His voice trembled.
"That's what she wore last night!"
The atmosphere inside the cave instantly became tense. Su Jianguo noticed several drag marks on the ground, extending from the center to a narrow passage deep inside the cave.
He walked over and found several clear footprints of varying sizes on the ground at the entrance of the passage.
"They escaped from here with Zhao Xiaoyan."
Su Jianguo pointed to the passageway and said.
"Judging from the footprints, the four people were traveling together."
Officer Li nodded and quickly made a decision.
"Xiao Wang, bring the police dog over!"
Young police officer Xiao Wang walked up with two German Shepherds on a leash.
The two police dogs were robust, with glossy fur and very bright eyes.
The stronger one is called "Lightning," and the slightly thinner one is called "Thunder." They are both the best tracking dogs in the department.
"Let them smell this."
Officer Li handed the blood-stained gauze to Xiao Wang.
Xiao Wang took the gauze and squatted down to let the two police dogs sniff it in turn.
"Sniff!"
He issued a brief instruction.
Lightning and thunder immediately perked up their ears and twitched their noses, deeply inhaling the scent from the gauze.
"Good boy."
Xiao Wang stroked the police dog's head and then pointed to the marks on the ground.
"track!"
The two police dogs immediately lowered their heads to sniff the ground, their noses almost touching the ground, and their tails held high, showing a state of high concentration.
Lightning suddenly let out a short bark and turned towards the passage deep inside the cave. Thunder followed quickly, and the two police dogs' noses twitched incessantly as they moved swiftly along the scent trail.
"A discovery!"
Xiao Wang said excitedly, gripping the leash tightly to keep up with the police dog.
The crowd followed closely behind, passing through the narrow passage.
The other end of the passage leads to the back of the hillside, where the police dogs are visibly excited, their leashes taut.
The police dog sped along the road.
The crowd followed closely behind, running for about half an hour.
The two police dogs stopped in front of a large tree.
"Bloodstains!"
Officer Li suddenly pointed to the trunk of a tree in front of him.
There was a dark red stain on the bark.
He quickly stepped forward to check.
"Yes, fresh blood, no more than two hours old."
He concluded.
"They have wounded among them and have kidnapped someone. They can't move fast. Keep chasing them."
Lightning and thunder received the order and immediately rushed down the hillside.
Their movements are nimble and precise, pausing from time to time to confirm the direction of the scent before continuing on.
Everyone had to quicken their pace to keep up.
...
at the same time.
Inside a broken cave in the back mountain.
The cave was filled with a damp, decaying smell.
Zhao Xiaoyan was curled up in a ball, her wrists and ankles were deeply bleeding from the rough hemp rope, and her mouth was stuffed with rags.
Her eyes were red and swollen, yet she still stared intently at the four demons in the distance, her gaze filled with both fear and hatred.
"Cough...cough cough..."
The third brother lay on the ground to the side, with some dry grass under him.
At this moment, the third brother suddenly started coughing violently, and his face turned an abnormally flushed red.
The wound on his ear had become festering and suppurating, the yellowish-green pus soaking through the tattered bandage and emitting a putrid smell.
Last night, he faced pursuit by the entire village.
The four originally planned to simply cross the back mountain and escape.
Little did anyone know that not long after they went up the mountain, San'er suddenly fell into a coma due to a high fever caused by an infection in his wound.
The three brothers spent the whole night trying to find herbs and get water to cool San'er down, but nothing worked.
It's already broad daylight now.
The fourth brother quickly went over and used the damp corner of his clothes to wipe the third brother's burning forehead.
"Third Brother, hang in there!"
The fourth brother's voice was choked with sobs, and his fingers trembled so much that he could barely hold the kettle.
He carefully brought the spout of the kettle to the third brother's chapped lips, but the water was coughed up as soon as it flowed in, splattering blood onto his chest.
The second brother kicked a pebble at his feet in frustration, and the pebble hit the rock wall with a "thud".
"Brother, this can't go on like this!"
He lowered his voice and swept his sinister gaze over the unconscious third brother.
"If San'er's injury isn't treated soon, I'm afraid..."
"Bullshit!"
The timid fourth brother was shocked to hear his second brother say such things.
He suddenly stood up.
Of the four brothers, he was closest to the third brother. Although the third brother often mocked the fourth brother, he would genuinely stand up for him when something happened.
"Is Third Brother your own brother? What? Now that he's injured, you're going to abandon him?"
The leader crouched in the shadows at the cave entrance, occasionally stabbing the ground with his dagger.
He squinted and looked out of the cave. The sky was already turning a pale white, and early birds were beginning to chirp in the woods.
They don't have much time left.
"The fourth brother is right."
The eldest brother suddenly spoke, his voice hoarse.
"San'er is our brother, we can't abandon him."
The second son's expression changed drastically.
"Brother, what time is it? Are you crazy? How are we supposed to escape with someone who's half-dead? The villagers will definitely come up the mountain during the day, and what if they call the police!"
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