Teacher Bai disappeared a year ago.

This was the answer given by Yu Ci.

Yu You's reaction was very strong: "Missing? How did he disappear? Did he disappear in the village?"

Yu Ci didn't know much about this matter. He only came to the village once a year and stayed for just a few days. He heard this news from Aqiu when he came here last year.

He frowned: "I don't know either."

Shi Jin lowered her eyelashes to cover up the strange color in her eyes.

There was wind blowing through the forest after the rain.

I don’t know if it’s a psychological effect, but Yu You always feels that the wind has a cool feeling.

He tried hard to rub the goose bumps on his arms and looked at the surrounding mountains and forests in shock: "Then shall we still go up the mountain?"

"Let's go up." Shi Jin raised his eyelids, his eyes calmly falling on the stone steps in front of him: "I have already bought the tickets, I have to go up the mountain to take a look."

Yu You choked.

Why did he feel that this was not something Shi Jin would say?

But he was right. I had already bought the tickets and was already here, so how could I not go up and take a look?

What's so scary about developed scenic spots? There are so many people coming here every year. Even if there are unclean things, they will be scared away by the yang energy, right?

With this thought in mind, Yu You gritted his teeth and walked ahead: "Okay, let's go."

According to the map on the ticket, there are three attractions along the way.

The nearest one is the "Flying Shadows in the Bamboo Forest" at the foot of the mountain. They had just passed by it. It is a large open space planted with bamboos. It looks fresh and natural, and is very suitable for people who have stayed in big cities for a long time to relax.

The farthest one is the "lookout deck" on the top of the mountain, where you can stand on the top and overlook the scenery at the foot of the mountain, and appreciate the style of Qingliuzhai from another angle.

And now they have arrived at the scenic spot located on the mountainside - an uninhabited temple.

Shi Jin stopped in front of the temple, his eyes unclear.

Another temple...

Yu Ci obviously remembered what happened on Qiulu Mountain. He sighed and looked at the temple gate: "Why is there another temple?"

Yu You hid behind Shi Jin when he saw the temple. Now he poked his head out from behind him and asked, "Why is there no one in this temple?"

Not only were there no tourists, there were no monks either. The entire temple was completely empty.

Shi Jin pursed his lips and looked at the stone tablet beside the temple gate: "This is an unmanned temple, used to worship the land in the mountains, no people are needed."

It was written on the stone tablet that this was a unique custom in Qingliu Village. In their view, developing the land was an intrusion on the land, so they needed to build an unmanned temple that did not require additional sacrifices and could naturally offer sacrifices to the land using only the rain and dew from the mountains.

Yu You also saw the stone tablet. He scratched his head and muttered: "This custom is really strange."

"But this deserted temple in the mountains sounds creepy. Should we not go in?"

As soon as he finished speaking, a few drops of water fell on his head.

Yu You:......

It's raining.

This time, I have to get in even if I don’t want to.

It wasn't raining when they went out, so they didn't bring an umbrella. Shi Jin did bring an umbrella, but it was useless because it couldn't cover three people.

Yu You quickly hid his precious camera in his arms and trotted into the temple: "Hurry up, hurry up, the rain is getting heavier."

Although the original intention of building the Uninhabited Temple was to worship the land, it is also a tourist attraction. There are signs from the entrance to the hall, and a toilet is also built on the other side.

Yu You drank too much water and his eyes lit up when he saw the toilet.

But he soon came back trotting, looking like he was going to throw up: "That toilet was so dirty, and someone hadn't flushed their poop yet. I almost vomited right there when I opened the door."

Yu Ci found the light switch by the door. He pressed it a few times and found that it was no longer working. "It's normal. There haven't been many tourists in Qingliu Village since a year ago. In order to save costs, the people who maintain the scenic spot were fired."

Yu You still wanted to vomit: "Am I hallucinating because of the disgust? I can still smell the stench even after walking here."

“It’s not an illusion.”

Yu Ci pushed open a window at the back of the hall: "Look, there is a garbage station here."

The garbage piled up into a small mountain was wet by the rain, and after being exposed to the wind and sun for who knows how long, it now emitted a strong smell.

Yu You rolled his eyes in disgust: "Ugh."

Shi Jin's eyes swept across the pile of garbage and his brows wrinkled slightly.

His sensitive sense of smell was undoubtedly a torment at this moment. He covered his mouth and nose and took a few steps back.

The air near the door was better. Shi Jin breathed a sigh of relief and looked at Yu Ci. He wanted to ask him to close the window, but his gaze suddenly stopped.

He restrained his expression and walked quickly to the window.

The closer you get, the smell of fermented garbage becomes more obvious.

Shi Jin frowned, but did not step back. His eyes were fixed on the small hill of garbage.

Yu Ci: "What's wrong?"

He followed Shi Jin's gaze towards the pile of garbage, but found nothing unusual: "Is there any problem?"

Shi Jin found a thin bamboo pole in the corner of the wall. He held the pole and reached out from the window, rummaging through the pile of garbage.

Soon, a mud-brown backpack was turned out.

Yu You came over with his nose covered. He saw Shi Jin digging out a bag from the garbage and was puzzled: "Brother Shi Jin, what's the use of this thing you dug out?"

Shi Jin didn't answer.

He pursed his lips and used the bamboo pole to turn the backpack over, revealing the zipper buckle pressed under the backpack - a little yellow duck wearing a swimming ring.

Yu Ci stood beside Shi Jin, watching his movements with a thoughtful look in his eyes.

At the same time, Shi Jin relaxed his brows.

He put down the bamboo pole and retreated to the door. The stench in his nose dissipated a little, and he breathed a sigh of relief: "Found it."

Yu You was confused: "What did you find?"

Yu Ci looked at Shi Jin and asked, "Do you know whose backpack that is?"

Shi Jin nodded: "If I'm not mistaken, it should be Mr. Bai's."

"I saw a photo of Arnold and Teacher Bai in his book. In the photo, Teacher Bai was carrying a backpack like this, and the zipper on the backpack was a little duck wearing a swimming ring."

This kind of backpack has a unique style and you may not necessarily see the same one in the city, let alone in Qingliuzhai.

Not to mention the duck ornament.

When Shi Jin was teaching A'nuo to draw, Yu You was there too. He also saw the photo: "Why do I seem to remember that the schoolbag was white?"

"It's white."

Shi Jin pursed her lips and said, "The one I found in the garbage dump is also one of them."

Yu You exclaimed, scratched his head, and leaned against the window to study the schoolbag outside for a long time. Only then could he vaguely distinguish the original color of the schoolbag through the gaps in the mud on it - it was indeed white.

"That's weird. Why is Mr. Bai's backpack here? Did it break and get thrown away?"

He then denied it himself: "No, no, if it was broken, I could have just thrown it away at home. Why would I climb halfway up the mountain to throw it away?"

"Besides," Yu You turned to look at the backpack again, "this bag looks fine."

Yu You's doubts were also shared by Shi Jin.

He pursed his lips, his long eyelashes drooped, hiding the contemplation in his eyes: "You just said that there were fewer tourists in Qingliu Village a year ago?"

This sentence has no subject, but Yu Ci knows that Shi Jin is talking to him.

He nodded. "It was because of Teacher Bai's disappearance that the village called the police, but they searched the mountain for several days but couldn't find him. Then there was a rumor that Tu Miao Spring was haunted, so fewer tourists came."

Without tourists, the inn's business would be bad.

When Aunt Chen told him about this, she was filled with sadness and regret, wondering how such a good person like Teacher Bai could have disappeared.

Shi Jin suddenly raised his eyelids: "You mean, the news of Tu Miao Spring being haunted was only spread after Teacher Bai disappeared?"

Yu Ci hesitated for a moment. Yu You spoke excitedly, "I know this! Yes! The story of Tu Miao Quan being haunted started to spread only a year ago."

He changed his fear of ghosts and became excited. "It was said that a man who went up the mountain to cut grass in the middle of the night saw a ghost fire with white light near Tu Miao Spring. Then someone saw a woman's hair near Tu Miao Spring during the day. It was not just one or two strands, but scattered all over the ground."

Yu You's eyes sparkled. He lowered his voice and pretended to be mysterious: "The most certain thing is that a brave tourist followed the ghost light he saw in the middle of the night all the way to Tu Miao Spring. He heard shrill ghost cries and ghost shadows beside Tu Miao Spring. He was so scared that he had a fever for a few days after he came down the mountain. After he recovered, he packed his luggage and returned to the city without stopping."

Shi Jin's expression changed slightly.

He looked at Yu Ci and asked, "Did you leave someone at the police station to follow up on Qiuluan?"

Yu Ci was not surprised that he knew about this: "Yes, the matter of Qiulu Temple involves the Chen family, and there is a lot of room for manipulation behind it."

Judging from the time, Zhong Wen should have already started dealing with this matter.

The Zhong family has been in politics for generations and has a strict family tradition. From top to bottom, except for his mother, everyone else is a role model of integrity.

In the matter of Qiulu Temple, the only one who could suppress the Chen family and prevent them from interfering in the affairs of Qiulu Temple was the Zhong family.

Shi Jin pursed his lips and said, "Can you please contact your people and ask them to help inquire if there are any special people among the victims who were escorted back to the police station."

Yu Ci is not stupid, on the contrary he is very smart, he just doesn't want to think most of the time.

When Shi Jin said this, his expression changed for a moment, and he quickly understood the meaning of the words.

His face darkened and he walked aside to make a phone call.

Yu You didn't understand their conversation, but that didn't stop him from continuing to talk about the rumors he had heard.

"Where exactly is this Tu Miao Spring? We have walked most of the way through the scenic area and haven't seen any forks in the road. Do we have to continue climbing to the top of the mountain?"

"But looking at the instructions on the map, this scenic spot seems to be just a straight line. There shouldn't be any forks to take. Or do we have to find a small path like we did yesterday to find it?"

"Brother Shi Jin, do you think there are really ghosts in this world? Why do I feel that..."

Yu You's mumblings lingered in his ears, but Shi Jin didn't quite listen.

He stood there, his eyes lowered, staring at the cracked bricks on the ground, his thoughts in a mess.

"Okay, I understand."

Yu Ci hung up the phone and looked at Shi Jin: "After comparing the photos, there is indeed a woman who looks very similar to Teacher Bai."

Shi Jin suddenly raised his eyelids.

Yu Ci's expression was complicated: "But she... refused to admit it."