The little heroine investigates a mysterious case

Guo'er was amused by Guan Liushui's words and laughed.

"Don't bother. Besides the room for my mother and me, there are three empty rooms in my house, all of which are prepared for outsiders to stay overnight.

You are the first group of outsiders I have met in the past month. You will come home with me and choose a house for yourself. I will cook for you."

Hao Xiong asked hurriedly: "Do you need help?"

Guo'er looked up at Hao Xiong and asked, "How about two cold dishes with rice?"

"Okay, let's just grab some breakfast and rest."

"No need for help, I can do it all by myself!"

Then the five of them followed Guo'er home. Guo'er's mother still didn't show up, so Guo'er trotted into the kitchen.

The five people were assigned rooms. Zhao Xuan and Xiao Yixian lived in one, Gu Zhanghua and Guan Liushui lived in another, and Hao Xiong, who loved to snore, had his own room.

Everyone freshened up and went to the kitchen. Guo'er had already steamed a pot of rice and there were two plates of cold dishes on the table.

The five people filled their bowls with rice and sat at the table. Xiao Yixian looked at one of the plates of cold dishes.

"I picked an unknown wild grass on the way here, and it looks very similar to this dish."

"This dish is called cockscomb. The leaves are shaped like a rooster's comb. It's our local specialty. Come and try my cooking and see if it's delicious."

Guo'er said this and looked at everyone with anticipation.

The five people took turns picking up the cockscomb and putting it in their mouths. Suddenly, their faces turned red and sweat broke out on their foreheads. Then, the five people spat out the cockscomb one after another.

The five people threw down their bowls, jumped up in unison, stuck out their tongues and fanned their mouths with their hands, tears and snot streaming down their faces.

"It's so spicy! Water! Water, water, water!"

Hao Xiong quickly ran to the water tank, scooped up some water with a ladle and drank it. The other four people hurried over to take over, gulping down the cold water to relieve the spiciness.

Guo'er looked at the five people who kept sticking out their tongues to inhale, and shook her head in confusion.

"Because I thought you'd find it too spicy, I dipped some Emperor peppers in the sauce. How could you possibly tolerate such spicy food? We usually cut a pepper in half and put it in the sauce, and it tastes just right."

The five of them burped continuously and drank a lot of water.

Zhao Xuan looked at Guo'er with lingering fear, the spicy taste in her mouth still coming in waves like the sea.

"I feel like I've turned into a fire-breathing dragon, breathing out flames! Next time, don't even try to simmer it, it's so spicy it's killing me!"

Hao Xiong was still panting.

"My mouth is like Taishang Laojun's alchemy furnace, refining spicy elixirs!"

Guo'er giggled and said, "How about I cook you another non-spicy dish?"

Gu Zhanghua quickly waved his hands: "No need! We can just eat white rice!"

The five people held the white rice and ate it silently. Only now did they realize how delicious it was to eat just a bowl of white rice.

The next morning, no one dared to touch the pickles that Guo'er brought them, and they had white steamed buns and white porridge for breakfast.

Zhao Xuan asked Guo'er, "How far is it from here to Guze Town?"

"Very close. Just past the swamp ahead, about a mile further."

Gu Zhanghua spread out the map and took a look.

"Guze Town is under the jurisdiction of Gucheng. Baihuazhou, the largest military base of the Vietnamese army in the southern border, is stationed in the northern suburbs of Gucheng."

Guo'er asked everyone curiously: "Brothers and sisters, what are you doing in Guze Town?"

Guan Liushui had already thought of what to say to the outside world.

"This elegant young man is good at painting and is out collecting folk songs. This sister is his wife, and the baby-faced older brother is the servant who is accompanying them to take care of them.

My sister, who carries her medicine chest, is writing a medical book compiling herbs from the Qiankun Continent. I'm drawing inspiration from the upcoming song and dance competition and want to create a song with ethnic characteristics."

Guo'er clapped her hands and looked at everyone with sparkling eyes full of admiration.

"Wow! You all are awesome! How about I take you across the swamp? I know the safest way!"

The Little Medical Fairy took out a box of scented powder and handed it to Guo'er: "Here's your reward!"

Little Medical Fairy looked at the other four and said, "Hurry up and fulfill your promise. Don't fool a child."

The makeshift troupe started business again. Guan Liushui sang to accompany Zhao Xuan's sword dance, Gu Zhanghua painted Guo'er's portrait on the side, and Hao Xiong filled a tank with water and cleaned the house and kitchen.

Everyone was singing and dancing happily. Little Doctor Fairy looked at the door that had been tightly closed, feeling puzzled.

"Guo'er, why has your mother been hiding in the house and not seeing anyone?"

"I don't know either. My mother has been like this ever since I can remember. She often locks herself in the house. I often go to town to play with my parents!"

"Dad and Mom? So you have two mothers!"

"We have the same mother. Dad and Mom are my mother's parents."

"Good boy, that's a weird name. Where's your real dad?"

"I went back to my hometown and never came back."

Before leaving, Guoer gave the prescription of the detoxification pill to Xiao Yixian, and taught her how to identify unknown herbs along the way. She led everyone through the swamp smoothly and soon arrived at Guze Town.

Guoer helped everyone find an inn with a reasonable price, and made an appointment to visit everyone when she had time. She said goodbye to everyone and went to find her parents, then left the inn happily.

The five of them gathered in the guest room shared by Zhao Xuan and Xiao Yixian.

Gu Zhanghua took out the list Hu Junfeng gave them.

"We need to first find the garrison's camp. There are twenty names listed here. Each of us needs to memorize four of them. Even though it's been over ten years, if we continue to visit and inquire, we should be able to gain some information."

Hao Xiong gave Gu Zhanghua a thumbs up.

"Brother-in-law is right. To survive, these garrisons must buy daily necessities in town, such as firewood, rice, oil, and salt. Go to these shops and ask around."

Little Medical Fairy was a little confused: "What's the point of asking if anyone knows them?"

I can't figure it out even by watching the flowing water.

"My cousin said that Tian Yuan was certain that the assassins who went to assassinate the Xia Kingdom delegation were not from this garrison team, but from someone else."

Gu Zhanghua looked at everyone.

"You're all right. The 20-member garrison team couldn't have just vanished. Let's investigate them one by one and find out where they went first!"

Hao Xiong made a suggestion.

"Everyone, go out and check. This will make too much noise. I took a quick look on the way here.

Guze Town is not big, and the people living here are from hundreds of ethnic groups, just like Guo'er. We, a group of outsiders, are already quite conspicuous!"

Guan Liushui tapped the table and thought.

"Why don't I go by myself? I can remember the names of the twenty people. I'll ask them about the local customs and habits and then talk about composing a new song.

Talk to the old folks in the town about the interesting things that happened in Guze Town in the past, and maybe you can find some clues."

Zhao Xuan didn't want to stay bored in the inn waiting, so she asked about the flowing water.

"We're not going to do anything? You're going to investigate alone?"

"Just do what you need to do and cover for me. Hao Xiong, accompany Xiao Yixian to collect herbs and find out the garrison's camp."

"That's easy. I guarantee that the mission will be completed."

After the five of them had discussed it, they set off separately and agreed to meet back at the inn before dinner.

Zhao Xuan accompanied Gu Zhanghua for a stroll on the street, feeling a little uneasy.

"Little Medical Fairy's mind is entirely focused on medical skills. How can she care about anything else when she sees herbs? It's useless for Hao Xiong to follow her.

How about we follow the markings on the map and find the exact location of the base?"

"I didn't feel like setting up a portrait stall. I felt a little nervous when I arrived in Guze Town."

"Why are you still nervous? Are you not used to the local climate?"

"I do not know either."

They followed the map and climbed over a small hill not far from the town. From the top of the hill they could see a three-courtyard house nearby.

Zhao Xuan and Gu Zhanghua hid behind a large rock and carefully observed the movements in the yard.

Two soldiers were guarding the gate, one on each side, leaning against the wall and dozing off. A soldier in the yard was drawing water from a well.

The whole yard seemed very quiet. Except for the hillside where Zhao Xuan and Gu Zhanghua were, the other three directions of the yard were surrounded by dense forests, and there was a faint mist rising from the dense forests.

Zhao Xuan looked towards the dense forest and whispered to Gu Zhanghua, "There seems to be miasma in the forest."

Gu Zhanghua didn't say anything. The warm sunshine shone on the earth, but a chill suddenly rose in his heart.

"The sun is shining brightly and the weather is warm, so why do I always feel so eerie looking at this yard?"

"Why do you feel like this? I've been in the sun for a while and I'm a little sleepy."

"I can't tell what's wrong. It's as if there's some danger in that yard that we can't see!"

Gu Zhanghua searched for words in his mind to make Zhao Xuan understand how he felt.

"This yard seems to be surrounded by many evil spirits!"

Zhao Xuan looked at Gu Zhanghua in surprise: "Your metaphor is really scary!"

Gu Zhanghua pulled Zhao Xuan back the way they came.

"We can't stay here any longer. Let's go back to town and discuss this with everyone later."