There was only one source for the secret letter from the Xu Clan of Ningxi: the current patriarch, Xu Jingfeng.0

In the letter, Xu Jingfeng stated that both merchant caravans had arrived at Hanyang Pass, and they had received the grain they had ordered. However, as they were about to leave, they suddenly encountered a ban: no large shipments of grain was allowed to leave the pass unless they received permission from the garrison headquarters. Furthermore, only merchant caravans escorted by royal troops were permitted to transport grain; private caravans were strictly prohibited from doing so.0

Wei Yuan knew that the garrison commander[1] Xu Zhongxing, was a member of the Xu Clan. He was even not too distantly related to Xu Jingfeng. Before this, the Xu Clan of Ningxi had been able to transport all manner of contraband at will. Naturally, routine supplies such as grain weren’t a problem—until now.0

Ever since Ningxi became the Shattered Realm, all realm stones had either been removed or destroyed. Without the domains of the realm stones, the region could no longer be self-sufficient in grain. Thus, the mortals still living in the Shattered Realm heavily relied on the grain shipments from Inner Jin to survive.0

This was why the two merchant caravans Wei Yuan had Xu Jingfeng arrange appeared perfectly normal. If there...0