571: Hidden Investigations

Hidden Investigations

As the ship returned, there was a lull in the air as they were all resting. Although, that did not apply to Zhu Xie, who was guiding the ship, and the three scholars, who took their time reading over the documents. 

All three of them quietly recorded what was written onto new paper. 

Their faces had various expressions of happiness and excitement as they read through these documents. They muttered quietly, musing over the details. 

"A Bellflower? What sort of herb is that?' 

"These names must be members of the Order! Perhaps there maybe even be a few names we recognize. 

"What are these beasts? Do they even exist anymore?" 

Ao Qin sat in one corner of the cabin, showing a slightly annoyed face every time he heard one of them squeal a bit. 

"Ah, of course, those sounds wouldn't end with just the ruins."

He sighed, before looking around, seeing the others relaxing. On another side, he saw the Four Claws gathered together, checking their equipment and chatting. Shu Yi was with Zhu Xie and Jin Nao sat near the scholars as their guard. As for Ruishi Lei, the lion-kin was seated on the floor, cross-legged with his eyes closed. 

"He definitely found something."

Ao Qin narrowed his eyes, following his gut feelings but he said nothing and averted his gaze. 

"Something is going to happen, it might be big too", he thought. 

The dragon-kin closed his eyes once again. 

"Since we've begun to spread out, there's no doubt we'll run into that human girl again. I wonder where she could've gone? Surely, she isn't in the North."

His eyes then opened again. 

"Wait a minute, could she have... could she have cleared the ruins herself?" he wondered, "It's possible. She is far from her home and the only way to return is through the teleportation arrays. She may have already known about the keys. Would that mean that has this one?"

Such a thing was possible but Ao Qin didn't seem very alarmed or bothered. 

"There are still three others. Besides, I'd rather not fight her for it, I might lose a limb or two."

He lingered over this thought before smirking. 

"Hah, I doubt we'd come to blows. Rather, she might've already gone home!" 

However, Ming Yue had not left yet, and leaving was not her highest priority at this moment. She had just reached the Sky Realm after all. She needed time to adjust and learn about her current state. 

The ship returned to the city and the twelve of them gave their report before going their separate ways for tonight. 

"We'll have a few days of rest before our next duty, I hope you all spend it well!" 

Lao Yang gave them these parting words before going back to the Archives with the other scholars and Jin Nao. There was still plenty of work for them though, they were more excited than anything. 

"Yes, yes, I'm sure my children would like to hear about this journey."

Shu Yi waved goodbye before scampering off as the others looked at him with a bit of surprise. 

"He had kids?" Ao Qin asked.

"Yes, three of them! A son and two daughters, he told me!" Zhu Xie announced it quite happily before adjusting his belongings. 

"Alright, I have to head back to my workshop. I still have a few projects to work on! I'll be off then!" 

The boar-kin walked off, waving everyone goodbye as he left. 

"Well now, I'll go then. My body is still aching a bit."

Massaging his shoulder, Ao Qin groaned before just vanishing into thin air. It was just the Four Claws and Ruishi Lei left. The group looked at the lion-kin, cupping their fists and bowing. 

"We shall be taking our leave now, please take care", Niu Hong said. 

Ruishi Lei nodded before quietly leaving and the four of them turned to leave. 

The White Lion glanced back before his figure suddenly vanished. Moving quickly, he arrived at a pair of gates, knocking on them. Two statues stood on either side of the gate, both were of guardian lions, looking towards the front of the gate with a powerful gaze.

There was clinking as the peephole opened before closing as the gates opened up. 

"Welcome, young master! Back from your trip?" 

The gatekeeper quickly lowered his head and bowed, greeting Ruishi Lei as he walked in. Paying no attention to the gatekeeper, he continued on, entering his clan's grounds. A giant mansion stood in front of him, surrounded by smaller houses. There were multiple figures all throughout the area, some were guard patrols, and others were tasked with place clean. 

Strolling through calmly, everyone that passed by him acted the same as the gatekeeper, bowing and greeting him. 

"Young master!"

"Young master!"

"Young master!"

He paid no attention to them, all too familiar with this behavior. Entering the main hall, he ascended to the highest floor and stood before a door, opening it and coming in.

"Lei'er, you're back."

Behind those doors was his father, Ruishi Wang, the head of the Ruishi Clan, seated behind a neatly organized desk. Seeing his son return, he smiled, welcoming him. 

"Father."

Ruishi Lei walked forward, standing on the opposite side of the desk.

"So then, if you've decided to come up here, then that means that you've something to report to me. Something that no one else has discovered."

Interlocking his hands together, Ruishi Wang rested his elbows on his desk, looking at his son with interest. 

"Yes father, there was something else that I found in those ruins. It seems that they did not collapse on their own."

Ruishi Wang narrowed his eyes. 

"What do you mean?" he asked. 

"I found a few traces of some sort of battle in the rubble. It may be recent or from a long time ago, however, a fight definitely broke out. Whoever did it may have fought against the Dragon of Swords and took the key to the teleportation array", Ruishi Lei explained. 

His father went into deep thought, going silent for a few moments. 

"Hmm, that is quite a speculation... How confident are you about this?" his father asked. 

They both looked at each other, directly staring into each other's eyes and Ruishi Lei answered. 

"I'm very certain that this is the case. If the ruins had crumbled and the Dragon of Swords had been destroyed, it can only mean that whatever it was guarding had been taken away."

Ruishi Wang nodded. 

"That is very likely. Alright then, I will take this into account with our plans. You can go now."

Despite being dismissed so easily, Ruishi Lei did not turn and go. 

"What about the North of the Savage Lands? Are we not going to investigate that place, father?" 2

Ruishi Wang sighed, leaning back on his chair while looking at him. 

"Why are you so adamant about going there? That place is a death trap! I only pushed for an expedition to the North to throw that fox and all those other bastards off our scent. Now you actually want to do it?" 

"There's something there, I'm sure of it."

"Hah, I'll have a few people look into it but don't forget, our true goal is the other ruins. I already have several contacts in the South, the East, and the West. I'm sure the other clans are quietly building up their strength and pocketing treasures for themselves. Alright then, go, I need time to think." 

He spoke with a bit more force towards his son who lingered for just a bit longer before turning and leaving. Once Ruishi Lei was gone and the doors were closed, the head of the Ruishi Clan, sighed for the third time, looking down towards the doors. 

"Time is running out. When the Savage Lands is no longer a threat, it will only be a short while before we turn on each other. Before then, preparations must be made, the Ruishi Clan will flourish and dominate!"

His eyes slowly transformed, filled with a strong determination. 

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