While the entire Falling Sunset Town was "seething with undercurrents," Jiang Beiran's group had already traveled far away and were now standing on a plain, looking around in all directions.
"Huh... I was definitely following the map, so why is it wrong again?"
Liu Ziqin held a map in her hands, turning it left and right, yet she couldn't figure out the correct route no matter how hard she tried.
"Let me try."
Fang Qiuyao took the map and examined it, flipping it right side up, upside down, and even sideways in frustration, but she still couldn't make sense of it. Her delicate face flushed red with exasperation.
"Don't look at us... We can't read it either."
Seeing Fang Qiuyao glance in their direction, the three Yu sisters waved their hands in unison. With a helpless sigh, Fang Qiuyao turned her gaze toward Senior Brother Jiang, who was sitting on a large rock nearby, drinking water.
Shortly after leaving Falling Sunset Town in the morning, Senior Brother had told them that from then on, they would have to find their own way, as "reading maps to navigate" was an essential skill when traveling. After all, if you got lost in the wilderness the moment you stepped outside, what else could you be trusted to do?
At first, Liu Ziqin could barely make out the route on the map, but after walking for two hours, she became increasingly unsure of their exact location on it.
"Maybe... we should just ask Senior Brother."
Fang Qiuyao set the map down and looked at the others. The three Yu sisters nodded and spoke one after another.
"I agree."
"But who should go?"
"Senior Brother will definitely scold us again."
In truth, they had already asked Senior Brother Jiang about the map several times along the way. At first, he had patiently answered their questions, but whenever they repeated the same ones, he would "lecture" them. As a result, they were all a little afraid to speak up now.
Fang Qiuyao glanced at Jiang Beiran, then at the map. Just as she was about to grit her teeth and say, "I'll go," Liu Ziqin took the map from her hands and said, "Then I'll go."
"No, Sister Ziqin, how can we let you take Senior Brother's scolding every time?"
Liu Ziqin shook her head with a faint smile.
"It's fine. Isn't the whole point of coming down the mountain for trials to learn new things? A few scoldings are nothing."
"But..."
"Enough. Just wait here for me."
With that, Liu Ziqin took the map and walked toward Jiang Beiran. Watching her back, the three Yu sisters exclaimed in unison, moved, "Sister Ziqin is such a good person." With a heart full of anticipation—no, more like unease—Liu Ziqin approached Jiang Beiran and bowed respectfully.
"Senior Brother Jiang."
"Lost your way again?"
Jiang Beiran tucked his water gourd into his Universe Ring and looked at Liu Ziqin.
"Yes... Without official roads, it's really hard to recognize the way."
"Didn’t I teach you before to pay attention to the road markers? Did you forget again?"
On the Mysterious Dragon Continent, where there was no navigation system, common folk naturally had their own methods of finding their way. For example, every five li, a mound called a "hou" would be erected. Some main roads even had "hou guardians," officials specifically responsible for managing and maintaining these markers.
Hearing Jiang Beiran’s question, Liu Ziqin lowered her head.
"This disciple is foolish. Please punish me, Senior Brother."
'Here we go again...' Jiang Beiran didn’t know if it was because Liu Ziqin was too strong-willed, but every time he asked her a question she couldn’t answer, she would ask him to punish her. 'Do I really seem that cruel in their eyes?'
Shaking his head, Jiang Beiran hopped down from the boulder and took the map from Liu Ziqin’s hands. To be fair, the map issued by the sect was indeed poorly drawn.
Using mountains and rivers as reference points, the center of the map depicted Brookflower City, the largest city in the jurisdiction, while the surrounding areas roughly marked the locations of various scenic mountains and rivers. Finally, the names of villages and towns were filled in near the corresponding mountains or rivers.
However, while this drawing method might sound clear in theory, in practice, the map was just mountains upon mountains, a complete mess. Rolling up the map, Jiang Beiran said, "Actually, the fastest way to learn how to read a map is to learn how to draw one."
"Draw a map?"
Liu Ziqin asked, puzzled.
"Exactly. Once you understand how this map was drawn, you’ll naturally know how to follow it."
"So that’s how it is. Senior Brother truly has a solution for everything."
Liu Ziqin’s eyes sparkled with realization.
"Here, take this book and study it carefully. It should help you."
As he spoke, Jiang Beiran retrieved a book titled The Art of Cartography from his Universe Ring and handed it to Liu Ziqin.
"Thank you, Senior Brother."
Bowing deeply, Liu Ziqin accepted The Art of Cartography with both hands and began reading. Watching Liu Ziqin engrossed in the book, Jiang Beiran started thinking about their next steps.
The reason he had suddenly decided to let Liu Ziqin and the others fend for themselves was that, as an Iron Seal, in addition to protecting new disciples, it was also his duty to teach them basic knowledge. Especially since Hall Master Yu of the Law Enforcement Hall had entrusted him with her most beloved disciples.
If they returned to the sect without having learned anything, she would undoubtedly come looking for trouble. Thus, Jiang Beiran had decided to train them in the most fundamental skill of map reading. Half an hour later, Liu Ziqin closed the book and said to Jiang Beiran, "Senior Brother, I think I understand now."
Jiang Beiran nodded.
"Good. Then continue finding the way."
As it turned out, Liu Ziqin was indeed very intelligent. Once she grasped the trick to navigation, she quickly found the official road again.
"Up ahead should be Fortune Gathering Village."
After passing a fork in the road, Liu Ziqin pointed forward.
"Wow! Sister Ziqin, you’re amazing!"
Fang Qiuyao couldn’t help but clap her hands.
"It’s the book Senior Brother showed me that’s amazing. The things written inside are very easy to understand and really helpful for navigation."
"A book? What book?"
Fang Qiuyao asked.
"This one."
Liu Ziqin showed The Art of Cartography to Fang Qiuyao.
"Let us see too."
Hearing this, the three Yu sisters crowded around curiously.
"The... Art... of... Cartography," Yu Guizui read the three large characters on the cover softly before saying, "I’ll remember this. When we get back, I’ll buy a copy too."
Liu Ziqin smiled but didn’t respond. Though she wasn’t entirely sure, she felt that this book had likely been written by Senior Brother himself. The writing style was far too casual compared to the refined works of published masters.
Putting The Art of Cartography away, Liu Ziqin led the other junior sisters to Jiang Beiran and asked, "Senior Brother, what should we do next?" Jiang Beiran glanced at them and said, "Tell me your thoughts." After some consideration, Fang Qiuyao was the first to answer.
"Should we first go to the village and ask about how the children went missing? We need to clarify the time and place, right?"
The other junior sisters nodded in agreement. But Jiang Beiran shook his head.
"Doing that will only alert the enemy."
Seeing the five confused faces, he explained, "When we accepted the mission, we already knew that child disappearances were frequent in Fortune Gathering Village. That means the culprit might still be active, perhaps even hiding in the village. If you start asking around, you’ll inevitably reveal your identities as Heart Returning Sect disciples.
If the culprit hears about it, they’ll become cautious and might even stop their crimes altogether." Liu Ziqin and the others nodded repeatedly.
"Senior Brother makes a lot of sense. But if we don’t ask, how should we investigate?"
Jiang Beiran smiled faintly.
"There’s no need to investigate. Just wait quietly for their next crime."
(End of Chapter)