Being Able to Read a Map is Very Important

As the entire Sunset Glow Town was in turmoil, Jiang Beiran and his group had already traveled far. They were now standing on a plain, looking around.

"Huh... I was clearly following the map, why is it wrong again?" Liu Zijin held a map, looking at it back and forth, but couldn't find the correct route no matter what.

"Let me try." Fang Qiuyue said, taking the map. She looked at it right side up, then upside down, and even tilted it when she got anxious, but couldn't make heads or tails of it. Her pretty face turned completely red.

"Don't look at us... we don't understand this either."

Seeing Fang Qiuyue's gaze turn towards them, the Yu Family Three Sisters uniformly waved their hands.

Sighing helplessly, Fang Qiuyue looked towards Jiang Shixiong, who was sitting on a large rock not far away, drinking water.

Shortly after leaving Sunset Glow Town in the morning, Shixiong had told them that the rest of the journey would be up to them. After all, "reading maps to find the way" was an essential skill when traveling. Otherwise, if they got lost in the deep mountains and old forests as soon as they left, what else could they be relied upon for?

At first, Liu Zijin could still vaguely recognize the route on the map, but after two hours of walking, she became increasingly unsure of her exact location on the map.

"How about... we ask Shixiong then." Fang Qiuyue put down the map and said to the others.

The Yu Family Three Sisters nodded and said separately.

"Agreed."

"But who will go?"

"Shixiong will definitely scold us again."

In fact, they had already asked Jiang Shixiong about the map several times on the way. The first few times, Shixiong would answer patiently, but whenever they asked questions they had already asked, Shixiong would "scold" them, making them a bit afraid to speak up.

Fang Qiuyue looked at Jiang Beiran, then at the map, and was just about to grit her teeth and say "I'll go."

When she saw Liu Zijin take the map from her hand and say, "Then I'll go."

"No, Zijin-jie, how can you always be the one to get scolded by Shixiong."

Liu Zijin shook her head and smiled, "It's okay with me. Aren't we down the mountain for trials to learn new things? A few scoldings are nothing."

"But..."

"Stop talking. You all wait here for me." Liu Zijin said, and then walked towards Jiang Beiran with the map.

Looking at Liu Zijin's retreating back, the Yu Family Three Sisters said in unison, moved, "Zijin-jie is truly a good person."

With a feeling of anticipation... no, rather, unease, Liu Zijin came before Jiang Beiran, bowed, and called out, "Jiang Shixiong."

"Lost your way again?" Jiang Beiran asked, putting his water Hulu into his Universe Ring.

"Yes... there are no official roads here, it's really hard to identify."

"Didn't I teach you to pay attention to the nearby markers before? Did you forget again?"

On the Profound Dragon Continent, which lacked a navigation system, the common folk naturally had their own methods for finding their way. For instance, they would erect a mound of earth every five li, calling it a "hou."

Some main roads even had Beacon Guardians, specifically responsible for managing and maintaining these markers.

Hearing Jiang Beiran's question, Liu Zijin lowered her head and said, "It is Zijin's foolishness. Please punish me, Senior Brother."

Here we go again...

Jiang Beiran didn't know if it was Liu Zijin's overly strong personality, but whenever he asked a question she couldn't answer, she would beg him to punish her.

Do I seem that cruel in their eyes?

Shaking his head, Jiang Beiran jumped off the large rock and took the map from Liu Zijin's hands.

However, he had to admit that the maps uniformly distributed by the sect were indeed drawn terribly. Based on mountains and rivers as references, the center of the map depicted Stream Splendor City, the largest area within the jurisdiction. Surrounding it were rough locations of various mountains, rivers, and scenic spots within the jurisdiction, with the names of villages and towns filled in next to the corresponding mountains or rivers.

While this mapping method sounded clear, in reality, the map was just a chaotic mess of mountains connected to mountains.

Rolling up the map, Jiang Beiran said, "Actually, the fastest way to learn to read a map is to learn how to draw one."

"Draw a map?" Liu Zijin asked doubtfully.

"That's right. Once you understand how this map was drawn, you'll naturally understand how to follow the methods depicted on it."

"I see. As expected, Senior Brother has a solution." Liu Zijin's eyes lit up after hearing this.

"Here, take this book and study it carefully. It should be of some help." As Jiang Beiran spoke, he took out a copy of the Mapmaking Compendium from his Universe Ring and handed it to Liu Zijin.

"Thank you, Senior Brother." Bowing to Jiang Beiran, Liu Zijin accepted the Mapmaking Compendium with both hands and began to read.

Watching Liu Zijin earnestly read the book, Jiang Beiran also began to consider his next steps.

The reason he suddenly wanted Liu Zijin and the other four to become self-reliant was that, as an Iron Seal, teaching them common knowledge was within Jiang Beiran's duties, in addition to protecting the new disciples.

Especially since the Enforcement Elder had entrusted his most beloved disciples to him, he would inevitably cause trouble for Jiang Beiran if they returned to the sect having learned nothing.

Therefore, Jiang Beiran decided to train them in the most basic skill: reading maps.

Half an hour passed. Liu Zijin closed the book and said to Jiang Beiran, "Senior Brother, I think I understand a little."

Jiang Beiran nodded upon hearing this. "En, then let's continue searching for the road."

As it turned out, Liu Zijin was indeed very intelligent. After grasping the knack of finding her way, she quickly found the main road again.

"We should be at Gather Wealth Village ahead," Liu Zijin said, pointing forward after passing a fork in the road.

"Wow! Sister Zijin, you're amazing!" Fang Qiuyue couldn't help but clap her hands.

"It's the book Senior Brother showed me that's amazing. Everything written inside is easy to understand and very helpful for finding our way."

"A book? What book?" Fang Qiuyue asked.

"This one." Liu Zijin showed the Mapmaking Compendium to Fang Qiuyue.

"Let us see it too." The Yu Family Three Sisters, upon hearing this, also curiously crowded over.

"Map...making...Compendium." Yu Guizhui softly read the three large characters on the cover and said, "I've noted it down. I'll buy one to read when I get back."

Liu Zijin smiled and said nothing after hearing this. Although not entirely certain, she felt that this book was likely written by their Senior Brother himself. The writing style was vastly different from that of established authors who could publish books, giving off a very casual feeling.

Putting the Mapmaking Compendium away, Liu Zijin led the other Junior Sisters to Jiang Beiran and asked, "Senior Brother, what should we do next?"

Jiang Beiran glanced at them and said, "Tell me your thoughts."

After thinking for a moment, Fang Qiuyue answered first.

"Shouldn't we first go to the village to inquire about how those children went missing? Figure out the time and location first?"

The other Junior Sisters also expressed their agreement after hearing this.

But Jiang Beiran shook his head and said, "Doing so will only alert the enemy."

Looking at their five bewildered faces, Jiang Beiran explained, "When we received the mission, we already knew that children were frequently going missing in Gather Wealth Village. This means the culprit might still be active, or even lurking within the village. If you go asking around, you will inevitably expose your identity as disciples of the Returning Heart Sect. If the culprit overhears you, they will naturally become much more cautious, or even stop committing crimes."

Liu Zijin and the others nodded repeatedly, saying, "Senior Brother's words make so much sense. But if we don't inquire, how should we investigate?"

Jiang Beiran smiled slightly and replied, "There's no need to investigate. We just need to quietly wait for their next crime."