Chapter 441

Tuan Tuan leaned over, eyes wide: "Wow! There's another piece of paper inside! Third Brother, what does this say?"

Xiao Ningxun whispered: "Now foreign enemies stare covetously, court factions clash, external relatives hold power, the signs of a fallen nation have already appeared."

"I am still young and lack the power to overturn heaven and earth, so I have consulted with the National Preceptor to entrust the seven keys needed for restoration to several loyal ministers, hiding them in seven places."

"When future patriots gather, and the seven stars of the Big Dipper on the Heavenly Son Sword blaze fully, one can take the sword to Jingcheng, awaken the slumbering troops, and reclaim the realm."

"The Heavenly Son Sword has been placed by the National Preceptor in a place of nothingness; only one bearing great destiny can obtain it."

"The nation's fate has come to this—alas, alas."

"At the signature, there is a blurred vermilion seal, but due to the passage of time, it can no longer be discerned."

"The person who stamped it seemed to have a trembling hand, leaving several red dots on the paper."

"This is," his Adam's apple bobbing, "the last testament of the previous emperor?"

Tuan Tuan didn't understand: "Third Brother, what does 'last testament' mean?"

"It is... the last letter written by this person."

"Oh, then where did he go?"

Xiao Ningxun shook his head, then raised his voice: "Quickly go summon the Prince, the eldest son, the second son, Xiao Er, and Lu Qi."

"Yes!"

"Soon after, everyone entered the tent; Xiao Ningxun handed them the last letter, briefly explaining how it was found."

"After reading it, everyone was shocked."

Xiao Ningxun rubbed his sister's head: "Tuan Tuan, the ancient sword you brought back from the Da Mo must be the Heavenly Son Sword mentioned here."

"Only one bearing great destiny can obtain it—indeed, that is the case."

Xiao Ningchen traced the edge of the paper with his fingertip: "Judging by the paper and ink, it's certainly old enough."

Xiao Yuanhang's brows furrowed tighter: "Seven caches, the Heavenly Son Sword... the slumbering troops of Jingcheng?"

He lifted his head, a flash of light in his eyes: "If Jingcheng truly had a great army, how could it escape the notice of so many people?"

"Unless," Xiao Ningxun mused, head lowered, "that army is not in the open."

Xiao Yuanhang pondered a moment: "If not in the open, where could it be? The restoration army would surely be numerous—how could it hide in Jingcheng?"

Xiao Ningxun thought: "Father, the previous dynasty lasted over three hundred years; perhaps there truly are secrets we don't know."

"But we must wait until we return to Jingcheng to investigate these thoroughly."

Xiao Er said: "Third Young Master, do you still remember what Old Master Xuan Fu Weng said?"

"The Changfeng Goods Depot, the main hub of the horse caravan, was formerly the outer residence of a high official of the previous dynasty."

Lu Qi interjected: "Wasn't it you, Miss, who accidentally obtained the Treasure Map of Luo Ying Gully from the secret passage of that depot?"

Tuan Tuan lifted her chin: "Exactly! It's the one I found inside that ball!"

Everyone glanced at each other: the former official's outer residence! The treasure map!

"This should be what the paper spoke of: 'Entrust the seven keys needed for restoration to several loyal ministers, hiding them in seven places.'"

"Ah, now I see!"

Tuan Tuan craned her neck to look at the paper on the table, reached out a small hand and touched it: "This paper is so thin; aren't you afraid of accidentally tearing it?"

Xiao Ningxun snapped his head up: "Yes, why use such thin paper?"

"Could it really be just to hide it in this interlayer? Is there no other purpose?"

'"Thin..." he murmured repeatedly, his gaze suddenly falling upon the volume "Mountain River Mineral Marrow Atlas."'

He rose, spread the ore vein map completely across the table, and carefully placed the thin sheet on top.

"The paper is so thin it's nearly translucent, perfectly overlaying the map, making the lines and markings underneath clearly visible."

"Those few seemingly accidental vermilion red dots correspond exactly to six locations on the map!"

Xiao Er pointed at one red dot: "Here is where we found the treasure, Luo Ying Gully!"

Lu Qi pointed to another spot: "There is where we discovered the Child-mother Thunderbolt Bomb on Old Crow Mountain!"

"Seeing these two locations of astonishing treasure finds so plainly marked on the map, everyone's hearts were shaken."

Xiao Ningchen leaned in to examine the remaining four red dots: "In other words, there are four more places, each hiding a 'Restoration Key' of equal weight to the first two."

Xiao Ningxun's face flushed with excitement: "The wealth of Luo Ying Gully has solved our military provisions and grain."

"The Child-mother Thunderbolt Bomb from Old Crow Mountain is a weapon to break the enemy; the remaining four sites are likely also crucial assets to turn the tide of war."

Xiao Yuanhang remained silent for a long time, then spoke slowly: "The author of this letter truly painstakingly devised this."

"For a distant dream of restoration, he divided the nation's great implements and hid them in the four directions, leaving them for posterity. Such resolve and meticulousness truly send a chill down one's spine."

Xiao Er suddenly recalled: "Prince! The black-clad men who appeared at Luo Ying Gully a few days ago, after seizing Daoba's brother, weren't they asking where the treasure was and where the other things are?"

"Could those black-clad men be the surviving remnants of the previous dynasty?"

Xiao Ningxun's heart sank: "Regardless of who they are, being able to ask 'the others' shows they must know of this matter, though they have only limited knowledge."

Tuan Tuan climbed onto the stool, leaned over the table edge, and pointed with her small hand at the red dots: "One, two, three, four... there are still four."

She lifted her head: "Father, do these places also have treasures?"

Xiao Yuanhang pondered: "Yes, what these places hide must also be advantageous to the war situation—exactly what we urgently need now."

Xiao Ningxun gave a light cough, then spoke softly: "Father, these four places are scattered far and wide; if we were to seek them..."

"But we must go seek them." Xiao Yuanhang understood what his son meant to say: "Now Chen Wang and Qing Wang are winning popular support, and using the Empress Dowager and the Twelfth Prince to win over officials."

"If we cannot swiftly recover Jingcheng, the situation will become perilous."

"But to retake Jingcheng, relying solely on our current fifty thousand troops is far from enough."

"Once they stabilize the court, launch a massive conscription, and encircle us, we will be powerless to turn the tide."

He glanced at those four red dots: "These four caches may very well be the key to breaking our impasse."

Tuan Tuan raised her tightly clenched little fist: "Father, I'll go find them!"

She raised her small face to look at her father: "I'm the best at finding treasures! The treasure of Falling Eagle Gully was found by me, and so is the one from Old Crow Mountain!"

I will definitely find the remaining four too!

"No! I can't let Tuan Tuan take more risks!" Xiao Ningchen had already had enough of worrying about his sister's safety.

Xiao Yuanhang gazed at Tuan Tuan, a hundred feelings mingling in his heart.

He also didn't want his daughter to face danger again; every time Tuan Tuan went far, it left him sleepless night after night.

But his daughter is, however, the one spoken of in this document as "the bearer of great qi fortune."

It was she who found the Heavenly Son Sword; it was she who brought back the life-saving divine water; it was she who repeatedly turned danger into safety.

"Report!" a personal soldier rushed into the tent, "Prince! The enemy army has withdrawn!"

Xiao Yuanhang shot up his head: "What? They weren't supposed to withdraw twenty li and re‑encamp?"

The scout had just approached to investigate, discovering that although the enemy camp's banners had not fallen, the main camp was already empty!

Only a few hundred remnant troops kept moving about in the camp; from afar they looked no different from usual!