Arriving at the entrance of Dong Village, Ye Fan found it strangely quiet, devoid of the usual bustling liveliness from his previous visit.
Ye Fan couldn't help but frown. "What's going on? Where are the guards?"
Previously, there were dedicated guards at the entrance of Dong Village, and a suspended corpse hung from the wooden gate.
Now, all of it had vanished.
"When things are unusually abnormal, there must be a hidden reason," Shen Bao, highly sensitive to danger, said with a furrowed brow, his face grim. "It's likely something significant happened here in the past two days."
"Be careful with everything; don't be careless," Ye Fan cautioned, then cautiously entered Dong Village.
Upon reaching Xu Sanhu's house, they discovered the once-tidy courtyard in disarray, with signs of vandalism everywhere.
Furthermore, the furnishings inside the house were gone.
"There are signs of a struggle, and it seems like someone was looking for something here. Even the ground beneath the courtyard wall has been dug up," Shen Bao stated after examining the surroundings.
"It's likely the people from the other two villages," Ye Fan said grimly after inspecting the house.
"If it were outsiders, the corpse hung at the village entrance wouldn't have been taken down. No one would collect a body for unrelated people; that's a tradition spanning thousands of years. Also, besides Xu Sanhu's house, no other residents' homes in Dong Village show signs of being disturbed. Clearly, the perpetrators were prepared, and only the other two villages know Dong Village this well," Ye Fan's analysis was logical, coherent, and irrefutable.
"What about Elder Ji and the others? Don't tell me..." Shen Tianyin's face showed panic, and he took two steps back.
Ye Fan quickly stepped forward to support him. "Don't overthink it. There's no blood here. I believe Elder Lei and Elder Ji were just captured and aren't in mortal danger for now." After all, they were outsiders, not villagers of Dong Village, and had no deep-seated enmity with the people from the other two villages. Therefore, they had no reason to kill Elder Lei and the others.
Hearing Ye Fan's words, Shen Tianyin breathed a sigh of relief and patted his chest. "As long as they're alright."
Looking at Shen Tianyin's relieved expression, Ye Fan couldn't help but give a wry smile.
He understood why Grandpa Shen had ultimately decided to uphold justice over family ties. If Shen Tianyin were to lead the Shen family, his soft-hearted nature would eventually lead him into Shen Shiyun's trap. At that point, the Shen family would inevitably face a catastrophe. Therefore, Grandpa Shen, while still capable, had cleared all obstacles for Shen Tianyin, ensuring he could become the future leader of the Shen family without any encumbrances.
"What do we do now? Since Elder Ji and the others have been captured, we have to rescue them." After all, they were companions, and Shen Tianyin couldn't just abandon them.
"Since they've captured them, it means they've anticipated that we'd come to rescue them, and have likely made all the arrangements. However, we still don't know their objective. If we don't go, we'll never find out. So, going is imperative. However, this time it's extremely dangerous. Tianyin, you shouldn't come. Stay here. My second brother and I will go. If any conflict arises, we can escape if we can't fight," Ye Fan explained. The future was uncertain, and bringing Shen Tianyin along would undoubtedly be a burden. If a fight broke out, they wouldn't be able to protect him.
Hearing Ye Fan's words, Shen Tianyin showed his displeasure, but upon careful consideration, he realized it was indeed the best option. Reluctantly, he said with annoyance, "Then you must go and return quickly. It's so vast here, and I'll be alone. It feels too empty."
Nodding heavily, Ye Fan settled Shen Tianyin at Xu Sanhu's place. Ye Fan and Shen Bao, traveling light, quickly headed out of the village.
Nan Village and Bei Village were not far from Dong Village, only about ten miles apart in a straight line. However, traveling through the mountains naturally slowed their progress. It took them a full hour before they finally saw the outline of the village in the distance.
"According to what Xu Sanhu said earlier, this should be Nan Village. Nan Village and Bei Village are allied, with Nan Village being the dominant one. If Elder Ji and the others were captured, they should be here." Using the cover of grass and trees, the two concealed their figures and moved swiftly through the woods.
When they were still a few hundred meters from the entrance of Nan Village, they hid in the grass, motionless. At the village entrance ahead, four or five villagers stood guard with steel forks. If they were alerted, their movements would be exposed. The situation was still unclear, and they needed to scout it out, so they absolutely could not reveal their presence.
"Let's wait here. It would be best if we could capture someone for information to understand the situation inside," Ye Fan whispered in a low voice, audible only to the two of them.
"As long as we have patience, we will succeed," Shen Bao agreed with a nod. Then, the two fell silent, and the surroundings were filled only with the sound of the gentle breeze rustling the leaves.
After only about ten minutes, a villager finally walked briskly towards them, whistling a cheerful tune, completely unaware of the great danger that lay before him. The villager stopped about ten meters away from Ye Fan and them, then placed the newly dismantled steel fork aside and began to unbuckle his clothing to relieve himself.
"Creep over and finish it quickly. We must not let him make any sound," Ye Fan signaled to Shen Bao, and the two slowly approached the villager.
Soon, the sound of flowing water could be heard, and the villager looked extremely satisfied. But in the next moment, a dark figure suddenly sprang from the ground, pouncing on him and grabbing his throat fiercely. The villager struggled violently, but under Ye Fan and Shen Bao's calculated ambush, he was powerless to break free. With a strong blow from Shen Bao to his neck, the villager's neck twisted to the side, and he fell unconscious.
Dragging the villager and taking his steel fork, the two quickly retreated. They only put the villager down once they were in a safe enough location. Taking out a water flask, they poured cold water onto the villager's face.
"Ah!" With a startled cry, the villager instantly woke up. This location was a good two to three miles from the village entrance, so even if he shouted loudly here, the village entrance would not hear him due to the wind.
Ye Fan looked coldly at the villager. "I will ask only once. If you don't answer, I will make you wish you were dead." The terrifying aura enveloped the villager, and the chilling cold made him shiver through and through.
"Who are you? I don't know you at all. Why are you attacking me?" The villager asked angrily, looking at Ye Fan.
"Stop talking nonsense. I don't have time for idle chatter," Ye Fan said irritably, his expression suddenly turning grim. He raised his hand and slapped the villager hard on the cheek, leaving a bright red handprint.