It was around noon.
The sun blazed overhead.
Jiang Qiao leisurely arrived at Zhenbei County.
After leaving Xin Zhou City, he had made only a brief stop in the Capital City before heading straight to the northernmost region. Zhenbei—literally "subdue the north," meaning to intimidate the northern territories—was a place meant to keep the northern frontier in check.
In ancient times, going any farther north meant entering the territory of foreign tribes.
Those people had no regard for reason.
Every winter, they might head south to raid, making life miserable for the locals. Thus, in ancient times, Zhenbei had been a strategic pass where large numbers of troops were stationed, ready to launch attacks or defend at any time.
Of course.
Times had changed.
The regions farther north had now been brought under the jurisdiction as well. Otherwise, Ninggu City would never have existed.
As for the area farther north than Ninggu City—
That was a land of ice and snow, with only a few scattered villages.
"We're not far now."
"It's only two hundred kilometers from Zhenbei County to Ninggu City."
"But after Dragon Tiger True Person left Ninggu City, whether he went farther north to the Icefield or turned around and headed south, that's hard to say."
"I just hope Master Zheng is reliable and that his divination results are accurate."
"So I don't make the trip for nothing."
Jiang Qiao felt somewhat helpless.
This mission.
Damn it, it hadn't even given him a single clue. He had to rely entirely on himself, piecing together leads from all over the place.
How was that any different from searching for a needle in a haystack?
It was far too unreliable.
He stood at the city gate and glanced into Zhenbei County.
There weren't many people on the streets.
Most