Clouds and mountain tops

"Master Ding Dawan, can you recall the details of yesterday's cooking? Is there anything unusual?" General Yao asked.

"General Yao, I have been the one cooking for all these years. I have a lot of trivial things to do every day, and I don't remember anything, but I didn't poison it. I couldn't have poisoned it!"

Ding Dawan had heard about the situation here a long time ago. He just wanted to save his own life. After all, his family was still relying on the money he earned from cooking to support the family.

"Master Ding, I didn't say you poisoned me, so don't be nervous. Think about it again. Was there anyone you didn't know who came to your place when you were cooking yesterday?"

General Yao was slowly enlightening him.

"Let me think about this. General Yao, when I was cooking yesterday, the handle of the cooking spoon broke, so I left for a while and went to the warehouse to get a new one."

"When I came back, I seemed to see a young soldier coming out of my place."

After Ding Dawan saw that General Yao confirmed that he did not poison and was therefore not guilty, his thoughts became smoother.

"At that time, I asked him what he was doing here. He replied that he came to see if the food was ready. Then, I didn't care about anything else and continued to cook."

Ding Dawan recalled.

"Do you remember any special characteristics of that young soldier?" General Yao asked.

"General, I didn't pay much attention to it at the time. These soldiers looked similar, but there was something a little strange about this soldier. His head was a little big."

"His head seems to be bigger than others, and he is also a bit taller, taller than the old soldiers before him, and he is stout and seems to be able to eat a lot."

Ding Dawan replied.

"Elder Gu, please bring here all the new recruits with the characteristics that Master Ding mentioned." General Yao said to Elder Gu.

Elder Gu went out for a while, and then about twenty soldiers followed him in.

"Master Ding, could you please take another closer look to see if there are any of the soldiers you just mentioned?" General Yao ordered.

Ding Dawan then looked at these soldiers one by one, but after watching for a long time, he just kept shaking his head and couldn't identify which soldier it was.

"General, it seems that none of these soldiers look like the right one. General, I'm old and may not remember them. What should I do?" Ding Dawan said.

"Master Ding, don't be anxious. Please confirm it again. I'll go out for a walk." General Yao said.

After a while, General Yao came back, but he also brought some soldiers in.

There were quite a lot of soldiers this time, about sixty or so.

It turned out to be all the other students in Bailiqi's group of new students who had not come in with Elder Gu before.

General Yao asked the soldiers who came before to move away and let the soldiers who came with him come in to receive Ding Dawan's confirmation again.

At this time, Elder Gu's face looked a little ugly, but he held back and said nothing.

However, Ding Dawan is indeed old. These soldiers seem to look the same. After looking at a few of them, he needs to take a break.

He was still gasping for breath, as if this job was really too difficult, much more difficult than asking him to cook, but it was a matter of his life, so he had to grit his teeth and persevere.

Half an hour had passed and Ding Dawan had not yet finished identifying the person, but General Yao was not in a hurry and patiently let Ding Dawan continue with the work.

Finally, Ding Dawan seemed to be hesitating between the two men, not sure. Moreover, the two men were indeed very similar, almost the same person. This was a bit strange. The two men were very similar, no wonder Master Ding hesitated.

General Yao asked the captains of the students to stay and asked the rest to return.

At this time, there are much fewer people here.

General Yao asked Master Ding to confirm again, including those captains.

Master Ding was still focusing on the two students who looked very similar.

"You two should each say a few words to Master Ding," General Yao ordered.

Master Ding then repeated what he had said to the soldiers yesterday, and said it to the two men at the same time.

Sure enough, one of the students was identified by Master Ding.

This student was called Teng Shengshu, a student of the Formation Department. He was quite qualified and was one of the top 64 players in the Pari Competition. But he was eliminated when competing for the top 32.

"Elder Gu, don't be angry. I'm just asking what the situation is." General Yao gave a preventive measure to prevent Elder Gu from getting angry and killing people to silence them.

"General Yao, what are you talking about? Although I am angry, I want to get everything clear. I cannot lose face for my sect. I also want to go back and give an explanation to the sect leader."

Elder Gu replied.

"Teng Shengshu, tell me, what did you do when you went to Master Ding's place yesterday? Why did you go there?" General Yao asked.

"General, Elder Gu, I went there yesterday and did nothing. I just went to see if the meal was ready. I was very hungry at that time." Teng Shengshu replied.

"If you're hungry, can't you wait a while? The meal time is fixed every day. It can't be advanced or postponed. Don't you know this?" General Yao said.

"General, although the meal time is set, I want to go there and take a look. If it's ready, I can eat something first. Because I'm really hungry." Teng Shengshu replied.

"So you've always been stealing food from Master Ding?" General Yao shouted.

"No, General, only this time." Seeing that General Yao was angry, Teng Shengshu became a little panicked and didn't know what to say.

"Master Ding, how many times have you seen him come to your place in advance? Please recall it." General Yao asked.

"General, I counted and it seems that this soldier comes here often. He really likes to come here early. I didn't notice whether he has eaten anything secretly."

"If a soldier comes to me, I will chase him away, but some soldiers will not stop pestering me."

"But this soldier seemed to go there more often. But I was very aggressive and he didn't get to eat much," said Master Ding.

"Teng Shengshu, how do you explain this? You just told me that this was your first time visiting Master Ding, but why did Master Ding say that you visit him often?"

"What other purpose do you have in going there? Tell me quickly!" General Yao's voice became even more serious.

"General, I really don't have any purpose. Elder Gu just asked me to go and take a look, so I went to take a look."

"No, I was wrong. It wasn't Elder Gu who asked me to go. I went there on my own. It was all because I was greedy. There was no other reason."

Teng Shengshu became a little incoherent by the end of his speech.