Miss Truth
Chapter 517 - 343: The Man Most Desired

Chapter 517: Chapter 343: The Man Most Desired

"We should go down." Liu Qingsong said hurriedly, running down the mountain, "Let’s get closer and see what’s happening."

The others hesitated for a moment and then followed him down. Although the view from here was good and they could overlook the entire estate, the distance was too far and the light too weak to see clearly what was happening.

The group initially moved slowly to accommodate Ran Yan, but when they realized she could keep pace, they started to pick up speed.

They ran non-stop from the mountain to the rear door, and even though Ran Yan had always made an effort to keep fit, she was now out of energy, but the horrifying scene in front of her did not allow her to catch her breath; the sight of blood and gore forcibly widened her eyes...

Six thick-trunked trees at the back door streamed blood like waterfalls, the tree trunks and the ground around them soaked in blood, with a rain of red blood falling from the treetops. No bodies were visible, but a thick scent of blood assaulted the senses.

The group stood stunned for a moment, then one of them, mad with dread, rushed forward not caring about the blood, quickly climbed a tree, and when he came down, he was covered in blood, his face pallid and nearly retching.

Two people rushed to drag him back and asked in a low voice, "What happened? Were the bodies up there... are they our bosses?"

Ran Yan shivered and snapped back to reality, also anxiously looking at him.

The man shook his head, "No, they look like the guards of this manor, and also Tan Lang."

A few people sighed in relief, turned their heads to look at the six trees soaked in a sea of blood, and for a moment were left speechless, without a next plan.

"Let’s go inside and take a look," Ran Yan stood up and walked toward the back.

She had carefully thought it over; since the bodies tied to the trees weren’t Bai Yi and the others, and they had clearly seen them enter the back door from the mountain, they were most likely already inside. And the people who were killed were very likely victims of that shadowy assassin.

Ran Yan had witnessed Su Fu killing before, though at a great distance that time, and he had only killed two people, not like the river of blood she saw now. For some reason, Ran Yan hoped that the figure in black was not Su Fu.

She bypassed the trees and walked close to the wall of the courtyard, quickly reaching the doorway. Liu Qingsong and the others followed her route.

The inside of the courtyard was eerily silent, devoid even of insect sounds, and a lantern on a pavilion half-hidden by trees emitted a dim glow, roughly revealing the path inside.

The back was overgrown with weeds, clearly rarely traversed. Ran Yan led the way a short distance inside, already faintly hearing the sound of music and strings ahead. Clearly, the front court wasn’t affected yet, indicating Bai Yi and the others were likely nearby starting to search for people.

When she reached a crossroad, Ran Yan observed the environment around, the left had a clear view, showing whether peonies or peony trees were planted in the garden, while the right side was a quiet pine forest. She hesitated slightly, then headed toward the pine forest.

Ran Yunsheng’s appearance might suit peonies better, but the pine forest seemed more hidden, so she took a gamble. Since those following Ran Yan were tasked with protecting her, they naturally couldn’t leave her alone.

Ran Yan actually wanted to suggest splitting into two groups to search for people, to get Liu Qingsong away, but given the uncertain situation in the manor and possibly many guards around, spreading out would undoubtedly add more danger, so she had to let that idea go.

The clouds covering the moon in the sky were dispersed by the wind, casting down clear moonlight, and the things they saw in their view were several times clearer than before. The group continued along the path for about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, but Ran Yan was beginning to wonder; this courtyard couldn’t possibly be this big!

"Hey, do you think there might be something like an Eight Trigrams Array here?" Liu Qingsong whispered.

For the first time this evening, Ran Yan partially agreed with him, nodding, "It might be some sort of Blind Eye Method at some places here, distorting our vision. Let’s look around. But... they might not have come this way, otherwise, we should have encountered them by now after so much walking."

"Hmm," Liu Qingsong murmured, but he had already begun to observe the surroundings, looking for an entrance.

Ran Yan pondered for a moment, then turned to those behind her, "I remember we came in from that direction. We have been following the path, but maybe there’s not any actual path leading inside."

"What should we do then? We won’t be trapped here for decades only to escape later, right? Here the trees are all the same, so we could only hunt small pine squirrels and eat pine nuts," Liu Qingsong anxiously said. He was deeply influenced by fantasy tales, fearing they might be irrevocably trapped in a formation, his nerves tense upon hearing Ran Yan suggest this.