Chapter 003
Qingxi and Airi walked to the temple gate, which had become even more dilapidated after the ghost's visit last night. Before they could go in, Youta's angry voice rang out.
The two of them were about to step inside when they paused. After looking at each other, Qingxi considerately took the farm tools from Airi's hand and let her go first. She would wait until the farm tools were put back to their original place before going over.
Watching the girl's back as she ran towards the house, Qingxi went to the small storage room next door.
The small storage room was right next to the wooden house, so Qingxi knew what was going on there without having to go there.
Probably someone called the police to report that someone had committed murder at the temple, so several policemen came to check. When they arrived, he and Yangta had gone out to dig a grave for the dead children. When the people were not there, Sayaka and Beimeijima Gyomei, who stayed in the temple, became suspects in the four children's bodies that were deliberately placed together.
As an adult, the police did not believe Gyomei Hirame, because even though he looked thin, he was still tall. But it was different for children. As long as they were questioned a little, the timid ones would tell the truth immediately. So Sayo became the target of the police's concentrated interrogation.
Having never experienced such a thing before, and coupled with the fact that a ghost attacked the temple last night, the young Sayor was panicked and started crying. Because she was too young to explain clearly, it turned out that it was Beimeijima Xingmei who killed the four children lying on the ground.
If Yang Tai and the others had not intervened, Mr. Beimingyu, who adopted these orphans, might have been thrown into jail by this treacherous kid.
Fortunately, Yangtai and the others came back when the police were finalizing the case, and at that moment the three children were pointing at Sayaka and calling her an ungrateful person.
Qingxi listened for a while and felt that it was not a good idea to continue going on, so she walked over by herself.
"Could you please listen to my explanation, gentlemen police officers?" Qingxi asked Youta, Xiang and Airi not to blame Sayaka. After all, she was only a four-year-old child who didn't know that the words she said would bring great disaster to others. Only then did she look at the four policemen who came over.
Perhaps it was because Qingxi was dressed like a boy, but the style and fabric of her clothes were popular in the West, or perhaps it was because her calmness and composure in the face of difficulties convinced the four policemen, so they chose to listen to her.
"I'm Qingxi. I was brought to this mountain by a group of kidnappers. Yesterday evening, they captured a boy here and wanted to sell him like me to that kind of place as mercenaries. However, in order to save his own life, the boy told the kidnappers that there were eight other children like him in this temple." Qingxi lowered his eyes, looking very lonely to outsiders. "I waited until the kidnappers hid me in a cave and left, then I escaped. But by the time I got here, it was too late. The four children were brutally killed by the kidnappers because they resisted too violently. Mr. Beimingyu was also seriously injured while trying to protect us. Later, one of their accomplices said something like "time is almost up", "good merchandise", "that adult", "make you angry", "the road is too long, we don't need these children anymore" and left."
Qingxi looked up, her lips turning pale from the tightness of her lips. "Mr. Police, I suspect those people are a criminal gang that specializes in stealing children. They have liaisons and probably a headquarters where they sell the stolen children. If possible, please investigate thoroughly."
I originally thought it was just a heinous incident of someone who specifically liked to kill children, but who would have thought it would lead to such a big pit.
This was completely beyond the capabilities of the four police officers. Their faces turned grim as they exchanged glances. One of them stepped forward and said to Qingxi, "This matter involves too many issues. We need... Miss, please come with us to the police station to record a statement."
Qingxi nodded and said cooperatively, "I understand. But, can you wait a moment? I want to bury the dead child first."
Although the four policemen were very anxious, they still agreed to Qingxi's request. In order to speed up the process, they also helped them.
Taking Airi's hand, Qingxi said, "I will be back with food later. You guys clean up the place first. Finally..." Her eyes, the color of Haruhiro's sky, looked at Sayaka, who had stopped crying but was still curled up in a ball with fear. She said, "Sayaka is still young and doesn't understand many things. It may be impossible for you not to be angry. In this case, as her brothers and sisters, you should teach her the truth that "one should be honest and not lie."
If she still lies after doing this, it won’t be too late for you to make a decision then.”
Airi clenched her hands into fists. She wanted to say that if it were her, she would never lie just to think about herself. However, when faced with Qingxi's wholehearted trust in her and her belief that she could do this well, Airi finally nodded in agreement.
After explaining everything, Qingxi and the four policemen left.
After going down the mountain and walking on the dirt road for another half an hour, we finally saw the town ahead in the distance.
Qingxi memorized the route as she walked. She was only led out after making a two-hour statement at the police station.
It was still early when she started walking around the town. The houses in the town were mostly wooden structures, so occasionally seeing one or two red brick houses would seem particularly rare.
Qingxi didn't have the currency of this era, so before she wanted to buy anything, she needed to find a way to get some money.
How to make money quickly? Of course, it is to pawn.
She took great pains to pick out the smallest piece of gold she brought from the Food World and exchanged it for 110 yen. She kept 10 yen on her and put the remaining 90 yen in her food backpack.
Three pounds of first-class rice, ten eggs, some vegetables, some seasonings, and a kimono made of cloth that was not of very good quality and suitable for her age and era. All these things together did not even enough to spend the 10 yen in her arms.
Qingxi sighed in his heart: Compared with the food world, this place is really, so cheap!
After buying things, Qingxi took another walk around. She originally wanted to buy some toys for children to bring to Yangtai and the others, but when she thought about the fact that she was a new arrival, she gave up the idea.
Qingxi went back the same way she came, carrying the small backpack on her back which had cost her two cents more than what the rice shop owner had given her when she bought rice, and she went back the same way she came.
After leaving the town and walking along the mountain road, Qingxi stopped when he was still some distance away from the temple.
She squatted down and put the small backpack down from her back. Then Qingxi squatted on the ground and opened the food backpack and started to rummage through it.
The food storage in the food backpack was arranged from low to high. She didn't want any meat, anything that looked too strange, or anything that looked completely different from the food in this world. After a lot of picking and choosing, she only took out a few level 0 artificially cultivated sticky sweet potatoes and a piece of bacon.
Bacon leaves are captured at level 2, weighing about 0.8-1 catties. They grow on nutrient-rich soil and are rich in nutrients themselves.
Just as she was about to put the backpack back on, she hesitated again. In the end, she put the fresh bacon leaf back into the backpack and took out a piece of dried bacon leaf that was only one-third the size of a bacon leaf from the food backpack and put it in.
She didn't know what other children in this world were like, but Yangtai and the other three seemed to be very curious babies. If there was a piece of food that looked like both meat and leaves among the things she brought back, they would definitely ask about it. So how should she answer them then?
Forget it, I can't answer that question, so let's change it to dried bacon leaves. Although dehydrated bacon leaves will still lose some of their nutrients, it is still suitable for five malnourished people, one big and four small.
You should know that the more nutritious something is, the better it is for your body. Sometimes, the food is too good to be absorbed by the body and is ultimately excreted as waste.
When they were still some distance away from the temple, Airi and Sho, who had just come out to see if Kiyoki, who had gone to town, had returned, ran out as soon as they saw anyone.
Xiang, who thought he was the older brother, took a sneak peek into the backpack on the black-haired girl's back. A big smile instantly appeared on his fat face, and he swiftly took the backpack and put it on his back.
The three of them walked towards the temple together, and along the way they could hear Xiang and Airi chattering happily about the food.
"Qingxi Qingxi, can we eat the food in the backpack?" After all, it was because he knew that Qingxi was different from himself and everyone else, so when he saw that she brought back so much food, the little boy felt that it was not really enough. He couldn't help but want to confirm with her.
Seeing the boy's uneasiness, Qingxi nodded heavily as if to give him a reassurance, "Well, let's make porridge when we get home."
"Okay!" The smile on Xiang's face grew wider, and his voice became particularly powerful.
After talking with Sho for a while, Kiyoki pulled Airi's hand and asked softly when she looked over, "How's Sayo?"
The smile on Airi's face slowly faded because of her words. The little girl pursed her lips and said reluctantly, "The teacher forgave her."
Qingxi understood that Mr. Beimingyu had forgiven Sayaka, but they still could not forgive her for pushing Mr. Beimingyu out for her own sake and even almost had him labeled a "murderer".
Qingxi didn't know what their relationship was like before, but after this incident, a gap had been created between Airi, Youta, and Sho and Sayo.
"Let's not talk about this anymore." Airi's mood brightened up again. She took Qingxi's hand and said to her, "The teacher finally talked to us again."
Ever since the ghost was dealt with last night, Beimingyu Xingming has become very silent, which made all of them feel helpless and scared. However, because he was injured, even though they wanted to get close to him, they were afraid that it would aggravate his injuries, so they all endured it. Until this day, Qingxi followed four policemen to the town, and the other party finally spoke.
"...You, why didn't you listen to me yesterday and come to my side?" Leaning against the wall, Beimingyu Xingming finally asked the question that was like a huge stone weighing on his heart.
"We just want to help the teacher." Yang Tai said softly next to Beimingyu Xingming.
Xiang also explained: "I want to get the farm tools to help the master fight the ghost."
Airi: "I was trying to find an adult outside to help... Did we disappoint the teacher? I'm sorry."
"So... is that so?" The heavy stone in his heart vanished, and Beiming Island Xingming breathed a sigh of relief. He raised his hands and pulled the three children into his arms, his expression becoming as gentle as usual. "I should be the one to apologize. As an adult, I'm making you children worry about me and want to protect me. I'm sorry. If I were a little stronger, a little more powerful, you'd feel more at ease, right?"
…
"That's how it is," Airi concluded.
As if she remembered something, she said with fear on her face, "The way the teacher spoke to us before was really scary. It felt like he would leave us in the next moment. But now it's good. The teacher is back. I'm really, really, really happy."
As someone who had never communicated with Beiming Island Xingming, Qingxi remained a listener, listening to what the girl next to him was saying.
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