50: Mo Yan is being watched

The veteran Soldier turned around and waved to a squad of Soldiers who had just assembled and were about to set out on patrol.

“Zhang Hu, your squad, come with me and escort Lord Bai to familiarize herself with the outer perimeter.”

The captain called out was a man of about thirty, with several shallow scars on his face.

He quickly stepped forward and bowed respectfully to Bai Lingyue: “Your subordinate Zhang Hu greets Lord Bai!”

“Mm.” Bai Lingyue only responded faintly, her gaze already sweeping past everyone, directed towards the vast, snow-covered ice plain outside the territory.

A group of more than ten people quickly walked out of the territory’s boundaries.

The biting cold wind, carrying snow spray, assailed their faces.

The Soldiers all tightened their leather armor and gripped their spears, vigilantly observing their surroundings.

Bai Lingyue, however, was completely unaffected; her white dress fluttered, and she walked calmly through the wind and snow, carefully examining the terrain and geomorphology around her.

After walking for about ten minutes, she suddenly stopped, tilted her head slightly, and her nose twitched as if she had caught an unusual Qi in the wind and snow.

Zhang Hu, who was following behind her, felt his heart tighten at the sight and immediately stepped forward, asking nervously: “Lord Bai, what’s wrong? Did you discover something?”

The other Soldiers also instantly became alert, gripping their weapons and looking around.

Bai Lingyue did not answer immediately; she concentrated for a moment, but the Qi was again dispersed by the wind.

After a while, she casually replied, “Nothing, perhaps it was an illusion brought by the wind and snow.”

Zhang Hu breathed a sigh of relief, but still dared not relax his vigilance.

This new commander, Lord, gave people a feeling of being too mysterious; her every move made them dare not take it lightly.

The veteran Soldier was also somewhat puzzled, but he did not dare to ask more, only motioned for the team to continue forward.

The patrol continued.

However, not long after, just as the team was about to reach the westernmost corner of their patrol route, Bai Lingyue stopped again.

She suddenly turned around, precisely locking onto the direction west-northwest, and murmured to herself, “This smell…”

It was no longer an illusion.

But a kind of… human presence, mixed with the lingering scent of humans.

“Lord Bai?” Zhang Hu became nervous again.

Bai Lingyue ignored him and walked towards the direction from which the scent came.

“Follow!” Zhang Hu dared not delay, immediately whispered to his Soldiers, leading the team to follow closely behind Bai Lingyue.

The veteran Soldier also furrowed his brows, gripping his spear even tighter.

They had patrolled this area many times and had never found anything unusual.

Bai Lingyue followed the increasingly clear scent for about a hundred meters.

She stopped at a place half-hidden by several huge ice rocks.

Behind the ice rocks was a naturally formed small ice cave.

The entrance was largely covered by wind and snow, making it difficult to spot without careful observation.

The scent was coming from this ice cave.

“Here…” Zhang Hu looked at the ice cave, his face showing surprise, “How did we not discover this before?”

Bai Lingyue walked to the entrance, bent slightly, and looked inside.

The ice cave was not large, no more than seven or eight meters deep, and it was empty inside.

But on the ground at the deepest part of the cave, there was a small patch of blackened marks, with a few unextinguished ashes scattered around.

A lingering warmth and a faint smell of smoke still remained in the air.

She walked in and squatted down in front of the black marks.

She extended her slender, fair fingers, picked up a bit of ash, and sniffed it at her nose.

It was the ash left after burning some common withered wood.

She carefully examined the ground again.

Near the ashes, the ice had slight signs of melting, but it had already refrozen.

On the ground near the cave entrance, several blurry footprints could vaguely be seen, but they were quickly covered by the snow spray blown in by the wind.

“Looking at the residual warmth of these ashes…” Bai Lingyue stood up, her tone playful, glancing with a half-smile at the nervous Soldiers beside her.

“Someone must have been here not long ago, and they left no more than half an hour ago.”

Zhang Hu and the veteran Soldier also followed into the cave, and seeing the pile of ashes and the marks on the ground, their expressions became grave.

The veteran Soldier leaned in to look, and whispered, “That’s right, this campfire just went out not long ago, they definitely haven’t gone far!”

Zhang Hu’s face darkened, and he gripped his spear, whispering, “This distance is too close. Did other lords sneak up near us?”

This was definitely not good news.

The appearance of unidentified people around the territory meant a potential threat.

Bai Lingyue slowly walked out of the ice cave, looked up in the direction of the territory, and casually curved her lips, clearly waiting for a good show to begin.

“It seems our Lord has been… targeted by someone with ill intentions.”

“How interesting.”

Zhang Hu and the veteran Soldier’s expressions instantly became extremely grim.

“Targeted?” Zhang Hu’s voice was a bit dry.

The veteran Soldier’s brows furrowed into a knot: “In this icy and snowy place, what are they hiding here for? So close to our territory…”

This distance had already exceeded the safe range.

The fact that the other party could sneak in here silently indicated that their strength was not weak, and their purpose was definitely not simple.

Bai Lingyue watched their nervous reactions with interest, the curve of her mouth deepening slightly, and she said casually:

“Who knows? Maybe just ordinary lost people, or perhaps… hungry wolves that smelled meat.”

Zhang Hu and the veteran Soldier, however, were terrified.

Hungry wolves?

“Lord Bai, we must report to Lord immediately!”

“Should we leave a marker here, or try to track them?”

Bai Lingyue shrugged noncommittally, her gaze sweeping over the ice cave, then looking towards the ice plain covered by wind and snow in the distance.

“With your current strength, you won’t be able to catch up. Let’s go back first.” She said faintly, turning to walk in the direction of the territory.

Her calm and unhurried attitude formed a stark contrast with the nervous and wary Soldiers behind her.

Zhang Hu and the veteran Soldier exchanged glances, both seeing gravity in each other’s eyes.

They dared not delay, immediately called the Soldiers to follow, and the group quickened their pace, hurrying back to the territory.

On the way back, the atmosphere was noticeably heavier than on the way out.

The Soldiers no longer talked, only hurried on silently, their eyes sharply scanning, fearing that enemies would suddenly dart out from some corner.

...

The door of the Ice Crystal Cabin was pushed open, and cold wind, carrying snowflakes, surged in.

Mo Yan looked up at Bai Lingyue who walked in.

She was dressed in a white dress, and the wind and snow had left no trace on her; she was still clear and ethereal.

Only her eyes, at this moment, held a smile, staring straight at him.

“Lord, your subordinate went out for a stroll and made an unexpected discovery.”

“Oh?” Mo Yan stopped what he was doing, “What is it?”

Bai Lingyue walked up to him and stopped: “Just under five hundred meters west-northwest of the territory, we discovered a small ice cave.”