Under everyone's gaze, Miss Li couldn't help but hide behind Mr. Li.

Master Li was a little unhappy: "Sir, no matter who the murderer is, it has absolutely nothing to do with us. My sister is timid, so don't scare her."

The county lieutenant stared at Master Li and suddenly smiled: "I have been handling cases for many years and have an experience. When a murder occurs, anyone who is related to this case will never be completely unrelated. I hope Master Li and Miss Li will cooperate well."

"I've already said that someone was spreading rumors, otherwise how would we get involved!"

"But there are so many believers who come to Lingwu Temple to burn incense, why are you spreading random messages to the Li family?" The county lieutenant no longer paid attention to Mr. Li, but instead stared at Miss Li who was hiding behind him, "Miss Li, do you know the deceased Liu Sheng?"

Miss Li shuddered all over and her face turned pale.

"Sir, what do you mean? How could my sister know the deceased?" Master Li expressed his dissatisfaction in a stronger tone.

Although the people are open-minded, it is not uncommon for unmarried girls in towns like Qingniu Town and Dayang Town to date the men they like. Even if it is more extreme, people will turn a blind eye. However, it is not good to involve a murder case and to be questioned in public by an official in front of so many people.

The county lieutenant was not bothered by Mr. Li's attitude and smiled slightly: "Miss Li, I want to hear what you have to say."

Miss Li bit her lips tightly, her face was pale, and her dry lips kept trembling, as if she was struggling very hard.

"Sir, my sister is just a girl. She is already very scared after seeing this kind of thing. Please don't ask her any more questions!"

The county lieutenant finally turned cold and pointed at Jiang Si: "This young lady is also a girl, why is she so quiet?"

He originally asked this question in order to shut Mr. Li up, but the girl smiled softly and said calmly, "Because I have a clear conscience. I don't do anything shameful during the day, and I'm not surprised when someone knocks on my door at night. I have no guilty conscience, and when I see something like this, I only feel pity for the victim, so how could I be afraid?"

"Well said!" Jiang Zhan thought his sister spoke fluently and clapped his hands.

Yu Jin curled his lips to suppress a smile, his eyes fixed on the girl's face and reluctantly moved away.

The county lieutenant was stunned, looked at Jiang Si seriously, and praised: "Miss, you really said it very well."

Ahem, I didn't expect that I would be so lucky today to meet such a tough little girl, who managed to shut the Li family's young master's mouth.

The girl has already said so, and if the boy from the Li family still refuses to let you ask questions, it means that Miss Li is feeling guilty.

Sure enough, after Jiang Si said that, Master Li opened his mouth for a long time but could not utter a word, while Miss Li's face changed several times before she finally spoke: "I... do know Master Liu..."

Seeing the county lieutenant listening attentively, she bit her lip and explained, "We just know each other..."

"I wonder how Miss Li got to know him?" The county lieutenant knew very well that one should not act hastily, so his tone remained calm.

"I often come to Lingwu Temple to stay for a while. Sometimes I would run into Young Master Liu in the temple, and we gradually got to know each other..." Miss Li looked at the county lieutenant in panic and said hurriedly, "We are not familiar with each other!"

The county lieutenant looked at Xuanci and other monks and asked: "Does Liu Sheng often come to Lingwu Temple?"

The monk in charge of reception said, "Sometimes he comes to stay for a few days."

"Since Liu Sheng is from Qingniu Town, why is he staying in the temple?"

The monk in charge of reception couldn't help but look at Xuanci.

Xuanci explained, "Some pilgrims like the quietness of the temple, and some like to taste the temple's vegetable soup, so people from this town sometimes stay for a short time."

When they heard the word "vegetable soup", not only did Jiang Zhan turn pale, but the expressions of several pilgrims staying at the hotel became even more miserable.

"Sir, the coroner has already done a preliminary examination."

"Call him in."

Soon the coroner came in and said, "I've seen you, sir."

The county lieutenant nodded, signaling the coroner that he could start speaking.

The coroner was obviously familiar with this scene. Without even looking at anyone else, he said briefly, "The deceased's eyes were bulging out, there were obvious strangulation marks on his neck, and a stone was wrapped around his back. The initial conclusion is that he was strangled to death and then tied to a stone and sunk. The murderer is likely a man."

“How do you know for sure it’s a man?”

The coroner replied, "The deceased's nails were broken, which shows that he had struggled violently. It is hard for a woman to have the physical strength to strangle a young man like the deceased, who was not frail, to death and then tie the body to a stone and sink it."

"What about the time of death?"

"Probably between yesterday afternoon and the evening hour."

When Jiang Zhan heard the county lieutenant asking about the time of death, he felt a little nervous subconsciously, but he couldn't help but smile when he heard the coroner's answer.

Fortunately, this county lieutenant and the coroner are not fools.

"Okay, go check it out again."

The coroner retreated.

The county lieutenant scanned the people one by one, and there was no clue on his face: "Since the time of death has been roughly determined, Jiang Er can be ruled out as a suspect for the time being--"

Sihai couldn't help but interrupt the county lieutenant: "Maybe Jiang Er was here yesterday. There are so many pilgrims coming to Lingwu Temple every day. It would be difficult for him to be discovered if he blended in with them."

Jiang Zhan sneered, "Nonsense, we just arrived in Qingniu Town yesterday, and the innkeeper and the staff can testify to that. By the way, on the way to Qingniu Town yesterday, there was a melon shed about ten miles away from Qingniu Town, and we bought a few melons from the melon farmer. If you have any doubts, you can check these."

The county lieutenant nodded, looked at the monks and said, "They traveled together, so they must have left traces along the way. We will know all this once we investigate. I have temporarily ruled out Jiang Er as a suspect. The most important thing is that I cannot find his motive for the time being, and the motive is the key to the murder. Moreover, I have observed that the path from the guest rooms in the temple to the back mountain is more hidden. If pilgrims who do not have accommodation want to go to the back mountain without being noticed by the temple staff, it will be very difficult."

"Then who is the murderer?" Xuan Ci asked solemnly.

"According to the clues we have so far, the murderer must be familiar with the back mountain. So -" the county lieutenant paused, "the most likely possibility is that the murderer is a monk in the temple or a pilgrim staying overnight."

"Amitābha, I hope you can investigate carefully and clear the name of the monks in my temple." Xuan Ci said with his hands clasped together.

"Of course. I want to ask you alone now. Master Xuanci, please arrange a room for me." The county lieutenant smiled at Jiang Zhan and the others and said, "You can go and rest first. If there is anything, I will send someone to call you."

The single room was soon vacated, and Jiang Si and his group stood in the corridor. No one was sleepy at this time.

"Fourth sister, seventh brother Yu, look, the first person to be summoned is actually the pilgrim who stayed overnight." Jiang Zhan, who was no longer suspicious, looked relaxed and lively.

Yu Jin smiled and said, "We have all been asked the same question, so it is time to ask the pilgrims. But this Lord is really interesting. He let everyone know the basic situation first, and then asked about the details individually. Maybe we can gain something."

He touched his chin and looked at Jiang Si. "I have a question that I'm going to ask the young man who stayed behind. Do you want to join me?"