The former headquarters of the Spirit Vein Bureau was located in the northeast corner of the capital, sandwiched between the Court of Imperial Sacrifices and the Imperial Astronomical Bureau. It was a three-courtyard compound. During the previous dynasty, it was a detached residence of the Astronomical Observatory. Later, it was converted into the Spirit Vein Bureau, which was in charge of the direction of spiritual veins throughout the country, the anomalies of earth energy, and the issuance of ordination certificates to various cultivation sects. Ten years ago, the Spirit Vein Bureau was raided and sealed off, and the courtyard has been empty ever since.
When Snow Empress and Yin Wujou arrived, the sun had already risen above the eastern wall. The seals on the old gate had long since weathered away, leaving only two dark red remnants of paper stuck to the door panel, rustling in the wind. The cracks in the stone steps in front of the door were filled with withered yellow foxtail grass, and a thick layer of fallen leaves had accumulated under the threshold, making a soft, crunching sound when stepped on.
Yin Wujou reached out and pushed the door. The hinges groaned and opened a crack. He pushed harder, and the two door panels reluctantly parted, raising a cloud of dust.
The courtyard was even more desolate than the outside. The bluestone pavement was cracked, and waist-high weeds sprouted from the cracks. Just as Snow Empress had said, a large section of the roof of the main hall was missing, revealing the gray rafters and a few crooked purlins. The doors and windows of the east and west wing rooms were rotten, and the window paper had long since disappeared, leaving only a few wooden lattice beams swaying in the wind. The old locust tree in the courtyard was still alive, its branches stretching desolately towards the sky, and a layer of withered leaves had fallen at its base.
Yin Wujou stood in the courtyard, looking around and silently assessing the task at hand. He had worked at the Spirit Vein Bureau and knew what this courtyard used to be like. The main hall was where meetings were held and the earth vein maps were stored; the east wing was the duty room; the west wing was the storeroom; and there was a row of living quarters in the back. Now, everything was in a terrible state of disrepair, and it would probably take at least two or three months to restore it to a usable state.
"Let's look at the main hall first." Snow Empress had already walked around the courtyard and entered the main hall. Yin Wujou followed her in and saw that the floor was covered with broken tiles and wood. A row of bookshelves against the wall had all fallen over, and books were scattered all over the floor, blackened and moldy from the rain. The charcoal brazier in the corner was overturned, and charcoal ash was scattered all over the floor. The desk in the center was still there, with a layer of dust on the surface, but the legs were still sturdy, carved from a single piece of wood, standing there heavily. Snow Empress reached out and wiped her hand on the desk, her fingertips getting dusty. She looked at her fingertips and then wiped them clean on the corner of the desk.
"This case file is still here," she said. "It was personally arranged by my master back then, using Tie Li transported from Southern Frontier."
Yin Wujou walked behind the desk and looked up at the sun-drenched roof. He noticed that although the rafters were crooked, the main beam was not broken, and the foundation of the courtyard was still stable. "All the tiles need to be replaced, a few rafters need to be replaced, and the purlins just need to be reinforced. The doors and windows of the east and west wings need to be redone, the walls are okay, but they need to be re-plastered." He mentally calculated the manpower and materials needed, "If I have three to five people to help, I can finish cleaning the main hall in half a month."
Snow Empress nodded, took out the scroll of names from her sleeve, unfolded it, and glanced at it. "I've listed 327 names. Back then, the Spirit Vein Bureau had a total of 341 people, including myself. Aside from those who have passed away and those who are truly impossible to find, we need to find the rest one by one." She handed the list to Yin Wujou, "Take a look and see which ones we can contact first."
Yin Wujou took the list and scanned it from top to bottom. He recognized many of the names; some were former colleagues, and others were garrison officers stationed in various prefectures. His finger stopped on one name. " Zhou Yan is still in the capital. He used to be the warehouse manager. After the Spirit Vein Bureau was shut down, he opened a pharmacy in the south of the city. I saw him when I passed by recently."
" Zhou Yan," Snow Empress thought for a moment, "That meticulous person who checks the accounts three times every time the inventory is taken?"
"It's him. If he's willing to come back, we won't have to worry about the warehouse."
Yin Wujou continued reading and pointed to a few more names. Snow Empress took out a fine pen from her waist and circled the names on the desk, noting "Capital," "Available," and "To be investigated" next to them. The two stood in the main hall and talked for almost half an hour, sorting through the people on the list who could be contacted immediately, and circled more than twenty of them.
"Let's find these first." Snow Empress put the list away. "Today, we'll repair the roof tiles in the main hall, at least to prevent it from leaking again. I'll go to the Ministry of Works for tools and tiles; since the Emperor has returned the old office, they should at least provide these things."
Yin Wujou responded and turned to go to the backyard to find a ladder. The backyard was even more overgrown than the front yard, with knee-high weeds and a few rotten logs piled up at the base of the wall. He found a wooden ladder in a corner; two of the rungs were broken, but it was still usable. He carried the ladder to the front yard, leaned it against the wall of the main hall, and tested it. Although it wobbled, it was still big enough for a person to climb.
The Snow Empress had already left. Yin Wujou climbed onto the roof alone, clearing away the broken tiles and rotten rafters. The broken tiles fell into the courtyard with a clattering sound, startling a few sparrows perched in the locust tree. After working for a while, he was covered in sweat, took off his outer garment and draped it over the roof ridge, and continued throwing down the broken tiles. The sunlight shone directly down from above, making his back feel hot, but he didn't stop. He had waited ten years for the matter of the Spirit Vein Bureau. Now that he could finally start cleaning it up, he didn't want to delay for a moment.
Around noon, Snow Empress returned, followed by two laborers from the Ministry of Works, pushing a cart full of roof tiles and several new rafters. The two laborers unloaded the goods in the courtyard and left. Snow Empress rolled up her sleeves, tucked her skirt into her belt, and personally went up to the roof to hand over the tiles. Yin Wujou caught the tiles on the roof; the two worked together seamlessly, one handing the tiles to the other, just like back in the Spirit Vein Bureau. At that time, Snow Empress was the head of the bureau, and Yin Wujou was her subordinate; they never overstepped their bounds in front of outsiders. But privately, Snow Empress had taught him to read leyline maps, and he had helped Snow Empress organize files. Ten years had passed, but those habits of their time together remained.
"The left rafter is still crooked," Snow Empress said from below.
Yin Wujou stepped on the rafter, and sure enough, it was a little loose. "It needs to be replaced."
"Change."
Yin Wujou went downstairs to change the rafters, and Snow Empress took the opportunity to boil a pot of water in the courtyard. She found a usable earthenware pot in the corner, drew a bucket of water from the well—the well water was clear, which relieved her—boiled it, and poured two bowls. She placed one bowl next to the ladder for Yin Wujou, and drank the other slowly herself. Yin Wujou changed the rafters and went back up to the roof, laying the new tiles as he went. By the time the sun was setting, the leaky section in the main hall had been repaired. Although the old and new tiles were different colors, making it look like a patch, at least it wouldn't leak anymore when it rained.
Yin Wujou climbed down from the roof, covered in dust and sweat. He picked up the bowl of now-cooled water and drank it all in one gulp, wiping his mouth with his sleeve. Snow Empress was squatting in the courtyard, pulling weeds out one by one from the cracks in the stone slabs. Her movements were slow but patient; she uprooted each weed, shook off the soil, and tossed it aside. Watching her profile, Yin Wujou suddenly realized that the way she did this was exactly the same as when she handled official duties years ago—unhurried and meticulous, but always striving for perfection.