The little heroine investigates a mysterious case

"When will you leave Qingshan Valley?"

Qin Shao took two mouthfuls of rice and asked slowly.

"Xuan'er and I have other important matters to attend to this time, so we plan to leave the mountain early tomorrow morning. Brother Qin, how about you?"

"I wonder if it would be inconvenient for us to stay here for another two or three days?"

Qin Shao spoke cautiously, fearing that Huang Shuo would disagree.

"Brother Qin, please do as you please!"

Huang Shuo agreed readily.

After eating two big chicken legs, Zhao Xuan felt a little bloated. She stood up and walked a few steps, then asked Qin Shao casually.

"Uncle Qin, will you return to Liyang or the Northern Territory?"

"The North! Life in the military camp is more suitable for me."

Qin Shao answered Zhao Xuan without thinking.

Zhao Xuan complained silently in her heart that if her master had agreed to marry him, she would not have said that. She would have wanted to stay by her master's side every day.

Unexpectedly, Huang Shuo directly asked what Zhao Xuan was complaining about.

"Brother Qin, if Xiaoman had agreed to marry you back then, you wouldn't have said this, right?"

Zhao Xuan quickly looked at Qin Shao, and saw Qin Shao smiling awkwardly at Huang Shuo and eating in silence, and she couldn't help but burst out laughing.

Qin Shao raised his hand and knocked Zhao Xuan on the forehead.

"What are you laughing at? Eat your meal!"

Because they had to get up early the next day, the three of them went to bed early after packing up after dinner. Zhao Xuan slept on the bed, while Qin Shao and Huang Shuo slept on the floor.

Zhao Xuan fell asleep quickly, but Huang Shuo and Qin Shao were not sleepy at all.

Huang Shuo tilted his head and asked Qin Shao quietly, "Can't sleep?"

"Ah."

Qin Shao's voice was muffled.

"Let's go and have a drink?"

Without waiting for Qin Shao's response, Huang Shuo quietly stood up, picked up two jars of wine from the corner, and walked out of the hut first.

Huang Shuo came to Zhao Xiaoman's tomb and sat cross-legged on the ground. Qin Shao followed closely behind him and also imitated Huang Shuo and sat next to him.

Huang Shuo threw one of the two jars of wine in his hand to Qin Shao. Qin Shao caught it steadily, broke the mud seal and smelled it.

"Good wine!"

Qin Shao raised his head and took a sip.

Huang Shuo smiled, took a sip, and chatted with Qin Shao like an old friend.

"This wine is called Chang Xiang Ju. It was brewed by Guo Da, the then-chief of our Wuwei Escort Agency. It was Xiao Man's favorite, and the name was given by the three of us.

One day, our escort agency's deputy escort leader, Wang Sheng, was killed by robbers while escorting a caravan. Xiao Man was drunk that day. She cried, laughed, and cursed, saying that from then on, we were missing one of the four drunkards, Zhao, Huang, Guo, and Wang.

When Huang Shuo said this, he raised the wine jar towards the sky.

"Now she and Wang Sheng are reunited in heaven, leaving only Guo Da and I."

Huang Shuo kept talking and looked up at the night sky. The crescent moon was as cold as water, and a smile appeared on Huang Shuo's lips.

"Before, I was always the only one accompanying her, and Guo Da only came occasionally. Now she has a friend like you to accompany her. She must be very happy!"

Qin Shao had been listening silently, and the memory of Zhao Xiaoman became more vivid. It turned out that she got along with the escorts like brothers, and she even called herself one of the four great drunkards...

As Huang Shuo was talking, he suddenly sighed and asked Qin Shao.

"Do you miss Xiaoman? I miss her very much."

Qin Shao felt jealous. He had never known that he had a potential rival in love, but he still told Huang Shuo directly.

"I miss her, too."

After Qin Shao finished speaking, he raised the wine jar towards Huang Shuo.

"You've worked so hard to raise Xuan'er over the years. I respect you."

"If it were you, you would do the same thing, maybe even better than me."

Huang Shuo tilted his head back and took a sip of wine. What he said was the truth.

"Why do I feel like we two grown men chatting like this is so hypocritical? Xiaoman will definitely laugh like crazy if she hears it!"

Qin Shao chuckled.

Huang Shuo burst into laughter when he heard this.

"That's right! She's always straightforward and direct, but when it comes to Xuan'er, she's just too much! She's full of sweet talk, and I get goosebumps just listening to her!"

"Xuan'er competed with me for affection a lot when she was little, and I really couldn't win over her!"

Qin Shao snorted.

In the moonlight, Huang Shuo looked Qin Shao over and over, unable to understand what he was thinking.

"Competing with Xuan'er for favor? Aren't you asking for trouble? Are you so desperate?"

"Think about it! Come, let's toast to Xiaoman together!"

"Cheers to Xiaoman!"

The two men drank the wine one after another, recalling the little things they had experienced with Zhao Xiaoman.

They both had the illusion that these unforgettable memories could bring Zhao Xiaoman back to them, so they could smile and pick up the wine jar to drink with them...

It was not until dawn that Huang Shuo said goodbye to Qin Shao and returned to the cabin to call Zhao Xuan to get up.

Zhao Xuan smelled the alcohol on Huang Shuo and looked at the empty bed.

"Dad, didn't you drink with Uncle Qin all night?"

Huang Shuo had nothing to hide, so he nodded.

"Well, I'll go with your Uncle Qin and talk to your master."

Okay, Zhao Xuan expressed her understanding, as she had done stupid things like this many times before.

The father and daughter did not bother Qin Shao anymore. After breakfast, they went down the mountain directly.

To be on the safe side, Zhao Xuan and Huang Shuo agreed that they should rush to Fengcheng first, inform Guo Da of the plan, and ask Guo Da to help with some ideas.

Unexpectedly, after hearing their plan, Guo Da denied it repeatedly.

"No, no, no! This is absolutely not possible!"

Huang Shuo and Zhao Xuan looked at each other, not understanding why it didn't work.

Guo Da put the teacup on the table. It made a crisp "ding" sound when it touched the table. He looked at the silly father and daughter in front of him with some disappointment and shook his head.

"I have no objection to you investigating the Flame Organization, but pretending to be a father and daughter looking for their relatives? That's too cliché!

If a kind-hearted person really wants to help you find your relatives and asks them for their names and where they live, how would you answer? This would easily expose your true identity. No way!

"Can't you just make up a name and address?"

Huang Shuo was still quite persistent in the routine of father and daughter searching for their relatives, which earned him a roll of the eyes from Guo Da.

"If you meet a native local, can you get away with making up stories?"

"It seems right."

Huang Shuo fell silent.

Zhao Xuan asked Guo Da with her eyes twinkling, "So what do you say we should do?"

Guo Da touched the non-existent beard on his chin and pondered.

"It's been over ten years since you went there to investigate. The previous clues might have been lost. You'll have to visit several more counties... I think it would be better for you to disguise yourself as a peddler!"

"A peddler?"

"Yes! It's the peddler!"

Guo Da made the final decision and then analyzed to the two the advantages of disguising themselves as peddlers.

"Besides your martial arts skills and Old Huang's blacksmithing skills, you two don't have any other skills. Why don't I prepare some groceries for you and you can go around the streets selling them?

This way you can not only find out what you want to know, but also make some money without attracting attention!

Don't worry! What I prepared for you are all small items that are necessary for daily life, such as children's toys and women's hairpins!

Anyway, it's not too heavy to bring more than a hundred kinds of items. If they really sell out, you two can always come back to me to restock them!"

For some reason, after listening to what Guo Da said, two words immediately popped up in Zhao Xuan's mind: profiteer!

Zhao Xuan looked at Guo Da suspiciously.

"Uncle Guo, are you really considering investigating the case for us? You don't want us to work for you to make money?"

Guo Da leaned back in his chair and spread his hands.

"What else? Tell me, what's a better way? Look for relatives? Every time you find a place, you make up a story saying you're looking for a relative. Isn't that ridiculous?

Are they going to ask you two to dress up as a master and a lady? No matter how you look at it, it doesn't look like it!"

Guo Da once again reiterated that the father and daughter's search for their relatives was unreliable.

"Even if they're disguised as peddlers, aren't they still father and daughter?"

Huang Shuo was still a little confused and asked blankly.

Guo Da sneered.

"Is the focus on the father and daughter? The focus of my idea is on the peddler, not the search for relatives! How can selling goods and searching for relatives be the same?"

Huang Shuo and Zhao Xuan shut up at the same time.

So, with Guo Da's strong suggestion and help, the father and daughter disguised themselves as peddlers and started their investigative career of selling goods on their shoulders.

After seeing the two off, Guo Da's heart was still weighed down and he never let it go.

Huang Shuo is stubborn and not very smart. Can he really find any clues about the Flame Organization with Xuan'er?