A dozen or so barbarian corpses were neatly laid out in the open.
When Li Maner arrived, Qi Yihan was having his men examine the bodies. The exit to the tunnel had also been found, surprisingly next to a foul-smelling cesspool. The barbarians had certainly sacrificed a lot to attack the city.
This peculiar location was usually avoided by everyone. To ensure the barbarians’ smooth entry, Qian Xiaofu had even come to observe it specifically. Only after confirming no one was lingering nearby did he send the signal.
Unexpectedly, their plan had still failed.
"Miss Li has arrived."
"General." Li Maner cupped her hands and smiled, "I've come to join the excitement."
"Excellent. Miss Li has performed another great service and deserves to see it." Qi Yihan's words implicitly acknowledged Li Maner's contribution and approved her involvement in this matter.
"The General is too kind. I haven't done much, just been luckier, more observant, and a bit more capable than others."
Good heavens.
Ding Yan had never seen anyone as brazen as Li Maner. Even if you had some merit, you should at least be humble, not boast so shamelessly!
A Si smiled, looking quite proud. Look at her young lady, so confident.
Qi Yihan seemed unfazed by her words and pointed to the corpses, "They have already been examined, and no abnormalities were found. Would Miss Li like to see for herself?"
What good is looking at dead people!
A Si dared not speak her mind and could only lower her head, staring at her toes.
"Certainly!" Li Maner said, "I'm very meticulous. Perhaps I'll discover a clue that others have missed."
The bodies had been disturbed, and it was unlikely they carried anything special. However, there were signs of bindings on their shoes. Li Maner crouched by the feet of the corpses, examining them closely. She then said, "General, send someone to search outside the city. These people must have hidden their skis. If you find them, great. If not, don't worry. Oh, do you have any dogs in the army?"
Qi Yihan nodded, "We have a few." He then nodded again, agreeing to Li Maner's request. Seeing this, Ding Yan immediately ordered men to fetch the dogs and take them to search outside the city.
Ding Yan was swift in carrying out orders, but his perception of Li Maner deepened. At least, the General was very obedient to her words.
Li Maner was now about seventy to eighty percent certain that these barbarians had arrived on skis. Their skis, though somewhat rudimentary, were very practical.
It seemed they were indeed fellow countrymen!
Alas, fellow transmigrators, why must we be enemies!
Someone stepped forward and bowed slightly to Li Maner, "General Li, these men all have a wolf head tattoo on their left arm. Upon identification, they are likely..."
"The Yarusan Duo tribe."
The man glanced at Li Maner in surprise, then said, "That's right. Only the Yarusan Duo tribe's wolf totem has red eyes."
Oh, she didn't know that. She had thought only the Yarusan Duo tribe used wolves as their totem, but now it seemed that idea was too simplistic. This also indirectly proved that Zeng Huan knew very little and was indeed of no further value.
"I heard their tribe has someone named Man Muhan He, a recognized warrior of the grasslands. Could this be the Yarusan Duo tribe?"
"It shouldn't be! I heard the Qirige tribe is to have a marriage alliance with the Yarusan Duo tribe."
"Marriage alliance?" Li Maner sifted through her knowledge of the relationships between various tribes in her mind, then exclaimed, "So, Ha Yue Zhu is marrying into the Yarusan Duo tribe?"
If that were the case, besides the foremost warrior Man Muhan He, she wouldn't marry anyone else.
"Not marrying, but taking a wife."
Li Maner blinked, "Taking a wife?"
"I heard Ha Yue Zhu is to marry Man Muhan Dan."
Isn't that a live-in son-in-law?
Li Maner's eyes lit up. It seemed there was another untold story behind this. A man willing to become a live-in son-in-law must have his reasons, either he was incapable, or... incapable!
Regardless of the reason for his incapability, it proved that her fellow countryman was not doing well, or he wouldn't have swallowed his pride to become a live-in son-in-law in Qiyue Ge.
Li Maner squatted down again, meticulously examining each corpse. Wearing a peculiar-looking glove, she first checked the deceased's heads, carefully inspecting everyone's teeth, behind their ears, and even their eyes.
Ding Yan couldn't help but frown. Why look so closely? These were barbarians, here to sneak attack. It wasn't as if she was investigating their cause of death or pursuing the murderer, why was she acting like a coroner?
Qi Yihan, however, trusted Li Maner. She never did anything without purpose; whatever she did, she undoubtedly had a goal.
As expected, Li Maner soon made a discovery. In the fingernails of each barbarian, she found some powder. The amount was small, and one wouldn't notice it without careful inspection.
Li Maner asked for paper and tweezers, carefully cleaned out the powder from all the barbarians' fingernails, wrapped it in paper, and handed it to Qi Yihan.
"What is this?"
"Soul Scattering Powder." Li Maner frowned. "And yet, it's different."
"How is it different?"
Li Maner explained, "With ordinary Soul Scattering Powder, after taking it, people lose their sanity, become delirious, lose consciousness, and die soon after. But this Soul Scattering Powder has several additional ingredients, making its effect more potent. It can even cause this delirium to spread like a plague."
In fact, Li Maner smelled the scent of modern pharmaceutical preparations in the medicine, but she didn't know the specific ingredients.
"That potent?" Ding Yan believed Li Maner's assessment. He acknowledged her medical skills.
"Yes, it's that potent. Fortunately, we discovered it in time and prevented them from succeeding. If they had managed to put the medicine into the wells or food, the consequences would have been unimaginable."
Qi Yihan seemed to be asking how serious the consequences could be.
Li Maner replied, "Within a month, this place will become a city of death."
The apocalypse arriving would be like this, perhaps even turning into zombies, people biting people until destruction.
"Thank heavens." Even Ding Yan felt a chill of fear. If these barbarians hadn't been caught, they would have been finished. Furthermore, no one would have discovered the medicinal powder in their fingernails. If even a tiny bit had fallen off and someone had touched it...
Ding Yan shivered and began to find Li Maner extremely pleasing to the eye. Looking at Qi Yihan beside her, despite his disfigured face, he was tall and skilled. The two seemed like a good match, and if they could indeed get together, it would be a good thing.
Even Ding Yan hadn't realized that his own scales had begun to slowly tip towards Qi Yihan.