At four o 'clock in the afternoon, Tian Dongmin, an old expert from the Qinshan Cultural Relics Bureau, arrived at the scene. After inspecting the excavated items, he said to Zhao Yu,
After inspecting the excavated items, he told Zhao Yu, "There might be a temple underneath!"
His words left Zhao Yu and the others dumbfounded, as if they had fallen into a fog.
"Temple?!" Cui Lizhu missed the last helicopter back to Qinshan out of curiosity. She stayed at the scene and asked, "The kind of temple where incense is burned?"
"Yes," Tian Dongmin pointed at the unicorn that was excavated earlier and said, "This thing is called Xie Zhi. Looking at the shape and material, it should be the auspicious beast that was embedded on the eaves!
"And these …" He pointed at a few broken stone beasts, tiles, and bricks that were excavated later and said, "These are the materials used in ancient buildings!
"What else can there be in the mountains other than a temple?"
"So, there was a temple on the hill …" Zhao Yu put his hands on his waist and said, "Why didn't anyone tell us? Didn't anyone know? "
"The landslide destroyed the temple," Miao Ying pondered and said, "The landslide happened in the early nineties … This means that the temple has been buried for almost thirty years. Plus, it is located deep in the forest, so it makes sense that no one knew about it, right?"
Temple, well, corpses …
Zhao Yu could not help but scratch his head. He thought that there would be significant progress in the case after the excavated items. But now, it seemed to be even more confusing.
"Professor Tian," Miao Ying pointed at the excavated items and asked, "Can you determine the age of this temple?"
"Mm …" Tian Dongmin looked at the excavated items carefully and said, "From the shape, it shouldn't be too old. At most, it should be from the late Qing Dynasty or the Republic of China period."
"I think so too …" Cui Lizhu said, "It's crude, so it's definitely not worth much!"
"I think it could be a Mountain God Temple?" Professor Tian said, "In the inhabited Qinling Mountains, there have been many Mountain God Temples, but they were all very small in scale.
"This has something to do with the local culture of the Longxi area.
"Actually, it shouldn't be hard to understand. The people in the coastal area worship the Sea God, so of course, we, the people in the mountains, respect the Mountain God.
"To pray for good weather or to be able to catch prey, people would build Mountain God Temples deep in the mountains.
"Therefore, it's perfectly normal for a Mountain God Temple to be excavated here."
"Mountain God Temple … Lin Chong's Snow Night Mountain God Temple …" Cui Lizhu slapped her forehead. "Oh my god, why did I suddenly think of Water Margin?"
"Then … is it big?" Miao Ying pointed to the bottom of the pit and asked.
"I can't say for sure, but it's such a remote mountain, so it shouldn't be that big, right?" Professor Tian analyzed and asked curiously, "Oh right, aren't you guys the criminal police? Could it be … another case related to archaeology?
"This girl is right," he said, pointing to Cui Lizhu and then to the Xie Zhi. "This kind of crude folk product is not old and has no value as a collection."
"Well, anyway …" Zhao Yu said, "Thank you for your hard work! Tonight, we will excavate through the night. If we dig out anything else, you will have to help us identify it! "
"Alright, no problem, no problem. Both of you saved my life before," Tian Dongmin said politely to Zhao Yu and Miao Ying, "I will do my best for both public and private matters!"
"Thank you!"
Miao Ying said politely, then the three of them left Professor Tian and went to the side of the excavation site.
"That's amazing," Cui Lizhu asked Zhao Yu curiously. "Both of you saved his life before? Can you tell me about it? It must be very exciting, right? "
"Of course, your Sis Miao and I fought against the grave robbers, found the Gold Buddha statues that were missing for hundreds of years, and saved the old expert," Zhao Yu said calmly. "But, I, Zhao Yu, take it upon myself to save the world. I have saved many people, so there's nothing to be proud of."
"Alright, now is not the time to talk about this," Miao Ying said to Cui Lizhu with a serious face. "Cui, since you missed the last helicopter back to Qinshan, are you still going to Fu An tomorrow?
"If not, I will ask Wu Xiumin to go."
"Of course, I have to go!" Cui Lizhu said. "Sis Wu has to find the identity of the deceased number three!
"How about this, I will go with the people from the forest protection station tomorrow. From here to Xixia Province, then from Zhangze, we can take a long-distance bus to Fu An. It will be faster this way!"
"Mm, that's a good idea!" Zhao Yu pointed at the tent in the distance. "Tonight, let's stay in the wilderness for another night!"
…
On the hillside, there were more than ten generators roaring, providing electricity and lighting to the excavation site.
It was already eight o 'clock at night, but the armed police officers did not stop working. They were still excavating the site.
The huge pit gradually expanded from twenty meters to thirty meters.
Further down, they dug out more building materials, such as green bricks, tiles, and stone pillars. As they dug out more and more things, the situation became clearer and clearer.
Professor Tian Dongmin's speculation was right. There was an old temple buried under the hillside.
Moreover, through the comparison of the unearthed items, the professor was even more convinced that it was a Mountain God Temple built in the early days of liberation.
"Let me guess …" At that moment, in a tent on the side of the hillside, Cui Lizhu held Zhao Yu's notebook and said, "Since the murderer dug a well here and buried the deceased alive, then … This person must have known that there was a Mountain God Temple buried under the hillside.
"Then … Why did he kill people?" Cui Lizhu drew a big question mark on the notebook. "Could it be … Does the Mountain God Temple have a living sacrifice?"
"Hey, stop scribbling, okay?" Zhao Yu grabbed the notebook. "This is my notebook. What are you scribbling about?"
"The landslide happened thirty years ago, which means that the murderer in this case must be above thirty years old, but …" Cui Lizhu continued to guess. "If he had any feelings for the Mountain God Temple, it means that when the landslide happened, he was already ten or twenty years old.
In other words … The murderer should be forty or fifty years old, or even older! "
"The key is … Why did he kill people?" Zhao Yu said. "Miao Ying and I guessed that the murderer wanted revenge, so the deceased must have offended the murderer before they died.
But … What does the Mountain God Temple mean? "
"Do you think …" Cui Lizhu began to think. "The landslide wasn't a natural disaster, but an accident?"
"Accident?"
Cui Lizhu asked. "For example … The four deceased, in order to gain some benefits, blew up the mountain with explosives, causing the landslide."
"Blow up the mountain?" Zhao Yu scratched his head. "There was no mine in the mountain, so why would they blow up the mountain?"
As soon as Zhao Yu finished speaking, his walkie-talkie suddenly rang.
"Zhao Yu, Zhao Yu …" Miao Ying's voice came from the walkie-talkie. "Don't analyze the case. Hurry up and call Zhang Peipei!"
"Huh? What's wrong? "Zhao Yu was surprised." Where are you? "
"I'm in the pit! Come and see! "Miao Ying said hurriedly." It turns out that the Mountain God Temple is not the only thing buried in the ground! "
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