An Moxue hurriedly chased after him. Once outside the temple and into the forest, she became more vigilant and stopped chasing. She turned back and returned to the temple.
Back in the side hall, she carefully examined it and found a particularly smooth spot on the finger of a small stone statue. She applied some medicine to it, pretended not to notice anything unusual, and left the side hall to check the other areas in turn.
However, she never strayed too far from that side hall; she could detect any sound coming from it.
The next day, only Xu Qingfeng and the comrade named Duan Qing came to meet them.
Xu Qingfeng's face was grim, more serious than ever before, and he said, "The situation may be more serious than we thought. The county's cabinet committee should be related to this Maple Leaf Temple, and they may also have people in other departments in the county. What have you found?"
An Moxue glanced at Duan Qing and said, "You go first."
Duan Qing said, "Everything seems calm in the town, but we've discovered many people who know internal martial arts scattered throughout the town. They're acting with extreme caution, facing severe obstruction, and are afraid to make any rash moves for fear of being discovered. Moreover, we've been staking out the town government for a day, and while everything seems normal, there's a sense of tension. So far, there's no obvious evidence or anything unusual. Our team leader told you two to be extra careful, saying there are experts among them."
The three exchanged glances, and An Moxue revealed her findings: "I discovered several secret passages, but they were all abandoned, which confirms our suspicions. We haven't finished checking them all yet; I'll continue the search tomorrow. However, today, while I was checking a side hall, a dark figure flashed past outside, chased us into the mountains, and then returned. I suspect we've been discovered, but whether they discovered just me or all of us remains to be verified. This also suggests that they have a highly skilled individual, whom I couldn't even catch."
After An Moxue finished speaking, the two of them immediately became serious.
Xu Qingfeng said, "The situation is not optimistic; we need to speed things up. I'll contact my superiors in a bit. Please be careful."
After exchanging messages, the three of them parted ways again.
An Moxue resumed her investigation of the courtyard. She already had a preliminary plan in mind, but she would have to wait until she had thoroughly inspected every corner of the temple and gained a general understanding of the place before she could take action.
The next day, when they met, the person they met was Wu Sicheng.
Upon meeting, he solemnly said, "I suspect that everyone in Maple Leaf Town is related to the people of Maple Leaf Temple, and they are likely descendants of prisoners of war who have changed their appearance. This place has become a stronghold of the Japanese in Lan Kingdom."
A single sentence stirred up a huge wave of shock. An Moxue and Xu Qingfeng were both stunned. If that was the case, what they had found was only the tip of the iceberg.
Xu Qingfeng asked, "What evidence do you have?"
Wu Sicheng said, "During my investigation, I overheard a secret conversation between the mayor of Maple Leaf Town and the director of the cabinet committee. They were speaking Japanese. They are all descendants of Japanese war criminals. Many people in this town are descendants of Japanese war criminals. Back then, their fathers secretly sent them all to Maple Leaf Temple when they were still children. Gradually, Maple Leaf Temple was replaced by their people. Until now, this town is the domain of the Japanese."
An Moxue asked, "But where did those seventy-eight comrades go?"
Wu Sicheng said, "I still believe they are in this temple, in some secret room, being severely tortured." Xu Qingfeng nodded in agreement.
An Moxue said, "I discovered a few secret rooms, but I didn't dare to move them for fear of alerting them. But now, should we try to alert them? After all, only if they move can we discover more things, right?"
Wu Sicheng said, "It's worth a try. We'll see what happens next, but the danger will also increase accordingly. We don't know how skilled their martial arts are, so we can only outsmart them."
Xu Qingfeng pondered for a moment and asked Brother Wu Cheng, "How many people have you discovered who know internal martial arts, and how many who know external martial arts? Is there anyone whose martial arts skills are higher than the two of you?"
Wu Sicheng said, "Half of the people in the town know kung fu, regardless of age or gender. You can tell by their footwork. But there are two or three people who can beat me and Hummingbird, and more than ten people who are worse than us. We definitely can't win in a head-on fight. We can only outsmart them."
After saying that, he glanced at An Moxue.
An Moxue was also thinking, outsmarting him is one thing, but which medicine should she use? That was the key. She pretended not to see Wu Sicheng's gaze.
Xu Qingfeng said, "Then let's move out tonight and gather all the manpower back. How many locations are there in total, Hummingbird?"
An Moxue said, "There are three places. I've already investigated all the other places, leaving these three as the most suspicious. I haven't touched them because I was alone and was afraid of overlooking something, but they are also the most likely places to have clues. One is behind the Buddha statue in the main hall, where there is a mechanism. Another is in a side hall, and the third is in the back mountain. I suggest we concentrate on one place when we move out, and leave one person to guard the other two places during the operation. That would be the safest approach. What do you think?"
Xu Qingfeng asked, "Which place do you think is most likely?"
An Moxue said, "I didn't touch these three places because I'm alone and weak, and I'm afraid someone might take the opportunity to escape. I think there are people in all three places, and they should be used for different purposes. The one in the back mountain is most likely the torture chamber. The other two are used for other purposes. However, I also suspect that there are important things in that side hall, and that main hall is mostly a secret passage for escape, and it might be a maze of paths inside."
"Where do you two think we should go first?"
"The back mountain."
"Side hall."
Wu Sicheng and An Moxue's voices rang out simultaneously.
Xu Qingfeng asked, "The reason?"
Wu Sicheng said, "Our goal is to save people. If people are most likely to be hiding in the back mountain, then saving people is our priority."
An Moxue glanced at him and said, "The things in the side hall might be important information about this hideout. Since it's highly likely that the people are in the back mountain, we should get our hands on the important information first. Otherwise, if they get the chance to destroy it, it will be bad. The manpower and resources spent on investigating later will be incalculable. But these are all just our guesses and haven't been confirmed."
Xu Qingfeng said, "Then let's operate simultaneously in both locations. Whichever side finishes first will go to support the other. What do you think?"
Wu Sicheng disagreed, saying, "I disagree. It's too dangerous. None of us know how many people are still in this temple. If there's a top expert among them, we'll all be in danger!"
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