Chapter 43: You, Right Here
Strategist Ji's hand, filled with spiritual energy, had not yet dispersed that energy, still maintaining a cautious appearance. He shook that piece of silk, and it unfolded.
After unfolding, the silk was empty of any objects, but his eyes brightened, because as the silk opened, he saw that one side of the silk had a map drawn on it.
He laid the silk flat on the ground and looked at it intently. After a while, he couldn't help but laugh sinisterly.
"Hehe, I wondered why you bought so many clothes every time you returned, but it turns out you had a map drawn somewhere in the city. Your thoughts are truly clever and intricate.
How could I constantly guard against you bringing such an item in? You didn't dare keep this map in your room for fear I might accidentally discover it, so you moved it to this patch of flowers and buried it in a remote place.
When you came over to weed and plant flowers, or even lay here, I wouldn't pay attention. But since the map was buried for so long, the flower roots lost moisture, so they inevitably began to wither. Have you been sitting or lying here studying this map regularly?"
At this moment, on the silk lying on the ground, there was clearly a map drawn on one side, showing the mountain ranges near North City.
Such maps were sold in many shops in the city. This wasn't a military map, but rather a type of map for merchants or nearby residents.
This kind of map depicted the geographical features of the nearby Great Qing Mountains and some small paths and shortcuts leading into the mountains. These weren't the main features; the main features were the notations on the map, indicating what kinds of demonic beasts appeared within how many li of the nearby mountains, as well as the types of demonic beasts.
It was mainly to help nearby residents and passing merchants understand the Great Qing Mountain so they wouldn't enter too deeply or go to the wrong places, which would mean no return.
This type of map had two sources. One was partly published by the military, which hunted demonic beasts in the mountain every year, first to train troops, and second to prevent too many demonic beasts from appearing at the edge of Great Qing Mountain.
Although these demonic beasts weren't too high in level, they were deadly to ordinary mortals.
The other source was from civilian commercial guilds. They also explored Great Qing Mountain, and during this exploration, gradually drew up their own maps.
The map drawn on the silk before his eyes clearly wasn't the kind sold in shops. It must have been specially drawn by someone with the intention of making it difficult for others to discover, easily mixed in among clothing.
Strategist Ji was no longer concerned about the source of this map. After a moment's thought, he concluded that Hong Linying definitely didn't know about it.
This was one of Li Yan's methods for survival, and he wouldn't let others know his whereabouts. Now his concern was how to deduce Li Yan's intentions from this map, so he carefully examined it back and forth.
After a while, Strategist Ji was beaming with joy.
"Hehe... I know you're clever in many ways, but would you have imagined such a thing as divine sense existed?"
When he first examined the silk carefully, he didn't discover much. Only when he held it up to the sunlight and squinted to observe carefully did he notice there were faint traces on the silk, though they weren't clear.
So he simply released his divine sense toward the silk, and immediately several lines were mapped out in his divine sense. The scratches varied in depth and thickness, but one thicker line was particularly obvious.
It was a line starting not far from the North Gate, a small path leading toward the west side of Great Qing Mountain, finally stopping at a place about seventy or eighty li deep, where the map indicated very few demonic beasts.
These few lines were likely the result of someone's finger or fingernail tracing over the silk for a long time. The fabric would hardly retain such unintentional scratches, but they immediately appeared when Strategist Ji used his divine sense.
Strategist Ji repeatedly observed that thicker line with his divine sense. After a while, the smile at the corner of his mouth grew increasingly thick.
He knew the reason this line was thicker than the others was because it had been traced by hand more times, leaving more repeated scratches that formed an overlap, making it appear thicker.
This meant that among these routes, this was the one Li Yan had considered the most and was most likely to use. What's more, it was marked as having very few demonic beasts, making it a good place to hide.
"Hmph, I knew you wouldn't escape back home so easily. That would be too easy to find. Sure enough, the clothes you bought and these flowers all had a purpose."
Strategist Ji tucked the silk into his bosom and shot out of the valley like lightning. When he reached the open area outside the valley, he called for Chen An and Li Yin. Amid their anxious expressions, he gave them a few instructions in a low voice, then quickly darted down the mountain.
After receiving orders from Strategist Ji, Chen An and Li Yin also showed thoughtful expressions. Not long after, they entered the forest, led out some horses, and rode down the mountain.
The two had received orders from Strategist Ji to secretly go to Li Family Village at the foot of Great Qing Mountain and discreetly investigate the village situation.
If they discovered Li Yan in the village, one should stay and watch, while the other should return to report to him. Although Strategist Ji was almost certain Li Yan wouldn't return to the village, he still didn't want to overlook any possibility.
After descending the mountain, Strategist Ji didn't immediately follow the map to search for Li Yan. Instead, he entered the city again, secretly searched "Tianran Wine House" and "Ironware Pavilion," and only after confirming Li Yan wasn't there did he feel relieved.
Strategist Ji looked at the sky. It was nearly noon. He got some food at "Tianran Wine House," ate simply, then set out toward the outskirts of the city.
The mountain path was rugged and covered with thorns. Like many paths entering Great Qing Mountain, it wasn't frequently used. The mountain weeds and vines grew extremely fast, quickly covering the small paths occasionally cleared by people with intertwining stems and branches.
The mountain was already hot in the early summer noon. Occasional breezes brought a hint of coolness, mixed with the scent of wildflowers, which was also somewhat comfortable.
But the person traveling there didn't feel very good. Dressed in a black robe with a "dark" face, Strategist Ji would occasionally crouch down to search before continuing forward. By now he was covered in sweat.
Here, divine sense wasn't particularly useful. The place marked on the map was about seventy or eighty li from where the official road turned in, which wasn't too far, especially for someone with extraordinary skills like him.
But the ground here was covered with dense thorns, and above were huge tree crowns standing close together. As he walked, more small paths would branch out. Those paths were covered with thorns and shrubs, and one could easily go in the wrong direction.
Although with his current spiritual power he could fly over flat ground, this would inevitably startle the birds and beasts in the forest. That kid might hear from far away and become a "frightened bird."
At that time, his search would become even more difficult, so he had to proceed carefully to have a chance of capturing Li Yan with a single move.
Looking at the shrubs on the ground, Strategist Ji's forehead throbbed with veins. Clearly, someone had tampered with this place.
He walked carefully for about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, only to find he had turned in another direction. This had happened several times, and now he had to adjust his direction again.
That kid actually knew how to set up disguises and traps, and divine sense couldn't detect these mechanical disguises.
Divine consciousness could only replace the eyes to see more clearly or farther, though with Strategist Ji's current spiritual power, his divine sense couldn't see farther than his eyes.
But seeing clearly is one thing; judging right from wrong, real from fake, still requires human judgment.
Since he entered the mountain, in just about twenty li of travel, Strategist Ji had adjusted his direction at least four times. Once he almost startled the birds in the forest.
Although he didn't think Li Yan could see him here, he didn't dare to be careless. Now he had a new understanding of Li Yan, knowing this young man was patient and possibly as cunning as himself.
This was because he lacked some detailed understanding of Li Yan. Li Yan had followed the village adults to hunt in the mountains since childhood. Half the village's income came from hunting, so they naturally had a set of ancestral hunting methods.
Disguises and traps were just things they did regularly. Otherwise, given the alertness of demonic beasts, even the unranked ones, their natural vigilance would make them extremely difficult to catch.
Although Strategist Ji's "Immortal-Seeking Lineage" also had techniques for concealment and tracking, they mainly focused on avoiding demonic beasts. Their tracking techniques were more targeted at finding various traces left by immortals.
Time passed bit by bit, and the sun gradually moved westward. When night was about to fall, Strategist Ji finally arrived at the foot of a mountain peak without disturbing too many birds and beasts.
Strategist Ji was now crouching among the crown leaves of a giant tree, looking ahead.
About a li away, halfway up the mountain peak, there was a platform about seven or eight zhang wide. Several giant pines on the platform swayed with the gentle wind, and the sound of pine waves faintly came over.
At this time, a person was sitting under a pine tree eating something.
Strategist Ji channeled spiritual power to his eyes and looked intently. That person was also wearing a black robe, sitting on a huge rock under the pine, eating something occasionally, and looking around from time to time. Behind him was a cliff.
"You, are you right here?"
Strategist Ji watched for a while, confirming the person was Li Yan, and couldn't help muttering to himself.
Strategist Ji crouched in the huge tree crown without taking immediate action. He was considering how to succeed in one move, because Li Yan was sitting on a rock under the giant pine, very close to the cliff behind him.
As for how deep the cliff was, it couldn't be judged from the direction he came from. It was possible that he had been climbing a slope since entering the mountain, only this side was a gentle slope.
If he couldn't capture Li Yan in one strike, and Li Yan was driven to desperation, there was no guarantee he wouldn't risk his life.
In desperation, all he would need to do is turn around and jump off the cliff. At that point, it would truly be a case of the chicken flying and the egg breaking.
He just crouched in the huge crown leaves quietly observing. Meanwhile, Li Yan on the mountain finished eating, then took out a water bag from the package on the ground, took a sip, and then put the water bag at the edge of the stone slab at his feet.
Suddenly, he seemed to hear something and abruptly lay down, prostrating himself on the ground. This startled Strategist Ji.
Just now he clearly hadn't made any sound. Could this kid have discovered him?
Then, he saw Li Yan, after lying on the ground, slowly raising his head slightly, his eyes gradually looking toward his direction. His heart immediately tensed.
"Damn, this kid really discovered me. How did he even detect me?"
Strategist Ji cursed inwardly. He had been careful all the way to get here and was sure he hadn't even disturbed the forest birds.
But since he had been discovered, he had to come out. Just as he was about to stand up and speak to steady Li Yan, he suddenly felt something was off.
At this time, Li Yan's eyes had left this place and were slowly scanning to the left side of his body, and his gaze began to become extremely vigilant.
"Could there be someone else to my left? No, I searched the area when I first arrived and didn't detect anything there, which is why I hid here. Is this kid too sensitive? Could it be a case of being overly suspicious?"
So, Strategist Ji steadied his body again, deciding to watch a bit more before making his next move.
Sure enough, after a short while, Li Yan on the mountainside, after looking for a while, moved his gaze again. Only this time his gaze also carefully examined Strategist Ji's right side. Afterward, his figure actually slowly stood up again.
"Damn, he was indeed being paranoid. He reacts like this to every little movement."
Strategist Ji was furious and couldn't help but curse in his heart. He had almost exposed his whereabouts just now. If he had really appeared and failed to steady that kid, wouldn't he have regretted it terribly?
At this time, after Li Yan on the mountainside stood up, he looked around again, then listened for a while, and finally dejectedly sat back on the huge rock.
Looking down, he hurriedly went to pick up the water bag he had just placed beside him. It turned out that when he suddenly laid down earlier, he had kicked over the water bag he had casually placed at the edge of the huge rock, which wasn't yet capped.
Now water was flowing out from the mouth of the water bag. Although there were clear springs in this mountain, there were none nearby, and fetching water required walking quite far.
Li Yan hurriedly picked up the water bag, plugged it with the cork, then shook it near his ear, and couldn't help but sigh.
And it was at this moment that Strategist Ji in the huge tree crown suddenly narrowed his eyes. As the clear water poured out from the water bag, the rock beside Li Yan changed color.
Strategist Ji's heart stirred, and he looked again with concentrated spiritual power. After a few breaths, he couldn't help but be shocked.
(Chapter End)