Famine and Chaos: Weaving Cloth in Exile to Escape the War

Seeing Xiao Liu's piercing gaze, the man in black immediately shrank back, but still forced himself to voice his suspicions.

"But what if, Sixth Master? Now that the avalanche has buried the mine, it has also buried those dog emperor's private soldiers. That dog emperor only ever used Shen Qingzhou as a dog to guard the mine."

Now that the mine is gone, what's the point of keeping the dog? Maybe we'll just take care of it too...

"That's not possible. Only half a month has passed since the avalanche. Even with the fastest courier service, the news wouldn't reach the emperor's ears."

After Xiao Liu finished speaking, he turned and walked out of the thatched hut.

Then, he walked around the front of the house again, and saw some footprints not far from the hut.

Instantly, his heart tightened: "The young master must be alive!"

Do you see the footprints on the ground? These footprints include those of adults and those of children.

Moreover, the footprints were only covered by a thin layer of snow, which means that Lady Jing and the young master had only left recently. They must still be alive.

The other men in black breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing Xiao Liu's analysis.

It seems the master's child is indeed still alive.

As long as you're alive, you can find it again.

Xiao Liu narrowed his eyes and quickly ordered the men in black, "You split into three teams to search. One team will follow the footprints around here, one team will go to the nearby villages, and one team will go to the place where the old exile lived."

Go door to door and ask if anyone has seen Jing Shi and her two children.

"yes!"

"Remember, no harming anyone, and no harassing the women. If you find out anything, come back and report. Anyone who ruins the search for the young master at this time will have to answer to this with their own head."

"yes!"

Immediately, the eleven men in black divided into three teams, received their orders, mounted their horses, and quickly disappeared into the snowstorm.

Xiao Liu stayed in front of the thatched hut, observing the footprints on the ground.

Before long, the sound of horses' hooves could be heard.

"Sixth Master!"

A man in black dismounted and rushed to Xiao Liu to report, "We found footprints at the edge of that grove. Some were children's, and some were from cart wheels."

Moreover, after the footprints entered the woods, they seemed to have been swept away with something, as if deliberately concealed.

Xiao Liu's eyelids twitched: "From the Jing family?"

"It looks like it. Sixth Master, shall we go take a look?"

"Walk."

Xiao Liu mounted his horse and followed the man in black to the edge of the woods.

At the edge of the woods, the snow was indeed messy, with a string of footprints, including those of adults and children, indicating that there were quite a few people.

There must be at least ten people.

Moreover, there were two tire tracks.

However, just ten steps or so further into the woods, the footprints and tire tracks in the snow become very faint. They are not covered by fallen snow, but rather by someone who has been squatting there and sweeping them away bit by bit with a branch or broom.

Xiao Liu squatted down and reached out to press down on the patch of snow that had been swept away.

He suddenly remembered that he had seen similar wheel tracks not far from the hut earlier, which extended in this direction.

One of the men in black asked, "Sixth Master, do you think these footprints might really have been left by Madam Jing and the young master?"

Xiao Liu didn't respond, staring at the swept snowfield, lost in thought.

At this moment, another man in black spoke up: "I don't think they're from the Jing family. There are so many footprints in the snow, I'd estimate at least ten people. And there are carts too, more than one. Maybe some family in this exile area knew the barbarians were attacking and fled into the mountains to escape the disaster."

The third man in black also offered his analysis: "I think there might be a member of the Jing family among them. She might have taken her child and fled to the mountains with this group of people."

"Yeah, I think so too."

The first man in black shook his head: "Impossible. The whole family is fleeing, struggling to feed themselves and their children. Who would want to take Jing Shi and her two children along as a burden?"

Besides, I've been in exile for over a month, and I've never seen Jing get close to any family. Why would anyone offer her a ride?

That makes sense.

The other two men in black remained silent.

Listening to his companion's analysis, Xiao Liu stood up, sank the toe of his boot into the snow, and then pulled it out.

At this point, he was also undecided.

He felt that all of his subordinates' arguments seemed to make sense.

However, there is currently no evidence for any of these claims; they are all just speculations, and none of them can be substantiated.

Xiao Liu remained silent for a while, then glanced into the depths of the woods.

A large blizzard swept into the forest, turning everything into a white expanse where nothing could be seen.

Xiao Liu wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and said to the three men in black, "Let's wait for those two teams to return. If they haven't found any clues about the Jing family either, then we'll follow these footprints into the woods to search."

In short, any clue related to the young master must be pursued even if it's a wasted trip, and absolutely cannot be missed.

"Yes. Sixth Master is right."

Two hours later, it was completely dark.

Xiao Liu held up a torch, and from a distance, seven or eight men in black on horseback galloped toward him.

As the group approached, Xiao Liu quickly asked, "How did it go? Did you find out anything about the Jing family's whereabouts?"

One of the men in black dismounted and immediately reported, "Sixth Master, we've asked all the nearby villages, but no one has seen Jing Shi or the young master."

Moreover, many families, upon hearing that the barbarians were attacking, fled into the mountains, and there were very few people left to ask questions.

Another man in black said, "Sixth Master, the area where the old exile lived is completely empty. I checked each room, and there wasn't a soul in sight."

Upon hearing his subordinate's report, Xiao Liu's face instantly darkened.

He hadn't expected that the people on this land, just like him, had received news of the barbarians' attack much earlier.

And they escaped so quickly.

This only made him more certain.

The Jing family and the young master must still be alive; they must have gone into the mountains with these refugees.

Thinking of this, Xiao Liu gripped the reins tightly and looked at the dark forest in front of him. "Get on the horse quickly. Light the torches again, and follow the footprints in the forest."

The remaining ten men in black quickly mounted their horses and lit their torches again.

Xiao Liu rode at the very front and said to his men, "Remember, leave only the young master alive. Anyone else who has seen the young master, kill them all."

"yes!"

Immediately, the eleven men rode into the woods, their hooves clattering dully on the snow.

But we hadn't gone far when, perhaps because the snow was falling too heavily, we stopped.

The footprints that were still faintly visible in the snow a moment ago were mostly covered by the new snow in the blink of an eye, becoming increasingly blurred as you went further, until finally only a vast expanse of white remained, and nothing could be seen at all.

Xiao Liu reined in his horse and instructed his men behind him, "Someone come here, carry a torch and lead the way, find the trail markers, so we don't get lost."

A man in black rode forward, then dismounted and began to scout ahead, holding a torch.

But after walking a while, the snow was spotless, and not a single trace could be found.

Xiao Liu reined in his horse and stopped.

He glanced at the water pouch and dry rations hanging on the horse's back, and without hesitation, immediately ordered, "Split into three teams immediately. One team on each side will go find the young master, and the rest will follow me."

Furthermore, if the young master has not been found within three days, immediately return to the prefectural city to assemble and gather more people.

"yes!"

The eleven men in black quickly split into three groups, each turning their horses around and galloping off in three different directions.