Chapter 109: Their Plan

Wang Keyue glanced down at the tea and suddenly remembered there was one important task yet to be completed. She took Xiao Hongyu and returned once more to the large jujube tree in the center of the village.

“What’s up?” Xiao Hongyu asked, puzzled.

“I forgot something really good,” Wang Keyue said mysteriously.

She was preparing to place the ancient well, a reward obtained from the system space last time, right there.

The process of setting it up caused quite a bit of trembling, but fortunately, by now the villagers were accustomed to such minor tremors and no longer found them unusual.

In less than fifteen minutes, an ancient well appeared beneath the jujube tree. Cool spring water began bubbling up within.

Xiao Hongyu, curious, hurriedly dropped his wooden bucket, scooped up a bucket of the clear water, cupped some in his hands, and drank deeply.

Without even wiping the water from the corners of his mouth, he exclaimed, “This is truly good water—refreshing and sweet!”

Afterwards, his deep brown eyes fixed unwaveringly on Wang Keyue.

To her surprise, she saw a profound sense of grievance in those eyes.

“Master~~” This cheap apprentice actually dared to use such a coaxing, puppy-like voice to entice her! An uncle might endure, but a wife cannot!

“Xiao Hongyu! Speak properly!” Wang Keyue said, goosebumps rising all over her.

“Master, how about this: from now on, my camp becomes the second branch of your sect?” Xiao Hongyu said solemnly, as if having made a firm decision.

Wang Keyue was both amused and exasperated. She fully understood Xiao Hongyu’s intention—it was simply envy sparked by today’s scene.

But she was glad he expressed it openly, rather than scheming in secret.

In fact, even if Xiao Hongyu hadn’t mentioned it, she had planned to improve and build up his military camp once back tomorrow.

Although the camp’s infrastructure was still lacking, there were many valuable items in the system space.

“Don’t worry, Master will never shortchange you. Once today’s work is done, we’ll head back,” Wang Keyue smiled.

As for Xiao Hongyu’s offhand suggestion of a second branch for the sect, she didn’t take it to heart.

While they busied themselves with the ancient well, a large crowd gathered again. To Wang Keyue’s surprise, the villagers’ reaction to the flowing well was even more enthusiastic than to the previous construction improvements.

The system space’s gratitude meter soared exponentially.

After finishing the well, Wang Keyue went to the Wang family ancestral hall, which now looked grander than ever—three stories tall, with the plaque bearing the four characters “Wang Family Ancestral Hall” shining brilliantly.

By family rule, outsiders were forbidden to enter the hall, but now all Wang family members knew well that the Immortal Master was no outsider.

The two entered smoothly. Inside, the decoration remained as before; it seemed only the exterior had been renovated.

Behind the ancestral tablets was a compass. Without hesitation, Wang Keyue took out the energy stone in front of Xiao Hongyu.

The stone glowed purple-blue, small enough to fit in half a palm, shaped irregularly.

Following Xiao Bao’s instructions, Wang Keyue placed the energy stone inside the compass. After closing the lid, the previously dim light of the compass flared brightly.

As the guardian of the ancestral hall and overseer of the compass, Jin Yi finally felt a weight lift from his heart upon seeing the dazzling glow.

With this defensive compass, the village’s safety was assured. Now, with the compass fully recharged, it was as if the Wang village had been saved once more.

For days, Jin Yi had anxiously watched the compass’s light fade and the white mist thin, growing more and more worried.

After completing all these tasks and storing some of the supplies in the warehouse, Wang Keyue and Xiao Hongyu bid farewell to the villagers.

Amidst their stunned gazes, they boarded the flying carriage.

The carriage slowly ascended, disappearing swiftly into the distance under the awed eyes of all.

“What a true immortal!” everyone breathed out a long sigh.

***

After another day and night of travel, the two had slept in the carriage and made a brief stop at noon the next day to address hygiene needs, but no further stops were made.

This time returning to the camp, Wang Keyue’s main purpose was to solve the army’s water supply issues, and to check on the recovery of the five hundred wounded soldiers.

If their rehabilitation went well, she planned to relocate them to the Prosperity Manor and buy up the hundred-mile stretch of barren land around it to begin cultivation.

“Xiaoyue, I’ve seriously considered the mission you mentioned before. A county with a population of fifty thousand is about the size of Beiping County now. I think we can directly replace the current Beiping County Lord! After all, I’m originally the legitimate son and rightful heir of the Beiping County Lord. Once I inherit the title, I’ll fake my death and hand the county over to you. Hmm, this plan is simply flawless!” Xiao Hongyu rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

“If that doesn’t seem right, we could also take Changbai County. Then merge the two counties, and a large county of this scale would certainly have no population issues,” he continued analyzing.

Wang Keyue felt shamefully tempted. Compared to her own hard work with uncertain outcomes, Xiao Hongyu’s proposal sounded far more secure.

Yet something still felt off.

“Xiao Bao, what do you think of Xiao Hongyu’s proposal? I can’t shake the feeling it’s a bit like cheating,” Wang Keyue said, not understanding, and asked Xiao Bao directly.

Xiao Bao’s expression was serious as it analyzed: “Generally, mission takers can’t complete tasks as easily as Xiao Hongyu suggests. Think about it—Xiao Hongyu is essentially a bug. Without this bug, the original Xiao Yu wouldn’t have been able to help you like this. If you want to establish a county here, you’d have to fight the Xiao clan. But now, this Xiao Hongyu is your ally; your goals and interests align. Actually, his proposal isn’t bad.”

“Xiao Bao, are you serious?” Wang Keyue felt as if she were the favored child of heaven.

“After analysis, I believe this approach is feasible. As long as you don’t do anything immoral or unethical, and stay within the system’s controllable range, it meets the system’s requirements,” Xiao Bao affirmed once more.

Seeing Wang Keyue lost in thought, Xiao Hongyu beside her looked somewhat helpless. He believed his plan was perfect, seamless even. Whether to execute it was Wang Keyue’s decision.

But no matter what she chose, he would support her without reservation, solving all troubles before her and holding up the sky behind her.

Le Wen