Threads 337-Hunters 2

“They’re quarrying them out mostly,” Ji Rong said.

“Excuse me?”

“There’s basically three big camps down there that they’re building up. Supposedly, Liling’s gramps had his astrologers do some big ritual thing after they killed the tribes in the foothills. Then he went out and struck three different mountains along the southern border with his spear.”

Ling Qi’s eyebrows climbed as Ji Rong spoke. White, eighth realm cultivators only very rarely did such base, physical acts.

“I saw one of the holes in the ground. There were scattered bits of mountain everywhere, and the earth was bleeding. It’s no damn joke.”

Ji Rong’s expression twisted as he described it, and she could feel an echo of his emotion. She saw a black pit, kilometers-wide, rent in the earth, the shattered roots of a mountain still jutting out along the rim. Blood oozed from the broken ground, drizzling into the hole below as if the wound were in flesh rather than the earth. Mostly, she felt the irritation and fear that now clung to those images, the show of a sovereign at the peak of power.

“They aren’t showing the signs of another large campaign though?”

“They’re drilling a bunch. I got put through my paces down there.” Ji Rong grunted. “It’s where I got these scars. Got taken out on patrol, and got stuck punching arrows out of the sky while guarding some work crew till my support got there.”

She glanced at the spiraling lightning scars traveling up his arms. “I see. And the quarrying, what is it for?”

“I know a bunch is going north, but it looked like they were starting to build something big near the dig site too, a fort or something. They’re busy below too, building walkways and framing down in the pit,” Ji Rong answered.

Ling Qi frowned. Were there ith-ia under the jungle? Blasting open holes into the earth might make sense then… or maybe there were star stones buried under those mountains? She simply didn’t know enough to say.

“For what it’s worth… I think Liling is just trying to fuck with your head. I don’t know military stuff, but it sure looks like they’re digging in to me. Doubt they’re gonna move before you’ve worked out your deal here.”

Ling Qi let out a breath. That was one concern off her mind, even if the potential for their campaigns in the future were worrying.

“Alright, secondly, this pass through the mountains. It’s blocked apparently. Did you see it?”

“From a distance.” Ji Rong scratched at one of his scars. “It’s like the biggest thornbush I ever saw, considering it was higher than some of the mountains, and it extends back a long way. Dense and black, fulla thorns… It was fuckin cold too. I could feel the chill from a couple leagues off. According to some of the other guys, lower realms—folks without shen—can’t get within a few kilometers before they start to die.”

“Understood,” Ling Qi said. On one hand, it was probably good that there wasn’t a direct overland route north-south just yet. On the other hand, that was just ominous. “Have the Western soldiers made any attempts on it?”

“Some high realms poked it, from what I heard.” Ji Rong said. “Infested with spirit beasts. Big, flying two-headed lizards, spitting ice and lightning and black fire. I saw a skull one of the fifth realms was showing off. Was as big as your obnoxious turtle’s.”

“Don’t talk down to my brother unless you’d like a fight yourself, Baron Ji,” Ling Qi said frostily, to which he rolled his eyes. Ling Qi considered the information. “So they are making advances?”

“Hunting the outskirts for sport,” Ji Rong corrected. “You’ve seen these guys. Out west, they expect you to hunt the material for your kit yourself. I even got something being made. But nah, too many of them further in, and they’re wary of the hedge itself. Shao apparently took a look at it, but decided not to do anything yet. Just ordered them to set a defensive line for if the uglies came out.”

It was certainly no joke, if the high realm military officers of the west had chosen to defer the challenge. And that was something to ask Dzintara about. She had a feeling the barrier might have something to do with their goddess’ battle with “the flower demon.”

Ling Qi moved on. “Were you provided maps at all?”

“Yeah, this is the bit Liling told me to be kinda straight about.” Ji Rong stood up, gesturing for her to follow him over to a table. “So look, for the deal, I can tell you the bits she said I absolutely can’t negotiate, yeah? A bunch of the other claims are just merchant shit, you dig?”

“I understand haggling, yes,” Ling Qi said dryly.

The author’s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

“Course you do.” Ji Rong snorted. “Let’s spend a while on this. Can’t give you the minimum. Gotta look like I’m not half-assing this.”

“I understand,” Ling said as a detailed map of the portion of the Wall that extended into the jungle appeared. There were some very expansive red lines drawn on it. She didn’t want to imagine arguing a more belligerent representative of the Western Territories down.

And this was only the preliminary action. She had to negotiate with the Sun for what she would later negotiate with the White Sky.

***

It was, amusingly, still quite a spirited debate, but more because they were arguing over what it would look believable for him to have conceded.