Miss Jun has disappeared.
The camp was quiet, then suddenly thrown into chaos.
All the guards and escorts surged over, looking into the tent through the torn curtains.
In the tent, only Liu'er was still lying motionless on the ground mat, without a trace of Miss Jun.
"Did she go out for a walk?" one guard said.
He didn't sound very confident in his words.
"When has Miss Jun ever acted alone? Even if she wanted to take a walk, she would definitely notify us," someone immediately retorted.
Indeed, Miss Jun was never impulsive. Every step she took was well considered, never leaving everyone in a passive situation.
"Liu'er!" Lei Zhonglian called out.
In the tent, Liu'er still did not move at all.
Could she have been harmed?
A guard wanted to rush in but was stopped by Lei Zhonglian.
Lei Zhonglian slid his knife from his waist along the ground into the tent, and with a swish, fine strings sprung from the ground, entangling the knife.
Not only entangled, the white blade seemed to have cut through the grass on the ground, instantly staining with several streaks of green juice.
Those standing outside the tent, including Lei Zhonglian, were all startled.
That certainly couldn't be grass juice; if it had been a person ensnared, they would probably be down and dead by now.
The chill in their hearts arose partially from the realization of the effectiveness of Miss Jun's booby trap, and additionally, from the fact that despite Miss Jun's disappearance, the trap was still intact.
If it wasn't Miss Jun who had walked out on her own, was it possible that the trap was ineffective against whoever took Miss Jun?
What kind of person could accomplish this?
"Liu'er!" Lei Zhonglian called out again.
The guards, mimicking him, slid their knives along the ground; no other trap was sprung.
Miss Jun's trap was not meant to deal with endless enemies, but simply to act as a warning.
Lei Zhonglian, no longer hesitant, rushed into the tent. At that moment, Liu'er stretched out, rolled over, and opened her eyes to see the men rushing towards her.
Liu'er screamed and sat up.
"What are you doing!" she yelled.
Her sudden movement startled Lei Zhonglian and the others as well.
She isn't dead?
"What are you doing, waking me from sleep?" Liu'er cried out angrily, then looked to one side, "My Miss was being disturbed...eh? Where is Miss?"
She knew nothing about what was happening.
Lei Zhonglian and the others felt an even colder chill, realizing that she had been sleeping soundly without any disturbance or intimidation.
Who could have done this?
The feeling at this moment was even more terrifying than when they were ambushed while escorting Fang Chengyu's father.
Back then, at least they could see the enemy, but now everything had happened so silently, it seemed beyond human capability.
Could the Jinyiwei who had been following them really be so formidable?
Lei Zhonglian drew another knife from behind his back.
"Search!" he commanded through clenched teeth.
.................
The horse raced down the mountain path, its hoofbeats muffled by leather wrappings, not very loud.
Turning around a mountain ridge, the leading man reined in his horse and dismounted to look around briefly.
"This way," he said, pointing in a direction.
Eighteenth Jin looked at the path that clearly wasn't a main road and whose destination was unknown, shaking his head.
"Truly cunning," he said. "A little girl, where did she learn all these tricks from."
After speaking, he waved his hand.
The group spurred their horses along the path, and just as they rounded a mountain peak, they heard lively sounds ahead.
Eighteenth Jin raised his hand to stop his horse.
"That's Miss Jun's people talking," a man said.
What are they up to now?
With a wave, the five men dismounted and crept through the underbrush moving forward.
Lei Zhonglian stood in the middle of the mountain road, his face pale.
They had been searching for a long time, to no avail.
Not only is the person not found, there are no clues at all, and everything around is clean as if nothing had ever happened.
This is simply unbelievable, as if Miss Jun has vanished into thin air.
"Where is my Miss? Where is my Miss?"
The crying of Liu'er echoed around.
"Lord Lei, notify the feudal authority and the money business," said a guard with an equally pale face.
They cannot handle this alone, and they cannot delay for too long.
Lei Zhonglian nodded.
"This is the only way, fortunately, the government soldiers have not gone far," he said, stepping forward.
"We shall go at once…" The guard said, his words cut off as Lei Zhonglian suddenly pounced toward the bushes nearby.
With a clang, weapons collided.
The escort guards immediately surrounded them, watching as five men jumped out of the bushes.
The blade of Lei Zhonglian and that of one of the men were locked together, their eyes fierce as they faced each other.
The man wanted to continue fighting, but Lei Zhonglian stood still.
"What are you doing here?" he said, seemingly surprised.
What kind of trick is this?
They have been following them all along, didn't they already know?
Eighteenth Jin smiled.
"What a coincidence, we just happened to be passing by," he said, his demeanor calm and relaxed.
Since they have left Yangcheng, they hadn't had any direct confrontation, who can prove they are here to capture anyone?
The surrounding escort guards looked on, defensive and angry.
Lei Zhonglian did not show any mockery at those words.
"Release her," he said, gritting his teeth fiercely.
Eighteenth Jin frowned.
"Release who?" he asked, "What are you up to?"
The crying of Liu'er reached their ears at this moment.
Eighteenth Jin's expression changed slightly, as the other men exchanged looks.
"What do you mean?" he asked, "What happened to Miss Jun?"
Lei Zhonglian and the others continued to guard them warily.
"Stop pretending," he said, flipping his blade in his hand.
The Jinyiwei swung his blade again.
With a clang, their weapons collided once more.
Meanwhile, Eighteenth Jin suddenly leapt over the bushes, charging towards Liu'er who was sitting in front of the tent crying, and a melee erupted, but he still reached Liu'er quickly.
"Where is Miss Jun?" he demanded.
Liu'er suddenly squealed as she was grabbed, thrashing and flailing with her limbs fiercely.
"Where did you take Miss Jun?" Lei Zhonglian and the others followed closely.
Four men already formed a barrier in front of Eighteenth Jin.
Fearing injuring Liu'er, Lei Zhonglian and his men didn't dare to attack.
Eighteenth Jin no longer pressed Liu'er, by observing Lei Zhonglian and the others and hearing their words, he had guessed what was happening.
Even their own people couldn't find her, how could others?
So, Miss Jun managed to shake off government soldiers, and now she even managed to elude her own escort guards, was she really headed back to Yangcheng alone?
"You really have a lot of tricks!" he sneered, "Is this fun for you?"
Is this a denial of any ignorance?
Unexpectedly, apart from tracking and framing, this Jinyiwei knows how to act.
"Stop playing these games, I know it was you," Lei Zhonglian tightened his grip on his weapon and demanded, "Hand her over."
Eighteenth Jin sized him up.
Unexpected, this escort with a disabled hand still plays his part very convincidely.
Both sides fell into a strange standoff.
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