"Incense offerings at this temple used to be pretty plentiful," Ye Qianfan remarked. "Unfortunately, no one's been here in a long time. Its master has come back, though. Looks like it's rather unhappy that no one's offering it incense anymore!"
"What makes you think the temple's master came back, rather than villagers coming to worship?"
The Station Chief questioned him.
Ye Qianfan pointed at the River God's clay statue and the temple roof. "These are all blackened by smoke, which shows just how abundant the incense offerings once were. But now there are cobwebs on these incense stubs, and plenty of dust has settled on the statue's surface. Clearly, no one's cleaned this place for at least several months!"
"If no one's been cleaning or offering incense, then logically, the floor shouldn't be this clean!"
"Besides, only a strip down the middle is especially clean. The dark corners on either side are still thick with dust. My guess is that the temple's master—the River God—came ashore, then dragged its soaking-wet body inside, carrying the dust away with it."
"But it was very unhappy that no one was making offerings anymore. That's why there are claw marks on the Fish Bone Temple's doors!"
"And judging by the claw marks and the water stains left on the floor..."
"I estimate that this River God is about nine feet wide. It should be shorter than the temple roof but taller than the doors, since its claw marks are above them. That puts it somewhere between twelve and fifteen feet tall. Its claws are sharp, too. It's a very dangerous fish-like creature!"
"A very sound analysis!"
The Station Chief was highly impressed by Ye Qianfan's analysis.
The three of them then made another circuit of the Fish Bone Temple, but found no other useful