I am the Ruler of the Kingdom of Mysterious-Chapter 292 - 256: Arrangements

When Sang Que returned to the bandit lair, the sky was just beginning to lighten. Before entering the cave, she already heard suppressed sobs outside.

"Sister, don’t leave me, sister—"

Upon entering, she indeed saw the younger sister, Wan He, lying by the bedside. The elder sister, Wan Yun, on the bed, had already stopped breathing.

Two other young women stood not far off, also quietly wiping tears. During their time trapped in the bandit lair, it was always the eldest, Wan Yun, who stood in front of them whenever the bandits came.

The ransom, Zhang Junyao, sighed silently, feeling a heavy heart.

Sang Que was also helpless in this matter. It was too late to save her. Wan Yun’s body was extremely weak and simply couldn’t withstand it.

Sang Que walked to the bedside, wanting to try if the upgraded Yansheng coin had the power to bring the dead back to life. After trying, she found out it couldn’t; the deceased couldn’t be saved.

"If you want to take your sister back to your hometown, I can send you there," Sang Que said to the younger sister, Wan He.

Wan He shook her head while holding Wan Yun’s already cold hand. "We can’t go back anymore, and even if we did, no one would want us."

With that, Wan He turned and knelt at Sang Que’s feet, "Heroine, you saved my life. I am willing to serve by your side for the rest of my life to repay you. I have nowhere else to go except here."

Wan He lay on the ground, sobbing. The two young women beside her also knelt, similarly pleading for Sang Que to keep them.

"Stand up, all of you."

Sang Que spoke, and the three women felt their hearts sink, thinking Sang Que didn’t want to keep them.

"Don’t just kneel and bow all the time. I don’t like such things. You can stay, but I can’t always be around to protect you. You must learn self-protection. If you’re willing to endure hardship, I can teach you martial arts."

"Though I am now in charge of this lair, we don’t support idleness here. I’m perfectly capable and don’t need people to serve me. Think carefully about what you can do here, what you want to do, and give me an answer when you’ve thought it through."

After speaking, Sang Que glanced at the lifeless Wan Yun on the bed.

"I’ll instruct Ruan Shichun outside. Once you’re ready, let him take you to bury your sister."

For ordinary people’s burials, the procedure is to burn before burial. Sang Que didn’t need to spell this out; the locals knew better than she did.

Although Sang Que had decided to try reanimating corpses, she couldn’t use the bodies of others’ relatives.

Someone came to deliver breakfast outside. After eating at home, Sang Que let Wan He and the others eat by themselves.

As she was about to leave, Zhang Junyao called out to Sang Que.

"Heroine, could I ask you to escort me to the nearest Pu’an County? Name your price; once I find my family’s trading house in the city, we can pay whatever is needed."

After last night’s events, Zhang Junyao knew Sang Que was formidable. With no servants left, going home alone could mean getting kidnapped again before reaching home.

Sang Que glanced at Zhang Junyao. She had long known through Ghost Eye that Zhang Junyao’s family ran a sizeable trading house. Sang Que needed a business partner to help her smuggle some goods in the future.

"Yes, but I have to first settle matters in the lair. You may have to wait a few days."

Zhang Junyao felt a bit apprehensive but had no other choice now.

Sang Que instructed Ruan Shichun to gather all the bandits in the meeting hall again to inquire about the basic current state of the lair.

The food stores inside the lair weren’t much, barely enough for fifty people to eat for a month. Counting the silver privately hoarded by Ruan Shichun father and son, there were only 140 taels. They originally planned on exchanging Zhang Junyao for a large amount of food and money.

The seeds needed for spring planting hadn’t been bought, and the mountain had just thawed, with no wasteland cultivated yet.

The lair had carpenters and blacksmiths, as well as a few craftsmen who could build houses. Apart from Ruan Shichun, only Sun Sheng and his father were literate. The latter two were the only carpenters in the lair; Sun Sheng’s father had learned some basic words while apprenticing in the county in his youth.

Sang Que recorded the things to purchase and tasks to accomplish in her little notebook. She then established rules for all the bandits, asking Ruan Shichun to start organizing the bandits to cut wood and cultivate the wasteland.

During the day, Sang Que planned first to survey various terrains around Jinfeng Mountain to decide where to build a town next. She would map out the arable land, places for corpse cultivation, and various work station locations.

A route for escape had to be planned at the rear of the mountain to prevent future siege situations where they couldn’t get out.

This town in Jinfeng Mountain wouldn’t be too large, just enough for basic production and survival. Her mother was right; if given the opportunity in the future, it was still essential to expand outward.

Jinfeng Mountain could hide soldiers and serve as her secret base for corpse cultivation and her logistics base for manufacturing weapons.

Having witnessed Sang Que’s methods and knowing the existence of the Ghost Slave Seal, all the bandits dared not act out. They all obediently turned into farmers and woodcutters, busy in the mountains.

When Sang Que was preparing to survey the terrain, Zhang Junyao, fearing being alone in the bandit village, wished to go along with her. Staying by Sang Que’s side gave her a sense of security. The image of Sang Que saving her at the critical moment last night was deeply ingrained in her mind.

"Can you draw maps?" Sang Que asked.

Zhang Junyao paused. She hadn’t drawn maps before, but since childhood, she had dabbled in piano, chess, calligraphy, and painting. She had also seen many maps in her brother’s study, including those of the Xuan Dynasty, Tibet, and maritime areas.

Though she might not draw excellently, she could manage some basics.

Zhang Junyao nodded, "I can!"

Sang Que slung a roll of white cloth over her back, took Zhang Junyao, and instantly teleported to a nearby high mountain, overlooking the earth and their lair below.

"I didn’t expect Jinfeng Mountain to look like a phoenix from above."

Zhang Junyao was drawn by the beautiful scenery. It was her first time climbing a mountain this high.

The lush greenery, vaporous clouds, and upright, towering high mountains evoked a sense of heroism in Zhang Junyao, giving her a tangible understanding of grandeur.

In such times, ordinary people like Zhang Junyao never had a chance to climb high and enjoy the view. She couldn’t help but look at Sang Que beside her, unable to suppress the admiration and envy in her eyes.

"Start drawing from this side. Just make sure to outline the basic terrain clearly, and then we’ll go elsewhere," Sang Que instructed, handing over the white cloth and ink to Zhang Junyao. She turned and scanned the woods.

There were some unclean things in the woods. The Yin Child was eager to prove herself lately, so Sang Que released her to hunt and kill the wandering Evil Spirits in the forest.

After finding a relatively flat rock, Zhang Junyao quickly began sketching.

While drawing, she asked, "Were you a bandit before?"

"No." 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

"Then do you plan to stay here as a bandit forever? You’re so capable. Why not join the Evil Suppression Bureau?"

Sang Que felt a bit awkward, "I like my freedom. What’s your dream?"

Not wanting to keep answering questions about herself, she redirected the question.

Zhang Junyao smiled, "I want to be like my brother, doing business everywhere, spreading our family trading business throughout the Xuan Dynasty, letting everyone know that women can be as good as men."

Sang Que leaned against the tree with her arms folded, nodding slightly without a word.

Zhang Junyao, thinking Sang Que didn’t agree like her family, continued, "Even the Evil Suppression Bureau has female officials now. Our Prime Minister has been striving to give women across the world a chance to stand out. I believe that the age where women can only marry and give birth should end!"

"You know, there’s a very impressive female night wanderer in the Evil Suppression Bureau of Wangshan City, renowned in Qinzhou. Her deeds have spread even to Jinzhou. I came out from home, motivated by her story, intending to make an effort. But then..."

Sang Que raised an eyebrow. Zhang Junyao had been held captive for three days, and only seven days had passed since the events in Wangshan City. The news spread too quickly.

No wonder she showed no signs of losing control after advancing to Ghost Level. Her Heart Lamp was probably formidable now.

As she was pondering, Sang Que suddenly saw movement in the woods; quite a few people were heading toward her lair.

Sang Que relaxed her arms and smiled; they had arrived just in time.

"You keep drawing. I’ll be right back; she will protect you."

"Hey! Wait!"

Zhang Junyao couldn’t hold her back as Sang Que disappeared from her spot. Turning her head, she saw a dark, verdant little girl with crimson ghost eyes in the deep forest staring at her, showing her what she thought was a friendly, yet terrifying, smile.

Gulp!

Zhang Junyao swallowed hard, on the verge of tears from fear.