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

The waiter narrated the whole incident in a rhythmic manner, with the expression on his face changing vividly as he spoke.

Sometimes he talks in a mysterious way, sometimes he sighs.

Everyone in the inn felt sorry for Qiao Ying's experience, but Qiao Ying listened attentively as if she was listening to someone else's story and enjoyed it very much.

"Has no one come to look for Qiao Ying in these ten years?" Jiang Lian'an asked.

The waiter thought about it seriously, then shook his head and said, "No, no one has come to look for us. Not to mention the area around Pinghai Lake, there is no family with the surname Qiao in our entire Pinghai Town."

"At first... the people of Haibei Village also guessed that Qiao Ying might be the only surviving villager of Huaifeng Village, and that he had encountered something terrible on the lake island, so he lost his soul. However, after the Taoist priest performed a ritual and the child said his name was Qiao Ying, no one said that anymore."

"This child was born mentally retarded. Perhaps that's why his biological parents took him to the lake and abandoned him. Anyway, I haven't heard of anyone looking for Qiao Ying." The waiter sighed and continued, "He was a miserable person. Fortunately, he met the childless old man Wu. Otherwise, who knows what would have happened to him."

"Then why didn't Old Man Wu come to town with him?"

The waiter shook his head and said, "I don't know about that. I guess we have to go to Beihai Village to ask. Maybe they got separated."

"So that's how it is. Thank you for telling me." Jiang Lian'an nodded slightly.

Hearing Jiang Lian'an thanking him, the waiter felt as if he had received a gift that he was not worthy of, and hurriedly said, "Jiang Guitan, how can I feel embarrassed to say thank you to me? We are still waiting for you to help us figure out the strange things on the lake island. We should thank you."

"One thing is one thing. I should say thank you. I will also do my best to deal with the strange things happening on Lake Island."

"With your words, the people of Pinghai Town feel relieved." The waiter said gratefully.

Jiang Lian'an looked at Qiao Ying who was sitting beside him, his eyes full of pity, then looked at the waiter and asked, "Can I ask the specific location of Haibei Village? I want to send Qiao Ying back."

"This Haibei Village is just to the north of Pinghai Lake. Jiang Guitan can get there by walking north along the lake."

Jiang Lian'an laughed awkwardly a few times, and said a little embarrassedly: "To be honest, I just arrived today and have been staying in the room. I don't know the exact location of Pinghai Lake. Can you tell me more about it?"

The waiter looked at the guests in the store, scratched his head and said, "The location of Pinghai Lake is indeed not easy to find, but I can't leave for the time being. Why don't you wait until I finish entertaining the guests here, and then I will take you there."

"I know how to get there. I'll take you there."

Hearing the voice, everyone looked in the direction of the voice. It was Lin Lezhi.

Guan Ziheng, who was sitting next to Lin Lezhi, was the most shocked. Looking at Lin Lezhi's expression, he undoubtedly thought that Lin Lezhi was crazy.

Seeing Jiang Lian'an looking at him, Lin Lezhi stood up and said with a smile: "I just went to Pinghai Lake tonight. If Jiang Guitan doesn't mind me, I can take you there."

Jiang Lian'an nodded slightly, looked at Lin Lezhi with interest and said, "Thank you very much, sir. What is your name?"

"Just call me Lin Lezhi." Lin Lezhi said with a smile.

Liu Yunhe suddenly slammed the table, stood up and shouted: "Then I'll go too! I..."

Qingchuan naturally knew that Liu Yunhe was worried that something might happen to Lin Lezhi. After all, no one knew the purpose of Jiang Lian'an's visit. Qingchuan coughed lightly and helped Liu Yunhe smooth things over, saying, "Qiao Ying's life experience is regrettable. In this case, let's go together."

"What this gentleman said makes sense." Guo Yong looked at Xu Tian and Lu Xingpeng and said, "Let's go with him as well."

So the group walked towards Haibei Village together.

General Dingyuan's tent is stationed in the middle of the lake, and you won't see it when you go to Haibei Village.

Jiang Lian'an and Lin Lezhi walked side by side. Jiang Lian'an glanced at Lin Lezhi. Lin Lezhi kept his hands clenched and his arms crossed in front of his chest.

Because it was a village, the lights were not as bright as in the town. Many families had already gone to bed, and only a few still had dim lights on.

Jiang Lian'an originally wanted to find a shop with the lights on to ask, but Qiao Ying did not stop and happily continued walking deeper into the village.

Seeing this, everyone followed.

But there was no light at the place where Qiao Ying last stopped.

Not to mention turning on the lights, the front door was wide open, the yard was full of dead leaves that no one had swept away, and even the doors of the houses were wide open.

Look at the leaves piled up all over the yard. It has not been cleaned for at least a month. The moonlight shines on the leaves on the ground, creating a desolate scene.

Except for Qiao Ying, everyone's eyes darkened.

Guo Yong immediately asked in disbelief: "Is this damn place really habitable?"

Jiang Lian'an stopped Qiao Ying as she was about to go to the yard, wondering if she had remembered the wrong place, and asked tentatively, "Is this where you and Old Man Wu live?"

Qiao Ying responded to Jiang Lian'an with a very sincere smile and nodded affirmatively.

Everyone walked into the yard, the leaves rustled under their feet, and a gust of wind blew the leaves on the ground into the house, which was already covered with leaves.

Jiang Lian'an took out the fire starter from his arms, found the kerosene lamp in the room and lit it. With the light of the fire, the room finally became a little more lively.

The daily necessities in the house are all there, and judging from the dust on them, they have not been used for some time.

Old Man Wu is not here now. If Qiao Ying remembered the location correctly, then something might have happened some time ago.

No matter how you look at it, this place is not habitable, and it is even more impossible to leave Qiao Ying, who has no senses, here alone.

Jiang Lian'an turned around and asked for everyone's opinions: "I think something happened here. It's getting late now. I think we should come back tomorrow."

The leaves in the courtyard rustled in the wind. Guan Ziheng looked around at the darkness and felt that something unclean was about to come out. With fear in his eyes, he quickly responded, "I agree."

No one had any objection to this.

Jiang Lian'an bent down slightly, and with a smile on his face, he asked Qiao Ying what she thought: "Qiao Ying, Old Man Wu has gone away for something. Are you willing to go back to the inn with me?"

"Yeah!" Qiao Ying nodded happily.

When they returned to the inn, the waiter was the only one left in the lobby. He noticed that the gang had brought Qiao Ying back again, and without even putting down his broom, he stepped forward and asked, "Detective Jiang Gui, why did you bring Qiao Ying back again? Isn't Old Man Wu at home?"

Jiang Lian'an shook his head slightly and told the waiter Old Man Wu the truth about the situation at home.

The waiter's face changed when he heard this, his eyes were full of astonishment and he blurted out: "How could this be? I have never heard the villagers of Haibei Village mention this."

Thinking of what the Taoist priest said, that Qiao Ying was a very evil person in her previous life, the waiter couldn't help but have some fear in his eyes when he looked at Qiao Ying's smiling face again.

The waiter withdrew his gaze, looked at Jiang Lian'an again and asked, "What is Jiang Guitan going to do?"

Jiang Lian'an glanced at Qiao Ying who was standing obediently beside him, and said with some distress in his eyes: "I will go to Haibei Village again tomorrow. Let him stay in my room tonight."

"Okay! Since Detective Jiang Gui has said so, let's do it!"

After talking to the waiter, Jiang Lian'an turned around and looked at everyone, saying politely, "Thank you for accompanying me. It's getting late, so everyone should go to bed early."

Everyone said they were fine and went to their rooms one after another.

Just as Lin Lezhi was about to go back to his room, Jiang Lian'an took the initiative to walk up to Lin Lezhi and asked, "May I have the honor to invite Mr. Lin to my room for a cup of tea as a thank you for leading the way for me just now?"

As soon as these words were spoken, Xiao Yihuo and his group, who were about to go upstairs, also listened attentively.

Lin Lezhi was stunned for a moment, then smiled and said, "It is my honor to have a drink with the famous Jiang Guitan."

Then, Lin Lezhi looked at Guan Ziheng and met his worried eyes. Lin Lezhi gave Guan Ziheng a reassuring expression and said, "Ziheng, go back and rest first. I'll be back soon."

Although Guan Ziheng still couldn't let go of his worry, he still went back as Lin Lezhi said.

Jiang Lian'an, like Lin Lezhi and the others, lived in the inn's "H"-shaped room, so their rooms were not far apart. Although the two had never met before, they sat opposite each other, and the two people with different personalities seemed very harmonious.

Qiao Ying sat quietly aside, shaking her head and looking at the two of them with interest.

Jiang Lian'an poured a cup of tea for Lin Lezhi and said with a smile, "Thanks to Master Lin for leading the way for me today. I wonder what Master Lin thinks of the strange things on the lake island?"

"I just arrived a few days earlier than Jiang Guitan, and I don't know more than Jiang Guitan. It's been two months since this strange incident happened. If Jiang Guitan doesn't have any clues, what ideas can I have?"

"Really?" Jiang Lian'an looked up at Lin Lezhi, not hiding the admiration in his eyes, and said with a smile: "But I don't think Mr. Lin is a person without a clue."

"Why do you think so?" Lin Lezhi asked back.

"Why do you think so?" Jiang Lian'an pushed the teacup in front of Lin Lezhi closer to him, looked at Lin Lezhi's clenched fists, and said with a meaningful smile: "Then why doesn't Mr. Lin drink this tea? Are you afraid that I will poison it?"

Lin Lezhi rubbed his fisted fingers slightly, his eyes calm, and then he said with his usual playful smile: "I'm not afraid of poisoning. Jiang Guitan asked me to come to your room in front of everyone, how could he poison me? But since Jiang Guitan has kindly invited me to have tea, can I borrow something from Jiang Guitan to have a look?"

Jiang Lian'an said "Oh" softly, and the admiration in his eyes deepened. He still kept smiling, as if he was sure that he must have what Lin Lezhi wanted, and said with ease: "What is it?"

"I heard that Jiang Lian'an has always been alone in the martial arts world. There is a scar with a smoke-like pattern on the inside of his left forearm. I have never seen it before, so I want to take a look and increase my knowledge."

Lin Lezhi paused, looked at Jiang Lian'an, smiled and said slowly: "I wonder if Jiang Guitan can satisfy my curiosity?"