Legacy of Faith

Sun Jiao saw Qiao Yue’s expression change drastically. He leaned in half a step closer and asked in a lowered voice, “What’s wrong?”

Qiao Yue did not answer. She completely unrolled the scroll.

The rollers rolled away, and the silk fabric unfurled, revealing an extremely detailed map before everyone’s eyes.

Everyone collectively gasped in shock.

The level of detail in the map in Qiao Yue’s hands far exceeded the imagination of everyone present.

Looking closely, they discovered that on that map, every city, every mountain pass, every river, and every mountain range in the north was marked with absolute clarity.

Upon closer inspection, they realized that even remote mountain paths, hidden ferry crossings, and narrow canyon trails that were not even recorded in military records were all traced one by one with extremely fine cinnabar lines.

Aside from these, there were also some strange, bizarre markings on the map, their meanings completely unknown.

“This...”

The officials from the Governor’s estate were so astonished they were speechless. They knew very well that if they were to send people to draw such a map, it might take a hundred years, and they still might not be able to produce something so clear.

Qiao Yue naturally understood this as well. Cautiously holding the scroll, she turned to look at Shen Yu beside her, a trace of helplessness in her eyes.

“Mr. Shen, the Divine Lady has given me such a precious item. I really do not know what to do...” At the end, she added, “Also, the Divine Lady said this map was left to me by my brother, but it’s absolutely impossible for my brother to have drawn such a map. I’ve seen the map of Yanping City he worked on before. At most, he just drew the locations of the villages to make it easier to promote education.”

Shen Yu lowered his eyes and pondered for a moment. As if realizing something, his gaze fell back onto the map in Qiao Yue’s hands. He said gently, “When the Divine Lady left, she told you not to let your brother’s well-meaning intentions go to waste. I suspect this might be a blessing your brother obtained for you by making some sort of exchange with the Divine Lady.”

Upon hearing this, Qiao Yue instantly grew anxious. “Mr. Shen, this map is so precious. What could my brother have possibly used to exchange with the Divine Lady? He... he didn’t exchange his own soul to get this blessing for me, did he?” By the end, her voice was trembling slightly.

Shen Yu looked at Qiao Yue, whose eyes were red. “You are simply letting your worry cloud your judgment. Just now, the Divine Lady said that your brother has already entered reincarnation and been reborn. If he had exchanged his soul for this blessing, how could he have reincarnated?”

“Is... is that true?”

“Even if you don’t believe me, you should believe the Divine Lady. She is the deity who loves the people of this world the most.” Shen Yu’s eyes were filled with a warm smile, holding an indescribable gentleness.

“Mr. Shen, you are right.” Qiao Yue nodded, her eyes welling with tears.

Her father had passed away early, and it was her brother who had taught her to read and write. To her, her brother was like both a sibling and a parent. Especially after their mother also died of illness three years ago, her brother had been her only living relative. Naturally, she could not bear to part with him.

But the dead were gone; she had to look forward. At the very least, she must not let her brother’s well-meaning intentions go to waste.

“Mr. Shen, please give me a few days to copy the map of Yanping City first.” As she spoke, she rolled up the scroll. “As for this one bestowed by the Divine Lady, I think it would be best to bring it back to Xindu City. I’m afraid it won’t be safe if it remains in Yanping City.”

Without a doubt, among the twenty-six northern cities, no citizens were more loyal to the Divine Lady than those of Xindu. Carrying a map that could alter the fate of the entire world if it fell into the hands of any warlord was no different from a three-year-old child walking through a crowded market holding a gold brick.

She was not afraid of someone robbing her openly—after all, the Zhenbei Army was not to be trifled with—but she worried that people would harbor malicious intentions and use underhanded, insidious schemes that she could not possibly guard against. Ultimately, it was because Yanping City had only just been pacified, and the people in the city were not of one mind with them.

“What you say makes sense,” Shen Yu said, looking at Qiao Yue. “Coincidentally, I have to return to Xindu City in a few days to discuss the road construction with Miss Pei. With this map, we will surely be able to finalize the plans much sooner.”

After their discussion, everyone busied themselves.

After settling the commoners who had suffered on Cang Mountain, Shen Yu stayed in Yanping City for three more days. Once Qiao Yue finished copying the map of Yanping City, he bid farewell to Lu Sui and escorted the map bestowed by the Divine Lady back to Xindu City.

“Fuyan, be careful on the road.” Lu Sui looked at Shen Yu, who had grown quite a bit thinner. The anxiety in his heart grew heavier, but as he was now the Governor of Yanping, he could not return to Xindu City with Shen Yu to watch him take his medicine.

“You...”

As if anticipating what Lu Sui was about to say, Shen Yu cut him off directly. “I know my limits.”

Hearing this, Lu Sui could only let it drop.

“Are you really not planning to return to Xindu City with me?” Shen Yu looked at the young girl standing slightly behind Lu Sui.

Qiao Yue had suffered the grief of losing her brother in Yanping City. Originally, he thought she would not want to stay here. However, to his surprise, the young girl was stubborn. She insisted on earning her transfer back to Zhenbei Prefecture through her own abilities and flatly refused his arrangement to return to Xindu City to serve as Pei Wanning’s deputy.

“Mr. Shen, my brother was killed by the bandits because he was promoting education. Therefore, I want to stay in Yanping City to continue the unfinished work for him.” Qiao Yue paused. She looked up in the direction of Cang Mountain. “Besides, I also want to keep him company.”

Cang Mountain had now essentially become a forbidden land. No one dared to enter the mountain, fearing they might offend the Divine Lady, and she was no exception. She did not know if her brother would blame her for not going to Cang Mountain to bring his head back for burial.

Seeing that Qiao Yue’s mind was made up, Shen Yu did not persuade her further. Outside the city gates, he cupped his hands in salute to Lu Sui and the others, said, “Until we meet again,” and then turned to board the carriage.

A squad of Zhenbei Army cavalry rode alongside to escort him.

The carriage traveled further and further away.

They traveled for some time, and the journey remained perfectly peaceful.

Inside the carriage, Shen Yu put down his book, lifted the window curtain, and asked, “Is there anything unusual?”

The leader of the Zhenbei Army shook his head. “Nothing at all.”

Shen Yu frowned slightly. Even with military deterrence preventing ordinary mountain bandits from attacking, there should still be desperate, reckless bandits who valued money over their lives. Yet, they had traveled for so long and had not encountered a single group trying to block their carriage. This defied common sense.

It was only when his peripheral vision caught the long box beside him that a bold guess suddenly flashed through his mind. Could it be that the Divine Lady had intended for him to bring the map back to Xindu City all along? That would explain why his journey had been so incredibly smooth and uneventful.

The little fox sat cross-legged on Yun Shu’s flying sword. It turned to look at Yun Shu. “Host, I keep feeling that Shen Yu might have guessed you are secretly protecting him.”

“I want him to know.” Yun Shu cast a glance at the carriage below. “If he can guess that I am the reason his journey is without danger, then he will surely understand that I support his decision to build the roads.”

This was the only downside to acting as a Divine Lady: she could not directly issue orders for most things. Her commands were treated as divine decrees, which the believers would never dare to disobey. While this made achieving goals easy, it also had many drawbacks and stifled innovation.

It was better to remain mysterious and let them guess.