PDLP Chapter 321: Clouds and Mists
Chapter 321: Clouds and Mists
The owner of the voice did not show up after he finished speaking. The trunk of a single tree in the forest just provided him with shelter.
The voice was light, slightly playful, and pretentious, making it difficult to distinguish between the real and the fake. It sounded like the voice was not complaining about having to wait here for a long time. The real emotion revealed in it was a ridicule that Lin Lezhi could not come here at all.
The fact that he was able to hide his true identity in front of Xiao Yihuo and was not discovered until he made a sound showed that this person's martial arts skills must be quite good.
The moment the sound was heard, everyone's eyes became alert. Liu Yunhe suddenly stood up from the ground, alert to the direction of the sound.
Only Lin Lezhi did not seem surprised after hearing this voice.
In the same clear and slightly playful tone, he responded with a smile: "Of course I have to come. If I don't come, how can I clear my suspicion?"
"Oh?"
After hearing what Lin Lezhi said, the owner of the voice became interested and curious.
"The destruction of the flowers near the mountains only proves I wasn't there. There's no evidence to prove I wasn't the one who destroyed the flowers in the basement of Zhouqing Town. So I have to catch you and make you confess in person to completely clear me of suspicion. Isn't that right?"
When Lin Lezhi said this, Qingchuan and Xiao Yihuo's eyes trembled slightly.
This is true.
“It seems to make some sense.”
"I think that makes sense." Lin Lezhi looked in the direction of the voice and said, "Since you said you thought I wouldn't come, then you must be waiting for me here on purpose. Since you're here, and we're old acquaintances, doesn't it seem a bit distant if you only hear about me but don't show up?"
"Really?" The voice's owner slowly walked out from behind the tree, rustling the nearby grass. Because the banyan tree formed a single forest, the voice's owner walked for a while before emerging from behind the tree. "I think sometimes it's better to keep a little mystery. You don't have to see so clearly."
The moment the owner of the voice came out from behind the tree trunk, everyone's eyes, except Lin Lezhi, suddenly tightened, their eyes full of disbelief.
"why you?!"
Liu Yunhe clenched the sword in his hand, his eyes filled with alertness and shock.
The person hiding behind the banyan tree was none other than Luo Zhifeng.
Luo Zhifeng smiled, walked slowly to the front of the group, and said jokingly: "I didn't expect to see you again so soon."
From this morning till now, only one day has passed.
"Since you're here, why not talk to each other in your true colors?"
Hearing this, Luo Zhifeng pretended to be very hurt, but raised the corner of his mouth and said, "I am really sad to be told that by Brother Jiang. I have always been true to myself when interacting with everyone. It is absolutely genuine."
A sharp look flashed across Lin Lezhi's eyes, and he narrowed his gaze slightly as he said, "I'm talking about your true identity. Should I call you Luo Zhifeng, or..." Lin Lezhi paused, his eyes darkening, "Qiao Ying."
The words fell.
The shock in everyone's eyes had not yet subsided when another wave of ripples arose.
"Le Zhi, what are you talking about? Isn't Qiao Ying an identity fabricated by Qi Xi? How did Luo Zhifeng become Qiao Ying? Isn't he from Tiandi Pavilion?"
Because when Xiao Yihuo was in the earth temple, he and Lin Lezhi discovered the words "the place to look for is hidden in the earth, where the golden light shines" and "Qiao Ying" engraved on the jade pendant left by Xing Tianqi, so Xiao Yihuo was not that shocked, and there was only a look of solemn thought and vigilance in his eyes.
Even if there is no person named Qiao Ying, there must be someone with the code name "Qiao Ying".
Lin Lezhi stared at Luo Zhifeng and said, "No one in Pinghai Town has ever seen Luo Zhifeng, who is far away in Shaotian City. He said he was from the Tiandi Pavilion, and he had County Magistrate Chang as a witness. So what he said is what he meant. He said he was Jiang Lian'an, and everyone believed him."
"It seems...that's indeed the case."
After Guan Ziheng thought about it carefully, he found it hard not to agree.
Luo Zhifeng acted calm and composed, not showing any signs of uneasiness. He found this quite amusing and asked with curiosity in his eyes, "Brother Jiang, it's fine if you think I'm not Luo Zhifeng, but why do you think I'm Qiao Ying?"
Lin Lezhi also had a calm expression. Instead of responding, he asked a question: "You and Qi Xi are friends from Girls' Generation, right?"
As the question came out, Luo Zhifeng's calm expression froze for a moment, and his eyes tightened slightly as he asked, "Why do you think so?"
"In the Huaifeng Village case, you should have guessed that Qi Xi survived, right?"
Lin Lezhi still did not respond, but continued to ask.
Luo Zhifeng smiled and said, "Brother Jiang's reputation as a cunning detective has spread throughout the world. It's probably inappropriate to just talk without any evidence."
"Not right?" Lin Lezhi was still evasive, but he said firmly, "I've come all the way here, isn't that enough evidence?" Lin Lezhi pointed out, "Without your consent, I wouldn't be here."
Luo Zhifeng had no intention of hiding it and admitted it generously, but he did not admit that he was Qiao Ying. "That's true, but I still want to hear how you deduced it."
"Three o'clock."
"Oh?"
"First, there are loopholes in Qixi's story."
Luo Zhifeng was not in a hurry and waited for Lin Lezhi to speak.
"Qi Xi said that when he was young, he didn't like reading and learning to read, and he often climbed out of the tomb and sneaked out to play. This is the loophole."
“Where’s the loophole?”
"If he really did sneak out to play so often, he would have to go to town, passing through Haibei Village on the way. But he often sneaked out to play, and no one in town had seen him. It wasn't until he was picked up by Wu Sanshan and became a town spirit, and he revealed himself to be 'Qiao Ying', that he gradually became known to the people of Pinghai Town. And after he became a town spirit, no one doubted his identity."
Lin Lezhi paused, his eyes sharp as he spoke, "It's true he was playing secretly, but he didn't go to the town, he went here." Lin Lezhi's gaze shifted to the bone lotus flowers scattered all over the ground. "The bone lotus flowers here were moved outside the mountains, which is evidence. And the treasure he later moved to the Puppet Cave must have been moved from here as well, but to cover it up, he could only lie and say the treasure was found behind the wall of the Puppet Cave. Similarly, to protect this place, he was afraid that others would find out and implicate you, so he followed Brother Cheng and left Pinghai Town."
Luo Zhifeng followed Lin Lezhi's words, a look of serious thought rising in his eyes, and then he said with a smile: "That makes sense, but how can you be sure that the treasure was moved out from here?"
"That's my second point." Lin Lezhi's gaze remained steady, his eyes calm as he spoke half-jokingly, "Whenever someone thinks of the treasure in the Lake Island tomb, the white snakes will swarm out. Since these snakes are so intelligent, wherever they appear, there must be treasure hidden in this canyon."
"Brother Jiang, you said this snake is guarding a treasure. If there really is a treasure in this canyon, Qi Xi would be killed if he tried to remove it. How can he escape unscathed?"
"Then we need to explain why Qi Xi frequently visited the tomb yet never contracted stone lung disease." Lin Lezhi's eyes shone with helplessness and sadness. "Wu Sanshan and Chang Feizhang conspired to do this, and within six months of landing on the island, he contracted stone lung disease, a condition that is practically incurable. But Qi Xi, not counting his youthful time on the island, spent eleven years planning this scheme. Could it be that he is physically stronger than an average person?"
"No," Lin Lezhi denied immediately, then said with a dark look in his eyes, "Someone secretly helped him, allowing him to avoid the pain of illness and travel back and forth between the canyon and Huaifeng Village."
"Where's the evidence?"
"You appeared here safely and unharmed, without being attacked by the white flower snake. Isn't that evidence?"
"Words alone are not enough to prove anything. That's too far-fetched. You all can find this place, so I might have come here by accident. If I'm lucky, that's not impossible, right?"
"Actually, my first two inferences were just casually said, to make them seem plausible." Lin Lezhi smiled, his brows confident and determined as he said, "The third inference is the most crucial."
Luo Zhifeng refused to admit that he was Qiao Ying, so Lin Lezhi followed suit and continued to address her as Qiao Ying. However, there was a hint of teasing in his words, and he said with a slight smile, "Brother Luo, do you want to hear it?"
Luo Zhifeng smiled and said slowly and politely, "Brother Jiang, please speak."
"It's not complicated. I have to thank another old friend of Brother Luo. If it weren't for him, I wouldn't dare to make such a conclusion about your identity."