FVN 112. Investigation
112. Investigation
Two weeks later, late one night, Lin Mo stood on the observatory at the highest point of the manor, gazing at the dim northern sky. Since Chen Yuan led his scouts to the northern frontier, he had only sent back one message confirming their safety, and then there had been no further news. This unusual silence made Lin Mo feel uneasy.
"Master, there's news!" Lin Feng strode up the observatory, holding a carrier pigeon in his hand. "It was sent by Chen Yuan through urgent channels."
Lin Mo took the small note, which contained only eight simple words: "The situation is critical; come to the Northern Frontier immediately."
"It seems I have to go there myself," Lin Mo said in a deep voice.
Lin Feng immediately objected: "Master, please reconsider! The situation in the Northern Frontier is currently unclear; it would be too dangerous for you to go there personally. It would be better for me to lead an elite team to provide support."
Lin Mo shook his head: "Chen Yuan used emergency channels to send a message, which means the situation has exceeded expectations. Moreover..." He paused, "I have a feeling that the events in the Northern Frontier are somehow connected to the Heavenly Demons in the capital, and I must investigate this personally."
The next morning, Lin Mo temporarily entrusted the affairs of the manor to Lin Feng and arranged for Li Yu to continue practicing martial arts in the secret room. He packed his belongings simply, took only four personal guards, disguised himself as a merchant caravan, and quietly headed north.
What Lin Mo saw along the way made his mood increasingly heavy. The further north he went, the more refugees he saw, all people fleeing south after hearing that war was about to break out in the northern frontier. There were frequent reports of troop movements on the official road, creating a tense atmosphere.
Five days later, they arrived at Yanmen Pass, a major town in the northern frontier. The formidable pass was heavily guarded, with extremely strict checks at the gates. Lin Mo noticed that many of the guards were personal soldiers of the Prince of Zhenbei, who questioned passersby with exceptional care.
"Sir, you seem like a seasoned businessman," a thin man approached Lin Mo's group and whispered, "Would you like me to show you the way? I know everything about Yanmen Pass."
Lin Mo gave a signal, and a guard understood, leading the man to a secluded spot.
"Do you know where Chen's caravan has landed?" Lin Mo asked.
The man's eyes lit up: "You're looking for Boss Chen? What a coincidence, I saw them just a few days ago. But..." He looked around, his voice lowering, "Boss Chen is in a precarious situation right now; the people from the Prince of Zhenbei's mansion are looking for him."
Lin Mo took out some loose silver and handed it to the man: "Take us to him. There will be a generous reward after we find him."
The man weighed the silver in his hand, grinned, and said, "I'm a straightforward gentleman! Come with me."
They bypassed the main street and wandered through narrow alleyways. Yanmen Pass was clearly divided into two areas: the eastern part was prosperous and clean, the residence of the Prince of Zhenbei and his confidants; the western part was dilapidated and dirty, inhabited by ordinary people and merchants.
The man finally stopped in front of a dilapidated courtyard: "Boss Chen is inside. But be careful, sir, there might be spies from the Prince's mansion around here."
Lin Mo instructed the guards to stand watch around the perimeter before pushing open the door and entering. Inside the courtyard, Chen Yuan was polishing a waist knife. Upon seeing Lin Mo, he was both surprised and delighted: "Master! Why have you come in person?"
"How could I not come to your urgent message?" Lin Mo looked him over. "Are you injured?"
Chen Yuan, his left arm bandaged, smiled wryly and said, "I was injured by the guards of the Prince's manor during an investigation a few days ago, but luckily I escaped. Master, the situation is worse than we anticipated."
He led Lin Mo into the inner room and retrieved a stack of documents from a hidden compartment in the corner: "This is evidence provided by our informant within the Prince's residence. The Prince of Zhenbei not only interacts with various tribes of the grasslands but also secretly sells them military rations and ironware."
Lin Mo flipped through the documents, his expression growing increasingly grim. These transaction records detailed the quantity and timing of supplies that the Prince of Zhenbei transported to the grasslands, including even refined iron and crossbows that the imperial court had strictly prohibited from export.
"And there's something even more astonishing," Chen Yuan said in a low voice. "Three days ago, I personally witnessed the Khan's envoys entering the palace late at night and not leaving until dawn. I risked following them and discovered they went to... a secret altar beneath the palace."
"An altar?" Lin Mo frowned.
"Yes, the altar's design is very strange, unlike anything from the Central Plains," Chen Yuan described. "In the center of the altar is a black vortex, emanating an unsettling aura. The energy fluctuations I sensed there are very similar to the demonic aura the Manor Lord described earlier."
Lin Mo's heart skipped a beat. Sure enough, the unusual events in the Northern Frontier were related to the Heavenly Demon.
Do you know when they will meet again?
"It'll be tomorrow night," Chen Yuandao said. "The Khan's envoy will be visiting again, supposedly to discuss the final details of the military deployment."
Lin Mo pondered for a moment: "We'll investigate again tomorrow night. This time, I want to see the altar with my own eyes."
Late the next night, Lin Mo and Chen Yuan changed into their night clothes and quietly sneaked into the Zhenbei Prince's Mansion. The mansion was heavily guarded, but Chen Yuan had already figured out the patrol patterns and led Lin Mo to avoid the squads of guards.
They arrived at a rockery in the backyard of the Prince's mansion. Chen Yuan pressed a few buttons on the rockery, and a hidden door quietly opened.
"This leads directly to the underground altar," Chen Yuan whispered.
The passageway was dark and damp, with ever-burning lamps on the walls, eerily glowing with a ghostly green light. The deeper Lin Mo went, the more he could sense that familiar demonic aura.
Finally, they arrived at a spacious underground space. In the center stood a black altar, covered with twisted runes, and a black vortex in the center slowly rotated, exuding an ominous aura.
Before the altar, Prince Li Chong of Zhenbei was talking to a man dressed in grassland attire. The man had his back to Lin Mo, but his figure seemed somewhat familiar to Lin Mo.
"The Khan's promise cannot be broken." Li Chong's voice echoed in the empty basement. "After I ascend the throne, all the land north of the Great Wall will belong to the grasslands."
"Your Highness, rest assured, my lord always keeps his word." The grassland envoy turned around, revealing a face that Lin Mo would never forget—it was Zhao Wuji, the enemy who had caused his family's destruction in his previous life!
Lin Mo almost cried out in surprise, forcibly suppressing the shock in his heart. How could Zhao Wuji be here? And judging from his appearance, he held a high position in the grassland tribe.
"But..." Zhao Wuji smiled coldly, "when will the five thousand sets of fine iron armor that the Prince promised to provide arrive?"
"They can be transported out of the pass in three days," Li Chongdao said. "However, you must also keep your promise. After breaking through the pass, you must pretend to massacre the city, and wait for me to arrive 'in time' to rescue them. Only in this way can you win over the hearts of the people."
"That's natural," Zhao Wuji nodded. "However, before that, we need Your Highness's cooperation to complete one final ritual."
He walked to the altar, took out a black crystal from his robes, and placed it into the vortex in the center of the altar. The vortex immediately began to spin faster, and a powerful suction force emanated from it.
"What does this mean?" Li Chong asked warily, taking a step back.
"Your Highness, there's no need to panic. This is merely to ensure our alliance remains unbreakable," Zhao Wuji said with a sinister smile. "Accept the blessing of the Heavenly Demon. From this day forward, you will be my lord's representative on earth."
Several tentacle-like shadows suddenly emerged from the black vortex and coiled around Li Chong. Li Chong was shocked and tried to break free, but was firmly bound by the shadows.
"Zhao Wuji! How dare you lie to me!" Li Chong roared.
"Lying to you? "Zhao Wuji sneered. "I'm bestowing upon you the power of eternity."
Lin Mo could no longer bear to watch and was about to intervene when he saw that the dark figures had completely disappeared into Li Chong's body. Li Chong's struggles gradually ceased, his eyes became vacant, and finally, they glowed with the same eerie green light as the altar.
"Greetings, Demon Envoy." Li Chong knelt down and bowed to Zhao Wuji.
"Get up." Zhao Wuji nodded in satisfaction. "Proceed according to plan in three days."
Lin Mo suppressed the urge to attack, watching Zhao Wuji and the already controlled Li Chong leave one after the other. Only after they had gone far away did he and Chen Yuan emerge from their hiding place.
"Master, that person just now..." Chen Yuan had obviously recognized Zhao Wuji as well.
"It's him," Lin Mo said in a deep voice. "I didn't expect him to have sided with the Heavenly Demon and even control the King of Zhenbei."
They approached the altar, where the black vortex was still slowly rotating. Lin Mo could sense the powerful demonic energy contained within it.
"This altar must be destroyed." Lin Mo channeled his inner strength and struck the altar with his palm. However, when his palm reached the altar, it was blocked by an invisible barrier.
"It's no use." A cold voice came from behind.
Lin Mo turned around abruptly and saw that Zhao Wuji had returned at some point and was standing at the entrance of the secret passage, coldly watching them.
"Lin Mo, long time no see." Zhao Wuji's lips curled into a cruel smile. "I didn't expect to run into you here. Since you're here, stay."