Upon hearing Qian Shanxue's words, the abbot of Doushi Temple looked sternly at Ye Xiaolei and said, "This female benefactor, words must not be spoken recklessly. How can you determine that the murderer is hiding in our Doushi Temple just by the scent of the incense?"

Ye Xiaolei raised her eyebrows and replied, "Abbot Shengyi, my specialty is identifying scents, so the Dragon Group folks call me Xun Xiang." After softly sniffing the air, Ye Xiaolei pointed at a martial monk standing near the door and said, "He ate meat."

The crowd was startled.

Almost simultaneously, Ye Xiaolei pointed at another middle-aged monk and said, "He has the scent of women's perfume on him."

The crowd was shocked.

Ye Xiaolei looked calmly at Abbot Shengyi and said, "Master, you have the scent of red bean buns on you, and a faint smell of corn."

Upon hearing this, the monks present were shocked.

"She even guessed that the abbot's breakfast was red bean buns and corn porridge!"

"What a terrifying woman."

"Well... that's incredible, those two uncles..."

Thud!

Two monks fell to their knees.

"Master..."

"No need to say more," Abbot Shengyi said sternly. "Mistakes are made by everyone. Go and reflect on yourselves."

"Yes, Master. Thank you."

The two monks left.

At the same time, Abbot Shengyi said, "Since the female benefactor's sense of smell is so acute, I will be open and honest. The incense used in this hall is indeed specially made by our temple, using over a dozen different ingredients to emit a unique scent."

Ye Xiaolei smiled, "So, the murderer must have been here, and since this main hall of Doushi Temple is not open to tourists, the murderer is among you."

Upon hearing this, the monks present looked at each other in dismay.

Qian Shanxue said sharply, "Normally, who frequents this hall?"

Abbot Shengyi replied, "Our temple has a total of three hundred and twelve monks, with three hundred and one inner disciples and eleven outer disciples. Besides the junior disciples, all monks of the Sheng, Yuan, and Jue lineages come here for morning and evening lessons daily, totaling two hundred and seventeen people."

In an instant, Qian Shanxue, Ali, and Ye Xiaolei were stunned.

"Over two hundred suspects?" Ali exclaimed.

At this moment, Qian Shanxue said, "Abbot Shengyi, despite the temple having many monks, usually, not many people go up the mountain ridge, right?"

Abbot Shengyi replied, "Not many on normal days, but on the first and fifteenth of each month, when we perform the complete rituals, all monks from the inner yard circle the mountain."

Upon hearing this, the three women were dumbfounded.

Every half month, all monks pass through there.

If the murderer is careful, it's very difficult for anyone to notice.

As the three women looked at each other, pondering the next steps, Shen Qiang, standing outside the main hall, raised his eyebrows and said, "It's good to confirm the murderer is here. Let's end today's investigation and come back another day."

Having said that, Shen Qiang turned and walked away without caring about the stunned trio.

The three women hesitated for a moment before following Shen Qiang out of Doushi Temple.

Outside, after boarding Shen Qiang's off-road vehicle, Qian Shanxue, sitting in the front passenger seat, raised her eyebrows and said coldly, "We should continue our investigation. The murderer hiding in Doushi Temple can't possibly leave no trace."

Shen Qiang chuckled, "Two hundred and seventeen suspects—are you planning to talk to each one individually?"

"That's the only feasible option," Qian Shanxue said.

Shen Qiang replied helplessly, "Forget it. Everyone lies, monks are no exception. Believe me, after questioning these two hundred and seventeen people, not only will the number of suspects decrease, but you'll start seeing everyone as the killer."

"How is that possible?" Ali pouted.

Shen Qiang said, "The secrets hidden among these monks are many. Once suspicion starts, every person will have questionable points. By the time you've methodically investigated everyone, a month will have passed."

Qian Shanxue frowned, "So what's your better idea?"

"Tomorrow, when we start the investigation, let the monks hear that we already have enough clues from testimonies provided by other monks, and have significantly narrowed down the suspects. The comprehensive investigation is just a cover-up," Shen Qiang calmly added, "Mm, it's best to let it slip unintentionally."

Upon hearing this, Ali's eyes lit up, "If someone has a guilty conscience, you want to force them to reveal themselves?"

Shen Qiang paused for a moment, then driving, he said, "There is no eating pancakes without dropping sesame seeds. Constantly walking along the riverbank also makes it impossible not to get wet. No matter how the murderer disguises himself, someone must have noticed something over the past thirty years. So upon hearing this rumor, they will inevitably take action. At that time, we can catch them."

Looking at Qian Shanxue deep in thought, Shen Qiang smiled, "After all, he's a murderer. Discovering his plan is falling apart, he must choose to either flee or cover his tracks. As long as he doesn't calmly await his fate, we will find him."

Qian Shanxue nodded, "I understand, you want to scare the snake out of its hiding place."

The car drove back to the city.

Shen Qiang took the three women to have authentic old-fashioned hotpot for lunch.

After lunch.

Qian Shanxue received a call, saying that some clues had been found by the medical examiner regarding the bodies, so she and Ali needed to investigate.

At that time, Ye Xiaolei, who had been seriously injured recently and had consumed True Yuan to identify the scent today, was visibly unable to continue. According to Qian Shanxue's request, Shen Qiang first sent Ye Xiaolei back to Jinyu Huacheng to rest.

After that, he waited for a call with confirmed news.

They would notify Shen Qiang immediately.

This arrangement left Shen Qiang slightly disappointed.

But considering Ye Xiaolei's situation, sending her back to rest was undoubtedly the best choice.

So Shen Qiang had no reason to refuse.

Driving Ye Xiaolei back to Jinyu Huacheng.

They had just sat down in the living room.

Ye Xiaolei, feeling very uncomfortable being alone with Shen Qiang, sat silently like a wooden statue, without uttering a word. When she noticed Shen Qiang watching her, her pretty face inexplicably reddened, and her hands nervously gripped the hem of her clothes, which amused Shen Qiang.

"Ye Xiaolei, we've known each other for almost half a year now, and we've spent quite a bit of time together. Why do you still get so nervous when you see me?"

Hearing Shen Qiang's words, Ye Xiaolei's pretty face turned crimson, and she immediately became nervous, stammering, "Oh, no, I'm not nervous, really, Shen Qiang, I'm just... um... um..."

Seeing her hesitant look, Shen Qiang laughed, "Just speak your mind. I'm not going to eat you."

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