Has Shen Hao been moving along smoothly?

Smooth my ass!

Every single step feels like walking on thin ice, cautious and trembling. Let’s not even talk about all the life-or-death fights he’s been through. Now things are looking up, but the black beast tattoo on his chest is still a total mystery—who knows, maybe it’ll devour his soul the moment he falls asleep. Shen Hao has no way to deal with it for now, can only hope that as his cultivation level grows he’ll figure out something.

All in all, whatever glory Shen Hao shows on the surface, only he knows how passive he really is inside.

But passive doesn’t mean surrender. He keeps doing what needs to be done, bit by bit figuring out what this black beast tattoo is all about.

After handing over the order to Tang Qingyuan, Shen Hao went home, took a bath, and crashed into bed. He’s barely slept well these past days—now he doesn’t want to think about anything, just regain some energy first.

Of course, after coming home, Xia Nu’s massive bowl of handmade noodles was unavoidable, and it absolutely needed enough chili!

Slept soundly all the way through to morning.

He’s not going for Upper Emissary duty today—last night while handing over orders to Wu Changhe, Shen Hao already asked for leave. First, he needs rest, and second, he’s got some personal business to attend to.

After breakfast and his daily cultivation routine, Shen Hao slipped into the study and put up several layers of Defense Array.

This time, when Shen Hao went to Pingshun City to deal with the plague, he didn’t expect to get another Yin Jade Map; counting the one he won at auction in Pingjiang City, he now has two pieces.

He took them both out and laid them on the desk. Same size, about the size of a palm, one inch thick, one side rough, one side smooth. On the smooth side, special lines sketching a map, drawn by some unknown method—not clear how—but only Shen Hao can see the patterns, no one else has a clue what’s on them.

The Yin Jade Map Shen Hao got from the Pingjiang City auction looked like part of a Maze Map; the one he just took from the Special Land is more of a common geography map, mountains and rivers. This one also has a red line, plus a red dot—maybe a destination?

Of course, the Yin Jade Map from Special Land also has no writing and no orientation markers, and it’s not a complete map. But since it’s a geography map, there’s a Y-shaped river on it, and at the bottom a thick section marking a waterway. Looks like the map shows a place by a river?

That does make it easier to find clues than the Maze Map.

But is it even a map of this world? You have to remember, Shen Hao found the second Yin Jade Map under the Special Land, and the place is bizarre as hell—even the flow of time is different inside. So the map he found there might be from somewhere not in Shen Hao’s world at all.

Following that logic, you could explain how the first Maze Map was obtained—probably someone else got it from the Special Land and brought it out, just nobody could see the map so it ended up consigned to auction, then by chance reached Shen Hao.

Shen Hao picked up both pieces from the table, and they felt almost identical in weight, thickness, smoothness, and the style of pattern—even the material looks like it was cut from the same stone. The rough part on the backs looked almost the same.

He grabbed a Domain Map from the bookshelf—the roughest sort, the kind anyone can buy at a book shop, just used for decoration in Shen Hao’s study.

When he opened it up, Shen Hao instinctively started looking for areas with plenty of water.

Even though the Jingjiu Dynasty has lots of water sources, you only see a few big rivers on maps at this coarse level.

White River running southwest, Weak Water heading southeast, and in the middle, Wen River crossing almost half the domain of the Jingjiu Dynasty.

"Tsk, this is... kind of similar!"

Shen Hao’s gaze moved slowly down the map, following Wen River east, then found a spot where Wen River and Weak Water meet—and with a branch of Gorge River splitting off. With these three water bodies converging, they form a unique network, which matches the terrain on his second Yin Jade Map.

But the spot’s already near the border of Jingjiu Dynasty—on the map it’s barely sketched, with no town markers at all. So he can’t judge if the red dot on the Yin Jade Map corresponds to anything there.

"...No way it’s such a coincidence, right?" Shen Hao doesn’t believe in coincidences, but he still can’t help mumbling internally.

After studying a bit, Shen Hao put everything away. He’s not in a rush about the maps; tomorrow, after returning to duty at Thousand Households Station, he can check more detailed military-level maps in the Library—then he’ll know if it’s dumb luck or not.

In the study, he meditated and refined Qi until afternoon. When it was time to eat, Hu Tian brought an invitation and placed it in front of Shen Hao.

"Master Shen, this invitation is from the Shopkeeper of Hong’en Hall—sent four days ago. It says on March 25th there’ll be the Blue Moon Association, inviting all the talented scholars from around Fengri City. They’ll have a Courtesan Competition and Song and Dance Ensemble." Hu Tian grinned, clearly pleased. The master’s a big figure in Fengri City, otherwise how would he get an invite from the city’s top Flower House? Plus, the master is a real, bona fide scholar. Hu Tian’s old face beamed with pride.

"Blue Moon Association? Tsk, time really flies, huh."

March 25th every year is a traditional holiday for Jingjiu Dynasty. For most of the realm, Blue Moon Festival is the most important event of the year. No matter how busy, everyone takes the day off, spends time with family, goes for a spring outing, or invites a few friends for drinks at home.

But Hong’en Hall doesn’t rest—the busier the festival, the better their business, just like restaurants. Big holidays mean even bigger celebrations, especially the famous Courtesan Competition.

Usually, all the Flower Houses host these festivities together, but the main organizer rotates among the top Flower Houses each year; this year it’s Hong’en Hall’s turn. Invites go only to the most renowned local nobles and elite scholars—ordinary people don’t get invitations.

No invitation but still want to go? Just buy a pass. Every year, tickets for these events cost a fortune. Plenty of rich folk line up for them.

Shen Hao glanced at the invitation and put it aside. He wasn’t all that interested in the Courtesan Competition, but if he had the time he’d still show up—after all, Hong’en Hall has Lian Xiang, that fairy, and he could lend her some support.

Finished eating, Shen Hao didn’t plan to go out, just stayed home cultivating Magic. His grasp of Earth Escape and Palm Thunder was now totally at his command—even simplified, every spell he cast was instantaneous, smooth as water, zero hesitation. With his Soul Strength rising, plus the boost from stepping into Gathering Spirit Second Layer, Shen Hao couldn’t help but think: Maybe it’s time to learn a new Skill?