As expected, the Shimen caravan smoothly loaded the remains of the escort squad and diplomatic mission onto their wagons and transported them forward for just over three li, where they happened upon scouts from the escort detachment heading back.
Upon crossing paths, the scouts led the Shimen caravan to meet Xiang Yunhuan, the vice-captain of the escort detachment.
With the captain dead, the second-in-command naturally became the leader.
The squad, which had been brimming with arrogance just a few hours earlier, was resting among the stone forest with extremely low morale. He Lingchuan glanced over and saw that most of them bore injuries.
Second Master Shi intended to hand all the fallen escort members' remains back to Xiang Yunhuan. Yet after a moment of hesitation, the latter actually asked the Shimen caravan to keep hauling their comrades' bodies to Baiyang Town ahead, where the escort detachment would take over.
Though carrying the dead was bad luck, Second Master Shi agreed readily this time, because Xiang Yunhuan promised: "I will report your contribution to the higher-ups."
Second Master Shi also saw that the escort squad had lost most of their carriages and horses, and with so many casualties, they couldn't even transport the bodies themselves, leaving them no choice but to rely on civilian caravans for transport.
For the entire escort detachment, this was an utterly depressing day.
The Wind Demon, missing for hundreds of years, had suddenly reappeared; the Chiyan envoy had been abducted; the escort squad had suffered catastrophic losses; and even the spirit seed entrusted to them by the Jeweled Tree King was gone.
To make matters worse, they hadn't even figured out who was behind it all.
Fortunately, the envoys of the Baixiang and Xuluo Kingdoms were still alive, and the captain himself had died in the line of duty, so Xiang Yunhuan could at least account for what happened upon his return.
Regardless, duties still had to be carried out, and the detachment still had to be led; over a hundred men were looking to him with eager expectation.
Steeling himself, Xiang Yunhuan summoned a raptor with a wave of his hand and ordered it to fly back to Fufeng City ahead of them to deliver the news. As for himself, he would continue the unfinished mission, escort the two envoys to the northern border, and only then return to Fufeng City to accept punishment.
Only when the raptor swooped down did He Lingchuan realize several bird demons had secretly been tailing the escort detachment. They hadn't shown themselves during the fierce battle earlier probably because the winds were so ferocious that they couldn't get anywhere near the Wind Demon.
Aerial scouts like these were simply too useful as spies and messengers, He Lingchuan inwardly mused once more.
He heard Second Master Shi console Xiang Yunhuan: "This road has been peaceful for hundreds of years. Who could have expected the Wind Demon to launch an ambush? You can't be blamed for this, Lord Xiang, and the higher-ups won't be too harsh on you."
Xiang Yunhuan frowned.
He Lingchuan chimed in: "Why the Wind Demon was able to stage a comeback is what truly warrants investigation. If Lord Xiang can figure that out, it would count as clearing away a hidden peril from this crucial thoroughfare."
Wind Demon Rock and Black Stone Stockade were both vital transit points connecting the north and south of the Jeweled Tree Kingdom, traversed by all carriages and wagons traveling in either direction. If the Wind Demon had truly revived, it would inevitably pose a grave threat to any travelers crossing the tundra.
Thus, He Lingchuan's words were not an exaggeration in the slightest. Second Master Shi sighed as well: "Indeed. Wasn't that Wind Demon captured and suppressed by our King long ago? Could another Wind Demon have been spawned here over these four hundred years?"
Wind Demon Rock possessed the bizarre Meridian Divine Wind. Since it could nurture the first Wind Demon countless years ago, who was to say it couldn't spawn another?
He Lingchuan gave a slight wave of his hand. "Earth, water, fire, wind—the likelihood of natural elements developing sentience is less than one in a million compared to other demon beasts." Of course, that was under the premise of the current world.
In antiquity, of course, things were different; in a world brimming with spiritual energy, all manner of bizarre things could run rampant, limited only by one's imagination.
"Even if a second Wind Demon were born naturally of heaven and earth, how could it be such a coincidence that it appeared in the Piaomiao Sect's old grounds?"
Having spent over a month with him, Second Master Shi had gained some understanding of his temperament. "Brother He, don't keep us in suspense. You definitely know something."
"We all visited the ruins of the Piaomiao Sect. On the cliff by the stone cave near the exit, there are three large cliff carvings reading 'Fengbo Rock,' inscribed in the ancient immortal language."
"So in ancient times, the Piaomiao Sect and the locals actually called the Wind Demon 'Fengbo,'" He Lingchuan said calmly. "To them, it was very likely a spiritual creature protecting the immortal sect and the entire tundra, rather than a demonic monstrosity. The 'Wind Lion Lords' were sculptures crafted in its likeness."
People erected statues of deities, sages, and mountain spirits and water spirits because they believed these beings could grant blessing and protection.
It was therefore no surprise that the ancients erected statues for the Wind Demon—or Fengbo.
"But have you noticed? Wind Lion Lords almost always appear in pairs—one large, one small." He Lingchuan retrieved a pair of Wind Lion Lords from his storage ring; the large one was as tall as a person, while the small one stood less than three feet high.
Recalling what he had seen in the caverns, Second Master Shi couldn't help nodding. "Indeed, that's exactly right! The Wind Lion Lords in the fields and caves all appear in pairs. I heard locals say it's because Wind Lion Lords are divided into male and female."
"How could a Wind Demon have male and female sexes?" Xiang Yunhuan had heard those legends as well. He looked at He Lingchuan. "Are you saying that the Piaomiao Sect actually had two Wind Demons?"
"That's right, one large and one small." He Lingchuan patted the stone sculptures. "Just like these two."
Art always draws from reality. If there weren't two Wind Demons, why would the Piaomiao Sect have crafted such sculptures?
"Are you saying our King subdued one Wind Demon, but overlooked the other?"
That was a dangerous assertion, and He Lingchuan certainly wasn't going to take the bait. "You said it, not me."
Xiang Yunhuan: "..."
He Lingchuan patted the smaller Wind Lion Lord. "Wind Lion Lords might not be male and female, but they could be parent and child. Perhaps the smaller one was birthed by the larger one—or maybe 'divided' off from it?"
The Jeweled Tree King had no sex either, yet the spirit seed it gestated was essentially an avatar.
Why couldn't the same apply to the Wind Demon?
Xiang Yunhuan said with a rasping voice, "Even if the small Wind Demon survived all this time, why did it suddenly attack us after lying dormant for four hundred years? Was it awakened?" At this point, his gaze suddenly locked. "Could it... be connected to the Chiyan envoy?"
His primary mission on this journey had been to escort the three envoys back to the northern border.
The Wind Demon's assault had thrown everything into chaos, and someone took the opportunity to abduct the Chiyan envoy and jump right off the cliff.
The winds had been too intense for the bird demons to approach the battlefield at the time. Once the fighting ceased, Xiang Yunhuan had dispatched bird demons down the cliff to search, but he knew deep down there was a ninety-percent chance they wouldn't find anything.
Had the mastermind orchestrated such massive turmoil, risking offense to the Jeweled Tree King, just to seize the Chiyan envoy?
A mere envoy who came to offer birthday felicitations, an ordinary human at that—what could be so special about him?
"Lord Xiang, do you know that prior to the Jeweled Tree King's birthday celebration—specifically the night the Emperor's Flowing Dew appeared—the deputy envoy of the Eling Kingdom was murdered? An investigation revealed that the perpetrator meant to target the Shanyu Kingdom's envoy, but mistook his mark."
"I know the Eling Kingdom's deputy envoy was murdered." Xiang Yunhuan looked at He Lingchuan with a peculiar expression. "Who are you?"
Though this young man carried himself with an imposing bearing, Xiang Yunhuan had been too demoralized earlier to even bother asking his name.
He Lingchuan presented the silver medallion of the Grand Preceptor's Manor. "I have some ties to Young Master Sha Xinghai of the Grand Preceptor's Manor, and was invited to attend the celebration."
On Jeweled Tree Kingdom territory, this thing truly opened doors.
Second Master Shi chimed in with a chuckle, "Young Master He has already promised Grand Preceptor Sha that after concluding his affairs in Lingxu City, he will return to Fufeng City to take up an official post."
His phrasing was quite deft, making it sound as though Grand Preceptor Sha were practically begging He Lingchuan to return and take office.
"I see." Xiang Yunhuan's guard lowered somewhat. After all, it was common for talented individuals to serve demon kingdoms, and they sometimes moved between realms. "Are you saying this entire string of plots was aimed at the envoys?"
He Lingchuan spread his hands. "Just a guess."
"No, no, what you say makes sense," Xiang Yunhuan said. "I was previously in charge of part of the security at the courier station, Willow Residence. The envoys from the Shanyu and Chiyan Kingdoms stayed in the very same courtyard compound."
The culprit had first targeted the Shanyu envoy, then later abducted the Chiyan envoy—and by coincidence, the two had lodged directly across from each other in Fufeng City.
Could that really be a coincidence?
He Lingchuan's eyes flickered. "That made it all too convenient for them to exchange things. Could there have been a handoff?"
Xiang Yunhuan nodded. "Plausible. If the two had some secret scheme, arranging to meet during our King's birthday celebration would certainly provide good cover."
He paused in thought and added, "When the Shanyu diplomatic mission reached Fufeng City, they were two days behind schedule. I heard servants from the party mention that petty thieves stole the special envoy's embroidered storage pouch along the road. It held silver, miscellaneous items, and border-crossing documents, so it took them some time to recover it."
"Did they lose anything?"
"Nothing was lost; supposedly, it was all recovered."
He Lingchuan came to an understanding. "No wonder the Shanyu mission didn't pass through Three Hearts Plain on schedule. They were delayed on the road."
Fu Shanyue had waited there in ambush and missed his prey, resulting in the Eling envoy becoming an unwitting scapegoat.
Just then, the bird demon previously dispatched by the escort detachment returned, reporting that the Chiyan envoy's corpse had been found on the mountainside of Wind Demon Rock, dead from a snapped neck.
Hearing this, Xiang Yunhuan couldn't help rubbing his temples, what little lingering hope he harbored thoroughly shattered. It seemed the mastermind had already obtained what he wanted.
Next, he would have his hands full again, with no time left to converse with the two.
He had a whole basket of troubles to deal with.
And He Lingchuan had finally connected all the threads from start to finish.
The Shanyu Kingdom wished to deliver a gift to the Chiyan ruler, but rather than using conventional means to present it in person in that kingdom, they used the occasion of the Jeweled Tree King's eight-hundredth birthday celebration. The Shanyu envoy carried the treasure into Willow Residence in Fufeng City and handed it over to the Chiyan envoy to take back.
In other words, this was a private transaction between two sovereigns, never meant for public knowledge.
Yet Fu Shanyue had somehow caught wind of this intelligence and planned to intercept the treasure en route. He first set an ambush at Three Hearts Plain along the Shanyu envoy's necessary path. Unexpectedly, the Emperor's Flowing Dew erupted, and he killed the Eling envoy instead; meanwhile, the intended target, the Shanyu envoy, was delayed by the theft of his pouch, avoided walking into Fu Shanyue's deadly trap, and reached Fufeng City safely to complete the handoff with the Chiyan envoy.
Thus, the "treasure" was collected by the Chiyan envoy.
Fu Shanyue had no choice but to follow to Fufeng City.
He intended to strike at the Chiyan envoy, unaware that He Lingchuan, seeking payback for being chased at Three Hearts Plain, turned around and reported him, bringing the authorities down on his head.
Fu Shanyue's plan was once again derailed.
Fortunately for him, the stubborn fellow had a Plan C—using the Wind Demon to intercept the escort squad and snatching the Chiyan envoy in the chaos.
Chapter 401