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

"What?" Kong Zheng didn't hear clearly.

Xiao Jin shook her head. "It's nothing, just empty."

As she spoke, she pointed to the egg yolk in Kongkong's bowl, "Kongkong is a picky eater and doesn't like egg yolks. How about Xiaojin eats it for you?"

Kong Zheng looked at the egg yolk he had peeled out of the bowl with a somewhat awkward expression, then placed the bowl in front of Xiao Jin, "You eat it."

"Hehe," Xiao Jin hugged the bowl, as if it were a precious treasure, and laughed, "Thank you, Kongkong!"

Seeing Xiao Jin eating so heartily, Kong Zheng couldn't help but ask, "Which sister were you talking to last night?"

"A mysterious older sister," Xiao Jin said, her cheeks bulging and her eyes wide as she looked at Kong Zheng.

Kong Zheng asked curiously, "Who is it?"

Xiao Jin winked mischievously. "Mysterious means I can't tell you, you silly girl."

Kong Zheng was amused by Xiao Jin's words, "Why can't I know?"

"Because the time is not right," Xiao Jin said, shaking her head.

In the short time it took Kong Zheng to say those few words, it was clear that Xiao Jin probably knew the inside story of this matter.

But why keep it from him?

Kong Zheng gave Xiao Jin a meaningful look, then looked away. "Alright then, since Xiao Jin doesn't want to tell me, I won't ask."

"I've finished eating. I'm going to help the mayor find the Copper Scale Talisman. What about you?"

Xiao Jin looked at Kong Zheng in surprise, clearly not expecting him to eat so quickly. She said anxiously, "Xiao Jin isn't full yet!"

She only drank a bowl of porridge, ate three eggs, and a steamed bun.

"No rush, take your time eating. I'll go check on things first," Kong Zheng said, getting up and walking outside.

Xiao Jin watched Kong Zheng's retreating figure, her big eyes filled with worry, and muttered, "Kong Kong, please don't arrest your sister."

The older sister wants to harm people, while Kongkong wants to save them. If they meet, won't they start fighting?

However, the matter will be resolved soon.

Xiao Jin glanced at the clock on the wall and muttered to herself, "I'll tell Kong Kong the truth tomorrow."

As she spoke, she sighed, a hint of guilt appearing on her face. "Master, Xiao Jin lied, but there's a reason for it. Please don't scold Xiao Jin."

Xiao Jin's eyes darted around, then she picked up the last steamed bun on the plate, grinned, and said, "This time, Xiao Jin will be punished by eating another big steamed bun!"

After saying that, she opened her mouth and took a big, soft bite of the steamed bun, laughing out loud.

Outside the courtyard, Kong Zheng accompanied Sun Liqiang as they visited each household to inquire about the whereabouts of the Copper Scale Talisman.

And they actually found it.

Kong Zheng and Sun Liqiang visited each household along the village road, handing over the diagram of the copper scale talisman to each family for them to see.

When we reached the east end of the village, we heard a child crying loudly from a house, mixed with the angry curses of an adult.

Sun Liqiang pushed open the door and saw the four kids who had bullied Xiao Jin yesterday standing in a row against the wall. The strongest one was being beaten; he had already been hit several times on the buttocks, and his face was covered in snot bubbles as he cried, shouting incessantly:

"I've changed, I've changed, I'll never dare to do it again—"

On the small table in the courtyard, four bronze scale talismans were neatly arranged.

The adults from those families were gathered in the courtyard, their faces increasingly grim. Upon seeing Sun Liqiang, they hurriedly began to complain:

"Those bastards, I don't know when they dug something out of the well and hid it at home like a treasure. The loudspeaker just blared and dragged those little brats out."

Sun Liqiang stepped forward and pretended to stop them twice, scolding the child while casually putting the four copper scale talismans into a small coarse cloth bag, which he then handed to Kong Zheng.

He rubbed his hands together, his tone carrying a hint of relief:

"Now that this thing has been found, the well can finally rest in peace. No more deaths in town, right?"

Kong Zheng took the cloth bag, held it in his hand for a moment, and said:

"Retrieving the Copper Scale Talisman can only guarantee that the well won't cause any bigger trouble. But the people who were killed earlier have little to do with it."

Sun Liqiang's smile froze instantly.

He leaned forward and lowered his voice, asking, "Master Kong, what do you mean by that? Does it mean... people are going to die in this town?"

When he asked this question, his voice was weak, a thin layer of sweat appeared on his forehead, and his eyes darted around nervously.

Looking at his unusually tense face, Kong Zheng became even more suspicious. He asked calmly, "Mayor Sun, did those four deceased people and your son, Sun Jianhua, often play together when they were children?"

Sun Liqiang felt a slight prick on his face, his facial muscles twitching slightly before he forced a dry smile: "We were just kids, we all grew up together. The village is only so big, who wouldn't play together? But that was so many years ago, who remembers it clearly now?"

As he spoke, he took out a handkerchief to wipe his sweat, then changed the subject, "Master Kong, could you please do the ritual sooner? The villagers are all very afraid; they don't even dare to leave their homes at night."

Kong Zheng looked at him for a few seconds, then nodded without asking any further questions. "Okay. I'll hold a religious ceremony in this village this evening."

Sun Liqiang felt as if he had been granted a pardon and thanked him repeatedly, saying, "Just tell me what kind of manpower or supplies you need, and I'll take care of it right away."

"Okay," Kong Zheng replied.

As the two were walking back, Kong Zheng's phone suddenly vibrated in his pocket.

As he walked, he swiped the screen and saw a message from someone whose contact name was "Officer Wang".

[Officer Wang: The little girl you're looking for is named Xie Luxue. She went missing seven years ago and her whereabouts remain unknown.]

Kong Zheng paused, then replied:

Where are her family members now?

Officer Wang replied quickly, with very detailed information:

Xie Luxue's parents divorced when she was three years old. Her mother took her back to the village, abandoned her with her elderly parents, and married and moved away. After Xie Luxue disappeared, the two elderly people went to the city to report her missing, but were involved in a car accident on the way and died. Their daughter never returned, and it was eventually the local town mayor who intervened and arranged for their daughter to bury the two elderly people.

Kong Zheng stared at the words on his phone screen, his brows slowly furrowing.

The local town mayor is Sun Liqiang, so logically, Sun Liqiang should have some recollection of him.

But when Sun Liqiang looked at the photo that morning, he said he couldn't recognize the girl.

He clearly knows Xie Luxue now, and even buried her maternal grandparents.

He is lying.

Before Kong Zheng could recover from this doubt, Officer Wang followed up with another question:

[I checked the case file from back then. Xie Luxue went out with five friends on the day she disappeared. Four of the five children who gave statements are the victims in this case.]

Kong Zheng suddenly stopped.

Five children? And one person!

He typed quickly:

Is the fifth person Sun Jianhua?

Officer Wang: Yes.

Kong Zheng gripped his phone tightly, slowly raised his head, and looked at the back of Sun Liqiang, who was walking ahead and still wiping his sweat.

Xiao Jin reacted as soon as she heard Sun Jianhua's name last night. She refused to say who her sister was, and also mentioned the look in her eyes when she looked at Sun Liqiang at the breakfast table this morning.

Suddenly, all these fragments came together.

That so-called "mysterious sister" is probably Xie Luxue, and Xie Luxue is very likely already dead.

Kong Zheng called out to Sun Liqiang: "Mayor Sun."

Sun Liqiang turned around and saw that his expression was off, so he forced a smile: "What's wrong, Master Kong?"

"You really don't remember Xie Luxue?" Kong Zheng stared into his eyes, his voice calm, yet carrying an unavoidable sharpness.

Upon hearing the name "Xie Luxue," Sun Liqiang's pupils constricted, and a barely concealed fear flashed in his eyes.

His lips moved, forcing a smile: "Xie Luxue? Isn't that the little girl who went missing in town? It's been so many years, how could I not remember? I just can't recall for a moment..."

"Is she dead?" Kong Zheng interrupted him.

Sun Liqiang's facial muscles stiffened for a moment, and his mouth opened and closed, as if he couldn't find the right words:

"Well, I don't know either. They just disappeared back then and we've never found them... There's nothing we can do, it's been so many years..."

"What does her death have to do with you?" Kong Zheng pressed.

Sun Liqiang was so choked that he took half a step back, a fleeting look of panic on his face, which he quickly suppressed.

He straightened up, forcing himself to remain calm: "Master Kong, I don't understand what you're saying. After Xie Luxue went missing, our town did everything we could. Now you're telling me about her death? I really don't know what you're talking about."

He waved his hand, his tone hardening, "The person has been gone for so many years, you can't listen to outsiders' nonsense."

Kong Zheng didn't say anything more and walked straight into the courtyard past him.

In the courtyard, Xiao Jin was squatting in the corner, with a small pile of yellow paper burning in front of her. The flames flickered, casting an intermittent glow on her face.

She was tossing neatly folded gold ingots into the fire, muttering something under her breath. When Kong Zheng came in, she looked up, her expression momentarily guilty, before forcing a big smile:

"Kongkong, you're back."

Kong Zheng glanced at the half-burnt paper ingots in the fire, then at the unnatural expression on Xiao Jin's face, and had already guessed seven or eight parts of the truth.

He walked up to Xiao Jin, squatted down, and said in a very soft voice, "Xiao Jin, come outside with me and let's talk."

Xiao Jin's smile froze for a moment.

She looked down at the fire, then up at Kong Zheng, and finally obediently stood up, clapped her hands, and followed Kong Zheng to the back of a large locust tree outside the courtyard wall.

The shade under the tree was cool, and a breeze carried their voices softly and faintly.

Kong Zheng didn't mince words: "Xie Luxue is dead, right? She killed those four people."

Xiao Jin's heart sank, and her small hands instinctively clenched the hem of her clothes as she hurriedly explained:

"Kongkong, listen to Xiaojin! They killed Xiaoxue first! They're so wicked! They even killed Xiaoxue's grandparents!"

Kong Zheng frowned even more deeply: "She told you?"

Xiao Jin nodded, her eyes moist.

Kong Zheng was silent for a few seconds, but his tone left no room for argument: "Xiao Jin, a vengeful ghost who harms people cannot be allowed to live. She has already killed four people, and her next target is Sun Jianhua. I cannot let her continue."

Xiao Jin panicked and quickly grabbed Kong Zheng's hand, tilting her head up and saying urgently, "It's not like that! It's all fate!"

"It wasn't Sister Xiaoxue who called them back, it was God who called them back. God is giving Sister Xiaoxue another chance!"

"Otherwise, why did all those people who hadn't come back for years suddenly return this year? Isn't that fate?"

Kong Zheng looked at her, his gaze complex.

He squatted down, grasped Xiao Jin's shoulders, and patiently said:

"Xiao Jin, whether it's fate or not is God's business. But Xie Luxue has already turned into a vengeful ghost, and a vengeful ghost's way of killing will only become more and more unrestrained."

"She's not just collecting debts anymore, she's taking lives."

"If she can kill those four people today, she can kill everyone related to or even unrelated to what happened back then tomorrow. I can't take that risk."

Xiao Jin looked at Kong Zheng, her eyes slightly red, but her voice was even more stubborn than before:

"But those people are all bad guys. They killed Sister Xiaoxue, and they also killed her grandparents."

"They've done so many bad things, does that mean they don't have to pay for them just because they're alive?"

Kong Zheng looked at her silently.

A breeze blows past outside the courtyard wall, causing the wild grass at the base of the wall to sway and bend.

He crouched down, his gaze level with Xiao Jin's, his tone soft but firm: "Xiao Jin, I understand what you mean. But Xie Luxue is already dead."

"The dead cannot come back to kill the living; that is the law of nature. If she truly has been wronged, there should be other ways to resolve the issue."

Xiao Jin shook her head: "She's been waiting for a long time. Xiao Jin has only known her for two days, but she already knows how sad she is."

"No one cared about her when she was alive, and no one cared about her after she died. Now that God has sent these scoundrels back to the village, isn't that giving her some closure?"