Chapter 103
Chapter 103
After making their preparations, Xiao Che and Xiao Jinghao left the valley behind Jin Bao with several Shadow Guards.
Using the map in her mind, Jin Bao showed Xiao Che the location of the nearest nomadic tribe.
They were camped inside a cave a hundred li to the northwest. According to her map, the settlement belonged to the Cannibal Tribe.
“Daddy, that tribe is the Cannibal Tribe. You and Third Brother have to be careful, okay? They eat people.”
Xiao Che fondly rubbed Jin Bao’s furry hat. “Don’t worry. We have the Shadow Guards with us. The Cannibal Tribe is no match for us. If they are willing to trade, all the better. If they refuse and try to attack us, neither Daddy nor your Third Brother will let them off.”
Jin Bao waved a small hand in farewell.
Old Han placed her on the sled.
He held a sheet of sheepskin and a charcoal pencil.
He drew every place they passed on the sheepskin scroll.
Jin Bao watched with great curiosity.
“Grandpa Han, what are all those wiggly lines you’re drawing?”
Old Han held the sheepskin scroll in front of her.
“This shows the places we just passed. It’s called a topographic map. Look here. This triangle marks the location of Black Pine Valley. The lines around the triangle represent the terrain. For example, the mountain we just crossed slopes gradually downward, so the shape of the lines descends as well.”
Jin Bao was extremely clever and understood his meaning at once.
“Then does this tall part mean the ground goes up?”
“That’s right. The Young Miss is truly intelligent. One explanation is all you need.”
Jin Bao blinked thoughtfully.
“Grandpa Han, your map doesn’t look like Baby’s.”
Tilting her little head, Jin Bao pointed at her own mind.
Old Han had already learned that Jin Bao could see the mountains and rivers throughout Black Pine Forest, so he was not surprised.
“Then what does the map in your mind look like, Young Miss?”
Jin Bao thought for a moment, then took Old Han’s sheepskin scroll and charcoal pencil.
“Baby’s map doesn’t look like this. Mountains look like mountains, and trees look like trees. Baby can see animals and people too, and caves, and big birdies in the sky.”
As she spoke, Jin Bao swiftly added several strokes to the section Old Han had just drawn, somehow transforming the simple lines into three-dimensional mountain ranges.
Old Han was astonished.
“Young Miss, your drawing looks so real! This method is incredibly lifelike.”
Old Han had never studied art. All his records relied on his own imagination, so he had created a unique system of notation by himself.
The mountains Jin Bao had just drawn were much clearer and easier to understand than his.
Back in the orphanage, drawing had been Jin Bao’s favorite activity, and she had possessed considerable talent for it.
But after the apocalypse arrived, she no longer had the chance to draw.
Now, the map in her mind could shrink into a simplified version. All she had to do was copy what she saw on it.
Her lines might be somewhat childish, but they were still much easier to recognize than Old Han’s.
“Grandpa Han, did Baby draw it well?”
Jin Bao beamed at the map in her hands. Being praised felt wonderful.
She still remembered how thin and small she had been in kindergarten in her previous life. The older children were always bullying her.
One of them had even torn up a picture she had worked so hard to finish.
The child had thrown the paper in her face and called her an idiot, saying her drawing was ugly and utterly embarrassing.
After the apocalypse came, all those children had been bitten to death by zombies.
The memories left a dull ache in Jin Bao’s heart. Fortunately, she now had many family members who loved her and treasured her like a precious jewel.
“Your drawing is far better than mine, Young Miss. If we draw the entire map this way, the Valley Master will understand the terrain around Black Pine Valley much more easily, and it will be simpler to plan our defenses.”
Jin Bao nodded. “Okay! Then Baby will draw it.”
She lowered her head, her expression utterly serious as she copied the simplified map from her mind one stroke at a time.
The map could be enlarged or reduced. Jin Bao copied only the area within fifty li of Black Pine Valley.
It was a major undertaking that could not be completed in just a few days.
With Jin Bao helping him, Old Han no longer needed to struggle with drawing the map, but he still had to survey the terrain in person to complete the Valley Master’s assignment.
After all, there would always be some differences between a map and the actual terrain.
Old Han put away the sheepskin scroll, then took Jin Bao through the forest, playing with her as they went.
“Ah! Grandpa Han, look! A silly roe deer!”
Jin Bao had learned to recognize many animals over the course of their journey, including roe deer.
Several zhang ahead of them, one was pawing through the snow in search of food.
“Hold on tight, Young Miss. Grandpa will take you to catch it!”
Jin Bao could have run over and caught the roe deer herself, but she preferred gliding through the snow on the sled. She especially loved reaching a slope and hurtling down it. The sensation flushed her little face with excitement, and her bright laughter echoed endlessly through the forest.
Startled, the roe deer kicked up its hooves and bolted deeper into the woods.
“Come on, Grandpa Han! The silly thing is running away! Hurry and catch it!”
Old Han chuckled, tugged the reins, and sent the reindeer racing after it.
In the blink of an eye, the roe deer vanished from sight.
Having lost its target, the reindeer began turning in circles.
Jin Bao could see the direction in which the roe deer had fled on the map in her mind.
“Deerie, go! Over there!”
Jin Bao pointed in one direction, and Old Han hurriedly steered the reindeer after it.
But as the reindeer crossed a hollow, all four of its legs suddenly plunged into the snow. Its entire body thrashed as it struggled to free itself.
The sled carrying Jin Bao and Old Han overturned behind it.
The two of them rolled down the slope together.
“Young Miss, are you hurt?”
Old Han struggled out of a deep pocket of snow.
Jin Bao wriggled clumsily in another hollow, her entire body covered in fur. She looked so adorable that words could hardly describe it.
Old Han waded through the snow to Jin Bao’s side and plucked the tiny girl out.
“Grandpa Han, Baby’s fine. It’s just… Baby’s clothes are too thick. Baby couldn’t roll over.”
Old Han burst into laughter. She was right about that. The snow was already soft, leaving her nothing to push against. No wonder Jin Bao had been unable to move for so long.
Old Han brushed the flecks of snow from Jin Bao’s clothes before setting her back down.
The sun had climbed high into the sky and shone directly into the hollow where they stood.
There were few trees here, and a steep cliff rose along one side.
The cliff instantly caught Jin Bao’s attention.
“Grandpa Han, look! Pretty rocks. They’re red!”
Jin Bao excitedly pointed at the cliff face and shouted.
At the same time, an image appeared before her eyes. A muscular, bronze-skinned man was forging iron. His upper body was bare, and he held a hammer in one hand, striking the red-hot lump of iron before him again and again.
Crimson flames blazed in the furnace.
Jin Bao stood frozen, staring at the vision. “Iron?” she murmured. “The red stuff is iron?”
Old Han followed the direction of her finger. Under the sunlight, the cliff face was exceptionally clear.
At first, Old Han was merely curious. Once he saw it clearly, however, he grew so excited that he swept Jin Bao into his arms, tossed her into the air, and caught her securely.
“Young Miss, you truly are Black Pine Valley’s Little Lucky Star! That red cliff may well be an exposed iron deposit.”
Jin Bao did not understand how important iron ore was to them now, but she loved being tossed high into the air.
“Baby’s flying again!”