Two days passed, and the search area was constantly expanding, but there was still no news of Xier's whereabouts.
Mu Fulan followed the people into the endless wilderness outside the horse farm. On the evening of the third day, she finally got the news that another team of soldiers sent out to search had found a child's shoe next to a muddy field dozens of miles away from here.
When she rushed over and saw that scene, the blood in her body stopped flowing instantly.
A small shoe was lying on the ground, with a pool of dried blood beside it.
Several soldiers were talking in low voices about the animal hoof prints they saw nearby, saying that in addition to horse hooves, there were also wolf footprints.
"... it must be very dangerous..."
The sound of their conversations was carried faintly into Mu Fulan's ears by the wind.
When Xi'er was taken away, he was barefoot. Xie Changgeng had brought him a pair of shoes on the road. He took the shoe from the soldier, looked down, and recognized it.
"Are these Xier's shoes?"
A hoarse voice came to his ears.
He looked up and saw her staring at him. She slowly walked towards him and asked.
Facing the pair of red eyes set in the pale face in front of him, for a moment he didn't know how to answer her.
He was silent.
"Tell me!"
She suddenly opened her eyes wide and asked harshly.
The sound startled the people nearby. They all looked over and were all secretly surprised when they saw the situation.
Xie Changgeng's five fingers slowly clenched the small shoe covered with mud in his hand and said softly, "Yes."
Since the day Xier was taken away, her heart has never had a moment of peace. After a tiring journey, she finally arrived here, but what was waiting for her was this kind of news.
In the past few days, she didn't know why she was hungry and thirsty, and she couldn't sleep. Whenever she closed her eyes, Xi'er's appearance would appear in front of her. His two little hands hugged her neck, and he smiled and called her mother.
Her spirit had long been stretched to the point of being as tense as a bowstring. As Xier's disappearance went on for longer and longer, she was on the verge of collapse.
She just didn't think about it, and refused to think about any bad possibilities.
She held her breath and told herself over and over again in her heart that Xi'er was safe. He was just lost in a place unknown to others. He was fine.
It is with this breath that she has managed to hold on until now.
And at this moment, when I heard the word "yes" coming out of his mouth, it was as if a bowstring suddenly broke was heard in my ears.
She fell headfirst.
Xie Changgeng was startled and subconsciously reached out to catch the limp body in his arms and called her.
Her head drooped limply on his chest, her eyes closed, and she showed no reaction.
He picked her up, looked up at the sky which was about to darken.
It was too far from here to the horse ranch to get back. He ordered his men to gather the troops, find a high ground to set up tents, and temporarily spend the night there.
The tent was set up quickly. Xie Changgeng carried the man into the tent, laid him on the felt bed, and then called in the accompanying military doctor.
The military doctor examined her and whispered, "The princess must have been overworked, anxious and worried, and just heard the bad news, so she fainted. She will wake up after resting, so the governor doesn't need to worry."
The military doctor retreated. Xie Changgeng lowered his head and looked at the miserable face with heavy dark circles under the light. He slowly reached out his hand and tucked the corner of the quilt for her.
The next morning, just as the sky was getting light, Liu An came to find him and asked about the next arrangements.
Xie Changgeng stood outside the tent, gazing at the endless wilderness shrouded in morning mist, frowned slightly, and did not respond for a moment.
Liu An glanced at the tent behind him and whispered, "We have been searching for many days. The place is too big. Looking for someone is like looking for a needle in a haystack. What's more, I saw a pair of shoes yesterday, and there were wolf prints on the side. It is very likely that the young master is in danger. I am not exaggerating. Even if we find him, I am afraid that only his bones will be left..."
As he was speaking, he suddenly heard a strange noise coming from the tent behind him. He quickly shut his mouth and turned to look.
Xie Changgeng asked him to wait and immediately turned and walked towards the tent.
Mu Fulan suddenly opened her eyes.
She was lying in a dimly lit tent, covered with a felt blanket and a man's cloak on top of the blanket.
Her eyes fell on the ceiling of the tent, her five fingers tightly grasping the felt mat beneath her. After pausing for a moment, she sat up straight, lifted the felt quilt and clothes covering her body, and walked out.
After taking only a few steps, he stumbled and swayed.
Xie Changgeng opened the curtain and was bending over to enter when he bumped into her. He stretched out his arm and held her up.
"Go and rest again!"
He said, looking down at her still pale face.
Mu Fulan's eyes were unfocused, as if she hadn't seen him at all. She pushed him away and continued to walk out. Xie Changgeng grabbed her wrist with his backhand.
He held her struggling body in his arms.
"If you keep going like this, you'll fall down too!"
His tone was stern.
Mu Fulan was like a willow branch that was about to break in his hand.
"He had two shoes! Only one was seen! The other one was still on his foot! What makes you say it's gone!"
Her eyes were red and she struggled desperately, saying
"Let me go. I want to find it!"
Xie Changgeng picked up the frail body, pressed it back onto the felt bed, and said, "Eat something later, and then you can go back!"
His tone was firm and unquestionable.
He stood up and went outside.
Mu Fulan fell off the felt bed, stared at his back, gritted her teeth, pulled out a hairpin from her head, and chased after him.
She raised her hand and, with all her strength, stabbed his back with the sharp hairpin in her hand.
The tip of the hairpin pierced through his clothes, penetrated his flesh, and lodged above his shoulder bone, about an inch deep.
Xie Changgeng's figure suddenly froze.
She pulled it out and stabbed again.
There was another dull "puff" sound.
The tip of the hairpin dug deeper into her flesh again. In her hand, it bent.
He turned his head slowly, his brows furrowed and his face slightly distorted.
Under his shocked and angry gaze, she shed tears with red eyes that she had never shed in the past few months. She said word by word: "Xie Changgeng, I know this is not your intention. But this is what you deserve."
"You don't have to look for it anymore! I'll find it myself!"
“Get lost!”
She pushed away the still stiff man and walked out.
Blood oozed from the man's injured back.
At first, there were only two dark red spots that seeped into the clothes. Soon, the blood clots grew larger and quickly spread, becoming one piece.
Under his clothes, a column of blood slowly flowed down his thin waist.
Xie Changgeng stared at the woman who had walked to the door of the tent and was about to leave, without blinking, and his eyes seemed to be suddenly stained with blood.
He pursed his lips tightly, stretched out his arm, spread his five fingers, dragged the person back, and threw her onto the felt bed. Before she could get up, he pressed her legs with one knee to stop her resistance. Then he handcuffed her hands behind her back with one hand, and with the other hand he picked up the coat that he had taken off last night and used to cover her. He bit it with his teeth, pulled it, and tore it into two pieces. He used them as ropes to tie her hands and feet tightly.
"I think you are crazy! You crazy woman! How dare you stab me!"
Xie Changgeng subdued her, then reached out and touched his back, looked at the blood on his palm, and said with gritted teeth.
Mu Fulan stopped struggling, her body curled up like a shrimp, her face pressed on the felt bed, her eyes closed, tears rolling down from the corners of her eyes, soon soaking the felt bed.
Xie Changgeng stared at her, took a breath for a while, and said angrily: "Just stay here! I'll ask someone to look for you! If you're really gone, I'll find your bones for you!"
He turned around, pulled aside the curtain and walked out.
Liu An was outside just now and heard strange noises coming from inside the tent. It sounded a little wrong, as if two people inside were fighting. He felt uneasy but did not dare to go in. He was standing outside looking in when he suddenly saw Xie Changgeng coming out with a look of anger on his face. He hesitated for a moment and then went to greet him.
"Pass on my order. Set up camp here. Transfer two battalions of troops from the nearest Mingwei Garrison. Keep searching! Alive or dead! Until they are found!"
He shouted sternly, then walked away and ordered someone to bring his horse.
Liu An was stunned, but didn't dare to ask more questions. He just said "Yes, sir" and was about to make the arrangements when he suddenly saw blood on his back. Upon closer inspection, he found two holes as wide as a child's finger on the bloodstained clothes, as if he had been injured by a small sharp blade. Judging from the amount of bleeding, the wound should be quite serious.
He was startled, and chased after him and said, "Sir, the wound on your body..."
Xie Changgeng grabbed the reins handed to him by his attendant, turned his head and stared at him: "Go and pass the order!"
Liu An was very sure that just a moment ago, when the governor entered the tent, he was fine from head to toe, but now he came out, and in the blink of an eye, two holes were pierced on his back.
There is no doubt that the person who did it must be the princess.
The lost child was said to be the princess's adopted son.
It was normal for the governor and the princess to be angry about the disappearance of their adopted son.
What he never expected was that when the couple was fighting, the princess, who usually looked fragile, gentle and virtuous, would actually be so cruel to the governor.
What he didn't expect was that the Jiedushi not only suffered a great loss, but was also obviously defeated.
Seeing him turn around and look at him coldly, Liu An quickly retracted his gaze and said, "I'll go right away!"
…
Xie Changgeng ordered his men to send Mu Fulan, whose hands and feet were tied, back to the stable first. He then called a military doctor, who casually treated her wounds, and then he joined the search.
The day passed, and at night, the soldiers on duty continued their search with fire sticks.
Another night has passed.
Early in the morning, the soldiers who had been searching all night returned to the camp one after another under the leadership of their leader to report the intelligence to him.
Still no gain.
Xie Changgeng stood outside the tent, gazing into the distance, feeling extremely heavy-hearted.
He also searched for it until late last night before returning.
The wound on my back from being stabbed by the crazy woman was not that serious, but it was not shallow, deep to the bone, sore and painful, extremely uncomfortable. After returning last night, although I was extremely tired, I couldn't fall asleep at all.
Even if such a young child did not encounter any external danger, after being missing for so many days, he might have starved to death in some unknown remote place.
This area has been thoroughly searched, there is no way there is anything missing. Since there is no result, we will move on today and look for the body or the other shoe somewhere else.
He hated the crazy woman and the child. But thinking that it was because he had kidnapped the child that led to what happened today, he felt extremely heavy-hearted. Deep down, he even felt a little afraid to go back and face the woman.
Another wave of swelling and pain came from my back.
He moved his shoulders, frowned, and was about to call people to order the camp to be moved away when he suddenly saw a fast horse coming from a distance and quickly running up to him.
It was his follower Liang Tuan.
Liang Tuan was holding a small shoe in his hand. Before he dismounted from his horse, he shouted loudly, "Sir! My men found this shoe on the riverbank!"
Xie Changgeng went over and snatched it away.
The soles of the shoes had come off and they looked like they were no longer wearable, so they were thrown away.
His heartbeat suddenly quickened, and he shouted, "Everyone, search along the riverbank!"
…
In this wilderness, there is a river that flows behind the horse farm, from west to east, winding and meandering endlessly.
At noon that day, Xie Changgeng and his men stopped their horses as they were going upstream along the river beach.
He saw in front of him, at the end of his sight, the figures of a man and a horse appeared.
The man is a villain and the horse is a foal.
A man and a horse were staggering along the riverbank, going upstream towards the horse farm.
"Young Master! It's the Young Master!"
Liang Tuan's eyes lit up, he roared loudly, and rode his horse to chase after him.
The child who was staggering in front heard the shouts coming from behind him, stopped, turned around, and stood there, motionless.
Xie Changgeng rode his horse close to him, reined in his horse, and looked over.
The child had a dirty face, ragged clothes, and was very thin. Apart from a pair of eyes with distinct black and white, there was almost no clean spot on his face or body.
His bare feet were covered with wounds and bloodstains, and in his hand he was tightly holding a sickle from the horse farm.
The foal traveling with him had several bloody scabs on its buttocks, as if it had been bitten by something. It stopped behind him and slowly ate some wild grass on the river bank.
The child was walking alone and suddenly saw this group of people riding horses towards him. He recognized them and showed an extremely happy smile on his face at first. He was about to run towards them, but when he noticed that Xie Changgeng's eyes were fixed on his face with an extremely strange expression, he stopped. The smile on his dirty little face gradually disappeared, and a look of uneasiness appeared in his eyes.
"... Your Excellency the Governor... I didn't run away on purpose... I just got lost... I finally found the riverbank and wanted to go back to the horse ranch..."
"My Lord, please don't be angry..."
He stepped his two feet together, his toes curled up nervously, looked at Xie Changgeng, and spoke timidly.
Xie Changgeng felt as if a warm current was slowly flowing out of his chest. For a moment, even the pain in his back disappeared.
He dismounted, strode to the worried boy, bent down, put his hands under his arms, and lifted him high above his head.
"I'm not angry. I'll take you back right now!"
He said, finally putting him down, then picked up the child with one arm, put him on the back of his horse, and followed him up.