Chapter 96: Answers From Green River

Zhao Wei reached the tavern shortly before noon.

The second Association member accompanying him was familiar as well.

Shen Yao.

Lin Yuan had last seen the two of them when the investigation around the buried structure was still mostly a matter of placing markers, taking measurements, and warning people not to disturb anything.

A great deal had changed since then.

Zhao Wei’s attention went first to the temporary repairs around the market, then to Lin Yuan’s right wrist.

"You look better than your report suggested."

"You should have seen me when I wrote it."

"I’d rather not."

Shen Yao glanced toward the north, where the restricted site lay beyond the tavern.

"We heard the western warning formation was damaged. Is the broken post still in place?"

"Yes. One node was destroyed completely, and another post took a saber strike. Its inscriptions still look intact, but I don’t know whether it’s functioning properly."

"Clear Pattern installed it?"

Lin Yuan nodded.

"Then it’s better to let them examine it," Shen Yao said. "Formation damage isn’t something I’d recommend guessing about."

Lin Yuan had already reached the same conclusion.

Zhao Wei looked past the tavern toward the northern part of the settlement.

"Let’s inspect the restricted site first."

Lin Yuan appreciated that. He had spent more than a week waiting for this conversation and had little interest in exchanging polite greetings for another hour.

He turned toward Qiao Ren, who had already started walking over from his shop.

"I heard," the merchant said before Lin Yuan could call him.

The four headed north together.

The site had remained untouched since the raid.

Without rain to disturb it, the loose soil still showed where the attackers had widened the shallow excavation. The broken fragment remained where Qiao Ren had kicked it during the confrontation, while the newly exposed seam was visible along one side of the worked stone.

Zhao Wei stopped outside the markers and silently examined the damage. Beside him, Shen Yao crouched near the boundary, studying the impact marks without entering the restricted area.

"They struck here repeatedly," she observed.

"And here," Qiao Ren added, indicating another section of stone.

Shen Yao followed his gesture before turning her attention to the broken fragment.

"Good. You didn’t move it."

"I was tempted," Lin Yuan admitted.

"That would have made comparing the damaged surfaces more difficult."

"Which is why I left it there."

Shen Yao nodded approvingly.

Zhao Wei remained beside Lin Yuan, studying the excavation with a more serious expression than he had worn at the tavern.

"Tell me what happened after the attackers reached this site."

Lin Yuan gave him a condensed account of the confrontation.

Three raiders had reached the restricted area during the fighting. One appeared to have arrived before the others and had already begun exposing more of the buried structure. They struck the worked stone repeatedly, broke off a fragment, and attempted to take it away.

"They knew where to dig?" Zhao Wei asked.

"Not exactly. They widened what was already exposed, but they seemed interested in this particular section."

Qiao Ren nodded. "I didn’t see them searching anywhere else."

Zhao Wei’s expression tightened slightly.

Lin Yuan noticed.

"You know something."

"I know enough to be concerned."

"That sounds very similar to the answers you gave me last time."

Zhao Wei looked at him, but Lin Yuan didn’t look away.

After a moment, the Foundation Establishment cultivator sighed.

"Fair enough."

Shen Yao glanced back briefly before returning to her examination.

Zhao Wei stepped closer to the boundary.

"When we first investigated this place, we weren’t hiding the location of some ancient treasury from you. We genuinely didn’t know what the structure was."

"And now?"

"We still don’t have a name for it," Zhao Wei admitted. "But we’ve learned a little more."

That was at least a better answer than another warning to stay away.

Shen Yao rose and took several sheets of thin paper and a measuring tool from her storage pouch.

"During our previous visit, we made rubbings of the exposed grooves. We compared them with several records in Green River, and the construction method appears quite old. Older than most structures currently used along this route."

"How old?" Lin Yuan asked.

"We can’t determine that accurately from the small section we’ve uncovered."

Qiao Ren studied the stone.

"Could it have belonged to an ancient settlement?"

"Possibly. But there’s another explanation worth considering."

Shen Yao gestured toward the grooves visible along the exposed surface.

"Some of these markings resemble channels used in old formation foundations. Large, permanent formations aren’t always constructed from flags and spirit stones placed on the ground. Their channels can be built directly into walls, roads, towers, and foundations."

Lin Yuan examined the exposed stone again.

"So this might be part of a formation?"

"It might. If that’s the case, we’re only seeing a very small portion of the original construction."

Qiao Ren frowned.

"Is it still active?"

"We haven’t found evidence that it is," Shen Yao replied. "There are traces consistent with old formation work, but our previous tests revealed nothing suggesting that an active formation remains beneath Blackstone."

Lin Yuan found that somewhat reassuring.

"What about a spirit vein?"

Zhao Wei almost smiled.

"You’ve been listening to your customers."

"My customers have been telling everyone in the wasteland that I’m sitting on one."

"We found no evidence of an active spirit vein during our previous survey."

That was useful information, although it still left the most important question unanswered.

Lin Yuan glanced toward the broken fragment.

"Then why would those people risk their lives trying to take this?"

Zhao Wei’s expression became serious again.

"That is what we don’t know."

Qiao Ren crossed his arms.

"Their leader seemed very certain Lin Yuan didn’t understand what was buried here."

"He may possess information we don’t," Zhao Wei admitted. "Or someone may have sold him a story that he believes is true."

He explained that the Association had access to many historical records, but certainly not all of them. Cultivation families, sects, old merchant houses, private collectors, and ruin hunters often guarded their own information.

Someone outside the Association might possess an old map, a partial record, or even a completely false account of what lay beneath Blackstone.

"So we’re still guessing," Lin Yuan concluded.

"Yes."

The answer was disappointing, but Lin Yuan appreciated it more than he expected.

At least Zhao Wei had finally admitted the uncertainty plainly.

Shen Yao turned her attention toward the newly exposed seam.

"May I cross the markers to examine this more closely?"

Lin Yuan looked at Zhao Wei, who made no attempt to answer on his behalf.

"Go ahead. Just don’t damage anything."

Shen Yao stepped carefully into the restricted area and crouched beside the stone. She measured the seam from several angles, occasionally comparing it with her earlier notes.

"This line wasn’t visible during our first survey," she said. "It may simply be a joint between foundation blocks, or it might belong to something more complicated."

"Can you tell which?"

"Not without exposing more of the structure."

Lin Yuan already knew what would come next.

"And you’re going to tell me not to dig."

"For now, yes."

He almost laughed.

Zhao Wei raised a hand before the conversation could turn into another argument.

"That brings us to something we should have explained more clearly during our previous visit."

Lin Yuan turned toward him.

"The Merchant Association doesn’t own Blackstone," Zhao Wei said.

"I’m aware."

"And we don’t own this structure simply because we’re investigating it."

That was closer to what Lin Yuan wanted to hear.

Zhao Wei glanced at the boundary markers surrounding the excavation.

"When we asked you not to disturb the site, it was because we couldn’t determine whether excavation was safe. Old formation structures can be harmless, but some contain damaged channels, unstable spirit-stone arrangements, sealed spaces, or mechanisms that react when disturbed."

Qiao Ren looked at the exposed stone with noticeably less enthusiasm.

"The markers were meant to preserve the site and keep curious travelers away while we investigated," Zhao Wei continued. "They were never intended to transfer ownership."

Lin Yuan thought back over the previous weeks.

"You didn’t make that distinction particularly clear."

"No, we didn’t."

The admission surprised him.

Zhao Wei didn’t attempt to defend himself.

"We treated the matter as an Association investigation because that was our responsibility. From your perspective, however, it probably looked like we arrived on your land, marked off part of it, and started telling you what you were allowed to touch."

"That is approximately what happened."

Shen Yao coughed quietly.

Lin Yuan suspected she was hiding a laugh.

Zhao Wei accepted the complaint.

"You cooperated because it was sensible. After the attack, you have every right to ask what that cooperation is costing you."

Lin Yuan glanced toward the western road, where the damaged warning formation remained.

"Thirty-eight spirit stones before repairs."

Zhao Wei followed his gaze.

"I walked into that one."

"You did."

Qiao Ren looked thoroughly pleased that someone else was receiving Lin Yuan’s complaints for a change.

Zhao Wei returned his attention to the excavation.

"We can’t simply decide what you’re allowed to do with your own land. If you chose tomorrow to start digging, our first response would be to warn you about the danger and ask you to stop."

"And the second?"

"If we believed your actions could endanger people beyond Blackstone, we would report the situation through Green River. Whoever holds the appropriate authority would then decide whether intervention was necessary."

That was considerably clearer than the explanations Lin Yuan had received before.

"So until then, you’re asking for my cooperation."

"Yes."

Lin Yuan considered that for a moment.

"I can work with that. But if you expect me to keep people away from this place, I need information. And if your investigation reveals something that could threaten Blackstone, I want to hear about it."

Zhao Wei nodded.

"Agreed."

Qiao Ren looked between them.

"That went better than I expected."

Lin Yuan ignored him.

He had finally received an answer he could work with, and he wasn’t about to spoil it.

Shen Yao spent most of the following hour documenting the damage.

With Lin Yuan’s permission, she made fresh rubbings of the exposed grooves, measured the newly uncovered seam, and compared the broken fragment with the surface from which it had separated.

The fragment itself drew more attention than Lin Yuan expected.

After recording its original position, Shen Yao carefully turned it just enough to examine the underside.

"There are lines here."

Lin Yuan moved closer to the markers.

From where he stood, he could barely make them out. They were faint and narrow, unlike the deeper grooves visible along the upper surface.

"More formation channels?"

"Possibly."

Zhao Wei crouched beside Shen Yao.

"Were these visible during our previous visit?"

"No. This surface was still buried."

That meant the raiders had unintentionally revealed something the Association’s first investigation had missed.

Lin Yuan wasn’t sure whether to thank them for that.

He decided against it.

"Does this change anything?"

Shen Yao examined the markings for another moment before carefully returning the fragment to its original position.

"It gives us more evidence to compare with the records."

"That wasn’t what I asked."

She stood and brushed the dust from her hands.

"Not yet."

Lin Yuan sighed.

He had demanded honest answers. Apparently, honest answers included disappointing ones.

Zhao Wei gave the damaged stone one final look before turning toward him.

"Now, I’d like to examine the weapon you captured."