Chapter 477: Chapter 173 Don’t Kneel
The forest was engulfed in silence, with not even the chirping of birds or insects to pierce the quiet.
Qi Yutai stared at the person in front of him, who seemed to have been fished out from a pool of blood, and an inexplicable sense of panic seized him for a moment.
The female medical officer was drenched in bright red, her eyes fixed on him with a fierce glow, like a malevolent spirit or a vengeful ghost about to claim his life.
Qi Yutai instinctively stepped back.
The guards in front of him immediately shielded him, and Qi Yutai, regaining his senses, said angrily, "What are you waiting for? Grab her now!"
Lu Tong, already exhausted, was quickly subdued and restrained by the guards.
Qi Yutai ran over to the greyhound lying motionless beneath the tree and called out incredulously, "Capture Tiger!"
The hunting dog didn’t move at all, and its fur stiffened as the wind brushed over it, its body gradually becoming rigid.
He mustered his courage to step forward, turned the greyhound over, and his breath caught in his throat.
Capture Tiger’s body was full of sharp and densely packed puncture wounds, a horrifying sight. Its head was almost pounded to mush, revoltingly raw flesh bulging outward. After barely a glance, he felt nauseous, quickly turned his head away, unable to look any longer, and a thought suddenly sprang to his mind: How could this frail female medical officer have such strength? And such a vicious method?
After the shock, a rising anger swiftly consumed him.
Capture Tiger was dead.
She had killed Capture Tiger.
A commoner such as her had killed his Capture Tiger?
How dare she!
Qi Yutai shouted furiously, "Kill this base commoner!"
The guards on both sides were about to move when suddenly, a rush of hoofbeats was heard, accompanied by a woman’s exclamation, "Doctor Lu——"
Qi Yutai swiftly turned his head, only to see a line of horsemen rushing through the woods from afar, with the female medical officer that called out rushing towards Lu Tong and shouting under everyone’s gaze, "Lu Tong——"
Lu Tong, watching Lin Danqing running towards her, relaxed completely, "How did you get here?"
Lin Danqing reached Lu Tong’s side, and seeing her covered in blood, was both shocked and furious, "I saw you hadn’t returned and couldn’t feel at ease, then I found the ash mark you left..."
After she had checked both the Imperial Censor Zhongcheng and his horse, confirming there was no further trouble, she planned to descend the hillside with him. Then, thinking it over, she decided to wait and go down with Lu Tong, so she asked a passing Ban Wei to inquire if everything was in order with the Imperial Medical Officer.
Ban Wei happened to be an old acquaintance of Lin Danqing, and after making inquiries, he reported back to her saying that the Imperial Medical Officer found the mountain too cold, had taken a run around the hunting grounds in the morning, and then went down the hill, not having stayed long at all.
Upon hearing this, Lin Danqing panicked.
Someone not from the Imperial Medical Officer had deceptively led Lu Tong away, which was highly suspicious. It so happened that Chang Jin was descending the mountain with the Crown Prince’s cavalry. Lin Danqing informed Chang Jin of the situation, and he also didn’t dare to conceal anything. Yuan Zhen had already suspected that a traitor was mixed in the mountain party, and upon hearing this news, he ordered Ban Wei to search nearby for any trace of a traitor, hoping to follow the leads and find the mastermind behind the plot—the instigator of the tiger attack at the hunting ground.
Huangmao Hill was vast. Lin Danqing followed the direction in which the guards had taken Lu Tong and began searching. She hadn’t held much hope at first but ended up finding the ash marks left by Lu Tong.
Before setting out, to prevent getting lost on the mountain, Lu Tong had brought a jar of ash powder to mark the trail, and at the time, Lin Danqing had teased her for being too cautious.
Fortunately, as Lu Tong followed the guards, she had the foresight to leave markers along the way.
"Why are you bleeding so much?" Lin Danqing supported Lu Tong, "I have hemostatic pills, take these quickly——"
On the other side, Yuan Zhen pulled on the reins and turned to Qi Yutai, "Young Master Qi, what are you doing here?"
Qi Yutai, seeing more and more people arriving behind Yuan Zhen, cursed inwardly.
Why were there suddenly so many people?
Having been on the mountain all along, although he heard the horns, he didn’t take them seriously, so he was unaware of the Crown Prince’s encounter with the tiger, the interruption of the hunt, or that the other nobles had also ceased their hunting to follow the Prince down the mountain.
As thoughts flashed through his mind, Qi Yutai respectfully said, "Your Highness, I was hunting at the grounds, Capture Tiger was chasing a wild hare, then I suddenly heard its screams from within the woods, so I followed the sound, unaware that... " He glanced toward the tree.
The bloodied body of the greyhound lay before everyone’s eyes.
"Oh?"
The Crown Prince looked at him skeptically, "The Hanlin Medical Officer said someone claimed to be the Imperial Medical Officer wounded, luring away the Hanlin Medical Officer, how come you are here with them?"
"The Imperial Medical Officer?" Qi Yutai was baffled, "I haven’t seen a hint of the Imperial Medical Officer."
Unable to hold back, Lin Danqing spoke up, "But it was the guards who lured Doctor Lu away. Doctor Lu," she lowered her head and asked Lu Tong, "How did you end up here?"
Lu Tong looked toward Qi Yutai.
Qi Yutai regarded her with confusion.
After a pause, Lu Tong steadied her breathing and calmly began, "I came here following the guards, realized something was wrong, and before I could speak out, I was attacked and knocked to the ground by a vicious dog. To defend myself from the assaulting hound, I had no choice but to kill it in self-defense."