Scripture Pavilion, Third Floor

The return journey was slower than the trip there.

Liu Ping's leg was broken, and he could not walk without someone supporting him. Xu Mao's shoulder wound had stopped bleeding, but his right arm had no strength. After walking for less than half an hour, cold sweat began to bead on his forehead.

Fang He's side was in even worse shape. Of their team of seven, only three could still move normally. They were carrying a corpse on a stretcher and still needed Li Yuan and He Shou to lend a hand.

They did not encounter any more Demonic Beasts along the way.

By the time they reached the main encampment, night was nearly falling.

He Shou went straight to report to the person in charge of the Guard Squad. Li Yuan helped carry Liu Ping to the wounded shelter in the camp, then pressed Xu Mao onto a wooden plank bed and had the camp personnel treat his injuries.

Fang He's team also settled down in the camp. The corpse on the stretcher was carried into an empty room, and the door was shut.

When He Shou returned, his expression was several degrees grimmer than before.

"I reported the matter of the formations, including the ones from the valley before and the ones discovered today."

He Shou stopped at the entrance to the encampment, his tone brief.

"Also, the Wang Family has invited a formation expert from outside to investigate the origin and purpose of these formation traces. He should arrive within the next couple of days."

"Where did they invite him from?" Li Yuan asked.

"They didn't say." He Shou shook his head. "But anyone the Wang Family specially invited should be no slouch."

He Shou leaned his long saber against the wall and added another sentence.

"There's more. Captain Wang sent back orders—we're withdrawing to the market tonight."

"Tonight?"

"The manpower here will be reassigned. We were originally supposed to stay until the ninth, but there were even more casualties than last time."

He Shou paused before continuing.

"All teams will return together. But those few from the Wang Family will remain here, and we'll also be taking several wounded back with us."

Traveling at night was faster than traveling during the day.

There was no search mission, no need to stop and inspect traces. With the help of Healing Medicine, Xu Mao's injuries had already improved considerably.

With the main force traveling together, there was no need to worry about safety.

Chen Qi supported Liu Ping, while Li Yuan was also responsible for another wounded member of Fang He's team.

After nearly two hours of walking, the outline of the market walls appeared in the night.

After entering the market, Li Yuan walked along East Street, his pace slowing slightly.

The market at night was different from before.

The stalls on both sides of East Street had long since packed up, but seven or eight handcarts of varying sizes stood by the roadside. Wooden crates and cloth bundles were stacked on them, tied tightly with ropes. Several people who looked like Rogue Cultivators squatted in a circle around the carts. Some were counting goods, while others spoke in low voices.

Li Yuan swept them with his gaze and noticed that every one of them had a storage pouch hanging from his waist.

Not one or two of them—every single person had one.

A Rogue Cultivator team where everyone had a storage pouch was not common in Qinghe Market. Even the cheapest storage pouch cost fifty or sixty Spirit Stones. Ordinary Rogue Cultivators might not be able to afford one after saving for years, much less equip an entire team with them.

These people were no ordinary Rogue Cultivators.

Li Yuan did not stop and continued onward.

When he reached the entrance to North Alley, he saw a similar scene again.

Three handcarts were crammed into the open space at the alley entrance, with seven or eight people gathered around them. One of them was squatting on the ground, using a charcoal pencil to write and draw on a sheet of rough paper, while several people beside him craned their necks to look.

"...We came from the Yuanyang Sect side. We traveled for over half a month and ran into two groups of Cultivator Bandits on the road. We lost one man, but those bandits had fairly decent fortunes on them."

A middle-aged man with a booming voice was talking to someone beside him. He held a jar of wine in his arms, drinking as he spoke.

"No road is peaceful these days. Traveling alone is just serving yourself up on a platter. The twelve of us only dared travel by sticking together, and even then we nearly went under."

Li Yuan slowed to a stop.

Traveling merchants.

Traveling merchants often moved between the several markets and regional powers around the Yuanheng Mountains. They purchased supplies in one market, transported them to another, and made their profit from the difference in price.

Quite a few Rogue Cultivators made a living this way, but they usually traveled in groups of two or three to deal with danger. Groups of more than ten were rare.

A group this large, with everyone carrying a storage pouch, was either an established merchant caravan or a temporary gathering forced together by the recent instability.

Li Yuan stood at the alley entrance for a while and listened to a few more sentences.

"...The Yuanyang Sect side is quite lively. I heard they've recently been researching a new Medicinal Pill, using the inner cores of high-level Demonic Beasts as the main ingredient to assist Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators in breaking through to the Golden Core Realm."

"Golden Core?" A young Rogue Cultivator beside him smacked his lips. "What does that have to do with us? We can't even reach Foundation Establishment."

"Listening doesn't cost money." The middle-aged man took another gulp of wine and wiped his mouth.

"Also, stall fees at Li Family Market have gone down again, though they're still thirty percent more expensive than here."

"Is the Li Family side safe?"

"Much safer than here. The Li Family seems to have some method for driving off and dealing with Demonic Beasts."

Li Yuan kept this information in mind, returned to his residence, and began cultivating.

The spiritual energy entering his body was pure and without impurities. His circulation revolved at high speed, and the six Permanent Affixes each performed their own duties.

The next morning, Li Yuan went to the Management Office to register his patrol records and the details of this operation.

The Spirit Stone subsidy was not much—four stones. But he received quite a few Contribution Points: fifteen in total as a participation reward for the mountain operation.

The reward for discovering the formations had not yet been issued.

After leaving the Management Office, Li Yuan received a notice and went straight to the Patrol Squad's encampment.

When Wang De saw Li Yuan enter, he set the document in his hand aside, leaned back in his chair, and looked Li Yuan over twice.

"You're back. I've already read the report on what happened up there."

Li Yuan sat down before the desk without speaking.

Wang De picked up a bowl of cold tea and took a sip. He frowned slightly and set it back down.

"The pieces of intelligence you provided before—Zhao Wu scouting out the market's defenses, the Jade Pendant Breath Concealment technique, and the half-pill found in the Demonic Beast's stomach."

Wang De's tone was calm, but his gaze was serious.

"After investigating for a while, those leads seem to be connected. I can't tell you the specifics, but the intelligence you provided was indeed useful. It saved the Wang Family quite a bit of effort."

Wang De took out a stamped document from beneath the desk and pushed it in front of Li Yuan.

"They approved a reward."

Li Yuan took the document and glanced at it.

The document was very brief—given that Li Yuan, deputy captain of the Patrol Squad, had repeatedly provided valuable intelligence concerning market security, and with the approval of the Wang Family Steward, he was specially permitted to select one cultivation technique or spell from the Hidden Merit Pavilion as an additional reward.

The selection was not limited to mundane martial arts manuals; it included immortal cultivation spells and cultivation techniques. He was limited to one selection and could go to the third floor, a place that Contribution Points could not grant access to under normal circumstances.

The second floor of the Scripture Pavilion contained cultivation techniques and spells that could be exchanged for Contribution Points, but the third floor held things that Contribution Points could not buy.

Li Yuan's fingers tightened slightly around the edge of the document.

"Thank you, Captain Wang."

"I wasn't the one who approved it. It was the Steward's decision." Wang De moved the tea bowl aside.

"Bring that document when you go to the Hidden Merit Pavilion. The guards will verify it. Just make your choice, and don't take too long."

Li Yuan folded the document and tucked it into his sleeve, then rose to take his leave.