"I...I don't know either..." The orc shook his head, his face pale.
He only glanced at it and sensed something was wrong before rushing back.
The matter was urgent, so he went directly to report to the king.
If there's really a problem with Baishihu, Yingjie certainly can't solve it; this is a serious matter.
Seeing the heavy atmosphere, Su Tang comforted Hu Shen by placing her hand on the back of his clenched hand, "White Stone Lake is so big, it's not necessarily all destroyed."
The coldness in Hu Shen's eyes vanished the moment Su Tang's hand approached. He nodded and led her into the house.
"I'll go check it out myself, Ah Tang, you..."
Since the incident, Hu Shen has been inseparable from Su Tang unless it's something urgent.
He was afraid that if he wasn't there, Atang would disappear again.
Knowing he was worried about her being alone, Su Tang smiled and interrupted, "I'll wait for you at home. The snow outside has cleared, and I can go to my mother's. Don't worry about going."
The simple phrase "I'm waiting for you at home" warmed Hu Shen's heart.
"good."
Hu Shen's expression softened, his deep eyes filled with tenderness. Their gazes lingered for a moment before they reluctantly parted at Su Tang's urging.
Before descending the mountain, he instructed Hu Ming to guard the area near the stone house before leading Ying Jie and his men to White Stone Lake.
Baishi Lake is not far from Wanshou Mountain. The road is difficult to travel during the snow season, and a round trip takes less than half a day.
Su Tang waited by the fire at home, and at noon she went to her parents' house for lunch. In the late afternoon, Hu Shen returned home looking travel-worn.
Seeing that Hu Shen looked unwell, Su Tang guessed that the situation at Baishi Lake must be bad.
"How did your investigation go today?" Su Tang asked as she poured a cup of hot water and handed it to him.
Hu Shen's expression was stern. A steaming cup of water was handed to him, and when he met Su Tang's gentle eyes, the coldness in his eyes dissipated.
His voice was somewhat low as he said, "This is bad. Most of White Stone Lake has been destroyed. It's full of potholes and there's not a single intact spot."
Fearing that Su Tang would worry, Hu Shen continued to explain.
"Although it's destroyed, it's not impossible to continue mining. It's just that the quantity will be less in the future, and the quality of the white stones will be much lower."
Nevertheless, it's impossible not to get angry.
“I’ve already sent Yingjie and Niuli to investigate. Don’t worry, as long as it was done by orcs, we’ll definitely find the culprit.” After warming himself up in front of the fireplace, Hu Shen put down the hot water and then pulled Su Tang into his arms.
As soon as he finished arranging these matters, he rushed back without stopping.
In the vast Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain, there was nothing that gave him peace of mind. If it weren't for the old Beast King's kindness, he would have run away long ago.
"White Stone Lake is so big, how was it destroyed?" Su Tang let him hold her close, but she was full of doubts.
A salt lake capable of supporting so many tribes cannot be small.
If that's the case, then one or two orcs certainly couldn't do it, but if there were more orcs, how could the orcs of Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain not know if they secretly approached White Stone Lake?
Upon hearing this, Hu Shen instantly understood Su Tang's problem.
He thought about it carefully, "All the white stones in White Stone Lake have been turned upside down and are completely unrecognizable. It doesn't seem like the work of orcs, but rather..."
He paused, his mind filled with the image of the explosives Lang Kui had thrown.
He told Su Tang his guess.
"Could it be Lang Kui?!" Su Tang was taken aback. Thinking of the powerful explosives used at the time, this was the most likely possibility.
“After you were captured, there was plenty of white stone in Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain, and the snow season was approaching, so no more beastmen were sent to White Stone Lake,” Hu Shen said in a deep voice.
Once this was said, it was almost certain.
"This madman!" Su Tang gritted her teeth. She realized that Xu Zhengqiao had already made plans. Even if he couldn't kill Hu Shen, he would take her away, destroy Baishi Lake, and Wanshou Mountain would gradually decline.
This is driving Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain to its doom.
Considering his twisted thought process, he is absolutely capable of doing something like that.
But... simply bombing Baishi Lake is far from enough.
Su Tang suddenly remembered something, wriggled out of Hu Shen's arms, and grabbed his hand tightly, "Hu Shen, did you bring Bai Shi back from Bai Shi Lake today?"
Hu Shen thought for a moment, "What's wrong?"
Ordinary orcs are not allowed to approach White Stone Lake. Only those assigned to govern or patrol it are allowed to get close. Most orcs will take something with them and make some profit, which Hu Shen tacitly approves of.
As long as it's not excessive, he can't be bothered with these things.
"Check the white stone we brought back today; there might be a problem," Su Tang said nervously.
Xu Zhengqiao is not stupid; otherwise, how could he have made explosives and sleeping pills?
But what if he made more than just these things?
The thought of Xu Zhengqiao's madman-like behavior sent a chill down Su Tang's spine, giving her a bad feeling.
I never imagined that he would leave behind such a huge mess after his death.
She couldn't imagine how much trouble such a person would cause if he were still alive.
Hu Shen immediately understood and went out to call Hu Ming, asking him to collect all the white stones that the orcs had smuggled back from White Stone Lake that day.
Hu Ming is a gentle person, but he is decisive and efficient in his actions.
Not long after, he returned, bringing with him four corpses.
A family of four: an adult male, an adult female, and two male cubs who have recently transformed.
"My lord, all the white stones we brought back today are here. An orc ate them..."
Hu Ming's expression was somewhat solemn, and it seemed that he also knew that Bai Shi had a problem.
Su Tang looked over and saw that the lips of all four corpses were black, a sign of poisoning.
Just as I expected...
All the white stones in Baishi Lake are unusable!
"Take him away and dispose of the body properly," Hu Shen said coldly. "Issue the order that from today onwards, no orc is allowed to go to White Stone Lake to dig for white stones."
If Su Jianyuan hadn't started the trend of going out during the snow season in the Beast Mountain, and the orcs hadn't accidentally seen the destruction of White Stone Lake, the Beast Mountain would most likely have been mined after the snow season.
At that time, these poisonous white stones will be distributed to countless orcs, who will then consume them.
At that point, it wouldn't just be a matter of a few orcs dying.
Thinking of this, Hu Shen's expression darkened even more.
Now, Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain has completely lost its source of white stones. Without white stones, the vast Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain will soon decline, and may even fight amongst themselves for the sake of white stones.
"I'm sorry, I've dragged Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain into this mess. If I had left Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain earlier, Wolf Kui wouldn't have come here." Su Tang's voice was filled with apology.
This whole thing really started because of her.
"If you didn't do it, how can you be blamed?" Hu Shen frowned. If it weren't for A Tang coming to Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain, he wouldn't have known that a beastman had been eyeing his A Tang covetously.
“Such orcs would be dangerous no matter where they are, not to mention that what they have is unusual. Whichever tribe gets their hands on it will use it for their own purposes.”
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