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

The man stayed in the village for two days, often staying near the earthen temple for several hours. On the day before the Ghost Festival, the man took the last boat to leave.

After the man left, Qi Xi went to the earth temple and stared at the statue in front of her in a trance.

After looking at it, Qi Xi withdrew his gaze, and at the moment he withdrew his gaze, his eyes fell on the ceramic pendant around the waist of the statue.

He turned around with joy on his face and trotted back home.

Tomorrow evening.

Qi Fengnian, his father will be back.

Can……

Thirteen years old is still a little young after all.

The ambitious resolution he made on the edge of the cliff that day soon became untenable due to his boredom and playfulness. He threw the literacy book aside, thinking that it was still a long way to the New Year and there was no need to rush, so he put it out of his mind.

In addition, the closer it gets to the Ghost Festival, the busier the village becomes, and the gate of my house is almost broken down by people.

He felt annoyed, so he picked up his school bag and threw out a sentence.

"I went out to read."

Tao Yingxue's words "Come back early" were also drowned out by the joyful conversation of the villagers.

Qi Xi ran all the way to the cave carrying his school bag, took out the rope and several square wooden blocks he had hidden in advance, tied them to the tree closest to the cave entrance, and went down into the cave.

There is another hole inside the hole.

He took out a tinder and crawled in.

Inside was a tomb chamber with many coffins displayed inside, all nailed shut.

When Qi Xi first came here, she was still scared, but after coming here many times, she no longer felt scared.

Soon he took out the small square wooden block he had prepared early in the morning and stacked it on the coffin. The wooden block was not big, just the size of a foot. He stepped on it nimbly, activated the mechanism of the tomb, and went out of the tomb.

He thought of going outside to relax and then coming back when Qi Fengnian came back.

But he was too playful that day and came back half an hour late.

When he came out of the cave and hid his things, he rushed to the banquet venue. As soon as he arrived at the village entrance, he found the dead villagers.

In an instant, Qi Xi felt as if struck by lightning. He froze in place and even breathing became difficult.

He knelt on the ground, his face pale and his hands and feet frantically checking whether they were still breathing.

what happened.

He was just out for a trip.

How come...

At this time.

A hand not far away suddenly moved. Hope appeared in his eyes. He crawled over on his knees and held the hand that was stretched out to him.

The moment Qi Xi's clenched hands suddenly felt cold and powerless, her heart also fell into a bottomless glacier.

"Grandpa Zhang, what happened? Why is this happening?!"

His face collapsed, he asked with an urgent and pleading look, his voice trembling, and his trembling hands rubbed the old and cold hand, trying to restore its warmth.

Uncle Zhang had already run out of strength. Only after he saw that it was Qi Xi did he force himself to move with his last bit of strength. He tried hard to open his mouth.

He just said "Run", and there was no light in his eyes anymore.

"Grandpa Zhang, please don't die. I don't want you to die. Get up."

Qi Xi cried out, shaking

Qi Xi had experienced death before.

That was when he was still very young and couldn't understand the meaning of death, his grandparents died of illness one after another.

As he grew older and understood more things, he envied other children whose families had older people.

Because of the close relationship between generations, the older generation will always meet the needs of the younger generation, regardless of whether the demand is reasonable or not.

but.

There are not many people in the village, so even if they are not my elders, they are very kind to me and always share some delicious food with me.

After Grandpa Zhang died, he did not run away obediently.

He hasn't seen his father and mother yet.

He won't leave.

The little heart is broken and stubborn.

This day is Ghost Festival.

People in Pinghai Town will set off lanterns.

Every time lanterns are lit, there will be some fog on the mountain. The colder the weather, the thicker the fog will be.

Although the Ghost Festival is at the end of summer, it is still colder in the mountains than in the town.

At this moment, a lot of fog has gathered in the forest.

The fog wasn't too thick, but with Qi Xi's familiarity with the village, it wouldn't be easy for him to be noticed if he wanted to hide.

Qi Xi carefully returned to the village. On the way, he saw more dead bodies. He was afraid that he would scream, so he covered his mouth tightly all the way.

His fingers almost embedded themselves deeply into the flesh, barely able to restrain himself and not make the slightest sound.

The further we went, the more corpses of the villagers we saw, and they were all young and strong. The older people were almost all dead near the village exit.

At first Qi Xi was puzzled, thinking that young people should run faster.

Later, Qi Xi realized that the drugs would take effect faster because young people eat and drink more.

Qi Xi didn't see anyone in the village along the way.

The venue for the banquet in the village was rotated among each family. Although there were not many people in the village, there were more than 120 people. One family was naturally not enough. At least six families had to clean up their yards for the banquet.

Qi Xi walked through the village carefully and found Qi Fengnian's body in the yard of a family holding a banquet.

Dad fell to the ground, no longer breathing, his eyes were bloodshot, and he died with his eyes open.

Big tears rolled down his cheeks, soaking the corners of Qi Fengnian's clothes.

In the end...

I didn’t see my father for the last time.

He tried hard not to cry, closed Qi Fengnian's eyes with trembling hands, and then looked for Tao Yingxue's figure.

He believed that wherever his father was, his mother must be nearby.

finally.

Tao Yingxue was found dying in the house of this family. She was tied to a chair, the tendons of her hands and feet were ripped, her body was covered with wounds, and blood was all over the floor.

But because it was not a fatal injury, he still had a breath of life.

I heard someone entering the house.

Tao Yingxue hung her head, like a lifeless broken doll. Only her fingertips trembling slightly in pain showed that she still had a breath.

Hearing the noise, she did not look up, but said in a weak but very firm voice: "You killed my fellow villagers, and I will never tell you where the treasure is even if I die."

Tao Yingxue didn't wait for a response, but when she heard a sob, she suddenly raised her head.

The hardness and determination in her eyes turned into tenderness and worry. As if she was afraid that Qi Xi would worry, she smiled and said, "You're back."

"Yes... Mother, I'm back. I'll help you untie the rope right away."

"do not want!"

Tao Yingxue stopped Qi Xi in a harsh voice, then looked at Qi Xi with expectation and pleading eyes, and said gently: "Xi'er, be good, listen to what mother says..."

Tao Yingxue stopped Qi Xi and briefly told Qi Xi what happened here.

original.

Shortly after the banquet began, a group of thieves broke in. They had drugged the food in advance, killed dozens of villagers in a row, and then tortured Tao Yingxue to reveal the location of the treasure.

Tao Yingxue didn't want the villagers to die because of this, so she told them the location of the treasure map.

But after getting the treasure map, they brutally killed the remaining villagers, and then went to the location Tao Yingxue said to look for the treasure map.

They didn't expect that anyone in the village hadn't returned, so they didn't leave anyone here to guard.

"Xi'er, mother can't survive, and you can't take her away, or we'll all die here. You have to live on in place of mother, mother, and father, along with the entire village. As long as you're alive, Huaifeng Village will always be here."

"No... Mother, I won't leave. I want to stay with you. I'm not afraid of death."

Along with Tao Yingxue's request to Qi Xi, Qi Xi also choked and begged, he really didn't want to live anymore.

He wanted his mother to agree to let him live with them and the whole village.

"You are not afraid, but I am afraid...I hope you can live. I am waiting to see the Spring Festival couplets you write."

"I……"

"It's just a broken map. There's nothing else. What kind of treasure can we find here?"

Hearing the noise coming from outside the courtyard, Tao Yingxue's pupils tightened and she said in panic: "Xi'er, they are back, go and hide quickly, go!"

Seeing that Qi Xi showed no intention of moving, Tao Yingxue became anxious.

She lowered her voice so that only two people could hear it, and said seriously: "If you don't listen to me, you are unfilial. Do you want me to go to hell and not rest in peace?"

When Tao Yingxue said these words, the pain in her heart was a thousand times more painful than the pain in her body.

The word "unfilial" is so heavy.

After struggling internally, Qi Xi hid in the well in the yard with tears in her eyes. She held onto the well rope with her hands and pressed her feet against the well wall to keep herself from slipping down.

The first man who walked in did not find anything unusual in the well, but he found something wrong with Qi Fengnian on the ground.

"I remember that the man had his eyes open before, how come they are closed now?"

Because Qi Fengnian fought a desperate battle with them before his death, and he was also Tao Yingxue's husband, so he paid attention to him.

"Maybe he wasn't dead enough before."

"No, why are there still water stains on his body?"

He looked at the small water stain on his clothes and said with caution, but the other one didn't take it seriously. He smiled and joked, "We swam from the lake, and our bodies are still not dry. Maybe you dropped some water on him when you looked into his eyes just now."

"I'm not kidding you." Then he looked around and asked cautiously, "Has anyone been to this yard?"

There were three people talking. When Qi Xi heard the man who said this, her heart immediately began to hang in her throat, and her heart beat as fast as a drum in her chest.

One of them also became nervous and looked inside the house quickly, then heaved a sigh of relief and said, "The woman is still here. If someone really came, they would have rescued her."

The leader's eyes became less vigilant, but he still had concerns and planned to look around.

at this time.

There was a "clang" sound.

There was a sound of a chair falling down in the room.

The vigilant person had to put aside his suspicion for the time being and looked into the house. He saw Tao Yingxue lying on the ground, banging her head against the ground.

The leader is Guo Yong.

He grabbed Tao Yingxue's head, a grim smile on his face, and said with mockery in his eyes: "Why, do you want to die?"

Tao Yingxue used all her strength when she knocked him, and blood was flowing out. She stared at Guo Yong, with no sign of weakness in her eyes. She spat blood on Guo Yong's face and said, "Even if I die, I will not let you go even if I become a ghost!"

Guo Yong was not angry when a mouthful of blood foam was spat on him, nor did he wipe it off. Instead, he was excited.

He turned his head, and as he twisted his neck, his joints creaked. He pulled up both himself and the stool and straightened them so that Tao Yingxue was facing him.

Looking at Tao Yingxue's angry eyes stained with blood, he said in a negotiating tone: "Okay, as long as you tell me where the treasure is, I will help you."