America: I came here to study, not to show mercy.

Chapter 203 A sudden turn of events
In northern America, on the shores of Lake Cayuga in New York State, there is a small town called Aurora.

Snowflakes drifted down from the boundless, bright sky, draping the entire town in a white coat. As far as the eye could see, everything was covered in silver.

"Aren't you cold? Are you just trying to look cool again?"

As he walked alongside the young man on the straight road, Suffer couldn't help but glance at him with disdain.

"For asking that question, do you think I'm cool right now?"

Without answering, Sean Lee raised an eyebrow and countered, "Pay me a dollar, and I can..."

"Hey... Sophie, even if you don't agree, the price is negotiable..."

Before he could finish speaking, Suffer turned her head back and quickly distanced herself from him, prompting Li Xiaoen to quicken his pace as well.

“St. Patrick's Catholic Church…”

Ignoring the young man chasing after her, Suffer stopped in front of a Gothic church building less than two hundred meters away. She looked at the church and the map on her phone repeatedly, then reached back and tugged at the other man's arm. "Sean, we're here."

"..."

Not getting a response from the young man, Sophie turned around and looked at him. "What, are you mute?"

"The only thing we know is that the last trace of the witness was in this small town, and it was never in a church."

After a moment's hesitation, Sean carefully chose his words to explain, "We're here to ask someone. The church is just one option, but we might get more information here."

Upon hearing this, Sufiel was stunned for a moment.

"But it doesn't matter."

Li Xiaoen chuckled, raised his chin, and gestured to the many people of all ages who were walking out of the church, "Since this church is open, let's go in and ask the priest inside. Perhaps we can find out more information about the witness."

For some reason, he felt that the girl seemed a bit silly today, unlike her usual meticulous and intelligent self, and he felt a little strange about it.

"Let's go in and ask, just in case the church is closed."

Avoiding the young man's gaze, Suffer took the lead and walked over.

Squeezing through the crowd into the church, the two finally saw the full view of the interior.

The church had a high ceiling, and rows of wooden pews occupied almost all the space. At the very back stood a large cross, and a small pulpit was on a step above it. A middle-aged man in a white robe was standing behind it, talking to several middle-aged women who had gathered around.

The two exchanged a glance, then walked to the front of the church, stood to one side, and waited patiently.

The town is small, and the witness, being a believer, would most likely come to the church to pray or even confess. The priest is the most likely person in the town to know about that person.

Hopefully, the information I get from him won't be too far in the future.

Li Xiaoen thought to himself, after all, according to the information he found online, the witness had moved several times over the years, and this was the last place they found—this was their only clue so far.

While waiting in boredom, Li Xiaoen called out to a middle-aged woman who was about to leave after talking with the priest.

"Hello, my name is Li. We came to this town from elsewhere and wanted to ask you if a middle-aged man named Mengkel Green moved into your town about ten years ago? He was also a Catholic, so you might remember him?"

"what?"

The woman looked up blankly. "You mean, you're from outside the Catholic Church?"

"No."

Li Xiaoen shook his head helplessly, then repeated, "I came to ask you about someone, he's also a Catholic..."

"A Catholic is asking about someone?"

"..."

"No need, you should go home and rest."

Li Xiaoen waved his hand, ignoring the amused look in Su Feier's eyes, and helplessly placed his hopes on the priest.

After waiting for a while, and after the priest had dealt with everyone, Li Xiaoen and Su Feier exchanged a glance, and Li Xiaoen stepped forward and repeated the questions he had asked.

"A Catholic who moved to the town more than a decade ago?"

The priest repeated the question, then frowned without hesitation, scrutinizing the two of them. "Who are you? What is your relationship with him? Why are you asking about him?"

"There are just some things that might require his testimony, or rather, we need to confirm with him."

Li Xiaoen nodded, carefully choosing his words in response.

Americans value privacy highly, and he understands that.

"I'm sorry, whether I know the answer or not, I don't think I should answer this question for you."

Seemingly not hearing the answer he wanted, the priest's expression suddenly turned solemn and cold. "If you're looking for someone, and the procedures are legal, I think you can report it to the police, or a legitimate private investigator."

“Your identities are not ordinary either; you should be able to afford the fees for contacting officials.”

Upon hearing this, Li Xiaoen and the other exchanged a glance, both understanding the meaning in each other's eyes.

"We understand, we'll go to the nearest police station for help."

After nodding to the priest, Li Xiaoen and Su Feier followed the departing crowd from the church.

The two exchanged a glance, and before they could say anything more, two childish shouts rang out in front of them.

"Excuse me, could you please move aside?"

Looking down, they saw two little boys in white robes standing in front of them. The two boys quickly moved aside and watched them walk into the church and head towards the priest on the pulpit.

"Alter boy?"

Li Xiaoen asked Su Feier a question.

Alter boy, meaning a priestly assistant, is a male priest who plays a role in Catholicism in assisting clergy in performing religious rites and rituals.

"Judging from their clothes, it should be them."

Sophie turned around, nodded, and naturally understood the meaning in the young man's eyes. She then lowered her voice and continued speaking.
"Don't make those assumptions based on previous news reports. If they find out, they will definitely condemn you and even sue you for discrimination and prejudice."

"At that time, although you may still win the case, the trouble will never be small."

"Um……"

With a soft hum, Li Xiaoen neither confirmed nor denied, and shook his head with a smile, "Let's go, let's look in other parts of the town, or ask other people."

They walked out of the church together with Suffer and back onto the straight road. Their footsteps crunched on the snow. A few hundred meters further on, Li Xiaoen saw another building that looked just like a church on the other side of the road.

The steps outside the church were covered with thick snow. The flowers and plants in the two flowerpots on the middle steps were withered and covered with dust. One of them even lay forlornly on the ground. The whole church looked dilapidated and neglected.

"Is this no longer in use?"

Li Xiaoen's gaze was particularly drawn to the dusty and even peeling paint door in the middle, and he asked in surprise.

"It looks like it is."

Looking up from her phone, Sophie's expression was somewhat strange. "This church is called St. Paul's Church on Google."

"The one that partnered with the elders' council from the beginning?"

Li Xiaoen raised an eyebrow, receiving a helpless nod from Su Feier. "This is your business."

Seeing Suffer's complicated expression, Li Xiaoen found it somewhat amusing. He didn't ask anything further, but instead gave her a meaningful look.

He didn't understand the specific operations and procedures, but he did know that as the single church with the largest number of believers in America, Catholic churches were scattered throughout various cities and even towns, and that they received donations from believers, government subsidies, and even funding from higher-level churches.

The church has clearly been closed for a long time, yet it still shows as "open" on Google. He has no way of knowing whether the government or the higher-level church knows this, or whether the money they are sending is still coming in.

"That's not the point, let's keep looking."

Changing the subject, seeing that Suffer's expression was obviously not good, Li Xiaoen took the initiative to reach out and hold Suffer's hand, and continued walking along the straight road.

The town is small, nestled on the eastern shore of Cayuga Lake, with a straight road running through it, and it is only about 2 miles long from north to south.

They passed restaurants, primary schools, small shopping malls, opera houses, and a handful of wooden villas, and as Google Maps showed, they didn't see another church.

There was no point in exploring the other side of the resort's main building; the most useful clue to the town's church had been lost.

"It's alright, the town doesn't seem very big, and there aren't many people. We can just ask around."

Seeing Suffer frowning and deep in thought, Li Xiaoen took her hand and squeezed it. "Relax, our trip is one of the important purposes as well."

"Ah."

Turning her head to look over, Sophie nodded, and as if she had thought of something, she quickly took out her phone. "I'll ask Serafina to have someone check the witness's information in the police system."

You have a cheat code, and you're only thinking of using it now?
Li Xiaoen raised an eyebrow, but quickly dismissed the idea of ​​complaining about it aloud.

It must be some kind of social nicety again. He hasn't been in America for very long, but as he's gotten to know the young ladies better, he's become more and more disillusioned with this free country and has realized that social niceties also exist here.

They turned back to the restaurant by the roadside and Li Xiaoen pulled Su Feier inside.

As soon as I sat down by the window, a young woman wearing a white apron came over.

"Hello, would you like something?"

The young woman placed two menu sheets on the table in front of the two people, nodded and asked, looking curiously at them from both sides.

"Um……"

Li Xiaoen looked down at the menu, which was clearly a classic Italian menu, and simply ordered two coffees and a dessert called Sfogliatella before handing the two menus back.

Sophie was still intently looking at her phone, clearly having given detailed instructions to Serafina and others.

After ordering, noticing the young woman staring blankly at him, Li Xiaoen gently nudged her hand holding the notebook and pen with the menu.

"What's wrong? Is the weather so nice today that your soul is already wandering the world?"

"Oh……"

Coming to her senses immediately, the girl couldn't help but exclaim in surprise, then waved her hand awkwardly with a smile, "Sorry."

"It's alright. Did you write down what I ordered?"

"Um……"

The girl pursed her lips and gave an awkward smile. "Could you please repeat it again?"

Shaking his head helplessly, Li Xiaoen had no choice but to repeat it again.

After the girl finished writing and left, she returned after a short while, and Li Xiaoen took the opportunity to strike up a conversation.

"You look so young, you must still be in school, right?"

"Yeah, that's right."

Just as he was about to leave, the girl stopped and nodded in agreement, "School's over, I'll come here for a part-time job."

"I see."

Li Xiaoen nodded, looking around at the few customers—only three or four tables—in the small space, and couldn't help but chuckle, "There aren't many people in this small town, so this part-time job must be easy, right?"

"There aren't many tourists at this time of year, so the work is easy, but the corresponding tips are also very low, aren't they?"

The girl shrugged helplessly.

"So, from what you're saying, we're the only tourists left in the restaurant? Do you even know anyone in this town?"

"Probably. There aren't many people here, so I'll probably remember them."

The girl nodded, looking at him mischievously, "For example, I don't remember you, so you must be from out of town."

"What's so hard about this?"

Li Xiaoen raised an eyebrow dismissively. "Believe it or not, even if I were standing in front of a confused old woman in a church, she would know I'm from out of town, despite my Chinese appearance."

"Ha ha……"

The girl paused for a moment upon hearing this, then couldn't help but laugh out loud. She leaned on the table and looked over, "You've been to our town's church? Were you bored?"

As she spoke, she shook her head helplessly and sighed, "There's really nothing fun to do in our town."

"same."

Li Xiaoen nodded in agreement, "I also think that there's nothing fun to do in my hometown."

Hey, by the way.

Li Xiaoen raised his hand, gesturing for a chair to sit down for the girl. "There are so few people in this town, do you recognize them all? Or do you have any impression of them?"

Are you looking for someone?

The girl raised an eyebrow. "Who are you looking for? I'm still too young, so I might not remember if it's been too long."

“A Catholic man named Mengkel Green who moved to the town more than a decade ago.”

Li Xiaoen simply summarized, "Do you remember?"

"Or do you know who in your town has the surname Green?"

I don't recall that name.

The girl frowned and pondered for a moment, then shook her head. "However, I do have some impression of someone surnamed Green. He was a student at the elementary school in the small town."

"is it?"

Li Xiaoen was pleasantly surprised, suppressing his excitement, "How did you know, you're just a primary school student?"

It's truly unbelievable that the girl in front of me, who looked to be at least in high school, knew that someone in elementary school had this surname.

"Their family is very poor. They would occasionally come to our store to buy the cheap food that they hadn't sold before the end of the workday."

The girl nodded in response, but her seemingly casual remark made Li Xiaoen's eyes widen in surprise.

"You mean, them?"

Li Xiaoen quickly pressed, "Were there two people? Not a tall, middle-aged man?"

(End of this chapter)