I woke up to find myself transmigrated into a disabled child.

Chapter 228 Missing

"Captain Lejing, we've searched this area, but we haven't found Leyou and the others..."

"Neither do I have one here."

The tribesmen who came with Le Jing to provide support reported their situation to him, while Le Jing was observing the situation of the crystal cave on the cliff.

"Judging from the traces left at the cave entrance, they must have entered the cave. Could it be that they haven't come out yet?"

After receiving a notification from Le Jing that Le Ting had sent a distress signal to the tribe, the people who came out together quickly followed Le Jing's instructions. Several of the more senior members followed Le Jing to provide support, while the others remained on standby.

They had prepared themselves for all sorts of dangers upon arrival, from insectoid creatures, birds and beasts, or even unknown plants. But they never expected to be greeted by an empty site.

"That's possible. If they really didn't come out of the cave, then it means the crisis came from inside the cave. The environment inside is complex, and it would be difficult for just a few of us..."

Moreover, Le You and the others might not even be inside the cave. Le Jing had carefully observed the surroundings and noticed some strange traces that bothered him, but he couldn't jump to conclusions. It seemed he had to wait for reinforcements from his clan before taking any further action.

Le Zhong, whom Le Jing was thinking about, didn't keep him waiting long. The well-trained guards were very efficient and quickly arrived at the canyon where the crystal cave was located.

"Le Jing, you're here? Where are those little brats?" Le Zhong asked impatiently before he had even settled down.

Seeing Le Jing shake her head with a solemn expression, Le Zhong felt a sense of foreboding. "What happened?"

"It's still unclear. When we arrived, the site was deserted. From the remaining traces, we can tell that someone had been there. I also found some other things..."

Le Jing gestured for Le Zhong to follow her to the traces she had discovered. Rather than telling Le Zhong the conclusion directly, she decided to let him see the evidence and draw his own conclusion.

Birds and beasts are too large, and if they have been active in a place, they will inevitably leave some traces. Le Jing and Le Zhong are both experienced hunters, and these traces are of course impossible to miss.

"Birds and beasts?" Le Zhong looked at the plants that had obviously been trampled and flattened by animals, a look of surprise flashing in his eyes.

“Yes, there are more than one such mark. Judging from its size, this bird or beast is quite large. In addition, considering the special claw marks left at the scene, I tend to think it is a 'Fanle Bird',” Le Jing said, stating her conclusion.

“And it was just the leader.” Le Jing said, pointing to the tall branches of the plants around her. “I’ve looked at all the branches around here that are a little tall. There are many fresh claw marks, all kinds of shapes, as if a group of birds and beasts had gathered here not long ago.”

Seeing is believing. Le Zhong personally inspected several trees nearby and indeed found the traces that Le Jing had mentioned. He was now largely convinced of Le Jing's judgment.

"If that's the case, then things are much more complicated than we imagine."

"Well, there's another possibility: they might still be inside the cave, perhaps because birds and beasts have blocked their way, so they're waiting for rescue." This possibility is extremely small, but it's not impossible.

Therefore, after Yue Jing made the suggestion, Yue Zhong immediately understood what she meant.

"No matter what, let's eliminate all possibilities first." Le Zhong didn't wait outside, but personally led the team into the cave.

With Le Zhong taking over the situation, Le Jing didn't linger. Although Le You and the others were still missing, he was responsible for bringing the people he had brought back safely. He had a heavy responsibility, so even though he was worried, Le Jing still led his people away and returned to the tribe according to plan.

As for those little brats, we can only entrust them to Le Zhong and hope that he can find more useful clues!

On one side, the tribespeople were anxiously searching for clues, hoping to find out the reason for Lezhi and the others' disappearance. However, the situation of Lezhi and the others, whom the tribespeople were worried about, was not as dire as they had imagined. In fact, they were even somewhat enjoying it.

"Wow, this is amazing! So this is what it feels like to be ridden by birds and beasts..." This was Leyou, who was overly excited. After quickly reaching an agreement with the birds and beasts, he adapted to the feeling of being on the birds' backs at an extremely fast pace. Now he can stand up straight and raise his arms to shout while traveling at high speed.

Compared to Leyou, Leting was more conservative. Like Lezhi when he was first getting used to Maoqiu, he clung to the back of the bird and beast to stabilize himself. However, from the occasional glimpse of his expression, Lezhi judged that Leting was also adapting quite well. At least there was no expression of enduring pain on his face. He was more cautious and curious.

That's good. At least this accident didn't cause any harm to Leyou and Lezhi, so Lezhi can also let go of some of the guilt he felt for involving his partner.

Nestled on Maoqiu's back, Lezhi looked up at the large, brightly colored bird that had left a deep impression on him, leading the way, his eyes filled with complex emotions.

These birds and beasts, you could say they're good, they act domineeringly and don't allow for refusal; Lezhi and the others only agreed to come because they were somewhat forced by the situation. But if you say they're bad, from beginning to end, the birds and beasts didn't harm them in the slightest, and even accepted Lezhi's protests, providing transportation for Leyou and Leting.

Because of these contradictory actions, Lezhi was temporarily unsure about the nature and motives of these birds and beasts. Also, Maoqiu's attitude was quite strange.

It didn't seem to be on the same side as the birds and beasts, but when the birds and beasts lured them away, it acted differently than usual, as if it had reached some kind of agreement with them.

Thinking of this, Lezhi tightened his grip on Maoqiu's back, a feeling rising in his mind that Maoqiu might be hiding something from him. Thoughts are like weeds; once a seed is planted, it can spread into a vast expanse beyond one's control.

Seemingly sensing something amiss with Lezhi on its back, Maoqiu secretly focused its eyes behind it. Its excellent vision allowed it to easily catch what was happening behind it without even turning around. Seeing Lezhi's somewhat displeased expression, Maoqiu quickly looked away, not wanting Lezhi to notice its silent probing.

If you look closely into their dark, shining eyes, you can vaguely detect a hint of guilt.

Maoqiu was indeed hiding something from Lezhi, and it all stemmed from that argument. If someone with discernment had been present at the time, they would have known that given Maoqiu's possessiveness and protectiveness towards Lezhi, it would never leave Lezhi no matter what happened.

Therefore, its angry departure was never for the purpose of leaving, but rather for the purpose of staying.

It wants to kick that annoying little brat who always occupies Lezhi's attention out of its life.

The idea had been in Maoqiu's mind ever since Lezhi decided to adopt the little chick, but the timing wasn't right. If the chick had been abandoned then, it certainly wouldn't have survived a night alone in the wild.

Maoqiu wouldn't do something so outrageous, or rather, it wouldn't dare. After spending so much time with Lezhi, its clever little brain had already figured out Lezhi's bottom line perfectly.

Then so many things happened that Maoqiu's plans were repeatedly put on hold. As the fledgling grew fuller and fuller, Maoqiu's patience with it dwindled.

What happened today was just a trigger. Maoqiu immediately decided that it could no longer tolerate it. There could only be one bird or beast by Lezhi's side, and that was it.