Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
In her hand was the very bronze piece he had found on the other side of the mountain.
Xia Fan was surprised. “You know this thing?”
“Have you really heard about the Luo family from You state, the epitome of the encyclopedia?” Luo You’er mumbled, still covering her forehead. “Half of the libraries in the country are owned by my family, and our You state mansion has a collection of over ten thousand precious books. Indeed, no one is more knowledgeable than the Luo family. You look like an educated guy, but it seems that you’re just a country bumpkin…”
Xia Fan had no idea they were actually library owners!
“This is a cast coin, also known as the knife coin due to its physical resemblance to a knife,” Luo Qingqing said. “As far as I know, only Yong Country uses this currency.”
“Yong Country?” Xia Fan mused, but he couldn’t remember anything along the lines.
At this moment, even Luo Qingqing’s expression changed. “It’s a dynasty that ended more than one century ago. The last emperor of Yong was a cruel and unreasonable tyrant, and his rule was finally overthrown by the Six Emperors, who then divided Yong Country into six kingdoms. Qi Country is one of them.”
Xia Fan suddenly realized why they were looking so serious.
The item was a relic from the previous dynasty!
“After that, the Six Kingdoms destroyed everything related to Yong Country and criminalized the possession of any Yong items, coinage included, of course. If someone reports you, the reporter will be rewarded with a hundred taels of silver, and you will be exiled if you’re lucky. If you aren’t…”
“Hold, hold on…” Xia Fan interrupted her at once, “I had no idea this thing was from Yong Country. I brought it back only because I thought it looked interesting! Don’t report me!”
“Really?”
“I found it near the mountain road in the Qing Mountain, about seven to eight hundred meters… Well, I mean about two miles from the fork road. Besides bronze coins, there are wooden tracks there too…”
Xia Fan went slower as he spoke.
He caught a faint smile on Luo Qingqing’s face.
“Hey… are you messing with me?”
“Messing with you? What a strange expression,” Luo Qingqing said with a shrug. “I was telling the truth, but I didn’t say that the law is still being enforced now. In fact, the authorities were only strict about it in the first twenty years. Anyway, there can’t possibly be any secret Yong agents left now. Despite its name, nothing lasts forever1. Nowadays, even if you’re fond of collecting knife coins, no one will bother to find you any trouble. So, rest assured. Besides, I know that the invigilators have checked all our personal belongings when we entered the town, so it’s very likely that you really found this thing inside Qing Shan Town.”
Xia Fan didn’t know how to respond.
That must be her… sweet revenge.
The most annoying yet convincing argument was often based on true knowledge because you don’t even know enough to talk back.
“Two miles away from the fork road…” Luo Qingqing mused. “We need to verify it.”
“There aren’t even any roads there. We need to bring a few more people if you really want to go. Besides, Eldest Brother won’t be happy about it.” Luo You’er tried to dissuade her. “Now, not only do we need to split our manpower to assist the Fang family, but we also have to keep an eye out for people like him…” She paused and shot a glimpse at Xia Fan, before continuing, “I’m afraid we won’t have enough people at the inn.”
“I’ll talk to him.” Luo Qingqing insisted. “This place is strange. We need to figure out why.”
“So, you think something is off too,” Xia Fan commented.
“It’s alright to tell you the truth,” she said as she nodded, expressionless. “It’s about the place where we collected spirit fire… The tombs were too shallow, as if they were dug out last minute. Also, we found two huge abandoned caves on the side of the mountain.”
Xia Fan’s heart skipped a beat. Another large-scale relic of a man-made construction, just like the wooden tracks along the mountain road. “Did you see anything inside the caves?”
“We only found a few wooden kites.”
“Wooden kites? What are they?”
“Hey, do you have any common sense?” Luo You’er complained. “Giant kites, understood? The biggest kite can be larger than a human, and it can carry a man across a few hundred steps when covered in hide. Don’t tell me you’ve never even read ‘The Art of Carpentry’?!”
Well… Truth be told, he hadn’t. When he was following his master, they had to worry about not being starved. How would they have the energy and time for books? But Xia Fan understood that the key issue here wasn’t about the kites themselves. Rather, why would they be stored at a cemetery? How much did the people of Qing Shan Town know about this?
When he was about to ask further, another female disciple of the Luo family hurried into the lobby. “Sister Qingqing, we can’t keep the people out any further.”
“I overran the meeting time. Let them in,” Luo Qingqing said. After that, she turned to Xia Fan. “Do you want to go to the other side of the mountain again?”
With you guys? “It’s alright,” Xia Fan replied. He knew well that they might not be as friendly to him out there as compared to at the inn lobby. “I’ve already secured a bottle of spirit fire. All I need to do now is guard it well in the next few days.”
Luo Qingqing didn’t insist. She left the lobby at once.
The Luo disciples dispersed as well. The other candidates rushed inside only to see the lobby in a huge mess.
It had only been 15 minutes since they sealed the entrance to the inn. Moreover, it was only one hour ago when they had noticed an intrusion in their room. Taking all factors into account, Xia Fan had gained a further understanding of the level of coordination and order in the Luo family.
When he returned to his room, Li, who was still lying in his bed, appeared to be in discomfort from her injuries.
Her cheeks were red, and her breaths were short. Sweat dripped down the side of her face, damping her hair.
Only now Xia Fan finally had a chance to look at her closely.
In fact, she looked almost the same as a normal human, except for the pair of ears on the top of her head. Just like any other human girl, she had black long hair and fair skin. Despite her face being covered in dirt and bloodstains, one could tell that she had a pretty countenance.
Her brows were short and untrimmed, thicker than what was often expected of a typical beauty. However, they softened her facial features and produced a more approachable look.
If he hadn’t met her before, it’d be hard to associate this girl with the fox demon who was so fond of mockery.
Another thing that caught his attention was the rosy tint at the corner of her eyes. He first thought that it was her eyeshadow, but, upon closer inspection, he realized that she was born with it. The redness extended the contour of her eyes outward, giving her an unusual charm.
As for her ears, which were of the same color as her hair… Xia Fan couldn’t resist the temptation to squeeze them and confirmed that they were real. She didn’t have another pair of ears beside her face. That piqued Xia Fan’s curiosity as he wondered about the structure of a fox demon’s skull and what she looked like before her hair grew out.
Evolution does create miracles. He thought to himself.
At this moment, Li frowned slightly and let out a faint moan, as if she was in deep pain.
Xia Fan didn’t know how this world operated on the micro-scale. However, based on common sense and what he had observed, microorganisms like bacteria and viruses also played a crucial role in maintaining the balance of the ecosystem as the simplest life forms. Therefore, if one suffered from internal injuries, pathogens posed the greatest threat to the survival of the host. Whether Li would manage to overcome this and recover depended on her condition in these few days.
Xia Fan brought back a pail of clear water and wiped away her sweat. Then, he placed a piece of wet cloth on her forehead. There was nothing much he could do now.
…
At 4 PM that day, deep inside the Qing Mountain.
“Sister Qingqing, are you sure we should continue searching?” Luo You’er pouted her lips and complained. “The sun is going to set soon.”
“It’s easier to go down the mountain than to climb up. It’ll take at most one hour for us to return to the town,” Luo Qingqing said, not bothered by her displeasure.
“The problem isn’t about time, but what on earth we are looking for. We’ve found the wooden tracks and quite a few knife coins. This only shows that that dude wasn’t lying.” Luo You’er paused to catch her breath. “But you surely don’t want to follow the tracks and climb to the top of the mountain, do you? Even the hunters in the town have never been there before.”
Luo Qingqing stopped to look at her people. Although no one had voiced any objection, they looked visibly tired.
From the moment they had climbed half-way up the peak, the Luo disciples had searched for almost four hours in the thick forests. Even though they could use their magic to accelerate the process, it was no easy feat to open a passable road in the dense woods. Coupled with the unbearable heat and the annoying insects, they were depleting their energy and morale rapidly.
Had it not for their loyalty to her, the disciples would have left her and returned a long time ago.
More importantly, Luo You’er was right that she had no idea what she was looking for. With no goal in mind, it was impossible to set a reasonable expectation. This violated the basic principle of a good plan. In fact, she shouldn’t have organized such a search when her goal wasn’t clear.
However, there was something disturbing that she couldn’t ignore.
Aside from the abandoned warehouse they had discovered at the site of spirit fire, she had also heard from their Eldest Brother that the Fei and Fang families seemed to have noticed something strange about the town too. For example, the drainage system under a few dry wells was unusually expansive and heavily branched; the ends of a few fork roads were blocked by stone doors and no one knew where they led to.
If the sole purpose was to collect spirit fire, why would the Privy Council bring the candidates to a place full of unnatural things?
Perhaps the ultimate test was whether the candidates were able to figure out the answer behind it.
“Continue the search for 45 minutes along the tracks,” Luo Qingqing said after some thought. “We will return if we still can’t find anything.”
“Sigh, we’re not going back now? I’m so hungry…” Luo You’er murmured under her breath, but she didn’t dare to disobey her senior’s orders. When she was about to move forward, she suddenly lost her balance and fell into the grass.
“Don’t be so dramatic, You’er! Quit whining already.” A disciple laughed. “No matter what, you’re a cultivator, yet you’re even weaker than a huntress!”
“No way! I tripped! That’s all!” Luo You’er picked herself back up and stomped on the grass. Then, she drew a cold breath in surprise. “There’s a new track here.”
“What?” Surprised, Luo Qingqing rushed forward to check on it. “This is… a fork road?”
“A fork road? But we’re beside a cliff, right? There shouldn’t be anything on the other side.”
“That’s right. We’re walking along the mountain road. If it turns inward, it may lead to a cave or something, but it’s turning outward.”
A discussion burst out among the crowd.
Luo Qingqing pondered for a second and immediately came to a conclusion. “Follow the new track. Let’s go.”
“Are we not climbing up anymore?” Luo You’er asked, rubbing her ankle.
“We won’t reach the peak in time, anyway. Instead, we can check out where this new track leads to,” Luo Qingqing explained.
This time, they reached the end before long.
Having passed through a one-meter bush, a cliff appeared before them.