At this moment, a soldier from the Great Wall Guard lifted the tent flap and said, "Lord Bai, a message from Chang'an City has arrived. Lord Mulan wishes to see you."
Bai Ye snapped back to attention and nodded. Then, to the soldier's dumbfounded gaze, he put away the gacha machine.
Mulan's tent was next door. After Bai Ye entered, Mulan held out a letter and said, "It's confirmed, those automatons were lost from Wan Xiang Tian Gong."
Bai Ye said, "Oh?"
Mulan continued, "About a month ago, a batch of automatons was lost in Chang'an. Lord Di of the Dali Temple has been investigating, but there's been no progress. Who knew those automatons would appear at the Great Wall."
Bai Ye asked, "So what should we do now?"
Mulan replied, "Chang'an wants us to handle it ourselves."
Bai Ye was speechless, "Isn't that too perfunctory?"
Mulan sighed, "It's not that Lord Di is perfunctory, but Chang'an is in turbulent times. Many things have happened in Chang'an recently, and the Dali Temple is already overwhelmed. They can't spare any manpower."
Bai Ye asked curiously, "Many things have happened in Chang'an?"
Mulan nodded, then gestured towards a pile of documents on the side, "Yes, to investigate the automatons, I've also gathered some intelligence from Chang'an. See how it's all piled up there."
Bai Ye looked at the mountain-like stack of documents and said, "It seems there's no less going on here than with us."
Mulan said, "Indeed. So, it's normal for Lord Di to be unable to spare people and tell us to handle it ourselves."
Bai Ye nodded, casually picked up a document, and flipped through it. He frowned.
"Hmm?" Bai Ye murmured, "The Heart of Dawn was stolen?"
Mulan nodded, "Yes, this is what's causing Chang'an the most headaches."
"Wait a moment," Bai Ye's eyes lit up, "Let me think, I think I know something."
Bai Ye didn't know much about the stories of the Heroic Zones, as there were too many small areas within them.
In his past life, Bai Ye had only visited Chang'an, the Land of Fallen Gods, and...
The Primal Domain!
The Primal Domain was a forbidden zone. Its origin was the shattering of an artifact called the Heart of Dawn, which caused a rift to an異世界 (Yi Shi Jie - another world) to open. A large amount of Primal Breath surged from this interdimensional passage, forming the Primal Domain forbidden zone, filled with illusions called the Dark Heart Worlds.
Thinking about it, things started to make sense!
When Bai Ye went to the Primal Domain in his past life, it was roughly in the mid-phase of the World Battlefield. The Primal Domain was already open and accessible.
However, at present...
Bai Ye mused that with the strength of the Chosen ones at the moment, it would be almost impossible to enter and exit the Primal Domain.
After all, measuring with his current strength, entering the Primal Domain would be a death sentence, and that was even with the advantage of his past life's memories.
Therefore, the Primal Domain forbidden zone must not be open yet. But the Heart of Dawn is related to the opening of the Primal Domain forbidden zone, which means...
"This hidden quest is actually a prelude to the opening of the Primal Domain forbidden zone?"
Bai Ye felt he had discovered the key.
It was important to note that the Primal Domain forbidden zone was not in Chang'an City, but in a place called the Valley of Glory.
As Bai Ye pondered, he took out some documents to read and said, "Show me the map of the Great Wall."
Mulan, not understanding why, handed Bai Ye a sheepskin map.
Bai Ye quickly scanned the map and then took a deep breath, "I see, their objective is to move the Heart of Dawn out of Chang'an."
Mulan asked, "Hmm?"
Bai Ye said, "Give me a map of Chang'an as well."
Mulan produced a new sheepskin map and handed it to Bai Ye.
Bai Ye circled a location on the map of Chang'an, then cross-referenced it with the documents, drawing circles on the map repeatedly.
Next, Bai Ye had someone fetch the Great Wall-related documents from his tent. He continuously cross-referenced the incident areas mentioned in the documents and drew circles on the map.
"The enemy's strategy is to wear us down. By constantly causing trouble, they aim to make us rush around, allowing them to smuggle the Heart of Dawn out of Chang'an," Bai Ye said as he drew circles. "Isn't the Dali Temple so overwhelmed that no one is handling the Heart of Dawn matter?"
Mulan replied, "It's not that no one is handling it. I heard Lord Li Bai is investigating..."
After saying that, Mulan paused to think.
"Your speculation is plausible. Only Lord Li Bai is investigating the Heart of Dawn, and the Dali Temple is completely unable to spare manpower," Mulan said. "But what does this have to do with us?"
"That depends on where they intend to take the Heart of Dawn," Bai Ye continued to draw circles on the map. "We'll have an answer soon."
A moment later, Bai Ye picked up the two maps, compared them, and a smile spread across his face.
He had guessed correctly!
Bai Ye pointed at the map, "Look, this is the enemy's target."
Mulan glanced at it, "The Valley of Glory?"
Bai Ye nodded, "Look at the map of Chang'an. Besides the incidents within the city, there are almost no incidents to the southwest."
Mulan nodded, "Mm."
Bai Ye continued, "Now look at the Great Wall. Recently, bandits, barbarians, and demonic creatures have appeared frequently, attacking merchant caravans and the Great Wall itself. Especially at the Jade City Pass Market, it's been exceptionally lively. There have been over a dozen incidents of merchant caravans being robbed, but in the opposite direction of the Jade City Pass Market, to the northeast, there have been almost no occurrences. Do you know why?"
Mulan narrowed her eyes, "East of the Great Wall, towards the northeast, is the Valley of Glory."
"Exactly," Bai Ye said. "It's very simple. They are causing trouble in Chang'an to transport the Heart of Dawn out, with the Valley of Glory as the destination. And they are causing trouble at the Great Wall to prevent their actions from being exposed. The Great Wall can quickly send reinforcements."
Mulan nodded, "So, the recent frequent incidents are all occurring in areas far from the northeast. Especially in the opposite direction, at Jade City, where there are many occurrences. This way, even if news arrives, it would be difficult to gather forces."
Bai Ye said, "Correct answer!"
Mulan picked up the map and said, "I'll go see Commander Li Xin immediately."
With Mulan's decisive nature, she hugged the map and ran off, leaving Bai Ye behind.
As for Bai Ye...
"You have helped the Great Wall Guard uncover the secret of the automatons. You have received a quest reward: Shadow War Axe x1"
Bai Ye's hidden quest was complete!
The next second, a black war axe appeared in Bai Ye's hand.
...