Hearing the man’s shouts, everyone immediately became vigilant and looked around. The White Wolf Deity lay lazily on the ground, looking disdainfully at the depths of the cave. Seeing the behavior of the White Wolf Deity, Guo Huai breathed a sigh of relief, knowing the strength of the White Wolf Deity. The enemy’s attitude indicated that the assailants were not very strong.
A moment later, a man emerged slowly from the depths of the cave. His body bore signs of bandaging. Seeing the guarded group, he halted his approach, bowed to everyone, and said,
"I am Mu Nanyu, a merchant from the Linshu Trade Caravan. We are just passing through and mean no harm."
"Why would a trade caravan run into a cave?"
Mo Ling looked at the man with suspicion, while Feng Yuan seemed to think of something and looked surprised. He glanced at the bandages on the man and, with a wry smile, Mu Nanyu explained,
"We didn’t want to, but there’s a group of mountain bandits on the road from Yue Lake to Yong Kang who are demanding tolls. Our small business can only..."
"To detour through ancient caves, you must be quite resourceful. Most people who enter find it hard to even exit, let alone travel somewhere else,"
Feng Yuan said to Mu Nanyu. It wasn’t that he was taking the stranger’s word at face value; he knew the ancient cave system was interconnected and could be considered an underground network of Nanyu. However, navigating through the ancient caves was quite difficult. The conditions inside were so complex that it was very easy to get lost.
Moreover, he had seen the merchant’s caravan behind Mu Nanyu. They looked like startled birds, warily watching Feng Yuan and his group. Feng Yuan surmised that their troubles with the mountain bandits were probably more than just paying tolls—they might have also engaged in a skirmish.
"What do you think? Should we take a detour?"
Feng Yuan turned and looked at Mo Li and the others. Since the newcomers posed no threat, he naturally didn’t care to get involved. Although they were not afraid of the so-called mountain bandits, it was not their territory. Feng Yuan felt somewhat annoyed at the prospect of solving problems for others without acknowledgment, especially when the others were oblivious to your deeds.
"A detour? Where can we detour to?"
Mo Ling asked, perplexed, and Hua Yiyou spoke up with some astonishment,
"We’re not obligated to take the country roads, so why should we avoid them?"
Feng Yuan pointed at Mu Nanyu,
"Do you think they haven’t considered this? If they’re drilling into ancient caves, it’s not as simple as just the country roads being blocked, right?"
With a slight smile, Mu Nanyu replied,
"Naturally. If they were only intercepting on the country roads, we could easily bypass them through the surrounding forests, but those mountain bandits have sealed off all the surrounding woods. We had no choice but to pass through the ancient caves."
"Luckily, those people don’t seem to be familiar with the ancient caves, or else we wouldn’t know what to do."
As they spoke, the trade caravan carefully made their way forward. Feng Yuan glanced at the merchant caravan and noticed no Spirit Beasts typically used for carrying loads, just ordinary horses transporting goods. It appeared they did not use vehicles; all the cargo was loaded onto those horses.
"Is Nanyu very chaotic now?"
Feng Yuan asked, prompting a startle from the crowd. They assessed the merchant caravan; Mo Li rubbed her chin, frowning in confusion. Hua Yiyou looked at Mu Nanyu as if pondering something. With a sigh, Mu Nanyu said,
"It wasn’t before, but from about a year ago, there’s been frequent banditry on the roads, causing us merchants endless suffering."
"Hasn’t the king of Nanyu sent people to resolve this?"
Glancing at Mo Ling, Mu Nanyu shook his head,
"They tried at the beginning, but somehow the bandits manage to escape before the Nanyu army arrives every time. Even when generals personally go into battle, it’s useless. They always flee early. Eventually, the king of Nanyu had no choice but to arrange for the army to organize unified trade journeys once a month to avoid shortages of supplies in various places."
Mo Ling looked at Mo Li and asked in a low voice. Nodding, Mo Li said seriously,
"It seems a neighboring country is gearing up to move against Nanyu."
"A country? That can’t be... can it?"
"You all have guessed it, haven’t you? You just don’t want to admit it,"
Mo Li said to the startled Mu Nanyu. With not a single Spirit Beast accompanying the whole merchant caravan, it was likely they were operating within their own country. As for leaving their country? To venture out without any force was like inviting those powerful families to strike.
Within their own nation, it was different. Whether it was to maintain face or to ensure the circulation of domestic goods, those families would restrain themselves. Unless there were huge profits involved, they generally would not attack their nation’s own caravans.
The people before us are most likely nationals of the Nanyu Kingdom, Mo Li sighed upon recalling the nation’s strength. Mu Nanyu expressed some doubts,
"Why, after so much time without incident, would they suddenly take action? It’s impossible, yes, there must be a special reason."
"What’s impossible about it? Without Great Li’s restraint, it’s obvious that Great Yan needs to seize the opportunity to expand. This bit of territory in Nanyu... Although it’s somewhat small, it’s not unworthy of being taken."
"Although Nanyu doesn’t border Great Li, would Ze Hai, Nan Huang, and Bai Ze really let Great Yan swallow up Nanyu?"
Seeing Mu Nanyu still searching for excuses, Feng Yuan smiled and said,
"Great Yan was just attacked a few days ago. Have those mountain bandits intensified their efforts, or have they calmed down?"
"How could... it be..."
Seeing Mu Nanyu look utterly shocked, Mo Li glanced at Feng Yuan and helplessly said to Mu Nanyu,
"The way you are now, it would be better to hurry into town and recuperate."
Mu Nanyu, dismayed, ran back to the trade caravan and after a conversation, the caravan slowly passed by Feng Yuan and the others. Feng Yuan murmured,
"An era where one is helpless..."
Guo Huai glanced at Feng Yuan and asked,
"Are you planning to intervene again?"
"Impossible. I really don’t want to get involved in something with such a broad scope. The cost is too high, and besides, what can I truly do..."
"Like stuffing a Divine Beast into Nanyu? Isn’t that what you like to do?"
Feng Yuan stared at Guo Huai for a while and said,
"When have I ever recklessly placed Divine Beasts around? Don’t slander me. Moreover, that fellow has a stronghold there and it’s still not holding on. Do you actually think Divine Beasts are useful?"
"Why wouldn’t they be? Their so-called Spirit Beasts protecting the nation can’t possibly compare to Divine Beasts, can they?"
"If a Divine Beast were to always provide protection as you suggest... but doing so would eventually exhaust all goodwill. The Nanyu king isn’t a fool. Rather than just depleting that goodwill and hoping for a miracle, it’s better to conserve that goodwill to leave Nanyu with a glimmer of hope."
Guo Huai watched Feng Yuan speechlessly and said,
"Need to be so pessimistic? Isn’t this just a small matter?"
"No, he’s not wrong,"
"The biggest problem facing Nanyu right now is the severe lack of strength at both the top and mid-levels. Once or twice may not feel like much, but if they keep bothering Divine Beasts for everything, there will come a day when even they won’t tolerate it anymore."
Mo Ling commented, and seeing that Guo Huai still didn’t understand, Feng Yuan glanced at Guo Huai and said,
"Think about it yourself. Put yourself in the position of a Divine Beast. If the country you’re protecting keeps asking you for help whenever there’s a problem, how would you feel?"
Guo Huai tried to consider it and found that Feng Yuan was right. If that were true, he would definitely be annoyed. Mo Ling muttered softly,
"Is there really no way out..."
"At the very least, Nanyu would need to be guarded by the presence of legends, myths, and even those of Sacred Beast Level before it could continue to hold out. Otherwise, they can only hope these nations will fall into civil strife themselves. For instance, Great Yan definitely doesn’t have the capacity right now to deal with Nanyu. Although Yimu Qingling and Drudgeon probably won’t attack them next."
"But just dealing with the rebellion in the Bei Yan Region is enough to give them a headache. After all, they don’t have the moral high ground, and if they resort to military force outright, it’s hard to guarantee that Drudgeon and Yimu Qingling won’t retaliate again, perhaps even more fiercely."
"But without using military force... that would mean they’ve completely lost that region, which is unacceptable to an emperor, especially since the Bei Yan Region is not small."
Hua Yiyou analyzed quietly, and Mo Li and the others nodded. Feng Yuan smiled slightly and said,
"It’s not just that; there’s something even more serious."