“Disappeared?” Upon hearing this word, Bi Linglong was quite surprised. “What do you mean by ‘disappeared’?”
“They just disappeared,” Park Duan-diao replied. “They went out a long time ago and haven’t come back. We can’t contact them, and we can’t find their bodies either.”
Bi Linglong and Zu An exchanged a glance, both seeing the seriousness in each other's eyes.
A group of people went out to investigate, but unfortunately they couldn't find any useful clues.
Because finding the Azure Moon Dragon was of utmost importance, this matter had to be temporarily put on hold, but a shadow fell over everyone's hearts.
Bi Linglong ordered that from now on, everyone must go out with their companions to avoid being ambushed by hidden dangers.
However, in the following days, scouts continued to disappear every day, sometimes two, sometimes three.
The young men from each family were filled with anxiety and fear. On the third day, they finally couldn't bear it any longer and gathered together to discuss the matter.
"We don't even know who the enemy is!" Liu Xian felt like he was going crazy. He had beautiful maids serving him every day in the capital, and he could often visit brothels and enjoy the singing and playing of the courtesans. Wasn't that good enough? He had really been bewitched and ignored his family elders' advice to come here to "gild his resume".
Is this being gilded?
He now even needs to call his cousin to help him urinate and defecate. You should know that Bi Chang, who was killed by being stabbed before, and the scouts who have been missing these days, are all several levels more skilled than him.
So he was constantly on edge, always feeling like he was next.
"Could it be a ferocious beast?" Gao Ying analyzed. "What happened these past few days is different from what happened in Bichang last time. Those scouts have all disappeared. Could they have been captured by some kind of ferocious beast that is good at lurking and then eaten, which is why we can't find them?"
Hearing this, Liu Xian felt a chill run down his spine: "The thought of possibly being eaten and digested into a pile of shit by a ferocious beast makes me shudder."
The remaining scouts nearby glared at him angrily. As the saying goes, "the rabbit dies and the fox grieves," and their companion was likely doomed, yet this man still used such words to describe it.
Gao Ying was speechless. His cousin was really outrageous, full of nonsense yet always talking nonsense.
However, given his status, he, as the nephew of the Liu family, couldn't say anything.
“It can’t be a ferocious beast,” Gu Heng analyzed. “If it were a ferocious beast, it would leave bloodstains or even leftover bones. It’s impossible for it to be completely empty.”
At this moment, Pei You said coldly, "So the murderer must be a person, and definitely one of us! You know, there are only us in the entire secret realm right now, so it's easy to figure out. Although you're not saying it, you probably already have similar thoughts in your hearts. I was worried before that it would affect everyone's morale, but now I have to say it."
Bi Linglong narrowed her eyes slightly: "Who exactly is the murderer? Does Young Master Pei have any leads?"
“Actually, it’s quite simple to determine who the murderer is.” Pei You paused deliberately here, then scanned the entire room with his gaze.
Upon hearing this, the group of people strained their ears, waiting for what he would say next.
Zhao Xi said impatiently, "Just say it already. When did you become like Meng Pan, taking your time and only halfway through taking a dump?"
Meng Pan was furious: "You surnamed Zhao, what do you mean by this!"
Zhao Xi snorted and turned her head away, ignoring him.
Pei You also felt nauseous and it took him a long time to catch his breath. He glared at Zhao Xi before saying, "It's very simple. Ever since Bi Chang's incident, the Crown Princess has required all of us to travel in groups. The Crown Princess's original intention was for us to take care of and protect each other, but it had an unexpected effect. That is, all of us now have alibis, so it's impossible for us to secretly leave our companions to kill someone."
"Among the entire group, besides the Crown Prince and the Crown Princess, only Lord Zu was acting alone."
He didn't finish his sentence, but everyone understood what he meant.
The Crown Prince and Crown Princess couldn't possibly be the murderers, so that leaves only Zu An.
Seeing everyone looking at him, Zuan chuckled: "You doubt me?"
Pei You said calmly, "I'm just making a reasonable guess."
Bi Linglong's expression changed several times, and her eyes were filled with worry, doubt, fear and other emotions as she looked at Zu An.
The others tacitly distanced themselves from Zaun, with only a few, such as Pu Duandiao and Jiao Sigun, still standing beside him.
Zu An shrugged: "Everything requires a motive. As the Crown Prince's junior official, I am someone the Crown Princess trusts. Why would I do such a thing?"
Meng Pan chuckled and said, "That's simple. You come from the Chu family, and it's common knowledge that the Chu family and the Qin family have a close relationship. Before entering the secret realm, the Chu family's heir gave you so many things, and the young lady from the Murong family also gave you a storage space bag. Would such precious things be given away by ordinary people? I don't need to tell you what the relationship is between the Qin family, the Murong family, and the Prince of Qi, right?"
Zu An was taken aback: "You think I'm one of King Qi's men?"
Jiao Sigun, already indignant, said, "How could that be? Everyone knows that Lord Zu and Prince Qi are at odds. Since he entered the capital, Prince Qi's faction has suffered heavy losses. Key positions such as Commandant of the Capital Region and General of the Left Guard have been lost because of him. How could he possibly be one of Prince Qi's men!"
Gu Xing stepped forward and said, "That's simple, it's a ruse, otherwise everyone will suspect him."
Park Duan-diao snorted coldly: "Even the Prince of Qi's heir was defeated by him and his reputation was ruined. If he were to resort to a self-inflicted injury ploy, wouldn't that be too much of a loss?"
Gu Xing was speechless for a moment, but Gu Heng stepped forward and said, "To deceive us ordinary people, it was indeed enough to deal with Murong Tong and Cheng Xiong before, but to deceive smart people like the Emperor, the Crown Prince and the Crown Princess, Murong Tong and Cheng Xiong alone are probably far from enough. So they did not hesitate to let the Prince of Qi come out to make his achievements and serve as his pledge of allegiance."
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