Shi Yingxue initially invited Li Qiye to look at their problem. Alas, unexpected development forced her to put this on hold.
Li Qiye smiled and shook his head: “Go ahead and take care of your business, I’ll be looking around in the meantime. Come find me when you’re done.”
She felt bad about it but there was no time to linger around. She bowed deeply and apologized: “Please forgive me for the lack of reception. Armament Mountain will make it up to you later.”
“Go.” He waved his hand since he wasn’t in a rush to solve anything.
She then followed the elder; the two looked to be in a hurry.
“They’re under attack?” Ning Zhu wondered after seeing this.
After all the trouble Shi Yingxue went through to invite Li Qiye, she should have prepared an official welcoming party for him. Ultimately, she needed to please him for his support.
But now, they haven’t even made it to the sect and she chose to leave him behind. It must have been something important to warrant such an improper departure.
Ning Zhu thought that the only explanation was that enemies were invading. However, the place looked peaceful with no sign of warfare at all.
Plus, how many sects would dare to attack Armament Mountain? What else could it be then?
Li Qiye glanced at the peaks for a moment before speaking: “She probably can’t guarantee her own safety, that’s why she left me here.”
“What?” Ning Zhu couldn’t believe it and started speculating: “Something is happening internally?”
She was no stranger to political games and power struggles. However, Shi Yingxue always had full support as the sect master of Armament. What was going on? It wouldn’t be easy to replace one of the Six Kings.
Nonetheless, her hasty departure was an ominous sign – a testament to the precariousness of the situation.
Ning Zhu thought about certain rumors pertaining to Armament Mountain. As the princess of Wooden Sword, she had access to many rumors and mysteries.
“Who is forcing her?” She didn’t want to overly dwell on this issue since it was none of her business.
“Let’s just take a look around since we’re here anyway.” Li Qiye smiled, not caring about Armament’s development.
Ning Zhu stopped pondering and gave chase. She quietly asked: “Young Noble, what do you think is behind all of this?”
She couldn’t ask him when Shi Yingxue was around. She was curious after hearing about it along the way.
“You tell me since you’re so smart.” He stared at her.
“I’m only a foolish maid, unable to grasp the situation,” to which she responded.
“Stop, there are only the two of us here, no need to play dumb.” He waved his hand.
“You’re too kind, Young Noble.” She bowed slightly before speaking her mind: “It doesn’t seem dangerous but this is a sign of a future problem. It’ll turn into a disaster soon enough. Given the circumstances, I don’t think it has anything to do with the outside world. The source might be Armament Mountain itself.”
“Certain things are inevitable. You reap what you sow.” He responded.
“What do you mean, Young Noble?” She asked.
He didn’t answer and moved on ahead.
“Reap what you sow?” She repeated and carefully digested this information. She then glanced back at the mountain range, seemingly realizing something.
Once she stopped ruminating, Li Qiye was far away so she had to catch up.
He didn’t go to Armament nor look for any disciple from there. His destination was the plain belonging to the Tang.
The massive plain looked pristine and desolate. Unfortunately, it was also barren. It was flat enough to seemingly give unrestricted vision to the other end. There were no rivers and lakes. The grass was yellow and dried up due to a lack of water. All of this resulted in a depressing atmosphere.
One thing of note on this flat plain were mud piles scattered everywhere. They seemed to have accumulated across the years and had grass growing on top.
Li Qiye stopped in front of one and took a look. Ning Zhu became curious – what was special about this dirt pile?
“Clean it up a bit.” He ordered.
She immediately began removing the grass and dirt without any hesitation despite this being her first experience with such a dirty task.
After she finished, she realized that there was something beneath – a little thing resembling a fort.
However, as she looked closer, it wasn’t one since it didn’t have a gate. She also noted that although it looked like black rocks on the surface, they were actually thick dao runes assembled together.
“What is this?” The only thing she was certain of was that someone made this.
Due to her curiosity, she began cleaning another dirt pile not far from there without receiving Li Qiye’s command. Another tiny fort appeared, looking identical outside of some minor details.
She then looked across the plains and took note of their position. They were inconspicuous just like rocks. No one else would take a second look.
However, she then realized that there was an order to their placement. Unfortunately, she couldn’t come up with a pattern in such a short time.
“What are they?” She asked Li Qiye.
He smiled and stared at the plain: “Those in the past have spent great effort on this.”