Chapter 13: Mountain and Marsh Trail

A flying falcon was embossed on both sides of the coin. The copper coin was greenish-blue, making the falcon a "Green Falcon."

"Yes, these Realm Orders are distinguished by color," Hu Yangshanze recalled with a start. "Wait, this Green Falcon coin isn't yours!" The white-robed youth cut in, "I lent it to Mr. Sha."

Hu Yangshanze spoke slowly and deliberately, causing the gray-clad man to show a hint of impatience. "Since you've emerged, I have a question for you. Answer quickly, and I'll leave quickly."

"Ask away."

A "shanze" is a mountain god, sometimes given a more common and easily understood name: an Earth God. In places where spiritual energy accumulates and life flourishes, shanze gradually come into being. If they receive a decree from a human emperor, shanze gain the ability to wield primal power, thereby managing a specific territory. However, if the empire disappears or the decree expires, the shanze's primal power will wane, eventually returning them to a wild state.

Although Hu Yangshanze had once been enfeoffed by the Kite Kingdom, it didn't even have a mountain god temple. The main reason was its long habit of sleeping deeply, neglecting the miscellaneous affairs of its territory. Local creatures' pleas went unanswered, and over time, they simply ignored it. However, it had to respond to the summons of the gray-clad man before it. Hu Yangshanze still had some residual sleepiness, but reason told it that the person before it should not be easily offended.

"About forty or fifty days ago, a sand leopard came here. I need you to find its whereabouts," the gray-clad man stated straightforwardly. "That creature only nests in the West Mountains, so it should be rare around here."

"A sand leopard? Hmm—" Hu Yangshanze's voice stretched out. "Let me look."

The two waited quietly for over a quarter of an hour. Suddenly, a small deer emerged from the bushes. It showed no fear, even shaking its head in front of the two men. Hu Yangshanze said, "Follow it."

The deer turned and ran, and the two immediately followed. After crossing two mountain peaks, the small deer headed towards a cliff and finally stopped at the edge of a steep boulder.

"The sand leopard came here?" The white-robed youth squatted down, finding several dark smudges on the stone.

"Bloodstains, but they are very old." The small deer stretched its head directly out beyond the boulder. "It jumped down?" The small deer nodded.

Strange. A heavily injured sand leopard escaped all the way here, so why would it jump off a cliff to die? The two exchanged glances, then descended along the side of the cliff face until they reached the bottom of the ravine. The air here was damp and cool, much cooler than on the mountain, and the vegetation was consequently denser. The two searched the bottom of the ravine for a while but found no leopard corpse. The white-robed youth looked up at the cliff. "It was already severely wounded; it couldn't possibly have survived a fall from such a high cliff." There were no large trees below the cliff that could have cushioned the sand leopard's fall with leaves or vines. "Hu Yangshanze, is it still in the mountains?"

"If you want to know its whereabouts, I will show you." A tree beside them spoke again, this time a beech tree. "It is not in the mountains." A mountain breeze swept through, stirring up small whirlwinds on the ground. As branches, leaves, and dirt swirled, they surprisingly formed shapes. The shapes formed by the mud and leaves in the wind, besides a leopard, included a creature with four limbs!

The white-robed youth glanced at them, greatly surprised. "Besides the sand leopard, someone else... a person... fell from the cliff?" These two forms lay motionless on the ground. "Did they kill each other?" The white-robed youth frowned. "Where are the bodies?"

Soon, two more whirlwinds formed, shaping new figures in the wind. "Two people arrived, then... were killed?" The white-robed youth's expression changed. "Ah, I see. No wonder my two subordinates never returned!" "Another group of people came and... carried these two bodies away, separately?" The white-robed youth scrutinized the forms, but the shapes made of mud and leaves were so indistinct that "muddy and obscure" was the most fitting description. They were barely human-shaped, but recognizing faces was out of the question.

"Who were these people, and where did they come from?" He asked twice before the beech tree grudgingly replied: "I don't know. Too much time has passed, and all traces have faded. Only the wind spirits remember this much."

The gray-clad man wasn't discouraged and took over. "At least do you know which direction they went after leaving Gourd Mountain?" Two branches of the beech tree came together and pointed in one direction. It was the direction they had come from—

"Blackwater City?" A sharp glint flashed in the white-robed youth's eyes. "I knew it. My missing guards from Donglai Manor must have found a lead." Yet even after tracking them this far, they had only found a vague direction. Blackwater City was not particularly large, but it was not small either.

"They went to Blackwater City? That makes things easier." The gray-clad man smiled. "The most direct method is often the most effective."

The mountain forest was silent, and Hu Yangshanze departed. The two walked about a hundred paces towards Blackwater City when the gray-clad man paused slightly, then suddenly raised his hand and shot out a beam of white light. A sharp cry came from the forest about ten zhang away, followed by the flapping of wings. The two followed the sound and found bloodstains beginning to appear beneath a large tree. The blood spots on the ground were not obvious, but fortunately, the white-robed youth was skilled in tracking. After walking another fifteen or sixteen zhang, they found a falcon lying on the ground. It was larger than a common eagle, and its wings and abdomen had been pierced through. The blood flowing from its wounds had turned dark green.

"Ever since we left Blackwater City, I've felt like we were being watched. So it was a small demon," the white-robed youth stepped forward, pressing his foot against the falcon's neck. "Who sent you?" The falcon panted continuously with its beak open. "Speak," the white-robed youth pressed harder. "Otherwise, the poison will enter your heart, and you'll die within a quarter of an hour!"

The falcon cried out in pain and indeed spoke. "If I tell the truth, will you let me go?" "Of course," the white-robed youth smiled. "How could a great swan bother with a mere sparrow?" The falcon immediately said, "I'm just a mercenary. I was resting with my eyes closed at the Red Mountain Inn when someone suddenly came in and asked me to follow your movements and report back." "What was that person's background?" "I don't know. I just do what I'm paid for!"

The gray-clad man suddenly interjected, "Don't listen to its nonsense. This is a domesticated demon!" A domesticated demon, of course, has a master. The white-robed youth's gaze sharpened, and he pressed down with his foot, saying nothing more: "Speak!"

The next morning, while the He family was still eating, a servant rushed in to report: "Two guests have arrived, claiming to be from the General Who Conquers the North of Xunzhou!"

He Lingchuan's heart skipped a beat, and he looked at his father. He Chunhua was also slightly startled, his expression hardening. "Please invite them to the Suhong Hall for tea." Suhong Hall was where the master of the He manor received guests, suitable for small gatherings of a few people.

He stood up and gestured to He Lingchuan. "Lingchuan, come with me." He Yue and Madame Ying were both a little surprised. Why would the master bring his eldest son to meet guests from Xunzhou? The most convenient power of being the head of a household was not needing to explain one's actions. He Chunhua said nothing more, simply leading the butler and He Lingchuan to the front hall.