“Thank you, young master.”

He rested his chin on his hand: “For what?”

“For letting Princess Hanyue go.” Feng Miaojun understood completely. “You could have kept her.”

“I didn’t want to kill her then, nor did I want to feed and care for her.” Yun Ya stood up. “I’m going to see the King. I’ll return late tonight; you needn’t wait for me.”

Outside, fine snow had begun to fall. She draped a large cloak over Yun Ya’s shoulders, watching his silhouette disappear into the snowfall.

His last words didn’t sound like a master’s orders to a subordinate.

The next morning, the entire army packed up and advanced, stopping after fifteen li.

The army emerged from the hilly terrain to face a silver-white ice plain, flat without any undulations.

This wasn’t natural topography. Even the most expansive plateau would have trees; it wouldn’t be this bare. Within eyesight, there were only a few dark, rounded rocks.

This was a great river, its surface frozen in winter. The army halted at the riverbank, just a hundred meters away from stepping onto the ice.

“This is the Futai River,” He Lian Jia said in a deep voice. “Scouts have already tested it. The ice is too thin, not even two feet thick yet—insufficient to support the army’s advance.”

The royal army of the Kingdom of Wei numbered fifty thousand, many wearing heavy armor. Moreover, the army brought creatures like Molong Duo, a beast weighing tons of flesh. If the ice was too thin, the troops risked falling into the water.

Yun Ya gazed into the distance: “How many monsters lurk below?”

“Uncertain, but they command the water creatures—they are the river gods of Futai, officially recognized by the King of Yao.”

River gods were monsters that had been officially sanctioned, some incorporated by local authorities, others by the central government. Naturally, the latter were more powerful and received greater benefits and privileges. The Futai River Gods fulfilled their duty of impeding the Wei army’s advance. With the ice being thin, they could easily break through and attack the humans above.

The Wei army had already suffered heavy losses, with several hundred casualties before learning this lesson.

Under normal circumstances, the Wei army might have better options. But in the freezing season, humans couldn’t see the movement of creatures beneath the ice, putting them at a severe defensive disadvantage.

Beyond the Futai River lay the city the Wei army intended to attack. The King of Wei certainly wouldn’t stop here. But water monsters differed from land creatures, being particularly troublesome. When land creatures, including humans, entered the water, their combat effectiveness was reduced by at least half. Fighting in the monster’s home territory offered low chances of victory.

If the Wei army’s fifty thousand troops forcibly crossed the river, even if they managed to break through, the losses would be devastating. With many hard battles ahead, they couldn’t afford unnecessary sacrifices here.

“We’ve tried to persuade them to surrender, but they remain unmoved,” Xiao Yan said with a bitter smile. “We’ve also considered thickening the ice layer, but the cultivators in our army can’t accomplish it. This task likely requires the State Preceptor.”

Yun Ya calmly said: “I’ve said all along, that the time to attack the Kingdom of Yao hasn’t yet come.”

Xiao Yan touched his nose. It wasn’t his fault that they had such a willful ruler, was it?

“Let’s go see what monsters lie beneath this water,” Yun Ya turned back, selecting several cultivators to accompany him onto the ice.

When the royal army marched, cultivators were also conscripted. The Wei Kingdom had divided its forces into three routes to attack Yao, with the royal army containing the most cultivators—over thirty.

Times had changed; this world was no longer one where immortal cultivators were as common as dogs. The entire Kingdom of Wei had fewer than three hundred cultivators. Excluding those in seclusion for breakthrough, those nearing the end of their lifespan, and those whose cultivation was incomplete, the number participating in this expedition wasn’t small.

Feng Miaojun and Lu Ming followed behind Yun Ya. This loyal attendant took the opportunity to share some background intelligence:

“The army has encountered greater troubles here than before.”

Feng Miaojun understood: “Is it because the Futai River Gods are difficult to deal with?”

River gods were essentially monsters. Just as human cultivators were divided into various ranks, different species and levels of monsters varied greatly. The river god that had carried Yun Ya and her downstream to Jin Jun City was a fish monster with low cultivation, unable to resist the State Preceptor and could only obey submissively. But clearly, the one before them now wouldn’t be so easy to handle.

Theoretically, the larger the body of water, the more powerful the water spirit dwelling within—similar to how stronger human nations occupied larger territories.

“Indeed. What’s worse, this winter isn’t cold enough, making the ice too thin. They’re causing havoc in the river, deliberately capsizing people to devour them.”

“They?” Feng Miaojun started. “Are there many river gods in this river?”

“Regrettably, we haven’t yet determined how many river gods hide here,” Lu Ming cleared his throat. “We’ve seen several, all of different species.”

Feng Miaojun asked curiously: “It would be understandable if an entire family of river gods lived below, but different species… could there be a monster sect here?” Many monsters, like humans, lived in groups bonded by blood relations. It wasn’t surprising for a large river to house generations of river gods. But different species of monsters cohabiting was unusual. Before the New Era, many monsters formed sects and claimed territories. Back then, monster sects could be far more powerful than human sects. But with such dramatic changes in the world, the cohesive force of monster sects had long disappeared.

Existing monster sects were now rare, with most monsters reverting to blood-related cohabitation, families sharing a geomagnetically auspicious location and enjoying the meager spiritual energy of heaven and earth.

“The royal army has been delayed here for two days, sending people to battle the river gods twice. Either river patrol yaksha or giant crocodile monsters emerged, all with profound cultivation. Within a few exchanges, they wounded our people.”

“Can’t we discover their details?” Feng Miaojun pondered. “Have scouts been sent to Ji Yuan City? Since there are river gods here, there should be river god temples within and around the city. Their statues should be enshrined there—one look would reveal what monsters they are.”

Accepting royal recognition as a local mountain or water spirit had one advantage: enjoying human offerings and worship. In today’s world of diminished spiritual energy, incense and worship became an important source for monsters to increase their cultivation. If river gods truly existed here, they would need humans to establish temples for worship and offerings in their territory, ensuring a continuous flow of incense.

Most importantly, their true forms must be depicted, either as statues or paintings enshrined in the temple, receiving human worship. Only then could the power of incense and faith be transmitted to the river gods themselves.

In other words, the Wei people would certainly see their true forms in the river god temples.

These monsters weren’t just difficult to deal with because of their powerful magic. The King of Wei had brought his country’s strongest cultivators; they would eventually find ways to defeat them. Another challenge was not knowing the river gods’ details—their numbers, species, and magical abilities.

Lu Ming couldn’t help but look at her, moved: “An’an is truly clever!”

Such ability to extrapolate from basics—no wonder she could remain by his master’s side for so long.

Yun Ya walked ahead, turning back displeased: “You dare call her An’an too?”

Everyone thought: How petty, our esteemed State Preceptor.