Chapter 80: Back to Blackstone

Blackstone appeared on the horizon late in the afternoon.

Lin Yuan slowed the wooden flying artifact.

After several days of barren ground, scattered rocks, and the occasional caravan below, the familiar cluster of buildings was easy to recognize.

Wandering Cloud Tavern stood closest to the old trade road.

Beyond it were the Travelers’ Market, Qiao Ren’s shop, the stable, and the other structures that had gradually gathered around the tavern.

The place no longer looked empty.

That was the first thing Lin Yuan noticed.

The second was the western boundary.

Seven stone posts stood along the approach to the developed area, each tall enough to be seen clearly from the road.

A merchant wagon was approaching from the west.

Instead of cutting directly across the open ground, the driver followed the marked route between the posts.

Lin Yuan watched from above.

The boundary was working.

It did not stop anyone physically, but at least people could no longer claim they had no idea where Blackstone began.

He guided the flying artifact lower.

Several travelers near the market noticed him.

One pointed upward.

A moment later, a familiar voice carried across the courtyard.

"Owner Lin!"

Xiao Lan came running from the side of the tavern.

Lin Yuan landed near the courtyard entrance and stepped off the board.

Xiao Lan stopped in front of him.

Her eyes moved immediately to his hands, then to the storage bag at his waist.

"Where is it?"

Lin Yuan stared at her.

"Hello to you too."

"The sign."

"I’ve been gone for several days."

"I know."

"You could at least ask whether I had a safe trip."

"Did you?"

"Yes."

"Good. Where’s the sign?"

Lin Yuan sighed.

"I got a price."

Xiao Lan’s expression changed.

"You came back with a piece of paper?"

"It’s a very useful piece of paper."

"That means you didn’t buy it."

"I haven’t bought it yet."

She folded her arms.

Lin Yuan pointed toward the tavern.

"Is Su Mei inside?"

"Yes."

"Then I’m going inside before you start charging me for disappointing you."

"I might."

"That would be theft."

"It would be a sign fee."

Lin Yuan walked away before she could continue.

Behind him, Xiao Lan muttered something about an owner who could spend money on formations but not a proper entrance.

Apparently his prediction had been accurate.

The tavern was busy.

Not packed, but nearly every table had someone sitting at it.

Two merchants were eating near the window. A group of wandering cultivators occupied another table, while three travelers sat near the counter arguing quietly over a map.

Su Mei carried a pot of tea from the kitchen.

She noticed Lin Yuan immediately.

"You’re back."

"I am."

She placed the tea on a table before walking over.

"How was Green River City?"

"Expensive."

Su Mei gave a small nod.

"That sounds like Green River City."

Lin Yuan glanced around.

"Everything all right here?"

"Nothing serious."

He paused.

"Nothing serious usually means something happened."

Su Mei pointed toward an empty table.

"Sit down first."

Lin Yuan obeyed.

She disappeared into the kitchen and returned with tea.

"Two days after you left, three cultivators came specifically to see the restricted area," she explained.

Lin Yuan lowered his cup.

"Did they cause trouble?"

"One walked past the marker. The other two stayed on the road."

"What happened to him?"

"One of the Association investigators stopped him. He argued for a while, but eventually left."

"That’s better than I expected."

"He complained about Blackstone having too many rules."

Lin Yuan looked toward the window.

Outside, one of the new stone posts was visible beyond the courtyard.

"We have about three rules."

"Apparently that was already too many."

Lin Yuan drank his tea.

"And the two men who entered the restricted area before?"

"Haven’t seen them again."

Good.

At least the incident had not immediately attracted another group trying the same thing.

"How busy has the road been?"

"Enough that Xiao Lan has started complaining about washing bowls again."

From the kitchen came Xiao Lan’s voice.

"I can hear you!"

Su Mei didn’t raise her voice.

"Then wash them faster."

A short silence followed.

Lin Yuan smiled.

Some things had remained normal.

Su Mei continued.

"The rumors brought people here for the first two days. Most looked around, asked questions, ate something, then left."

"Still asking about the buried city?"

"And the spiritual vein."

"There isn’t a spiritual vein."

"I told them."

"Did they believe you?"

"No."

Lin Yuan was not surprised.

The rumors had brought additional customers, and Su Mei reported that the guest rooms had been full twice during his absence.

Unfortunately, increased business also meant more people wandering around Blackstone in search of something unusual.

"Did you keep the records?" he asked.

Su Mei gave him a flat look.

"Of course."

"I was only asking."

"You asked me to keep them."

"I know."

"Then why wouldn’t I?"

Lin Yuan decided there was no safe answer.

She retrieved a thin ledger from behind the counter.

The handwriting was neat, with income and expenses separated into clear categories.

Room payments, food, water, wine, market rent, supplies, wages, and several small repairs were all recorded.

Su Mei had also marked the days when customer traffic increased following the Association’s discovery.

Lin Yuan turned another page.

"You even separated the market income."

"It made more sense."

"It does."

Qiao Ren entered the tavern while Lin Yuan was still reading.

The merchant stopped when he saw him.

"You survived Green River City."

Lin Yuan looked up.

"Were you expecting otherwise?"

"No, but saying welcome back sounded boring."

Qiao Ren took the chair beside him.

"How was business?" Lin Yuan asked.

"Annoying, which usually means profitable."

"That good?"

"People keep asking whether I sell maps of the underground structure."

"Do you?"

"No. Apparently saying that only convinces them I’m hiding the good maps."

Lin Yuan stared at him.

"One man offered me five spirit stones for a map that doesn’t exist."

"You should have drawn one."

Su Mei looked at Lin Yuan.

He cleared his throat.

"That was a joke."

Qiao Ren nodded seriously.

"I considered it."

"Don’t."

"I know."

Lin Yuan closed the ledger.

"Have the new boundary posts caused any problems?"

"Fewer than before. Some visitors complain when they realize they can’t wander wherever they like, but most follow the marked road."

"So they’ve helped."

"More than I expected, especially with all these rumors."

Lin Yuan nodded.

That matched what he had seen on the way in.

He spent the next hour walking through Blackstone.

His first stop was the restricted excavation.

The Association marker remained where Zhao Wei had placed it.

Lin Yuan’s wooden warning sign still stood nearby.

The exposed section had not been disturbed.

One of the two investigators remaining in Blackstone was checking the perimeter when Lin Yuan arrived.

"You’re back."

"This afternoon."

The investigator nodded toward the restricted area.

"Nothing changed here."

"I heard someone tried to enter."

"He didn’t get far. Mostly people just stand around staring."

Lin Yuan could handle staring.

"Any change in the Qi?"

"Nothing significant."

That was better news.

The buried structure could remain quiet for a while.

Lin Yuan continued toward the western boundary.

At the main road, wagon tracks curved naturally between the seven stone posts.

Someone had attached a small temporary board to one of them.

BLACKSTONE — MAIN ROAD

Lin Yuan stopped.

The letters were uneven.

Very uneven.

He already knew who had written them.

Xiao Lan appeared behind him a few moments later.

Lin Yuan pointed at the board.

"You made this?"

"Yes."

"The second ’A’ is larger than the first."

"I ran out of space."

"That usually means you planned badly."

"That usually means we need a real sign."

Lin Yuan looked at her.

She smiled.

He should have expected that.

"The craftsman in Green River City suggested making the support frame here and ordering only the treated board," he said.

Xiao Lan’s expression brightened.

"That’s cheaper?"

"Quite a bit."

"Then we can make the frame."

"That was my thought."

Lin Yuan glanced toward the unfinished stretches of Blackstone.

"We don’t need a master craftsman for two wooden posts."

"That depends how straight you want them."

"Straighter than this sign."

Xiao Lan looked offended.

"It works."

"It does."

Lin Yuan examined the temporary board once more.

At least travelers could read it.

A proper entrance sign would have to wait until he dealt with the more expensive problem.

The sun was already lowering when Lin Yuan returned to the tavern.

Dinner service kept everyone busy for another two hours.

He ended up helping in the kitchen while Su Mei handled orders and Xiao Lan carried dishes between the tables.

For a while, the familiar rhythm made Green River City feel much farther away than several days of travel.

After the last group went upstairs, the dining room finally quieted.

Lin Yuan sat behind the counter with the ledger open.

This was the part of the trip he had been waiting for.

He brought out his own records and checked them against Su Mei’s.

The improved business had helped, but Blackstone still had wages, supplies, and construction expenses to cover.

Once he had accounted for those obligations, he counted the physical spirit stones available to him.

He counted them again.

The formation was affordable.

Thirty-eight low-grade spirit stones would take a substantial portion of his reserves, but the remaining funds should be enough to cover ordinary expenses.

Lin Yuan leaned back.

Su Mei was wiping down the counter nearby.

"You’ve been staring at that ledger for a long time."

"I’m deciding whether security is worth thirty-eight spirit stones."

"That’s the formation?"

"Yes."

"What does it do?"

"Detection along the boundary and near the restricted area. If someone crosses where they shouldn’t, we’ll know."

Su Mei stopped wiping.

"That sounds useful."

"It is."

"Then what’s the problem?"

"Thirty-eight spirit stones."

"That also sounds useful."

Lin Yuan looked at her.

"To whom?"

"The formation shop."

He laughed.

Su Mei continued cleaning.

"What happens if you don’t buy it?"

"We keep relying on posts, signs, and whoever happens to notice someone crossing."

"And if you do?"

"We still need the posts and signs. The formation just warns us sooner."

Su Mei nodded.

"Then you already decided."

Lin Yuan looked down at the ledger.

She was probably right.

Blackstone was getting busier, and Lin Yuan could not stand outside watching the boundary all day.

Neither could Su Mei or Xiao Lan.

He closed the ledger.

"Qiao Ren."

The merchant, who had been drinking tea at the far table, looked over.

"You say my name like I’m about to lose money."

"Do you know anyone leaving for Green River City tomorrow?"

Qiao Ren thought for a moment.

"Stone River Caravan. They’re heading east after breakfast."

"Reliable?"

"I’ve traded with them before."

Lin Yuan stood and went upstairs.

A few minutes later, he returned with paper, ink, and the formation shop’s quotation.

He wrote a short message confirming that he wanted the modular detection formation for Blackstone and requesting an installer to travel with the next suitable westbound caravan.

Then he folded the message and sealed it.

Qiao Ren accepted it.

"So you’re buying it."

"Yes. Once the shop confirms the arrangements."

Qiao Ren tucked the letter away.

"I’ll give it to the caravan leader tomorrow morning."

"Thanks."

From the kitchen doorway, Xiao Lan called out.

"If you’re spending thirty-eight on the formation, we can afford the sign too, right?"

Lin Yuan closed his eyes.

Qiao Ren suddenly became very interested in his tea.

Su Mei looked away, but not quickly enough to hide her smile.

Lin Yuan opened his eyes again.

"One expense at a time."

Xiao Lan frowned.

"That isn’t a no."

"It also isn’t a yes."

"I’ll take it."

Lin Yuan decided the formation apprentice could not arrive soon enough.