Chapter 397: Search

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

Mu Yangling went forward to check. After a while, she said, “No, these villagers died a few hours before the general and the others arrived. Considering the mobility of the Jin soldiers, it’s impossible for them to stay here for so long.”

Qi Haoran had also finished his inspection. With an ashen face, he said, “It’s an ambush. Looking at the distribution of the corpses on both sides, the Jin soldiers were deliberately ambushing Big Brother. It’s not a chance encounter.”

Mu Yangling and Qi Haoran looked to the east. The traces showed that Qi Xiuyuan and the others had broken out from the east.

“The traces of the breakout can’t be faked. Let’s search east and let everyone rest for a while before setting off immediately.” Mu Yangling patted his shoulder and comforted him. “Don’t worry, Big Brother Qi will be fine.”

Qi Haoran forced a smile. Everyone left their horses in the village and entered the mountains overnight to search.

At first, it was fine. The traces were very clear, but later on, the traces became chaotic. Qi Xiuyuan and the others had clearly split into several directions to escape. Even Qi Haoran could not determine which direction Qi Xiuyuan went. Only Mu Yangling could determine which group Qi Xiuyuan was in judging from the footprints left on the ground. Qi Haoran stared at the messy footprints on the ground for a long time, but he still could not tell which ones belonged to his big brother.

However, Mu Yangling had already picked up her broadsword. “Let’s go. Let’s speed up and try to find him before dawn.”

Mu Yangling took the lead and chased in the direction of the traces…

Everyone rushed for a day and night and wandered around the forest for most of the night. Other than Mu Yangling and Qi Haoran, who could still stay awake, the others were dizzy from running amidst the trees in the forest. The trees in this place were even denser than those in Chef Mountain, and no one could see ten steps away. If not for the fact that they had trained in the forest, they would probably have gotten lost even if they followed Mu Yangling.

Sensing the low morale, Qi Haoran pulled Mu Yangling back and whispered, “Let them rest for a while and eat some dry food to replenish their strength.”

Seeing his obvious anxiousness, Mu Yangling looked at the soldiers behind her and was a little angry at them for being a letdown. “We should have drilled them to death back then.”

Qi Haoran’s face instantly turned as black as the bottom of a pot. Glaring at her, he said, “You, who did you learn these nonsense from?”

Mu Yangling was stunned for a moment before she reacted and rolled her eyes. “I’m talking about training them to death. Do you think I’m like you rough men?”

Mu Yangling shook off his hand. Qi Haoran had already gestured behind him for them to rest on the spot.

Upon receiving the order, everyone sat cross-legged and took out their rations to stuff into their mouths.

Qi Haoran stuffed a portion into Mu Yangling’s hand and raised his head to look at the star that represented his older brother in the sky. However, realizing that the dense forest covered the sky and there was no light at all, he could only lower his head in frustration.

Seeing this, Mu Yangling reached out and quietly held his hand. Qi Haoran held her hand tightly, his eyes feeling a warm moistness. Mu Yangling felt a warmth on the back of her hand as tears fell upon it. Shocked, Mu Yangling quietly blocked the gazes of the people behind her to prevent anyone from discovering Qi Haoran’s strangeness.

Qi Haoran obviously knew that his actions would affect the morale of the army, so he turned his head away slightly. When he turned back, the tears on his face had already disappeared, but his eyes were a little red. He held Mu Yangling’s hand tightly and whispered in a voice that only the two of them could hear, “Big Brother is not only an elder brother, but also a father to me. Ah Ling, you’ve got to find him and save him!”

Mu Yangling nodded and looked at the soldiers behind her. “If you trust me, rest here with them for a while. I’ll go ahead to investigate first. It’ll be much faster. I’ll leave a mark, so you can find me by following the mark.”

Mu Yangling was extremely strong, so her endurance was also stronger than ordinary people. Everyone was extremely exhausted, but she was just a little tired.

As for Qi Haoran, he was more energetic than Mu Yangling because of his deep internal energy.

Frowning, he said, “I’ll come with you.”

“No.” Mu Yangling said, “Their morale is low, and the commander can’t leave at a time like this. If you follow me, I’m afraid something will happen. When we find Big Brother Qi, we’ll still have to rely on them to protect us.”

Qi Haoran loosened his grip on her hand.

Mu Yangling patted Qi Haoran’s hand, took a torch, and left. No longer worried about whether the people behind her could keep up, Mu Yangling’s speed was much faster. In less than half an hour, she heard some movement. Mu Yangling’s eyes lit up, and she quickly extinguished the torch, quietly sneaking towards the place where there was a sound.

It was the Jin soldiers. There were more than 60 of them and they were noisy around the two fires. Mu Yangling had learned the Jin language from Qi Haoran and a teacher. She tried her best to lower her body and not make a sound. She heard that they were also chasing after Qi Xiuyuan and his men, but they had yet to find them.

Mu Yangling listened for a while but couldn’t hear any new information, so she quietly retreated. Qi Haoran had already brought his men along with him to find the mark Mu Yangling had left behind. Seeing that Mu Yangling had returned, he was about to ask questions when she gestured for them to keep quiet and even asked them to extinguish the torches. He knew that there was movement ahead.

Qi Haoran gestured behind him, and the torches behind him gradually extinguished, leaving only their torch lit up. Fei Bai hurriedly lowered his torch so that no one more than ten steps away could see the flames here.

Mu Yangling walked to his side and said in a low voice, “There are 68 Jin soldiers in front. They’re also chasing after Big Brother Qi and his men, but can’t find them. We shouldn’t be far from Big Brother Qi. Should we go around them or…?”

Qi Haoran thought for a moment and asked, “Are we going up the mountain?”

“Yes, although there are forks in the road, all ways lead upwards. Now, we’re already halfway up the mountain.” Although Mu Yangling was in the forest, she could figure out the situation based on her senses.

Qi Haoran’s eyes lit up in the darkness. Under the light of the torch, they were as bright as the morning stars in the sky. In a lowered voice, he said excitedly, “Big Brother said that when we want to fight a defensive battle, we have to occupy the highest ground. This way, not only can we defend very well, but we can also observe the enemy’s situation very well. However, the enemy also knows this principle. Therefore, when they look for people, they always walk towards the high ground. Therefore, we should settle for the next best thing.” Qi Haoran took a rock and formed a terrain on the ground. He said, “Find a favorable terrain halfway up the mountain to lie in ambush. Not only can we defend, but we can also observe the enemy’s situation. We can also prevent the enemy from finding us.”

“But this is Big Brother Qi’s first time entering the forest here. How will he find such terrain?” This was the terrain above the mountainside, which was not conducive to the enemy occupying the stronghold.

“I don’t know, but I think Big Brother will definitely be able to find it.” Qi Haoran looked at the stones on the ground with sparkling eyes. The map and terrain of Fuping County appeared in his mind, and he quickly calculated the possible routes and trajectories Qi Xiuyuan could’ve taken in his heart. In the end, he took some small branches and set up a path in the northeast where they were walking now. Then, he kept adjusting the angle. Finally, he pointed at a spot and asked, “Can you find this place?”

Considering Mu Yangling was on this mountain, it was already very impressive for her to be able to tell that they had crossed the middle of the mountain. How could she find a point based on this rough map without the map scale?

Frowning, Mu Yangling said, “I’ll try. Let’s go.”

At this moment, Rong Xuan was holding a medicinal herb to stop the bleeding on Qi Xiuyuan’s right chest. Seeing his dark lips, he was anxious and angry. He forced himself to recall the medical books he had read, hoping to recall the herb that could neutralize the poison.

Qi Xiuyuan closed his eyes slightly, and his eyes darkened slightly. Feeling the strength pressing down on his chest increase, he patted him weakly with his left hand and smiled. “Don’t be anxious. I can still hold on for a while..”