Chapter 130: The Treasure Map 1

Just as Wang Keyue and the system Xiao Bao were sighing, Xiao Hongyu’s voice pulled her back to reality.

"Yue'er, are you alright?" Xiao Hongyu asked with a hint of anxiety.

"Oh, I'm fine. What is it?" Wang Keyue regained her focus.

"The prisoners have been executed. Take a look..." Xiao Hongyu stepped aside as he spoke.

On the execution platform not far away, the dozen or so captured Hu barbarians, their hands and feet bound and hoods over their heads, were no longer breathing. Wang Keyue did not act squeamish; it was not the first time she had witnessed such a scene. She walked directly onto the platform, and soon, eight white spheres of light appeared over the bodies of the deceased.

Wang Keyue collected them one by one. Once finished, the two returned to their villa.

The rewards Wang Keyue received this time included: 5,000 catties of daily necessities (rice and flour), one ton of refined iron ore, one primary energy stone, one advanced skill upgrade card, one random teleportation scroll, a passive skill card—Block (automatic trigger, resists a fatal blow), a primary skill card—Basic Gourmet, and a small civilian spacecraft.

The rewards were incredibly generous, especially the advanced skill upgrade card, which could instantly evolve a primary skill into an advanced supernatural ability. Seeing this, Wang Keyue decided to upgrade her primary lightning skill. Furthermore, the passive skill card—Block, was an absolute life-saving tool; if someone were to attempt an assassination, the skill would trigger automatically without needing any conscious reaction, shielding her from a fatal strike.

Xiao Hongyu received four rewards: a medium energy stone, a portable laser rocket launcher, a primary healing skill, and a primary immortal beast summoning card. Although he received fewer items, the medium energy stone was arguably more precious than anything else. Additionally, the summoning card was a powerful defensive measure, allowing him to summon a primary spirit beast directly from the Spirit Beast World—a concept that felt truly fantastical.

With these treasures in hand, Wang Keyue decided to perform the upgrades that very night. The two exchanged items: Wang Keyue gave the supplies, refined iron ore, and the small civilian spacecraft to Xiao Hongyu, while he gave her the medium energy stone, the portable laser rocket launcher, and the primary immortal beast summoning card.

That night, Wang Keyue used the advanced skill upgrade card to evolve her primary Lightning Curse into an advanced lightning spell, which turned out to be an area-of-effect skill—Wrath of the Thunder.

In the following days, Wang Keyue successively activated her passive skill card, Block. As for the remaining skill cards, such as those for water manipulation and enhanced intellect, she planned to store them in her system space to take back to her original world as gifts for her family.

Xiao Hongyu also mastered his primary healing skill, having already learned the primary Small Fireball technique. He now possessed several reliable means of self-preservation.

This year, the temperature dropped significantly, and heavy snow fell incessantly. While the issue of water supply had been solved, three months of continuous snowfall caused all development and construction in the Crescent Kingdom to grind to a halt.

Meanwhile, the Great Qin dynasty entrenched in the south, and the newly established Lingnan Kingdom on the southern border, were both having a difficult winter. As the saying goes, the gap between the old harvest and the new usually lasts through February and March, but this year, it was expected to stretch until April.

Thanks to the support from Wang Keyue’s system supplies, the introduction of new drought and cold-resistant crops, and the promotion of greenhouses, the Crescent Kingdom was able to ensure its people were fed and warm. The citizens living in the resettlement housing felt particularly fortunate; the homes were well-insulated, and they had been provided with new quilts, cotton-padded clothes, and shoes.

Everyone had work to do, and the new ruler of the Crescent Kingdom had promised that during these four harsh months, every citizen could receive five catties of coarse grain and five catties of flour per person each month from the county government based on their household registration, with men receiving an additional five catties of coarse grain.

While the Crescent Kingdom was thriving with vitality, the Changbai Prefecture—a forgotten corner of the world—was facing its own severe trials.

After handling affairs in the Crescent Kingdom, Wang Keyue piloted the spacecraft with Xiao Hongyu toward Changbai Prefecture. She had two goals: first, to find her maternal relatives and see how they were living; if they were of good character, she would acknowledge them and offer help. Second, if she could peacefully reclaim Changbai Prefecture, the strength of the Crescent Kingdom would increase significantly. The 50,000 residents were more than enough, and after another year of building goodwill and a sense of belonging, she believed her main mission would reach 100% completion within two years, allowing her to obtain the Soul-Fixing Array.

Lost in her plans, Wang Keyue arrived at Changbai Prefecture in the spacecraft. Unlike the deserts of the Great Northwest, this region featured vast, endless plains and even dense forests that blocked the horses of northern barbarians. Further east lay the sea. In short, Changbai Prefecture was a fertile land, perfect for growing crops, raising horses, and planting fruit trees.

As they flew over a dense forest, Xiao Bao suddenly expressed confusion in her mind: "Wait, Little Yue'er, there is something wrong with this forest."

"What is it, Xiao Bao?" Wang Keyue leaned over to peer out the side window.

"Something in your inventory is reacting to this place." Xiao Bao said, pulling a scroll from the space—an abstract landscape painting that made it impossible to discern directions.

"This is... a prize from before. It seems to be... a treasure map?" Wang Keyue took the scroll out of the space and examined it closely.

Xiao Hongyu, who had been resting with his eyes closed, was awakened by her voice. He opened his eyes and saw the young girl turning the item over in her hands.

"What is this?" Xiao Hongyu asked.

"I got a treasure map a while ago, and look, it’s reacting now that we’re here! Should we go take a look?" Wang Keyue was eager to try.

Xiao Hongyu took the map and examined it carefully, finding nothing obvious, yet he became quite interested in it himself.

According to Xiao Bao, the map’s instructions were: "Target area reached. Please search for the treasures lost by the former dynasty."

The spacecraft landed in the target area. Wang Keyue stowed it away and deployed a children's toy safety car, which was small, agile, and perfect for navigating through the dense forest.