Chapter 26: Heavy Rain, Leaking Roof

Jing Er pointed to the other side, her voice filled with excitement. “This is the Imperial City! Right where we’re standing! When did the General draw this?”

“It must have been a long time ago,” Xie Zhizhi replied seriously, examining the map. She had fully spread it out, and it was an enormous map, about six meters long and three meters wide.

This seemed to be a map of the entire continent, divided into five countries: the Great Deng Kingdom, the Western Regions, the Tianchi Empire, Beixiang, and the Great Xing Empire.

Among them, the Great Xing Empire occupied the largest territory, while the Western Regions was the smallest. The Western Regions had already been subdued and became a vassal state, paying tribute every year. The other three countries were constant adversaries of the Great Xing Empire.

The map displayed the shapes, flows, and curves of rivers, the contours and size of mountain ranges, and everything was exquisitely detailed.

From the smallest stream to the largest city, each city was drawn with remarkable precision and individuality, making it easy to distinguish between them.

Jing Yi exclaimed, “To draw something this detailed, he must have traveled everywhere! The General really is amazing!”

Jing Er, lost in admiration, muttered, “It’s so detailed, with North at the top, South at the bottom, West to the left, and East to the right. Miss, if we find every city’s map, can we go look for the General?”

Xie Zhizhi was pleased with the map. With this, traveling across the world was no longer a dream!

She would later learn that this continent wasn’t just made up of these five countries, but extended far beyond them.

“We’ll talk about going to the frontier once the Imperial City matters are settled. This is a map of the five kingdoms, but it would be even better if we could get the maps of every single city,” she said.

Xie Zhizhi knew that in the future, Xie Zongyi and Xie Huaizhi would come to the capital to find the original owner, so for now, she shouldn’t leave. She would wait for the hailstorm to arrive and receive the first wave of divine protection.

Jing Yi agreed. They would need to go into the city to buy food anyway. “We’ll find it eventually. If not, we can go back to the General’s residence.”

“No need to go back. I have a plan. You two must not return. I’ve already looked there, and there’s nothing left,” Xie Zhizhi said, though she couldn’t exactly say that she had already hidden everything away.

“Understood, Miss,” Jing Yi and Jing Er obediently nodded.

Xie Zhizhi then turned her focus back to studying the map, particularly the routes the exiled prisoners might take.

Jing Yi and Jing Er also helped, and the three of them spent over an hour studying the map.

Finally, Xie Zhizhi called for a stop to their discussion. “It’s getting late. Let’s sleep for now, and we’ll continue tomorrow.”

“Alright.”

Jing Yi and Jing Er carefully folded the parchment and placed it back in the box.

“Miss, let me go fetch some water for you to bathe,” Jing Yi offered.

Xie Zhizhi immediately felt embarrassed. “No, no, it’s alright. I’ve already washed outside, there’s no need.”

Jing Yi sighed, disappointed that the Miss didn’t need them, and muttered, “Okay then.”

That night, the three of them slept in separate small rooms.

After waiting for them to fall asleep, Xie Zhizhi entered her space.

She moved to the space’s house, heated some spirit spring water, and soaked in a beauty bath. Her skin, soaked in the spirit spring, became as white as snow, smooth and delicate.

No need for skincare products.

While making use of the time difference, she had a good meal and a rest before she began searching through the books she had taken from the General’s residence, hoping to find more maps.

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In the middle of the night, the sky grew dark and the path grew dim.

The town crier rang the copper gong as he slowly walked along the quiet streets of the Imperial City.

But within less than half a watch, the sky turned completely gloomy. Dark clouds swirled ominously, and the storm was far more terrifying than earlier in the day. Cold rain began falling in sheets, with strong winds whipping the rain against every house’s window.

The storm seemed to have appeared out of nowhere.

The town crier, startled, quickly dashed for shelter under the eaves, the sound of water splashing at his feet as he ran. Lightning flashed, thunder rumbled, and every household was awakened by the storm, lighting candles to ward off the darkness. The rain fell in torrents, as though an entire river had been poured from the sky.

The town crier was invited into a warm wonton shop to avoid being soaked by the rain.

At the secluded little house…

“It’s pouring! This weather didn’t seem right, and now it’s really raining heavily! Oh no, the roof’s leaking over there!” Jing Yi, woken by the thunder and the sound of rain beating against the roof, got up to pour herself a cup of water. The house was built with bamboo and thatched with straw, not very resistant to rain. Light rain was fine, but a storm like this could not be resisted, and water began dripping from the window sill.

“I’ll get a basin,” Jing Er said, quickly hurrying to the kitchen to grab one.

Jing Yi stood aside, frowning. “We’ll have to wait for the rain to stop before we can fix this. But it won’t be long until we leave anyway.”

She relaxed her brow as she thought about how they’d leave soon.

“Is the Miss awake?” Jing Yi poked her head into the Miss’s room, concerned. “She’s afraid of thunder.”

Jing Er, having placed the basin in the right spot, stood up and said, “The Miss is afraid of thunder, but she hates being woken up. How about we sleep in the sitting room so we can hear her call us if needed?”

Jing Yi nodded seriously. “Good idea.”

The two of them settled down on chairs in the small living room and fell asleep.

Outside, the storm grew stronger. The sky flashed with lightning and thunder, dark and threatening, as if it would collapse at any moment.

The rain continued pouring through the night, filling the courtyard with water. The oppressive summer heat was washed away, leaving a chilly morning breeze.

Jing Yi and Jing Er occasionally woke to check the basin and ensure the roof wasn’t leaking elsewhere.

Xie Zhizhi, in the space, ate and drank well, slept soundly, and even found another city map from the bookshelves. She walked out of her small room to find the two shadow guards asleep at the table.

“You two are sleeping here?” she asked, unaware of the storm that had happened the previous night, since she had been in the space.

Jing Er rubbed her eyes and quickly woke up. “It rained heavily last night, and the roof leaked. So we slept here. The temperature suddenly dropped this morning. Are you cold, Miss?”

Both Jing Yi and Jing Er had wrapped themselves in clothes, and seeing that Xie Zhizhi was wearing light clothing, Jing Er immediately went to grab some for her.

Xie Zhizhi, still in her thin clothes from the previous day, felt the chill. She sat down and casually asked, “What happened?”

Heavy rain?

Was this the start of a disaster?

Jing Yi explained, “The storm last night was unlike any other. Luckily, our house is on a slanted path, or the water would have flooded inside.”

Xie Zhizhi casually brushed it off. “I think I know. I must have fallen asleep again due to the effects of the medicine. I forgot to be afraid of the thunder.”

Jing Yi believed her, feeling guilty about the medicine. “I’m sorry, Miss. We shouldn’t have used the medicine on you.”

“Don’t worry. If you hadn’t taken me away, I’d be in hell by now,” Xie Zhizhi patted her shoulders. “Don’t think too much.”

Jing Yi nodded obediently, feeling comforted by the Miss’s words.

At that moment, Jing Er returned with a large cloak and draped it over Xie Zhizhi.

She smiled brightly, adjusting the cloak’s collar, feeling much warmer. “Thank you, Er. You didn’t sleep well, did you? Go back and sleep some more.”