Chapter 398: The Scent of a Conspiracy

"Are they in such a hurry to head back?"

"Who knows?" Xu Xu Dongdong shrugged. "I only know that for the White Elephant Kingdom, it's because the journey is too long. Last time, for my King's seven-hundred-and-fiftieth birthday, the White Elephant Kingdom sent a demoiselle crane to offer congratulations. It's said the one-way flight alone took seven or eight days. This time, the gifts from the White Elephant Kingdom are numerous and heavy; the crane demon couldn't carry them, so transporting them by land will take at least forty or fifty days."

With the guard battalion clearing the path ahead, even though the Imperial Flow had just passed, no blind bandits dared to show themselves.

The journey was very peaceful, and they soon passed Fanshiyu.

Reaching this landmark meant they had officially left the outskirts of Fufeng City. Xu Xu Dongdong could only escort them this far, so he bid farewell to He He Lingchuan and the others and headed back home.

"I hope to work with Brother He in a few months' time."

……

They traveled for several more days, safe and sound.

He He Lingchuan remained vigilant, but as the road ahead grew wider and the number of merchants on the road increased, it was clear that all was peaceful, with no disasters or calamities.

Calculating the time, the Shanyu Kingdom's diplomatic mission should have already set off on their return journey east under the escort of Fufeng City. What exactly was that fellow Fushan Yue targeting? If it were the Shanyu Kingdom's envoys, he should have followed them east. In that case, he would have parted ways with the northward-bound guard battalion, and his own party shouldn't encounter Fushan Yue. Fushan Yue had a knack for killing snakes; one wondered if that giant python from the Shanyu Kingdom could make it back home alive.

If it were the Spirit Seed, Fushan Yue might be nearby!

The Soul-Consuming Mirror was pestering him again. Its master was calm and unhurried, but the mirror was truly itching with impatience: "If Fushan Yue doesn't come, are we not going to seize the Spirit Seed? Let's try it, just try it once! You make the guard captain look into the mirror. As long as the soul-seizing succeeds, you can make him hand over the seed voluntarily."

"Just you?" He He Lingchuan rejected the idea without a second thought. "You're dreaming. They have primordial power protecting their bodies. You were only able to bewitch Wu Wu Jinsong and the others back then because they were far from their homeland and their resistance was too weak."

The Spirit Seed guard battalion had primordial power protecting them, granting them high resistance to magic arts, supernatural abilities, poisons, and curses, and even partially mitigating attacks from martial artists.

It wasn't impossible to seize their souls, but it would require them to be exhausted, weak, and low in morale for there to be any chance of success. After all, primordial power was not omnipotent.

Furthermore, the Spirit Seed possessed immense vitality and could not be placed in a storage ring. Therefore, unless the guard battalion possessed the mustard-seed storage technology of Songyang Prefecture, the captain had to keep it on his own person.

But this person was well aware of the importance of the Spirit Seed and was constantly surrounded by five or six guards, providing tight protection.

"If Fushan Yue doesn't come, you're just daydreaming for nothing."

The Soul-Consuming Mirror let out a long sigh.

By now, the crops on both sides of the imperial road were becoming sparse, and the beautiful scenery of endless wheat ears swaying in the wind was gone. In its place, grasslands and tundra were increasing, and sheer cliffs and jagged rocks began to take center stage.

He He Lingchuan often traveled the Chipa Plateau and knew this was the transition from plains to plateau, indicating that the altitude was getting higher and higher.

Second Master Shi also explained that the team was indeed traveling on a plateau. The ground here was at least one hundred and seventy or eighty feet higher than Fufeng City, and it would only get higher as they went on.

This could be seen from the gradual thinning of the vegetation.

Further on, the desolate sight of mountains standing like dragons and trees leaning against the setting sun became a common occurrence.

This place was called the Gale Tundra.

Although it was also a plateau, it was completely different from the Chipa Plateau; the latter had moist air and a pleasant climate, a paradise for flowers, grasses, and fruits. The Gale Tundra, as the name implied, was a place where strong winds howled year-round. It was impressive enough for turf to take hold in the cracks of the earth; almost no delicate crops could grow here.

The imperial road wound through the mountains like a dragon, sometimes crawling along high ridges.

Travelers looked to both sides to see thousands of slopes and ten thousand precipices.

Even so, the imperial road on the mountain path was built wide and flat, with guardrails added on both sides to prevent travelers from falling, which was very thoughtful.

The further the team advanced, the higher the altitude and the lower the temperature.

With the weather nearing the sixth month, frost actually condensed on the branches in the early morning.

Looking out at the high mountains, white snow covered them, never melting throughout the year.

People began to exhale white mist when they spoke, and the Shimen merchant caravan, being very experienced, quickly took out cotton-padded clothes to distribute.

Villages and towns on this plateau were very sparse, appearing only every seventy or eighty miles, unlike the dense distribution on the plains. The team had to allocate their time reasonably to avoid missing their lodging.

Fortunately, the guard battalion was more thorough in their planning than anyone else; everyone just had to follow them and not fall behind, which saved a lot of worry.

That day, the team arrived at Black Rock Stronghold before nightfall, finally finding a place to shelter from the wind and rain.

Black Rock Stronghold was originally just a small village of a hundred people, but as this trade route matured and prospered, it had grown larger and larger as a service area on the imperial road. Today, more than eight hundred people lived here permanently, basically making a living by providing services to passing merchants.

Open space had its advantages; the place was large enough to add buildings at will. Black Rock Stronghold had over three hundred wooden houses, ranging from single-family units to communal dormitories that could accommodate twenty or thirty people, enough to house the guard battalion, the diplomatic mission, and the merchant caravan.

The only problem was that everything was expensive.

Expensive lodging and expensive food were understandable to He He Lingchuan. After all, there was a poor harvest here, and eighty percent of their food had to be brought in from outside.

But even using the latrine required a fee; one could say that eating, drinking, and relieving oneself all cost money—

Black Rock Stronghold firmly controlled the only water source within a thirty-mile radius, fearing contamination, and strictly forbade relieving oneself anywhere else.

He He Lingchuan and Second Master Shi sat down in an eatery to eat, and he immediately found the feeling of dining in a school cafeteria back in the day.

This was the largest food stall in Black Rock Stronghold, crowded with at least three or four hundred diners.

The merchant caravan chose to eat here because the food was good, affordable, and not expensive, and places with many people were always warmer.

The caravan's laborers could only eat hot yam eggs here, or at best, a bowl of hot noodle-skin soup. Second Master Shi and He He Lingchuan ordered sheep blood sausage soup to warm themselves, accompanied by buns filled with mixed mushrooms; even though not a single shred of meat could be found inside, the taste was surprisingly good.

After a long day of travel, the two were slurping away happily when they saw three guards from the back walk over to the food stall to pack meals, all ordering high-meat, hearty dishes.

He He Lingchuan recognized them as members of the Spirit Seed guard battalion; they seemed to be lower in rank within the team and were always fetching food for their superiors.

He pricked up his ears to listen, and sure enough.

One of them complained: "These envoys have hands and feet of their own, why do they order us around to do their chores every day?"

Another guard laughed: "Who says they have hands and feet? The envoy from the Xuluo Kingdom..."

"Shh!" The third person was more serious. "There are many ears here, don't talk nonsense."

The first one chuckled: "What's there to say that others can't hear? On the contrary, that envoy from the Chiyan Kingdom hides his head and shows his tail; every time we stay overnight, he hides in his room and won't come out. Is he a gecko or a mountain ghost? Can't he see the light?"

The second person yawned, looking weary: "We have to test the food for poison after fetching it. If they are so worried, why don't they come and fetch the food themselves?"

They left after fetching their food. Second Master Shi took a bite of his bun and said: "I have spoken with the envoys from the Xuluo Kingdom, but I have only seen the Chiyan Kingdom's envoy twice. He truly does not appear in public; it is said that his carriage and residence are guarded, and no one is allowed to get close."

Just then, a laborer rushed in from outside, his expression grave as he reported to Second Master Shi:

"News from ahead: there was a rockfall at Pingshan two days ago, and the imperial road has collapsed. It will take at least half a month to repair."

A so-called rockfall was a landslide. With mountains standing tall on the plateau, this was a common occurrence.

Building bridges and repairing roads on the plateau was no easy task. Second Master Shi frowned: "We cannot wait here for fifteen or sixteen days. Go and find out which way the guard battalion is going; I suspect they will turn and take the route through Mount Fengmo Mountain."

He looked at He He Lingchuan, startled: "Eh, Brother He, what are you laughing at?" He looked quite happy, too.

"Nothing." He He Lingchuan coughed lightly. "What kind of place is Mount Fengmo Mountain?" Judging by the name, there must be a story there.

Most importantly, he seemed to smell a hint of a conspiracy.

Otherwise, why would Pingshan collapse neither early nor late, but at this exact moment? The Soul-Consuming Mirror was also trembling with excitement: "Is Fushan Yue about to make a move? Is he!"

It had been worried sick the whole way! It was just afraid Fushan Yue wouldn't come.

He He Lingchuan patted it, telling it to calm down; nothing was set in stone yet.

"Seven years ago, Pingshan suddenly collapsed, causing the terrain to deform, which allowed the authorities to open up an imperial road leading to the north. Before that, everyone had to take the route through Mount Fengmo Mountain; it was the only path to the north." Second Master Shi laughed. "Don't let the name scare you; it's actually very safe. The Shimen merchant caravan has traveled it at least four or five times. The scenery there is extremely beautiful. If we can arrive before sunrise tomorrow, you'll be in for a treat."

The old man at the eatery happened to come over to collect the plates and looked up, laughing: "I'm from that neck of the woods in Mount Fengmo Mountain. I picked herbs on the mountain in my early years, and only came here after my leg was ruined."

He He Lingchuan saw that he walked with a limp and grabbed a dozen copper coins for him: "Old man, please bring two more baskets of pan-fried buns."

This old man also sold pan-fried buns; they tasted good and were oily, but they were a bit expensive, and the laborers didn't like to buy them.

The old man grinned, missing two teeth: "Alright, alright!"

He turned back and brought over two portions of pan-fried buns, so full they were almost overflowing: "I gave you two extra."

"Tell me about Mount Fengmo Mountain." The locals always knew more than Second Master Shi.

"That's my hometown. The wind is even stronger than here, but the mountain produces snow lotus and yellow jade ginseng, which are very expensive medicinal herbs. Nothing else can grow there, so we made a living picking herbs when we were young."

"Yellow jade ginseng is indeed ridiculously expensive." It was one of the auxiliary ingredients for refining the Hundred Virtues Pill; a piece not even as long as an index finger cost ten taels of silver.

Harvested in such harsh natural environments, the price was not cheap.

The old man smacked his lips: "Mount Fengmo Mountain was originally the territory of the immortal sect, the Ethereal Sect. Later, it became a Daoist sect, but they didn't change the name. This Daoist sect itself wasn't particularly remarkable, but they raised an extremely powerful demon called the 'Mount Fengmo,' which often came down the mountain to do evil, blowing down houses and snatching away living people."

"The Mount Fengmo of Mount Fengmo Mountain?"

January 1st to 7th is the double-point event period. I implore everyone to use their guaranteed monthly votes; please cast them for "The Immortal" tomorrow.

(End of chapter)