The silence after Bai Xuelan's words lasted long enough to hear General Fluffbottom squawking through the wall.
Lan Yue broke it first.
"An entire mountain?"
"Gone," Bai Xuelan confirmed. "The Wuying Mountain Range, northern border, eight hundred and twelve years ago. One day it was there. The next morning, it wasn't. The crater is still visible today. People call it the Devil's Bowl. Nothing grows there."
Zhao Lingxi hadn't moved. She sat at her desk, her hands flat on the surface, staring at the ancient scroll. Her face was unreadable, but Lan Yue could see the tightness in her jaw. The subtle rigidity in her shoulders.
"The cultivator," Zhao Lingxi said. "What was her name?"
