Inside the house, the sturdy woman sat in a chair with Xiao Xiao cradled in her arms, her smile wide enough to split her face—radiating the pure joy of something precious regained.
Xiao Xiao thought her mother was acting strangely today, but being so young, there was much she didn't understand. Naturally, she couldn't pinpoint what, exactly, was different about her.
Before her sat a food box—the very same one the noblewoman up the mountain had given her. Inside were no precious treasures, just some osmanthus cakes made by hand.
Country folk had rarely seen pastries so delicately crafted, let alone tasted them.
Half the osmanthus cakes in the box were already gone, most of them ending up in Xiao Xiao's stomach.
"Mother, have another piece." Xiao Xiao picked up a cake and held it to the sturdy woman's lips.
The woman smiled warmly. "Mother won't eat any more—too sweet, cloying. You eat it, Xiao Xiao."
"Okay." Xiao Xiao took the cake back and nibbled at it slowly.
It was delicious! Enough to make someone want to swallow their own tongue.
Outside the door, the hunter was grinding arrowheads in preparation for tomorrow's mountain hunt. He glanced up at the heartwarming scene and gave a simple, honest smile.
……
Beyond Dayan Pass, on a floating island half a day's journey away, lay the temporary encampment of the Southern and Northern Armies.
Over a year ago, the Southern and Northern Armies had fought a great battle in the void against an Ink Clan force dispatched from Dayan. They had killed many enemies, but their own casualties were far from light.
The Ink Clan remnants had fled back toward Dayan Pass, where they were taken in by the Ink Clan garrison and holed up, refusing to come out.
More than a year had passed since then. The Southern and Northern Armies and the Dayan Ink Clan faced each other from a distance—like two beasts separated by a stretch of emptiness, baring their fangs at one another, yet neither able to do anything about the other.
The Dayan Ink Clan had suffered a devastating loss once before and dared not mobilize lightly, fearful that once they committed their forces, there would be no path of retreat.
As for the Southern and Northern Armies, they likewise had no good solution for dealing with an enemy that had barricaded itself inside the pass.
Standing in the shoes of the besiegers, the human race truly came to appreciate how formidable a fortress could be. The entirety of Dayan Pass afforded the Ink Clan extremely thorough protection. If the Southern and Northern Armies rashly launched an assault, they would undoubtedly suffer heavy casualties. With their current troop numbers, seizing Dayan Pass in a single decisive blow would be extremely difficult. And if they failed to take it within a short period, every advantage the Southern and Northern Armies had built up would be wiped clean.
Ouyang Lie, the Southern Army's Corps Commander, had a volatile temperament. The stalemate gave him a splitting headache, and he spent his days pressuring Mi Jinglun to come up with some plan—anything—to lure the Dayan Ink Clan out so they could beat them soundly.
But what could Mi Jinglun do? The Dayan Ink Clan was holed up and refusing to come out. He might have had a hundred brilliant stratagems at his disposal, but none could be put into practice.
"Brother Ouyang, settle down. The situation at Dayan has already settled into a deadlock. The Ink Clan won't come out, and we can't easily attack. A standoff is all there is!" Mi Jinglun consoled Ouyang Lie, who came to consult on enemy strategy time and again.
Ouyang Lie wasn't ignorant of this reasoning. After all, he was an Eighth-Order Open Heaven cultivator and a Corps Commander—if he acted purely on impulse, he would never have achieved what he had today.
But knowing it and being able to change his temperament were two different matters.
"How long are we supposed to stand off? Are we just going to stare at each other forever?" Ouyang Lie fumed. The Ink Clan were such cowards—possessing such formidable military strength, yet hiding away and refusing to fight. Infuriating.
Mi Jinglun said, "Naturally, this standoff can't last forever. The key to breaking the deadlock at Dayan doesn't lie here—it lies with the Eastern and Western Armies."
Ouyang Lie's eyes narrowed as understanding dawned. "Brother Mi, you mean..."
Mi Jinglun nodded. "If the Eastern and Western Armies can batter the Royal City until the Ink Clan can't fight back, the King will certainly grow anxious. And when that happens, how could the Dayan Ink Clan stay put? Under the King's orders, they'll have no choice but to march to the Royal City's aid. That's when the Southern and Northern Armies will have their chance to strike."
Ouyang Lie nodded repeatedly. "Exactly! Then in your estimation, Brother Mi, when will this opening come?"
Mi Jinglun replied, "That depends on when the Royal City can no longer hold. But I don't think it will be soon. The Eastern and Western Armies have roughly the same troop numbers as our Southern and Northern Armies. Although they have an Ancestor presiding over them, the Ink Clan has their own King to contend with. Breaking through won't be simple. For now, what we should do is establish contact with the Eastern and Western Armies. Ideally, we could keep each other's intelligence flowing in real time—that would make coordinating our plans far easier."
Ouyang Lie shook his head. "That's easier said than done. This place is far too distant from the Royal City. Establishing contact is simple enough, but intelligence will inevitably be delayed. I doubt we could achieve that level of real-time coordination."
Mi Jinglun nodded. "If only we could have Nephew Yang set up a few Universe Formations between Dayan and the Royal City. Unfortunately, he's probably occupied assisting the Ancestor with his recovery right now and can't spare himself. Otherwise, with Xiang Shan's far-sightedness, he would certainly have already had Nephew Yang working on this. Be that as it may, we still need intelligence exchange—delayed or not."
Ouyang Lie said, "In that case, we should send someone to the Eastern and Western Armies."
Mi Jinglun smiled faintly. "I've already sent someone. By now, they should be arriving."
Ouyang Lie rolled his eyes. The man had gone and done everything in advance, then told him about it afterward, making him look ignorant. Being around these scheming, conniving types was exhausting.
Mi Jinglun gazed out into the depths of the void. He had sent someone to the Eastern and Western Armies for two purposes: first, to share intelligence between the two fronts, and second, to find out exactly how the Eastern and Western Armies intended to attack the Royal City.
Facing the Royal City—defended by a massive Ink Clan army and anchored by the King himself—would be no easy feat with the Eastern and Western Armies' current forces. If he were in their shoes, if he were the Eastern and Western Armies' commander, how would he go about it? Mi Jinglun had considered the question extensively and thought up several approaches, but none seemed particularly promising.