Female General (14)
"What are you doing?" Gou Su repeated and stepped in.
Xiao Lin has never been good at lying, and his wandering eyes make him a traitor.
Fortunately, Mu You was standing by at the moment. He stepped forward without a word and spoke righteously, "General, we are counting the items Young Master Huang will need for his trip. Look at the scorching sun outside. If you go there without any preparations, you might get a heat stroke."
It didn't sound unreasonable, so Gou Su didn't care about it anymore. Instead, he replied generously: "No need, we will go tomorrow."
"Tomorrow?" Mu You couldn't help but take a step forward, confused. "Why is it tomorrow again?"
"Lord Huang said that according to the emperor's order, we should go with Lord Li from the Ministry of Justice tomorrow so as not to break the rules." As Gou Su spoke, he supported Huang Heng and walked back into the gloomy bedroom.
If Xiao Lin had not been a little slow and careful, Ah Chou, who had been following her closely, would have turned into invisible dust again.
However, his expression at that moment was no darker than dust.
Needless to say, Xiao Lin knew exactly what he was thinking.
But she couldn't be comforted. After all, no one could force the man to have feelings for the woman but not to have feelings for her.
Even Xiao Lin felt uncomfortable watching Gou Su carefully helping Huang Heng lie down.
Not to mention the thought that they would have to wait until tomorrow to go to the scene of the incident, and only tomorrow would they get any clues, her already anxious heart became even more unbearable.
It seems that Gou Su only has three days to win. If she fails to hand over the real culprit within three days, disaster will befall her. Isn't this an unexpected disaster?
But three days, just three days, what should I do to find any clues in the crowd?
Moreover, according to Xiao Lin's opinion, this killing must have been done deliberately by someone, and it was definitely not the usual motivated by greed. However, who is the person behind the scenes? It seems to be a mystery, but a vague shadow is emerging.
After experiencing the incident with Wan Mian and others, and the intertwined schemes, she also had a lot of clues in her mind.
But what the truth will be, we will have to wait and see tomorrow.
The real culprit will definitely not escape.
It was quick, the group returned home and freshened up a bit, but they were overwhelmed by the day's running around and collapsed on the bed exhausted.
Mu You was even worse. He would soak his feet on one side, and then he would fall backwards on the bunk bed, snoring loudly.
Achou brought an ice jar and placed it by the window, so that when the night breeze blew past, the coolness would be enough to soothe them to sleep.
Xiao Lin wanted to say hello, but happened to meet Ah Chou's index finger covering his lips. Then he curled the corners of his mouth, pulled the corner of the quilt to cover his abdomen, and lay down leisurely.
At this moment, Xiao Lin didn't want to make any noise to disturb Mu You's sweet dream. He took a deep breath for a moment before turning around and falling asleep.
The night was dark, the cicadas were chirping incessantly, and the deep darkness aroused her endless thoughts.
To be honest, anyone with a discerning eye could see Ah Chou's unwavering devotion to Gou Su, and it was impossible for Gou Su himself to be unaware of it.
But she didn't respond at all. Should we say she's emotionally insensitive? Or is she simply turning a blind eye?
The more I think about it, the more confused I become. All kinds of emotions in the world are intertwined into a web. No one is not bound by it, but no one can escape it, leaving only pain in their hearts.
Perhaps the ice mirror worked, Xiao Lin suddenly felt sleepy. He took one last glance at Mu You, but finally couldn't bear his drooping eyelids and fell into a deep sleep with the calming incense as his companion.
It doesn't take long for the summer stars to move, and it doesn't take long for the calming incense to turn from rice yellow to burnt ash. When the incense powder is burned out, the rooster will also puff out its feathers and crow to announce the dawn.
"Xiao Lin? Xiao Lin! Get up! Hurry up and get up! They're about to leave!"
Xiao Lin, who was still struggling with ghosts, was suddenly interrupted by a voice that gradually became clearer in his ears. The heat returned, and his eyes were hazy, but a few rays of white light could still penetrate them.
She whimpered and turned sideways, rubbing the corners of her eyes: "W...what? What are you talking about..."
Seeing that she was still not awake, Mu You tugged at her quilt again, holding her shoulders and rocking her back and forth: "The general and the others are leaving! Wake up! If you don't leave now, we won't be able to catch up!"
As soon as these words were spoken, Xiao Lin suddenly woke up and jumped up from the bed. He hurriedly put on his shoes and socks. His hair was full of messy hair, and he pushed the door open and hurried out without any time to tidy it up.
Xiao Lin's limbs were already uncoordinated, and he was anxious. When his left foot stepped over the threshold, his right foot was tripped by it, and he almost fell.
She managed to stand after a few funny hops on one foot. Just as she covered her chest to comfort herself, the next moment, a circle of warmth enveloped her thin wrist bones.
As my eyes caught sight of Mu You's windblown temples.
"What are you standing there for? If you don't leave now, you're going to miss them."
He only left a faint sentence, followed by Xiao Lin's dazed eyes.
Before she could take a step on her own, the bluestone slabs under her feet happened to be in sync with Mu You's steps, forcing Xiao Lin to follow hurriedly.
Winding through the corridor, the two walked side by side as usual, letting the summer breeze brush past their faces, slowly bringing Gou Su's back into their sight.
"General! General!" Before reaching the courtyard, the moment he saw Gou Su's figure, Mu You immediately shouted, "General, wait for us!"
Gou Su turned around when he heard the voice, looking heroic and decisive.
Her heroic brows suddenly frowned, and the fine lines around her eyes revealed her confusion.
"We...we..." He stopped and breathed hard, and it took him a lot of effort to utter a few words, "We want to go and help..."
"No need, there are plenty of people there."
"It's a bit of a stretch to have more people than just the two of us, but having two more pairs of eyes might help us spot a few more details. It's not a bad deal."
Seeing him panting and trying hard to promote himself, Gou Su's eyes rolled and he quickly agreed with his idea.
She waved her arms: "Come with me."
In order to get to the scene of the incident as quickly as possible, Gou Su found a few fast horses. She and Achou rode one respectively, and Xiao Lin and Mu You rode one. The three horses galloped on the streets in the morning, raising a cool breeze that did not belong to this season.
The scorching sun had bleached the steep cliffs, and several bronze arrows were embedded in half of the rugged rocks. When the wind blew past, it brought a strong smell of blood mixed with the smell of rotten grass that went straight into people's nostrils.
Gou Su, Xiao Lin and others arrived late. When a black dot appeared in the distance, she took off the dusty veil and reined in her horse.
"It seems they have arrived. We have to hurry." Gou Su tied the reins to the tree trunk quickly, kicked up his clothes and strode forward.
With the help of Mu You, Xiao Lin got off the horse tremblingly, and trotted to catch up with him with lingering fear.
At that time, two officials in black robes from the Ministry of Justice were measuring shoe prints with a wooden ruler. The silk cloth used to record the prints was soaked with sweat and stuck to one of their palms, making a slight noise when they turned it over.
The soldiers of the Ministry of War had all drawn their swords. The blades picked up a ball of blood-stained sackcloth from the thorn bush and then picked it up into the sacks they carried with them.
In the distance, Huang Heng dragged his sick body to one knee and picked up half of a jade belt hook that suddenly appeared in the bushes with tweezers. He had just stood up when a soldier behind him opened an oilcloth bag and walked towards him.
"Sir Huang, Sir Li." Gou Su bowed first and met Huang Zhi and Minister of Justice Li Yun. Only with their approval could she set off.
Huang Zhi calmly stroked his beard and responded. Li Yun, who was standing beside him, was happy to exchange pleasantries: "This must be General Zhaowu, right? Nice to meet you."
"I dare not. To have the opportunity to meet Lord Li at this time is the greatest honor of my life."
As he spoke, Gou Su raised his fist higher and lowered his head lower.
Li Yun seemed reluctant to continue with the polite words, and his words suddenly changed direction: "Since General Asu is here, there is no need for formalities. We should leave immediately."
"As you command."
After receiving the order, Gou Su did not dare to delay for a moment. He immediately raised his boots to step over the half-broken armor in the rubble, looked around, and finally walked to Huang Heng's side.
The two of them exchanged glances in tacit understanding and immediately started working.
Xiao Lin and Mu You were a step late, so they had to eavesdrop from a few steps away.
Ah Chou said nothing, tied the reins of the horse, and then went on to search for the remaining bloodstains in the cracks of the rocks.
As Gou Su approached Huang Heng, he had an idea and immediately smiled and greeted him, "Are you here?"
"Yeah." Gou Su responded politely, then cast his eyes on the tweezers in his hand. "How is it? Any findings?"
Huang Heng raised his eyes, then dropped them immediately. He then reached out to take the oilcloth bag from the soldier behind him and handed it to Gou Su, explaining everything: "We found some weapon fragments. The military officials examined them and said they were ordinary ironware, nothing unusual."
As Huang Heng explained, Gou Su pulled open the edge of the cloth bag and looked inside. He weighed the bottom with four fingers and saw a few pieces of debris sticking out. He frowned and examined them. There was indeed no feature.
"That's really troublesome." Gou Su complained through gritted teeth, "Let's look for it again. It would be great if you can remember something from this."
After saying that, she patted Huang Heng's shoulders twice, then turned and walked to the other side.
Seeing the two of them separate, Xiao Lin immediately followed Gou Su's steps, his cloth shoes making crunching sounds on the fallen leaves.
Hearing the sound, Gou Su woke up and looked back. Seeing that it was Xiao Lin, he lowered his head and started fiddling with the branches again.
Meeting her narrow eyes that flashed with a cold light, Xiao Lin couldn't help but be stunned for a moment. Until she straightened her head, she followed her example and bent down to scan the surrounding plants.
After the last battle, every corner of their layout was dotted with traces of swords and knives, and thin branches with smooth cuts were everywhere.
In addition, the sky had been cloudless for the past two days, and the bloodstains that were spread wildly that day could be seen everywhere, mottled and smelly, which was terrifying.
Suddenly, Xiao Lin, who was still concentrating on the search step by step, was startled by Huang Heng's deliberately lowered voice.
He called out, "Ah Su, Ah Su, come and look here!"
Not only Gou Su, but Xiao Lin also came forward with curiosity.
Huang Heng carefully plucked a strand of hair from a tree branch, pinched the end of the hair and gently placed it in his palm, then held it in front of Gou Su.
"Is this... animal hair?" Gou Su could tell the quality of the hair at a glance. After a closer look, she had a vague answer in her mind. "I'm afraid it fell accidentally during a fight. But judging by the texture of the hair, it's not delicate. It's not something used by wealthy families."
As soon as Gou Su said this, Xiao Lin moved closer, blinking his eyes and tiptoeing closer.
Huang Heng even used his fingers to fiddle with the hard-earned animal hair, his brows furrowed even tighter.
Xiao Lin was small in stature, and it took him a lot of effort just to squeeze into the gap between the two of them.
I thought I could feast my eyes, but the moment my gaze fell on Huang Heng's palm, a tingling sensation wrapped around my scalp——
This... this isn't just ordinary animal hair! This is clearly...
Just as she was about to scream, Gou Su's deep voice echoed her suspicions: "This is the hair worn on the clothes of the Fujue people."
Yes, having lived in Fujue for so long, how could she not know that every local person was equipped with animal fur?
Back then, when Li Chiyin married into the royal family of Fujue, she took off her Central Plains silk clothes and put on the fur coat embroidered with pure white fox fur.
The tuft of animal hair in front of him was exactly the wolf hair sewn on the necks and even waists of the men of the Fujue clan!
Thinking of this, she only felt a chill on her spine, without a trace of excitement.
But Huang Heng was the opposite. As soon as Gou Su finished speaking, he immediately responded, "Fujue? Ah Su, are you sure? Is this really something from Fujue?"
"I'm sure you're right. I've been guarding the border for over ten years and have seen many Fujue people coming and going. The animal fur they wear is extremely rare. The color of their fur is unique to beasts in the west. It's hard to find anywhere else except where their tribe lives."
Gou Su's words were so convincing and the evidence was so solid that Huang Heng's confidence increased immediately. He grabbed the strand of animal hair, put it into the empty cloth bag on his waist, and hid it on his chest.
Now that the real murderer has been found, Gou Su can go to the palace to report.
However, Fu Jue and Kui Xi had never offended each other, so why did they choose to target the envoys coming to the capital this time? What benefit would Fu Jue get from killing the envoys from another country?
Gou Su couldn't figure it out, and neither could Xiao Lin.
But before the two could think about it, another soldier, armored and clanging, broke through the air and shouted, "Report! A trail of blood has been found at the foot of the mountain! The blood stretches up the mountain, and it seems to be pointing to where the criminals are hiding!"
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