Just then, the ley line water in the second pit filled up. The water flowed back underground along the cracks in the ley lines and gushed out from the depression of the third spring. The water column broke through the crimson light barrier beneath the Earth Vein Beast, and the ley line water splashed onto the scales of the six small beasts. The small beasts let out shrill howls, their Earth Vein Beast's forehead flashed violently, and it was forced to leave the depression of the spring. It opened its huge mouth and swallowed the gushing ley line water into its belly.
The Snow Empress had been waiting for this moment.
She drew her sword and leaped up, the tip aimed straight at the crimson mark on the ley line Earth Vein Beast's forehead. The Earth Vein Beast, busy swallowing water, couldn't dodge in time. The sword tip pierced the mark, and a chilling blue light and crimson ley line energy exploded on the beast's forehead. The Earth Vein Beast let out a howl that reverberated throughout the ravine, its massive body stiffening abruptly before slowly kneeling. Its gaping maw opened, and the ley line water it had swallowed gushed from the depths of its throat, mixed with dark red resentment, spraying onto the muddy bottom of the ravine.
Without the support of the ley line seal, the six small beasts' scales quickly dimmed, and the eerie blue flames at the tips of their tails extinguished one by one. They burrowed into the mud and scattered in all directions, but the ley line water had already spread along the bottom of the ditch, washing away the red patterns wherever it passed.
The Earth Vein Beast knelt beside the spring, its crimson mark on its forehead shattered, revealing a patch of clean black scales beneath. Its fiery eyes gazed at the Snow Empress, and a low, sighing sound emanated from its throat. Then its body began to crack, its black scales peeling away piece by piece, revealing the crimson resentment within. The resentment, upon encountering the earth vein water, turned into white smoke and dissipated. In less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the enormous Earth Vein Beast turned into a puddle of black ash, washed away by the earth vein water into the depths of the silt.
The bottom of the ravine returned to calm. Clear water from the third spring gushed forth, its surface gradually widening, reflecting the sunlight filtering down from above the ravine walls. A Yao slid down the ravine wall, still clutching a shard of pottery in her hand. Yin Wujou and Deacon Sun also arrived from the first spring and stood by the ravine, looking down.
"That's all?" Yin Wujou asked.
Snow Empress sheathed her sword and stood by the water. Her sleeve was torn by her scale armor, and there was a shallow bloodstain on her left shoulder, but her gaze was calm. She squatted down and scooped up a handful of earth vein water. The water was clear and sweet, and the wound on her palm felt slightly cool as it soaked in it.
"The earth's veins are open," she said. "All three springs are open."
Looking at the water, A Yao suddenly said, " Snow Empress, you said before that the Earth Vein Beast are the resentment of the Earth Veins. Once the resentment dissipates, the Earth Veins will be repaired. What about the Spirit Vein Bureau?"
Snow Empress stood up and splashed the water back to the bottom of the ditch. The water droplets landed on the silt, and a few tender green grass sprouts emerged from the wet mud, swaying gently in the autumn wind.
" The Spirit Vein Bureau is now open," she said. "From today onwards, we will re-record the earth's veins, starting with the Hetao."
Deacon Sun planted the shovel by the ditch and wiped his face. The old man's eyes were red, but his lips parted in a forced, ugly smile. Yin Wujou looked at the newly formed water at the bottom of the ditch, then at Snow Empress. He remembered that morning at the old office of the Spirit Vein Bureau, when he carried his bundle out of the backyard, Snow Empress was sitting at the stone table in the courtyard looking at a map. The Yezi of the old locust tree rustled in the wind, and the plaque under the eaves of the main hall gleamed in the sunlight. That image remained etched in his mind.
Now, something new has appeared in that scene. On the "General Map of Earth's Veins" hanging on the wall of the main hall, the vermilion circle marking the " Blind Zone " east of the Hetao has been crossed out by the Snow Empress himself with ink. Next to it, a new line of text has been added, "Veins open, resentment dissipated."
Zhou Yan's message arrived in Hetao on the fifth day. The message was short. "The old main hall has been repaired. Vice Minister Pei has transferred thirty former members of the Spirit Vein Bureau to various springs. Meng Qi's family has been settled. Also, records of Earth Vein Resentment Beast have been found in the surviving scrolls in the storeroom. When the beast dies, the veins open; when the vengeance dissipates, the bureau is established. Snow Empress's decree."
After reading the letter, A Yao combined A Yao father's album with the old files given to her by Deacon Sun, wrapped them in oilcloth, and put them in her backpack. Yin Wujou finished drawing the last sketch by the low-lying area, marking the changes in terrain and vegetation. Deacon Sun stayed in the Hetao to continue observing the changes in water volume at the three springs.
The day they left, the weather was fine. The autumn air was crisp and clear, and the sky was as blue as a freshly washed cloth. Snow Empress rode ahead on horseback, with Yin Wujou and A Yao following side by side. The crops on both sides of the official road had been harvested, revealing open fields. In the distance, the Hetao Plain stretched out in the morning light, and the shimmering water of three springs was faintly visible, like three bright pearls scattered across the fields.
A Yao spurred her horse to catch up and rode alongside Snow Empress.
" Snow Empress," she said, "What do you think the Spirit Vein Bureau will look like in the future?"
The Snow Empress thought for a moment. "The same as before," she said. "Observe the earth's veins, record the changes, and pass on the direction of the world's spiritual veins to future generations."
"Will we continue doing this?"
"Yes," Snow Empress said, "As long as the earth's ley lines are still moving."
A Yao didn't ask any more questions. The three walked in silence for a while. At the end of the official road, the outline of the capital city gradually emerged from the horizon. The clouds above the city walls were dyed gold by the setting sun, spreading out layer by layer, like a huge map of the earth's veins. Snow Empress looked at the clouds and suddenly remembered that morning in the old office of the Spirit Vein Bureau, when she sat by the stone table in the courtyard looking at the map, and the Yezi of the old locust tree rustled gently in the wind. That scene overlapped with the clouds in front of her now.
She spurred her horse to quicken its pace. Yin Wujou and A Yao followed. The three horses galloped along the official road towards the capital. The Hetao Plain behind them gradually receded into the twilight, while the city gate ahead drew ever closer.
Snow Empress knew that the lights in the old headquarters of the Spirit Vein Bureau were still on. Zhou Yan must be in the main hall, with the restored ley line map spread out in front of him, a lantern illuminating his profile. The gray magpies on the old locust tree should have returned to their nests, the Yezi rustling in the night wind. And beneath the Hetao Plain, the ley line water that had once been dormant, once blocked by resentment, and now flowed again, was quietly and continuously rising along three springs.
On the official road outside the north gate of the capital, the first lantern had already lit up in the twilight. The soldiers guarding the city recognized Snow Empress's blue horsemanship from afar and hurriedly opened the side gate to let him pass. When the three of them passed through the barbican, Snow Empress reined in his horse and paused for a moment. The newly carved brick inscriptions on the city wall were faintly discernible in the twilight. " The Spirit Vein Bureau is being rebuilt, and the Hetao Vein is open." It was Zhou Yan's handwriting, the neat characters carrying the restlessness emanating from the medicine furnace.
"He's certainly not idle." Snow Empress gently spurred his horse.
The former office of the Spirit Vein Bureau was located deep in Locust Tree Lane in the east of the city. The storefront was small, and the copper nails on the two black lacquered wooden doors were rusty. But tonight was different. A new plaque hung above the door, with the three characters " Spirit Vein Bureau " carved in plain wood and painted on a blue background, gleaming with a calm light under the lantern. Light shone through the crack in the door, and the sound of abacus beads clicking could be heard.
Yin Wujou forward and knocked on the door. The door opened from the inside, and Zhou Yan stood behind it, his left arm still in a sling, but his right hand was firmly holding an open book. Behind him, the main hall's beams and pillars had been replaced with new wood, and the walls had been repainted white. However, the large table in the center of the main hall was piled full of maps, files, writing brushes, ink, and abacuses, leaving almost no room to step.