Chapter 158 Vanished into Thin Air
Mu Xi suddenly had a strange idea, but immediately shook her head and denied it.
Doctor Luo gasped, "If that's the case, wouldn't we really be kidnapped, and this General Dai Rong really have betrayed us?"
"Whether they betrayed us or not... it's hard to say..." Mu Xi looked around at the sky. "This place is remote and secluded, a self-contained prison, and there are countless agencies and people guarding it outside. But... they just said there are no doctors here, so it's not a place to stay for long, is it? If Dai Rong and his wife dared to do this, they must have other intentions. Since they have other intentions, why haven't they shown up or negotiated?"
Mu Xun then speculated, "Perhaps they are just stalling for time... to achieve some goal, and they really don't intend to harm us."
“Yes, there’s still time. The military order only states six months.” Mu Xi almost forgot about the time limit. “No matter what they’re going to do, the pirates are rampant, and the people of the southern border can’t afford to wait any longer. Neither can I. We need to think of a solution as soon as possible.”
Mu Xun hesitated, "If it were just me, and these were all women, I might be able to force my way through. But if I bring you along, I'm not so sure. Besides, we don't know where they've hidden our troops. We can't just leave everyone behind; even if we get out, it will be even harder to move an inch."
“Go out? We can’t go out. This matter has to be resolved here…” Mu Xi began to ponder, “We have to think of a way to get them to show themselves.”
Mu Xun was willing to take the risk: "How about I try to venture out tonight? Maybe..."
"Please don't," Mu Xi said worriedly. "Didn't you hear what that woman said? If you are discovered or caught, you will be in great danger. Although we have never met, we can tell from these black-clad maids that they must be very disciplined and obey orders. We must not act rashly."
Mu Xun didn't dare to force the issue.
Over the next two days, the group gathered together.
Because Bao Fan was allowed to taste the dishes, Mu Xi was able to eat a few meals without worry.
Those people didn't treat them badly; in fact, they gave them enough food, even though Baofan was the equivalent of eight people's meals.
On the third day, a group of women in black came to deliver breakfast as usual.
"Ah... the young master is missing..." A startling cry rang out as Tao'er ran out, pointing at the person in the lead, "Where have you hidden the young master? Hand him over now!"
The women in black have remained silent these past few days, but they are all clearly hearing.
Upon hearing this, their expressions changed drastically.
The two immediately dropped the food boxes they were holding and rushed into the middle room where Mu Xi was staying.
The empty bed inside was in disarray, the bedding crumpled into a ball, and the indentation in the middle, where someone had clearly lain, was still there, but there was no one there.
The two men did not answer, but turned and left the house, gesturing to the other four.
Immediately, two of the remaining four people turned around and called for help, while the other two followed and searched the two houses next to them.
All three houses were intact, with the doors tightly shut, the window frames untouched, and the thick paper covering the windows intact.
The three rooms are all tiny spaces, with just a bed, a cabinet, a table, and a stool, not enough to hide a cat.
If there's no one inside, the courtyard must be searched as well.
In front of and behind the house, under the eaves of the roof, at the base of the wall and on the top of the wall.
They searched high and low, but couldn't find Mu Xi anywhere.
If it doesn't work the first time, go through it a second time.
The women in black even jumped onto the roof beams and removed the tiles.
The women in black who rushed in drew their swords. Since there was no well inside or outside the courtyard, they searched every joint of every paving brick.
Mu Xun and Doctor Luo were also busy, especially Tao'er and Zhelan, who were making a mess of things and shouting and cursing.
Are you looking for crickets or grasshoppers?
"That's right, my young master doesn't know martial arts, how could he possibly climb onto the roof?"
"Don't rummage through our boxes, the contents are very valuable."
The day before yesterday, Mu Xi asked that their suitcases be delivered, otherwise they would feel very uncomfortable without a change of clothes and daily necessities.
The person behind the scenes was very easy to talk to and actually brought over several large boxes of their luggage.
Mu Xi calculated that if this pace continued, their troops would probably be kept under guard somewhere not far away.
Even more foolish was Bao Fan, who knocked over the still-lit oil lamp.
"Fire, fire..." The women in black were even more flustered, busy putting out the fire.
Cao Pan'er grabbed the woman in black and cried out, "Young Master... Young Master... You must have taken the Young Master to another place, and you're pretending to search here... How could a perfectly healthy person be hidden in a box?"
Tao'er chimed in, half-jokingly, "Oh dear, could there be a ghost here? Could the young master have been kidnapped by a ghost?"
"Don't talk nonsense, where did you get any gods or ghosts from?" Doctor Luo didn't believe it.
But even with everyone huddled together, and no matter how hard they tried to force the women in black to leave, they wouldn't run away or leave the hospital.
Tao'er kept pointing at the women in black: "How can there be no ghosts? There are women everywhere here, the yin energy is heavy, while our young master has pure yang energy..."
"Your Highness...give me back my Your Highness..." Zhelan threw a tantrum, rolling on the ground and even staging an accident.
After observing them for several days, I found that these women in black were all good-tempered, neither making a sound nor getting angry. But now they were in a state of utter confusion and didn't know what to do.
Finally, having exhausted all other options, after searching inside and out four or five times, they still found nothing.
Even the best temper will eventually be worn down.
The woman in black, who was leading the group, drove them into the courtyard and searched the house inside and out again, but there was still nothing there.
It's truly bizarre that a perfectly healthy person could simply vanish into thin air.
"Give me back the prince... give me back the prince..." The group of people who were driven out huddled together and wept bitterly, neither running away nor resisting.
The women in black became increasingly panicked as they searched, and eventually retreated en masse, sealing off the courtyard once again.
Everyone heard a flurry of footsteps outside the courtyard wall, followed by a chaotic headcount.
After a long while, the voice of a middle-aged woman could be faintly heard in the distance: "Everyone here is alive and well, not one is missing, it's not like we switched them out. How could they just disappear into thin air? Have you even searched properly?"
There was no reply.
"I refuse to believe that a perfectly healthy person can just vanish into thin air?" With that voice, a middle-aged woman dressed in white, without any makeup, and with a spirited air about her, appeared at the entrance of the courtyard.
The woman's face was ashen, and her eyes were like those of an ancient well that had been immersed in a cold pool—sharp, calm, and seemingly capable of piercing through everything.
He glanced at the mess in the courtyard, then finally fixed his gaze on the group of people huddled together.
He held the knife in his left hand and placed his right hand on the hilt, walking step by step toward the crowd.
With each step, the bricks and stones beneath his feet seemed to creak and groan.
His voice was filled with murderous intent: "What are you doing? Hand over the person, or else..."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
