America 1881: Legend of the West

Chapter 536: Live to see people, die to see corpses

According to the information Asuka obtained from Turtle Dove and Armadillo, Chen Jianqiu and his party came to the cliff where Geronimo was said to have slipped and fell.

They walked to the edge of the cliff and began to explore the scene for traces.

It has been about two weeks since the incident occurred, but due to the dry climate here, some clues can still be found.

"The rocks at the mouth of the cliff were broken. Geronimo should have gone down with a safety rope." Feiniao returned to Chen Jianqiu's side.

He opened his palms and found some gravel in his palms.

Chen Jianqiu walked to the edge of the cliff and looked down.

This is a cliff with no bottom at the bottom. The cliff is rugged and the structure is a bit like the gold cave they used to hide in Carlsbad.

There are many plants growing on the wall in some places.

Chen Jianqiu couldn't tell the name, but he estimated that there should be good medicinal herbs or materials, otherwise Geronimo would not risk going off the cliff.

Looking from top to bottom, there really is nothing special about it.

Chen Jianqiu stood up and looked down again, patting the dust on his hands.

"Let's go down there and have a look."

Several people went around in a long circle before they found a road leading to the valley below the cliff.

The river valley has long since dried up, leaving only the exposed river bed covered with jagged rocks.

The sun was setting and the light was so dark that I could barely see the road.

Chen Jianqiu asked others to light the lanterns and walked along the river. After walking for a long time, they reached the bottom of the cliff.

Everyone got off their horses.

Feiniao squatted down with the lantern and began to check the traces on the ground, while the others carried the lantern and went to search nearby.

There was indeed blood stains under the cliff, and there were drag marks.

However, two weeks later, the blood stains had long since dried and were covered with sand.

The flying bird gently pushed aside the sand and began to observe through the lantern.

"It's not a human being who fell down, but a smaller animal."

After a while, Asuka stood up and shook his head.

"Can you see this?" Chen Jianqiu glanced at Feiniao.

He said this, but in his heart he already agreed with his little brother's conclusion.

In terms of tracking and on-site judgment, Asuka can be said to be the most professional. Even White, the most experienced pock-marked detective in the Border Detective Agency, cannot compare with him.

Chen Jianqiu raised his head again.

The edge of the cliff was silhouetted against the dim sky.

Suddenly, he found a bulge in the middle of the outline.

Chen Jianqiu turned on the shooter mode and looked over there.

That's a tree.

Under the tree is a platform where you can stay.

Because of the angle and the surrounding vegetation, this platform and this tree cannot be seen from above.

You can only see it if you look carefully from the bottom of the valley upwards.

Those who searched around also returned, but none of them found any valuable information, let alone Geronimo's body.

"Our turtledove's observation skills are not very good." Chen Jianqiu put his hands on his hips and looked at the tree and said, "Or maybe he lied."

He turned back to Black Carrot.

"We should go back and talk to him."

The group got on their horses and began their return journey.

It was completely dark.

At night in the valley, the road conditions are complicated and not easy to walk.

There is no way for the moonlight to reach the bottom of the valley, and the light from the lantern alone makes visibility very low.

If you are not careful and your horse stumbles, it will be very troublesome.

So, they go very slowly.

After about three or four hours, a little light appeared in front of us.

"Boss, something seems not right. Logically speaking, the town shouldn't be so bright at night."

Feiniao chewed the dried meat in his mouth and handed the water bag in his hand to Chen Jianqiu, who was riding side by side with him.

Chen Jianqiu took the water bag and took a sip.

Something is definitely not quite right.

Logically speaking, at this point, the Indians in the town should all stay in their houses. Even if they light a bonfire, it shouldn't be so bright.

"Let's go and see what's going on."

The group speeded up and entered the town.

Chen Jianqiu soon understood why the town was so bright.

A group of Indians holding torches gathered around a mud house.

The leader's beard and hair were all white. The light from the torch shone on his face, with a serious expression. The wrinkles on his sallow face were like ravines.

This man Chen Jianqiu had met before was the Indian tribe leader named Lao Malai in the morning.

Standing in front of the mud house and facing his eyes was Luo Cen.

Behind her were people from her tribe.

The number was not large, as many had gone to Ciudad Juárez to work, but the rest had weapons in their hands.

"Let that boy Turtledove come out and speak!" Old Malai said in a hoarse voice.

"He is not in town. He went out in the morning and has not come back yet." Luo Cen replied coldly.

"Sure enough." Old Malai snorted coldly, "I knew that kid was up to something, so I kept sending people to keep an eye on him."

"How about Turtle Dove? That's our tribe's own business. What does it have to do with you?" Luo Cen crossed his hands on his chest and seemed reluctant to communicate with Old Marais.

"Absurd!" Old Malai's wooden crutch hit the ground heavily. "When the three tribes merged together and came to this town, they were no longer distinguishable from each other. Whoever said anything about the chief is just you. Tribe thing?”

He turned around, raised the crutch in his hand, and said loudly to the tribesmen behind him: "Turtledove took advantage of the opportunity to go out with the chief and pushed the chief off the cliff. Now he is absconding in fear of crime. From today on, I If any member of the clan sees it, everyone will find it and kill him!"

"You don't care, we will take care of it!" Old Malai turned to look at Luo Cen and said in a deep voice.

Luo Cen's lips trembled, and just when he was about to get angry, a voice came over.

"Hey, what's so exciting?"

Everyone looked towards the source of the sound and found Chen Jianqiu and Feiniao walking out of the shadows.

"Let me think about it, your name is Lao Ma Lai, right?" Chen Jianqiu walked up to the old Indian man and looked him up and down, "Didn't you send someone to keep an eye on Turtle Dove? Where are the people?"

Old Malay glanced at another middle-aged Indian man beside him.

The man looked a little embarrassed and stammered in reply: "That kid ran away."

"Oh, that's it, you didn't catch anyone, why did you come here to find Luo Cen and the others?" Chen Jianqiu looked at the middle-aged man, but he said to old Malai, "Besides, you are being treated like this Look, you run too."

Old Malai's face darkened again.

"I respect you very much, Mr. Chen, but you told me during the day that you planned to take a rest, but why did you break your promise and act alone?"

"In addition, this is our Apache people's own business. As I said this morning, I hope Mr. Chen will not intervene."

Chen Jianqiu smiled.

"What if I insist on taking care of it?"

He took another step closer to the old man: "Who do you think you are talking to?"

Old Marley felt a suffocating pressure coming upon him.

He tried to keep his spirits up and said:

"Mr. Chen, I know your army is stationed at the entrance of the valley. If you have the guts, kill me and my people!"

Chen Jianqiu snorted:
"Kill you? You're an old man who's about to be buried in the ground, so you can die, but why do you still drag those young people behind you?"

His eyes flickered to the Apaches holding torches.

The Apaches have always been known for their bravery, but they still felt a chill when Chen Jianqiu's gaze swept over them.

"Geronimo is my good brother. I will not allow him to die in such an unclear way, so you don't have to worry about these things." Chen Jianqiu waved at the Apaches with some boredom, "Go away quickly." Old Marley was silent for a few seconds.

He knew Chen Jianqiu's thunderous methods.

The previous chief of his tribe was captured by Chen Jianqiu during the last rebellion and was beheaded without a single sound.

The old man finally decided to leave with his people.

"Did you find the chief?"

After the people from the Old Marley tribe left, Luo Cen asked anxiously.

"Come into the house and talk."

Chen Jianqiu and several others walked into the house.

Lotzen lit a kerosene lamp.

She asked the others to leave first.

The only people left in the room were Chen Jianqiu, Feiniao, Luo Cen and the armadillo.

"Geronimo is most likely not dead."

Chen Jianqiu sat on the chair and turned to the armadillo on the side: "Did you see the chief fall down with your own eyes?"

The armadillo nodded: "The chief went down with a rope tied around his waist, but..."

"But what?" Chen Jianqiu asked vigilantly.

"But the rope broke." The armadillo looked painful. "The turtledove rushed up first, and then I went up to help, but when I looked down, I couldn't find the chief."

"Turtledove asked me to go back to town to report the news, and he stayed at the scene to find a solution. I was distracted at the time, so I did whatever Turtledove said."

Chen Jianqiu thought for a moment:
"Are you sure the rope is broken, not the one that the turtledove gave it to you?" he asked.

"Yes, it was broken, and that half of the rope was brought back later." Luo Cen suddenly remembered something.

He bent down, dragged out a straw basket from under the bed, and then took out a broken rope from the basket.

Chen Jianqiu took the rope and handed it to Feiniao.

With the help of the kerosene lamp's light, Fei Niao began to carefully observe the broken end of the rope.

After a long while, Fei Niao let go of the rope, looking serious:
"The rope was tampered with, and there are traces of artificial cuts."

The room fell silent.

The flame of the kerosene lamp swayed slightly with the breeze blowing in through the window, and the shadows of several people in the room also swayed on the wall.

Chen Jianqiu tapped the wooden tabletop lightly with his knuckles.

The others exchanged glances.

There were indeed people who wanted Geronimo dead, and the people who wanted him dead were right here in town.

"Can you find out who provided this rope?" Chen Jianqiu asked the armadillo.

The armadillo shook his head. "I can't do that. This rope is too common. It's everywhere in town. We have no idea where or when the chief got it."

"Was it done by the turtledove?" Luo Cen said slowly. She didn't want to face this possibility.

After all, the turtledove had been following him and Geronimo since the mine ten years ago.

She really couldn't imagine that someone as reliable as Banjiu would choose to betray.

This situation is the worst, because if Turtledove is really the one who wants Geronimo dead, I'm afraid Geronimo will be in real danger.

Even if the chief didn't actually fall to his death, Turtledove would find a way to kill him.

"I hope not." Chen Jianqiu stared at the flame of the kerosene lamp.

"But if it wasn't him, why would he run away?" Fei Niao frowned, "Why not just explain it to us?"

Everyone's worries deepened.

It seems that all deductions are pointing to the worst outcome.

"Don't think about it. The most urgent thing now is to find Turtle Dove." Chen Jianqiu thought for a moment and stood up. "We may not be the only ones looking for him now."

"If Turtledove is the traitor, then the people behind the scenes will definitely look for him everywhere to kill him. In that case, there will really be no evidence, and the chieftain's death will be unclear."

"If Turtledove is not the traitor, then the real murderer must be here looking for him and the chief. If there is no body, even you and I can see it, the murderer will definitely not easily believe it."

"I think it's those people from Old Marley!" said the armadillo bitterly, "They have been following Turtledove under the guise of seeking justice for the chief, trying to confirm the chief's death or find him."

"This possibility cannot be ruled out," said Chen Jianqiu.

"These damn bastards, it was their tribe that rebelled last time, and it seems that they are still determined to do it, so they changed their leader and continued." Luo Cen slammed the table, "I'm going to Juarez to call back all the people in the tribe, and fight these guys to the death."

The Indian female warrior, who is over 40 years old, is still as hot-tempered as ever and cannot tolerate any injustice.

Chen Jianqiu coughed.

"Our troops are parked at the entrance of the valley fully armed. If we really want to deal with those people, you don't have to do anything." Fei Niao added.

"Well, don't be in a hurry. Let's figure out the situation first. It won't be difficult to deal with them." Chen Jianqiu waved his hand.

He began to arrange the tasks:
"Feiniao, you should lead people out to search early tomorrow morning. Use a dragnet approach. Take the armadillo with you. He is more familiar with this place."

"Lozen, I'll write you a note later. Take it to the city hall in Juarez to find Abiote and ask him to help count the Apaches in Juarez. See if there are other people missing recently."

"If the chief was injured, Turtledove would never choose to leave him alone."

Everyone took the order, and Chen Jianqiu emphasized it to them again:
"Remember, our current mission is to find Turtledove and the Great Chief. We need to find them alive or dead."

That night, Chen Jianqiu brought Feiniao back to the camp at the entrance of the valley.

Fei Niao had already prepared a separate tent for him. It was a bit simple, but the space was adequate, with a lamp, table, bed, map, and folding chairs.

The night is already deep.

But Chen Jianqiu still didn't feel sleepy.

He was gazing at the map spread out on the table by the light of a kerosene lamp, a pen in his hand, wondering where Turtledove and Geronimo might be.

However, there was a sudden noise outside the tent.

He heard the shouting of his own soldiers and the sound of footsteps.

Chen Jianqiu put down the pen in his hand and walked out of the tent.

In the light of the campfire, a group of soldiers were escorting a man towards him.

"Boss, we found this man outside the camp. He was acting sneaky and his purpose is unknown." The officer on duty stood straight and reported to Chen Jianqiu.

He waved his hand, and the soldier behind him pushed the man up.

Chen Jianqiu took a lantern from a soldier, lifted it up, and put it close to the man's face.

He saw clearly the face of the man who had been caught.

It was Klickitat, one of the two Indian tribal leaders who appeared at the sacrificial site during the day.

This person looked at Chen Jianqiu with some hesitation in his eyes:

"I'm here to visit you, Mr. Chen, and I don't mean any harm."

Chen Jianqiu returned the lantern to the soldier:
"Let him in, and you guys continue to do your things."

The officer hesitated and said, "Boss, let's search him first. What if he is the assassin?"

"See for yourself." Chen Jianqiu said.

"I really don't mean any harm to you!"

As a prisoner, Klickitat was very professional. He simply raised his hands to signal the officer to search him.

The officer came closer and felt him all over.

There was indeed no weapon with him, not even a needle.

Chen Jianqiu had already turned around and entered the tent.

The soldiers pushed Klickitat forward and then left, led by the officer.

The Indians entered the tent.

Chen Jianqiu sat sideways in his chair.

His right arm was resting on the back of the chair, and in his hand was a gleaming golden revolver.

The body of the revolver tapped lightly against the back of the chair, while the owner of the gun stared at him quietly.

Klickitat suddenly felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up.

He swallowed a mouthful of saliva, and then slowly said:
"Mr. Chen, I'm here to tell you something about Geronimo."

(End of this chapter)