Chapter 687 Foreboding
"You're sure?" he added.
Gu Xing paused slightly to gather her thoughts together before she said,
"I am not completely certain but the timeline warrants them to be considered a suspect at the very least.
They have been the only humans known to have created a foothold in this place. Because of the bounty of this place, they were not the only ones who tried to conquer this area over the years or tried to create a little place for themselves here.
But in all this time, only they have been able to create a kingdom in this place. Of course, various factors went into play, such as not many spirit beasts cared much about the territory they chose except for those that had settled close to that area.
The area experienced infrequent spatial storms and a tidal change in the quality of the spiritual qi, which made it an inconvenient place for spirit beasts to live. It was left unoccupied because of that reason.."
Yang Qing frowned as he interjected,
"Really? I've been there and the whole territory from the border to the capital is rich in resources and the quality of spiritual qi. I also didn't detect any signs of a spatial storm ever happening in the area, nor are there any records that say so.
Are you sure it's the same place or maybe some territory they held before they moved to where they are today?"
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt"No, it's the same place.." succinctly said Gu Xing.
"I was told by one of the senior leaders of this place, that the transformation of the area had something to do with some treasures they found. The place was rumored to harbor the ruins of some powerful organization.
Before the Deer Mountain Kingdom settled there, there had been several spirit beasts that ventured into the area to explore the ruins. That senior had been one of them. Though her exploration didn't reveal too much, she did find a few trinkets here and there, that suggested the area once housed some organization,
The few objects she had gathered suggested that the organization was an empire, the Bi Xie Empire..."
"Bi Xie Empire.." absentmindedly muttered Yang Qing as he tried to recall if he had ever heard of an Empire by that name. He soon shook his head, when he realized he didn't know it.
"The senior you're talking about is it Lady Gild?" curiously asked Yang Qing.
Gu Xing's pupils flickered slightly as she asked,
"You know her?"
"No, not really. I know someone with a close relationship with her.." Yang Qing said as he shook his head sideways.
"Adler?.. but no, Adler doesn't like humans that much. I doubt he would talk to them about his master. With the same breadth he liked annoying her, he idolized her just as much. No way he'd speak to a human about her...
Is it the badger?" she asked after some thought.
"No, it was Meifeng.." answered Yang Qing before he added,
"The parasitic purple flower spore sycamore tree.."when he saw the confusion on Gu Xing's face.
"Her?" she said with surprise.
"How is she? Gild raved about her constantly, especially when she unlocked her spirituality. She treated her like her daughter..." Gu Xing said with a nostalgic smile on her face.
"How did she reveal Gild to you? Her devotion to Gild is as high as the bear's and she has a wary personality, especially around unfamiliar people...Though it has been a few thousand years since I saw her.."
"We are good friends.." answered Yang Qing with a smile as he went on to describe his interaction with Meifeng from how they met to their interactions after.
Gu Xing's eyes flashed with sympathy and slight guilt as she said,
"I've grown accustomed to solitude so much that I assumed others were the same. I didn't know she was struggling this much with it.."
"As much as we enjoy our company, we do need interactions with others here and there, no matter the form it takes. Isn't that why, you revealed yourself? Curiosity may have played a part, but it wasn't just that.." said Yang Qing.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏm"It is.." Gu Xing said with a tone of introspection.
"But she's okay now, i left with a few friends of mine to keep her company.." said Yang Qing in an effort to cheer Gu Xing up, whose look suggested she felt a little guilty for Meifeng's circumstances.
"Thank you, Yang Qing. She may not even remember me, since it's been so long since I saw her, but she mattered a lot to Gild, to whom I owe so much. I should have watched out for her in Gild's stead.." Gu Xing said in reproach.
Yang Qing unsure of how to comfort her decided to change the subject bringing the focus back to what they were discussing before.
"So I take it Lady Gild guessed that the Deer Mountain Kingdom found something that helped them stabilize the area and transform it into what it is today?"
"Mmmh, that was her guess. She warned other spirit beasts from going to that area because of it. She had explored that area for quite some time but never found anything, but the founders of the kingdom were able to do so. It showed that their abilities were not simple. In addition, those few trinkets she found lying around, even though they had long stopped functioning, the design and the materials showed that the Bi Xie Empire was pretty powerful in its heyday.
If those founders really did manage to find the core legacies of that Empire, then whatever they found was sure to be powerful enough to threaten their lives. She therefore advocated caution.
Gild had many admirable qualities, and her tolerance and accommodation of others is one of them, but I can't help but feel that her warning indirectly contributed to the war that happened back then.
She was well respected all around by most of the spirit beasts, especially the powerful ones. Of course, when she asked them to avoid the Kingdom, they did exactly just that and kept to themselves.
That tolerance had likely emboldened the Kingdom giving them the misconception that they were feared and could therefore try their hand at dominating this entire range.
I can't help but think had she not warned them and let them attack the kingdom in its infancy stage as they had planned, maybe the bloodshed that had overrun this place would not have happened..." she said with a sigh.
"This place seems to be turning more and more into the Bestial Churning Sea. One of the reasons I chose to settle in this place was because of this torch and the tranquility of the range. But now, it's constant battles, thievery and I don't know why, but from the moment I came back, I keep feeling this dread, as if something terrifying is about to befall this place.." Gu Xing said with worry in her tone.