Chapter 97: What the Raiders Left Behind

They returned to the tavern after Shen Yao finished recording the site.

Su Mei had kept a table near the rear of the dining room clear for them. Xiao Lan brought tea, but slowed noticeably when Lin Yuan placed the cloth-wrapped saber on the table.

"Can I stay?"

Lin Yuan looked at her.

"I’ll be quiet."

That wasn’t the part he doubted.

Su Mei placed a hand on Xiao Lan’s shoulder before she could pull out a chair.

"You have work."

Xiao Lan reluctantly followed her away, glancing back at the weapon several times.

Once they were gone, Zhao Wei unwrapped the saber and inspected its guard, grip, spine, and pommel before passing it to Shen Yao.

Neither investigator appeared to recognize it.

Lin Yuan took that as a bad sign.

"You know where it came from?"

"No," Zhao Wei replied.

"That sounded too quick."

"Because I was hoping I would."

Shen Yao turned the weapon carefully, examining the metal and the fittings.

"The quality is decent. Better than what a desperate bandit usually carries, but there’s no maker’s stamp, sect mark, or family symbol."

Qiao Ren leaned forward.

"Could someone have removed them?"

"Possibly. Or the saber might have been commissioned without any markings."

"Can you identify the smith from the forging style?"

"Not reliably. Too many smiths produce weapons like this."

Lin Yuan had expected as much.

Zhao Wei wrapped the saber again.

"I’d like to take it back to Green River."

Lin Yuan looked at the weapon.

Qiao Ren looked at Lin Yuan.

Zhao Wei noticed both reactions.

"As evidence," he clarified.

"I understood that part."

"Are you asking for compensation?"

"I want a receipt."

Zhao Wei stared at him for a moment.

Then he laughed.

"A receipt?"

"If you return without the saber, I’d like proof that I didn’t simply give away a perfectly usable weapon."

"That sounds like you."

Shen Yao was already retrieving paper from her storage pouch.

"I’ll write one."

Qiao Ren nodded approvingly.

"Make sure it mentions the condition."

Zhao Wei looked at him.

"Are both of you merchants now?"

Qiao Ren pointed toward his shop.

"Yes."

Zhao Wei turned to Lin Yuan, who merely shrugged.

"I own a tavern."

Several minutes later, Shen Yao finished the receipt, recording the weapon and its condition before acknowledging that the Association had taken possession of it for examination.

Lin Yuan folded the paper and placed it beside his ledger.

That felt considerably better.

The conversation continued over tea.

Zhao Wei had already read Lin Yuan’s report several times, but examining the restricted site and captured weapon had given him a clearer picture of the attack.

"You made the right decision not to pursue the raiders into the wasteland," he said.

Lin Yuan looked up.

"You’re the first person from the Association to tell me that."

"You were injured, your warning formation was damaged, and you had no idea how many enemies might be waiting beyond your boundary. Chasing them into the darkness would have been foolish."

Qiao Ren lifted his cup.

"I’ve been telling him that."

"I didn’t chase them," Lin Yuan reminded him.

"I’m supporting your decision."

"Very generously."

Zhao Wei continued without acknowledging their exchange.

"The more important question is who those people were working for."

"You think they were hired?" Lin Yuan asked.

"I think it’s a strong possibility. They visited Blackstone beforehand, tested your boundary, observed how the settlement responded, and then attacked with enough coordination to divide your attention between the tavern and the restricted site."

Lin Yuan had reached a similar conclusion during the raid.

"That doesn’t sound like people chasing a random rumor."

"No. Ordinary treasure hunters would be more likely to improvise. These people showed planning and patience."

Qiao Ren frowned.

"Can you find them?"

"Possibly. We’ll circulate their descriptions through the Association and ask merchants traveling the western routes whether they’ve encountered them."

Zhao Wei looked toward Lin Yuan.

"Your description of the older man is particularly useful. You managed to see his face when his mask shifted."

"What about the other four travelers who visited before the attack?"

"We’ll include their descriptions as persons of interest, but we won’t assume all four participated without evidence."

Lin Yuan nodded.

He knew the older traveler had been among the attackers. Beyond that, there was little he could confirm.

He wasn’t interested in accusing people simply because they had visited Blackstone at an unfortunate time.

"And what happens to the investigation of the buried structure?" he asked.

"Shen Yao will take the new rubbings and measurements back to Green River. We’ll continue comparing them with our records."

"And Blackstone?"

Zhao Wei understood what he was really asking.

"We’ll increase the frequency of our visits for a while. I can’t station Foundation Establishment cultivators here permanently, and I won’t pretend two investigators can defend your entire settlement."

Lin Yuan hadn’t expected that much. The Association had its own responsibilities, and he understood that Blackstone wasn’t important enough to command an entire group of powerful cultivators.

Still, more regular visits would be useful.

"We’ll also notify Association members and affiliated merchants that the restricted site is on your land," Zhao Wei added. "Nobody is to remove material from it without your permission."

Lin Yuan caught the wording immediately.

"On my land."

Zhao Wei gave him a faint smile.

"I listened."

"That may be the most useful thing you’ve said today."

"I’ve spent the better part of an afternoon explaining an ancient formation structure."

"And yet."

Qiao Ren coughed into his tea, while Shen Yao suddenly appeared very interested in her notes.

Zhao Wei shook his head.

Lin Yuan was satisfied.

For the first time since the buried structure had been discovered, the Association seemed to understand that protecting Blackstone was his responsibility, not simply an inconvenience to its investigation.

The two investigators remained in Blackstone through the afternoon.

Before sunset, Zhao Wei walked along the western boundary with Qiao Ren and inspected the damaged warning formation. He examined the broken node and the second post but made no attempt to repair either one, leaving the work to Clear Pattern Formation Shop.

Shen Yao returned to the restricted site once more to verify a few measurements. Her second inspection revealed nothing dramatic, and whatever lay beneath Blackstone remained safely buried.

Lin Yuan was perfectly satisfied with that.

When evening approached, Zhao Wei returned to the tavern.

"Do you have two rooms available?"

Lin Yuan opened the room ledger.

Then he checked it again.

"One."

Zhao Wei stared at him.

Lin Yuan reviewed the reservations to make sure he hadn’t overlooked anything.

"One room."

Shen Yao entered behind him.

"What happened?"

"Blackstone became popular while we were gone," Zhao Wei replied.

Lin Yuan turned the ledger around.

"There’ll be space downstairs after the dining hall closes."

Zhao Wei looked toward the occupied tables.

"You’re serious."

"I had someone offer an extra spirit stone for a room earlier this week."

Shen Yao looked amused.

"Perhaps you should raise your prices."

Lin Yuan slowly turned toward her.

Several tables away, Qiao Ren immediately started laughing.

Zhao Wei looked confused.

"What did I miss?"

"Nothing," Lin Yuan replied.

Qiao Ren laughed harder.

In the end, Zhao Wei gave the available room to Shen Yao and accepted a place downstairs once the dining hall closed.

Lin Yuan made it clear that Association business did not automatically include free food or lodging.

Zhao Wei didn’t argue.

After spending most of the day listening to Lin Yuan complain about the cost of protecting Blackstone, he had apparently learned something.

The two investigators departed the following morning.

Zhao Wei carried the captured saber, Shen Yao carried her notes and rubbings, and Lin Yuan kept the written receipt safely with the tavern records.

Before leaving, Zhao Wei stopped beside the road.

"If we learn something definite about the structure, you’ll hear it from us."

"I’ll remember you said that."

"I expected you would."

Lin Yuan glanced toward the northern part of the settlement.

"And if another Association member arrives and starts ordering me not to touch my own land?"

"Tell them Zhao Wei said they should explain themselves properly first."

Lin Yuan considered that.

"I may quote you exactly."

Zhao Wei’s expression changed slightly.

"Perhaps not exactly."

That was the closest Lin Yuan had come to enjoying an Association instruction.

Shen Yao offered a small farewell, and the two headed east along the road.

Lin Yuan watched until they passed beyond the market. Qiao Ren remained beside him, looking considerably more relaxed than he had during the previous week.

"Feel better?" the merchant asked.

"About what?"

"The buried structure."

Lin Yuan considered the question.

He knew more than he had before. The stone might belong to a much larger construction, possibly an ancient formation foundation. The Association had found no evidence of an active spirit vein or functioning formation, and Zhao Wei had finally admitted the limits of their knowledge.

Unfortunately, someone else might know more.

"No," Lin Yuan said.

Qiao Ren nodded.

"Reasonable."

"But at least I know what they don’t know."

"Does that help?"

"A little."

Lin Yuan glanced north toward the restricted site.

The structure could remain buried for now. He had no intention of digging blindly merely because Zhao Wei had acknowledged that the Association couldn’t simply order him around.

There was a difference between having the right to do something and having a good reason to do it.

For the moment, he had neither the knowledge nor the need to excavate.

He turned back toward the tavern.

Su Mei was already standing at the entrance, holding the room ledger.

Lin Yuan slowed.

"What?"

"You said you were going to review the lodging prices."

Qiao Ren immediately found something interesting to examine across the road.

Lin Yuan looked down at the ledger.

The records from the past week told the same story. More travelers were staying overnight, empty rooms were becoming harder to find, and the prices hadn’t changed.

He took the ledger from Su Mei.

"All right. Let’s look at the numbers."

Compared with ancient ruins and armed cultivators, this was a problem he understood.