"What should we do?"
At the same time, Director Han, who had heard the commotion, also approached me with a serious look on his face and asked.
"Let's observe and see what this guy is up to first!"
Since we were not clear about the other party's intentions, I thought it was better not to alert him for now. Moreover, according to Old Zhang's speculation, this person was very likely a member of the "Red Lantern Sect," and who knew if there were other helpers around?
Thinking of this, I quickly found a place that was both hidden and allowed us to observe Sima Yin's every move, and we began to monitor him.
Sima Yin really was something. Since I first saw him, he had been wearing the same clothes for nearly ten days, as if he was afraid that others wouldn't recognize him.
Perhaps due to our careful observation, Sima Yin did not notice our surveillance, and continued to focus on the bronze statue of Lady She Xiang.
Before long, I saw him put away the compass. It seemed that he had found what he was looking for near the bronze statue. Perhaps because there were too many tourists around, he did not act rashly, but turned around and left the area.
"He's leaving!"
Seeing Sima Yin about to leave, Zhang became anxious and impatient, and pulled me urgently, asking, "Should we follow him?"
"Well..."
As I hesitated for a moment, Sima Yin, who was already walking towards the main gate, suddenly disappeared.
"Forget it, he'll come back sooner or later!" I sighed.
While feeling regret, I also felt relieved. After all, this person was a dangerous character, and he might have the whole "Red Lantern Sect" as a backup. If we were to rashly follow him and something happened, I couldn't guarantee the safety of Zhang and Director Han.
"Let's go! Let's go and check near the bronze statue!"
Without any hesitation, I quickly led Zhang and Director Han to the front of the bronze statue. At first glance, it appeared to be a very ordinary bronze statue. However, the craftsmanship was quite exquisite, as the entire bronze statue vividly captured the majestic and noble appearance of this Yi ethnic female political figure who lived on the frontier over six hundred years ago, with great ambitions.
When no one was paying attention, I tried tapping the bronze statue and found that it was solid, with no space for concealing anything underneath the marble base. How could this seemingly ordinary bronze statue possibly conceal anything?
Did Sima Yin make a mistake, or did we misunderstand something?
I was completely puzzled, and even emitted my aura to sense the area around the bronze statue, but still found nothing. There was not even a gap underground. It seemed unlikely that there was anything hidden here!
This was strange. Since there was clearly nothing hidden here, why did Sima Yin linger with the compass for so long? Could it be that he was intentionally misleading us, even though we had been closely watching him and he had no opportunity to act?
At that moment, my mind was filled with countless question marks.
"Huh?"
Just as I was deep in thought, suddenly, Zhang next to me grabbed me again and pointed directly at the top of the bronze statue, saying, "Look! One of the phoenix's feathers on her head is missing!"
"Hmm?"
Upon hearing this, I subconsciously looked at the top of Lady She Xiang's head and counted them, and sure enough, there were only eight! Normally, the phoenix ornament would have nine feathers, symbolizing it soaring through the nine heavens.
It was unmistakable that the middle phoenix feather was missing! Someone had plucked it out!
But wasn't this a completely molded bronze statue? How could only the middle phoenix feather be removed?
"I apologize for the offense, please forgive me, Madame!"
With palms pressed together, I respectfully bowed to Lady She Xiang and hurriedly placed my right hand on the body of the bronze statue, emitting my aura to sense it. That's when I discovered that the middle phoenix feather was not integrated with the statue! There was a recess in that place, and it seemed that the middle phoenix feather had been added later!
How could this be?
Wasn't it completely unnecessary? Or did the middle phoenix feather hold some special meaning?
However, we had been keeping a close eye on Sima Yin, and he never had the opportunity to do anything!
When I was completely puzzled, suddenly, there was a commotion behind us. A dozen fierce and ferocious men quickly surrounded us, talking in a language we couldn't understand, and moved in towards us.
From their dress, they should be Yi ethnic people...
"Bad! We've been set up as scapegoats by him!"
Suddenly, I abruptly woke up, instinctively shouting to Zhang Ge and Director Han, "Run!"
Without any hesitation, I quickly grabbed Director Han and Zhang Ge, and while those Yi people had not completely surrounded us, I ran towards the car at the gate with all my might!
Fortunately, Zhang Ge and Director Han were both police officers and were in good physical condition, so we managed to escape onto the car before they caught up with us, stepped on the gas, and quickly left the area.
After driving for nearly ten miles, we finally breathed a sigh of relief and parked the car on the side of the road.
"What exactly is going on?"
It was at this moment that Zhang Ge was also full of confusion and asked.
I was relieved, even though he didn't understand the situation, Zhang Ge chose to believe me. I told him to run, and he chose to run.
"It's not that simple! We have been manipulated by Sima Yin!"
Director Han obviously figured out the key to this, and before I had a chance to speak, he explained first, "That guy probably took the feather long before we arrived, he deliberately waited for us there! He wants to use us as scapegoats!"
"Ah?"
Hearing this, Zhang Ge finally reacted and said hurriedly, "Then we shouldn't have run! When you are upright, you have nothing to fear, we should explain to those Yi people before leaving! Running away now will only confirm their suspicions, won't it?"
"It's not that simple!"
Director Han shook his head straight, and then said, "You live in the Miao village, have you ever reasoned with them when they come at you? Once they catch you, in the heat of the moment, who knows what might happen. In that situation, even if they beat us to death, it would be in vain!"
"Moreover, can you understand their language? Reason with them..."
I had to admit, Director Han was indeed an old hand, his thoughts were completely in line with mine!
Yesterday in the Miao village, I experienced the Miao people who were ready to attack me and Director Han without justification, so I thought of this all at once! Based on the behavior of those Yi people just now, it was clear that they saw us as real thieves! And with the language barrier, once caught by them, we would definitely be beaten! Even if we reasoned with them, we'd probably have to do it lying down!
"This..."
After listening to Director Han's explanation, Zhang Ge fell into silence, and after a long while, he asked, "What should we do now? Should we seek help from the local police station?"
"Yes! Let's go to the local police station to file a case, and say that we were chasing a fugitive and ended up at the She Xiang's tomb! This way, if something really happens later on, we won't be too passive!"
"Just finding the police station might not be enough. For this matter, you two had better contact the Religious Affairs Bureau as soon as possible. Only they can handle it! Otherwise, the ordinary police..."
I didn't finish my words, but I believe Director Han should understand my meaning. Sima Yin was extremely dangerous, even I had no confidence in dealing with him, let alone ordinary people.
"Yes!"
Director Han nodded earnestly and said, "Alright! I'll contact the branch office right now! Have them report the situation to the Religious Affairs Bureau!"
As he spoke, Director Han pulled out his phone, but before he could make the call, Zhang Ge's phone in his pocket suddenly rang loudly. Looking at the screen, Zhang Ge was surprised and said subconsciously, "Sha Biao is calling?"
"Answer it! Let's see what he says."
I didn't find it strange at all that Sha Biao would call. By now, that old man in the village should have sensed that his gu worm had a problem, right? And being able to sense the problem from such a distance indicated that the little centipede was indeed his totem gu!
He must be in a panic now, right?
Feeling a little embarrassed to speak, was he planning to use Sha Biao to inquire about the situation from me? But it was too late, his totem centipede had become the "son" of mine, and it was impossible to give it back to him anymore!