Upon entering the Tavern, Ji Youzhi instantly spotted Wang Biao, head bailiff of the Prefect’s Government Office, Lin Yihu, head bailiff of the County Yamen, and a host of other bailiffs already seated on the second floor, waiting for him.
"Sorry, gentlemen, for keeping you waiting. I am late."
Reaching them, Ji Youzhi greeted everyone first.
The group was initially unresponsive. They blinked, stared intently for a good while, and after confirming that the man before them was indeed their Lord God Hunter, they all looked as if they’d been struck by lightning.
"Lo... Lord God Hunter..." a younger bailiff stuttered. "Why... why have you brought a nursing baby with you?"
Ji Youzhi felt like covering his face; a grown man carrying a nursing baby was truly an embarrassing sight.
"Suisui doesn’t nurse! Suisui is not a nursing baby!"
The little girl pouted, poking her small head out from her seventh uncle’s embrace. She spoke in a cute, childish voice. The veil covering her face made her features indistinct, lending her an air that was both curious and adorable.
The assembled bailiffs were taken aback, and then someone—it was unclear who—burst out laughing with a "PFFT..."
"So, if a baby doesn’t nurse, she’s not a nursing baby? Then what are you eating now?"
Head Bailiff Wang from the Prefect’s Government Office was older and had children of his own, so he was quite experienced at teasing youngsters.
What am I eating now?
The little girl pondered for a moment, tilted her head, stretched out a small hand, and began to count seriously, "There’s fat piggy, quacky duck, clucky chicken, big wild boar, and..." The little girl shook her head. "I haven’t eaten the little white rabbit yet, so that shouldn’t count, right?"
"You said you don’t drink milk anymore, so we can’t call you a nursing baby. But since you’re eating ’quacky duck,’ ’clucky chicken,’ and ’big wild boar,’ does that mean we should call you ’chicken baby,’ ’duck baby,’ ’pig baby,’ or ’wild boar baby’ instead?"
"Hahaha..."
The group of burly men roared with laughter; this Head Bailiff Wang certainly knew how to tease a child.
Xiaosuisui: "..."
This uncle makes so much sense!
"Alright, stop teasing her. This is my niece, Suisui."
"I just got back, and the little girl has been clinging to me, so I brought her along. Now, I have some findings to share with you."
Ji Youzhi hastily interrupted them, afraid they might make Xiaosuisui cry.
Hearing Ji Youzhi speak of serious matters, everyone immediately focused their full attention.
"Lord God Hunter, what have you discovered?" Head Bailiff Wang asked.
"Everyone, split up and search the Mountain Caves around Baiyun Town. Be alert for a thumping sound and the scent of incense ash in the vicinity of these caves!"
"Mountain Caves, sounds, and the scent of incense ash... considering all these, it’s highly probable the location is near a Temple!"
As Head Bailiff Wang finished speaking, Head Bailiff Lin from the County Yamen immediately chimed in, "But to my knowledge, there isn’t any Temple near Baiyun Town at all!"
Ji Youzhi: "No Temple?"
Head Bailiff Lin nodded affirmatively. "Lord God Hunter, aren’t you a local? Surely you know there are no Temples here?"
Ji Youzhi: "..."
He analyzed internally. I left home at a young age and rarely return. If there’s no Temple here, then what could be making that thumping sound? And the scent of incense—it’s not a festival or New Year, so why would there be such a fragrance?
"There is a place nearby where incense is offered year-round, but the thumping sound... that doesn’t match," Head Bailiff Lin interjected.
"What place?"
"The Land Temple!"
Ji Youzhi knew of the Land Temple; he had stumbled upon it once during his childhood.
But that thumping sound...
Unable to figure it out, Ji Youzhi changed the subject.
"I’ve read the messages you sent and have analyzed the case. Connecting all the information, I’ve formed a bold hypothesis to share. Afterwards, we must quickly prepare some dry rations. We need to be ready for the possibility that these children are no longer in Baiyun Town."
"What? Not in Baiyun Town? Do you mean we have to track them over a long distance?"