Tangli Fried Snow

Mr. Luo Chuan looked at Jin Cheng with satisfaction. After seeing that he had finished his antics, he said to him, "General Jin is currently at the front line. He sent word that he doesn't want you to go to the battlefield anymore. He asked me to take you to Jiyue City to wait for news. He wants to assign you a new mission and tell you to stay put for a few days and not cause any more trouble."

Jin Cheng felt a pang of sadness after hearing this. He was seething with resentment and was still thinking about fighting on the front lines and confronting Duan Jingyu head-on!

To his surprise, his father wouldn't let him go to the battlefield. He hesitated, not daring to disobey his father. After a struggle within himself, he reluctantly agreed.

Seeing his solemn expression, Mr. Luochuan knew he was unwilling, so he patted him on the shoulder and said, "When we get to Jiyue City, I'll take you to a nice place so you can relax."

. . . .

Misfortunes never come singly, and good things never come in pairs.

Duan Jingyu pinched the bridge of his nose as he looked at the letter in his hand, feeling as if fire was about to burst from his heart.

That young lady, Shirley, has disappeared!

He said to his guards, "Call Zhao Wuji over!" The guards agreed and went to fetch him.

A short while later, a strangely dressed man in his forties or fifties entered the tent and respectfully said, "Your subordinate is Zhao Wuji. May I ask what your orders are, General?"

"Wuji, did you bring your ferret with you?" Duan Jingyu asked him seriously.

Zhao Wuji replied, "I brought two with me."

Duan Jingyu was overjoyed and hurriedly asked him, "Someone who is very important to me has gone missing. She has been using Jade Beauty Dew to bathe for the past few months, so her body must have the fragrance of Jade Beauty Dew. I wonder if your ferret can find her by following the scent?"

Zhao Wuji thought for a moment. He didn't immediately say yes or no, but cautiously said, "If I keep this ferret by this person's side for a while, and it's not far away, the familiar scent it emits when it runs will be quite strong. Perhaps I can find him quickly by following this person's scent."

He paused, glanced at Duan Jingyu, and then said, "If this person has gone far away and many days have passed, it will probably be difficult to find them based solely on the scent of their clothes and body."

Duan Jingyu didn't speak after hearing this, but pondered for a while with a dark face. The young lady had disappeared, and Wan Niang must have been looking for her for several days. The carrier pigeon had also been flying in the sky for a day or two. It would have taken at least three or four days for the news to arrive. It would take another four or five days to send the ferret over. In this way, more than ten days would have passed, and the little girl would have long since disappeared.

But he was extremely unwilling to give up. Without her, all his plans would fall through. He had prepared for so long and spent so much time, effort, and resources. It was a matter of great importance, and he couldn't just give up like that.

A fierce look flashed in Duan Jingyu's eyes. After pondering for a moment, he said to Zhao Wuji, "You must immediately take the ferret to Jiyue City, contact Wan Niang, and do everything you can to help me find this person."

Zhao Wuji accepted the order, withdrew to pack his things, and immediately set off for Jiyue City. Following the address, he traveled by boat and carriage, arriving at Sifang Cloth Shop five days later, where he met Lin Wanjun and Jin Qingyan.

Lin Wanjun and Jin Qingyan searched for Xue Li for ten whole days.

These past few days she'd been crying every day, unable to eat or sleep, and had lost a lot of weight. When Zhao Wuji arrived, he saw a listless Lin Wanjun and a distraught Jin Qingyan.

As soon as the three met, Zhao Wuji asked them all about the matter.

Ten days ago, a pampered young lady was strolling down the street with her maid when suddenly a frightened horse galloped wildly. People scattered and lost the young lady, who seemed to have been kidnapped by bad guys.

They searched for a day on their own, and then reported it to the authorities for several days, but still could not find the young lady.

"What did the authorities say?" Zhao Wuji asked.

Jin Qingyan replied, "The government can only post my sister's portrait on every street and at the city gates, offering a reward to see if anyone can provide clues, and then investigate all the brokerage firms and human trafficking places in the city. There are no other good methods." He sighed after he finished speaking.

"However, things haven't been peaceful lately. The city's security is very strict. The soldiers and officials guarding both city gates have carefully checked everyone, and no one with a similar appearance has left recently. Wan Niang and I suspect that Xue Li is still in Ji Yue City."

Lin Wanniang said, "We made arrangements everywhere. Five or six people from the shop went out with the government officials to search. We searched the brokerage firms, inns, and several nearby streets, but we couldn't find a trace of her." After saying this, she started to cry, blaming herself for not taking good care of Xue Li.

Jin Qingyan comforted her, saying, "It's not your fault. Now that Lord Zhao is here, he will surely be able to help us find our sister."

Zhao Wuji pondered for a moment and said, "We can take the portrait to the nearby carriage shops and ask around to see if anyone has seen the young lady. I suspect she was put into a carriage and taken away."

Lin Wanjun and Jin Qingyan exchanged a glance. Yes, how come they hadn't thought of that! It was as if they had seen hope again, and a sense of joy welled up in their hearts.

Zhao Wuji then asked, "Do you have any of Miss's personal clothing? Preferably ones that have been worn for a few days and haven't been washed."

Lin Wanjun said, "Yes, there was a set of clothes she had changed out of in her room, as well as her quilt and pillow, which no one had touched. I've been searching for her day and night for the past few days, and I haven't told anyone to wash them."

The group arrived at Shirley's room and found a set of neatly folded clothes on her bed. Zhao Wuji checked them first and found they were indeed old clothes that had been worn. He brought them to his nose and smelled them; they had a strong body fragrance. He was overjoyed and quickly took the two fluffy little creatures out of the basket on his back.

The two little creatures, one creamy white and the other gray, looked like large weasels. Zhao Wuji introduced them with a smile: "The white one is called Snow White, and the gray one is called Fatty. They are ferrets that I raised from a puppy. They are purebred and came from the Western Regions. They are very intelligent and have an extremely keen sense of smell. They are hundreds of times more capable than ordinary hunting dogs. If they had been there when Miss was lost, they could have found her on the same day. Now, it will take some effort."

The two little creatures were fluffy and adorable. They sniffed around excitedly as soon as they came out of the basket. Zhao Wuji first took out some food from his pocket and fed the two little creatures until they were half full. Then he took out the clothes that Xue Li had worn and let the two little creatures sniff them to their hearts' content.

He took one of the ferrets with him and gave the other to Jin Qingyan, saying, "No matter what, we can only try first. She's just a young girl, and in the chaos of war, she won't run away. If she's kidnapped, she'll probably be hidden or sold. Let's go to the nearby car dealerships first, then the brokerage firms, then the brothels. We'll make a record of each place we search and compile a list every night when we get back."

The two of them each took an old piece of clothing that Sherry had worn and left with the ferret. Because Jin Qingyan was unfamiliar with how to use a ferret to find people, they were acting together today.

It turns out that when a sable arrives at a place, it needs to go inside and explore. If it doesn't find the scent it's looking for, it will tell its owner that it can leave.

They were very efficient; they covered half of the eastern part of the city in just one day.