Back at the manor, Fourth Master and Thirteenth Master began discussing the matter of the person who was buying up large quantities of grain circulating in the market in the two lakes region.

"Fourth Brother, this man dares to snatch grain from the imperial court; I feel he must have connections. Otherwise, who would have such audacity?" Thirteen said.

"Well, it's impossible for the Crown Prince's people. The Third Prince has never been good at these things, and the Prince of Zhi only values ​​military achievements. The rest are the Eighth and Ninth Princes," the Fourth Prince said.

"Them? They all went with Father Emperor, how dare they make such a fortune behind his back?" Thirteen asked in surprise.

"Old Ninth has always liked to do these things. The Governor-General of Hubei, Xu Zhongchang, has a very good relationship with your father-in-law. If he could get involved in investigating, it would save us the trouble of running back and forth," said Fourth Master.

“Alright, I’ll write to my father-in-law right away and explain the urgency of this matter to him,” Thirteen said immediately.

"Yes. Go. We need to keep an eye on this place and find out exactly where those missing people and the red things in the sky came from," Fourth Master said.

A few days later, news finally arrived from Alhatu that someone had found human remains in a ravine while gathering firewood in the mountains. Alhatu had already dispatched his personal guards to cordon off that area of ​​the mountain road.

Fourth Master, Thirteenth Master, and Cui Da and Cui Er rode their horses to the scene of the incident. There, guarding the place was Alhatu himself. He was a middle-aged man in his thirties with a narrow forehead, long face, and dark complexion, clearly someone who had been on the battlefield for many years.

"Who are these people? Have you found anything, Uncle?" Fourth Master had no choice but to call him Uncle, because he was indeed Fei Yanggu's youngest brother, as evidenced by the backup, even though he was only about ten years older than Fourth Master.

"They're all just skeletons, rotten or gnawed by wild animals, making it difficult to identify them." Al-Hatu smiled slightly, which was his response to Fourth Master's address of "uncle."

Thirteen, along with Cui Da and Cui Er, went to look at the skeletons abandoned in the ravine. They all held their noses and slowly approached, and upon seeing the appearance of the corpses, they almost vomited.

"How many bodies are there in here? Is this all that has been retrieved?" Fourth Master asked, looking at the neatly arranged corpses.

“Most of them have been recovered, unless there are still some that haven’t been found. Judging from the fractures on these skeletons, they look like they were thrown into this ravine from a high place,” Alhatu said.

“Master, these people’s bones are a bit different, look!” Cui Da squatted in front of the pile of bones and said boldly.

Everyone's attention was drawn to his words, and they all went over and surrounded him.

“Look, the bones around the Adam’s apples of these bones are slightly reddish,” Cui Da said excitedly.

Fourth Master's eyes narrowed, and he said coldly, "It's reddish again. Just like in the river and rice paddies. It seems these people must know the secret of this whole thing."

Al-Hatu had already learned a bit about their purpose in coming to Yangzhou from the Fourth Master. Although it had nothing to do with him as the governor, and these dead people were not his concern, but rather the responsibility of the constables in charge of investigating the case, he was still completely absorbed by the strange events before him.

“These remains were dumped here from somewhere, so the person who dumped them must be in these mountains. These people may have even died in this area,” Fourth Master said.

“That’s right. No one would kill someone elsewhere and then go to the trouble of transporting the body here to dump it. They would usually bury it on the spot. Of course, there are exceptions, but it’s not easy to transport so many dead bodies here without anyone noticing,” Thirteen analyzed.

“But this place is too big. These mountains cover hundreds of kilometers. It’s not easy to find anything here,” Alhatu said.

“A dog’s nose is the most sensitive. I see that there are still some tattered rags left on these dead people. Why don’t we let them sniff around and see if they can find anything?” Cui Da stood up and said.

Fourth Master exchanged an approving glance with Alhatu and Thirteen, clearly indicating that Cui Da's idea was quite feasible.

“Now, I’ll go back and send people to bring the dogs over. Then we’ll release hundreds of hunting dogs to search,” Alhatu said. Such a bizarre thing had happened in his territory, and he could no longer stand idly by, especially since Fourth Master was his niece’s husband.

“No, making too much of a commotion will alert those hiding in the shadows. Finding the truth will then be even harder. We should take a few of our best dogs and follow them; maybe that will lead us directly. If we bring hundreds of dogs, manpower will be a problem. By then, the whole of Yangzhou will probably know that the Governor has mobilized troops to search these mountains,” said Fourth Master.

Alhatu nodded slightly and said, "Alright. Then please go back first, Fourth Prince. I will send people to guard this place. After the dog is tamed, I will invite Fourth Prince and Thirteenth Prince to come over together?"

Fourth Master nodded and said to Alhatu, "Thank you, Admiral. Regarding this matter, Uncle, it would be best to send an elite force, but without attracting anyone's attention in the city. I believe this matter may be a shocking conspiracy. If the other side is discovered, they will definitely resist to the bitter end. Therefore, our men must be elite troops."

Al-Hatu nodded, and the group looked around again before going their separate ways.

When Fourth Master and the others returned to the mansion, it was already quite dark. After they ordered a meal and ate together, they went back to their rooms to rest. Fourth Master was preoccupied with the remains he had seen that day and had no interest in going to the inner quarters. He immediately ordered Su Peisheng to bring water for him to wash up and rest.

Cui Da and Cui Er lived in the same house; the two brothers were practically inseparable. Cui Da was quick-witted, while Cui Er was relatively timid and reserved.

"Brother, this is the first time I've ever seen so many dead people," Cui Er said as soon as he and Cui Da entered the room.

"Hmm. This is really strange. Where did all these dead people come from?" Cui Da didn't notice the strange look on Cui Er's face.

"Brother, should we not go? We're just peasants, not soldiers carrying swords and riding horses. If we go with them and run into some people, we might both lose our lives in a fight," Cui Er pondered.

“Since Fourth Master has gone, how can we stay here and not go? From the moment I pledged my loyalty to Fourth Master, I have already placed my life in his hands,” Cui Da said solemnly.

"But brother, we still have our mother and our sister." Cui Er saw that Cui Da was determined.

"Don't forget how your wife and my wife died. And my daughter too. Follow Fourth Master, and one day I will avenge them," Cui Da said resolutely.