Lin Jue didn't want to act rashly, so he chose to retreat to the east of the island. At noon, the two teams of Sun Dayong and others also returned to the original place. Everyone ate dry food and reported what they had seen.
"Sir, there is an artificial dock in the north of the island. It was dark last night, but we didn't find it. It seems to be the place where the bandits originally transported goods to the dock. However, we found no supplies. We did find a courtyard in the woods.
, there are more than a dozen dilapidated houses, I guess they are temporary warehouses for transporting and storing materials. But there is nothing inside, they have been emptied. We did not see anyone from the beginning to the end." Sun Dayong said.
"The same goes for us. We went for a circle to the south. There is a beach to the south, and there are houses in the woods beside the beach, as well as dozens of dilapidated boats. But we didn't even see a single person. It's really strange."
The little guard leader of the first team also said.
Lin Jue nodded and said: "It seems that even if there are people on this island, there won't be too many. We actually saw what looked like a nest under the high cliff in the west of the island. Since there are no traces of people elsewhere, I think our focus is
It’s there. Let’s all eat something and rest for a while. Later we will concentrate on exploring there. Brothers, get ready for battle.”
Everyone agreed in unison and got ready. After resting for most of an hour, mainly to make up for the sleeplessness of last night, everyone regained their energy and gathered in the woods. Lin Jue asked everyone to check their firearms and prepare for battle. If they saw the enemy
, don’t think too much, kill them immediately to avoid too many fights. After all, that nest has the advantage of a good location.
After getting ready, everyone set off and soon arrived at the cliff that looked like a bandit village. In view of the unknown enemy situation, Lin Jue asked Bai Bing to investigate first. Bai Bing's light skills are excellent, and she is the best vanguard officer in this kind of terrain.
But she was seen leaping lightly among the rocks and trees, and soon she reached the shooting range of several arrow towers under the cliff. Step by step, she moved toward the arrow towers.
Lin Jue and others watched all this nervously, fearing that an arrow would suddenly shoot out from the arrow tower and hurt Bai Bing. However, nothing happened. Bai Bing even went up to one of the arrow towers and looked around for a moment.
Looks confident.
After that, Bai Bing climbed halfway up the cliff and went in and out of several dark caves several times. Finally, he stood on the slope in front of the cave and waved to everyone.
"What's going on? Is there no one there?" Lin Jue said confused.
"I'm afraid that's the case." Sun Dayong nodded.
"Let's go and have a look."
Everyone rushed out of the forest quickly and rushed up to the cliff halfway up the slope. Lin Jue shouted: "What's the situation? Are there no enemies?"
Bai Bing smiled and said: "There are enemies."
Lin Jue was startled, but he heard Bai Bing say: "But they are all dead."
"Did you kill them all? Killed them all so quickly?" Gao Muqing smacked his lips.
"It's not me. They must have been dead for a while. The bodies are inside." Bai Bing said.
Everyone entered a cave on the left. As soon as they entered the door, they smelled a smell of decay, which made everyone feel sick. A few feet away from the entrance of the cave, a corpse was lying on the ground, with an arrow stuck in the back. Although the corpse
It was already dilapidated, with all the flesh and blood rotten and shriveled, leaving only the bones wrapped in clothes. But judging from the scimitar in the man's hand and the armor on his body,
, should be pirates or religious bandits on this island. The style of the scimitar and armor are the standard armor equipment of the Liao people. Only religious bandits have these things.
Walking further inside, there were dozens of corpses lying scattered inside. Each of them died in a miserable state, and some were still in a fighting posture before death. Weapons and armor were scattered everywhere, and the scattered corpses extended all the way to the innermost part of the cave.
In the hall. The hall was full of dust, and the tables and chairs were overturned and broken, but it could still be seen that this was once a spacious place for gatherings.
"What's going on? Who killed these people? The officers and soldiers of the imperial court?" Sun Dayong asked with a frown.
"They shouldn't be officers and soldiers." Lin Jue frowned and muttered: "Look at those corpses, hacking each other to death, the scimitars are still in other people's stomachs. But they are wearing the same armor and weapons, which shows that they are
They killed each other and died. This group of people started fighting for some reason. Looking at the decomposition of the corpses, it must have been more than half a year."
When Lin Jue said this, everyone suddenly realized. Indeed, the corpses were indeed fighting each other. Some were hugging each other, and some had their weapons inserted into each other's stomachs. It seemed that they had gone through a fire fight before they died.
There were fifty or sixty corpses inside and outside, turning this large cave into a skeleton cemetery.
Everyone came out of the large cave on the left and searched the nearby caves and houses. Except for dozens more corpses, there was no trace of any human beings. All the places were dilapidated and the houses were dilapidated.
The tables and chairs were covered in dust, and there was a thick layer of dust on the ground. There was a rotten and moldy smell everywhere.
On the hillside in front of the cave, Lin Jue came to the conclusion: "There are no enemies on this island. Judging from the dilapidated condition of the island, it must have been uninhabited for more than half a year. Those corpses must have been dead for at least six or seven months."
.For some reason, there was a fight among the people who were left here by the Qingjiao bandits. I don’t know if any of them are alive. But those who survived must have left here. I think the reason for the fight is nothing more than two things. One is to seize power.
, one is for profit. The Qingjiao bandits have been wiped out, and it is obviously impossible to seize power, because they are all losers and have no power to seize. So my judgment is that it is for property. Maybe it is because there is a lot of supplies on the island.
The pirates here must know about the hoarding. Some people want to monopolize these supplies because they are worth a lot of money. Perhaps that is why this fight took place."
Everyone believed that Lin Jue's speculation was reasonable. Otherwise, it would be difficult to explain all this.
"But we didn't see where the supplies were stacked. We have searched all the caves and houses here." Gao Muqing said.
Lin Jue nodded and said: "Maybe it's hidden somewhere, but maybe we came here in vain. The party that won the fight may have already evacuated the supplies, and we may not get anything."
"Yeah, that's really disappointing." Bai Bing sighed.
Everyone's faces showed disappointment. Lin Jue smiled and said: "What are you doing? I told you before I came here that this is a matter of luck. Even if the supplies and armor are gone, isn't that expected?
It's just bad luck. But I always feel that the things are still there, because even if there are remnants of the cult who want to have an affair, where can they transport these things and hide them? If it were me, I would still leave the things where they are, like
Is there a suitable buyer or other potential buyers?
If there is a hiding place, I will come and take it out and sell it. And isn't this isolated island in the vast sea the best hiding place?"
Everyone nodded. They all felt that what Lin Jue said made sense. It was not a matter of just one sentence to transport a large amount of materials away from here. What's more, the religious bandits had been wiped out inland, and they had nowhere to go.
"Let's search carefully. This island is only so big, with so many caves, cliffs, and hidden places. Just find a cave and stick it in, and it will be secret enough. Sir, what do you think?" Sun Dayong said.
Lin Jue nodded and said: "That's right, you should search carefully. But I suggest you search carefully near the pier at the northern end of the island, but not in other inaccessible places. A large amount of materials must be piled up.
It’s because it’s easy to carry, and it can’t be placed in a place where no one can get in.”
"That's right." Everyone nodded in agreement. Then they divided into two groups again, and continued to search for any hidden caves in the original caves. Sun Dayong led them to search in detail near the east dock of the island.
However, the search continued until dark, but no results were obtained. Everyone was disappointed and tired, so they returned to the bandits' stronghold, looking at each other speechlessly.
"Continue the search tomorrow and have a good rest tonight. There is no one on the island. We can light a fire and eat some hot food. We can also have a warm and good sleep tonight. Don't be dejected. It doesn't matter even if you can't find it.
This is just luck." Lin Jue comforted.
After hearing what Lin Jue said, everyone felt a little better. When the bonfire was lit and their bodies warmed up. When the aroma of beef porridge wafted from the pot on the bonfire, everyone's mood became even better, and there were smiles on their faces.
Chatting and laughing with each other.
After eating and drinking, everyone was warm. Everyone took a rest in a cave that was cleared on the right side of the cliff. The bonfire was burning brightly, making everyone warm. After a while, everyone was beside the warm bonfire, listening to the waves.
They fell asleep to the sound of lapping the shore.
Lin Jue and Gao Muqing and Bai Bing were sleeping in the corner of the inner cave. In the middle of the night, Lin Jue was suddenly awakened by Bai Bing.
"Husband, it seems that Brother Sun is calling you."
Lin Jue rubbed his eyes and stood up. Gao Muqing also woke up and stood up in a daze. He heard Sun Dayong's voice in the outer cave saying urgently: "Master Lin, Master Lin. I have something important to report."
Lin Jue hurriedly got up and walked to the corner, only to see Sun Dayong standing there fully armed.
"Brother Sun, what's wrong? Are you up so late?" Lin Jue asked in surprise.
Sun Dayong hurriedly raised his hands and saluted: "I am rude and should not disturb you. However, something happened and I had to report it."
Lin Jue hurriedly asked what happened, and Sun Dayong said: "The brothers who were watching at night just came to report that they had found ships on the sea and were approaching Snake Island. My subordinates have already gone to see, and there are indeed several ships approaching. So hurry up
Come and report to your lord."
Lin Jue was stunned and said in a deep voice: "Let's go and have a look."
Bai Bing and Gao Muqing had already gotten up and rushed over. Gao Muqing took Lin Jue's cloak and put it on Lin Jue. The group of people walked out of the cave and followed Sun Dayong to the east hillside, and climbed up to a dilapidated arrow tower. The cold wind was strong on the arrow tower.
The night wind was blowing cold and biting. The two night watch guards on the arrow tower were staring at the surrounding movements. When they saw Lin Jue and others coming up, they quickly saluted.
