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

Hong Mingxu really couldn't imagine that Jiang Lian'an could still say so many words even at this point, without any dirty words but every word was heart-wrenching.

Although he didn't care about the crazy words of a dying man, he just assumed that he was stupid because of the pain.

But being teased and looked down upon repeatedly by Jiang Lian'an is really infuriating.

Hong Mingxu sneered and said, "As expected of the famous Detective Jiang. Even in this state, he still doesn't care about his own life. Oh, by the way, I have to thank you."

Looking at Jiang Lian'an, who was curled up on the ground and shivering, he couldn't help but feel in a good mood. He sneered and said, "If it weren't for you, I wouldn't know that Chang Feizhang had found out about me. How do you think I should thank you?"

Seeing Jiang Lian'an curled up on the ground and shaking more and more violently, Hong Mingxu thought he was in pain at first, but when he listened carefully, he found that he was laughing.

Hong Mingxu immediately frowned, kicked Jiang Lian'an on the shoulder, then pulled up his collar and made him face him.

"What are you laughing at?"

I don’t know if it was because the pain was too great, but Lin Lezhi felt numb and couldn’t feel the pain anymore.

He managed a few broken laughs, which were tinged with a hint of amusement and disbelief, and said in a weak voice, "I lied to you, and you believed it."

"What did you say?" Hong Mingxu's eyes darkened and he gritted his teeth.

Lin Lezhi raised his resolute eyes and looked directly at Hong Mingxu. Although he was at a disadvantage, he looked down from a high vantage point. There was a hint of teasing in his eyes. He raised the corners of his mouth slightly, and said in a hoarse and weak voice, "Oh~ I said that just to see how you would react, to test you."

"If he hadn't investigated, how could he have written about tomb robbers in the letter?"

"I was just saying it casually, but I didn't expect Captain Hong to take it seriously. It seems Captain Hong understands Northern Qi law even less than I do. According to Northern Qi law, anyone who robs a tomb must be executed! Putting aside the fact that County Magistrate Chang doesn't know who committed the crime eleven years ago, and whether he can investigate the case beyond his jurisdiction, even if County Magistrate Chang did find the tomb robbers, they would have been executed. Since they are already dead, why would he bother to go to the trouble of setting up a trap to lure the thieves in?"

Hong Mingxu's intuition told him that Jiang Lian'an's words were not to be believed. He tightened his grip on Jiang Lian'an's collar, his eyes filled with anger as he patiently asked, "Then how did he know?"

"Have you ever thought about how County Magistrate Chang knew about Qiao Ying's murder plan? Of course Wu Sanshan told County Magistrate Chang about Qiao Ying's plan. You're so stupid. Of course it was written in that notebook. And on the night Guo Yong died, Qiao Ying and County Magistrate Chang were together. What do you think?"

With every word Lin Lezhi said, he could clearly notice that Hong Mingxu's expression became increasingly gloomy and terrifying. He could even see the muscles on Hong Mingxu's face trembling uncontrollably with anger.

Lin Lezhi continued to prod him fearlessly, "If you want to blame someone, blame your three brothers. They thought there were no survivors in Huaifeng Village, so they spoke without restraint." Then, Lin Lezhi contradicted himself, "Oh, no, it's still your fault for not being suspicious enough back then. You were afraid of being exposed and didn't dare to go to the island to confirm it yourself. You ended up like this. It's really a case of karma coming back to haunt you."

The anger aroused by Jiang Lian'an had nowhere to vent, and coupled with the contemptuous gaze he was staring at, he was furious and immediately pulled the knife out of Lin Lezhi's left shoulder. Without mercy, to vent his anger and to make Jiang Lian'an shut up, he fiercely plunged the knife into the same position again.

"what--!"

This time, Lin Lezhi could no longer bear it and cried out in pain. His body trembled involuntarily due to the pain. His face was as pale as a piece of white paper that could be torn at any time, and beads of sweat slid down his forehead like beads with broken strings.

Lin Lezhi felt dizzy and looked towards the door. It seemed like several doors were overlapping each other. He was almost at the limit of what he could endure.

He really felt that it was a waste of Hong Mingxu's talent to be a tomb robber. If he had not gone astray and chosen the wrong profession, his skills in torturing people would have been of great use to him in the Criminal Court.

Not fatal, but excruciatingly painful.

But compared to this, Lin Lezhi still admires himself more for being able to think in a distracted way at a time like this.

"Since Captain Hong dislikes me, why not just... kill me..."

Lin Lezhi's face was pale, his body was shaking uncontrollably, and he almost fainted. He endured the pain from his shoulder and spoke in a trembling voice.

Looking at Lin Lezhi's painful expression, he seemed to feel better. He curled the corners of his mouth slightly, grabbed Lin Lezhi's hair tightly, and lifted Lin Lezhi up with force.

The weight of my entire body is concentrated in my hair, and my scalp feels like it will be torn off at any time.

Lin Lezhi had no doubt that if Hong Mingxu wanted to, he could really tear off his scalp in an instant.

The tearing pain made Lin Lezhi's already furrowed brows even tighter, but compared to the pain in his shoulder, it was nothing.

But in order to relieve the pain, Lin Lezhi followed the direction Hong Mingxu was pulling, supported himself on the ground with his hands, and sat up a little straighter.

Lin Lezhi was forced to look up and meet Hong Mingxu's eyes. The other's eyes were full of ruthlessness and mockery.

"Kill you? Wouldn't that be a quick death?" Looking at Lin Lezhi's painful expression, his eyes still etched with an unyielding coldness, he smiled wider and said, "I suddenly think it would be quite fun to keep you alive and bring you back to slowly torture you."

Hong Mingxu seemed to have already thought of those scenes that made him happy, and there was a terrifying excitement in his eyes.

"Let's see if you can still be so eloquent then, or..." He seemed to have thought of a better idea and grabbed Lin Lezhi's left hand.

"Well-!"

His body became increasingly weak due to the effects of the medicine. One of his hands was grabbed, and it was his injured left hand. With the strength of only one hand, coupled with the pain from moving his arm, Lin Lezhi could hardly support himself. His arm softened and his body slid down. His scalp was torn with pain again, and a broken cry of pain escaped from the corner of his lips.

However, because Hong Mingxu grabbed his hand, it provided him with another source of support, preventing his body from sliding down further.

His arm was pulled up, and the sleeve slid down to his elbow, revealing the smoke-cloud scar underneath.

Hong Mingxu traced the shape of the scar with his eyes and sneered, "Tell me, if I cut off this scar, then give you a mute potion, and cut off your tongue, will anyone still know who you are? Then I can accuse you of any crime, and without even having to do anything, I'll make you despised by thousands, despised by millions, unable to live or die, and end up with a tragic death."

The smile on Hong Mingxu's lips grew wider, as if he could still see the ending. He said with a somewhat neurotic smile, "You like to play the hero, but when you are really suffering, those people you helped will not come to save you, let alone care whether you live or die. They think you are a wicked person and are afraid to have anything to do with you. They wish to tear you into pieces and hope you die soon!"

The words fell.

A small, broken and weak laugh escaped from the corner of Lin Lezhi's mouth.

It turns out that people do laugh when they are speechless.

Lin Lezhi's laughter hurt Hong Mingxu's tense and sensitive nerves at the moment, and he felt that Lin Lezhi was laughing at him.

"You think I'm kidding you?"

"...No, no, no, you misunderstood. I just think your idea is good. It's really good, really."

Lin Lezhi repeatedly emphasized that he had no other intentions, and he really had no other intentions. He thought in his heart that this was a great idea, but to Hong Mingxu it sounded like disdain and ridicule towards him.

"Jiang Lian'an!"

Hong Mingxu's eyes were bloodshot, and his eyeballs seemed to be bulging out. He shouted almost gritting his teeth and threw Lin Lezhi to the ground.

Falling to the ground, Lin Lezhi let out a muffled groan.

Hong Mingxu's eyes swept across the sharp weapons in the house, not even missing the one on Lin Lezhi's shoulder, but in the end he seemed to think of something more useful, and his eyes fell on the firewood in the temple.

Then he pulled up Lin Lezhi's arm and dragged him to the firewood like dragging a rag. As he walked, a trail of blood flowed from his calf, which was stabbed by Lin Lezhi, but he seemed to be completely unaware of the pain.

He dragged Lin Lezhi to the campfire, but did not let go of Lin Lezhi's wrist. He squatted down and suddenly pulled out the finger-long thin knife from Lin Lezhi's shoulder. Then he used the thin knife to pierce a piece of the reddest charcoal, and roughly pressed Lin Lezhi's trembling hand to the ground, approaching the smoke-cloud scar on the inside of Lin Lezhi's arm.

Lin Lezhi's eyes tightened.

Hong Mingxu really intends to destroy the scar on the inside of his arm!

Lin Lezhi tried his best to break free, but Hong Mingxu still held his wrist tightly and he could not move.

"What? Now you're afraid of being stubborn like a fool?" Hong Mingxu's face suddenly darkened. He said harshly, "It's too late."

Hong Mingxu's words seemed to have determined Lin Lezhi's fate. The red-hot charcoal in his hand continued to approach the inside of Lin Lezhi's arm. Before the charcoal really got close, the scorching heat alone brought an extremely strong burning sensation.

“Hong Mingxu——!”

Just as the charcoal fire was about to approach, Cheng Su's hoarse shouting made Hong Mingxu's almost crazy eyes regain some clarity, and the movement of his hands also stopped.

The moment of calm in the midst of rage made Hong Mingxu's expression and movements seem a little slow.

He looked in Cheng Su's direction somewhat stiffly, with some fear and panic in his eyes.

"Will…"

Lin Lezhi seized the opportunity, took out Xiao Yihuo's short knife from his sleeve, gripped the handle tightly and slashed it towards Hong Mingxu's hand that was tightly grasping his wrist. The sharp blade cut a gash on the back of Hong Mingxu's hand.

Unexpectedly, Lin Lezhi actually had a sharp weapon hidden. Hong Mingxu was caught off guard and let go of Lin Lezhi due to severe pain.

Blood flowed out and dripped onto the firewood in the fire beside him, making a "sizzling" sound that made his scalp tingle.

Then he cursed and tried to capture Lin Lezhi again, but before he turned around, he heard a whooshing sound. Before he could even see what it was, the fire in front of him exploded, accompanied by billowing smoke.

In order to protect himself, Hong Mingxu immediately protected his head, but he could not protect his body. His clothes were burned by the splashing charcoal, and the scorching flames burned his skin.

He cursed, tore his shirt open and threw it to the ground.

Seeing the billowing white smoke rising from the house and the familiar smell filling his nose, Hong Mingxu laughed, but not fiercely. Instead, he said with a hint of respect: "General, you just blew up the firewood now, it's useless now, right?"

Hong Mingxu has followed Cheng Su for more than ten years and has seen countless fireworks being set off. It goes without saying that it was the general who threw it out.

Without the largest pile of firewood, the room became very dark with only the torches at the four corners of the wall. Coupled with the thick smoke gathering in the house, it was almost impossible to see anything, and the only sound was frequent coughing.

Sudden.

With a creaking sound, the tightly closed door was suddenly pushed open. Hong Mingxu looked towards the door warily and blurted out subconsciously: "Jiang Lian'an, don't even think about running away!"

The moment Hong Mingxu was about to raise his foot to chase.

“…Since I’m here, I’ve never thought of leaving!”

Hong Mingxu suddenly opened his eyes wide. Who else could it be but Jiang Lian'an, the weak yet resolute voice behind him?

Can……

If the person at the door isn't Jiang Lian'an, who else could it be?

Because the temple door was opened, the thick smoke in the house dissipated a little.

Hong Mingxu widened his eyes and looked towards the door vigilantly, trying to identify the person coming, but the thick smoke was almost intertwined and merged with the thick fog outside the house, making it difficult for him to see clearly.

As my eyes gradually adjusted to the dim light and the thick fog dissipated a little, I could vaguely see a dark figure standing at the door.