Chapter 10 - Eight Extension: The Ruined City Beyond the Mountains

Chapter 10: Chapter Eight Extension: The Ruined City Beyond the Mountains

The first thing Lin Yue did after seeing the distant ruins was make a list.

The second thing she did was refuse to go anywhere near them.

Shen Rui stared at her.

"You’re not going?"

"No."

He looked genuinely surprised.

"I thought you wanted to explore."

"I do."

"Then why not go?"

Lin Yue pointed toward the distant mountains.

"Because we don’t know what that is."

"You’ve entered an unknown cave."

"I prepared for the cave."

"You have equipment."

"Yes."

"You have me."

Lin Yue glanced at him.

"That’s debatable."

Shen Rui laughed.

She continued seriously.

"We don’t know how far away that city is, whether the terrain is safe, whether there are animals, whether the ruins are structurally stable, or whether the space has another set of rules there."

Shen Rui nodded.

"That is reasonable."

Lin Yue opened her notebook.

"We’ll survey it first."

"From here?"

"Yes."

She sat beneath a tree and began sketching the landscape.

Mountain.

Lake.

Forest.

Fields.

Cave.

Then the distant ruins.

She estimated direction.

Distance.

Elevation.

Potential water sources.

Possible routes.

She marked everything carefully.

Moon sat beside her.

The silver creature watched the drawing.

Then placed one tiny paw directly on the page.

Lin Yue looked at him.

"No."

Moon blinked.

"You are not eating my map."

Moon withdrew his paw.

Shen Rui smiled.

"He looks offended."

"He has no right."

Moon chirped.

Lin Yue narrowed her eyes.

"Don’t argue with me."

The Survey

They spent the next three days surveying the northern region.

Not entering the ruins.

Just observing.

Lin Yue climbed a hill overlooking the valley.

She recorded the prevailing wind direction.

The vegetation changed as they moved north.

The southern region was fertile.

The northern side was drier.

There were fewer broadleaf plants.

More hardy shrubs.

The soil became rockier.

The stream flowing from the mountains eventually divided.

One branch headed toward the lake.

Another disappeared beneath the northern forest.

Lin Yue marked it.

"Water."

Shen Rui looked at her notebook.

"You really write down everything."

"Yes."

"What if you forget?"

"Then the notebook remembers for me."

He smiled.

"That sounds like something you’d say."

Lin Yue ignored him.

She continued walking.

They found animal tracks.

Small deer.

Wild rabbits.

Several birds.

And something much larger.

Lin Yue crouched.

She studied the impression in the mud.

Shen Rui stopped beside her.

"What is it?"

"Large animal."

"What kind?"

"Can’t tell yet."

She examined the surrounding vegetation.

"It’s moving along the water."

"Dangerous?"

"Possibly."

They changed direction.

Shen Rui nodded approvingly.

"Good decision."

Lin Yue smiled.

"Survival rule."

The Ruins Get Closer

On the fourth day, they reached the northern ridge.

The ruins were much clearer from there.

Lin Yue stared.

It wasn’t a city.

Not exactly.

It appeared to be an ancient settlement.

Stone walls.

Collapsed towers.

A long road.

Several buildings.

And at the center—

a massive circular structure.

Perhaps a fortress.

Perhaps a temple.

Perhaps something else.

Lin Yue lowered her telescope.

Shen Rui looked at her.

"Well?"

She frowned.

"It’s old."

"I gathered that."

"Very old."

"How old?"

"I don’t know."

She looked through the telescope again.

The walls were covered with vegetation.

Trees had grown through buildings.

Several structures had collapsed.

But the central tower remained standing.

And there was something strange about it.

The tower was glowing.

Very faintly.

Golden light.

Lin Yue lowered the telescope.

"The space is reacting to it."

Shen Rui became serious.

"Then we shouldn’t approach."

"Not yet."

The First Rule of Ruins

Lin Yue wrote a new heading in her notebook.

Ruins Exploration Protocol

Underneath, she wrote:

1. Observe from a distance.

2. Identify safe routes.

3. Never enter unstable structures.

4. Never disturb unknown objects.

5. Establish retreat routes.

6. Maintain communication.

7. Record everything.

Shen Rui read the list.

"You have a rule for everything."

"Rules prevent disasters."

"Sometimes rules cause disasters."

"How?"

"People become so focused on following them that they stop thinking."

Lin Yue looked at him.

Then smiled.

"That’s why Rule Eight is important."

"What is Rule Eight?"

She wrote:

8. Think.

Shen Rui laughed.

"Excellent."

The First Discovery

They returned to the ruins the next morning.

This time, Lin Yue brought more equipment.

Rope.

Chalk.

Lanterns.

Food.

Water.

First-aid supplies.

A compass.

A notebook.

A small digging tool.

And a long wooden pole.

Shen Rui looked at the pole.

"What is that for?"

"Checking holes."

He looked toward the ruins.

"There are holes?"

"There are always holes."

They entered through a collapsed section of wall.

The ground was uneven.

Lin Yue moved slowly.

Every step was deliberate.

She checked the stones.

The walls.

The roof.

The floor.

Nothing moved.

They proceeded.

The first building appeared to have been a warehouse.

Inside were broken wooden shelves.

Clay containers.

And several stone storage jars.

Most were empty.

One wasn’t.

Lin Yue approached carefully.

Inside was black powder.

She frowned.

She didn’t touch it.

Shen Rui asked:

"What is it?"

"I don’t know."

She examined it from a distance.

"Could be charcoal."

"Could be?"

"Could be something else."

She closed the lid.

"We leave it alone."

The Old Granary

Further inside, they found something much more interesting.

A large stone building.

The door had collapsed.

Inside were dozens of storage pits.

Lin Yue’s eyes widened.

"A granary."

Shen Rui looked around.

"So?"

"This tells us something."

"What?"

"This settlement stored food in large quantities."

She examined the pits.

The construction was clever.

Raised from the damp ground.

Ventilated.

Protected from rain.

She smiled.

"This design is useful."

"You’re thinking about your farm."

"Always."

She sketched the structure.

Storage capacity.

Ventilation.

Drainage.

Wall thickness.

Access points.

Shen Rui shook his head.

"You’ve discovered an ancient ruin, and you’re studying its grain storage."

"Yes."

"Most people would be looking for treasure."

Lin Yue looked at him.

"Food storage is treasure."

He laughed.

"You’re impossible."

The Stone Tablet

At the back of the granary stood a stone tablet.

Unlike everything else, it was almost perfectly preserved.

Symbols covered its surface.

Lin Yue ran her eyes over them.

"I can’t read this."

Shen Rui examined it.

"Neither can I."

Moon suddenly growled.

Both turned.

The little silver fox was staring at the tablet.

Lin Yue crouched beside him.

"What is it?"

Moon sniffed.

Then placed his paw against one of the symbols.

The stone glowed.

Lin Yue jumped.

Shen Rui immediately reached for her arm.

The entire tablet lit up.

A golden pattern spread across its surface.

Then—

words appeared.

Not in the ancient symbols.

In a language Lin Yue could understand.

THE LAND REMEMBERS THOSE WHO CARE FOR IT.

Lin Yue stared.

Another line appeared.

THE WATER FEEDS THE SOIL.

Another.

THE SOIL FEEDS THE PEOPLE.

Another.

THE PEOPLE PROTECT THE LAND.

Then the light vanished.

Silence returned.

Shen Rui looked at Lin Yue.

"What did it mean?"

Lin Yue’s expression became thoughtful.

"It wasn’t a treasure map."

"What was it?"

She touched the stone.

"A warning."

The Ancient Farming System

The tablet didn’t reveal treasure.

Instead, it revealed something far more valuable.

A system.

The ancient settlement had apparently developed an integrated agricultural network.

Forests protected the upper slopes.

Water flowed through controlled channels.

Terraced fields prevented erosion.

Waste was composted.

Livestock were rotated between grazing areas.

Grain was stored underground.

Seeds were carefully preserved.

Lin Yue stared at the diagrams.

Her heart beat faster.

"This is incredible."

Shen Rui smiled.

"You found your treasure."

"Yes."

She immediately began copying the diagrams.

Some systems were familiar.

Some were surprisingly advanced.

But the principle was the same.

Everything connected.

Forest.

Water.

Soil.

Crops.

Animals.

People.

Waste.

Storage.

Nothing existed independently.

Lin Yue whispered:

"They understood sustainability."

Shen Rui looked at her.

"Can we use these ideas?"

"Some."

"Why only some?"

"Because our environment is different."

She tapped the tablet.

"We shouldn’t copy blindly."

Shen Rui smiled.

"Your rule again?"

"Think."

A Dangerous Shortcut

They found a narrow passage leading deeper into the ruins.

Shen Rui looked inside.

"We could go through there."

Lin Yue examined it.

"No."

"Why?"

"The ceiling."

He looked up.

A large crack ran across the stone.

"Ah."

"And the floor."

He looked down.

Several stones had shifted.

"And the air."

He took a breath.

It smelled stale.

Lin Yue stepped backward.

"Not safe."

They turned away.

Two minutes later—

CRACK!

A section of the passage collapsed.

Dust filled the air.

Shen Rui stared.

Lin Yue folded her arms.

"I told you."

He coughed.

"I wasn’t going to argue."

"Good."

The First Ruin Treasure

Near the edge of the settlement, they discovered a small stone room.

Inside was a collection of objects.

Not gold.

Not jewels.

Tools.

Old agricultural tools.

Hand sickles.

A small plow blade.

Wooden measuring sticks.

Stone weights.

And several sealed clay containers.

Lin Yue carefully examined them.

"These are useful."

Shen Rui laughed.

"Of course you would say that."

She opened one container.

Inside were seeds.

Her eyes widened.

"Seeds."

"How old?"

"I don’t know."

She didn’t touch them.

The container was resealed.

"Don’t plant these yet."

"Why?"

"We need to determine whether they’re viable and whether they’re safe."

Shen Rui nodded.

Lin Yue looked at the containers.

There were perhaps twenty.

Different sizes.

Different markings.

This could be an ancient seed bank.

She smiled.

"Now this is treasure."

The Golden Space Reacts

The moment they left the room, the golden space trembled.

A message appeared.

[Ancient agricultural knowledge discovered.]

[Historical agricultural system identified.]

[Knowledge integration possible.]

Lin Yue stopped.

"What?"

Shen Rui looked at her.

"What’s wrong?"

She quickly composed herself.

"Nothing."

The message continued.

[New development category unlocked.]

[Knowledge Archive.]

Lin Yue’s eyes widened.

A library.

Her dream.

She had memorized thousands of pages in her previous life.

But memory could fade.

Books could be lost.

Knowledge could disappear.

Now the golden space was offering her a place to preserve it.

She smiled.

"Knowledge Archive."

Shen Rui noticed her expression.

"You look happy."

"I am."

"Why?"

"Because I can keep things here."

"What things?"

Lin Yue looked toward the ruins.

"Everything worth remembering."

The Library

When they returned to the golden space, a new structure had appeared.

A small stone building stood beside the workshop.

Lin Yue pushed open the door.

Shelves.

Empty shelves.

Hundreds of them.

She stared.

Shen Rui walked inside.

"A library?"

"Yes."

"Where did it come from?"

Lin Yue smiled.

"The space."

He looked at her.

"You’re going to fill it."

"Every shelf."

"With what?"

"Books."

"Where will you get them?"

Lin Yue’s eyes sparkled.

"That’s the interesting part."

She had knowledge.

But she also knew that knowledge had limits.

She needed practical manuals.

Agriculture.

Medicine.

Construction.

Metallurgy.

Textiles.

Printing.

Accounting.

Water management.

Sanitation.

Animal husbandry.

Forestry.

Navigation.

Food preservation.

Architecture.

Mechanical engineering.

Natural history.

Chemistry.

And more.

Her memory was extensive.

But an encyclopedia was not the same as a working library.

She needed references.

She needed people who could teach.

She needed craftsmen.

And she needed time.

She smiled.

"We’re building a library."

Shen Rui looked at the empty shelves.

"That’s going to take years."

Lin Yue nodded.

"Good."

He looked at her.

"Good?"

"Yes."

She smiled.

"I plan to live here for a long time."

A Little Jealousy

Back at the farm, Qiao’er noticed something immediately.

Lin Yue was smiling.

A lot.

She narrowed her eyes.

"Miss."

"Yes?"

"You seem happy."

"I found something interesting."

"What?"

"Ancient farming knowledge."

Qiao’er blinked.

"That makes you happy?"

"Yes."

She looked suspicious.

"Did Young Master Shen find it with you?"

Lin Yue paused.

"Yes."

Qiao’er smiled knowingly.

"Oh."

"What?"

"Nothing."

"Why are you smiling?"

"Nothing."

Lin Yue stared at her.

Qiao’er suddenly became very interested in the vegetables.

Lin Yue narrowed her eyes.

"You’re becoming just like him."

"Like whom?"

"Shen Rui."

Qiao’er grinned.

"I’ll take that as a compliment."

The Family Dinner

That evening, Lin Yue was invited to dinner again.

This time, more family members were present.

Her father.

Madam Zhao, her stepmother.

Shen Rui.

Two uncles.

Several cousins.

The atmosphere was warmer than usual.

Her father looked toward Lin Yue.

"I heard you discovered something in the northern ruins."

Lin Yue paused.

"How did you know?"

Shen Rui calmly continued eating.

Her father looked at him.

Lin Yue followed his gaze.

"You told him?"

Shen Rui smiled.

"I mentioned the ruins."

Lin Yue narrowed her eyes.

"Traitor."

Madam Zhao laughed.

Her father shook his head.

"Your brother said you found old agricultural records."

"Yes."

"Are they useful?"

"Very."

"What do they contain?"

Lin Yue explained.

Water management.

Storage.

Crop rotation.

Terracing.

Soil conservation.

Waste management.

Her father listened carefully.

When she finished, he said:

"Can you apply them to our estate?"

Lin Yue thought about it.

"Some."

"Would you?"

"Yes."

Her father nodded.

"Then do it."

Lin Yue looked surprised.

"You’re giving me permission?"

"You’ve already been doing it."

He paused.

"I’m merely recognizing it."

For some reason, Lin Yue smiled.

The Smallest Kingdom

Later that night, Lin Yue returned to the eastern courtyard.

She stood beside the field.

The moon illuminated the crops.

Workers’ houses were being planned.

A larger granary would soon be built.

The pond was filling.

The compost was maturing.

The irrigation channels were working.

The chicken population was increasing.

The rabbits had produced—

Lin Yue stopped.

She stared.

There were three baby rabbits.

Tiny.

Soft.

Ridiculously adorable.

Qiao’er squealed.

"Miss!"

Lin Yue crouched.

"Oh."

The babies wriggled beneath their mother.

Moon approached.

He sniffed them.

The mother rabbit immediately thumped her foot.

Moon backed away.

Lin Yue laughed.

"Good."

She looked around.

This place had changed so much.

A few weeks ago, it had been abandoned.

Now it had:

fields,

animals,

workers,

water,

food,

tools,

accounts,

and a growing community.

It wasn’t a kingdom.

Not yet.

But it was the beginning of one.

Lin Yue smiled.

Then the golden space appeared before her.

[Development progress: 27%.]

[Knowledge Archive established.]

[Ancient agricultural knowledge acquired.]

[Ecosystem development: Stable.]

[Next milestone: 30%.]

Lin Yue grinned.

"What happens at thirty?"

The system remained silent.

She crossed her arms.

"You’re becoming annoying."

Moon chirped.

Lin Yue pointed at him.

"Don’t encourage it."

Then she noticed something else.

A final message appeared.

[Warning.]

[Northern ruins are not abandoned.]

Lin Yue froze.

The smile disappeared from her face.

Shen Rui, standing nearby, noticed immediately.

"What happened?"

Lin Yue looked toward the northern mountains.

Her voice became quiet.

"The ruins..."

"What about them?"

"They aren’t empty."

Shen Rui’s expression hardened.

"What did you see?"

"Nothing."

"Then how do you know?"

Lin Yue looked at the golden message.

"I don’t."

She slowly closed her notebook.

"But the space does."

Far beyond the mountains, inside the ruined city—

a faint golden light appeared in the central tower.

Then another.

And another.

One by one, ancient lights began waking.

Something had noticed them.

And it was watching.