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

Recalling the experience of that night.

Qi Xi's clenched fists were trembling, veins bulged on the back of his hands, his nails dug deeply into his palms but he didn't feel the pain at all. His eyes were filled with endless sadness and anger, as well as a sense of powerlessness that could not be changed.

"That night, before he reached the well mouth, I had already followed the rope to the bottom of the well. That's how I discovered the secret of the well."

He controlled his emotions that were about to collapse, and continued to speak as calmly as possible with a trembling voice.

"Perhaps it was because it was too dark that night and fog gathered around, so he didn't find the marks on the well wall. Or maybe they were too confident and thought they could rest easy after confirming the number of people. But what they didn't expect was that on the night before the Ghost Festival, Grandma Ling's grandchild was born. It was a lovely girl."

He laughed, but his laughter was broken and mixed with anger and hatred. He gritted his teeth and shouted word by word: "There are 124 people in Huaifeng Village, and I am the only one left alive!"

There was no trace of relief in his words; instead, he hoped to die with them on that day.

At the same time, the stupidity and calmness that he had pretended for the past eleven years, at this moment, were like a dam bursting during a flood. It was no longer controllable and he could only let the sad emotions invade his body and mind, constantly robbing him of the calmness and self-control he had maintained for many years.

His eyes were filled with endless sadness and anger, as well as a sense of powerlessness that could not be changed.

He thought he had a heart as hard as rock and could calmly talk about that memory, but the past flooded into his mind.

He was shocked.

Eleven years have passed.

He is still that thirteen-year-old kid who has never grown up.

The former Qi Xi had long since died along with the people of Huaifeng Village. What survived eleven years ago was just a paper doll seeking revenge.

For revenge.

He abandoned all emotions and disguised himself as a fool.

but……

It's different from eleven years ago.

this time.

He finally no longer had to suppress his crying and roaring, he no longer had to pretend, he could express himself loudly without any scruples or reservations.

A...

Crying eleven years late.

For eleven years, he only dared to let his tears flow into his stomach.

But he didn't let himself cry for too long, because he knew that now was not the time to cry. He wiped the tears from his cheeks with his trembling hands covered with wounds, and said like a puppet without a soul: "Because my mother often helps the villagers, they think that my mother is the boss of the village. But in fact, they can ask anyone. The so-called treasure is not a secret in Huaifeng Village. Everyone knows it."

Hearing that everyone knew about it, the people around, including Cheng Su and Hong Mingxu, were shocked. Lin Lezhi had not thought of this either and showed a look of surprise.

.........

It is not surprising that outsiders often come to Huaifeng Village. In fact, whether they are from Huaifeng Village or outsiders, they all know the truth and have reached a consensus that does not need to be stated.

Among the outsiders who come to the village and are interested in "Holding the Wind in Your Arms", nine out of ten have the same idea.

The words engraved on the back of the statue.

'Looking for it, it is hidden in the soil, where the golden light shines.'

It seems that as long as one can solve this riddle, one can find the treasure.

According to the elders in the village, this earth temple already existed when Huaifeng Village moved here more than 200 years ago. When they found the earth temple, there was a sheepskin map on the altar.

Since there were people living on this island in the lake, the treasure on the island does not belong to them, and they naturally would not stop others from looking for treasure.

But everyone in Huaifeng Village knew it.

'The treasure does not belong to them'.

This sentence.

It is deceptive.

Their generations have lived here for more than two hundred years, and there is no place on the island that they have not visited. Even without this parchment, they know where the treasure mentioned in the riddle is, but they will not touch it even if they know it.

It's not that I don't want to move, but...

Can't move.

as well as……

Can't move.

People who had just arrived in the village had some evil intentions towards the treasures in the tomb, but no matter what the reason, anyone who tried to touch the treasures died near the cave entrance.

Without exception, they were all bitten to death by snakes.

As long as you don't move, everything will be fine and you can do whatever you want in the tomb.

and so.

To the people of Huaifeng Village, it was not a treasure at all, but more like a curse. Therefore, they would not reveal the location of the treasure to outsiders.

I don't want anyone to lose their life because of those treasures.

therefore.

The ancestors of Huaifeng Village divided the treasure map into two parts, and made the part they thought was the most critical into an inconspicuous pendant among the many waist ornaments on the clothes of the statue, hanging on the side of the waist of the stone statue.

The truth that it is darkest under the lamp.

If someone really found the treasure map, they would definitely not place the missing piece in such a conspicuous position.

Later, he sneaked back to the village and got the missing piece of the map into his hands.

He believed that as long as he had this parchment map.

Even if the thieves no longer harbored greed, they would certainly be terrified by this thing, fearing that what they had done would be exposed and they would return to the island to confirm it.

If they don't come, he will do everything he can to make them come here.

anyway.

He would make them pay for what they had done.

"Although this group of thieves came for the treasure, my mother certainly didn't want them to die in vain, so she didn't want to tell them. Only when they threatened to kill the villagers did I have no choice but to tell them the location of the treasure map. But they didn't keep their promise. After learning the location of the treasure map, they killed everyone in the village and only left my mother alive to prevent her from deceiving them."

"I think after seeing all the villagers die, my mother knew that she would not survive, and she did not want to live, but she did not want the evil thieves to survive even more. She was determined to wait for the thieves to come back and tell them the location of the treasure, so that they would be trapped in their own webs and die without a burial place. But...but, my mother did not expect that I would go back."

Qi Xi, who was originally like a puppet, seemed to regain a trace of life when he mentioned Tao Yingxue. His voice trembled uncontrollably and he almost collapsed: "In order to prevent the thieves from getting suspicious and to allow me to leave safely, my mother held on and let those beasts humiliate her for so long!"

Qi Xi knows.

He knows everything.

It was because he knew that the night was so long for him, as if dawn would never come, and he would be forever deep in the shaft of darkness.

That night, A'niang must have been in great pain, but she was worried that I would be scared if I heard it, so she endured the pain and minimized her cries as much as possible.

Each of those cries of pain, weak and broken to the point of being unable to be pieced together, was like a knife cutting into his heart.

Heart-wrenching.

Qi Xi also understood when A Niang asked about the identity of this group of thieves.

How could he not understand?

A Niang didn't want the people of Huaifeng Village to die in such an unclear way. A Niang wanted to let herself know at who's hands the whole village died and who the enemy of Huaifeng Village was.

"But……"

Qi Xi's fists clenched tightly at his sides could not stop shaking. He said bitterly, "Why... Why... Why didn't those evil thieves die from the snake bites? Why!"

Qi Xi let out a long sigh after her outburst of rage, trying to calm herself down, but the breath still didn't flow smoothly and she couldn't sigh.

His eyes were bloodshot with anger and sadness. He gritted his teeth and swallowed down his hatred, barely suppressing his anger and unwillingness.

"That night, I hid in the dark and watched them cover the body and steal the property. As dawn was approaching, I was worried that they would find me without the fog and darkness, and they had been in the tomb all along. I had no choice but to hide in the bottom cabin of the lantern boat before dawn, and jump into the water from the boat when it was about to sail out of the fog."

As he spoke, Qi Xi lowered his eyes, the outline of the lantern was reflected in his wavering gaze, his expression seemed detached and yet seemed to contain endless loneliness and sadness.

"Later, I ran out of energy and fell into a coma. When I opened my eyes, I was... at my grandfather's house..."

He wanted to distance himself from the situation so that he wouldn't seem so painful and desperate, but the words that came out of his mouth were still trembling.

The words fell.

Deng Yang seemed to have figured something out all of a sudden. A hint of surprise flashed across his eyes as he said, "So... that's why none of the lanterns on the lantern boat were lit that year."

"..."

After that, the air fell into silence.

Qi Xi did not respond, but looked at Deng Yang with red and sad eyes.

There wasn't actually much emotional fluctuation in Qi Xi's eyes; the sadness in her eyes was always there.

He just watched quietly, but such a sad and calm look made Deng Yang feel a little fear inexplicably, and the image of Wu Sanshan's tragic death appeared in his mind.

Over the years, Wu Sanshan's importance to Qixi is self-evident. Even if he didn't know it, he indirectly killed Wu Sanshan.

As he thought about this, his inner uneasiness and fear became more and more magnified. His expression became flustered, and even his body became a little unstable. He felt like he was sitting on pins and needles, but he had nowhere to hide.

Qi Xi didn't blame Deng Yang.

If I really have to blame someone, it's myself.

He retracted his gaze, and his lowered eyes just covered those calm yet sad eyes. He stared quietly at the lanterns on the ground, his tone and expression as calm and calm, he just spoke the truth.

"The lanterns on the lantern boats will be extinguished."