v5c24: The Plum and the Foxes

Once more, Lu Ri found himself given vague directions and told to find people. At least the eastern sections had been largely crossed off by Hu Li, since the Nezin tribe had overwintered in that direction last year. While he did not enjoy such tasks, he did find himself becoming increasingly efficient at conducting searches—and this time he had a companion to assist him. Miss Yuanlin, from the Howling Fang Mountains, moved nearly as fast as Lu Ri did. It had been two days since their departure, and they had worked tirelessly.

Miss Yuanlin in Hong Yaowu seemed a bit of a slovenly woman, drinking with Miss Hu Li, making and enjoying sweets, and otherwise puttering around the village. She spent hours sometimes just observing the mortals, looking at how they constructed buildings, even spending time simply wandering the forests or observing elevations. It almost looked like she was doing a land survey for the purposes of construction. The spots she had visited did seem like places where one could build a village. However, she was both related to Miss Hu Li and vouched for by Shen Yu, so Lu Ri paid her little mind. Indeed, her candies were quite delicious, and he was grateful to receive some of her bounty.

Now, Lu Ri found himself appreciating a lean, no nonsense woman. He supposed part of Yuanlin’s serious demeanor was the fact that her family was in danger—but instead of being worried and tense, instead she was simply driven, letting none of her own emotions interfere. Her senses were sharper than fine swords, and she was his utter superior in tracking—especially in these frozen wastes. They were skirting along the bare edge of the Sea of Snow, where the pine forests and rolling hills were just starting to give way to a featureless white plain.

Lu Ri and Yuanin had once more converged and were headed to the next set of points, as Yuanlin swiftly scratched off three campsites to Lu Ri’s two.

“They definitely haven’t gone further west, judging from the state of the snow. It’s been a mild winter, so they probably thought they could get away with being further north.”

They had already crossed off half of the overwinter campsites by splitting up. Which was good for finding their quarry… but bad because it meant they were further north and farther away from Hong Yaowu, a place that would be safe for them.

“You have done this before?” Lu Ri asked.

“More times than I can count. This is what I do back home. Find those who are taken, then secure and protect them,” Yuanlin told him, even as her eyes scanned the horizon for threats. They advanced swiftly but cautiously, alert for any demonic activity. “The worst is when their messages are just delayed and they’re fine, after you’ve just ran around for a week trying to find them. I must have circumnavigated the entire province a hundred thousand times by now.”

Lu Ri couldn’t help the small surge of kinship he felt with the woman.

“A feeling I know all too well,” he commiserated.

Yuanlin smiled at him. Perhaps she would be interested in assisting with the mail system, with a duty such as hers? She would most certainly have some insight in how to speedily traverse mountains…

“There, that disturbance; it’s a yak trail, a week old,” Yuanlin suddenly declared, aborting her bounding leap. Lu Ri followed her as she dropped to the ground.. She pointed at a patch of snow that Lu Ri only noticed was subtly different from the rest by the fact that she was pointing it out. It was incredibly subtle, after the snow and wind had nearly erased the trail. Yuanlin quickly dug down into the trail and found a footprint. “North,” she confirmed.

Lu Ri nodded. “How does one tell that this is an owned herd, rather than a wild one?”

Yuanln chuckled slightly, and pointed at a nearby tree. “See that little bit of discolouration down near the snowline?” she asked.

Lu Ri realised what she was getting at. “Frozen urine? Too high up the tree for most animals, very likely human.”

Yuanlin nodded at his observation. “It’s along the path, on the edge of the forest, which meant they passed by this way. Also, the indentations. Feet, shoulder width apart.”

Lu Ri examined the ground further, now realising what Yuanlin had been seeing. “More paths into the forest as well.” They followed the path into a clearing—where there was a more obvious depression.

“A sheltered place to rest and the likely location of a firepit,” Lu Ri stated. “Thank you for your instruction in this matter, Miss Yuanlin.”

Yuanlin grinned, exposing too-sharp canine teeth. “You may thank me with a meal later.” She declared. “They should be close.”

They were off again immediately. Even with that declaration, however, something in the back of Lu Ri’s head said that this was merely the beginning. That it was a false lead and he would have to run around the entire province for months before he found the people he was looking for.

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Again.

Yet instead, Yuanlin was vindicated. They saw the smoke of cooking fires on the horizon, and hunkered down in a pine forest were many yurts and tents. Horses and yaks meandered nearby, watched over by the members of the Nezin tribe.