The Person They were Searching For was Axiu
Author: 橙子澄澄
Source: Instadoses
The crazy child was nowhere to be found.
"Commander, the prince is missing, we searched all around, but there's no trace of him!"
Holding the hilt of his sword tightly, the magnificent man's face was beyond ugly. "Find him. Search the nearby villages, be sure to find the prince!"
After nearly two years of tracking and searching, he never thought they'd be one step too late and caused such a tragedy!
His eyes fell on the charred figure in the courtyard, and the man's hands trembled, veins bursting out of the back of his hands.
Xue Wanrong, Doctor Xue, was dead.
The woman who accompanied the Emperor for 20 years was burned alive.
Could the Emperor bear this news?
To him, this was the woman he loved the most.
He could imagine that once the news reached the capital, there would surely be a storm and bloodshed.
He shut his eyes tightly, then blinked open. He walked over to the corpses of those black-clad men and pulled down the scarves from their faces. The faces exposed under the moonlight were all ugly and hideous.
All of them were disfigured.
So there was no way for them to investigate!
In fact, there was no need to search at all. The people who would attack the 16th Prince and couldn't wait for Doctor Xue's death were none other than those people.
Daylight dawned and their search also woke up the surrounding villagers. Each villager was dazed and widely discussed.
They wondered what the hell had happened, that such a number of government officials swarmed into the village.
The little granddaughter of the Liu family in Xinghua Village was kidnapped some time ago, but only a few people were sent out to search for the kidnappers.
The parade of weaponry in front of them was truly frightening.
The door of the Liu family was also slapped, and the officials searched every nook and corner of the house, making sure there was nothing before leaving.
After the people left, Grandma Liu patted her chest and exhaled. "That really scared me to death. I don't know what great event has happened. I've lived here for decades, but I've never encountered such a grand spectacle!"
"What's there to be afraid of? We're all peaceful peasants. We've never done anything wrong, and the officials can't take it from us." Grandpa Liu scolded, stretching his big hand and patting his wife on the back a few times to help her calm her fears.
Grandma Liu gave the old man a blank look. "What do you think I'm afraid of? I'm just curious what big deal has happened."
"Woman, you're just fond of worrying."
Liu Yusheng also woke up. The officials wanted to search all the sleeping rooms, so her mother fished her out of bed.
These caseworkers weren't noisy. One could even say they were silent. Everyone's breath was condensed.
After the search, the leader asked a few questions and left with his men.
The courtyard calmed again, but Liu Yusheng's heart began to beat restlessly.
Inexplicably flustered, upset, and even anxious.
She didn't know what was wrong with her. Her heart had been uneasy since last night.
Just now, when she vaguely heard an official asking if she had seen a seven or eight year old boy, that anxiety grew more and more intense.
She struggled to get to the ground and without bothering to brush her hair, she stretched her tiny legs and leaped outside. "Grandpa, Grandma, I'll go to the hut and take a look!"
"Eh! Nannan, you haven't washed up yet! Your braids aren't even tied yet…"
"I'll be back soon!"
The Liu family looked at each other, everyone's face turning heavy.
Grandma Liu patted her leg, "I'll go with you and have a look. I'm not klj with Nannan being alone."
"Mother, I'll come along too. The officials are making so much noise. I don't know if there's anything going on over at the cabin." Liu Dalin also followed suit.
At this point, they actually had a vague guess, but no one dared to say anything. They didn't want to think in that direction.
Liu Yusheng ran very fast. The baby ran as fast as she could so that Grandma Liu behind her could barely catch up.
The sound of the wind was whistling in her ears and the early morning air still smelled fresh and good, but Liu Yusheng wasn't in the mood to enjoy the dawn. Her heart was beating fast – thump, thump – like it was going to jump out of her chest at any moment.
The closer she got to the cabin, the paler her face became. She couldn't even hear the cries behind her.
From afar, she saw the walls of the cabin that Dad and Uncle had built, scorched black. The thatched roof of the hut that used to be visible at a glance was no longer in view.
It was as if walls only remained in that yard and everything in it disappeared.
When she stood at the entrance of the small courtyard, she practically saw ashes and devastation all over the place with messy footprints everywhere, and large patches of condensed and darkened blood.
Liu Yusheng's feet gave out and she almost sat paralyzed on the ground.
"Brother Axiu… Aunt Wanrong… Brother Axiu!"
She rushed in, circled the small yard, then grabbed at the thick ashes on the ground with both hands. Liu Yusheng kept calling out, as if so that the person who disappeared could emerge from under the ashes.
Grandma Liu and Liu Dalin arrived afterwards. Looking at the courtyard, they stood there stunned like wooden sculptures, their faces blank.
"How did this happen…"
This situation plus getting in contact with the officials searching early in the morning, there was no need to guess. The person they were looking for was Axiu.
"Grandma, Dad, Brother Axiu has disappeared, and so has aunt Wanrong. How did this happen? Who burned down their house?" Sitting helplessly on the ground, Liu Yusheng lifted her small face as tears trickled down non-stop.
Teardrops fell to the ground, condensing that finger of dust.
"Nannan, get up first. Let's go home, and let your father ask around later to find out what happened. Don't cry, let's not cry."
"Since officials came to look for him, that means Axiu should be fine. He's just missing. Let's go look for him too, let everyone in the village help look for him. We'll definitely find him!"
Liu Yusheng slowly set her eyes on a certain spot in the middle of the courtyard. She said nothing more and only let her tears completely blur her vision.
Someone was burned to death here.
A big hole seemed to have been dug from her heart, and cold wind poured in, chilling her to the bone.
"Dalin, hurry up, take Nannan away!" Grandma Liu noticed that Liu Yusheng's small face turned from white to blue, and quickly asked Liu Dalin to carry her.
Liu Yusheng didn't even know how they got home. Something kept buzzing in her ears. There were many people in the courtyard, all from the village.
Everyone was sporting solemnity and grief.
She didn't like that kind of expression. It was as if they had decided that everyone in the small hut had already suffered misfortune.
No, Brother Axiu should be fine.
His martial arts were top-notch. Even if ordinary people sought revenge, they wouldn't be able to hurt him.
With him there, Aunt Wanrong should be fine as well.
The officials were looking for him. That meant he was fine, just missing.
She was going to find them.
She must find them!
Waking up from the trance, Liu Yusheng's eyes gradually focused and settled.
In her previous life, she had experienced countless blows. But the reason she panicked and was overwhelmed this time was simply because the incident happened to someone she cared about.
Caring too much was what caused the abrupt situation to go haywire.
Note this is for Offline reading/purpose only credits to the authors, publishers, editors and translators.