A Yao was startled, then turned around and saw Zhou Yan walking over with a bowl of medicine. She wrinkled her nose and said, "Uncle Zhou, I'm fine—"
"Drink it." Zhou Yan handed the bowl to her, his tone leaving no room for discussion. "Your father always drank a bowl of ginger soup before going out; it's an old custom. Your health isn't as good as his, so you need to be even more careful."
A Yao reluctantly took the bowl, held her breath, and gulped it down, sticking out her tongue from the bitterness. Zhou Yan took out a small piece of rock sugar from his sleeve and handed it to her, his expression like that of an old father taking care of his daughter. Yin Wujou felt a warmth in his heart as he watched this scene. The Spirit Vein Bureau had been dissolved for ten years, but those old rules and habits still lived on in the bones of these people.
Breakfast was still bought by Zhou Yan from the street, but today there were two more items—a steamer of vegetarian buns, a dish of pickled vegetables, and a pot of steaming hot soy milk. When Snow Empress came out, she was holding a letter in her hand. After sitting down at the table, she spread out the letter and read it while eating.
"I've sent Old Zheng to handle the Huainan matter," she said without looking up. "He used to manage logistics at the Spirit Vein Bureau, so he's familiar with land deeds and real estate. You don't need to worry about it."
Yin Wujou responded. He noticed that Snow Empress was wearing a dark gray, narrow-sleeved robe today, with an old leather belt around her waist, on which hung the Earth Vein Token and a small copper seal. This was her attire for handling official business, neat and convenient for going out at any time.
"I've prepared two horses for you in the Hetao." Snow Empress put down the letter, her gaze shifting between Yin Wujou and A Yao. "From the capital to the Hetao, it will take five days if you travel quickly, and seven days if you travel slowly by official road. Don't rush on the road; this is A Yao's first long-distance mission, so let her get used to it first."
"I'm not afraid of traveling," A Yao said immediately.
Snow Empress glanced at her, a slight smile playing on her lips, "I know you're not afraid. But some places in your father's map aren't marked clearly enough. You'll have to check them yourselves on the way. If you rush and miss the details, you'll have to turn back and go all the way again when you arrive."
A Yao thought for a moment and nodded in agreement.
Snow Empress took two items from her sleeve and placed them on the table: a bronze plaque and a letter. The plaque was an old item from the Spirit Vein Bureau, with the character "Spirit" engraved on the front and a simple landscape pattern on the back. "Take this with you," she said to Yin Wujou. "There are several old post stations over in the Hetao that used to have dealings with the Spirit Vein Bureau. Show them the plaque, and they'll help you."
She pushed the letter towards A Yao again. "This is an official document for the Hetao Regional Military Commission, stamped with the old seal of the Spirit Vein Bureau. After you arrive, go to the Regional Military Commission to report to them and let them know what you are going there for. Although matters concerning the earth veins do not need to be publicized, they cannot be completely kept from the local officials either."
A Yao carefully put the letter into her personal bundle. Yin Wujou tucked the bronze plaque into his bosom; it was slightly cool to the touch, and its edges had been worn smooth and rounded—something that had been used by many people.
After packing, the two led their horses out through the back door. Zhou Yan saw them off at the door and stuffed another package into A Yao's bundle. "This is for the road, homemade rations, cleaner than what you can buy outside." A Yao smiled as she took it, her eyes a little red. Snow Empress stood in the courtyard without seeing them off, only saying before they left, "Be careful on the road. When you arrive, find an inn to stay at first, don't rush up the mountain."
Yin Wujou glanced back at her. She stood under the old locust tree, the morning light casting a long shadow that stretched all the way to the threshold of the main hall. Her expression was calm, but Yin Wujou noticed that her right hand was unconsciously clutching her sleeve—a small gesture as she suppressed some emotion. He didn't say anything, just nodded, and mounted his horse.
Two horses emerged from the alley, one after the other, and turned onto the main street. The streets of the capital were already bustling with people in the early morning; breakfast stalls steamed, mule carts rattled along, and the sound of temple bells rang out in the distance. Yin Wujou rode ahead, with A Yao close behind. He could hear A Yao's breathing was a little rapid—she was a good rider, but it was her first time riding a horse on such a long journey, so nervousness was understandable.
After leaving the city gate, the view suddenly opened up. On both sides of the official road were vast fields of farmland, with wheat seedlings just sprouting, their green leaves stretching to the horizon. In the distance, farmers were working in the fields. When they saw the riders passing by, they looked up briefly and then looked down again. Yin Wujou slowed down his horse, waiting for A Yao to catch up.
"Is this the first time you've ridden a horse this far?" he asked.
A Yao nodded, her knuckles white as she gripped the reins. "Back when I was at the Spirit Vein Bureau, the furthest I ever went was the outskirts of the city. My father said he would take me on field missions when I was a little older, but then..." She didn't finish her sentence.
Yin Wujou didn't reply. The two rode side by side for a while, and the official road gradually narrowed. The farmland on both sides turned into wasteland, and then into sparse shrubs. The sun rose higher, warming their backs. A Yao gradually relaxed and began to pay attention to the terrain by the roadside, glancing at the map in her hand from time to time.
"Brother Yin," she suddenly spoke, "Look over there." She pointed with her riding crop to a distant expanse of rolling hills, "My father marked this place in his atlas, saying it was 'thick soil and shallow water, unsuitable for deep digging.' But look at that slope over there, there's a clear gully, it doesn't look like it was formed naturally."
Yin Wujou looked in the direction she pointed. It was a shallow ditch stretching from the mountaintop to the foot of the mountain, its walls overgrown with weeds, but the soil at the bottom was a noticeably darker color than the surrounding area, as if it had been eroded by water. He thought for a moment and said, "It's probably an old riverbed left behind by a seasonal river changing its course."
"My dad didn't mark it." A Yao flipped through the map book. "He only marked the ley lines, not the rivers. But if this is the old riverbed, it means the water veins in this area were once very active. Why did they change course later?"
Yin Wujou had no answer. He suddenly realized that although A Yao was young, she had a sharp eye for pictures. She had clearly memorized the picture albums left by her father, and no subtle abnormality could escape her notice. This ability was half talent and half a habit she had developed—this was how the old deacons taught newcomers when the Spirit Vein Bureau was at its peak.
The two continued their journey. At noon, they stopped to rest at a roadside teahouse and ate the dry rations prepared by Zhou Yan. The owner of the teahouse was an old man in his sixties. When he saw the bronze badges of the Spirit Vein Bureau on their clothes, his cloudy eyes lit up.
" The Spirit Vein Bureau?" The old man refilled their tea, his thin hands trembling slightly. "I saw people from the Spirit Vein Bureau when I was young. I was just a child then, working in the fields with my father. A group of people rode by on horseback along the official road, led by a gentleman in a gray robe. My father said they were deacons from the Spirit Vein Bureau, specializing in monitoring the earth's veins. I haven't seen them since."
"Do you remember which year it was?" A Yao asked.
The old man squinted and thought for a long time, "About... forty years ago? My father said that back then the Spirit Vein Bureau was still in the west of the capital, with a large courtyard. Later, I don't know how, it disappeared."