Feng Jin, wiping away crumbs of pastry from her mouth, looked out the window and recognized the figures standing outside as Lu Shi and Gu Beichen.
Feng Jin stood up and walked out, "Lu Shi, why are you here?"
Lu Shi, panting heavily, stammered, "Young madam... it's not good... the young general, he... he's in trouble..."
"What happened?" Feng Jin immediately grew anxious, her tone becoming tense.
"The young general went to pursue the rebels last night and ran into an ambush. His whereabouts are currently unknown. I couldn't make a decision on my own, so I've come to ask for your guidance, young madam."
Unknown whereabouts, ambushed. These words filled Feng Jin's mind, making her temples pound. She tried hard to calm herself. After a moment, Feng Jin said in a deep voice, "Have people been sent to investigate?"
"They have, but there's no news yet."
After a moment of thought, Feng Jin said in a deep voice, "Lu Shi, gather a group of people, and we'll go find him."
"Your subordinate obeys!"
Feng Jin then turned her gaze to Gu Beichen, "You stay here to guard and look after the patients."
"I stay here?" Gu Beichen pointed to himself, asking in disbelief. Wouldn't it be a waste of talent to have him guard the city?
"If you don't stay, who will? Yingzhong Commandery is entirely entrusted to you. You must hold it. The burden on your shoulders is heavy. Other than entrusting it to you, I would not feel at ease with anyone else."
Having interacted with Gu Beichen for so long, Feng Jin knew his little thoughts well. Wasn't he feeling that it was a waste of his talent to stay here? If she didn't emphasize the seriousness of the situation, would Gu Beichen willingly stay?
"Since that is the case, then only this prince can shoulder this important responsibility. You may go with peace of mind. This prince will definitely guard Yingzhong Commandery well."
"Then I'll trouble you."
Fearing Gu Beichen would reconsider, Feng Jin quickly left with Lu Shi.
...
"Young madam, there are signs of a struggle here."
Lu Shi called out, spotting the tracks on the ground.
Feng Jin dismounted and went forward to inspect. The soil on the ground seemed to have been disturbed. Upon closer inspection, bloodstains could be seen mixed in with the dirt.
There were also signs of broken branches, and the broken branches looked very fresh.
They had searched along the road for a long time before finding this trace.
"Investigate carefully. Be wary of ambushes."
"Yes, young madam."
Feng Jin picked up a handful of dirt. The bloodstains had not yet dried. There was time to clear the battlefield after the fight. This could only mean they were escaping and didn't want their tracks to be found, or someone was setting up an ambush.
"Young madam, there are no other traces around. My subordinate has found that the bloodstains extend to the forest ahead and then disappear."
After checking, Lu Shi came forward to report to Feng Jin.
"Lu Shi, take a few men and go scout ahead. Leave the rest here to guard."
Several people followed the bloodstains into the forest. As they got closer, Feng Jin vaguely smelled a pungent smell of blood.
"Be careful, the smell of blood is stronger now," Feng Jin warned everyone cautiously.
Feng Jin heard the rustling of leaves and said, "Lu Shi, there's someone ahead."
Lu Shi's nerves immediately tensed. He moved forward quietly, felt the presence, drew the sword at his waist, and with a great stride, charged forward.
"Who's there, lurking about!"
"Lord Lu, it's me..." The man's voice was weak. He emerged from behind the bushes, covered in blood.
"Wang Qi, weren't you with the young general? Where is the young general?"
"Lord Lu, we... we were ambushed. I was chased and hid in the forest. The young general... the young general's whereabouts..."
Before he could finish, Wang Qi fainted. Lu Shi felt for his breathing, his expression instantly dimming. His comrade, with whom he had faced life and death, was dying before his eyes, and he was powerless. Lu Shi felt as if his heart was being twisted by a knife.
"Young madam, he's no longer breathing."
Feng Jin sighed and lowered her head, murmuring, "Leave two people to bury him."
Feng Jin did not dare to delay for a moment. The longer she delayed, the more danger Ling Mohan would be in. She had to find Ling Mohan as soon as possible to feel at ease.
They searched for an entire day. As dusk fell, there was still no sign of Ling Mohan. Feng Jin's heart was in her throat, her nerves taut.
"Young madam, let's go back first. We'll search again tomorrow," Lu Shi said, his tone slightly worried. If anything happened to the young madam, he wouldn't be able to explain it to the young general.
"I'm fine. Let's find him first."
Feng Jin's voice was very calm, making it impossible to guess her emotions.
The people who had been sent out had not yet returned, with no news at all.
She refused to believe that a living person could just vanish into thin air.
"Where else haven't we searched?"
"We've searched everywhere, the surrounding mountains and forests, all the places we could search. If there's anywhere left to search, it would only be the bottom of the cliff."
Lu Shi said after thinking. This was also the worst-case scenario. The bottom of the cliff was bottomless. If the young general truly fell, then...
"Search at the bottom of the cliff."
"Young madam, the bottom of the cliff is tens of thousands of feet deep. We cannot go down easily."
"We have no choice. If Ling Mohan is truly in trouble, we will also be doomed. Since we are going to die anyway, we might as well take a gamble. Lu Shi, go find ropes."
Feng Jin commanded in a cold voice. If Ling Mohan was in trouble, the remaining rebels would merge with the main force and attack Yingzhong Commandery. With just them, they would not be able to resist the rebels.
Feng Jin tied the rope around her waist without hesitation. Just as she was about to descend, Lu Shi stopped her, "Young madam, why don't you let me go down!"
"No, if Ling Mohan is truly in trouble, you must stay to manage the overall situation and protect the people of Yingzhong Commandery."
She couldn't count on that fellow Gu Beichen, and she didn't trust anyone else to go down. Only she herself could go. If something happened, it would be her own bad luck.
Tying the rope around her waist securely, Feng Jin began to climb down along the rope. Fortunately, she had climbed mountains quite a bit in her past life, otherwise she wouldn't have dared to come down. It was a pity that the physical strength of this body could not compare to her past life. After such a short time, she was already panting for breath from exhaustion.
Feng Jin dared not make any drastic movements, climbing down the rock face little by little. As she climbed down, she vaguely saw a cave entrance in the middle of the mountainside. She exerted herself to climb towards the cave entrance.
As time passed, Feng Jin's arms gradually became numb and weak. Her foot slipped, and she descended rapidly. Feng Jin tightly grabbed a hanging vine on the mountainside and quickly jumped into the cave.
Once in a safe place, Feng Jin's taut nerves relaxed slightly.