Chapter 19

【Favorability: 8】Dawn

A favorability of "eight" means she likes him, but she's a married woman! Shuo

And her daughter is already this old! q

If that were all, it would be fine, but the worst part is that her daughter Yue Lingshan also got a copy of the diary, and came to tell her about it right away. q

Not long after, Yue Lingshan also understood the complications involved.

This made Ning Zhongze all the more embarrassed. Wine

Fortunately, Yue Lingshan's score was higher than hers, which made her feel she wasn't quite so conspicuous and didn't have to bear her daughter's strange looks. Private

【Character: Yue Lingshan】 Bar

【Appearance: 9】 Scatter

【Favorability: 9】 Ear

"It's a pity Suzhou is too far, otherwise I'd also like to go to the 'Zhenlongqi Society' to see the diary's owner, and find a way to get him to mention me more." Yue Lingshan sighed. Air

Ning Zhongze hesitated, then still said: "Shan'er, having no reward isn't necessarily a bad thing. At least we don't owe him a favor. He... he's too much of a flirt." Bar

Yue Lingshan turned her head to look, blinked, and said: "But Mother, we already owe him a favor. Every day we get a reward of one month's worth of true qi, after all." Ling

Ning Zhongze: "..." Plume

She had actually forgotten about that, and for a moment was at a loss for words.

She was also quite helpless about this. That daily reward of one month's worth of true qi was given unconditionally by the diary copy; even if she wanted to refuse, she couldn't.

But then again, speaking of it, this kind of reward... really smells good!

"Mother, do you think he'll come to our Mount Huashan?" Yue Lingshan suddenly asked.

Ning Zhongze pondered for a moment, then said: "Mount Huashan is one of the Five Sacred Mountains of the Central Region. If he's not just holed up in one place, he'll most likely come here."

"Oh." Yue Lingshan propped her chin on her small hand, and her little head began to wander aimlessly.

Central Plains Escort Agency.

Jiang Sishui added today's reward of 300 martial arts experience points to "Heavenly Sword Drawing Technique."

【Heavenly Sword Drawing Technique (Heavenly Art): Entry (1200/**

"From Beginner to Entry. If I'm not mistaken, a thousand should be a watershed."

"Then by that logic, ten thousand, a hundred thousand, a million — do they represent different levels of destructive power?"

Jiang Sishui was lost in thought.

As long as he figured out the combat power corresponding to the current Entry-level "Heavenly Sword Drawing Technique," he'd have a pretty good idea of his own strength.

After washing up and eating the breakfast brought by a servant, he set out properly dressed, and under the escort of the caravan led by Zhao Tianhao, headed toward Leigu Mountain.

Along the way, he saw Zhao Qiying again.

Still in a white outfit, face plain and unadorned, her dark hair tied up with only a single ribbon, with only a pair of pendants hanging from her ears — exceptionally simple and elegant.

She rode atop a tall, sturdy horse, eyes gazing straight ahead, her bearing composed and steady. Despite her young age, she already had the poise of a great lady, looking every inch a spirited heroine.

Although he only glanced at her in passing, it still made Jiang Sishui's heart flare with excitement.

Jiang Sishui didn't ride a horse, because he simply couldn't ride one, so he sat inside the carriage the escort agency had prepared in advance.

Seeing everything properly arranged, Zhao Tianhao gave the order, and the caravan set out!

Along the way, Jiang Sishui lifted the curtain and looked out at the scenery through the carriage window.

After about an hour like this...

Zhao Qiying suddenly said: "Father, your daughter is feeling a bit tired."

Zhao Tianhao turned to look, glanced at Zhao Qiying in surprise, not understanding.

They'd only been traveling for such a short while — how could she already be tired?

This didn't seem at all like the steady, reliable eldest daughter he knew.

Thinking it over, Zhao Tianhao figured his daughter probably had something hard to say, so he didn't press the matter, and said with concern: "Should we stop and rest for a while?"

Zhao Qiying shook her head, turned and pointed at the carriage, and said: "Your daughter will just rest in the carriage compartment for a while."

Zhao Tianhao frowned, displeased, and said: "Qiying, how can you be so ignorant of propriety? Since we've taken on this escort job, we should give it our all. Disturbing him at this time would be highly improper!"

Zhao Qiying, however, said: "Father, your daughter understands that. In that case, your daughter will go ask for his opinion. If he refuses, your daughter will apologize to him."

Hearing her say that, Zhao Tianhao didn't stop her: "Then go ahead."

Zhao Qiying acknowledged, then came to the outside of the carriage, lifted a corner of the curtain, and smiled: "Excuse me... may I come in?"

Jiang Sishui was feeling bored, when suddenly he saw that beautiful face he'd just been thinking about. His heart gave a startled leap — first feeling guilty, then his eyes lighting up — and he hurriedly said: "Please, come in!"

Zhao Qiying thanked him, bent down, and climbed into the carriage.

Jiang Sishui quickly shifted over to make room.

Zhao Qiying's ears turned slightly red, but she didn't act coy, and sat down beside him with easy grace.

The two were within arm's reach of each other, and a gentle, lingering aura of the opposite sex filled this small space, enveloping Jiang Sishui.

Jiang Sishui, who had been single until his death in his previous life, immediately felt dizzy, his heart pounding wildly.

Zhao Qiying was a martial artist, and had reached the Grandmaster Realm, with keen perception. Discovering that Jiang Sishui seemed even more nervous than she was, she suddenly stopped feeling nervous herself.

A trace of a smile flashed at the corner of her mouth. Zhao Qiying turned to face Jiang Sishui and asked with concern: "What's wrong with you?"

"N-nothing, nothing." Jiang Sishui shook his head repeatedly.

Realizing he was a bit out of sorts, and to cover his embarrassment, he immediately changed the subject: "My name is Jiang Sishui."

"Zhao Qiying, my father's eldest daughter."

After exchanging names, Zhao Qiying gave an apologetic smile: "I'm feeling a bit unwell and can't ride a horse for the time being, so I came to the carriage to rest for a while. I wonder if I'm disturbing you, Young Master Jiang?"

"Not at all! Miss Zhao may stay here as long as you like. I'm just bored being alone anyway." Jiang Sishui hastily declared.

Zhao Qiying thanked him, then looked at the long sword hanging at Jiang Sishui's waist and asked, "Do you also practice martial arts, Young Master Jiang?"

Jiang Sishui shook his head: "I'd like to, but I have no connections, and I know nothing about martial cultivation. I carry this sword only to scare ordinary people."

Zhao Qiying nodded slightly.

As the saying goes: a master leads you through the door, but cultivation depends on the individual.

In any field, a guide is extremely important.

Without connections, ordinary people cannot even access decent martial arts.

Unless you have extremely good luck.

"Do you, Young Master Jiang, deeply yearn for the martial Dao and the Jianghu?" Zhao Qiying asked again.

Jiang Sishui nodded honestly: "You martial cultivators can walk on rooftops and walls, settle grudges with ease, while we ordinary folk are bound by the government's rules and must constantly fear being caught in the crossfire. Of course we envy you."

Suddenly, an idea struck him: "Miss Zhao, forgive my boldness—may I ask you a few questions?"

Hearing this, Zhao Qiying had a faint suspicion, but since she had come specifically to help Jiang Sishui, she naturally refused nothing and smiled: "Ask."

With her approval, Jiang Sishui did not hesitate and asked directly: "Miss Zhao, your escort agency travels far and wide, so you must have broad knowledge—could you tell me what our world is like? How large is it?"

Hearing this, Zhao Qiying, recalling the entries from the past three days' diary, instantly understood what Jiang Sishui wanted to know.

After carefully choosing her words, she began: "The land we live on is called the Central Region; beyond it, all is regarded as barbarian wilderness."

"The Central Region is divided into Four Seas, Twenty-Eight States, and scattered islands."

"The Four Seas lie to the east and directly south of the Central Region, in order: the Bohai Sea, the Huanghai Sea, the Donghai Sea, and the Nanhai Sea."

"The Twenty-Eight States consist of twenty-seven on the mainland, and the twenty-eighth, isolated at the junction of the Donghai and Nanhai Seas, is called Zhi State."

"Today, martial cultivation flourishes in the Central Region, with sects and gangs everywhere, but the greatest powers are the Six Imperial Dynasties."

"Each Imperial Dynasty wields terrifying power beyond the Heavenly Human realm and collectively divides the Central Region, nominally ruling the twenty-seven states."

"We are now in the Great Song Dynasty, which controls four states: Suzhou, Huizhou, Zhezhou, and Ezhou. To the east, it borders the Donghai Sea."

"South of Great Song lies Great Sui, controlling five states: Minzhou, Ganzhou, Xiangzhou, Guizhou, and Nanzhou. To the east, it borders the Donghai Sea; to the south, the Nanhai Sea."

"North of Great Song lies Great Ming, controlling five states: Jingzhou, Jizhou, Jinzhou, Yuzhou, and Lushou. To the east, it borders the Bohai Sea and Huanghai Sea."

"Northeast of Great Ming lies Great Qing, controlling three states: Heizhou, Jizhou, and Liaozhou. To the east and south, it borders the Bohai Sea."

"West of Great Ming lies Great Qin, controlling four states: Shanzhou, Ningzhou, Ganzhou, and Qingzhou."

"South of Great Qin and west of Great Song and Great Sui lie the three states of Yuzhou, Shuzhou, and Yunzhou, which are divided and controlled by smaller nations such as Liao, Western Xia, Tubo, and Dali."

"Finally, there is Great Yuan, controlling only three states: Mengzhou, Xinzhou, and Zangzhou. Yet its territory is the largest of all the Imperial Dynasties, stretching from the far north and west in a half-encircling posture, watching over the Central Region."

As Jiang Sishui listened to Zhao Qiying's explanation, he imagined the entire map of the Central Region in his mind.

Yet as he thought, he felt an increasing sense of familiarity.