CHAPTER 69: CHAPTER 68: MISS XUN, WHAT DO YOU THINK?

The people didn’t stop, only the horses did, as the four of them rushed directly to Hechong Village after a day.

Hechong Village is located on the right side of the official road. Passing through a series of forests, the small village can be seen tucked away on a clearing hewn from the trees.

The four looked at each other, tethered their horses by the roadside, and walked towards Hechong Village.

The village was just as the intelligence had described it before—a large staging post where clothing would be dispersed once it reached Hechong Village.

"Originally, there were at least fifty or sixty people working here, but now why isn’t there a single soul?"

Yuchi looked at the bizarre situation in front of him.

The entire staging post was peaceful, yet the people were missing.

Once Yuchi set foot on the ground and reached the only dirt road inside Hechong Village, he sensed an exceptionally desolate atmosphere.

Standing in the middle of the dirt road, he looked towards the entire village.

To the left and right, there were rows of shops, five or six on each side.

And at the end was the river surface.

From afar, one could see a large ship moored outside Hechong Village, its mast flying the flag of the Twelve Linked Huts.

Every year, there is a window period of about three months, during which the business guild has no clothing deliveries.

The river water freezes over.

Thus, Hechong Village loses its reason for existence.

So during this time, the villagers of Hechong would leave and spend the winter elsewhere.

They would return when spring comes next year.

Hechong Village is not an ordinary village; it is a staging post with idle periods.

But now it’s not winter yet, the river is still flowing slowly onward, and you can even see the ship slightly bobbing on the river surface.

There’s no reason for them to have gone home for the New Year.

Could they have vanished into thin air?

"Hey!"

"...You scared me." Yuchi looked speechlessly at Xun Xian, who suddenly appeared beside him.

"Haha, where do you think they’ve gone?" Xun Xian was deeply puzzled.

In her eyes, Hechong Village seemed eerie. Apart from the empty houses on both sides, there were endless forests all around.

The forest grew along the big river, and various birds could be seen in the forest.

Chirping endlessly, annoyingly so.

"I don’t know either. Let’s check out the ship from the Twelve Linked Huts first," Yuchi said with a smile.

Xun Xian nodded.

The four walked along the empty road in the staging post, occasionally peeking into the shops on both sides.

The atmosphere felt somewhat strange.

Was there really not a single person in this place?

The village was not large, spanning about thirty feet from front to back.

And around ten feet from left to right.

After crossing a distance of about thirty feet, the four arrived at the riverbank.

Stepping on planks to board the large ship, the heavy wooden ship’s hold still contained clothing.

But all these clothes had been completely ruined.

All soaked in rainwater, the high temperatures had filled the sunken hold with rotting, smelly water.

It’s really a shame not to use this foul water to ferment stinky tofu.

"Uncle, did you see any signs of struggle along the way?" Yuchi asked Chen Guangsheng, who came to his side.

"No, there’s no trace of bloodshed. The people seemed to have vanished into thin air."

Chen Guangsheng shook his head, frowning as he covered his nose.

The ship had taken on the appearance of a stinking gutter, with numerous maggots considering it a breeding ground.

Yuchi nodded slowly.

He’s not a constable, not one to solve cases, but from the current situation, things definitely happened suddenly.

When it occurred, the workers at Hechong Village should have been transporting this clothing.

Then the clothing would have been sent out via other carriages in Hechong Village.

Otherwise, following the Twelve Linked Huts’ regulations, if there were signs of rain in the sky, the hold would have corresponding rain cover measures.

Clothing is very afraid of water; once contaminated with foul river water, the clothes are all ruined.

Recently, there has indeed been rain, so these porters had no opportunity to cover the hold, and then they vanished.

Scratching his chin, Yuchi had a profound and inscrutable look, "Miss Xun, what do you think?"

How do you think? Use your eyes to see.

Xun Xian stood next to Yuchi with her arms crossed.

As a Patrol, as part of the Defense Department, she’d handled many cases, big and small.

Based on the current situation, "One cannot rule out the possibility that they were completely obliterated by some master."

Hearing Xun Xian’s speculation, Chen Guangsheng sneered slightly, "Miss Xun, no master would come here."

"No matter how powerful, a master couldn’t possibly cause no chaos whatsoever."

"And haven’t you noticed that all the items are intact?"

"Could you only target these commoners without damaging the surrounding environment at all?"

The implication was simple: If there were such a superhuman, would they really need to be at odds with Hechong Village?

Are you a fool?

Xun Xian immediately felt displeased, "Then what’s your guess?"

"How would I know? I’m from the Celestial Capital Department."

"The Celestial Capital Department is not responsible for anything related to cases; that’s your Defense Department’s responsibility."

Chen Guangsheng directly shirked responsibility.

Xun Xian’s eyes were blazing with fury. Damn it, these Celestial Capital Department folks really tick me off! If you don’t know, then just stop blabbering!

"...Everyone, please calm down."

Yuchi extended a hand to stop the potential quarrel.

He first glanced at the putrid hold beneath him.

"I trouble you all to look around the area first; even finding one deceased person would be beneficial."

Xun Xian and Chen Guangsheng were unwilling to yield to each other but complied.

"Uncle Hu, protect Yuchi," Chen Guangsheng said to an elderly man from the Celestial Capital Department.

"Alright." The old man squinted, smiling pleasantly at Yuchi, "You all go investigate; leave this to me."

"Okay."

The two split up to search for clues.

Yuchi remained with Uncle Hu, walking on the deck.

The deck was still in its typical state, appearing somewhat dirty, but that was normal.

After enduring the stench to investigate the ship’s hold, there was no sign of anything unusual.

The people were just gone.

"President, any findings?" Uncle Hu squinted, smiling as he asked.

"No." Yuchi walked off the ship via a plank, standing on the dock.

A few feet in front was Hechong Village.

A transfer point constructed specifically for Xufu Town, genuinely devoid of any person.

Quite peculiar indeed.

So, the question arises, where did they all go?

Yuchi entered Hechong Village and peeked into each shop of the staging post; the items were disarrayed inside.

It seemed nothing was missing, yet it felt as if something was lacking.

After circling around, Yuchi immediately noticed something was amiss.

"The food is all gone."

The staging post needs to offer dining facilities, and these shops are for the porters to eat and rest in.

But now, in these dining areas, there were no dishes, and all food items like bags of flour had been taken away.

So when these people left Hechong Village, did they also take the food with them?

Yuchi also checked the stable, which had no horses left, only some broken-down carriages discarded.

Comparing with some stored clothing, they might have also taken the clothes.

Then.

Yuchi began to curse.

"Damn it!"

"These people might have stolen from the guild and simply run off?!"

The thought popped into Yuchi’s head.

The anger promptly followed.