CHAPTER 628: CHAPTER 264: SUPPLIES DELIVERED, NEWS FROM LONG MOUNTAIN (3)

He has been stationed in Longyou for over twenty days now, and he hasn’t been idle. Taking advantage of this period without battles, he dispatched over a hundred scouts of the Earth-digging Realm to survey around Wushuang, thoroughly understanding the surrounding terrain, including the borders with other camps.

"Luo Ming mentioned that three years ago, Yang Ning and Li Hu were scouts for the Defensive Army of Beishuo Town. The reason they ventured into Redwood Ridge was due to orders to map the surroundings of Beishuo Town. This shows the importance of maps; only by fully understanding your surroundings can you catch the enemy off guard and achieve victory when real battles occur."

The importance of the maps is just one aspect.

A flash of light crossed Xia Chuan’s eyes. More importantly, the incident three years ago was enough to prove that the distance between Great Xia and Beishuo Town should not be far; otherwise, Yang and Li would not have mistakenly entered Redwood Ridge.

This also means that someday in the future, Great Xia could very likely come across Beishuo Town or even the other eight towns of Moao Mountain.

If such a day really comes, Xia Chuan does not want it to be like three years ago.

He still clearly remembers the kick from Li Hu.

Xia Chuan’s focus on drawing maps only lasted over ten minutes before he was interrupted by footsteps outside.

The one who entered was Liu Yuan, the deputy leader of the Cloud Jiao Team, with a trace of anger on his face, clearly in a bad mood.

Seeing Liu Yuan’s expression, Xia Chuan couldn’t help but find it amusing.

Liu Yuan had long since started using beast blood, and now his basic strength was over eighty thousand, making him one of the top ten contenders in this Earth-digging Realm division. Lately, he’s been hiding away in closed cultivation for half a month, and it must have been something interrupting him that put him in such a foul mood.

"What happened?"

Upon hearing Xia Chuan’s inquiry, Liu Yuan managed to calm some of his emotions and reported with cupped hands:

"Minister, we caught a sneaky person downstairs. He’s the one who came from Long Mountain tonight to deliver supplies. He claims to be Li Hu and insists that he has something important to discuss with you. Once you meet him, you’ll understand!"

As he mentioned Li Hu, Liu Yuan kept a close eye on Xia Chuan’s expression.

When he saw Xia Chuan’s face remain unchanged, Liu Yuan immediately realized that the person he had just captured was telling the truth, and he hurriedly called out to the hallway.

"Bring the person in!"

Soon after his voice fell, two Great Xia soldiers brought in a young man dressed in the white outfit of Long Mountain.

The restrained Li Hu looked helpless, but upon seeing Xia Chuan, he finally breathed a sigh of relief. Before the others could unbind him, he quickly spoke, "Li Hu greets Minister."

"Unlock him, and all of you, leave."

Seeing Li Hu salute Xia Chuan as soon as he came in, Liu Yuan was momentarily stunned. Following Xia Chuan’s words, he quickly understood what was happening and indicated to the others to leave them alone.

"Not bad, you’ve made quite some progress in these over twenty days."

Xia Chuan looked at Li Hu for a moment before smiling and praising him.

In over twenty days, Li Hu’s basic strength had reached twenty-nine thousand, just a step away from the thirty thousand pounds limit.

"Thanks to the medicines and beast meat you gave me, Li Hu is deeply grateful!"

Having been caught by Liu Yuan, Li Hu should have suffered a bit. While replying, he kept rubbing his arms, a wry smile on his face.

"You dared to barge in here? You’ve got quite the guts. If someone else had found you first, you might have lost your life."

This main building, let alone Zhao Long, Chen Yingyuan, and Wu Tianxing, has plenty who’ve surpassed the thirty thousand pounds limit, and many with higher basic strength than Li Hu. If they let him break in rashly, it would be a disaster.

Li Hu had evidently learned his lesson, a trace of lingering fear on his face as he replied, "I almost did lose my life just now. Minister, please give me something to prove my identity. The risks I’m taking to meet you are just too great otherwise."

Xia Chuan shook his head with a smile, thought for a moment, then took out an iron token inscribed with the words "Cloud Jiao" from his chest and tossed it to Li Hu.

"This is my Hunting Team token; keep it for now and don’t randomly intrude again. Zhou Yuan and Meng Ying have already left, so it shouldn’t be difficult to avoid your own people’s sight. If you encounter someone from Great Xia, let them bring you here directly; don’t sneak around..."

Xia Chuan paused and continued to ask, "Do you have important information?"

Barging into the supply-delivering group and taking such risks to see him meant Li Hu surely had something to report.

Li Hu nodded and, without hesitation, took out a beast skin roll:

"Minister, this is a map of the Long Mountain camp, covering all buildings and population distribution within, with detailed records of everything about Long Mountain known to me. These were compiled with Yang Zhong over the past twenty days back there, and should be useful for our Great Xia!"

A gleam of concentration flashed in Xia Chuan’s eyes as he stepped forward to take the beast skin roll. After unfolding and examining it, his eyes were full of delight.

Taking a deep breath before looking at Li Hu again, he continued to ask:

"Do you have anything else to report?"

"Yes!"

Li Hu’s face turned solemn as he continued, "Li Xuantiang, Cheng Guang, Yue Qian, and Song Kang, along with over four hundred Longyou Army members, have all returned to Long Mountain."

Upon hearing these names, Xia Chuan’s expression first froze, then turned serious as he collected himself.

"Minister, you should know that these people were those who disappeared after the attack on Yang Lu, and they all returned half a month ago."

Xia Chuan frowned and quickly asked, "Li Xuanling can’t be that foolish, right? Did she just let them all into the camp?"

Li Hu nodded, "Li Xuanling and the others were suspicious. Initially, they didn’t let them in and used the solidified fire oil to test them, but they all checked out. To ensure safety, Long Mountain had them stay outside the camp for a full seven days, using various methods to test them. Only after confirming that everyone was fine did they let them into the camp..."

Solidified fire oil was exchanged from Great Xia, and Li Hu knew this. So after explaining, seeing Xia Chuan fall into deep thought, unsurprised, he continued, "Since switching to our solidified fire oil, Long Mountain’s dewdrop plague has completely vanished. Li Xuantiang’s group appeared perfectly normal, and it’s been seven to eight days since they entered the camp, with no reappearance of the plague, so they should be fine..."

Xia Chuan interrupted Li Hu with a wave of his hand. Given Li Hu’s cultivation and perspective, his assessments couldn’t be relied upon. However, this piece of news was crucial for Great Xia.

With a hint of praise on his face, he spoke, "Li Hu, the two pieces of information you brought are both very useful. Continue to find opportunities to relay any significant developments..."

Stopping here, Xia Chuan paused, then took out a porcelain bottle from his chest, and went to the back of the hall to take two leather bags.

"This bottle contains Beast Spirit Pills, which are several times more potent than Beast Essence Pills. Additionally, here are 200 pounds of beast blood; split it with Yang Zhong evenly. If you lack anything else for your cultivation, find an opportunity to come to Wushuang. Let’s end our meeting here for tonight; head back now and evade any unusual attention."

Having tasted the benefits of Beast Essence Pills, Li Hu’s breathing became heavier upon hearing that the Beast Spirit Pills were several times more potent.

After calming himself, he accepted the porcelain bottle, picked up the 200 pounds of beast blood, and reverently bowed to Xia Chuan, stating, "I will take my leave now. Rest assured, Minister, any abnormalities at Long Mountain will be promptly reported."

With that, he turned and left.

"Big brother’s foresight is indeed sharp; these two truly are talents!"

After watching Li Hu leave, Xia Chuan returned to his main seat, his gaze resting on the beast skin roll Li Hu brought, with excitement still surging within him.