Fang Yi and Qiao Xue retraced their steps, heading back to find Gao Cheng at the Earth God Temple.
Although they were not yet certain whether Gao Cheng had any real connection to the fire at the Zhang family estate, the two woodcutters' accounts made him a prime suspect.
The houses in the village at the foot of the mountain were scattered rather than clustered together, interspersed with patches of farmland and sloping terrain. Withered grass covered the fields and hillsides like a thick quilt, from beneath which patches of tender green spring grass and colorful wildflowers faintly peeked out.
Fang Yi and Qiao Xue searched carefully along the path together, but after walking a long way and searching for a long time, there was still no sign of an Earth God Temple. As the sun gradually dipped toward the west, the two of them began to feel anxious.
Passing through another grove of trees, they spotted a few houses.
Suddenly, Qiao Xue noticed a large black dog tied up in front of the house directly ahead, and a wave of fear gripped her heart. "Fang Yi, do you see that big black dog? We need to be careful."
Following the direction of Qiao Xue's finger, Fang Yi indeed saw a vicious-looking large black dog tethered by a hemp rope. He replied reassuringly, "It's fine, we'll just give it a wide berth. It's tied up with a rope anyway, it can't go anywhere." Secretly, however, his hands readied a slingshot and a stone.
Fang Yi walked in front and Qiao Xue followed behind as they continued forward. Ahead lay a fork in the road; they planned to steer clear of the big black dog by taking the branching path. Once they got past these few houses, the terrain ahead opened up into what looked like a clearing—there might just be an Earth God Temple located there.
Just as they drew closer to the fork, the big black dog spotted them. It began barking furiously, "Wang, wang, wang!" and lunged forward repeatedly, completely disregarding the restriction of the hemp rope around its neck.
Fang Yi told Qiao Xue to quicken her pace and run ahead to the fork in the road, while he pulled the slingshot from his tunic and prepared to strike.
At that moment, the big black dog suddenly snapped its tether, barking wildly as it dashed madly toward Fang Yi. Exposing its sharp teeth, it looked as though it could tear a person to pieces in an instant.
Fang Yi had no intention of killing the fierce hound, so he raised his slingshot, took aim at one of its front legs, and released his grip with a sudden snap. The small stone shot toward the dog like an arrow leaving a bowstring. A moment later, a yelp pierced the air as the dog collapsed to the ground. It took quite a while before it managed to get back up, and with its tail tucked between its legs, it limped back toward its master's doorway.
Qiao Xue had always known that Fang Yi was skilled with a slingshot, but this was the first time she had ever seen him subdue a crazed, ferocious hound with it. She couldn't help silently cheering for him.
Fang Yi turned and walked over, flashing Qiao Xue a mischievous smile. Just as he was about to resume their journey, a voice suddenly drifted from behind them: "You wretched black devil! Never thought you'd get what's coming to you today. Let's see if you dare bite anyone ever again!"
Fang Yi and Qiao Xue quickly ducked behind a clump of bushes. At first, they thought the dog's owner had returned, but upon closer inspection, they saw it was merely a beggar cursing and gesticulating at the injured hound. It looked as though this beggar had definitely been bitten by the dog in the past.
The limping beggar hobbled toward the fork in the road, licking a tattered rice bowl in his hand as he walked. Once it was licked clean, he tucked the bowl into the cloth bag slung over his shoulder, stretched lazily, yawned, and muttered, "Time to go back to my Earth God Temple and sleep! Today is my lucky day—I actually got a full meal."
Joy instantly surged in the hearts of Fang Yi and Qiao Xue. It was just as the saying went: *Tradition holds you search high and low, only to find what you need without a single blow.* A limping beggar? An Earth God Temple? This man had to be the Gao Cheng the woodcutters had spoken of! Exchanging a glance, the two of them quietly trailed behind the beggar.
Ever since Gao Cheng had hidden himself in the Earth God Temple, he had survived day after day by stealing offerings of fruit. But as time wore on, he found that relying solely on fruit offerings left him perpetually half-starved, forcing him to scrounge up a broken bowl and go out begging. Yet, having a guilty conscience, he didn't dare openly swagger about looking for handouts; he ventured out only once a day to beg. When luck was on his side, he managed to fill his belly; when luck failed him, he had to go hungry all day. He had been pondering that rather than living this stealthy, skulking life, he might as well leave home for good and slip away undetected to parts unknown. That way, the arson and murder charges hanging over him from the Zhang family would become entirely unrelated to him.
Gao Cheng limped forward in a hurry, with Fang Yi and Qiao Xue quietly tailing him. After rounding these few houses, they reached an open stretch of farmland, and in the northeastern corner of the fields stood a small Earth God Temple, with several colorful banners fluttering in the wind far in the distance.
Upon seeing the colorful flags, Gao Cheng was stunned at first, followed by a surge of delight. What day was it today? How could he be so lucky! If someone had brought colorful banners to the temple, there were bound to be good things to eat, and perhaps even some good wine to drink. Thinking this with sweet anticipation, he quickened his pace toward the temple.
When he arrived, Gao Cheng burst into hearty laughter. Not only were there fruit and pastries laid out on the altar table inside, but an opened bottle of wine sat there as well, its fragrance drifting to him from afar.
He had no idea how long it had been since he last tasted wine, and unable to restrain himself any longer, Gao Cheng dropped heavily to the floor, clutched the wine bottle, and began gulping it down in great swills, tearing into the fruit and pastries between draughts.
By this time, Fang Yi and Qiao Xue had also reached the vicinity of the Earth God Temple. Seeing Gao Cheng gorging himself inside, they quickly hid to the side to observe, waiting for the right moment to go in and speak with him.
After draining the wine and devouring the offerings like a whirlwind, Gao Cheng wiped his mouth and let out another loud laugh. By now, he was thoroughly drunk and began babbling nonsense: "Tomorrow... I'm leaving, flying far away! The Zhang family... burning people to death... has nothing to do with me anymore..."
Hearing these words while eavesdropping outside the temple, Fang Yi and Qiao Xue felt their hearts skip a beat—a mix of elation and sorrow. They were elated because Gao Cheng had confessed without prompting, and the real murderer had been found; they were sorrowful because that single devastating fire had claimed five lives.
Fang Yi quietly pulled Qiao Xue to one side. "Now that the real culprit has been found, we must hurry back into the mountains to tell Zhang Sheng so he can report the case and have someone come here to make the arrest."
Qiao Xue nodded. "Judging from the drunken nonsense Gao Cheng was just spouting, he has every intention of fleeing. Therefore, we must act as quickly as possible."
With that, the two of them bolted back toward the mountain pass, wishing they had a pair of wings to fly across the ridge.
Finally, before the sun had set, Fang Yi and Qiao Xue arrived at Zhangjiazhuang. To their utter astonishment, however, the villagers informed them that Zhang Sheng had packed up his belongings and returned to Jiangnan several days prior.
There was no time to lose. Fang Yi and Qiao Xue related the situation down to the last detail to the village chief of Zhangjiazhuang. The chief immediately gathered several capable young men from the village and set off for the police station to report the crime, determined to capture the fugitive Gao Cheng that very night.
Night fell swiftly. A long, dragon-like procession of torches wound through the pitch-black mountain paths as police officers and villagers from Zhangjiazhuang moved together, rushing through the night toward the Earth God Temple to arrest the Zhang family arsonist, Gao Cheng.
Fang Yi and Qiao Xue had already returned ahead of the others to keep watch outside the Earth God Temple and prevent Gao Cheng from waking up and escaping. Meanwhile, Gao Cheng lay sprawled on the temple floor in a drunken stupor, snoring like thunder.
The torchlit procession soon arrived before the Earth God Temple. The police officers rushed forward in a swarm and slapped handcuffs onto the heavily intoxicated Gao Cheng. Completely oblivious to what was happening, Gao Cheng babbled incessantly, "What kind of auspicious day is it today? So many people came! Come on, let's... have another drink!"
After Gao Cheng was taken away by the police, Fang Yi and Qiao Xue returned to Zhangjiazhuang with the villagers. After spending the night at the village chief's house, the two of them climbed to the mountaintop and went to the Dragon King Temple to see Zhang Qiang.
Early in the morning, rays of morning light streamed straight down onto the mountain summit, making the Dragon King Temple look all the more radiant, solemn, and magnificent.
In front of the temple gate, a little monk was carrying a small bucket to sprinkle water, while an older monk swept the ground with a broom. They were none other than Xiaojie and Zhang Qiang. Ever since taking monastic vows, Zhang Qiang had spent his days reciting Buddhist scriptures and repenting before the Buddha. At the same time, he took meticulous care of Xiaojie's daily life, treating him with the exact same affection as his own biological son.
Zhang Qiang never expected that Fang Yi would come to visit him. When Fang Yi broke the news that the true culprit had been caught, an unspeakable sorrow welled up in his heart. He closed his eyes and chanted, "Amitabha! Amitabha!"