"Knock knock..." The knocking continued.
Old Liu yawned and yelled irritably, "Who is it? What are you knocking on so late at night? In a hurry to be reborn?"
He then opened the door.
Upon seeing Jiang Yu and his group, his expression changed drastically. "Sir, I haven't done anything wrong. May I ask what urgent matter you have to discuss?"
Jiang Yu led his hunting dog, barking wildly, while the constables held torches. Jiang Yu's cold face looked particularly terrifying in the firelight.
Ignoring Old Liu's fear, Jiang Yu took out Qi Nuan's portrait.
"Summon everyone in the manor."
"My lord, everyone is here."
A moment later, seven or eight people came out of the courtyard.
A middle-aged man stepped forward and said, "I didn't know you came so late, sir. Is there any official business you have here?"
"I didn't see the person in the portrait yesterday either."
Jiang Yu showed Qi Nuan's portrait to everyone for identification.
Jiang Yu, accompanied by government officials and hunting dogs, spent the entire night searching for the person from house to house.
The night was already halfway over, and Jiang Yu knew that Qi Nuan should no longer be in the city. Where should he go to look for her?
Seeing Jiang Yu's ominous expression, Zhang Liao stepped forward and said, "Young master, dozens of households in the city have already been searched. Such a disturbance to the people will likely cause dissatisfaction. It would be better to lock the city gates again tomorrow and order a city-wide search."
Jiang Yu's face was gloomy, but he knew that Zhang Liao's suggestion was the better one.
He glanced at the exhausted group and nodded, "Jiang Ming, you can lead your men to retreat."
He then said to Zhang Liao, "Sir, you've worked hard. You should go and rest too."
Seeing that Jiang Yu had no intention of leaving, Zhang Liao had no choice but to retreat.
The crescent moon had not yet disappeared. Jiang Yu patted the hunting dog's head and asked, "Can you help me find Anuan?" After saying that, he mounted his horse and rode out of the city.
It rained all night, and even if something had been washed away, Jiang Yu was still unwilling to give up.
Along the way, they took out Qi Nuan's personal belongings and guided the hunting dogs to search.
As dawn broke, the hunting dogs, which had gone unnoticed along the way, suddenly began barking wildly. Jiang Yu released the hunting dogs and followed behind them.
After running a distance, the hound stopped and kept sniffing at something on the ground. Jiang Yu went forward but didn't find anything. Soon the hound started running again, and Jiang Yu followed.
Soon, Jiang Yu discovered the body on the ground.
Jiang Yu stared at the wounds on the corpse, her eyes unmoving.
This is the wound left by A Nuan. Qi Nuan is young and lacks strength, so she always targets vital points when attacking enemies.
He closed his eyes and imagined the scene based on the position of the body and the wounds.
Qi Nuan was attacked from behind, which means that the person was not on guard against Qi Nuan. Was Qi Nuan tied up or unconscious?
He looked around and saw no signs of shelter, so Qi Nuan was unconscious.
After Qi Nuan woke up, she ambushed someone from behind, and then...
Thinking of this, Jiang Yu's expression darkened even more; this person had accomplices.
The hunting dog sniffed the ground, and Jiang Yu stared intently. Some areas of the soil had darkened in color; they were bloodstains.
His heart suddenly clenched; Ah Nuan…
He continued searching the mountains with the hunting dogs, and after another hour, he found the broken sword under the tree, picked up the fragments, and...
His dark eyes held an unyielding gloom and repression.
With a slight effort, the shard sliced through his palm and pierced his hand.
It was already dawn, but he still hadn't found the person.
Jiang Ming arrived with his men.
Seeing Jiang Yu's pale face, she wanted to say something but couldn't open her mouth because of the thick, dark surroundings.
"We've already ordered the city gates to be guarded, and Changlin is leading men to search the city."
Jiang Yu listened, her voice slightly hoarse: "No need, just open the city gates."
Then, Jiang Yu ordered someone to take the discovered corpse back, and instructed them to "investigate his identity and hang the corpse above the city gate. Anyone who identifies him will receive fifty taels of silver."
As soon as she saw the corpse, Ahua's face turned pale. She naturally recognized that the middle-aged man with a full beard was Muge. What happened?
How could he die? What about Wuda and Anuan?
Ah Nuan?
She couldn't help but worry, and her whole being was in a daze.
After Jiang Yu finished speaking, he ordered his men to search the mountain again.
Soon, the second body was discovered. The soil next to the body had been stained blackish-red. Even though it had been washed by rain, there was still a deep stain, which showed how much blood had been lost.
The man's knife was right next to him. Jiang Yu picked it up, but then plunged it fiercely into the corpse on the ground.
The constable standing next to the corpse twitched, but quickly recovered and steadied himself from taking a step back.
Under Jiang Yu's oppressive atmosphere, he tried his best to minimize his presence.
Jiang Yu stroked the herb that had been torn to shreds, looked at the ripped clothes on the corpse, and spoke in an icy voice.
"Take the body back, and bring some more people over. The person should still be in the mountains."
She was injured and couldn't have gone far, "so we sent people to search for her from all the nearby villagers' homes."
Jiang Ming nodded and then sent someone to the city to bring more people.
He glanced at Ahua, whose complexion was just as bad as Jiang Yu's, and advised Jiang Yu, "Young Master, you and Sister Ahua should rest first. I will bring the person back as soon as I find them."
Jiang Yu didn't speak, but simply lowered her head and stroked the hunting dog's head. "Let's continue."
After saying that, he took the hunting dogs and went into the mountains.
Ahua shook her head as well; she had to stay here, regardless of whether she could find Qi Nuan.
At this moment, she would rather her identity be exposed than let Ah Nuan live a good life.
It was her fault. She thought Uda would deliver the person safely to Rouran. She hadn't thought things through. She didn't know what had happened between them. Now, all she needed to do was find the person.
She will leave as soon as she confirms that Ah Nuan is alright.
Seeing her resolute attitude, Jiang Ming said nothing more and led his men to search the mountains.
However, they searched the entire mountain but found nothing.
Jiang Yu was somewhat disappointed, yet also filled with a sense of relief, perhaps she had been rescued.
Ahua breathed a sigh of relief. She thought the same thing: as long as they hadn't found the person, it meant they were still alive.
She knew Wuda's martial arts skills, and she also knew that Qi Nuan was no match for Wuda. But now that Wuda was dead and Qi Nuan had no weapons, she dared not think about how Qi Nuan had killed him.
Upon seeing the soldiers appear in the village, the old woman immediately went to find her husband.
Her voice was very soft, and her face showed fear.
"What should we do? Could these people be looking for that girl from yesterday?"
"Don't scare yourself. What does this have to do with us? If anyone asks, just say you don't know anything. Do you understand?"
The old man's voice was fierce, but there was some fear on his face. His eyes flickered as he thought of the dagger he had taken from the girl.
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