Chapter 83 She really loves

Chapter 83 She really loves

The three escorts standing nearby, listening to their conversation, felt ruthlessly ignored and felt a little resentful.

The beady-eyed constable couldn't help but point to himself, then to his two companions, as if to say, "We know a little kung fu too, why doesn't anyone mention us?"

But after scanning around, they found that no one had noticed their little actions, so they could only reluctantly put their hands down.

Time passed slowly, and the bandits had long since disappeared. Only the rustling of leaves in the wind could be heard outside the cave.

Jiang Yutang leaned against the rock wall at the cave entrance, her fingers unconsciously digging into the cracks in the stone, her worries growing heavier.

Cheng Lanzhou has been gone for almost an hour. Could something have really happened to him?

She couldn't help but think of Cheng Lanzhou's ending in the original book. The original plot didn't include the bandit part. He should have survived in exile. But now, because of her changes, the plot has deviated. Will he meet with misfortune because of this incident of luring away the bandits?

If something were to happen to Cheng Lanzhou, wouldn't she become a sinner for all time? To save her own family's lives, she dragged down the future general who would guard the frontier.

Thinking of this, Jiang Yutang couldn't help but feel regretful. Perhaps there were other solutions, and she blamed herself for being too hasty.

"Wait a little longer, General Cheng will be alright," Jiang Songzhi said softly, noticing her anxiety.

As dawn approached, Cheng Lanzhou still hadn't returned.

Even Cheng Daier, who had always had complete faith in her younger brother, couldn't sit still any longer. On the surface, she maintained her composure, but her hands, hidden under her sleeves, were already soaked with sweat, her fingertips gripping the hem of her clothes tightly.

Jiang Yutang could no longer sit still; the anxiety in her heart burned like a ball of fire, making her restless.

She stood up abruptly, her voice filled with barely suppressed urgency: "I'm going out to find him!"

"Calm down!"

Jiang Huaiyu immediately grabbed her, his brows furrowed: "We have no idea where the bandits are. What if they haven't gone far? If you go out rashly, you might fall into a trap! And..."

He paused, lowered his voice even further, and advised in a tone only the two of them could hear: "What if he has already been captured by the bandits, and those people are waiting for us to rescue him? If you go, wouldn't you be walking into a trap?"

"We can't just leave him out there alone!"

Jiang Yutang's voice trembled slightly: "Whether he is alive or dead, we need to know the truth. We can't let him just disappear without a trace!"

She took a deep breath, looked at everyone, and said firmly, "Everyone stay here, I'll go find it myself."

The cave fell silent instantly upon hearing this, and everyone was stunned.

The unsuspecting refugees looked at her with admiration.

This girl is so loyal and devoted!

The Jiang and Cheng families, however, thought much more deeply. In their view, Jiang Yutang was clearly deeply in love with Cheng Lanzhou, which was why he was willing to risk danger to search for her.

Seeing Jiang Yutang's anxious expression, Cheng Daier's impression of her quietly changed, and she even felt a bit admirable towards her.

Madam Lin also whispered, "I never expected that this girl Jiang would have such feelings. I underestimated her before."

Yun and her brothers looked distressed and sighed inwardly: Why is this girl so concerned about Cheng Lanzhou, willing to gamble with her own safety?

In fact, besides worry, Jiang Yutang felt more guilty, fearing that she might really harm Cheng Lanzhou.

“I’ll go with you.” Jiang Huaiyu suddenly spoke, her tone leaving no room for doubt: “It’s too dangerous for a weak woman like you to go out alone. If I go with you, at least I can protect you.”

"Third Brother!" Jiang Yutang cried out anxiously, unwilling to let someone close to her go on an adventure with her.

“Let him go with you,” Jiang Shengan suddenly said, his voice steady, interrupting the argument between the two.

He looked at his third son with a serious expression: "Go, and make sure you protect your sister. Whether you find General Cheng or not, you must come back safely. There are guards watching over us here; nothing will happen."

Jiang Huaiyu nodded emphatically: "Father, don't worry!"

Looking at her family who cared about her, Jiang Yutang felt both warm and sad, and her eyes reddened.

She took a deep breath, suppressed her emotions, turned to the three guards, and said earnestly, "Sirs, we'll be right back. Please take care of my mother and the others while we're here."

The kind-looking escort nodded solemnly: "Taking care of them is our duty, but..."

He changed the subject, looking at Jiang Yutang and Jiang Huaiyu, his tone somewhat troubled: "We're not sure if you can return safely, and we can't stay here any longer. We can only wait until noon at the latest. If you're still not back by then, we'll have to take the others and leave first."

Jiang Yutang's heart sank, but she knew this was the biggest concession the escort could make.

The refugee caravan needed to continue its journey, and the escorts had their own duties; they couldn't wait indefinitely for just two people.

She glanced back at her family members who were looking at her with concern from inside the cave, took a deep breath, and slowly said, "Alright, if we're not back by noon, you can go ahead."

"Tang'er..." Yun Shi's eyes were filled with tears as she held Tang'er's hand with worry, her eyes pleading for her to stay.

Jiang Yutang smiled and gently patted Yun Shi's hand, her voice tender and reassuring: "Mother, we will definitely come back, don't worry."

Having said that, the two of them didn't linger any longer and packed up the weapons they could use for self-defense.

Jiang Yutang put down her bag and then realized that she had brought a mini pepper spray earlier. She smiled wryly and stuffed it into her waistband.

The two quickly followed the direction Cheng Lanzhou had left in the previous night.

The sky was just beginning to lighten, and a thin mist still lingered in the woods, making visibility somewhat blurry.

Jiang Huaiyu walked ahead, his sharp eyes scanning the surroundings, stopping every few steps to examine the ground. As a martial artist, his sensitivity to traces far exceeded that of ordinary people.

Along the road, there were only messy hoofprints, crushed branches, and trampled weeds; not a soul could be seen.

As the sun rose higher, the fog dissipated.

Suddenly, Jiang Huaiyu stopped, bent down and pointed to the bushes in front of her, her voice serious: "Little sister, look at this."

Jiang Yutang quickly stepped forward and looked in the direction he pointed. There were a few drops of dark red blood on the leaves of the bushes, and a small patch of congealed blood remained in the soil, obviously left not long ago.

Her heart leaped into her throat. Whether it was the bandit's blood or Cheng Lanzhou's blood, it meant that the two sides had already fought. And Cheng Lanzhou only had a folding knife. How could he possibly be a match for the bandit's broadsword?

"It's hard to say right now, but it's definitely not a good thing."

Jiang Huaiyu crouched down and carefully examined the traces around the bloodstains. There was a shallow drag mark and several messy footprints.

"It looks like they fought here and then left."

The two could no longer care about concealing their whereabouts and anxiously followed the drag marks and footprints.

They chased after him for a short distance, and the signs of fighting became increasingly obvious.

Blood stained the broken branches, fragments of bandits' scimitars were scattered on the ground, and there were even several hoofprints deeply embedded in the soil, clearly indicating that a fierce battle had taken place here.

Until we passed through a dense forest, the view suddenly opened up before us.

Several corpses lay scattered on the open ground, all dressed as bandits, their wounds still bleeding, clearly indicating they had only recently died.

Jiang Yutang gasped in shock, her steps halting instantly. Her eyes darted frantically among the corpses, her heart pounding as she searched for Cheng Lanzhou's figure.