Chapter 17 - Fifteen: The Gates of the Northern City

Chapter 17: Chapter Fifteen: The Gates of the Northern City

The ancient city had opened its gates.

Lin Yue had expected something dramatic.

Perhaps thunder.

Perhaps lightning.

Perhaps some enormous magical beast roaring from the ruins.

Instead—

there was a soft golden glow.

And a very ordinary-looking road.

Lin Yue stood at the foot of the mountain.

She stared at it.

"This is it?"

Shen Rui looked at the enormous stone gates ahead.

"Yes."

"It looks..."

"Old?"

"Abandoned."

"It is abandoned."

Lin Yue frowned.

"Then why did they open the gates?"

"Probably because they want us inside."

"That isn’t reassuring."

"No."

Moon sat beside her boots.

General was perched on Shen Rui’s shoulder.

Lin Yue looked at the rooster.

"You’re not supposed to be here."

General crowed.

Shen Rui sighed.

"He refused to stay."

"He’s a chicken."

"He’s very determined."

Lin Yue rubbed her forehead.

"Fine."

She looked toward the gates.

"Let’s go."

The Ancient Road

The road was unlike anything Lin Yue had ever seen.

Large stone slabs stretched into the distance.

Grass grew between them.

Ancient trees lined both sides.

Their trunks were enormous.

Some were so old that several people would have needed to join hands to surround them.

Lin Yue stopped beside one.

She touched the bark.

"It’s alive."

Han Zhen, who had joined them, nodded.

"Many of these trees are older than our kingdom."

Lin Yue looked upward.

"Then we don’t cut them."

Han Zhen smiled.

"I knew you would say that."

"Why?"

"Because every Keeper’s first question is apparently about trees."

Lin Yue looked pleased.

"Good tradition."

The City Walls

The closer they came, the larger the walls became.

They weren’t made entirely of stone.

Some sections appeared to contain metal.

Others were covered in strange golden lines.

Lin Yue stopped.

"Those aren’t decorations."

Han Zhen nodded.

"No."

"Energy conduits?"

"Perhaps."

She ran her fingers along the surface without touching the glowing section.

"Who built this?"

"The Ancestors."

"That tells me nothing."

Han Zhen smiled.

"You ask too many questions."

"I’ve been told."

He laughed.

The First Gate

The enormous gate opened as they approached.

There was no guard.

No mechanism.

No visible person.

It simply moved.

Slowly.

Silently.

Lin Yue stepped forward.

The moment she crossed the threshold—

the entire city awakened.

Lights appeared along the streets.

One.

Then another.

Then hundreds.

Golden lamps illuminated abandoned buildings.

Fountains began flowing.

Water moved through ancient channels.

Somewhere deep within the city, machinery began turning.

Lin Yue stopped.

Her mouth fell open.

Shen Rui stared.

Even Han Zhen looked overwhelmed.

Lin Yue whispered:

"It wasn’t dead."

Han Zhen shook his head.

"No."

"It was sleeping."

"Yes."

A City Waiting for Its Keeper

They walked through the main avenue.

The buildings were enormous.

Some looked like homes.

Others appeared to be workshops.

There were schools.

Libraries.

Markets.

Public baths.

Water stations.

Warehouses.

Hospitals.

Administrative buildings.

Even what appeared to be a massive agricultural research center.

Lin Yue stopped every few steps.

"This..."

She pointed toward one structure.

"What’s that?"

"Seed preservation."

She immediately changed direction.

Shen Rui grabbed her sleeve.

"No."

She looked at him.

"No?"

"We have somewhere we’re supposed to go."

"But seeds—"

"Later."

She reluctantly continued walking.

Han Zhen smiled.

"She is exactly as described."

The Ancient Agricultural Institute

They eventually reached the central building.

Its doors opened automatically.

Inside were shelves.

Thousands of them.

Many held sealed containers.

Seeds.

Records.

Soil samples.

Tools.

Models.

Charts.

Lin Yue stared.

Her breathing became faster.

This was not a library.

It was an agricultural archive.

A civilization’s accumulated knowledge about food.

Crop varieties.

Plant diseases.

Irrigation.

Soil management.

Climate patterns.

Animal breeding.

Food preservation.

Lin Yue slowly walked toward a shelf.

She found a sealed container.

A symbol appeared.

The golden space responded.

[Ancient crop variety detected.]

[Compatibility: High.]

Lin Yue’s eyes widened.

She reached for it.

The container opened.

Inside was a tiny packet of seeds.

She smiled.

"Beautiful."

Shen Rui looked at the seeds.

"You’re smiling at grains."

"They’re history."

He smiled.

"I know."

The Forgotten Farmers

A projection suddenly appeared.

A woman stood in the center of the room.

She wore simple agricultural clothing.

Her face was calm.

Her hands were stained with soil.

Lin Yue stared.

The projection spoke.

"If you are seeing this, the city has awakened."

Lin Yue froze.

The woman continued.

"The Keeper must understand one thing."

The image changed.

Fields appeared.

Then villages.

Then cities.

Then forests.

Then rivers.

"Civilization begins with food."

Lin Yue listened carefully.

"Food requires land."

"Land requires water."

"Water requires management."

"Management requires knowledge."

"And knowledge requires people willing to preserve it."

The projection faded.

Lin Yue whispered:

"They understood."

Han Zhen nodded.

"They did."

The Previous Keeper

Another door opened.

Han Zhen’s expression changed.

"This is where we should go."

Lin Yue followed.

They entered a smaller chamber.

Unlike the agricultural archive, this room contained almost nothing.

One chair.

One table.

One stone tablet.

And a name.

Lin Yue stared.

KEEPER ARDEN.

She looked at Han Zhen.

"Who was Arden?"

"The last Keeper."

"What happened?"

Han Zhen was silent.

Lin Yue waited.

Finally, he said:

"He wanted to control everything."

Lin Yue looked at the tablet.

"He failed?"

"Yes."

"How?"

"He believed knowledge gave him authority over people."

Lin Yue’s expression hardened.

"And the inheritance?"

"It withdrew."

She nodded slowly.

"Then that’s why the city was abandoned."

"Yes."

Arden’s Final Record

The stone tablet activated.

A man’s voice filled the room.

"I believed I could save civilization."

Lin Yue listened.

"I gathered the best knowledge."

"I controlled the food."

"I controlled the water."

"I controlled the machines."

"I controlled the cities."

His voice became quieter.

"And eventually..."

"I controlled the people."

Lin Yue’s expression changed.

The recording continued.

"I told myself it was necessary."

"I told myself I was protecting them."

"But protection without freedom becomes another form of imprisonment."

The recording ended.

Silence.

Lin Yue stared at the tablet.

Then said:

"He understood too late."

Han Zhen nodded.

"Yes."

The True Purpose of the Inheritance

The room brightened.

The golden system appeared.

[Keeper Archive unlocked.]

[Historical record restored.]

[Previous Keeper’s failure acknowledged.]

Then:

[Core principle revealed.]

Lin Yue waited.

[The Keeper does not rule.]

[The Keeper cultivates.]

[The Keeper does not possess knowledge.]

[The Keeper preserves and shares it.]

[The Keeper does not command the land.]

[The Keeper listens to it.]

Lin Yue closed her eyes.

Everything suddenly became clear.

The golden space wasn’t trying to make her powerful.

It was testing whether she could resist becoming powerful in the wrong way.

She smiled.

"That’s a much harder test."

Shen Rui looked at her.

"Can you pass?"

Lin Yue looked toward him.

"I don’t know."

Then she smiled.

"But I’ll try."

A Hidden Chamber

Moon suddenly growled.

Everyone turned.

The silver fox stood beside a wall.

His nine tails shimmered.

Lin Yue approached.

"What is it?"

Moon touched the wall with one paw.

A hidden door appeared.

Shen Rui stared.

"Your fox found a secret door."

Lin Yue nodded.

"He does that."

Han Zhen looked shocked.

"The Guardian Beast hasn’t opened that chamber in generations."

Lin Yue looked at Moon.

"Show-off."

Moon wagged his tail.

The Workshop Beneath the City

The hidden chamber contained something incredible.

Machines.

Hundreds of them.

Some were broken.

Some were partially functional.

Some appeared almost modern.

There were:

lathes,

presses,

water-powered mechanisms,

gears,

pumps,

grinding machines,

printing equipment,

metalworking tools,

and agricultural machinery.

Lin Yue stood completely still.

Shen Rui looked at her face.

"Oh no."

"What?"

"That expression."

"What expression?"

"The one you get when you see a workshop."

Lin Yue ignored him.

She walked toward a machine.

"Do you know what this is?"

"No."

"A precision lathe."

"What does it do?"

"It allows us to make better parts."

Shen Rui sighed.

"How much better?"

Lin Yue smiled.

"Very much better."

The Machine Problem

Unfortunately, the machines couldn’t simply be switched on.

Most were damaged.

Some needed replacement parts.

Others required fuel or water power.

Several had components made from unknown materials.

Lin Yue examined them.

"We can’t rebuild everything."

Han Zhen nodded.

"Why?"

"Because we don’t have enough skilled workers."

The Guardians looked offended.

Lin Yue continued:

"We need apprentices."

The blacksmith immediately understood.

"Train them."

"Yes."

"And then?"

"Train more."

The carpenter smiled.

"That could take years."

Lin Yue nodded.

"Exactly."

The Ancient Manufacturing Manual

In a side chamber, Lin Yue found a manual.

Not a magical book.

A practical one.

It described how to establish manufacturing in stages.

First:

hand tools.

Then:

simple machines.

Then:

water-powered equipment.

Then:

precision tools.

Then:

standardized parts.

Then:

larger manufacturing systems.

Lin Yue read every page.

Shen Rui watched.

"You’re memorizing it."

"I already remember most of it."

He raised an eyebrow.

"Of course you do."

Lin Yue smiled.

"I read a lot."

"How much?"

"Enough."

"That isn’t an answer."

"It doesn’t need to be."

The Printing Hall

They discovered another enormous chamber.

A printing hall.

Not one press.

Dozens.

Some were mechanical.

Some used wooden blocks.

Others had movable type.

There were ink-making stations.

Paper-processing equipment.

Binding tools.

Storage rooms.

Lin Yue nearly cried.

"This is..."

She looked around.

"A publishing center."

Han Zhen smiled.

"The Ancestors believed knowledge should travel."

Lin Yue nodded.

"They were right."

The First Book of the New Era

Lin Yue immediately had an idea.

She found paper.

Ink.

A working press.

Then she wrote a title.

THE FARMER’S BOOK OF WATER, SOIL, AND SANITATION

She included everything she had learned.

Not secret knowledge.

Not magical secrets.

Practical knowledge.

Simple language.

Illustrations.

Tables.

Instructions.

Warnings.

She printed the first copy.

The press moved.

Paper emerged.

Lin Yue picked it up.

She smiled.

Shen Rui stood beside her.

"You’ve been here less than a day."

"I know."

"And you’ve already started a printing project."

"Yes."

He shook his head.

"I should have expected it."

The Royal Seal

Prince Zhao Mingyuan arrived the next day.

He stared at the printing hall.

"This is enormous."

Lin Yue nodded.

"It could produce thousands of copies."

The prince looked at her.

"Thousands?"

"With enough workers."

He smiled.

"What do you need?"

"Paper."

"Done."

"Ink."

"Done."

"Trained printers."

"I can provide them."

"Distribution."

He nodded.

"Royal roads."

Lin Yue smiled.

"Then we have a plan."

The prince looked at the first printed book.

"What is this?"

"Knowledge."

He opened it.

His expression changed.

"This could change farming."

"Yes."

"How much will you charge?"

Lin Yue thought.

"Enough to cover production."

"And profit?"

"Some."

He smiled.

"Not much."

"Knowledge should be affordable."

The prince nodded.

"I’ll support it."

The Council’s Secret

But not everyone welcomed the discovery.

Far inside the city, three members of the Third Council entered a sealed chamber.

They had followed the group.

They found an ancient console.

One of them activated it.

A projection appeared.

A map of the golden space.

The little farm.

The valley.

The mountains.

The growing settlement.

One council member stared.

"The Keeper is expanding rapidly."

Another nodded.

"She will soon reach the next stage."

"What happens then?"

Silence.

The oldest council member whispered:

"The inheritance will awaken the Central Engine."

Everyone became still.

"What does that mean?"

The old man looked toward the projection.

"It means the Keeper will gain access to the oldest technology."

"And?"

He swallowed.

"If she uses it correctly..."

"What?"

"She could rebuild the ancient civilization."

Silence.

"And if she uses it incorrectly?"

The old man looked at the glowing image of Lin Yue’s farm.

"She could destroy the kingdom."

Lin Yue’s Decision

That evening, Lin Yue stood on the balcony of the ancient agricultural institute.

The entire city glowed beneath her.

For the first time, she understood the scale of what she had inherited.

It wasn’t a farm.

It wasn’t a treasure.

It was a civilization’s unfinished work.

She could use it to create machines.

Improve agriculture.

Build roads.

Purify water.

Print books.

Train engineers.

Improve medicine.

Develop manufacturing.

Build cities.

But she could also create dependence.

Concentrate power.

Create inequality.

Repeat Arden’s mistake.

She looked at Shen Rui.

"I’m afraid."

He stood beside her.

"Good."

She frowned.

"Good?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because someone who isn’t afraid of power probably shouldn’t have it."

Lin Yue smiled.

"You’re surprisingly wise sometimes."

"Sometimes?"

"Don’t push it."

He laughed.

The Central Engine

The golden space suddenly trembled.

Every light in the ancient city turned toward the central tower.

A message appeared.

[Development: 48%.]

Then:

[Major Infrastructure Milestone approaching.]

Lin Yue’s heart began beating faster.

The city beneath her began to glow.

One by one, ancient machines awakened.

Water wheels.

Generators.

Printing presses.

Agricultural systems.

Pumps.

Workshops.

Everything was connected.

Then the central tower opened.

A beam of golden light rose into the sky.

The entire mountain shook.

Lin Yue stared.

"What is that?"

Han Zhen’s voice came from behind her.

"The Central Engine."

"What does it do?"

He looked frightened.

"We don’t know."

The golden system displayed one final message.

[At 50% development, the Central Engine will activate.]

Lin Yue stared at the words.

"How long?"

The system answered.

[Estimated time: 17 days.]

She slowly closed her notebook.

Seventeen days.

She looked toward the farm.

Then the city.

Then the mountains.

There was still much to build.

Much to learn.

And, apparently—

a very old machine waiting to wake up.

Lin Yue smiled.

"Then we have seventeen days."

Shen Rui looked at her.

"For what?"

She picked up her tools.

"To get ready."

And somewhere beneath the ancient city, something enormous began to turn.

For the first time in centuries—

the heart of the forgotten civilization had started beating again.