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

The people around him waited with sharp eyes for Xiao He to continue speaking. The people at the next table who were unaware of the situation heard it and also looked at Xiao He.

The people who had already received the book had already lowered their heads to read it, not caring about anything else.

There were also some who were ordering books from the scholar who had just come in. The scholar took out a list of books from his pocket, as well as a pen and paper, and recorded the number of copies of each book ordered.

Among the outrageous book titles, there are but are not limited to "The Rich Prince Falls in Love with Me", "A Few Things Between Me and My Senior Brother", and "The Top Scholar from a Poor Family".

Complete variety, reasonable price, suitable for all ages, happy and worry-free.

Among them is the book "Four Strange Cases".

For a while, the gossip in the inn died down a bit.

Xiao He looked around, then smiled a little embarrassedly and said shyly: "Actually, I haven't read this book yet, and I don't know what it is about."

"........."

Several soldiers at the same table were tricked so badly that they almost dropped their chopsticks.

The people nearby also shook their heads, turned around and continued chatting about their own gossip.

"I haven't seen it, but you talk about it so excitedly. You are really good."

Xiao He quickly explained: "I'm really not lying. Mr. Wuyou is well-known. I just heard that it's good, so when I knew the general was coming here half a month ago, I asked someone to order the book."

When the waiter came to serve the dishes, he happened to pass by the table of soldiers and heard their conversation. He took over and said, "I can prove this. Since the people knew a few days ago that we can also order Wuyouke's books, our business has been better than before."

The waiter continued to talk to himself, "This Wuyouke is quite mysterious. Although he writes books, he has never shown his face. He always asks others to contact the major restaurants and inns. No one knows whether he is a man or a woman."

"I also heard that if anyone can tell him interesting and novel stories about the underworld, he will exchange them for books, and he won't charge for the books." The waiter looked at the book in Xiao He's hand and continued, "But... Mr. Bing, your book seems to be new, and I haven't seen anyone order it before."

As he was speaking, a hint of suspicion appeared in the waiter's eyes and he said, "Strange case... After reading your book, Master Bing, I remembered that two months ago, a strange thing happened in our Pinghai Town..."

Hearing this, Lin Lezhi's ears moved, and the table behind him suddenly became quiet.

"Waiter, why haven't the dishes for this table been served yet?"

The waiter looked flustered and quickly responded, "I'm sorry, sir. I'll go to the kitchen right away to urge you." After that, the waiter turned around and said with a smile, "My fellow soldiers, I won't bother you anymore. Enjoy your meal."

After the scholar finished counting the number of books, he came to Lin Lezhi's table and said politely, "I see there is an empty seat at your table, sir. May I ask you for a glass of water?"

Lin Lezhi raised his hand and made a gesture of invitation.

The scholar was not shy and sat down next to Lin Lezhi in a very familiar manner. He poured himself a glass of water and looked to the side while drinking. When he was sure that no one was paying attention to their table, the scholar handed the money he had just received to Lin Lezhi from under the table.

Lin Lezhi took it very smoothly, shook it in his hands, and could hardly suppress the smile on his face.

After the two exchanged glances, the scholar said very naturally: "Thank you, brother. My name is Guan Ziheng. What is your name?"

Lin Lezhi smiled and said, "Brother Guan, you don't have to be polite. Just call me Lin Lezhi."

Lin Lezhi and Guan Ziheng met three months ago when they were about to leave Linnan Prefecture. At that time, Lin Lezhi had already eaten up all the dry food on him, and was thinking about how to make money with an empty stomach.

If I want to write a storybook, I have to be able to write with a brush, not to mention that I don’t even have money to buy paper and pen now.

Just as he was thinking about it, he happened to meet Guan Ziheng who was setting up a stall outside to sell his calligraphy and paintings. There were some scoundrels in front of his stall. Lin Lezhi drove them away, but Guan Ziheng's stall was also completely destroyed.

While helping Guan Ziheng clean up, Lin Lezhi discovered that Guan Ziheng had good handwriting and Guan Ziheng was also traveling. The two hit it off and decided to work together to make money by writing storybooks.

Thanks to Guan Ziheng, Lin Lezhi finally had a place to live.

Lin Lezhi already had a ready-made story in his mind. Lin Lezhi was responsible for telling the story, while Guan Ziheng was responsible for writing it and appearing in person. Unexpectedly, after a few interactions, the two of them actually made a name for themselves, and their fame gradually spread.

It turns out that selling storybooks makes more money than investigating cases.

Now that they had the money to continue on the journey, Lin Lezhi proposed to continue on the journey. After knowing that Lin Lezhi was looking for a place, Guan Ziheng quickly packed his luggage and decided to accompany Lin Lezhi on the journey to look for it.

After some traveling, the two of them finally arrived at Cangshui Prefecture.

There are many rivers and mountains here. Standing on the river bank, you can see beautiful scenery everywhere you look. Many people like to come here to play and enjoy the river scenery.

The two had only been in Cangshui Prefecture for a few days, but Wuyouke's reputation had already spread. He could easily make money by cooperating with local bookmakers.

Whenever they met in an inn during the day, they would go to different inns, and Lin Lezhi would stay in a corner of the inn, so it would not be easy for people to remember him.

The guest at the next table, upon hearing Lin Lezhi's name, immediately turned around and said, "So your name is Lin Lezhi, and mine is Guo Yong. I have to thank you for reminding us just now, so that we didn't make a big mistake."

Lin Lezhi smiled and turned around and said, "Brother Guo, you are too polite. It's my duty. You are a generous man and you are willing to treat me to a meal. Lezhi should thank you."

Lin Lezhi thought for a moment and then said, "From the accents you guys have, you don't sound like locals. Are you here for fun too?"

"So, Brother Lin is the same?"

Lin Lezhi nodded.

Guo Yong had been gossiping loudly and courageously just now, but now he looked around cautiously, and then came to Lin Lezhi's table. After making sure that no one was paying attention, he leaned towards Lin Lezhi and lowered his voice and said, "Actually, we came here because we heard a rumor."

Lin Lezhi knew that they must know something, so he pretended to be scared and curious and asked, "What rumor?"

"Let's not talk about that for now. Brother Lin, do you know why this place is called Pinghai Town?"

"Please let me know, Brother Guo."

"Cangshui Prefecture has a rich water system and is known as the world's water warehouse. Naturally, it has many natural scenery such as rivers and lakes. However, there is a lake like the sea in Pinghai Town. Because the lake is calm and has no waves, the locals named it Pinghai Lake."

"There is an island in the center of Pinghai Lake. There are towering mountains on the island. There is a village at the foot of the mountain called Huaifeng Village. In the early years, there were not many villagers on the island but they lived in harmony with each other. Local people and tourists would visit the island from time to time, which made Pinghai Town famous."

Lin Lezhi thought about it and continued to inquire: "Why is it so famous?"

"This is the rumor I'm going to talk about next. Brother Lin, I'm sure you heard the waiter say just now that a strange thing happened in Pinghai Town two months ago."

Lin Lezhi nodded and waited for Guo Yong to continue.

"The strange thing is that the village became deserted overnight ten years ago for unknown reasons, and the people on the island seemed to have disappeared out of thin air. But just two months ago, lights suddenly lit up on the island."

"Brother Lin, tell me, there is no one on this island, who lit the lamp?"

"Brother Guo, what you said is indeed a bit strange. Didn't the government check it out?"

"I went to check, but after several days of searching, I didn't find any signs of anyone being there. The same situation never happened again after that night, so the matter was left unresolved."

"Could it be that someone saw it wrong?"

"You can't be mistaken, because two months ago it was the Ghost Festival, and many people would go to the lake to release lanterns to commemorate their deceased relatives. Many people saw it with their own eyes, so it can't be wrong."

"Because of this incident, people in the town didn't dare to go to the lake to release lanterns during the Mid-Autumn Festival a month ago."

Lin Lezhi nodded, bowed and said, "So that's how it is. Thank you, Brother Guo, for telling me. Then, Brother Guo, do you and your group want to visit Huaifeng Village?"

"Yes, we do have this intention. In the past two months, many people have heard the news and rushed here to find out what is going on, but they all returned empty-handed. The three of us brothers plan to go to Huaifeng Village the day after tomorrow to take a look."

Guo Yong smiled and invited, "I think Brother Lin is a wise man who understands things. Why don't you join us and enjoy the beautiful scenery of the lake and mountains?"

Lin Lezhi showed fear on his face, and said with some embarrassment: "Thankfully, Brother Guo has invited me so kindly, and I shouldn't have declined. But I am born timid, Brother Guo, can you allow me to think about it a little more?"

"Okay, if Brother Lin has thought it over, just invite us directly. If Brother Lin doesn't want to come, we won't force him."

After saying that, Guo Yong and his brothers stood up and said, "Then we brothers will go to the guest room to rest first. Brother Lin, feel free to order whatever you want to eat. Don't be restrained."

Lin Lezhi nodded slightly and said, "Then I would like to thank Brother Guo."

"Brother Lin, you're welcome."

"Who would be polite to you when there is such a good thing?" Lin Lezhi thought bluntly in his heart.

Lin Lezhi turned around, and Guan Ziheng came up to him and asked in a low voice: "Lezhi, this sounds quite interesting, are you really not going to go?"

Lin Lezhi responded in a low voice: "Instead of going to that damn place, it's better to think about what to eat to fill your stomach."

"Sir, please come in. May I ask if you would like to stay overnight or stay at the hotel?"

"Since we are staying here for the night, just prepare the best room for you."

The waiter said embarrassedly: "Excuse me, gentlemen, our best room has been reserved by General Dingyuan. We still have a lot of level 1 rooms. What do you think...?"

"How can our young master live here..."

"It's okay, just stay here."

Guan Ziheng noticed that Lin Lezhi's happy expression just now froze on his face. He raised his hand and waved it in front of Lin Lezhi's eyes, and asked in confusion: "Lezhi, didn't you say you wanted to fill your stomach? Why are you silent, Lezhi?"

Lin Lezhi kept smiling and gritted his teeth to remind him, "Don't call me by my name anymore."

"Lezhi, you're really weird. If not your name, what should I call you?"

Under Guan Ziheng's confused look, Lin Lezhi slowly stood up, smiled stiffly and said, "I suddenly feel that I'm not that hungry. Why don't we change hotels?"

But just as he stood up, a sword pressed on Lin Lezhi's shoulder, forcing him back to his seat. The young man with hidden anger said, "I wonder where you are going now since you left without saying goodbye before?"