Liang Hongkai said thoughtfully, "Looking at the condition of these corpses, they must have been refugees fleeing famine. It's very likely that the corpses were washed down here by accident."

"We can't tell yet. We can only find the place first and then make a judgment."

Qin Miaoxi gave the direction for the investigation, "The water in the moat flows downwards. We should search upstream of the moat. The body must have been washed down from somewhere."

During this preliminary search, Shao Kun expressed his affirmation of Qin Miaoxi's ability and discussed directly with Liang Hongkai: "Since the Dali Temple is also busy, we will not bother the Dali Temple."

Liang Hongkai was delighted and was about to say a few polite words in official language when he heard him cutting off his source of trouble.

"I think this Qin the coroner is pretty good. One person can do the work of ten people. It would be a good idea to have her assist the Ministry of Justice in handling cases."

A gleam of light flashed in Shao Kun's eyes. The more he spoke, the more he felt that this method was a good one. Once the matter of the skeletons in the moat was investigated, he would invite her to help investigate the Ghost-Faced Judge. Maybe they could really find some clues from it.

"Master Shao, what...what do you mean?"

Liang Hongkai looked at him in a daze, as if facing a formidable enemy.

Shao Kun patted his shoulder kindly. "Sir Liang, I know that Qin the Coroner isn't from your Dali Temple, but is merely employed by you. Consider this as you loaning him to me. I'll cover all the expenses this time, and I'll return him after the case is investigated. What do you say?"

Liang Hongkai breathed a sigh of relief. If that was the case, he would feel relieved.

He nodded with a smile, "It would be a blessing to be able to serve the Ministry of Justice."

The smile lines on Shao Kun's mouth grew deeper and deeper. If he could grab the person first, everything would be easy.

When Liang Hongkai explained to Qin Miaoxi the matter of borrowing people, she had no doubts. It didn't matter who he borrowed, as long as he was paid money.

However, when Shao Kun saw Lu Qingchen following Qin Miaoxi, his brows furrowed, "Young Marquis, this is an investigation, not a joke."

Unexpectedly, Lu Qingchen patted his chest and smiled, "Don't worry, Minister Shao, I'm currently working at the Dali Temple and am Qin's subordinate. If we can help you investigate the case together, it will definitely be twice the result with half the effort."

Shao Kun looked at Liang Hongkai in surprise. Is this really a buy-one-get-one-free deal?

The other party grinned and nodded at him. The corners of his mouth twitched violently twice, and he cursed in his heart in anger: This old fox.

When he saw the smile on Lu Qingchen's lips, he suddenly felt that asking Qin Miaoxi to handle the case might not be such a wise move.

Qin Miaoxi and Lu Qingchen, along with the city officials, began walking upstream along the moat.

After half a day, they passed through a mountain road, but were blocked by a fault on the mountain.

A villager happened to pass by and told them that there had been heavy rain here seven or eight days ago, which caused a landslide and blocked the road.

Qin Miaoxi's heart moved, "Uncle, I see there is a village next to here, what village is it?"

"Oh! This village is called Fengshui."

Qin Miaoxi was stunned for a moment, then she said, "Thank you, old man."

"what happened?"

Qin Miaoxi pulled Lu Qingchen aside and whispered, "I know this village. The people in their village who went out to do odd jobs almost starved to death on the streets because they had no food to eat. I donated to their village for a few years."

Lu Qingchen sighed, "You are indeed the great Qin. Even in such a remote village, there are traces of you."

Qin Miaoxi patted him and said, "Let's get down to business. Remember I said that the skeletons in the moat might have been washed down by rainwater? This village happens to be upstream of the moat."

Lu Qingchen nodded in understanding. The two looked at each other, both looking exhausted, and supported each other as they walked towards Fengshui Village.

The village entrance is two kilometers away from the landslide mountain. The two were discovered by the villagers of Fengshui Village as soon as they appeared at the village entrance.

"Who are you?"

Qin Miaoxi panted and said, "Auntie, we are here to look for someone. His name is Zhou Dashan. Is he from our village?"

The old ladies suddenly became nervous, "What do you want to do with Zhou Dashan?"

"A few years ago, I saw him fainted in the city. I heard his village was poor, so I gave him some silver every year. Later, he said his life was better, so I stopped giving him silver. But I've been having nightmares these days, so I wanted to come and see how he's doing."

The old woman was suspicious, "You gave him some silver?"

Qin Miaoxi said sincerely, "Yes! Auntie, my name is Qin Miaoxi. Everyone in the city knows me. I didn't lie to you."

Several old ladies looked at each other, their eyes full of surprise, "You are the great Qin from Jingzhao!"

Qin Miaoxi pretended to be surprised, "Ah? You know me too?"

They immediately surrounded Qin Miaoxi and started talking at once, and some even ran back to the village to inform her.

"I know, how could I not know! He brought back the money you gave to Dashan and shared it with us. A few years ago, our village was so poor that we couldn't even get enough food. It was thanks to your help that we were able to survive."

"Yes! You are our great benefactor."

As he spoke, a middle-aged man who looked like the village chief came over with the villagers in a menacing manner.

They stood in front of Qin Miaoxi, and the village chief said loudly: "Miss Qin, you saved our entire village by your righteous act. You are our benefactor. Please accept our greetings."

After he finished speaking, everyone knelt on the ground and expressed their gratitude, their voices full of sincerity and gratitude. It was hard to imagine how many people in their village would be alive now if Qin Miaoxi had not helped them.

"Uncle, Madam, please get up quickly. I can't bear it."

Qin Miaoxi and Lu Qingchen finally helped these people up, and the village chief warmly invited them into the village.

Every household took out food, determined to entertain their benefactor.

Qin Miaoxi felt embarrassed by their enthusiasm and thanked them repeatedly, taking the opportunity to learn some inside information.

It turned out that their village was not so poor at the beginning. About ten years ago, crops suddenly stopped growing in the fields. No matter what they planted, they would die. In the end, they had no choice but to rely on the strong men in the village to find a living outside.

However, it was not certain that one could find a job to make money outside, and it was a blessing if the money earned could barely make a living. But in the year that Qin Miaoxi met Zhou Dashan, all the young men who went out did not earn any money, and the whole village was about to starve to death. They had to eat tree roots and gnaw on dry grass, and no one could save them no matter how much they begged.

If it weren't for Qin Miaoxi's money, the whole village would have starved to death.

Qin Miaoxi asked thoughtfully, "Why are the crops suddenly no longer growing in the fields?"

The villagers hesitated and whispered, "It's because we offended the God of Land."

More than ten years ago, the village chief of Fengshui Village was an alcoholic. On New Year's Day, all the villagers were drunk. Someone said that there was gold hidden under the statue of the Earth God, so everyone went to dig, but found nothing.

Because their villagers destroyed the temple of the Earth God, all the crops in the fields of the village withered the next day, and they could not be planted the following spring. The situation did not improve until the past two years.

They believed that it was a punishment from the God of Land, and now, moved by their sincerity, he gradually withdrew the punishment.

Qin Miaoxi thought about it and realized that the first time she met Zhou Dashan was five years ago.

"Then no one of you starved to death five or six years ago, right? I should have understood your difficulties earlier so I could have helped you sooner." She blamed herself with regret.

The villagers sighed softly. "No one died, but a few elderly people left home, probably because they were afraid of bringing trouble to their families! If they could wait a little longer, the food would arrive, and there would still be a way to survive."

Qin Miaoxi and the other person looked at each other. If that was the case, since no one died five years ago, it meant there were no bodies. Then the bodies that were washed into the moat should not have been washed away from here.

After a hearty meal, the two prepared to leave. Qin Miaoxi expressed her gratitude, "Thank you, village chief and everyone, for your hospitality."

The village chief and others stood up to see them off. When they reached the outskirts of the village, the old woman reminded them, "Mr. Qin, the road here is blocked. If you want to leave, take another way."

"Ah! We want to go to the mountains. We heard there are villages there where life is difficult."

"You are so kind, but to get to the mountain you have to go around the back of the village."

"Then we'll go to the back. Could you please lead the way?"

The old woman shook her hands repeatedly. "No, we can't go there. It's cursed."

"curse?"

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