Border Cook

Chapter 698 Threatening Retaliation
"When the police are investigating a case, we ordinary people shouldn't complain, but we are all honest people. We didn't see anyone suspicious, and there was no need to search the house..."

"That being said, this is a matter of great importance. We dare not be negligent in the slightest. We must find Madam Xia!" said the bailiff with a bow.

"No matter who you're looking for... Wait, Madam Xia? You mean Madam Xia? Madam Xia is missing?"

"That's right. Madam Xia disappeared while watching a play in the theater. It seems that she was kidnapped. We are looking for her everywhere, so..."

The other party immediately interrupted the yamen runner and said, "Sir, there is no need to say anything. Come in and take a look."

"Don't sleep, all of you. Hurry up and put on your clothes, take your lanterns, and follow the officer to help find Madam Xia!"

"It doesn't have to be like this..."

The yamen runner was interrupted again, "We are really worried about Madam Xia. If we didn't know about this, it would be fine. Now that we know, there is absolutely no reason to wait at home. There is strength in numbers. If more people help to look for her, we can find Madam Xia as soon as possible!"

You know, Madam Xia is the pillar in their hearts, and nothing can go wrong!

Moreover, Madam Xia is such a kind and highly respected person, yet she was kidnapped by thieves. The thieves must have planned this for a long time and were determined to harm Madam Xia.

Therefore, the earlier Madam Xia is found, the less danger she will be in.

The yamen runner thought it was a good idea and reported the matter to Fan Pingyang so that he could mobilize all the power of ordinary people to find Madam Xia as soon as possible.

Fan Pingyang frowned upon hearing this, "It's a good thing that the people want to help, and it can help the government and rescue Lady Xia as soon as possible. But if too many ordinary people take to the streets, I'm afraid there will be some chaos, which will give thieves a chance to fish in troubled waters."

"Well, you inform the people in the neighborhood to divide the area into several areas, and gather several smart men in each area. They should all wear symbolic accessories and set up secret codes. If there are any suspicious people, they should be arrested immediately and then punished."

In this way, someone can help the yamen runners find Madam Xia, and an overly chaotic situation can be avoided, killing two birds with one stone.

"Yes!" The bailiff responded, and immediately ordered to carry out what Fan Pingyang had said.

All places that received orders took action as soon as possible.

One after another, people began to follow the yamen runners and busy themselves looking for Madam Xia's whereabouts.

And the number of these people continued to increase. The originally scattered lanterns soon turned into a line, and then developed into a group.

Those who wanted to go out and help the government office in the search but were afraid of causing trouble lit their own lanterns and candles, illuminating all the houses and courtyards.

Neighbors talked to each other over the wall, asking about the situation outside and keeping each other informed to prevent thieves from taking advantage of the opportunity.

For a moment, the entire Jinqiu County was brightly lit as if it were daytime, and the level of noise was incomparable to ordinary times.

The county town was like this in the golden autumn. Several people who had already reached the hillside stopped their horses and looked back with interest.

From this high vantage point, you can have a panoramic view of the entire Jinqiu County.

Seeing this situation, one of them frowned and asked, "This Lu Qiyan has such a high reputation in the entire Jinqiu County?"

When Lu Qiyan’s wife went missing, the entire county was mobilized. This situation was amazing and even more terrifying.

I can’t reach that state myself, and I can’t even imagine the fear of that state.

"Just him?" Another person sneered, "He has no prestige at all. It's just that he is in a high position and the officials in the county government are afraid that something will happen in his territory, so they are rushing to mobilize the entire county to look for him."

"But..." The smallest person suddenly spoke, "I have been hiding in the county for several days. Everywhere I go, everything I hear is about how virtuous and wise the Xia family is. I think the reason why the people in the county are like this right now is probably not because of Lu Qiyan, but because of the Xia family."

Because of Xia?

Everyone was stunned for a moment. After a moment, the tall man riding a Arabian horse, who had remained silent, suddenly laughed.

The others immediately looked at him in confusion.

"That's even better." The leader pulled the black scarf covering his face and raised the corner of his mouth. "Since Xia is like this, Lu Qiyan must regard her as a treasure. Seeing such a thing now, he must be extremely anxious and will definitely come to find me."

In this way, we can settle accounts with Lu Qi Yan.

Settle the grudge between him and me.

Let Lu Qiyan have a good taste of what it feels like to be a real loser.

The leader laughed again, looked around, found a relatively flat stone, took out the dagger in his arms, and carved a few words on the stone.

After finishing the carving, the man placed the stone upright under the roots of a nearby apricot tree.

"What is the master doing?" the subordinates were puzzled.

"I left a letter for Lu Qiyan, so that he wouldn't be confused about where to find me."

"But the master carved this letter on the stone and left it here. If Lu Qiyan can't find it..."

Isn't that inappropriate?

"If he can't find this place, he is not Lu Qiyan." The leading man looked determined, jumped on his horse, and rode away with his men.

Lu Qiyan, who was being talked about by these people, was still searching for the scent of Xia Mingyue with Wu Jin.

Because the other party had changed his appearance and the way of leaving the city, the time interval became longer and longer. The other party deliberately took more detours, and the smell on the street was complicated, so the scent of mint became weaker and weaker.

This made it even more difficult for Wu Jin to find Xia Mingyue. He would often wander around in one place for a long time, and after finding a direction, he would turn back and go to another place.

Seeing this, Lu Qiyan frowned.

After thinking for a moment, he reached out and picked up Wu Jin by the waist and put him on the horse's back. He also got on the horse, whipped the horse, and went out of the city.

The county has now mobilized all the people in the city to look for his wife. Since there is no result yet, and if we calculate according to the time...

Those people have already left the city!
And since the other party was coming for him, they would definitely be gloating and want to see him being at a loss and anxious at this moment.

There is only one place near the county town where you can have a clear view of the entire county!
The yellowish slope in the west of the city.

Lu Qiyan thought of the place, so he rode his horse and headed straight for it.

Wu Jin was suddenly stopped by Lu Qiyan and was forced to use his nose to find Madam Xia. He was confused for a moment, but seeing that Lu Qiyan looked very confident and had everything planned out, he thought that he probably had an idea, so he did not resist and just lay on the horse's back to conserve his strength.

Who knows, there might be a time when it might be useful again.

After Lu Qiyan left the city, he ran all the way and soon arrived at Tuhuang Slope. It had rained heavily two days ago, and there were few gravels on Tuhuang Slope, but more soil, and many short grasses and trees.

These short grasses show signs of being trampled, and the prints of horse hooves and human feet on the slope are also clear and fresh.

It can be seen that those people had indeed been here, and not long ago!
Lu Qiyan followed the horseshoe marks all the way to a higher place, where he saw the stone placed under the mountain apricot tree, which was out of tune with the surrounding scenery.

After getting off the horse, Lu Qiyan immediately picked up the stone and used the light of the fire stick to read the words on it.

Half cliff.

It is not far from here, but the reason why this half cliff is called half cliff is because one side of the towering mountain is like a knife cut, forming an extremely steep, almost vertical cliff face.

This cliff occupies half of the mountain, so it is called Half Cliff.

Half Cliff is a steep place, and it is obvious that the other party deliberately chose this place, and he also left a letter for him, which shows that this time...

Lu Qiyan's face darkened. He didn't stay here for too long and still went to the cliff with Wu Jin.

On the other side of the cliff is a gentle slope, where there are usually narrow paths trampled by herbalists and people who like to go for an outing. Going up from the foot of the mountain, although the road is rugged, it is still walkable.

Lu Qiyan was extremely anxious, and with Wu Jin leading the way ahead, they were able to climb the mountain much faster than usual.

An hour later, Lu Qiyan and Wu Jin reached the top of the mountain together.

The top of the cliff is not very big and there are not many trees. You can see everything at a glance.

Lu Qiyan soon discovered a bonfire burning on the edge of the cliff, and several figures beside the bonfire.

Walking slowly towards the campfire, Lu Qiyan quickly saw the appearance of several people.

Several of them were tall men, dressed in black, holding swords, standing next to the campfire.

Surrounded by these people, a man also dressed in black sat upright on a chair, playing with a white jade object in his hand, and looked up at Lu Qiyan who was walking towards him step by step.

Seeing this, Lu Qiyan frowned and said, "Your Highness, I hope you are well."

Li Junhao was a little surprised that Lu Qiyan recognized his identity at once. The movement of playing with the thing in his hand froze, and he put it away. Then he pulled down the black scarf covering his face and frowned, "How did you know it was me?"

"The only one who can be so deliberate and mysterious is Your Highness." Lu Qiyan's eyes were sharp and he said in a deep voice, "Your Highness acted this way, and I know the reason. Now that I have come to Your Highness as promised, Your Highness, shouldn't you let my wife go?"

Deliberately plotting and deliberately being mysterious?
Li Junhao clenched the white jade handle in his hand again.

He admitted that it was a deliberate plan, but where did this mystification come from?
Is it to say that he could have just called Lu Qiyan out directly, but instead he came up with so many tricks?

Or was it that when he was marching in wars, and when he was forcing the emperor to abdicate, his cleverness backfired?

This Lu Qiyan, how smart does he think he is, how dare he laugh at him like this?

Li Junhao was so angry that he jumped up from his chair, paced on the spot for a few times, and then raised his hand to the side.

Someone immediately brought out Xia Mingyue, who was hiding in the bushes.

After being kidnapped all the way here, Xia Mingyue, who was originally knocked unconscious, had already woken up on the way.

But she was tied tightly with hemp ropes and a cloth strip was stuffed in her mouth, so she could neither move nor speak. She watched herself being brought here and listened to those people discussing how to deal with Lu Qiyan, her heart aching.

She prayed in her heart that Lu Qiyan would arrive here quickly, preferably by surprise, and be able to successfully eliminate these people with ulterior motives in a swift and effective manner.

Or maybe Lu Qiyan simply can't find this place, in which case there won't be any danger.

But what she had thought about for a long time, in the end, was that after these people had prepared everything, Lu Qi Yan happened to arrive.

Doing so would play right into the other party's hands.

This is the situation that Xia Mingyue is most afraid of seeing.

Therefore, the moment Xia Mingyue was dragged up and saw Lu Qiyan, she desperately shook her head at Lu Qiyan, asking him to leave.

When Lu Qiyan saw Xia Mingyue being tied up and dragged, his heart sank. He reached out and grasped the sword, ready to act.

Li Junhao pulled the corner of his mouth and sneered, "I advise Commander Lu not to act rashly. This is a half-cliff. If you are not careful, you will be crushed to pieces."

As they were talking, the person who was dragging Xia Mingyue had already brought her to the edge of the cliff.

In late spring and early summer, the temperature difference between day and night is quite large, and it is the time when the wind is strong, especially at a high place like Banbi Cliff. The wind whistles at night, and people standing on the edge of the cliff may even find it difficult to stand steadily.

Lu Qiyan’s brows furrowed even deeper, and his expression became gloomy.

Seeing this scene, Li Junhao felt extremely happy.

Ever since Lu Qiyan appeared in the Western Frontier Army, he and Jin Weiguo have suffered defeats one after another and there is no possibility of turning things around.

He seemed to have encountered a disaster. Bad luck happened one after another. Even his sure-fire goal of becoming the king was pulled down by someone.

All of this is thanks to Lu Qiyan.

Even the fact that he had completely become a non-existent person in the Jinwei Kingdom, and was abandoned by everyone, avoided as much as possible, and even used his life as a bargaining chip to seek credit, was all because of Lu Qiyan.

Lu Qiyan, he had hurt him so badly.

Now seeing the culprit's eyes turn red and look like they are about to bleed, this feeling is really not a good one.

So, this person should never think of pushing others into a desperate situation, otherwise, the rabbit will bite when it gets desperate, and the pain will be enough to make you heartbroken.

Li Junhao was delighted. He glanced at Lu Qiyan and spoke quietly, "Commander Lu just asked me to release your wife?"

"In that case, how about I let them let go now?"

While Li Junhao was speaking, the two servants pushed Xia Mingyue closer to the edge of the cliff.

Some broken rocks on the edge of the cliff fell down due to being trampled, and the sound of the wind was broken. After a long time, a slight "bang" sound was heard.

Xia Mingyue had been tied up for so long that her blood circulation was blocked and half of her body was numb. Now she was frightened and scared, and her body was unstable. When she was pushed like this, she fell to the edge of the cliff almost uncontrollably.

I'm quite busy today, Sunday, so the update is late~