Foreign Races Stir, New Challenges

Chen Wuya's fingers still rested against the edge of the map scroll, the scratch there like an old wound that had never healed. He stared at it for a moment, then suddenly released it and spread the scroll back out across the table.

The tent flap lifted, and an allied commander strode in, night dew clinging to his cloak and a few dead leaves caught beneath his boots. His voice was low. "A scout report just came in. Signs of a large force of outsiders mobilizing were found beneath the cliffs three li north of here. Their campfires were extinguished not long ago. They deliberately avoided the main road and took the backside slopes of the barren ridges."

Without looking up, Chen Wuya asked, "How many?"

"At least two thousand, with heavy armored carts and crossbow units. They haven't rushed forward. They've camped in place, as if waiting for an order."

The candle flame in the tent flickered. Chen Wuya finally lifted his eyes. "Waiting for orders? Or waiting for a signal?"

The commander frowned. "That 'vibration transmission' you mentioned... it truly wasn't a delusion?"

"The poison in the medicine was a delusion?" Chen Wuya said blandly. "Miss Bai nearly lost her life because two qian of blue powder were hidden beneath a bowl of calming soup. If they can switch our medicine under our very noses, then they can lay transmission lines underground. Do you think we escaped that night through clever planning? No. We took the wrong path—stepped right into their communication channel."

The commander's expression shifted slightly. "You mean that stretch by the drainage ditch..."

"The rock layer at the bottom of that ditch was smooth and ran straight. It didn't look naturally formed." Chen Wuya pointed to a circled mark on the map. "When I crawled