Chapter 100: One Wave Not Yet Settled

Li Wenqing rubbed his hands and said:

"Mr. Jiang, these bandits are truly cunning, coming without a trace and leaving without a sign."

"We have sent people many times to gather information, but we got nothing."

"That's the situation." Jiang Xiaomu thought for a moment.

"Since these files are useless, then take me to see those robbed caravans."

Li Wenqing did not dare delay, hastily arranged personnel and brought Jiang Xiaomu to a recent robbery site outside the city

The scene.

On the dusty official road, several overturned carriages were scattered haphazardly.

Shattered porcelain fragments, scattered silk and brocade, and dark red bloodstains were mixed together.

Jiang Xiaomu furrowed his brows, but it was not unbearable.

Compared to the scene of mountains of corpses and seas of blood on the battlefield, this is merely a small affair.

A lean man dressed in black, with a long sword at his waist, was crouched on the ground carefully observing something.

This person was precisely the Constable Captain of the Xian Ya, Pei Dongyong.

"Constable Captain Pei."

Jiang Xiaomu spoke first.

Pei Dongyong raised his head, saw Jiang Xiaomu and Li Wenqing, hastily stood and clasped his hands in salute, saying:

"Sir Li, Mr. Jiang."

Li Wenqing rubbed his hands, smiling broadly, and asked:

"Constable Captain Pei, have you found anything?"

Pei Dongyong frowned, pointing at the chaotic horse hoof prints on the ground and some varying sword marks, his tone solemn:

"I have examined the traces at the scene and the combat situation."

"These bandits are not like ordinary rabble; they are more like a well-trained army."

"Oh?"

Jiang Xiaomu raised an eyebrow, walked over with interest, crouched down, and carefully examined the ground traces.

Pei Dongyong continued:

"Many of the guards hired by the caravans were killed before they could even react."

"From the wounds, the bandits' swordsmanship is precise and ruthless, killing with a single strike."

"These bandits must all be experts, and numerous, to be able to resolve the fighting so swiftly."

He paused, pointing at a guard's corpse not far away, and said:

"This person suffered multiple stab wounds, each avoiding vital points, clearly the work of a professionally trained assassin."

Jiang Xiaomu crouched down and carefully examined that corpse.

As Pei Dongyong said, although there were many wounds, none were fatal.

This indicates the killer was not aiming to kill, but to torture, for… amusement.

He dipped his finger in a bloodstain on the ground and brought it to his nose to smell.

A faint medicinal smell mingled with the bloody odor, barely detectable.

"Interesting," he chuckled lightly.

"It seems these bandits are not only well-trained, but also somewhat strange."

Li Wenqing frowned, the bloody scene making him feel somewhat nauseous.

He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and asked cautiously:

"Mr. Jiang, what… what should we do?"

Jiang Xiaomu stood up, brushed off the dust on his clothes, and said calmly:

"Sir Li need not panic; the trickier the case, the more interesting it is."

"I want to see just where this band of bandits comes from."

He looked around, his eyes sharp.

"Constable Captain Pei, please arrange personnel to follow the bandits' trail and see which direction they went."

"All right!"

Pei Dongyong received the order and departed.

Li Wenqing looked at Jiang Xiaomu with a worried expression and said:

"Mr. Jiang, will… this not be too dangerous?"

Jiang Xiaomu gave a dismissive smile and said:

"Dangerous? Sir Li, the most dangerous thing in this world is none other than the human heart."

"Compared to the conspiracies and schemes hidden in the shadows, this little scene amounts to nothing."

Li Wenqing was utterly bewildered, and could only nod repeatedly in agreement.

In his heart he secretly prayed, hoping Jiang Xiaomu would solve the case quickly so he could be rid of this hot potato sooner.

Jiang Xiaomu ignored Li Wenqing's worry, walked over to a corpse, crouched down, and began to examine it carefully.

This corpse was dressed in splendid attire, obviously the caravan's owner.

His chest was pierced by a single blade, the wound deep enough to see bone, his death gruesome.

Jiang Xiaomu's gaze fell upon an exquisite sachet at the dead man's waist.

He reached out, took the sachet, brought it to his nose to smell, and a rich fragrance assailed his nostrils.

"What fragrance is this?" Jiang Xiaomu murmured to himself.

At this moment, the system's voice sounded in his mind:

【Ding! Detected special item: Bewitching Fragrance.】

【Bewitching Fragrance: A kind of spice that can cause hallucinations.】

【A small amount inhaled will make one feel dizzy and vertiginous; a large amount inhaled will cause one to fall into unconsciousness.】

Jiang Xiaomu's heart stirred; it seemed this band of horse bandits were not merely skilled in martial arts, they also knew how to use this nefarious trick of the Bewitching Fragrance.

While he was focusing his thoughts on the uses of the Bewitching Fragrance, a bailiff came running in, stumbling.

He shouted, out of breath:

"Report… report to Sir Li! The… the Assistant Official Zhang in the east of the city… has filed a report!"

"What's there to panic about!"

Li Wenqing was already vexed and annoyed, and the bailiff's shout startled him so much he almost jumped up.

"Speak slowly, what happened?"

The bailiff caught his breath and stammered:

"Assistant Official Zhang… said… his daughter… was… been abducted by the horse bandits!"

"What?!"

Li Wenqing and Jiang Xiaomu exclaimed in unison.

These horse bandits are truly audacious, daring to abduct a respectable woman in broad daylight!

They had no time to think further, and immediately followed the bailiff rushing back to the Xian Ya.

Just as they entered the office, they heard a heart-rending wail.

A richly dressed middle-aged woman sat collapsed on the ground, weeping tearfully; she was none other than the wife of Assistant Official Zhang, Wang Shi.

Meanwhile, Assistant Official Zhang paced anxiously beside them, muttering incessantly:

"My son! My son!"

Upon seeing Li Wenqing and Jiang Xiaomu, Assistant Official Zhang clung to them like a drowning man clutching at a straw.

He rushed forward, tears and snot streaming, and cried out:

"Sir Li! Mr. Jiang! You must decide for me!"

"My little daughter… my little daughter has been abducted by the horse bandits!"

Li Wenqing hurriedly soothed:

"Assistant Official Zhang, don't panic first, speak slowly, what exactly happened?"

Assistant Official Zhang wiped away his tears, choking up as he said:

"This morning, the maid went to wake my daughter."

"But she discovered… discovered that she… she was missing!"

"The room… the room was in disarray, and the window… the window had also been opened!"

"I originally thought… it was my daughter being mischievous… sneaking out to play… only later did I realize something was wrong…"

"I… I suspect… suspect that it… it was the horse bandits who did it!"

"Did they leave any clues?"

Jiang Xiaomu asked in a deep voice.

Assistant Official Zhang shook his head, his face full of despair, and said:

"Nothing… nothing was left behind… only… only a… a note…"

Saying this, he pulled out a crumpled piece of paper from his bosom, trembling as he handed it to Jiang Xiaomu.

Jiang Xiaomu took the note, and saw that a few crooked characters were written on it:

"If you want your daughter to live, bring one hundred thousand taels of silver as ransom!"

"One hundred thousand taels?!"