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

"I never thought that Chang Feizhang, a scholar who has read so many books, could do such a vicious thing. In order to escape, he even hurt the lives of innocent people. What kind of official is he?"

Meng Dafeng spoke angrily, his words hurt Deng Yang and Zhou Yuanliang's hearts, and both of them showed mixed expressions on their faces.

Because in the hearts of the people of Pinghai Town and even Qujiang County, Chang Feizhang is a good official.

For a moment, they found it hard to accept it, but looking at the two corpses on the ground, they had to accept it.

As he spoke, Meng Dafeng turned to look at the remains on the ground, with a puzzled expression on his face, "But if this person is not Chang Feizhang, who else could it be?"

"Could it be Qiao Ying?"

Meng Dafeng thought of this possibility and looked at everyone and guessed.

"Not Qiao Ying."

Lin Lezhi looked at the hands of the corpse and calmly analyzed: "When Qiao Ying was by the lake, she was pinched by the neck by a fellow villager and pressed to the ground. The sudden feeling of suffocation caused Qiao Ying to scratch at the ground with both hands, and her palms and fingers were scratched by the sharp stones on the ground. But there are no scars on the hands of this corpse."

"And what about the missing boatman?"

Hearing this, Lin Lezhi shook his head again.

"Whose body is this? It's not Chang Feizhang, Qiao Ying, or the missing boatman. Guo Yong is also dead. Is there any other person on the island out of nowhere?"

Meng Dafeng blurted out, his face even more confused.

In response, Lin Lezhi shook his head and said that he didn't know where the corpse came from.

Everyone present was horrified at the sudden appearance of the unidentified corpse.

"Although I don't know who this person is, judging from the large area of ​​corpse spots on his body, this person has been dead for at least twelve hours."

"Twelve hours, that's earlier than Guo Yong died!"

Looking at the corpse on the ground, Liu Yunhe's eyes were full of shock. Then he calmed himself down and calculated the time: "It's almost 3 p.m. now, and we just came out of the well at half past 3 p.m. yesterday. Doesn't that mean this person died before we came out of the well?"

"That's right." Lin Lezhi nodded, confirming Liu Yunhe's speculation, and looked at everyone and said, "The missing boatman went down the well with us yesterday, so this person can't be him."

Hearing this, Liu Yunhe's eyes darkened and his expression became complicated. With some fear in his eyes, he slowly said, "Among the people who went to the island, except for Chang Feizhang and Qiao Ying who are currently missing, and the boatman, the number of people is correct. But if this is the case, doesn't it mean that there is really one more person out of thin air?"

As time passed, the sky gradually darkened, the fog gathered around became thicker, and the expressions on everyone's faces became as solemn as the surrounding fog.

The murderer has not been found, which means the murders may continue and that they cannot leave the island yet.

A heavy atmosphere permeated.

"General, what should we do next?"

After a long silence, Hong Mingxu asked in a weak and hoarse voice.

Unlike others, there was no hesitation or fear in Hong Mingxu's eyes. He looked at Cheng Su with determination, as if he would not hesitate even at the cost of his own life as long as it was Cheng Su's decision.

Cheng Su looked at Hong Mingxu, with a moment's hesitation in his eyes, but after closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, when he opened his eyes again, his eyes had returned to their sharpness and determination.

"As long as the murderer is not found, the entire Pinghai Town and even Qujiang County will not be at peace. Moreover, there is still a civilian missing. Abandoning him is unjust and a cowardly act. If I can't even protect one civilian, how can I protect all the civilians? What kind of general am I? Therefore, I will never retreat from this place until the murderer is found."

Cheng Su's eyes swept over everyone present, and then he continued, "I still say what I said before. No matter if you are a soldier or a civilian, anyone who does not want to be implicated in this matter can sail away from here. I will not pursue the matter."

Cheng Su's words were heard by everyone present in a sonorous and powerful voice. Some people had determination on their faces, while others had hesitation in their eyes.

Liu Yunhe and Qingchuan looked at Xiao Yihuo and followed Xiao Yihuo's ideas.

Lin Lezhi felt his sleeve being pulled by a small force. He turned to look. Guan Ziheng did not dare to say a word. He shook his head slightly at Lin Lezhi, signaling Lin Lezhi not to continue investigating.

Lin Lezhi naturally understood Guan Ziheng's concerns, and he himself did not want Guan Ziheng to be too involved in this matter.

Can……

He can't leave here now, because apart from this case, there is another thing that he wants to find out no matter what, which is why he came here.

Lin Lezhi lowered his eyes, his eyes full of complex and tangled emotions. After a moment, Lin Lezhi raised his eyes and looked towards where Xiao Yihuo was.

The moment he raised his eyes, Xiao Yihuo happened to be looking at him.

When their eyes met, Lin Lezhi knew Xiao Yihuo's decision from his determined eyes.

Therefore, just as Lin Lezhi was about to turn around and say something to Guan Ziheng, Jiang Lian'an, who was standing beside him, opened his mouth first, clasped his fists, and said firmly: "Since I have promised the general to go to the island to investigate the case, I will never back down. I am willing to follow the general to catch the murderer and investigate the case!"

Jiang Lian'an's words filled the eyes of the soldiers present with admiration and appreciation.

"If Jiang Guitan won't leave, I, Meng Dafeng, won't leave either. He has hurt so many of my brothers. I must catch him and seek justice for them." Meng Dafeng knelt on one knee and clasped his fists, saying, "I, Meng Dafeng, swear to follow the general until death to catch the real culprit and get to the bottom of this case!"

"I swear to follow the general to catch the real culprit and get to the bottom of this case!"

After Meng Dafeng expressed his determination, all the soldiers present saluted and shouted in unison.

He Yu, who was a little dazed and panicked at the side, only realized it belatedly after hearing the shouts of the crowd. He clasped his fists and knelt down to salute with everyone else, and shouted along.

Amid the continuous shouting, Guan Ziheng seemed to have made up his mind. He smiled and said to Lin Lezhi: "Lezhi, I understand your thoughts. We agreed to go back together. I won't leave alone."

Perhaps influenced by the people present, Deng Yang and Zhou Yuanliang also decided to stay.

"it is good!"

Cheng Su shouted loudly and raised his hand to signal everyone to be quiet.

Then he said, "You are all great, and you are all brave warriors of Northern Qi. In this case, let's catch the murderer together. Tomorrow morning, we will enter the secret passage of the tomb!"

After saying that, Cheng Su looked at the sky that was about to get dark, then turned to look at everyone and continued, "It's getting dark now, and the fog is getting heavier. We don't know the terrain of this island as well as the murderer, and there may be groups of snakes. It's safer to retreat to the lakeside tonight to rest. If there is an emergency, we can evacuate in time. Wait until the fog dissipates tomorrow morning, and then enter this forest again."

Cheng Su's consideration was very appropriate. It was because of the unfamiliarity with the forest last night, coupled with the appearance of a group of snakes, that everyone scattered and caused such heavy casualties.

After reorganizing the team and evacuating with the dead soldiers, Guo Yong and the unidentified corpse, Meng Dafeng offered to carry the seriously injured Hong Mingxu on his back, but Hong Mingxu shook his head and refused.

A group of people walked cautiously along the woods towards the lake. The sky became darker and darker until it was pitch black.

When they were about to leave the forest, the soldier leading the way suddenly took a few deep sniffs, looked at the soldier beside him and asked, "Do you smell anything?"

Hearing this, the soldiers nearby also took a few deep sniffs and then echoed, "It smells like something burning."

The two looked at each other and thought for a moment, then said in unison: "Not good!"

"Soldier, something seems to have happened by the lake, let's go check it out!"

After one of the soldiers shouted, the two of them immediately ran towards the lake, and what came into their sight was a blazing fire, illuminating the night.

The crowd following closely behind also followed out of the forest and were shocked at the scene in front of them.

The boats docked by the lake have all been engulfed by the fire.

"Buried with him...Buried with him...I want all of you to be buried with me..."

Suddenly, a low and angry voice came from the direction of the forest, as if it came from the abyss, echoing in everyone's ears.

Everyone was a little frightened when they heard such a sound, and they all looked in the direction where the sound came from, trying to find its source.

The speaker was covered in water plants, dripping wet, looking both human and not-so-human. Water droplets kept dripping down along the water plants, and his figure was half-hidden by the big trees, like a ghost lurking in the dark.

Holding a torch that was about to burn out, it hid in the darkness provided by the night and the deep forest. If it weren't for the torch in its hand, it would almost blend into the darkness.

It looked at the people standing in the raging fire and let out a devilish low laugh.

The hand holding the torch was very close to the fire, so it could be seen clearly.

The hand was swollen and festering, as if it had been soaked in water for a long time.

Obviously due to the distance between us, it is impossible to hear the sound of water drops falling, but I can seem to hear clearly the sound of each drop of water falling.

"Tick-tock! Tick-tock! Tick-tock..."

Zhou Yuanliang, who had been on high alert the moment he saw the monster, immediately showed a look of fear. His legs went limp and he fell to the ground. He pointed at the thing with wide eyes and exclaimed: "Water...water ghost, it's...that water ghost——!"