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

As the sky grew darker, it became increasingly difficult to see the expressions on each other's faces.

Lin Lezhi shifted his gaze from the distant stars to the lake.

Unlike the gradually blurred expression, under the pouring moonlight, the wide lake surface became more and more sparkling, as if the entire lake surface was coated with a layer of soft silver gauze.

The lake rippled slightly, and dots of starlight appeared. It was as if the stars in the distant sky fell into the water, shimmering with tiny silver light like a galaxy, sparkling and shining.

What a nice view.

Lin Lezhi slowly sat up and looked at the lake, and couldn't help but admire it in his heart.

Such a beautiful scenery is enough to take your heart away.

It makes people want to keep watching and not think about anything else.

His sight shifted slightly, and the light of a row of lanterns on the lake near the dock pulled Lin Lezhi back from his brief trance. Xiao Yihuo also followed Lin Lezhi's movements, slowly sitting up, and also noticed the tiny light in the distance.

"Looks like Yun He and the others are back and they're all at the lake. Let's go over and see if we can help."

Xiao Yihuo had no objection to Lin Lezhi's proposal, but a hint of worry appeared on his face. He responded softly, "Okay."

The two walked along the lake towards the pier.

As we approached the dock, three or two civilians came towards us, talking in low voices, their voices filled with fear.

"Did you see that just now? A lot of corpses were brought back from Lake Island."

"I saw it, I saw it. I heard that most of the dead were soldiers. I took a look and was almost scared to death. Their faces were covered in blood. It was bloody."

"It's not good. General Dingyuan's deputy general had half his neck broken."

When Hong Mingxu was identified as the murderer, Deng Yang had already led his men off the island, and then he and Zhou Yuanliang took the yamen runners to the scene of the crime, so what Hong Mingxu had done had not yet been spread.

Although they deliberately lowered their voices, because it was night, they could not help but feel excited when talking about this matter, and their voices sounded particularly clear.

Hearing this, Lin Lezhi paused and his expression became a little stiff.

Several people walking towards them also noticed the two people. When they saw someone, they temporarily stopped talking, lowered their heads, and walked in a hurry.

They were holding lanterns in their hands. When they were about to meet, Xiao Yihuo slightly turned sideways and stood between the people and Lin Lezhi, blocking the light from the lanterns and the gazes of the people.

However, they only took a quick look, and because they were in a hurry, they didn't think about identifying it, so they quickened their pace and walked forward.

After walking a few steps, they started talking again.

"Hey, have you heard about Qiao Ying's situation?"

"Of course I heard about it. Who in Pinghai Town doesn't know it now? If it weren't for him, so many people wouldn't have died this time."

"You still call him Qiao Ying?"

"He's been calling me that for over ten years. How can he change his ways so easily? When I think about how he's been playing dumb in front of everyone for over a decade, I feel terrified. Who would dare to go to Haibei Village in the future? Wu Sanshan is also a pitiful man. If we hadn't found him, he wouldn't have lost his life."

"Yes, and there was also County Magistrate Chang. Such a good official, and he's gone just like that."

.........

The people lamented and walked further and further away, and the sound became almost inaudible until it could no longer be heard.

Without waiting for Xiao Yihuo to say anything, Lin Lezhi slightly turned sideways to avoid Xiao Yihuo and said casually, "Thank you, I'm fine, let's go."

Because the bodies had to be transported, many lanterns were hung near the dock, so the light was particularly abundant.

The bodies of the dead soldiers were lined up on the ground, with the bloodstains on their faces already dried up, looking shocking. Liu Yunhe, Zhou Yuanliang, Deng Yang and a group of yamen runners were helping to close the eyes of the dead soldiers and wipe the bloodstains off their bodies.

Cheng Su was there too.

Because the light was extremely abundant, when Lin Lezhi saw Liu Yunhe, Liu Yunhe also saw the two people walking towards him.

"Son."

Liu Yunhe was relatively close to the two of them. The moment they approached, Liu Yunhe started shouting, but when his gaze moved to Lin Lezhi, he seemed a little evasive, as if he didn't know how to start.

“…Detective Jiang…”

Liu Yunhe shouted awkwardly and evasively.

A slight smile appeared on Lin Lezhi's lips. He nodded slightly and said "hmm" softly.

After hearing this, Zhou Yuanliang and Deng Yang also raised their heads and nodded to Lin Lezhi and the others, and the two of them nodded at the same time in response.

Then Lin Lezhi walked up to Cheng Su, nodded slightly, and said respectfully, "Brother Cheng."

Hearing Lin Lezhi call Cheng Su "Brother Cheng", Liu Yunhe and Xiao Yihuo were stunned for a moment, but Xiao Yihuo quickly recovered and nodded to Cheng Su, saying, "General Cheng."

"You're injured, why don't you take a good rest?"

It was obvious that Cheng Su did not rest after he left, and there was fatigue in his eyes and words.

Lin Lezhi was also honest: "I couldn't sleep, so I wanted to go out for a walk. I ran into Xiao Xu by the lake. I saw lights over here and thought the runners were bringing the soldiers back from the yamen, so I came to check it out. Brother Cheng, we're here to help too."

Cheng Su uttered a deep "hmm," and looking at the corpses scattered on the ground, he said solemnly and gravely, "If we can't bring them back safely, at least we have to let them go cleanly."

Because Lin Lezhi had an injury on his left shoulder, Xiao Yihuo and Lin Lezhi helped the soldiers to prepare for the funeral, and took the initiative to take on matters that required extensive use of their arms.

For example, lifting the body, taking off the clothes, and washing the blood-stained handkerchief before handing it to Lin Lezhi.

Lin Lezhi used a handkerchief to wipe away the dirt and blood on the soldiers' faces.

The soldiers who died in Shekou had been dead for almost five days. They had their wounds cleaned on the island. During the transportation, their bodies were squeezed and a small amount of blood flowed out from the tiny holes again.

The soldiers who died in the earthen temple died in agony, their eyes wide open, their eyeballs bulging outward, their eyes bloodshot, their faces and lips dark blue. Blood flowed from all seven orifices, staining their clothes with a dark red.

The soldiers who died in the earth temple, except Meng Dafeng who died early from internal injuries, and He Yu who took the elixir, all died in the same way.

But without exception.

Whether they were soldiers who died in Shekou or soldiers who were killed by Hong Mingxu, their blood was dark red, just like the soldiers who died in the earthen temple.

When wiping the blood off the faces of the dead soldiers, Lin Lezhi discovered that the soldiers who died under the Tu Temple and Shekou had hemorrhage spots under their conjunctiva.

Looking at the death of the soldiers, Lin Lezhi's eyes revealed a look of contemplation, and his gaze became solemn.

Noticing that Lin Lezhi's expression was different and his movements were a little slow, Xiao Yihuo thought that Lin Lezhi had agitated his wound, or that he felt heavy and guilty after seeing the corpses of the soldiers.

"what happened?"

He couldn't help but reveal a hint of nervousness and concern in his eyes.

Hearing Xiao Yihuo ask this, Liu Yunhe also pricked up his ears and his attention was drawn to Lin Lezhi.

After Xiao Yihuo asked this, Lin Lezhi came back to his senses and shook his head, saying, "I'm fine. You're injured too, so don't push yourself too hard."

"Ah."

Hearing that both of them were injured, Zhou Yuanliang and Deng Yang came over to help after finishing their work.

Everyone cleaned the deceased's remains very carefully and seriously. It took two hours to wipe it clean and cover the body with a white cloth.

It’s past the middle of the Yi Hai hour.

Because Wu Sanshan, Chang Feizhang, Hong Mingxu and Guo Yong were involved in the case, their bodies were not cleaned and remained as they were, only covered with white cloth and handed over to the government for investigation.

All the bodies are temporarily placed in the charity cemetery.

Before this, the lanterns that Qi Xi had placed next to the bodies of Wu Sanshan and Chang Feizhang were also brought back and placed on Wu Sanshan's white cloth.

Cheng Su walked up to them and said, "Chang Feizhang is dead, and there's no one in Qujiang County who can investigate this case. I've already sent someone to Cangshui Prefecture as fast as they can to inform the prefect. They should be here to take over the case soon. You've all been tired for several days, so go back and rest. If I need you anywhere, I'll send someone to call you. As I said before, don't leave until the case is resolved."

Lin Lezhi nodded slightly, murmured "hmm", and said with concern in his eyes: "Brother Cheng, you too."

After saying that, Cheng Su nodded and waved his hand to let everyone leave. He stood alone by the lake, looking at the lake island in the distance shrouded in fog, as if it had merged into the night.