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Shan Liang's POV
The morning air was crisp, smelling of thawed earth and pine sap. Sunlight dappled the muddy path as Shan Liang and Xie E stepped beyond the last familiar huts of their settlement. Behind them, people waved and called blessings; ahead lay a winding road through the unknown.
As they walked, a thought that had been bothering Shan Liang since yesterday's events surfaced.
System, she asked silently, how can Xie E access you? You said I was your sole host.
The golden text appeared before her eyes without hesitation.
[Explanation: Human designated "Xie E" has been assessed as a highly compatible auxiliary unit. He is projected to become your lifelong partner and mate. His loyalty level toward Host: 100%.]
[During observation in previous tasks, Xie E demonstrated a crucial role in task completion, providing physical protection, logistical support, and morale stability. To optimize long-term mission success, the System has established a "Node Link" connection to him. Through this link, he may receive mission objectives, access relevant knowledge modules, and report progress directly, while remaining under Host's primary authority.]
Shan Liang blinked in surprise, glancing sideways at him. Xie E was scanning the treeline with his usual quiet focus, but a faint glimmer in his eyes told her he had received some kind of notification as well.
"So," she murmured with a small smile, "you're officially my partner in this… according to a god's will."
He shrugged, but his lips curved. "I didn't need a god to tell me I'd stick with you."
The path they took wound through valleys where ice still clung to shadows, then up ridges where sunlight spilled freely. Birds called overhead, tentative at first after winter's silence, then in joyous bursts. Along the way, they visited smaller settlements—some barely more than a few huts around a firepit.
Shan Liang's role was clear: she spoke to elders about fertile lands, nearby rivers, and defensible terrain. She asked if they knew of unused fields or abandoned villages with structures that could be rebuilt.
Xie E's task was different. He watched the young hunters and warriors, assessing their strength, discipline, and temperament. Sometimes he sparred with them under the pretext of friendly matches, testing their reflexes.
Three days into the journey, they reached a larger riverside settlement. The water here flowed deep and wide, its surface shimmering with reflected light. Children chased each other along the banks while older villagers worked on crude fishing rafts.
"This river could feed hundreds," Shan Liang murmured. "With irrigation, even more."
She spoke with the local headman, an elderly woman whose weathered hands clutched a carved walking stick. The woman pointed upstream. "There's a plateau two days' walk north, flat as a table and rich with black soil. But no one lives there now—it's too exposed to raids."
Later, when they sat by the fire, Shan Liang shared the location with the System.
[Potential Site Noted.]
[Advantages: fertile soil, easy access to water source, high agricultural output potential.]
[Disadvantages: exposed location increases risk of raids; defensive structures required.]
She frowned. "So it's good, but dangerous."
Xie E glanced up from sharpening his spear. "Danger just means I'll need to recruit faster."
The next week became a rhythm: travel, assess, talk to people, mark possible locations. Shan Liang grew skilled at reading the land—how the curve of a valley could shelter crops from wind, how the angle of sunlight might lengthen a growing season.
Meanwhile, Xie E began finding fighters. His standards were high: not just strength, but discipline and a willingness to protect others, not dominate them. In one village, he found a young woman who moved with the grace of a hunting cat, using a spear almost as tall as herself. In another, a scarred man who had once been a caravan guard before an injury forced him to stay near home. Both agreed to join after hearing the purpose.
One evening, as they camped in a forest clearing, Shan Liang spoke to the System again.
How will we know the right place when we see it?
[The ideal site will meet three primary conditions:]
[1. Agricultural sustainability — year-round or seasonal abundance sufficient for large population.]
[2. Defensive viability — natural barriers or ease of fortification.]
[3. Strategic position — central enough to become a hub for surrounding settlements, yet remote enough to avoid frequent conflicts in early stages.]
Shan Liang leaned back against a log, staring at the stars. The enormity of the task pressed on her. This wouldn't just be another village—it would be the heart of a civilization's future.
Beside her, Xie E kept watch, the firelight glinting off his spearhead. She realized that while she sought a place for knowledge to grow, he was quietly gathering the roots of its defense.
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