Chapter 61: A Clearer View

Lin Yuan returned to the watch platform shortly after sunrise.

Blackstone was already waking.

Smoke rose from cooking fires, merchants checked their wagons, and the Merchant Association table had begun collecting reports again.

The western road remained quiet.

Lin Yuan placed a hand against one of the platform’s posts.

The Territory Core responded.

Watch Platform

Quality: Ordinary

Purpose: Observation and Early Warning

Enhancement Available

A second panel appeared.

Enhancement Cost: 25 Low-Grade Spirit Stones

Result: Low Spirit Grade Watch Platform

Effects:

Reinforced Structure

Improved Visibility

Enhanced Bell Resonance

Lin Yuan read the cost twice.

Twenty-five spirit stones.

It wasn’t enough to solve his real problem.

The Returning Current Foundation Art still cost three hundred twenty.

Every stone spent somewhere else pushed that goal a little farther away.

But the western road had become unsafe for wagons yesterday.

That problem wasn’t theoretical anymore.

Lin Yuan looked toward the bell hanging beside him.

"Twenty-five."

The Core waited.

He sighed.

"Fine."

Twenty-five low-grade spirit stones disappeared from his storage bag.

A faint pulse spread through the platform.

The wooden posts darkened slightly as the grain tightened. Small gaps between the joints closed, and the deck beneath Lin Yuan’s feet became noticeably firmer.

The bronze bell trembled once.

Dong.

The note carried across Blackstone more clearly than before.

Lin Yuan climbed to the top.

At first, the view looked almost unchanged.

Then he focused on the western road.

The morning air over the wasteland usually carried a thin haze of dust and heat.

The road wasn’t visible much farther than before, but its outline stood out more clearly through the haze.

A wagon would be easier to spot before it reached Blackstone.

That was what Lin Yuan needed.

Footsteps sounded on the stairs.

Qiao Ren emerged onto the platform carrying a steamed bun.

He stopped.

Looked around.

Then looked at Lin Yuan.

"You did something."

Lin Yuan leaned against the railing.

"Why does everyone assume that?"

"Because yesterday this was an ordinary wooden platform."

"It still is."

Qiao stamped one foot against the deck.

The platform barely moved.

"No."

Lin Yuan looked away.

Qiao walked toward the bell.

"Can I test it?"

"No."

"You didn’t even think about it."

"I did yesterday."

Qiao took another bite of his bun.

"Unreasonable."

Fang Yu’s voice came from below.

"Don’t ring that bell!"

Qiao leaned over the railing.

"I wasn’t going to!"

"Good!"

He looked back at Lin Yuan.

"People don’t trust me."

"There are reasons."

Qiao finished his bun and headed downstairs.

A few minutes later, Jiang Heng climbed up.

He stopped near the top and examined one of the posts.

Unlike Qiao, he didn’t touch anything.

"You improved it."

Lin Yuan glanced at him.

"Apparently."

Jiang Heng looked toward the west.

For a while, neither spoke.

The road stretched through the dry land until it disappeared in the distance.

"No wagons," Lin Yuan said.

"That’s probably wise."

"You’re staying?"

"For today."

Lin Yuan raised an eyebrow.

"I thought you liked solid ground."

"I do."

Jiang Heng rested one hand on the railing.

"That’s why I’m staying here."

Lin Yuan couldn’t argue with that.

Below them, the Merchant Association route station had begun drawing another small crowd.

Westbound merchants were no longer asking whether the road was damaged.

They were asking how long it might remain closed.

Nobody had an answer.

Jiang Heng watched them for a moment.

"This will get inconvenient quickly."

"It already has."

"Wagons need space. Spirit beasts need feed. Merchants get impatient."

"You’re describing my morning."

Jiang Heng gave him a brief look.

"Then I’ll stop."

"Appreciated."

By breakfast, Wandering Cloud Tavern was full again.

Not every traveler had planned to stay in Blackstone.

Many simply had nowhere useful to go.

Those heading west waited for new reports.

Those coming from the west stopped to explain what they had seen.

Others delayed their departure because no one wanted to be the first wagon to test a road that had been declared unsafe the day before.

Su Mei carried bowls between the tables while Xiao Lan handled a group near the door.

Lin Yuan stayed mostly in the kitchen.

The blocked road had filled his tables faster than usual.

Lin Yuan wasn’t sure whether to call that good luck.

Qiao seemed to have no such difficulty.

He entered near midmorning looking pleased with himself.

"Sold half my rope."

Lin Yuan continued cutting vegetables.

"Congratulations."

"And lamp oil."

"Congratulations again."

"And two spare wagon pins."

Lin Yuan looked at him.

"Why are you telling me?"

"Because yesterday everyone was worried."

Qiao smiled.

"Today they’re worried and shopping."

"Very inspiring."

"I thought so."

He left before Lin Yuan could give him more work.

The morning passed without another tremor.

No bell rang.

That was the best news Blackstone received.

Near noon, Wu Jian came into the tavern carrying several sheets of paper.

He waited until Lin Yuan finished serving a table before speaking.

"We’ve separated the reports."

"Into what?"

"Useful and useless."

Lin Yuan looked at the papers.

"How many survived?"

"Less than I’d like."

Wu Jian placed one sheet on the counter.

Most of the confirmed information had not changed.

The wagon route near Red Cliff remained unsafe.

Foot travelers could still cross carefully.

No new collapse had been confirmed since yesterday afternoon.

Several people had reported minor vibrations farther west, but none had been strong enough to damage buildings or wagons.

Lin Yuan read the page.

"That’s better than yesterday."

"For now."

Wu Jian tapped another sheet.

"We’re asking anyone crossing on foot to report the condition of the road when they reach Blackstone."

"You’re paying them?"

"No."

"Then good luck."

Wu Jian’s expression didn’t change.

"Merchants like knowing whether the road ahead will kill their wagon."

"Fair."

Wu Jian collected the papers.

"The next gathering may be affected."

Lin Yuan had expected that.

It was still several days away.

If wagon traffic remained blocked, merchants from farther west might not reach Blackstone at all.

On the other hand, plenty of merchants were already stuck here.

He wasn’t sure whether that would make the gathering smaller or simply stranger.

"We’ll see," Lin Yuan said.

Wu Jian nodded.

"That’s all we can do."

The watch platform remained occupied for most of the afternoon.

One of the association workers watched for a while, then another replaced him.

Occasionally, Qiao climbed up for reasons nobody had requested.

The enhanced bell remained silent.

Lin Yuan checked the road himself after lunch.

The improvement was easier to notice beneath the afternoon heat.

Dust still blurred the farthest part of the road, but movement stood out more clearly than before.

A person walking alone would still be difficult to notice at a great distance.

A wagon wouldn’t.

Neither would a group.

Lin Yuan looked down at Central Blackstone.

Several loaded wagons had been moved away from the main road so they wouldn’t block traffic.

Travelers rested beneath temporary cloth shades.

The market ground was busier than it normally was between gatherings.

Gao Rui’s completed storage shed stood nearby, its doors closed.

Duan He’s shop had three customers outside.

Qiao had somehow found another person to sell rope to.

Lin Yuan shook his head.

From up here, the twenty-five spirit stones felt easier to justify.

The first important report arrived late in the afternoon.

Two cultivators came from the west on foot.

Their clothes were dusty, and one carried a travel pack over one shoulder.

Neither appeared injured.

The association worker spotted them from the platform long before they reached Central Blackstone.

The bell didn’t ring.

There was no emergency.

By the time the pair arrived, Wu Jian was already waiting near the route station.

Lin Yuan stayed nearby.

So did Jiang Heng.

The older cultivator accepted a cup of water before Wu Jian began questioning them about the crossing.

The road was still passable on foot, but neither man believed a wagon could make it through safely.

They had felt one weak tremor before sunrise, though neither had seen another collapse.

Then the second cultivator set down his pack.

"We saw something in the broken ground."

Jiang Heng’s attention shifted toward him.

"What?" Wu Jian asked.

"Worked stone."

That changed the mood slightly.

Qiao was already standing nearby, though Lin Yuan hadn’t noticed him arrive.

"There is a lot of stone near Red Cliff."

The cultivator ignored him.

"Not like that. Flat stone. Cut."

Wu Jian lowered his notebook.

"How much did you see?"

"Not much. One side of the fissure had collapsed farther down. Beneath the loose earth was a flat section of dark stone."

"Any markings?"

The traveler thought about it.

"Grooves. Three straight ones that I could see."

Jiang Heng studied him.

"Could the grooves have been tool marks? Part of an old road foundation?"

"Maybe."

Qiao looked disappointed.

"That’s not very helpful."

The traveler stared at him.

"I didn’t climb into a collapsing hole to inspect it."

Qiao nodded immediately.

"Reasonable."

Lin Yuan almost smiled.

Wu Jian looked toward Jiang Heng.

"Could it be an old formation?"

Jiang Heng’s expression remained unchanged. ℴ

"Worked stone doesn’t prove that."

"But you mentioned one yesterday."

"I mentioned several possibilities."

He looked west.

"Old roads. Buried foundations. Abandoned buildings. Formation bases. There are plenty of reasons shaped stone might be underground."

"So the report tells us nothing?"

"It tells us someone shaped stone there."

Qiao sighed.

"A thrilling discovery."

Lin Yuan ignored him.

"Did either of you notice anything unusual about the spiritual Qi?"

The two cultivators exchanged a glance.

The older one shook his head.

"I’m only at Qi Refining. Nothing I could tell."

"Same," the second said.

Jiang Heng didn’t seem surprised.

Wu Jian finished writing.

"Nobody touches it."

Qiao looked at him.

"I wasn’t planning to."

"Good."

"I was only thinking about it."

"Stop."

Qiao remained silent for almost three breaths.

"What if—"

"No."

Lin Yuan walked away before the conversation became worse.

The report was added to the board before dinner.

NEW WESTERN REPORT

Foot passage remains possible near the damaged section east of Red Cliff.

Wagon passage remains unsafe.

Worked stone has been observed beneath part of the collapsed ground. Purpose unknown.

The final two words mattered most.

Purpose unknown.

By evening, people had already produced five explanations anyway.

An ancient formation.

A buried sect ruin.

An old military road.

A collapsed mine.

A treasure vault.

Lin Yuan believed none of them.

Not yet.

When darkness settled over Blackstone, he climbed the watch platform one last time.

The western road had disappeared beyond the reach of the lanterns.

Behind him, Central Blackstone remained awake.

Voices drifted from the market ground.

Spirit beasts shifted beside parked wagons.

Someone laughed outside Qiao’s shop.

The bell hung quietly beside Lin Yuan.

The western road had brought back more than another report of tremors.

Beneath the collapsed ground near Red Cliff, someone had found stone shaped by human hands.

What it belonged to was another question entirely.