Chapter 141 - Mystery solved (mini)

"Oh? Leir mean base, yesu? You know her base yess?"

"I know her base, yes. Very yes. Very well." Xin nodded and smiled. He never talked with a person with their Imperial so broken, and it was one of the few endearing things amid the grimness of the past few days. 

"Where look? I go with mastar?"

"As I said, I'll lead you back to the camp. I need you to help me, alright?" Xin put a hand on his shoulder. "Use all the influence you have to keep the riders from looking for me, no matter what Erdeni says. And make sure she doesn't ride out after me. Keep her hostage if necessary. You get it?" He doesn't, Xin thought. He clearly struggles to understand me. "Erdeni stay home no search me, understand? Erdeni hurt — I kill you all, understand? You make Erdeni stand home, you man tell her what do. Understand?" Xin said the last line quite sternly, pressing a finger at Horhu's chest.

"Y-yess. Understand. Agree." 

Xin saw a myriad different emotions dance in the young nomad's eyes, yet left him alone with this burden.

"Get ready, I'll check a few more things and we're leaving."

***

Xin walked along the imperial border without a horse, having handed it to Horhu. He had written Erdeni a small note, which said "Don't worry, I'm alright, Horhu is telling the truth. Stay safe," then hastily left on foot. After a few hours of walking, he sat down near a rapid little stream to refill his water flasks, which were provided to him by the nomads. Filling them with a few days worth of water, he hid them in one of his bags of holding and sat down, staring in his reflection and contemplating his next actions. 

The night is late, and it's quite cold, and I am tempted to light a fire, yet I shouldn't risk it. I've got a tent wrapped behind my backpack, and my bag of holding has two plaids, it's more than enough to brave the late autumn cold. Winter is creeping up, but it's not here just yet.

Sitting on a mossy rock by the water, Xin rubbed his temples, the doubt creeping in.

Did I reach the right conclusion? Certainly, yet the doubt gnaws at me still. 

Well, where else could she be?

She must have a base to retreat towards, and she must have a source of materials. Given her unique cultivation material requirements, she either occupies a qi active location or has a decent material supplier. This narrows down the search, leaving only two options.

The first one, of course, is that she's hiding in the steppe, somewhere to the north or north-east, far from the Border Guard patrols. In this case, she either has a hidden lair, or lives among the nomads. This sounds plausible, and if this is the case, it's quite a predicament. Venturing deep into nomad territories would be a deadly endeavour for a Clay Folk like me, not even speaking about confronting her in her hometurf. Luckily for me, there are a dozen reasons why she's not hiding among the nomads.

First, as Erdeni said, openly cooperating with a known demon would be a political death sentence. She was also injured, and it would be unwise for an old demon like her to expose vulnerability to her allies, as they could backstab or discard her.

Secondly, her reliance on consistent tactics reveals a need for a consistent supply of materials of the same type, something that's unlikely to fulfill in a fluctuating nomadic market. I've seen first hand how unreliable their suppliers can get at times, back in my time in Clay Nest. 

She also seems quite broke and desperate, so maintaining her core isn't just a trivial matter for her. Not even speaking of feeding her vinemen who constantly leak earth qi. It's clear that she needs a qi dense location, and with powerful earth qi ley lines on top. She also needs fresh spirit leaves, and these are rare in the steppe. Doubt she has a plant reinvigoration dao shard to keep them fresh.

Her mentality is also a hint — she is paranoid, reclusive and anxious, so she probably stays away from people, only relying on blending in and subterfuge when pressed. Her tendency to use the vinemen isn't just a choice of convenience, it betrays her trust issues — whoever she's cooperating with, it's probably not out of choice.

Where would such a person feel safe? What place is filled to the brim with wood qi materials, yet lacks significant human presence? And finally, what is the only place within a week's travel on foot from here matching the description?

Master, may I? May I? Please!

Fine, say it.

ROAR! Yellow pine forest!