According to the information Asuka obtained from the turtledove and the armadillo, Chen Jianqiu and his party came to the cliff where Jeronimo was said to have stumbled and fallen.

They walked to the edge of the cliff and began to probe the traces of the scene.

It's been about two weeks since the incident, but due to the dry climate, some clues can still be found.

"The rocks at the mouth of the cliff are broken, and Geronimo must have gone down with a safety rope strapped to him." Asuka returned to Chen Jianqiu's side.

He opened his palms, palms of which were some gravel.

Chen Jianqiu walked to the edge of the cliff and looked down.

It's a cliff with a bottomless bottom and a rugged cliff that resembles their previous gold caves in Carlsbad.

There are places on the walls where plants grow one by one.

Chen Jianqiu couldn't name it, but he estimated that there should be good medicinal herbs or materials in it, otherwise Geronimo would not have taken the risk of going off the cliff.

From top to bottom, I really can't see any fame.

Chen Jianqiu stood up and looked down again, patting the dust on his hands.

"Let's go down there and have a look."

It took a long circle for a few people to find a way to the valley below the cliff.

The valley has long since dried up, leaving only an exposed riverbed with rocky rocks.

As the sun sets, the light is so dim that you can barely see the road.

Chen Jianqiu asked the others to light the lanterns, walked along the river, and walked forward for a long time before reaching the bottom of the cliff.

The crowd dismounted.

Asuka crouched down with a lantern and began to check the traces on the ground, while the others searched the neighborhood with a lantern.

There were indeed traces of blood under the cliff, and there were traces of dragging.

But two weeks later, the blood had long since dried and was covered with sand.

The bird gently brushed the sand away and began to observe with the help of the lantern.

"It's not people who fall and leave it behind, it's smaller animals."

It didn't take long for Asuka to stand up and shake his head.

"You can see that, too?" Chen Jianqiu glanced at the bird.

He said this with his mouth, but in his heart he had already recognized the conclusion of his little brother.

In terms of tracking and on-the-spot judgment, Asuka can be said to be the most professional, and even the most experienced pock-faced detective of the Border Detective Agency, White, can't compare to him.

Chen Jianqiu raised his head again.

The silhouette of the edge of the cliff appeared in the dim sky.

Suddenly, he noticed a bulge in the middle of the silhouette.

Chen Jianqiu turned on the archer state and looked over there.

It was a tree.

Underneath the tree is a platform where you can settle down.

Because of the angle and the surrounding vegetation, the platform and the tree, when viewed from above, cannot be seen.

You can only see it if you look carefully up from the valley bottom.

The people searching around also returned, and none of them found any valuable information, let alone Geronimo's body.

"Our turtledoves aren't very observant." Chen Jianqiu crossed his waist, looked at the tree and said, "Or, he lied." ”

He turned around and walked towards the black radish.

"It's time for us to go back and talk to him."

The group got on their horses and began their return journey.

It was already completely dark.

At night in the valley, the road conditions are complicated and not easy to walk.

There is no way for the moonlight to reach the valley bottom, and the visibility of the light from the horse lantern alone is very low.

If you are not careful, the horse stumbles, it can be very troublesome.

So, they go very slowly.

It took about three or four hours before there was a little light ahead.

"Boss, something doesn't seem right, it stands to reason that the town shouldn't be so bright at night."

Asuka chewed jerky in his beak, and at the same time handed the water bag in his hand to Chen Jianqiu, who was riding side by side with him.

Chen Jianqiu took the water bag and took a sip.

Something is not quite right.

It stands to reason that at this point, the Indians in the town should all stay in their houses, and even if there is a bonfire, it should not be so bright.

"Let's go, let's see what's going on."

The group picked up speed and entered the town.

Chen Jianqiu quickly understood why the town was so bright.

A group of Indians, with torches in hand, gathered around a mud house.

The head of the man had white hair, and the light of the torch shone on his face, and his expression was serious, and the wrinkles on his sallow face were like ravines.

This person, Chen Jianqiu, had seen before, and it was the Indian tribal leader named Old Marley in the morning.

And standing in front of the mud house and staring at him was Loczen.

She was followed by the people of her own tribe.

There were not many of them, as many had gone to Ciudad Juárez to work, but the rest of them were armed with weapons.

"Let that turtledove boy come out and talk!" Old Marley said in a hoarse voice.

"He's not in town, he went out in the morning and hasn't come back yet." Lotzen replied coldly.

"Sure enough." Old Malai snorted coldly, "I knew that kid had a ghost, so I kept sending someone to keep an eye on him." ”

"How about turtledoves, that's also our tribe's own business, what does it have to do with you?" Loczen clasped his hands to his chest, seemingly reluctant to communicate with old Marley.

"Ridiculous!" Old Marlai's wooden cane slammed on the ground, "When the three tribes merged together and came to this town, they were no longer separated from each other, and who said that the matter of the Great Chief was only the matter of your tribe?" ”

He turned around, raised the cane in his hand, and said loudly to the clansmen behind him: "Turtledove took the opportunity to go out with the big chief to push the big chief off the cliff, and now he is afraid of crime and absconds, only from today, the people of my clan, if they see it, everyone will be punished!" ”

"You don't care, we'll take care of it!" Old Marley turned his head to look at Roczen and said in a deep voice.

Loczen's lips trembled, and he was about to attack, but a voice came.

"Yo, what's so hilarious?"

Everyone looked towards the source of the sound and found that Chen Jianqiu and the others had walked out of the shadows.

"Come to think of it, your name is Old Marley, right?" Chen Jianqiu walked in front of the old Indian and looked him up and down, "Didn't you send someone to keep an eye on the turtledove?" What about people? ”

Old Marley glanced at another middle-aged Indian beside him.

The man looked a little embarrassed and stammered and replied, "Yes, that kid ran away." ”

"Oh, that's it, you didn't catch anyone, what did you do here to find Loczen?" Chen Jianqiu's eyes looked at the middle-aged man, but his words were said to Old Ma Lai, "Besides, you are being targeted like this, you will also run." ”

Old Marlai's face sank again.

"I respect you very much, Mr. Chen, but you told me during the day that you planned to take a break, but why did you break your promise and act alone?"

"Also, it's our own Apache business, as I said in the morning, I hope Mr. Chen doesn't get involved."

Chen Jianqiu smiled.

"What if I want to take care of it?"

He took another step closer to the old man: "Who do you think you are talking to?" ”

Old Marley felt a suffocating pressure rush over his face.

He held on to his spirits, but his mouth was still hard:

"Mr. Chen, I know that your army is stationed in Gukou, and if you have the ability, you will kill me and my people!"

Chen Jianqiu snorted:

"Kill you? Your old bones that are about to sink into the ground will die when they die, but why are you still pulling those young people behind you. ”

His gaze swept to the Apache men with torches.

The Apache people have always been known for their bravery, but when Chen Jianqiu's gaze swept over, they still shuddered.

"Jerónimo is my good brother, and I won't allow him to die so unclear, so you don't have to worry about these things." Chen Jianqiu waved at those Apache people a little tiredly, "Hurry up and disperse." ”

Old Marley was silent for a few seconds.

He knew Chen Jianqiu's thunderous methods.

After the previous chieftain of his tribe was caught by Chen Jianqiu in the last rebellion, he lost his head without even saying a word.

The old man finally decided to leave with his people.

"Have you found the chief?"

After waiting for the old Marais tribesmen to leave, Loczen asked eagerly.

"Come into the house and say."

Chen Jianqiu and a few people walked into the house.

Roczen lit a kerosene lamp.

She asked the others to leave first.

There were only Chen Jianqiu, Flying Bird, Luo Czen and Armadillo left in the house.

"There's a good chance that Jerónimo didn't die."

Chen Jianqiu sat on the chair, and he turned to the armadillo on the side: "Have you seen the chief fall with your own eyes?" ”

The armadillo nodded: "At that time, the chief had a rope tied around his waist to go down, but"

"But what?" Chen Jianqiu asked vigilantly.

"But the rope broke." The armadillo looked pained, "The turtledove rushed up first, and then I also went up to help, but when I looked down, I couldn't find any trace of the chief." ”

"Turtledove asked me to go back to the town to report the news, he stayed at the scene to find a way, I was in a state of mind, and Turtledove said what to do."

Chen Jianqiu thought for a while:

"Are you sure the rope is broken, didn't it be sent by the turtledove?" He asked.

"Well, it was broken, and that half of the rope was brought back later." Lotzen suddenly remembered something.

He bent down and dragged a straw basket from under the bed, and then took out a broken rope from the basket.

Chen Jianqiu took the rope and handed it to the bird.

By the light of the kerosene lamp, Asuka began to take a closer look at the broken rope.

After a long while, Asuka lowered the rope and looked grim:

"The rope has been tampered with, and there are traces of artificial cuts."

The room fell silent.

The light of the kerosene lamp swayed slightly with the breeze blowing in from the window, and the shadows of several people in the room swayed on the wall.

Chen Jianqiu gently tapped the wooden table top with his knuckles.

Others, on the other hand, exchanged glances.

There are indeed people who want Geronimo to die, and the people who want him to die are in the town.

"Can you find out who provided this rope?" Chen Jianqiu asked the armadillo.

The armadillo shook his head: "It can't be done, this rope is too ordinary, it is everywhere in the town, and we don't know when and where the chief took it." ”

"Did you make it with a turtledove?" Loczen said slowly, she didn't want to face this possibility.

After all, Turtledove has been following himself and Geronimo since the mine ten years ago.

She really couldn't imagine that a reliable person like Ikaruga would choose to betray.

This situation is the worst, because if the turtledove is really the one who wants Jeronimo to die, I'm afraid that Jerónimo will really be more than lucky.

Even if the chief didn't actually fall to his death, the turtledove would try to get him to die.

"I hope not." Chen Jianqiu stared at the light of the kerosene lamp.

"But if it's not him, why would he run?" Asuka frowned, "Why don't you just tell us about it?" ”

The anxieties of the people deepened.

It seems that all deductions point to the worst outcome.

"Don't think about it, the top priority now is to find the turtledove." Chen Jianqiu thought for a moment before standing up, "It may not be just us who are looking for him now. ”

"If the turtledove is the traitor, then the people behind the scenes will definitely look for him everywhere, in that case, there is really no proof of his death, and the big chief's death is unclear."

"If the turtledove is not that traitor, then the real murderer must also be looking for him and the big chief here, and if you don't see the corpse, even you and I can see it, those murderers will definitely not believe it easily."

"I think it's the old Marlais!" "They have been following turtledoves under the guise of justice for the Great Chief, trying to confirm the death of the Great Chief or find the Great Chief. ”

"This possibility cannot be ruled out." Chen Jianqiu said.

"These damn bastards, the last rebellion was their tribe, it seems that they are thieves who don't die, and they have changed their leaders to continue." Loczen slapped the table, "I'm going to Juarez and call all the people of the tribe back and fight these guys." ”

Indian female warriors over forty years old are still as fierce as fire, and they can't rub sand in their eyes.

Chen Jianqiu coughed.

"Our troops are fully armed and stopped at the mouth of the valley, we really want to clean up those people, and you don't need to do anything." Asuka added.

"Well, don't worry, figure out the situation first, it's not difficult to clean them up." Chen Jianqiu waved his hand.

He began to arrange tasks:

"Asukai, you take someone out early tomorrow to look for it, pull the net to look for it, bring the armadillo, he is more familiar with this place."

"Lotzen, I'll write you a note later, you take it to the town hall in Juarez to find Abiot, and ask him to help count the Apache in Juarez. Let's see if anyone else has gone missing recently. ”

"If the Great Chief is injured, there's no way Turtledove would choose to leave him alone."

Everyone received the order, and Chen Jianqiu emphasized it to them again:

"Remember, our mission now is to find the turtledove and the Great Chief, to see people alive and corpses dead."

That night, Chen Jianqiu returned to Taniguchi's camp with the birds.

Asuka had already prepared a separate tent for him, which was a bit rudimentary, but the space was okay, with lights, tables, beds, maps, and folding chairs.

The night is already deep.

But Chen Jianqiu still didn't feel sleepy.

By the light of a kerosene lamp, he looked at the map spread out on the table, a pen in his hand, and wondered where the turtledove and Geronimo might be.

However, there was a sudden noise outside the tent.

He heard the shouts of his own soldiers, and the sound of footsteps.

Chen Jianqiu put down the pen in his hand and walked out of the tent.

In the light of the campfire, a group of soldiers escorted a man and walked in his direction.

"Boss, we found this man outside the camp, sneaky, and I don't know the purpose." The officer on duty stood up straight and reported to Chen Jianqiu.

He waved his hand, and the soldier behind him pushed the man up.

Chen Jianqiu took a horse lantern from a soldier's hand, lifted it, and put it on the man's face.

He could see the face of the man he had been caught.

He is one of the two Indian tribal chiefs who appear in the sacrificial grounds during the day, Klickitat.

This person looked at Chen Jianqiu, his eyes were a little hesitant:

"I'm here to visit you, Mr. Chen, without any ill will."

Chen Jianqiu handed the lantern back to the soldier:

"Let him in, and you can go about your business."

The officer hesitated: "Boss, let's search his body first, what if he is assassinated?" ”

"See for yourselves." Chen Jianqiu said.

"I really don't have any ill will!"

As a captive, Klickitat was very professional, and he directly raised his hands and motioned for the officers to search him.

The officer leaned in and touched him up and down.

It was true that he did not carry any weapons, not even a single needle.

Chen Jianqiu had already turned around and entered the tent.

The soldiers pushed Klitat forward, and then left, led by the officer.

The Indians walked into the tent.

Chen Jianqiu sat sideways in his chair.

His right arm rested on the back of his chair, and he held a gleaming gold revolver in his hand.

The body of the revolver gently slapped the back of the chair, while the owner of the gun watched him quietly.

Klickitat suddenly felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end.

He swallowed a mouthful of saliva before he said slowly:

"Mr. Chen, I'm here to tell you something about Jerónimo."

(End of chapter)