The next day.
The Child Emperor was awakened by the chirping of birds.
He opened his eyes groggily.
Dawn’s light leaked through the gaps in the torn canvas, spreading warmly across his face, carrying with it a faint, salty tang of seawater.
Raising a hand to block the light, he rolled over.
With a dull thud, the back of his head collided with a hard wooden plank.
The sharp throb of pain jolted him completely awake.
“Hiss—” Grimacing, he sat up while clutching the back of his head. He rubbed it a couple of times before looking outside.
In the next second, he froze.
Before him...
Outside the cabin, layers of dense foliage blocked his view, and the sunlight filtering through the leaves danced like scattered gold.
He scrambled to his feet and stumbled onto the bow of the ship.
The morning sun washed over him.
Spread out before him was an island, floating quietly on the azure sea, with seagulls occasionally taking flight into the sky.
The ship was tilted, run aground on a shallow beach.
Its hull was sunk into the soft, fine sand, and the receding waves left behind a delicate layer of foam on the shoreline.
One by one, the people on board began to wake.
Because the Child Emperor had left the capital in disguise with the marriage proposal envoy, only the Marquis of Ningyuan and his daughter knew his true identity; everyone else was kept in the dark.
A soldier walked up to the Child Emperor's side. Staring at the vast expanse of lush greenery before them, he stood dazed for a long moment.
Then, he pinched himself hard.
“Were... weren’t we out at sea last night? How did we end up on an island the moment we opened our eyes?” His eyes were wide with bewilderment, and his voice trembled slightly. “Could it be that the giant fish and the Sea Goddess from last night were real? We weren’t dreaming?”
The others gathered around, eagerly exchanging accounts of the fantastical scene they had witnessed the night before. When someone mentioned the snow-white nine-tailed fox that had spoken in a human tongue, several men shuddered in unison.
“A small punishment to serve as a warning” and “bring about your own destruction.” Those words felt like hot irons branded into their minds, impossible to shake off.
The Marquis of Ningyuan walked over from the stern, his hem soiled with wet sand. He cast a sharp glance over the noisy crowd. “First, move everything we can use onto the shore and take inventory.”
“Yes, Marquis.”
Everyone bowed their heads and immediately went to work.
Shen Ying gave her father a quick heads-up before nimbly leaping off the ship to wander around the outskirts of the island.
“Ying'er, don't wander off!”
“I know, I know! You're so nagging.” With her back to the Marquis of Ningyuan, she waved her hand dismissively as she drifted further away.
Watching her go, the Marquis of Ningyuan sighed. He then turned and walked toward the Child Emperor, who was standing alone in the shadow of the bow.
The two stood side by side, gazing out at the island before them.
A long silence stretched between them.
“What does Your Majesty make of this?” The Marquis of Ningyuan tilted his head slightly toward the Child Emperor, keeping his voice so low that only the two of them could hear.
The Child Emperor brushed the sand off his clothes, his features carrying a calm resolve that far exceeded his years in the morning light. “Minister Shen, I know what you wish to say. But I can tell you plainly—no matter what, I must go to Zhenbei Prefecture!”
As if remembering something, his hands suddenly clenched into fists. His gaze pierced through the coastline, looking far into the distance toward the capital.
“Using the marriage proposal as a pretext to offer Great Yong to the Divine Lady is my only chance to rid myself of the State Preceptor and his faction.”
The Marquis of Ningyuan looked deeply worried. “But Your Majesty, we encountered the Sea Goddess last night, and the spirit beast in Her arms already warned us. If we do not turn back, we will surely cross paths with that Kun again. I fear our lives will be in grave danger.”
The Child Emperor lowered his eyes, falling into deep thought.
“The Sea Goddess’s intention might simply be to warn us against trespassing in that particular stretch of sea, rather than preventing us from reaching Zhenbei Prefecture. What if we change our course and bypass that sea altogether?”
Hearing this, the Marquis of Ningyuan carefully turned over the words the nine-tailed fox had spoken last night. It did indeed seem to carry that meaning.
“Your Majesty is absolutely correct. I will immediately arrange for the men to repair the ship as quickly as possible so we can detour to Zhenbei Prefecture.”
He paused for a moment before adding, “However, the ship is severely damaged. Repairing it will be no easy task. I must ask Your Majesty to bear with the discomfort of resting on this island for some time.”
These words were put gently.
In reality, given the extent of the ship's damage, it would certainly take several months to fix.
Furthermore, since they had to take a long detour, it remained an absolute mystery when they would finally reach Zhenbei Prefecture.
“No matter,” the Child Emperor said, pursing his lips. “Even if I must wait half a year or a full year, I can afford to wait.”
...
Holding the little fox in her arms, Yun Shu stood outside Xindu City, which she had not seen in three long years. Her heart was filled with a myriad of emotions.
Unconsciously, it had been about five or six years since she transmigrated into this world. But because she had been taking Beauty-Preserving Pills, her appearance had not aged a single day, causing her to lose track of the passage of time.
Only now did she truly realize how quickly time flew.
The little fox chattered away. “Host, Xindu City has changed so much! I still remember when we first came here—the city gates were completely run-down. Now, these gates look to be dozens of meters high, guarded by heavy troops, and everyone entering and leaving is so orderly. It's really impressive...”
Yun Shu raised her eyes to look.
The city gates had indeed undergone a massive transformation.
A dark gray city tower, dozens of meters tall, rose majestically into the sky. Built from stone bricks and cement, its clean angles fit together seamlessly.
The wide-open gateway was spacious enough for three carriages to pass through side by side. Standing at the entrance were two rows of armored soldiers holding halberds, their backs straight, checking travel documents with swift, practiced efficiency.
“Pei Wanning and the others have governed Xindu City incredibly well. They haven't disappointed my expectations in the slightest.”
With that, she blended into the crowd and walked through the gates. Not a single person around noticed her or the little fox.
Clearly, they were currently invisible.
Stepping through the gates, the scene within the city brought Yun Shu a pleasant, unexpected surprise.
The main thoroughfare was exceptionally wide and paved with incredibly smooth cement, offering more than enough space for two four-horse carriages to drive side-by-side.
Shallow, covered drainage channels had also been dug along both sides of the road.
The architecture within the city had undergone an even more radical transformation.
Two- and three-story brick and stone buildings stood in neat, orderly rows, their outer walls fitted with tidy glass windows that looked bright and transparent.
Walking further in, she saw a dazzling variety of shops and businesses.
As she walked and observed, even she could not help but marvel once again at the sheer scale of Xindu City's progress.
The morale and spirits of the common folk were higher than ever, showing absolutely no sign of the despair typical of those living in a chaotic era.
Without a doubt, the current Xindu City had truly become a dreamland for everyone in this world.
Eventually, she stopped in front of a three-story building bearing a sign that read “Xindu Library.”
Through the glass window, she could see rows upon rows of bookshelves inside, with several people leaning against the corners, absorbed in their reading.
The little fox remarked, “Host, they actually managed to build a library! Though the collection of books doesn't look very large yet.”
Yun Shu withdrew her gaze and continued walking.
“The fact that they've made books accessible to the common people of the city is already an incredible achievement.”
She paused before adding, “As for the lack of books, once the realm is unified, we can simply bring forth the library I've prepared. That will easily solve the problem.”
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