When the book-traveling little detective meets the two-faced prince

"For a foolish person who doesn't understand the five senses?" Cheng Su was puzzled and looked at Qiao Ying who was standing there in a daze.

"Perhaps... to Wu Sanshan, Qiao Ying is more than just a person without five senses. He hopes Qiao Ying can return to normal more than anyone else."

Wang Hewei slowly recounted the story, "When Qiao Ying was first picked up by Wu Sanshan, they were not as familiar with each other as they are now. She got lost once. It was probably... probably... Oh, yes, it was around the time when the Taoist priest was invited and there was a snake plague in the village."

"Snake plague?"

"Yes, General. Not long after we found Qiao Ying, many snakes suddenly appeared in the village. Because the snakes have white patterns on their bodies, they look like small flowers, so we call them white flower snakes. Those snakes... are very poisonous..."

Thinking about it now, Village Chief Wang’s face was filled with fear.

…………

Qiao Ying had been missing for three days in a row. Wu Sanshan went around the town asking around for Qiao Ying, but no one had ever seen Qiao Ying.

Wu Sanshan usually doesn't like to talk to people, but during those days, he would ask everyone he met.

"Please...Excuse me, have you...have you seen Qiao Ying?" Wu Sanshan stopped several people from the same village. He spoke haltingly because he had not communicated with others for many years.

Seeing Wu Sanshan so anxious, the villagers shook their heads. One of them sighed and advised, "Old man Wu, you may not like what I say, but you can't keep going like this."

"You know how serious the snake plague is recently. It's been three days and no one has been seen. Qiao Ying may have been poisoned to death by the white snake. I think you should focus on fishing and ignore him."

The person next to him echoed, "Yeah, living your own life is better than anything else. Why do you have to bring a burden with you when you can't even talk to you properly?"

Wu Sanshan's face was hidden under the veil. No one knew what he was thinking at the moment, or what expression he had. All that could be seen was that Wu Sanshan lowered his head.

Ever since the white snake appeared, people in the village dared not leave their homes and they closed their doors tightly at night.

The villagers thought that he had accepted this reality and felt sorry for him. They patted Wu Sanshan on the shoulder and comforted him: "It will be dark soon. Go home early."

Darkness means the snakes will appear again, and people will rush home as quickly as possible.

Wu Sanshan stood there with his head down for a long time, and only raised his head when the sun was about to set.

Wu Sanshan turned around, the setting sun shone on his left half, and the black curtain seemed to swallow all the light.

Through the black curtain, Wu Sanshan fixed his eyes on the woods next to his home.

The deep forest is where white flower snakes appear most frequently. If you are unfortunate enough to be bitten by one, you will die within two hours.

That forest is the only place we haven't searched.

Wu Sanshan did not hesitate. He clenched his fists, went home to get a kerosene lamp, then climbed over a low slope next to his house and walked step by step into the depths of the forest.

In order to make it easier to walk, Wu Sanshan tied his veil behind his back.

Wu Sanshan searched in the woods for a whole night and his cloth shoes were rotten. Just when Wu Sanshan was about to give up, he finally found Qiao Ying lying on the ground covered in mud in the depths of the woods.

Wu Sanshan placed his fingers under Qiao Ying's nose with his trembling scarred hands.

When Wu Sanshan found that Qiao Ying was still breathing, he fell to the ground as if all his strength had been lost.

The sound of large leaves rustling on the ground quickly woke Qiao Ying up.

Facing Qiao Ying who was about to wake up, Wu Sanshan, although already old, acted like a child who had done something wrong. He covered the black spots on his left cheek with his hand, then quickly untied the black veil tied behind his back and put it on his head in panic.

Before he could put it on, a pair of black, muddy hands covered the back of Wu Sanshan's hands.

Two pairs of cold hands, but when put together, you can feel the warmth transmitted.

"Grandpa's hand, it's Grandpa!" Qiao Ying grabbed Wu Sanshan's hand and said happily, then raised her head and gave Wu Sanshan a warm smile.

Wu Sanshan always wore a black veiled hat, even after he picked up Qiao Ying.

But Qiao Ying recognized herself just by her hands.

The pair of eyes looking at him were innocent and clear, with only happiness in them, without a trace of disgust.

It was the first time that Wu Sanshan met such a gaze, and also the first time that he burst into tears in front of others.

Qiao Ying pursed her lips slightly, as if thinking seriously, then stretched out her little muddy hand and wiped away the tears on Wu Sanshan's face. After looking at Wu Sanshan, she smiled and said, "Not sad, not sad, sad Feifei~"

Maybe... this sentence was just Qiao Ying's silly words, something she would say to anyone, but to Wu Sanshan, it was like a green sprout breaking out of lifeless soil.

"Ah, your face is dirty!"

Finding that Wu Sanshan's face was stained by her dirty hands, Qiao Ying changed her clothes and tried to wipe the dirt off Wu Sanshan's face, but her clothes were also covered with dirt.

The right face, which was originally as clean as a normal person's, was now covered with black mud and looked dirty.

Looking at the flustered Qiao Ying, Wu Sanshan burst into laughter. The first ray of morning light shone into the forest, and the surroundings were filled with the fragrance of grass and trees, which was refreshing.

The sunlight shone on Wu Sanshan's left cheek, and the dark spot was softened by the light.

Wu Sanshan put the black veil on the ground, then held the little dirty hand that wanted to continue trying, and said with a smile: "Then don't wipe it, kid, let's go home."

"Okay!" Qiao Ying responded happily.

On the way home, Qiao Ying wanted to pick up Wu Sanshan's black veil hat, but Wu Sanshan stopped her and said with a relieved smile: "This hat is old, let's leave it here."

"After returning, Wu Sanshan discovered that he had not encountered the white snake on his way there, including on his way back. It also did not appear in the village again. From then on, the rumor that Qiao Ying, as a spiritual guardian, protected the land and water spread."

"After that, Wu Sanshan begged the Taoist priest for the soul-calling bell, which he tied to the boat cabin all day. Not long after, during one of the early morning fishing trips, Qiao Ying suddenly remembered her name and called out Qiao Ying."

“General, this is the beginning of Wu Sanshan’s revealing his true face.” As he spoke, tears welled up in Wang Hewei’s eyes, and he said with emotion, “Since I was a child, Wu Sanshan has been alone. The fact that he met Qiao Ying may be because God had pity on him and sent Qiao Ying to him, but…but…”

Wang Hewei couldn't bear to look at Wu Sanshan's body, and continued with difficulty accepting it: "How could a good person become like this in the blink of an eye!"

While everyone was listening to Wang Hewei's story, Qiao Ying secretly picked up the bell on the ground and went to Wu Sanshan.

Qiao Ying knelt beside Wu Sanshan, wiped the blood off his face with both hands, smiled and said close to his face: "Grandpa, it doesn't hurt. Grandpa said that you will feel better after a good sleep. The pain will go away, all gone~"

But even after Qiao Ying said this, Wu Sanshan's eyes were still wide open, his bloodshot eyes staring blankly towards the sky.

Qiao Ying showed a confused expression.

At this moment, a bony hand reached out and closed Wu Sanshan's eyes.

Then, the hand was taken away. Qiao Ying looked in the direction of the hand. Lin Lezhi looked at Qiao Ying with gentle eyes, put his index finger between his lips, and said with a gentle smile in a voice that only two people could hear: "Grandpa is asleep, let's be quiet and don't wake him up."