Tracing Through the Mountains

Both sides of the coin bore the embossed image of a flying kite.

The copper coin was bluish green, and the kite was an Azure Kite.

"Yes, these State Decrees are distinguished by color." Poplar Mountain Spirit suddenly remembered. "No, this Green Kite Coin isn't yours!"

The white-robed youth cut in, "I lent it to Mister Sha."

Poplar Mountain Spirit spoke at an unhurried pace, while the man in gray was somewhat impatient. "Since you've already come out, I have something to ask. Answer quickly, and I'll leave quickly."

"Ask away."

Mountain spirits were mountain gods, though some places gave them a more common and easily understood name:

Lord of the Land.

Where spiritual energy gathered and living creatures flourished, mountain spirits would slowly come into being. If they received an imperial investiture from a human ruler, they could wield primordial power and govern the lands and waters of a region.

If an empire vanished or the investiture expired, the mountain spirit's primordial power would gradually decline, until it finally returned to a wild state.

Though Poplar Mountain Spirit had once received an investiture from the Yuan Kingdom, it did not even have a mountain god temple. The main reason was that it had slept with its head buried for years on end, ignoring the trivial affairs of its territory. The local creatures received no answer when they sought its help, and over time, they simply forgot about it.

But it had to answer the summons of the gray-robed man before it.

Poplar Mountain Spirit was still somewhat grumpy from being woken up, but reason told it that the person before it was not someone to offend lightly.

"Forty or fifty days ago, a Sand Leopard came here. I want you to find out where it went." The gray-robed man was very direct. "That thing only nests in West Mountain. It should be rare around here."

"A Sand Leopard? Mm—" Poplar Mountain Spirit drew out the sound. "Let me look."

The two waited quietly for over a quarter of an hour.

Suddenly, a little deer emerged from the grass. It was not afraid of people at all, even shaking its head in front of the two men.

Poplar Mountain Spirit said, "Follow it."

The deer turned and ran, and the two immediately followed.

After crossing two mountain peaks, the little deer headed toward a cliff, finally stopping at the edge of a steep boulder.

"The Sand Leopard came here?" The white-robed youth crouched down and found several dark stains on the rock.

"Bloodstains, but they're very old."

The little deer stretched its head straight out beyond the boulder.

"It jumped down?"

The deer nodded.

Strange. The badly wounded Sand Leopard had fled all the way here, so why had it then leapt off a cliff to seek death? The two exchanged a glance, then descended along the rocks from the side and climbed down to the bottom of the ravine.

The earth energy here was damp and chilly, much cooler than up in the mountains, so the vegetation was denser as well. The two searched the ravine floor for quite some time but found no leopard corpse.

The white-robed youth looked up at the cliff. "It was already severely wounded. After falling from such a high cliff, it couldn't possibly still be alive." There were no large trees beneath the cliff, so no leaves or vines could have cushioned the Sand Leopard's fall. "Poplar Mountain Spirit, is it still in the mountains?"

"You want to know where it went, so I'll show you." Another tree beside them spoke. This time, it was a Beech Tree Spirit. "It isn't in the mountains."

A mountain wind swept past, stirring a small whirlwind on the ground. Branches, leaves, and dirt spun and spun, until they unexpectedly took shape.

Besides a leopard, the shape formed from mud and leaves also included a creature with four limbs!

The white-robed youth looked twice, greatly startled. "Falling from the cliff, aside from the Sand Leopard, there was also a... person?"

The two things lay on the ground, utterly motionless.

"Did they perish together?" The white-robed youth frowned. "Then where did the corpses go?"

Soon, two more whirlwinds rose, shaping new forms in the wind.

"Two people came and were... killed?" The white-robed youth's expression changed. "Good, good. No wonder those two subordinates of mine never returned. So that was it!"

"Then another group came and... carried away the two corpses separately?"

The white-robed youth examined the forms carefully, but unfortunately, "gray-faced and dirt-smeared" could not have been a more fitting description. Everything was a blur. He could barely make out humanoid shapes, but seeing their faces clearly was out of the question.

"Who were these people? Where did they come from?"

He asked twice before the Beech Tree Spirit finally answered in a deep, muffled voice:

"I don't know. Too much time has passed, and all traces have faded. Only the wind spirits remember this much."

The gray-robed man was not discouraged and took over. "At least you know which direction they went after leaving Gourd Mountain?"

The Beech Tree Spirit pressed two branches together and pointed in one direction.

It was precisely the direction from which they had come—

"Blackwater City?" A sharp gleam flashed through the white-robed youth's eyes. "I knew it. The missing guards from Donglai Manor must have found a lead."

But even if they pursued the matter this far, they had only found a vague direction. Blackwater City was neither too large nor too small.

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

The forest fell silent as Poplar Mountain Spirit departed.

After the two had walked more than a hundred paces toward Blackwater City, the gray-robed man slowed slightly and suddenly raised his hand, firing a streak of white light.

A shrill cry came from the woods ten zhang away, followed by the flap-flap of wings.

The two followed the sound and found bloodstains beneath a large tree.

The blood droplets on the ground were faint, but fortunately, the white-robed youth was skilled in tracking. After another fifteen or sixteen zhang, they found a hawk lying on the ground, larger even than an ordinary eagle, its wing and abdomen pierced through.

The blood flowing from its wounds had already turned dark green.

"Ever since leaving Blackwater City, I've felt that someone was watching us. So it was a little demon." The white-robed youth stepped forward, pressing the tip of his foot against the hawk's neck. "Who sent you?"

The hawk panted hard with its beak open.

"Speak." The white-robed youth increased the pressure. "Otherwise, once the poison reaches your heart, you'll surely die within a quarter of an hour!"

The hawk cried out in pain and finally spoke. "If I tell the truth, will you spare me?"

"Of course." The white-robed youth smiled. "Why would a swan concern itself with sparrows?"

The hawk immediately said, "I'm only a mercenary. Earlier, I was resting with my eyes closed at Red Mountain Tavern when someone suddenly came in and asked me to follow what you were doing, then report back."

"Who was that person?"

"I don't know. I only take money and do the job!"

The gray-robed man suddenly said, "Don't listen to its nonsense. This is a domesticated demon!"

A domesticated demon naturally had an owner.

The white-robed youth's gaze turned sharp. He stepped down with his foot, saying nothing more:

"Speak!"

The next morning, the He family was still eating when a servant hurriedly came to report:

"Two guests have arrived, claiming to be under General Who Conquers the North of Xun Prefecture!"

He Lingchuan's heart gave a thump as he looked toward his father. He Chunhua was also slightly taken aback, his expression tightening. "Invite them to Suhong Hall for tea."

Suhong Hall was where the master of He Manor received guests, suitable for small gatherings of three or five people.

He stood and pointed at He Lingchuan. "Lingchuan, come with me."

He Yue and Madam Ying were both somewhat surprised.

Why was the master bringing his eldest son along to meet guests from Xun Prefecture?

The most convenient privilege of being the head of a household was that one did not need to explain one's actions. He Chunhua said no more and went to the front hall with the steward and He Lingchuan.