He nodded and bowed to Ye Xin, and his fawning expression and funny movements left the people around him stunned. Is this still the arrogant Hook as usual?
Gou Zi didn't dare to stay for long. He took Ye Xin through several small paths and came to the outside of a small courtyard.
"Lady, we're here. Those beggars live here."
Ye Xin looked at the courtyard, walked forward and pushed open the half-open door.
The gate was fully opened, and the voices of several children in the yard came out.
Her expression remained unchanged and she walked in calmly.
After she entered, a gust of wind blew out from her and slammed the open door shut.
When Hook saw the door was closed, he immediately shouted anxiously, "Lady, lady, you haven't untied me yet."
.........
Ye Xin followed the sound to a room. When she appeared at the door, the beggar inside who had not gone out to beg stood up in shock.
There were several groups of people standing in the room of about 20 square meters. The windows were closed and the light was dim, making the room look very depressing.
The ragged beggars looked at Ye Xin, who was dressed in bright and beautiful clothes, and their dull eyes inadvertently revealed envy.
The group of people were lonely and silent. An older beggar came out. He was holding a smooth stick and walked tremblingly to Ye Xin.
"Girl, who are you looking for?"
Ye Xin didn't answer immediately. She looked behind the old beggar, where all the old, weak, and disabled people were. She sighed inwardly, restrained the fierce expression on her face, and replaced it with a gentle face. "Old man, I came to ask you something."
When the old beggar heard that she was not looking for trouble, he loosened his grip on the stick and said, "Girl, what do you want to know? If I knew, I would tell you."
Seeing how nervous he was, Ye Xin once again restrained his vague aura and said, "Old man, it's like this. You know that three families were murdered in Anning County some time ago!"
The old beggar was stunned. Everyone in Anning County knew about this tragic case. Why was the person in front of him asking him this? "I know. How could we in Anning County not know about such a tragedy?" He quickly came to his senses and answered quickly.
"That's good to know. I came here this time to ask you about this matter. Did you know that beggars have disappeared from your area recently? Probably within the past three months."
Ye Xin raised his eyes and looked at the old beggar, taking in all the subtle expressions on his face without any expression.
After hearing this, the old beggar frowned and carefully recalled what had happened during this period.
Among these beggars, many do not live in the city. Almost all of them enter the city early in the morning and then return to live in dilapidated temples outside at night.
Since the incident in Anning County, the city has been conducting strict inspections for two consecutive months. Many beggars were gathered outside the city. Over time, they moved elsewhere.
Come to think of it, it seems that many of the beggars have disappeared within these three months.
But he didn't know whether these people had left or something had happened to them.
Seeing that the old beggar didn't move for a long time, Ye Xin didn't urge him. She understood that he was old and had a bad memory.
Just when Ye Xin was getting a little bored, the old beggar finally spoke.
He shook his head at Ye Xin and said regretfully, "Miss, there are so many beggars who have disappeared in the past three months. I only know a few of them."
Ye Xin did not comment on this answer. She nodded to signal the old beggar to continue.
The old beggar coughed and said the names of those people.
"Pigun, Shitou, Mantou, Daya, Xiaoya, these are the ones I know well. As for the others, I don't know them."
Ye Xin wrote down these names and then asked for some more details. "How old are these people? What do they look like? Where was the last time you met? Could you please tell me all this information?"
The old beggar hurriedly shook his hands at Ye Xin, "Ah! I don't deserve it, I don't deserve it. These are not really a problem. Let me think about it carefully."
After waiting for a while, he recalled what happened in the past few days. "I seem to remember that it was when the incident first happened. At that time, the county was conducting a strict investigation. These little guys and others lived in a dilapidated temple outside."
"The city gates closed early that afternoon, so they had no choice but to leave. The next day, I heard a female beggar say that these children were stopped outside the city. They couldn't get in, so they turned back to the dilapidated temple."
"I thought that if they didn't come in today, they might come tomorrow, so I didn't ask any more questions. But after a few days, they still didn't show up in the city. After that, I didn't see them again until the county was no longer under investigation."
When Ye Xin heard about the ruined temple, his eyes turned and he said, "Old man, do you know if any of these little beggars have ever had conflicts with others?"
The old beggar gave a bitter laugh and said, "Girl, we beggars make a living by begging. There is no one who has never had conflicts with others."
After Ye Xin understood the situation, she stopped asking questions. She picked up the thing at her feet, tore off a corner of the oil paper and handed it over.
"Old man, consider these as a thank you gift for my information. If you remember anything else, come find me at the Tianyi Inn."
There were a few roasted chickens wrapped in oil paper, which she bought today. She originally wanted to give them some silver, but when she saw these old, weak and sick people, she changed her mind.
If I give you silver, I'm afraid it will be snatched away before I even get it.
So she thought about it again and again and decided to give him some food. At least now the food could be eaten and she didn't have to worry about it being snatched away.
The aroma of meat inside the oil paper kept penetrating the old beggar's nose. His Adam's apple moved, and he took the oil paper package from Ye Xin's hand with great caution.
"Miss, you're welcome. If I remember anything else, I'll definitely come to you."
He returned to the room carrying the oil-paper bag and holding a stick.
As soon as he entered, he was surrounded by the people inside. The old beggar laughed a few times and tore open the paper package to share the meat with these people.
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