The establishment of the Celestial Dynasty began with the bestowal of the title upon the River God.

Guan Tian and Liu Zhi watched as Shangguan led the woman into the official residence. Once they entered the main room, they both looked at Li Erhu and asked, "Who is that?"

Li Erhu chuckled, "You have to call her sister-in-law."

"That horse..."

"Wait."

Li Yi pulled Zhang Junyi into the west room, and only then did he seem to realize that their hands were clasped together. He hurriedly let go and said:

"Did you receive the letter?"

Zhang Junyi looked around the room and hummed in agreement. "Didn't Yi-ge'er say that my parents miss Junyi?"

Li Yi chuckled twice. "What was the meaning of you stopping Liu Zhi just now?"

Zhang Junyi found a chair and sat down, saying softly:

"Although I don't know the whole story, I've heard something—it seems that Yi-ge'er is highly respected by the junior officers here?"

Li Yi smiled faintly and said, "I suppose so."

"Since that's the case, if Brother Yi has no grudge against them, why not go with the flow? It's just borrowing a horse once, which can be considered as setting up a connection between the two sides. The other party won't ask for anything more."

Li Yi glanced at the sky and readily agreed, "Junyi is right. We still have to go to the commander's mansion to receive orders this morning. Why don't we go into the city together? I'll go to the Zhang residence to find you after I finish my shift."

A hint of worry flashed across Zhang Junyi's face, but Li Yi didn't notice. She smiled and said, "Brother Yi, just go ahead. Otherwise, I'll have to find a horse for my daughter."

The commander's order is not a piece of paper; if it is delayed, there will be punishment.

Li Yi didn't mince words. After giving a few instructions, he went out of the house, mounted his horse, and disappeared into the territory of the Hundred Households Office with the sound of hooves.

Zhang Junyi got up and looked around again. In the west room, besides a cotton quilt, a set of eight-immortal table and chairs, and a wardrobe, there was only a handwritten copy of the "Thousand Character Classic" on the bedside table.

It seems that Yi-ge'er has not neglected literacy.

The young woman, completely oblivious to being a guest, opened each of the closet drawers and cabinet doors, her brows slightly furrowed.

"What a boorish man. He only has one set of clothes to change into, which was probably distributed by the garrison."

Zhang Junyi gave a soft scolding, picked up the clothes and sniffed them. There was no sweaty smell, so he put them back. Looking at the other items, he found several dozen taels of silver and two cultivation manuals hidden in the closet, namely "Life-Refining Body Method" and "Jiamu Shengyang Collection".

Although the most crucial method of circulating qi is not recorded, these items are not ordinary objects. If they fall into the hands of ordinary people, it is not necessarily an opportunity. At the very least, they can be resold for hundreds or thousands of taels of silver. They are just left in the closet, attracting the envy of others.

Zhang Junyi raised his sleeve and gestured, storing the two manuals into his spiritual acupoint. Considering what was missing in the room, he murmured:

"We should go into town to buy two sets of clothes and some Blood Qi Pills—Yi-ge'er hasn't been in the army long, so he probably doesn't have much savings, and I don't know if his meat supply can keep up with his cultivation speed..."

She went out of the west room and rummaged through the table in the central hall. Suddenly, she saw the door to the east room open and said with a smile:

"Sister-in-law, you must be the wife of the local deity?" Zhang Junyi's gaze shifted downwards, and she saw a little girl with a topknot. She bent down and took out a fairy doll from her sleeve. "A gift for meeting you."

Just then, Qin saw Li Yi, unable to hide his joy, pull the man into the room and say with a smile:

"My sister must be Yi-ge'er's wife. They are a perfect match, a match made in heaven."

Zhang Junyi lowered her head slightly, hiding the blush on her face.

Qin pulled the girl to sit on either side of the table, and began to recount with smiles the events that had transpired since Li Yi entered the manor. After half a day, the two were like close friends, talking about everything.

It wasn't until nearly noon that Zhang Junyi bid farewell to Qin Shi and returned to the Zhang residence in the city.

The gatekeeper recognized the visitor and hurriedly went forward to greet her, inviting the young lady into his home. The servants in the mansion ran around telling everyone, and before the young lady even reached the main hall, Madam Zhang rushed over to greet her, took her daughter's arm, and led her into the bedroom.

"What decree has been issued for Qishan?"

Zhang Junyi gently shook his head. "My sister Gongsun sent a letter saying that Qifeng County is about to raise an army, so I came to see my mother."

This matter was no secret among the officials in the prefecture. As the head of the household affairs department, Zhang Ling was well aware of the population changes and would have known about it even earlier.

Although the rank of the Sihu Canjun (司户参官) was only equal to that of the Xiaoqi Guan (小旗官), the difference in their powers and responsibilities was enormous.

Upon learning that her daughter no longer needed to do that tedious work of slaying demons and monsters, Madam Zhang breathed a sigh of relief, instructed the servants to prepare a meal, and gently stroked her daughter's hand, saying:

"Don't worry, with Lord Xu here, Qifeng County won't descend into chaos. Your father's been going to bed late these past few days, so he should stay home and cultivate diligently..."

Before her mother could finish speaking, Zhang Junyi shook her head and said:

"My daughter will stay in Sanyi Village for the time being to take care of Yi-ge'er. He will be going to war with the army soon, and then my daughter will come home to be with her mother."

Zhang's face was full of worry. "You just got back, shouldn't you see your father first?"

Zhang Junyi slightly curled the corners of her lips and said reproachfully, "There's no rush."

Zhang sighed and stopped trying to persuade her.

The matter of Zhang Lingbao has long been settled. He was buried with his mother, which can be considered as giving Zhang Junyi some closure.

Just as Zhang Ling acted decisively when he learned of his legitimate daughter's death from his illegitimate son.

This is something no one can easily let go of, let alone Zhang Junyi, who was sold into the deep mountains.

Without Li Yi, she might have died like Qiao'er on some ordinary night, at the hands of some man.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Let's go back to half a day ago.

Li Erhu gripped Li Yi's sides with both hands, hesitated several times before finally unable to suppress his curiosity and asked:

"So my sister-in-law is also from Qifeng County? I thought Yi-ge'er had sent her away on the orders of the River God."

Since Li Erhu was already Li Yi's close follower, he would find out sooner or later. So the latter stopped hiding it and gave a general account of the cause and effect, leaving Li Erhu stunned.

Guan Tian and Liu Zhi followed closely behind on horseback, also marveling at the sight, and couldn't help but feel disgusted with Li Family Village.

Such a heinous village, yet it is blessed by the gods; Heaven truly has no eyes.

These words lingered in their minds, but they dared not say them to Li Erhu's face.

While the group was talking, they unknowingly arrived outside the commander's mansion. Many soldiers gathered at both ends of the road and, guided by the gatekeeper, proceeded to the drill ground.

Many soldiers stood in formation, while Li Yi and his group of four were at the very end.

Li Erhu stood on tiptoe to look around and whispered, "Wasn't it said that the garrison was only supposed to have a hundred men? It seems like there are more than that now, doesn't it?"

No one responded; few whispered among the entire queue, all wearing solemn expressions.

A quarter of an hour later, it seemed that everyone had arrived, and the messenger from yesterday followed behind his superior and stepped into the drill ground.

"Each squad leader and captain must take inventory of their own soldiers, and report any absences immediately."

The messenger paced back and forth, and when the time came, he announced loudly:

"For this expedition, the garrison will select one hundred scouts to form a squad. You are all elites, but to win this honor, you will have to see your own abilities."