The City God Temple outside Bianjing was in such dilapidated condition that the bearded man surnamed Lu and the round-faced man surnamed Tu had never imagined that the clay doll would live there. But this was a relief. It was a desolate place, so no one would notice when they killed him.
At daybreak, the three of them arrived at the City God Temple. The clay doll pointed at the already tattered and broken City God statue and said, "The 20,000 taels of silver are under the cushion behind the statue."
The butcher went around behind the statue and, sure enough, there was a cushion behind it. He lifted it up and found a pile of banknotes underneath. He picked up the bills and counted them; they were exactly 20,000 taels. He nodded to the bearded man named Lu.
A sinister smile appeared on the corner of the bearded man's mouth, and the clay boy subconsciously took a step back. "Well, gentlemen. To be honest, I have saved several thousand taels of silver by cheating and deceiving people over the years. The two hundred taels of silver are in the side room. Gentlemen, please rest here for a while, I will go and get it. I hope you will say a few good words to me in front of the adults in the future, so that we can cooperate more in the future.
The bearded man wanted to kill him, but when he heard him say he still had several thousand taels of silver, as the saying goes, treasures can attract people's attention. Since this guy doesn't know martial arts anyway, killing him is as easy as crushing an ant. It won't be too late to silence him after getting the silver.
The bearded man said, "Go! I don't have time to waste with you!"
Niwa was overjoyed. He wiped a broken stool with his sleeve and said, "Uncle Lu, please sit down first." Then he slipped into the side room.
The man surnamed Lu was counting the banknotes one by one, carefully checking each one to see if they were genuine. Neither of them had any defense against the clay doll; they didn't take it seriously at all.
"Tu Laoer, what do you think? Is it true?" asked the man surnamed Lu.
The butcher nodded and said, "This kid didn't lie to us. Now that we've finished our business, we should leave." He put the banknote in his arms and said, "Where's that brat? Why hasn't he come out yet?"
The bearded man yelled, "Boy! Get out here! If you don't come out, I'll break your neck!"
After calling a few times, there was no sound from the side room. The two of them were startled and rushed in hurriedly.
I saw that there was a big hole in the wooden door next to the side room, and a footprint extended out of the hole. I guess the clay boy escaped through the hole.
"He can't go far! Chase him!" said the man surnamed Tu.
The bearded man kicked the broken wooden door into pieces, and saw a patch of weeds behind the door. It was thought that the clay kid had crawled into the weeds.
The two exchanged glances, and the one surnamed Tu angrily shouted, "It's all your fault! Didn't I tell you to keep a close eye on him? If this brat gets away, how are we going to explain to our master when we get back?!"
The bearded man surnamed Lu was startled. If this kid escaped, the two of them would be in great danger if they returned. He said in a trembling voice, "He can't run fast. He must have escaped into the wild grass. Let's split up and look for him!"
But the wasteland was vast, making it difficult to find the item in such a short time. They searched back and forth several times, but found nothing. As the sky grew brighter, they knew they would be unable to continue their search if more people came.
Suddenly, the round-faced man named Lu came up with an idea: "Lu Da, we can use fire."
The bearded man was overjoyed when he heard this. He shouted, "You little bastard! Get out of the grass right now, and I'll spare your life. Otherwise, I'll burn you like a roasted pig!"
There was no sound from the weeds. The man surnamed Lu lit a piece of fire and threw it into the weeds.
This wasteland was originally a riverbed. To divert water for irrigation in the capital, the Kaifeng government ordered the river to be diverted to the farmland to the east. This costly project required personal approval from Zhao Huan, who ultimately diverted the river to the eastern outskirts of the city.
Therefore, although it is early summer, this abandoned riverbed, which was covered with green grass last year, is no longer nourished by river water and is still covered with dry, yellow grass as tall as a child.
Thick smoke billowed, and the fire, fueled by the wind, quickly caught fire. Lu and Tu were overjoyed. Even if this brat didn't run out, he would either be suffocated to death by the smoke or burned alive.
The fire finally alerted the nearby villagers, and a few people were already rushing towards them from a distance. The two of them looked at each other, and without even bothering to look for the body, they quietly slipped back into the city.
But the clay boy wasn't hiding in the weeds at all; it was his doghouse. He was familiar with the terrain, and knowing he'd be discovered even if he hid in the weeds, he decided to take a chance and pretend to escape. In reality, he had quietly made his way back to the City God Temple and hid in a haystack in the corner behind the temple wall.
He hid for a day, until the fire died down and the people gradually dispersed. When it got dark, he prepared to sneak into the city. As soon as he left the dilapidated temple, he saw the bearded man surnamed Lu and the big man surnamed Tu returning to the City God Temple. It was obvious that they wanted to see the man alive or dead.
Clay Baby was completely terrified. How deep of a grudge could this person have? Why was he so determined to kill him? When he sneaked back into the city, he didn't dare go to Zuixinglou. Going there would be a trap, so he could only hide among the crowd like a rat crossing the street.
After three days of hiding, Niwa finally realized that it was the Tiger Yasi who was investigating the cheating case. He finally understood why the other party was so determined to kill him. He put on a bamboo hat, covering his face tightly, and quietly sneaked to the outside of Zuixinglou.
Unexpectedly, just as he arrived not far from Zuixinglou, he saw several people checking at the door. It was obvious that these people were not government officials, because he recognized one of them as one of the people who gave him the test paper, and these people were looking for him all over the city.
Who on earth were these people, wielding such immense power? He dared not stay long, so he arrived at the Niu Family Oil Mill, searching his memory to find the courtyard where he had been abducted. Across from the Niu Family Oil Mill lay a large courtyard with high walls and red tiles, clearly a wealthy family. Strangely, there was no plaque hanging at the door, making it impossible to determine the owner's identity.
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