When I got out of the shrine, I was hit with the strong scent of iron. It was very unusual. Or rather, it should have been, but from the look of things as well as the lack of soldiers present, it would seem that there was a somewhat fierce battle of about 5.7 with this being the remnants. That 5.7 being an approximate danger report of said fight with ten being the highest. It basically signifies the rate of survival. The survival for this battle being moderately low.
Still, I doubt the north are shameless enough to attack the east. After all, it's no secret that Ruan Gao is marrying me, and it's also no secret that the east is allied with the Shensheng family. Going against the east is akin to going against the world (Shensheng Diguo).
I hurried out of the north eastern outpost as quickly as I could, while going to steal a horse from the uncannily empty stables. Usually, at least one guard or even an errand boy would be there to look after the horses. Of course, the smell of rusty iron was suspicious enough, as well as the lack of personnel, but treating horses like disposable commodities was impossible for trained veterans. Something surely had to be up.
I immediately stole the fastest horse out of the bunch and run in a straight line to the approximate direction of the Jia's city. The smaller segments the Jianbukecui which protrude out of the massive wall served as an easy northern light. Well, eastern light, to be precise. Approximately ten protruding sections away from the left side of the giant green banner with "east" written in garamond italie with black ink. Of course, from where I was, seeing the sections would be nothing short of a miracle. Even seeing the first hundred was impossible, seeing as I was around a quarter of the world away from that banner.
I had absolutely no food and water on me, and going back to the north eastern outpost was too risky. First was the chance if enemies being there. They might not mind a missing horse too much, but it'll show them that someone got in and got out. They might assume I left using the shrine, so that might be my lucky break, but I can never be too sure. At least the chance of any enemies chasing me, if they really do exist, is abysmal.
And seeing as how the world could be seen from a glance, and how the east is mainly just grasslands, it was easy seeing a nearby village that was around five hours away from me.