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

Jiang Lian'an arranged for the man with a childish mind to sit at an empty table.

Knowing that the general had returned, the waiter immediately served Cheng Su a pot of the best Longjing tea.

The man sat there obediently, his bright eyes looking around curiously, and he looked at everyone in the lobby, but everyone was busy eating. The man seemed a little disappointed, but he soon forgot about the disappointment and continued to scan every corner of the lobby with his eyes curiously.

The man happened to meet Xiao Yihuo's eyes when he raised his head. He happily raised his hand and greeted Xiao Yihuo. Xiao Yihuo did not ignore him because of the man's incomplete five senses. He smiled slightly and nodded.

The man also imitated Xiao Yihuo, nodded shyly in return, and then sat there quietly, looking at Jiang Lian'an's back with expectation.

Just now, when Jiang Lian'an walked in, Xiao Yihuo looked up at her.

Not only does he look different, but his way of doing things is also completely different from Lin Lezhi.

After settling the man, Jiang Lian'an walked up to Cheng Su and asked politely, "General Cheng, what do you want to discuss with me? Do we need to talk somewhere else?"

"No, this is not something that needs to be concealed."

Cheng Su put down the teacup in his hand, then stood up and clasped his fists and said, "My attempt to test Jiang Guitan just now was a helpless move. I was afraid that someone with ill intentions would take advantage of the opportunity to sneak in. I hope Jiang Guitan will forgive me."

"The general is concerned about the people in Huaifeng Village. This is a prudent move, and it should be so. If the general needs me, I will do my best to help."

"Detective Jiang Gui is indeed a man of knowledge and interest."

"Not as magnanimous as General Cheng."

Hearing this, Cheng Su smiled heartily and said frankly: "Yes, I do need the assistance of Jiang Guitan in this matter." Cheng Su raised his hand and said: "Come, please sit down!"

Jiang Lian'an nodded slightly and sat down.

Cheng Su looked at Jiang Lian'an and said, "To be honest with you, Detective Jiang, this matter is indeed very strange. I have been here for many days, but I still haven't found any clues. If I can't find out the truth in a long time, it may make the people uneasy. I think Detective Jiang came to Pinghai Town for the same reason I thought."

"That's right, but... I've only been here for half a day, and I only know the rumors among the people. I don't know much about this matter yet."

"This is just as Detective Jiang Gui had heard. Two months ago on Ghost Festival, lights suddenly lit up in a village on the lake island that had no one on it. The government sent people to investigate but could not find any results. In addition, more than ten years ago, the villagers of Huaifeng Village disappeared. Many curious people also went to the island to check, but all returned empty-handed."

Jiang Lian'an asked, "Has the same situation happened again since then?"

Cheng Su said with a calm expression, "This is exactly what I want to discuss with Jiang Guitan, but this matter cannot be explained by me alone, and another person is needed to explain it, so I have sent someone to call him. Please wait a moment, Jiang Guitan."

Cheng Su picked up the upside-down teacup on the table, poured a cup of tea for Jiang Lian'an, and said, "Please enjoy."

"Thank you, General Cheng."

At this time, Lin Lezhi and his group, who had already changed into their clothes and bought food, walked in from outside.

For a moment, everyone's eyes turned towards the entrance of the inn.

When he saw Lin Lezhi, a hint of inquiry appeared in Jiang Lian'an's eyes.

Liu Yunhe looked as if he had made a serious mistake. He sat back down next to Xiao Yihuo with a depressed look, his eyes subconsciously glancing towards Lin Lezhi.

Xiao Yihuo noticed something strange about Liu Yunhe and immediately looked in the direction of Lin Lezhi, but he didn't notice anything.

Qingchuan gave Xiao Yihuo a reassuring look and sat down.

Guo Yong saw Lin Lezhi at the table, waved to him and said, "Brother Lin, come and sit down. We ordered too many dishes to finish. The one next to you is your friend, right? Come and eat together."

After saying that, Guo Yong looked at the waiter and said, "Waiter, add another stool."

"okay--!"

Lin Lezhi smiled and said, "Okay, then I'd like to thank Brother Guo first."

As soon as Lin Lezhi sat down, Guo Yong patted Lin Lezhi on the shoulder like a good brother and said with a smile: "Brother Lin, you saved me a lot of money this afternoon. Let me eat as much as I want tonight. Tell me what you want to eat."

This time, it hit Lin Lezhi's wound, and Guan Ziheng, who was standing by, frowned.

Lin Lezhi sat with his back to the camera, and the slight twitching of his left shoulder caught Xiao Yihuo's attention. Then, looking at Liu Yunhe's expression, he immediately realized that Lin Lezhi's shoulder was injured.

Liu Yunhe withdrew his gaze from Lin Lezhi, turned back to look at Xiao Yihuo, and immediately lowered his head guiltily, picking at the white rice in front of him.

His shoulder was painful, but it was nothing compared to the pain in Lin Lezhi's heart. That was twenty taels of silver.

Lin Lezhi smiled and said, "It is a blessing for me to meet Brother Guo and the other brothers. It is better than thousands of delicious foods!"

"Well said! Brother Lezhi looks like an educated man, unlike us who are just rough hunters!" As he said that, Guo Yong patted Lin Lezhi's shoulders a few more times.

Lin Lezhi quickly moved away and responded with a smile: "Brother Guo, you are too kind. I still have a lot to learn from you."

At this time, there was a sound of running outside the door. Hong Mingxu, the leader, came back with a team of soldiers. The soldiers did not come in and stayed outside to guard.

A man who looked hurried and limped walked in from outside the door.

The person who came was Chang Feizhang whom I had met before at Pinghai Lake, but he had taken off his official uniform and changed into everyday clothes.

As soon as Chang Feizhang entered the room, he knelt down in front of Cheng Su and said with both respect and fear, "I am late, General. I hope you won't blame me."

"It's okay, get up, did you bring your things?"

"I brought it." Chang Feizhang immediately took out a letter from his arms. There was no signature or end on the letter. He stood up and handed the letter respectfully to Cheng Su.

Cheng Su did not open the letter, but handed it directly to Jiang Lian'an.

Jiang Lian'an opened the letter, his eyes darkened instantly. There were four words written on the letter paper.

'Anyone who goes to the island will die'.

After reading it, Jiang Lian'an put down the letter and said calmly, "I originally thought that the phenomenon on the island was caused by Yin Fire, but now it seems that what happened back then was not that simple."

"Yin fire?"

Jiang Lian'an nodded, stood up and said, "Yes, Yin Fire is the ghost fire that the people often mention. Some people regard it as a spirit, while others see it as a ghost. It is an inexplicable phenomenon."

"Although I can't explain it, I have read in a book that records strange folk stories that the appearance of will-o'-the-wisp often requires two conditions to be met."

Cheng Su: "What conditions?"

"Ghost fires often appear in the hot summer. According to folk customs, on the Ghost Festival, people will release river lanterns to commemorate their deceased relatives. The temperature of the lake island will gradually rise as a large number of river lanterns float towards the lake island and gather around the lake island. This is the first condition for the appearance of ghost fires."

"What is the second condition?"

"The second one..." Jiang Lian'an lowered his eyes for a moment, then turned around and looked up at Cheng Su and said, "The second one is that ghost lights often appear in graves."

When the grave was mentioned, everyone's eyes were filled with shock. Lin Lezhi also pretended to be shocked, but his eyes swept over everyone present.

"What?!" Cheng Su's eyes suddenly became serious. He clenched his fists and said angrily, "Born among the graves, are you saying that the people in Huaifeng Village did not disappear, but were killed, and their bodies were buried on the lake island?"

Jiang Lian'an sighed lightly, shook his head and said, "It's hard for me to judge. After all, no one knows what happened more than ten years ago. If we really want to find out the situation, we need to go to the island to check."

Cheng Suren snorted, looked at Chang Feizhang standing beside him and said with a stern look in his eyes, "I asked you to prepare ships and manpower a long time ago, but you dragged your feet and even ordered the ships to be sealed. Are you afraid that the truth will be discovered and you will lose your job because of poor supervision?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Chang Feizhang immediately knelt down, and although he was terrified, he said with a firm look: "General Cheng, I want to find out the truth about Huaifeng Village more than anyone else. If I can get back to the truth of that year, it doesn't matter if I lose my official hat. But you are a meritorious official of Northern Qi, and I can't let you take this risk!"

"Stop talking nonsense. If you don't prepare, I will immediately send someone to write a letter to remove you from your position!"

"This……"

"General Cheng, calm down. It's impossible to make a judgment before seeing it with your own eyes." Jiang Lian'an picked up the letter on the table, looked at Chang Feizhang who was trembling beside him and asked, "Excuse me, sir, when did you receive this letter?"

"It should be one month after the Ghost Festival, on the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival."

"should?"

"Yes, I went to the county government office the day after the Mid-Autumn Festival, and the letter was left on the table. I don't know whether it was on the evening of the Mid-Autumn Festival or the next morning."

"I opened it and immediately felt that this was not a good thing. In addition, the people were in a panic after that incident. In addition, no one had entered the island for many years, and the terrain was steep and complicated. In order to prevent any accidents, I immediately ordered all ships in Qujiang County to be sealed and the people were forbidden to go to the island again."

"So that's how it is." Jiang Lian'an thought for a moment and looked at Chang Feizhang and said, "General Cheng and you are both worried about the people, but sealing the ships and avoiding the islands is not a good idea. If we want to solve the permanent worries, we need to solve the problem from the root."

Cheng Su's face was gloomy and he said unhappily, "If you hear me, get ready. If you can't hand over the people and the boats tomorrow, don't blame me for being rude. Mingxu, let's go!"

After saying that, Cheng Su took Hong Mingxu and a group of soldiers out of the inn.

After leaving the inn, Hong Mingxu came up to Cheng Su, lowered his voice with admiration and said, "In front of so many people, with so many people listening, Chang Feizhang dared not refuse anymore. The general is really smart."

Cheng Surin snorted coldly and said, "No matter whether the person involved in the Huaifeng Village incident is a human or a ghost, don't try to stop me. Let's go!"

"Yes!"

The two men mounted their horses and rode away, and the soldiers followed them.

Seeing them leave, Jiang Lian'an stepped forward and helped Chang Feizhang up and said, "Sir, please get up and sit down to rest for a while."

"No, I'll go back first. Thank you for your kindness, Mr. Jiang."

When leaving, Chang Feizhang looked worried.

Looking at Chang Feizhang's departing figure, Lin Lezhi seemed to be thinking about something.