Although Yang Tao's order was for Jiang Pengji's own good, it went against Jiang Pengji's previous orders, so the guards did not dare to act.
"What are you standing there for?"
Yang Tao could not understand the guards' actions. If something really happened to someone, it would be fine if they took the blame, but they just had to drag him down with them. Yang Tao did not want to lose his life because of this … It would be too unjust to die …
The guards said awkwardly, "We have no choice but to obey the lord's orders. If the lord pursues this matter …"
Yang Tao asked in return, "If something really happens to Lord Liu, who among you can shoulder the responsibility?"
Seeing that the guards did not give a definite answer, Yang Tao snatched the oar from the boatman's hands.
"You can't disobey Lord Liu's orders, and I won't force you. I'll go on my own. You can return on your own."
The guards looked at each other in dismay. For a moment, they were in a dilemma.
After all, the lord's orders were for them to bring Yang Tao back via the waterway. If Yang Tao refused to cooperate, no one would be able to back down.
After hesitating for a while, the guards still plucked up their courage and obeyed Yang Tao's orders. They turned around to look for Jiang Pengji.
Firstly, if they were reprimanded by the lord, at least Yang Tao would take the blame. Even if she got angry, they would not be directed at them.
Secondly, as Yang Tao said, if something happened to the lord while she was alone, they would not be able to absolve themselves of the blame.
Yang Tao was in a hurry to rush back to look for Jiang Pengji, but he did not forget about other things.
"Send someone to pass the news back first."
They had been out for so long, but they had not sent back any news. He did not know how anxious Wei Ci and the others were.
"Yes!"
Because Yang Tao had ordered them to turn around, the boatman also tried his best to row the oar. The boat moved very fast. The oncoming wind from the river slapped his face.
For a moment, he sobered up from his drunkenness. He only felt perturbed and worried.
Night fell, and the last ray of the afterglow fell into the horizon.
Yang Tao could only ask the guards to light a torch. They followed the traces left by Jiang Pengji and found the dense forest.
"Wait — what is this smell?"
Yang Tao's nose was more sensitive. Before the group entered the dense forest, they could already smell the familiar smell of blood.
He couldn't believe it and tried to sniff. The closer he got, the stronger the smell of blood became. Under the light of the torch, the guard also found that there were many traces of human activity in the forest, such as messy footsteps and bushes and weeds that were crushed by heavy objects … Yang Tao looked at the depth of the footsteps and the degree of dryness of the soil. He was sure that these footsteps were left here recently. There were many people!
The more he looked, the more frightened he became. Yang Tao couldn't tell what his current state of mind was, because his mind had gone blank.
"Search! Search for all of them! If he's alive, I want to see him. If he's dead, I want to see his corpse! "
Yang Tao was suppressing his emotions that were about to go out of control, but the hoarseness in his voice exposed his inner thoughts.
Not long after, the guard came back to report that a corpse had been eaten by wild beasts in the forest.
Yang Tao hurried over and found a few corpses on the ground that had been dragged and eaten by wild beasts. Heads, torsos, limbs … Every part of the body with more muscle and fat had been eaten by the hungry beasts. The white bones under the skin and flesh were exposed. It made one's scalp go numb. The clothes of the deceased were also eaten by wild beasts, but from the remains of the skeleton and clothes, it could be determined that it was a man.
"It's not my lord."
As soon as the guard finished speaking, Yang Tao replied.
"I'm not blind. I can tell if it's a man or a woman. Who are these people? Could they be men of sacrifice? "
He guessed correctly. The guard said solemnly, "According to the traces left on these corpses, they are indeed well-trained men of sacrifice. These corpses haven't started to stink. The corpses are slightly hardened, and the blood is fresh. I estimate that they died less than half an hour ago. "
Less than half an hour ago?
Didn't that mean that they died not long ago?
Yang Tao's face was darker than the night.
A group of men of sacrifice who had just died appeared here, and it happened to be a sensitive time when Jiang Pengji was alone. How could he not be worried?
Whether it was Yang Tao or the guards, they all knew that Jiang Pengji had most likely been assassinated. However, there were no traces of her yet. They couldn't determine whether she was unscathed, injured and hidden, or … unfortunately dead. He didn't dare to delay. Except for two guards, the others were sent to look for Jiang Pengji. The guards followed the traces of the wild beasts dragging the corpses and found the place where the scuffle had taken place.
There were more corpses here!
When the guards arrived, there were pairs of glowing eyes in the darkness!
Everyone saw the scene clearly with the help of the torch and suddenly gasped.
This was a group of wild wolves that hadn't eaten their fill since the beginning of winter!
They were probably attracted by the smell of blood from the corpses and ate their fill from the corpses.
When the crowd approached, those with sharp ears could even hear the stirring sound of the wild wolves' sharp teeth gnawing on human flesh and bones.
Probably because they had eaten their fill, the leader of the wolf pack didn't want to fight with the guards. The two sides were in a stalemate for a while. Then, with a howl, the wolf pack left.
Looking at the pairs of glowing eyes disappearing into the darkness, two of the guards came back to their senses and were shocked to find that they were covered in sweat.
When the cold wind blew, their sweaty skin turned cold. It was so cold that they couldn't help but shiver.
Yang Tao rushed over when he heard the news. Looking at the messy scene, his expression was extremely solemn.
"Did you find any traces of Lord Liu?"
The guard said, "The fatal injuries on the men of sacrifice were all left by the long sword. Every slash was so neat and sharp. Only the God Slaying Sword in the lord's hand can do that. We checked the surrounding area for miles. Other than these men of sacrifice, we didn't find any traces of the lord … "
Yang Tao said, "Where is she? You didn't find Lord Liu? "
The guard hesitated for a while and said, "Perhaps … the lord has already gone back?"
Yang Tao pointed at the corpses all over the ground and said, "A rough estimate is at least a hundred people. Do you think these men of sacrifice are useless?"
In his opinion, even if Jiang Pengji was still alive, she was most likely injured and hiding somewhere. They had to find her quickly!
The leader of the guards blinked and said hesitantly, "Perhaps, they are really useless."
"You're still arguing with me?"
Yang Tao was furious at the guards who were not skilled in their work.
Jiang Pengji was one of the most powerful dukes in the world. Couldn't she find a group of professional and responsible guards?
"What are these meticulously trained men of sacrifice doing? What are you guys doing? Eating rotten rice? Hurry up and find them! "
He was so angry that he was going to have a heart attack!
The guards had no choice but to continue their search. But they searched all over the mountain and found no traces of their lord.
If she was really injured and hiding, shouldn't she have left some clues for them to follow?
Yang Tao fed the mosquitoes for half the night. Jiang Pengji leisurely strolled home on her horse.
She hadn't even sat down for long when Yan Lin came to ask for her.
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