Chapter 225: Abnormality
Carrying Ji Hui on his back, A Lu moved cautiously through the camp. Before long, he reached the warehouse area.
Just when he thought no one was there, he heard a faint groan from a pile of empty boxes.
"Ugh..."
Drawing his sword, he approached slowly. When he was just a few steps away from the pile of empty boxes, the sound of weak breathing reached his ears.
"Who is there?" A Lu asked cautiously.
Receiving no answer, he pondered for a moment before placing Ji Hui down. After making sure Ji Hui’s wounds were untouched, A Lu cautiously approached the pile of empty boxes.
Kicking some of them aside to clear a path, A Lu’s eyes flickered with surprise when he saw the one who had made the noise just now.
"Elder Brother, are you alright?" he asked, checking on the man leaning against the empty boxes.
When the man didn’t respond, A Lu grew anxious. Shaking his body gently, he pleaded, "Elder Brother, please open your eyes and look at me."
After calling out several more times, the man finally opened his eyes weakly. Upon seeing A Lu’s anxious face, he let out a sigh of relief.
When the man struggled to raise his hand, A Lu quickly took hold of his thin fingers. "Elder Brother, what happened here? Where are the others?"
The man parted his dry lips and said faintly, "A... Lu... run..."
With the last word spoken, his hand slipped from A Lu’s grip, and he breathed his last.
Witnessing his elder brother’s death, A Lu’s eyes reddened. Gritting his teeth, his fingers trembled as he reached out to close his elder brother’s eyes.
Lowering his head, tears fell onto his elder brother’s dirty clothes. Weeping silently, A Lu pulled his elder brother’s thin body into his arms and held it tightly.
After a long while, A Lu stopped crying. Lying his elder brother’s body on the ground, he removed his outer robe and covered his elder brother’s face with it.
Wiping his tears with his sleeve, A Lu picked up his sword. Rising to his feet, he walked back to Ji Hui and carried him on his back.
Before leaving, A Lu turned to look at his elder brother one last time, then resolutely turned away and left the warehouse area.
A few minutes later, he returned to the appointed meeting place and found the three soldiers already waiting for him.
Seeing him approach, one of them asked, "Adjutant A Lu, did you find anything?"
Recalling his elder brother’s final words, A Lu clenched his sword tightly. Instead of answering, he asked, "What about you three? Did you find anything?"
Two soldiers shook their heads, while the third replied, "This subordinate searched the living quarters and found traces of people leaving in a hurry. However, there were no signs of blood."
A Lu lowered his eyes in thought. ’There is clearly something wrong here, but the only traces of blood we could find were near the entrance of the camp.’
’Elder Brother’s body was thin, his skin dry, his eyes sunken... yet there were no wounds. His death must have been caused by starvation.’
A moment later, A Lu’s eyes flickered with realization.
’When we left Xiquan City, we had only four days of rations. It takes three days to travel from Xiquan City to Xiqiang City at our marching speed. Today is the seventh day since we entered Xiqiang City.’
’By that calculation, our supplies must have run out five or six days ago. Without food, it’s no wonder soldiers would die of starvation or desert the army. But what about the bloodstains near the entrance of the camp? What is actually happening here?’
While he was lost in thought, one of the soldiers took out two water bags. "Adjutant A Lu, this subordinate found these hidden in the kitchen."
Hearing that, A Lu snapped out of his thoughts. Taking one of the water bags, he said, "Share the water among yourselves."
The soldiers’ eyes lit up at his words. "Thank you, Adjutant A Lu," they said in unison.
Opening the cord, A Lu carefully gave Ji Hui a few sips, then drank some himself.
Licking his lips, he closed the water bag. He hung the water bag on his shoulder and said, "We can’t stay here for long. Let’s leave and find a place to rest for the night."
The soldiers nodded, and together, they left the Ji Army’s temporary camp.
Moments after they departed, a group of people came out from their hiding places. Their eyes glowed greedily as they watched the four walk away.
Seeing that A Lu and the others didn’t notice them, the group began to follow in secret.
Meanwhile, Fan Wanming had searched the entire Xiqiang City without finding Ji Hui. Frowning slightly, he glanced toward the western city wall and mounted his warhorse.
Seeing this, the elite soldiers followed suit.
"Go to the western city gate," Fan Wanming ordered.
With his order, they rushed toward the western city gate.
Upon arrival, Fan Wanming summoned the captain on duty and asked, "Have you seen any suspicious people here?"
The captain shook his head and replied, "Reporting to General Fan. This subordinate has not seen any."
Listening to his answer, Fan Wanming’s frown deepened as he scanned the surroundings. His eyes soon caught a dark stain on the ground.
Dismounting from his warhorse, Fan Wanming approached the dark stain, crouched, and touched the ground.
Feeling a familiar sticky wetness clung to his fingers, he sniffed them and gave the order, "Open the gate."
"Yes, General Fan!" After accepting the order, the captain relayed the order to his men. "Open the gate!"
Mounting again, Fan Wanming waited until the gate opened. "Go to the Ji Army’s temporary camp," he commanded.
"Yes, General Fan." Receiving the order, the elite soldiers followed him out of the city toward the camp.
Once they were gone, the captain ordered, "Close the gate!"
As the gate creaked shut, refugees came out from their tents, craning their necks curiously. Seeing Fan Wanming and over fifty elite soldiers ride out of the city in a hurry, unease spread among them.