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

Five days have passed since the Lantern Festival. The lanterns by the lake have drifted to the other side. The fog on the island is not as thick as it was a few days ago, but it still lingers around the mountain.

Looking from a distance, even though I was in a safe place, I couldn't help but feel a lingering fear.

Zhou Yuanliang and Deng Yang were heading in a different direction from the inn. After walking a distance, they said goodbye to Lin Lezhi and the other two, and the three of them walked towards the inn together. Liu Yunhe's pace was obviously slower than the other two, as if he had something to say but didn't know how to start.

Lin Lezhi was the first to break the silence. He took a few steps back until he was walking side by side with Liu Yunhe. He smiled and said, "What are you thinking about? You're so lost in thought."

Lin Lezhi's sudden question startled Liu Yunhe, and a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes.

He naturally refused to speak the truth. Thinking of Cheng Su's melancholy expression as he looked at the lake, and the tragic events that had occurred over the past few days, he felt uncomfortable and said with a depressed look, "I'm thinking, death is really terrible. It can actually change a person."

Although Liu Yunhe did not tell the truth in his heart.

But what he expressed were his true feelings over the past few days.

Come to think of it...

This should be the first case that Liu Yunhe personally experienced, but it was so tragic and painful.

Lin Lezhi's eyes stirred, and he said slowly: "What people fear is not death."

"Isn't death scary enough? If not death, then what is it?"

“It’s separation.”

When Lin Lezhi said the word "separation", his tone was very light, but it had an extremely heavy power that hit Liu Yunhe's heart hard.

Xiao Yihuo, who was walking in front of the two of them not far away, couldn't help but pause and glance sideways.

Suddenly, Liu Yunhe's eyes became moist.

No wonder I have been feeling depressed and uncomfortable these days.

It turned out to be the case.

"That's how life is. Many people don't even have time to say goodbye properly, and they never see each other again. So..." Lin Lezhi gently stroked Liu Yunhe's head and said with a smile, "If you have something you want to say to someone you cherish, you must say it in time and don't leave any regrets in your heart."

"sorry!"

Liu Yunhe seemed to be instantly awakened by Lin Lezhi's words. He immediately stopped and apologized loudly. Xiao Yihuo, who was walking in front, also stopped and turned around.

Lin Lezhi was startled and looked around quickly. Fortunately, it was late at night and there were no other pedestrians on the road except them, so it was not so embarrassing.

Ever since he woke up from his coma in the earth temple, he found that Liu Yunhe was deliberately avoiding him and trying not to appear in his sight.

He knew that Liu Yunhe was worried, and while comforting Liu Yunhe, he was also expressing his thoughts, and had no intention of instructing Liu Yunhe to do anything.

Therefore, I was shocked.

But Lin Lezhi immediately understood and a faint smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.

His eyes were gentle, with a hint of pity in them, and he said softly, "Why are you apologizing again?"

"It's all my fault. I caused you to get hurt, and then Hong Mingxu took advantage of the situation and hurt you even more severely."

"How can this be your fault? If there is any fault, it should be those with ulterior motives. How can an unintentional mistake prevent someone with intentional intent?"

Lin Lezhi suddenly thought of something and raised the corner of his mouth and said, "How about this, if you really feel bad about it, then the job of changing the dressing on my shoulder will be handed over to you from now on."

Lin Lezhi made arrangements on his own. Before Liu Yunhe could respond, Lin Lezhi put his arm around Liu Yunhe's shoulder and said, "So, how's the task I assigned to you going?"

Lin Lezhi pointed to his ear, indicating that Liu Yunhe should whisper to him.

Lin Lezhi's interruption was quite effective. Liu Yunhe's expression had obviously improved a lot. He glanced at Xiao Yihuo with some hesitation in his eyes, but finally he leaned close to Lin Lezhi's ear and whispered softly.

"Thank you."

After the two of them whispered to each other, Lin Lezhi said with a smile.

"Oh, right." Liu Yunhe remembered something and took something out of his pocket and handed it to Lin Lezhi, saying, "I'll give this back to you. I'm not injured, so it's better to put it on you." Liu Yunhe asked puzzledly, "But what are you doing for me?"

In Liu Yunhe's hand was the medicine bag that Luo Zhifeng had given to Lin Lezhi. It was said to replenish Qi and help with recovery from injuries, but when Lin Lezhi asked him to help him do something on the lake, he insisted that he take it.

In response to this, Lin Lezhi smiled, raised one corner of his mouth slightly and said: "In short, it's beneficial and harmless."

"It seems Qingchuan is right. You two do get along well."

Seeing the two people talking back and forth, Xiao Yihuo suddenly spoke.

Although there was no displeasure in Xiao Yihuo's tone and he was simply stating the facts, a hint of alarm still appeared in Liu Yunhe's eyes. He rolled his eyes, pursed his lips, and stood next to Xiao Yihuo.

The next second, Lin Lezhi smiled and corrected: "It's not just looks, it's that they get along very well."

Lin Lezhi didn't say "good", but "excellent", which made Liu Yunhe feel warm in his heart and his cheeks felt slightly hot.

Xiao Yihuo did not refute Lin Lezhi's words. There was a barely perceptible smile in his eyes, hidden in the darkness. He nodded and said, "It's getting late. Let's go back early."

Before leaving the lake, Liu Yunhe looked in the direction of Cheng Su again and found that Cheng Su was still standing by the lake and had not left.

"General Cheng, you must be very sad to have been deceived for so long by someone who has been by your side for more than ten years."

As he spoke, Liu Yunhe suddenly thought of something. He quickly glanced at Lin Lezhi, then looked away, with a complex emotion in his eyes.

Fortunately, it was night, so this subtle flash of emotion would not be noticed by anyone.

What he was more afraid of was being discovered by Lin Lezhi.

"It's naturally sad to be deceived by someone you trust, but Brother Cheng wasn't completely defenseless against Hong Mingxu. If it weren't for Brother Cheng's help, we might have died at Hong Mingxu's hands the moment we landed on the island."

"Help...?"

"That's right," Lin Lezhi responded briefly. "Brother Cheng has been with Hong Mingxu for ten years and knows him better than we do. That's why he was the first to suspect him. However, he needed confirmation and was afraid that Hong Mingxu would give up, so he kept it to himself."

"When did you become suspicious?"

"We discovered it when we saw the snake bite marks on the soldiers in the forest. Brother Cheng has been guarding the border for many years. Yunqiang Kingdom is located in the south, where there are many snakes. He must know that snake bites will cause bruising at the site of the bite, but the soldiers who died in the forest had no bruises near their wounds. In this case, Hong Mingxu, who was with them, is the most likely suspect."

This was proven when Cheng Su mentioned his past with Ling Feihan on the boat.

He does know.

Lin Lezhi continued, "At the Tu Temple, he didn't need to order the soldiers to prepare the bodies of the deceased soldiers on the island. He could have done it later when he returned. He did this simply to make it clear that the soldiers in the forest didn't die at the hands of snakes, but were murdered by humans. However, Hong Mingxu swore that the soldiers were killed by snake bites."

Lin Lezhi looked at Liu Yunhe and said, "There's one more thing you should remember. The general once carried Hong Mingxu on his back for a while, and after that, Hong Mingxu refused to let anyone else carry him."

"remember."

"Hong Mingxu hid Guo Yong's severed hand on his body. If he himself felt uncomfortable and was afraid of being discovered, the general must have sensed that Hong Mingxu was hiding something while carrying him, but he couldn't tell what it was."

Hearing this, Liu Yunhe couldn't help but admire him and said, "I originally thought General Cheng was just a military commander, illiterate, and must have been kept in the dark until you told me. I didn't expect him to be so thorough and considerate, even helping you solve the case and apprehend the culprit."

"Being illiterate doesn't mean I don't have strategy and courage. Otherwise, I wouldn't be trusted and respected by my fellow soldiers, who would follow me through thick and thin."

All the help Cheng Su provided was not as good as the most crucial one.

tribute.

Just like the generals' attitude towards Cheng Su, Hong Mingxu also felt the same way, which deeply influenced Hong Mingxu's actions and his thoughts.

It was precisely because Hong Mingxu believed from the bottom of his heart that Cheng Su had complete trust in him that he acted until the very last moment, and only when he had nowhere to hide did he reveal his ferocious fangs in front of everyone. Only after he knew that Cheng Su had been on guard against him for a long time did he become extremely confused.

Hong Mingxu cares a lot about Cheng Su's opinion of him. Obviously, Cheng Su also knows this and takes advantage of it.

and so.

Hong Mingxu said at the end that he lost to the general, not himself.

This is true.

"Why did you change your address to Brother Cheng after returning from the county government office?"

Xiao Yihuo's question was inexplicable and had nothing to do with the case, but it aroused Liu Yunhe's curiosity, and he stared at him with curiosity.

Lin Lezhi didn't understand what was going on, so he said truthfully, "The general told me to change my words."

"Oh, like this."

Xiao Yihuo responded in a calm tone.

After thinking about it, Lin Lezhi felt that although it was a little unreliable, it was not impossible. He took a few quick steps and caught up with Xiao Yihuo. He walked forward and said with a smile: "I see. Do you also want to be brothers with Brother Cheng?"

After all, Xiao Yihuo lacks a lot in terms of family and friends, so he should be a little envious.

"If you want, you can just call me Brother Cheng. I think the general appreciates you and won't be reluctant. Maybe it can be helpful in the future."

Xiao Yihuo glanced at Lin Lezhi and said nothing.

"Then if you want, I can call you big brother, Brother Xiao?"

But after saying this, Lin Lezhi thought about it seriously and shook his head, "No, I should be older than you in terms of age. Otherwise...how about you call me Brother Jiang and I call you Brother Xiao?"

If he is really Nan Rongyi, he must be two years older than Xiao Yihuo.

Putting Jiang Lian'an and Nan Rongyi aside, he is actually a 29-year-old adult at heart, and he can't let Xiao Yihuo take advantage of him.

"Hello, Brother Xiao~"

As soon as these words were spoken, before Xiao Yihuo expressed his opinion, Liu Yunhe was startled first, and his expression seemed as if Lin Le knew that a disaster was about to happen.

Who dares to speak to the prince like this?

Xiao Yihuo's brows were furrowed tightly together. He looked at Lin Lezhi intently, as if he was considering how serious Lin Lezhi was in saying this.

Then he showed disgust in his eyes, walked around Lin Lezhi, walked faster, and just said coldly.

"boring."