At those words, everyone fell into thought, their excitement at breaking the formation subsiding a little.
Indeed, Hu Pass belonged to Hedong Circuit, near the northern frontier, and was a strategic stronghold against the southward incursions of nomad cavalry.
Yet Marquis Wu had devoted his entire life to his duty, pouring nearly all his wisdom and effort into Jingchu and Bashu, striving to restore the Han dynasty and campaigning north into the Central Plains.
That vast geographical gulf made the existence of this place seem especially jarring and suspicious.
There had to be a deeper reason behind it!
While everyone puzzled over this, Lu Changfeng's gaze happened to sweep across an inconspicuous accumulation of dust at the edge of the stone platform. There, on the bluish-gray stone, lay the exceedingly faint outline of a footprint. Without deliberate scrutiny, it would have been all but impossible to notice!
He crouched, his nostrils twitching slightly. Beyond the scents of rock, dust, and his companions, he caught a trace of an unusual, subtle fragrance, cool and pure as a snow lotus. That scent belonged to none of their party!
Li Longji noticed him. "Mr. Lu, have you found something?"
"Someone came here before us."
Lu Changfeng rose and spoke gravely, pointing to the footprint and the strange fragrance lingering in the air.
"What?!"
Everyone was startled.
Li Longji's expression darkened, and he immediately signaled Gao Lishi, Wang Maozhong, and the others to keep watch around them.
Xue Chongjian's excitement vanished as well, replaced by uncertainty and alarm. "How is that possible? With Suan Yu still alive outside and the Eight Formations unbroken, who could have slipped in without a sound?"
"This footprint probably wasn't left recently..."
Lu Changfeng studied the mark on the ground and frowned. "Perhaps they had some other means. Beyond