The gluttonous little boy is four and a half years old, and even the wealthy family kneels down and

Xiao Jin ran towards the mayor's house with her short legs. She hadn't run far from the old tree when she saw two beams of flashlight beams coming from ahead.

Yun Ziang walked at the front, his steps quick and hurried, his phone screen still lit up, glancing down at Xiao Jin's location every few seconds.

Kong Zheng followed behind, walking at a leisurely pace, also holding a flashlight in his hand.

"Little Miss!" Yun Zi'ang spotted her at a glance, ran over in a few steps, squatted down and checked her over from head to toe. "Where have you been? It's so late at night, do you know how worried I was!"

He was sound asleep when Kong Zheng woke him up. When he got up, he found that Xiao Jin was gone.

In that instant, he was terrified and even came up with several versions of his suicide note.

If he loses Xiao Jin, he'll have to risk his life to go back to Beijing and explain it to his grandfather.

Xiao Jin was examined by him from all angles. In Yun Ziang's hands, she was like a cat being picked up to have its paws inspected. She stood obediently, tilting her head back and saying:

"Xiao Jin is talking to her sister under the big tree; she hasn't run far."

"Sister? What sister?" Yun Ziang frowned and glanced at the dark tree behind her. It was empty and there was nothing there. "Where did this sister come from in the middle of the night? You haven't run into something unclean, have you?"

Xiao Jin shook her head, looking serious: "It's the older sister I chatted with this afternoon. She's a very nice person and even told me a story."

Yun Zi'ang was skeptical.

He knew that the "sister" Xiao Jin mentioned often had two meanings: one was that there was actually someone, and the other was hard to say.

He looked at the big tree suspiciously, then glanced at Xiao Jin.

Xiao Jin smiled at him, her eyes crinkling, her face innocent and naive, showing no sign of fear.

Yun Ziang wanted to ask more, but Kong Zheng had already stepped forward. His gaze lingered for a moment under the large tree in the distance, then he looked down at Xiao Jin, his tone calm yet meaningful:

"Xiao Jin, what's the name of this new lady you just met?"

Xiao Jin blinked and tilted her head: "It's a secret."

Kong Zheng looked at her, his gaze gentle yet impassive.

Xiao Jin looked at him too, her dark eyes like two clear springs, so clean that no thoughts could be discerned.

But in reality, she had already started plotting something.

She could tell that Kong Zheng was truly capable, even more so than Li Dou, whom she had met before, and even more capable than Kong Zheng himself admitted.

If Kong Zheng knew about Xie Luxue, and that she was responsible for the deaths of those people, he would definitely get rid of her.

Xiao Jin had seen similar things before.

So she can't say.

Yun Zi'ang was completely oblivious to the subtle undercurrent between the two, still assuming Xiao Jin had simply made a playmate from the village, and patted her head:

"It's good to make new friends, but next time you should tell me before you go out. This crappy place looks like a scene from a horror movie at night. I'm scared even if you're not."

Xiao Jin nodded obediently: "Okay, next time Xiao Jin will bring her grand-nephew along."

Yun Zi'ang was satisfied and straightened up to look at Kong Zheng: "Alright, let's go to the Lock Dragon Well then."

Then she lowered her head and added to Xiao Jin, "Little aunt, if you get sleepy later, just tell me and I'll carry you."

Xiao Jin nodded without saying anything.

She was still thinking about Xiaohua, but with Kong Zheng beside her, she didn't dare show anything unusual, so she could only follow them.

The three of them walked along the village road towards the Lock Dragon Well with flashlights in hand. The village was quieter at night than during the day, and most houses had already turned off their lights, with only the occasional bark of a dog.

The moon was very bright, casting a silvery-white light on the bluestone pavement.

Upon arriving at the Lock Dragon Well, Kong Zheng arranged the portable lamps he had brought around the well platform, their soft and even light illuminating the well opening and the surrounding stone pillars.

Xiao Jin and Kong Zheng stood on either side of the well, leaning over to look into it.

Yun Ziang didn't dare to get too close. He sat on a rock next to him, holding a flashlight, and idly shone it around.

The well water gleamed with a cold, eerie light under the moonlight. The surface rippled gently, with concentric circles spreading outwards from the center. The movement was slow but continuous.

Kong Zheng walked around the well, then squatted down and carefully felt the edge of the well ring with his fingers, finally picking out a little bit of debris from a crack in the bluestone.

He put the crumbs to his nose and smelled them, then frowned: "Someone stole something from the Dragon Locking Well."

"You got it right!" Xiao Jin gave Kong Zheng two thumbs up. "Kong Kong, you're amazing!"

Xiao Jin stood up on tiptoe and pointed to several tiny grooves on the inner wall of the well ring, saying, "The most important thing about the Dragon Locking Well is not the iron chain, but the copper scale talisman sealed inside the well opening."

"Xiao Jin's master said that in ancient times, a master captured a wicked dragon. Fearing that it would break free, he nailed twelve copper scale talismans into the well. Each one was pressed against a joint of an iron chain, forming a set with the stone lock at the bottom of the well."

"The iron chains are visible, the bronze scale talismans are invisible, but what truly suppresses the dragon vein and calms the water eye are those twelve bronze scale talismans."

"Several copper scale talismans are missing from the well now. The iron chain is still intact, but it can no longer be contained underwater. That's why the well water keeps moving like this."

She pointed to the well water and explained, "There's no wind in the Locked Dragon Well, yet the water is moving like this. Something's wrong with the formation below."

Kong Zheng listened attentively.

He squatted down and shone his flashlight on the inner wall of the well. As the light swept across, he saw several regular grooves in the cracks of the bluestone. They were all about the same size and shape, just like a copper coin.

He looked up at Xiao Jin: "A few are missing?"

"Xiao Jin counted them, four are missing." Xiao Jin held up four short fingers, looking somewhat worried. "Master said that one of the twelve copper scale talismans is the array's core. As long as the core is still there, the well can hold on for a while. If the core is taken away, the water source will open. Fortunately, it wasn't the core that was stolen."

Yun Zi'ang, who was listening nearby, was stunned and couldn't help but interject, "Who would steal something from the Dragon Well? What could they do with that thing if they stole it?"

"Selling scrap?" he asked curiously. "Is it valuable?"

Kong Zheng's expression was complex: "It can harm people."

"The copper scale talisman is used to suppress the well. After it is taken out of the well, it becomes covered with the yin energy of the Dragon-Locking Well and can be used for rituals."

"Some people will specifically steal these well-suppressing talismans, take them out and refine them into harmful things, so the Dragon-Locking Well cannot be disturbed, or something bad will happen."

Yun Zi'ang gasped: "So the deaths of those four people are also related to this?"

Listening to this, Xiao Jin couldn't help but voice her thoughts, "Xiao Jin thinks that the person who stole this bronze scale talisman probably didn't know it was a bronze scale talisman."

Kong Zheng pressed, "Why do you say that?"

Xiao Jin explained, "Because he only stole four. If he had known they were Copper Scale Talismans, he would have stolen them all, but he didn't."

"And he stole the four closest to the well opening, so this person doesn't seem very tall."

Xiao Jin pretended to reach into the well, but didn't quite reach it, though she wasn't far off.

Kong Zheng watched Xiao Jin's movements thoughtfully and murmured, "Maybe it's just a child."

Yun Zi'ang didn't hear him clearly, "What are you muttering about?"

"It's nothing," Kong Zheng shook his head. He looked at Xiao Jin and asked, "Xiao Jin, did you notice it this afternoon?"

"Xiao Jin has noticed something, but she can't be completely sure," Xiao Jin told Kong Zheng in detail. "Now that it's nighttime, the well water is fluctuating, so I can be sure."

A subtle hint of shock flickered in Kong Zheng's eyes.

He didn't think about it in the afternoon, but noticed the unusual movement in the well water that evening.

"So..." Yun Ziang interrupted the two, "the deaths of those four people have nothing to do with the Locked Dragon Well."

He looked suddenly enlightened, then deliberately struck a cool pose. "That means there's only one truth—there's a serial killer in the village!"

As Yun Ziang spoke, he picked up his phone and glanced at the time. "It's almost midnight now. It's not as mysterious as you said. I don't see anyone coming over here."

He shone his flashlight around aimlessly, but didn't see a single person.

Kong Zheng frowned slightly, his gaze falling on Xiao Jin, and suddenly asked, "Will there be another murder?"

"Um..." Xiao Jin didn't know how to answer. She clasped her hands together awkwardly and mumbled, "Xiao Jin doesn't know either."

Kong Zheng could tell at a glance that Xiao Jin was lying.

He was certain that Xiao Jin must know something inside.

Yun Ziang chuckled, "I don't think anyone will dare to come over today."

"With the three of us sitting here, even a dragon has to coil up, and a tiger has to lie low."

He looked at the two of them and asked, "Do you agree with what I said?"

Kong Zheng didn't respond; his mind was completely on Xiao Jin.

Xiao Jin was very supportive, saying, "Grand-nephew, you're right!"

"Xiao Jin, I give you a thumbs up!" She gave Yun Ziang a thumbs up.

Yun Ziang couldn't help but laugh, then yawned, "Should we stay here and feed the mosquitoes, or go back to sleep?"

"Didn't you say you lost that talisman? Shouldn't you search for it during the day?"

Kong Zheng moved the portable lamp closer to the well platform, and the light focused into a small ball, illuminating a small open space between the three of them.

He glanced at the time and said, "I'll go and find out tomorrow who has been to the Locked Dragon Well recently, and see if anyone has seen anyone acting suspiciously by the well."

He paused, as if remembering something, "Oh right, the mayor said his son is coming back tomorrow, and there might not be enough rooms. If there's no progress tomorrow, we'll go back first and come back later."

Xiao Jin was also getting sleepy, but upon hearing this, she suddenly looked up, her eyes widening slightly: "What's the mayor's son's name?"

Kong Zheng casually replied, "Sun Jianhua."

Xiao Jin repeated the name to herself, then suddenly realized what it meant.

Sun Jianhua, Sun Jianhua—Xiao Hua!

She stood up straight immediately, her drowsiness largely gone, and eagerly asked, "That Sun Jianhua, did he grow up in this village since he was a child?"

Kong Zheng was slightly taken aback by her question, and pondered for a moment before replying, "I grew up here."

"What's wrong? Why are you suddenly asking this?"