Chapter 110 Fingerprints

Pei Ji had already dismounted. His sharp gaze, like the most accurate searchlight, quickly swept across the bridge, the stone railings, and the stone steps leading to the river. The bridge was clean, with no signs of struggle or dragging. His gaze suddenly fixed on the stone railings.

On the outside of the stone railing near the center of the bridge, in an inconspicuous position, there is a small piece of moss that was rubbed off by a hard object, and there is a very fine light green silk thread on the edge.

That color... Pei Ji's eyes narrowed. Luo Zhaohan seemed to be wearing a water-green Yanluo skirt when she went out today!

He immediately strode towards the railing and leaned over to take a closer look.

The marks were fresh, having been left not long ago. The silk thread was of high quality, certainly not something an ordinary family could possess. Beneath the railing, the river was bottomless, an undercurrent surging.

Did he fall into the water by mistake? Or was he pushed overboard?

This thought made Pei Ji's heart sink to the bottom in an instant, and a cold chill ran up his spine.

He turned his head abruptly and shouted, "Search along both sides of the river immediately! Focus on the downstream area! Notify the government office and mobilize the water ghosts!"

"Yes!" The accompanying guards were all Pei Ji's confidants and well-trained. Upon hearing the order, they immediately split up and took action, moving swiftly and silently.

"Fall... fall into the water?" Luo Jince's face turned pale when he heard Pei Ji's order. The lantern in his hand fell to the ground with a clang, and the delicate petals were instantly deformed.

His legs went weak and he almost collapsed to the ground, but was caught by the guard next to him. "No! My sister is very good at swimming! She won't..." The young man's voice was filled with tears and fear.

Pei Ji didn't have time to comfort him. He forced himself to calm down and his brain was working fast.

Slipped? Luo Zhaohan wasn't a reckless person. Assaulted? This place was remote, so it was possible. But aside from the scrapes and the thread, there were no other signs of a fight or struggle.

If she was pushed down by force, given her personality, she would never resist without resistance.

His eyes fell on the pale green thread again, then swept over the fallen lantern. A corner of Chang'e's skirt was torn.

Something wasn't right... something was wrong. Luo Zhaohan had left a note saying he was going to release river lanterns, but where on this bridge was there any sign of river lanterns being released?

Candle wax dripping? Burnt paper ashes? Not a single drop of it. The bridge was impossibly clean.

Unless, she didn't put any lights on the bridge at all?

Pei Ji's gaze passed over the stone railing and turned towards the dark riverbank below the bridge, where there was a shallow beach half-hidden by reeds.

"Follow me." Pei Ji made a quick decision, stopped looking at the bridge, turned around and walked quickly towards the stone steps leading to the river beach at the bridge head.

Luo Jince was half supported and half lifted by the guards, stumbling to catch up.

The stone steps were slippery and covered with moss. Pei Ji walked down the steps and pushed aside the dense reeds.

The moonlight was obscured by clouds, making it even darker. He looked closely and saw soft river mud under his feet.

Soon, he discovered the clue.

Several rows of small footprints were clearly imprinted on the muddy riverbank. Judging by the size and the pattern on the soles, they were definitely left by a woman.

The footprints were fresh, extending toward the river. Near the water's edge, they disappeared, replaced by a slightly treaded patch of mud. Next to them lay a plain, unlit lotus lantern, its wick pure white.

And on the muddy ground a few steps away from the river lanterns, there was a plain silver hairpin used by women!

The tip of the hairpin was a small magnolia, exactly the style Luo Zhaohan liked to wear! The hairpin was inserted very deep, and the body was even slightly bent, as if it had been pushed in with great force.

Luo Jince also saw the hairpin and cried out, "It's my sister's hairpin!"

Pei Ji squatted down and carefully pulled out the silver hairpin. The tip of the hairpin was stained with a little dark brown mud, but no blood.

He carefully examined the spot where the hairpin had been inserted and the surrounding marks. The mud had been trampled, but besides Luo Zhaohan's footprints, there were only a few small, disorganized marks resembling those of wild animals' claws.

"Wolf... There is a wolf?!" Luo Jince also saw the claw marks. He was so scared that his voice changed and he grabbed the guard's arm tightly.

Pei Ji frowned, clutching his hairpin, his eyes scanning the surroundings like lightning. The reeds rustled in the night breeze. He stood up and listened.

In addition to the sound of wind and water, there seemed to be a few long, vague sounds in the distance, similar to the barking of dogs and the howling of wolves, but they seemed to be very far away.

A beast attack? These claw marks don't look like those of a large beast. Also, the hairpin stuck here looks more like a mark?

Or, was it dropped during the fight?

Pei Ji's gaze fell once again on the plain lotus lantern. She had brought the lantern, but hadn't lit it before placing it in the river. Was it because she didn't have time? Or had something happened?

"Sir! We've found something downstream!" A guard hurried over from downstream and reported in a low voice, "We found this in a backwater bay about half a mile from here!"

The guard opened his hand, and in his palm was a half-broken, mud-stained light green silk ribbon!

The color and texture were identical to the silk thread found on the stone railing! Moreover, the broken part of the silk thread looked like it had been cut by a sharp weapon, or torn apart by something.

Half a mile away in the backwater... the silk thread breaks...

Pei Ji's heart suddenly sank. This meant that Luo Zhaohan might have fallen into the water!

Moreover, it was swept downstream by the turbulent river! Did the silk ribbon break when it got caught on underwater branches or rocks during its struggle? Or was it caused by someone forcibly pulling it?

"Continue searching along the river! Expand the scope! Alive or dead..." Pei Ji's voice was as cold and hard as iron, but the word "death" seemed to weigh a thousand pounds, stuck in his throat, and he couldn't even utter it.

He took a deep breath, suppressed the anger and panic that was boiling in his heart, and said sternly, "We must find Miss Luo! Notify the government office and block the upstream and downstream rivers! All ships must be brought ashore for inspection!"

"Yes!" The guard took the order and turned quickly to pass on the message.

Luo Jince looked at the half-stained silk ribbon and heard Pei Ji's unfinished words. The huge fear finally overwhelmed him. He could no longer control his tears. They rolled down his face and he sobbed, "Sister... Sister..."

Pei Ji tightly grasped the half of the cold silk ribbon and the plain silver hairpin, his knuckles turning white from the force.

Luo Zhaohan’s disappearance is definitely not a simple loss or misstep!

He looked up at the dark river downstream, where the water was rushing and unfathomable.

An unprecedented panic, like cold river water, instantly drowned him.

He must find her! No matter what the cost!

"Prepare the boat!" Pei Ji's voice was decisive in the night wind, and he strode towards the downstream.

The dark robe rustled in the wind, and his back exuded a sense of desperate coldness.

Luo Jince wiped his tears, gritted his teeth, and stumbled after him.

The smell of cold river water mixed with the fishy smell of soil weighed heavily on Pei Ji's heart.

The half-broken light green silk ribbon, like an icy poisonous snake, entangled his sanity.

Alive or dead... The word was like a red-hot iron, burning his throat and making it tight.

"Prepare the boat! Now!" His voice was like ice.

The leader of the accompanying guards responded and ran quickly downstream towards the nearest place where the boat might be moored.

Pei Ji didn't wait. He clutched the half-cut silk ribbon and Luo Zhaohan's silver hairpin tightly, and strode rapidly downstream along the riverbank. His dark robe clung to his body in the night wind, and each step was heavy and rapid.

Luo Jince wiped the tears and snot from his face and stumbled after him.

The boy's fear was replaced by a desperate courage. He could not abandon his sister, nor could he be looked down upon by this cold-faced devil.

"Wait for me!" he shouted hoarsely, stepping deep and shallow on the slippery river bank.

The night was dark, and the moonlight was obscured by thick clouds. Only the scattered torches from the distant government office and the lanterns held by the guards cast a flickering, dim glow on the river bank.

The river rushed in the darkness, making a dull whimper, as if hiding countless dangers.

The search area was expanding. Pei Ji's personal guards and the Jingzhao Prefecture officials who arrived later, holding torches and long poles, searched carefully along both banks, calling out Luo Zhaohan's name.

The sound echoed on the empty river surface, but received no response, only the sound of the river flowing relentlessly.

Pei Ji's eyes swept across every inch of the riverbank like a hawk, the reeds, the piles of rocks, the shallow bays formed by the current...

He forced himself to calm down and quickly connected all the clues in his mind.

Claw marks... Pei Ji’s brows furrowed even tighter.

The claw marks were messy and small in size, definitely not from a large beast, but more like those of a wild dog or fox.

But these animals are generally afraid of people, so it's unlikely they would attack a grown woman, especially near water. Unless they were being driven by someone? Or perhaps, they were simply in disguise?

This thought made his heart tremble. Could it be that Luo Zhaohan's disappearance was not an accident, but someone deliberately did it?

Was the target her, or was he coming for Pei Ji? A cold murderous intent quietly crept into his eyes.

"Sir! The boat is coming!" the chief guard's voice came. Downstream, a simple black-sailed boat was being rowed by two yamen runners.

Pei Ji waited for the boat to dock without saying a word, then jumped onto the bow and the boat suddenly sank.

"Go downstream and search the river bank and water surface carefully, and don't let go of anything suspicious!" He ordered in a deep voice.

The boat left the shore, the oars cut through the water, and slowly moved downstream against the current.

Luo Jince was also pulled onto the boat by the guards. He curled up at the stern, staring at the dark river surface.

The boat moved slowly, and the torchlight danced on the turbulent water, illuminating only a small area.

Pei Ji stood at the bow, his body tense like a fully drawn bow, his eyes like torches, piercing the darkness. The icy breath of the river hit him, bringing with it a desperate, suffocating feeling.

Time passes by little by little, and every moment seems to be stretched countless times.

Besides the sound of the water, there was the suppressed breathing of the people on the boat. Luo Jince hugged his knees, his body trembling slightly, not knowing whether it was from the cold or fear.

"Sir, look over there!" The yamen runner rowing the boat suddenly pointed to a shadow near the river bank in the front left and shouted.

Pei Ji immediately looked in the direction of the sound. There was a small bend in the river, where the current slowed down slightly, forming a backwater area. The bank was piled with many dead branches and leaves washed down from upstream.

In the flickering firelight, there seemed to be a small bulge in the shadow that was darker than the surrounding dead leaves.

"Come closer!" Pei Ji's heart skipped a beat.

The boat approached cautiously. Pei Ji didn't wait for the boat to completely stop before he leaned over and used a long pole to poke at the shadow. The dead branches were pushed aside, revealing something underneath - a water-green coat soaked in river water and covered in mud!

Luo Jince gasped and rushed to the side of the boat: "It's my sister's clothes! It's the color my sister is wearing today!"

Pei Ji used a long pole to carry his wet coat onto the boat.

The clothes had been swollen by the river water and were covered with black mud and fine water plants. There were many tears on the sleeves and hem. A bit of light green silk ribbon still remained on the edge of one of the tears.

The color of the broken ribbon material is exactly the same as that found in the backwater bay before!

The clothes were found, but where was the person? Was he washed away, or dragged ashore? Pei Ji's heart sank to the bottom of the valley, and a chill rushed from the soles of his feet to the top of his head.

He squatted down and looked carefully at the coat, ignoring the dirt.

The tear was very messy, as if it was caught by a branch or torn apart with great force.

There were no obvious marks of a sharp weapon. He froze as he reached the inside of the garment, near the shoulder. There, on the soaked fabric, were several dark red fingerprints!

The fingerprint was not big, and looked like a woman's, but the edges were blurred, more like something colored had been pressed on it rather than blood.

Fingerprints? Who left them? Luo Zhaohan's own? Or someone else's?

"Sir! We've found something on the shore!" A guard who was following the search on the shore suddenly shouted loudly, his voice hurried, "There's blood here! And there are signs of dragging!"

Pei Ji suddenly stood up, his eyes shooting like lightning in the direction pointed by the guards on the shore.

That was a few dozen steps downstream from where the outer shirt was found, on a relatively flat river beach with fewer rocks.

The boat immediately docked.

Pei Ji jumped down first and rushed to the guards in a few steps. The torch light illuminated the muddy ground.

In addition to the messy footprints on the wet river beach, there was an obvious dragging mark extending from the riverside to the shore!

The marks were deep, as if something heavy had been dragged away. At the starting point of the drag marks, on a few rocks near the water's edge, a few drops of semi-solidified dark red liquid had splashed.

It's blood!

There wasn't much blood, but it was shocking under the pale firelight.

Luo Jince also saw it. His face turned pale as paper, and his teeth chattered. "Blood... is it my sister's blood? Was she injured? Was she dragged away? Who did it?"

A great fear seized him, and his voice changed in pitch.

Pei Ji squatted down, dipped his finger in a little blood, and put it close to his nose.

The smell of blood was faint, mingling with the stench of the river. He carefully observed the shape and color of the bloodstains, then looked at the drag mark. The drag mark was deep, extending all the way to a dense patch of bushes at the edge of the riverbank, where it disappeared.

Beyond the bushes lay a steep slope and deeper darkness.

"The bloodstains are fresh, no more than an hour old." Pei Ji's voice was as cold as ice. "The drag marks are deep and continuous, and the direction is clear. The target is not the water, but the shore."

He stood up, his eyes sharp as a knife as he scanned the dark bushes and hillside. "Leave two men to guard the boat, and notify the government to send more men to seal off this area! The rest of you, follow me!"

He drew the sword from his waist, a cold gleam flashed, "Be careful and alert, the enemy may have accomplices, or they may be carrying weapons or wild animals!"

"Yes!" The guards and yamen runners responded in unison, drawing their weapons with serious expressions.