"I looked through one of the picture books A Yao brought tonight," Snow Empress said. " Deacon Lu has recorded all the changes in the earth's veins over the past ten years in the Hetao. In some places, the spiritual energy is recovering, while in others it is declining. These changes are very subtle; you can't see them in a year or two, but you can see the trends after ten years."
" The Spirit Vein Bureau used to do this," Yin Wujou said.
"Yes." The Snow Empress put the Earth Vein Token into her sleeve. " The Spirit Vein Bureau used to do this. They observed the direction of the earth veins, detected anomalies in the earth's energy, recorded the changes in the spiritual veins of the world, and passed them on to future generations. This matter cannot be interrupted; if it is interrupted for ten years, many places will lose their connection."
She turned her head to look at Yin Wujou, her gaze calm. "You said you were free and could go wherever you wanted. But you're still here."
Yin Wujou looked at her profile illuminated by the light, recalling what she had said at the safe house door that day—"Keep it as a memento." He placed his hand on his knee, his fingers twitching unconsciously, and then said, "I said that day, freedom isn't important. What matters is who you're with and what you're doing."
Snow Empress looked at him for a moment, a slight curve appearing at the corners of her lips. This time she didn't laugh out loud, but the curve was more pronounced than before. She stood up and brushed the dust off her clothes. "Go to sleep. The matter in Huainan needs to be settled by tomorrow. If you're going, you should leave the day after tomorrow."
Yin Wujou responded and stood up as well. The two walked into the backyard one after the other, and their respective doors closed in the night. The old locust tree swayed gently in the moonlight, its Yezi rustling softly. The lanterns under the eaves of the main hall were still lit, illuminating the newly hung plaque above the door, the newly paved and smooth ground in the courtyard, and the courtyard that had been abandoned for ten years and was now lit up again.
Yin Wujou lay on the bed, listening to the occasional sound of turning pages coming from Snow Empress's room next door, and recalled something Zhou Yan had said during the day. Zhou Yan said while working on the abacus, "I thought this was how my life would be. Running the pharmacy, raising the children, and just waiting to get old. I never expected to come back." He didn't look up when he said this, but Yin Wujou saw that his fingers were trembling slightly as he worked on the abacus.
Yin Wujou rolled over, facing the wall. He recalled the past ten years, the days he spent in the mountains with Mu Canglan waiting for news. Every morning, the first thing they did was check for new official reports, for any signs of a reversal of the case. Year after year they waited, almost forgetting who they were. Now he knew, he was a member of the Spirit Vein Bureau. This identity wasn't his choice, but since it had fallen to him, he accepted it.
The moonlight shone in through the window, falling on the ground beside the bamboo couch, as white as frost. Yin Wujou closed his eyes and quickly fell asleep. He slept very soundly, so soundly that he didn't even dream.
The next morning, when Yin Wujou woke up, it was just dawn. He pushed open the door and saw Snow Empress already standing in the courtyard. She had her back to him and was looking at a bird's nest in the old locust tree. Two gray magpies were hopping from branch to branch, carrying dry twigs in their beaks, as if they were repairing the old nest.
"Good morning." Yin Wujou walked over.
Snow Empress turned around and handed him a piece of paper. It contained a few lines of writing, which she had prepared the previous night. "I've written down the location and details of the land deed for the Huainan villa here. Take this to the local county government to verify. If the deed is still valid, sell it at market price. If someone else has occupied it, take this to the prefect. The properties of the Spirit Vein Bureau have tax-exempt documents approved by the Emperor himself; no one can take them away."
Yin Wujou took the paper, folded it neatly, and put it in his sleeve. "I'll set off today."
"There's no rush," Snow Empress said. "Let's have breakfast before we leave. Zhou Yan went to the street to buy breakfast."
Yin Wujou responded and went to the well to fetch water to wash his face. Halfway through washing, he suddenly heard A Yao's voice coming from the main hall. "Chief, come and see this!" Her voice was filled with barely suppressed excitement. Yin Wujou wiped his face and went over, and saw A Yao slumped over the desk, with a scroll of earth vein maps left by her father spread out in front of her, her finger pointing to a certain spot.
"Here, on the eastern side of the Hetao bend, my dad marked it 'suspected spring resurgence,' dated last spring. I checked the old map last night; this spring dried up before the Spirit Vein Bureau was established. My dad said it had been dry for at least fifty years. But last year there were signs of revival." A Yao's voice trembled slightly. "My dad didn't live to see it actually come to life."
Snow Empress leaned down to look at the markings in the atlas, her finger pausing for a moment at that particular spot. "If the spring revives, then the ley lines in this area will come alive. Did your father's atlas record anything similar?"
"Yes." A Yao turned to another volume, "Here, in the autumn of the year before last. And here, in the winter of the year before that. Three places in total. All east of the Hetao, very close to each other."
Snow Empress straightened up, shifting her gaze from the picture book to the outside of the main hall. Yin Wujou stood at the doorway and saw her eyes light up. He had seen that kind of light before; back when the Spirit Vein Bureau was still in operation, she always had that expression whenever they discovered important anomalies in the earth's veins.
"The earth's veins are moving," Snow Empress said. " The Spirit Vein Bureau has been dissolved for ten years, and the earth's veins are changing on their own. We need to hurry." She turned to look at Yin Wujou, "Put the Huainan matter aside for now. You go to the Hetao first, and together with A Yao, investigate the situation of those three springs. I'll have someone else go to Huainan."
Yin Wujou nodded. He saw the nervous yet excited look on A Yao's face, exactly the same as when he first went on a field mission with Snow Empress. He suddenly felt very at ease. With Snow Empress and these people around, the Spirit Vein Bureau's matter would not fall apart. The earth veins were moving, and they were chasing after them, so this matter could continue.
Breakfast consisted of steamed buns and millet porridge that Zhou Yan had bought. The four of them sat around the stone table in the courtyard, eating and discussing their next steps. The Snow Empress had arranged for Yin Wujou and A Yao to depart for the Hetao in three days. Zhou Yan would stay at the old office to continue organizing the warehouses and contacting old acquaintances, while she herself would remain in the capital, handling official correspondence with the court and bringing back the people on the list one by one. The four of them shared their thoughts, sometimes arguing briefly, sometimes falling into silent contemplation. The sunlight slowly moved from the east wall to the center of the courtyard, bathing them in a warm glow.
After finishing breakfast, Yin Wujou got up and went to the backyard to pack his belongings. As he walked to the backyard gate, he glanced back at the scene in the courtyard. Snow Empress was sitting at the stone table looking at a map, Zhou Yan was calculating travel expenses on an abacus beside her, A Yao was squatting on the ground flipping through her father's picture album, muttering to herself. The Yezi of the old locust tree rustled gently in the wind, and the plaque under the eaves of the main hall shone brightly in the sunlight. He felt that this scene was better than anything else.
He went into the backyard, picked up the old bundle from the corner of the wall, and put his things inside one by one. A few changes of clothes, a pair of newly sewn cloth shoes, a white handkerchief, and the piece of paper with information about the Huainan villa that Snow Empress had given him—he no longer needed it, but didn't want to throw it away, so he folded it neatly and put it under the bundle. He tied the bundle up and came out again.