The return journey was relatively easy, and the three traveled at a rapid pace. As they approached Tianyuan City, Jiang Wen was somewhat surprised to find Jiang Wenji waiting for them at the city gate.
"How did you know we were coming back?" Jiang Wen asked.
"It told me," Jiang Wenji said with a smile, pointing to the eagle in the sky, hidden among the clouds.
"I see," Jiang Wen said, taking out a roll of bamboo slips from his pouch and handing it to Jiang Wenji. "I have fulfilled my mission."
Jiang Wenji took the bamboo slips and examined them closely. After a long while, she chuckled softly, "You deserve much credit for securing the alliance with Nanqi. I thought you wouldn't come back."
"Why?" Jiang Wen asked, curious.
"Because I know you are a Nanqi native. Having returned to Nanqi, why would you come to my poor, desolate place?" Jiang Wenji said. Although she spoke calmly, Jiang Wen could still see the hint of a smile she couldn't suppress. He couldn't help but feel that this former county princess, now a ruler, was still just a young girl at heart. It's just that she has more identities than ordinary people.
"I wonder what the current situation in Tianyuan is like?"
"Why don't you go in and see for yourself? I've specially reserved a nice house for you."
"Then I must thank City Lord Jiang."
Amidst their laughter, the group entered Tianyuan City. It was indeed much larger than before, and even the city walls had been reinforced and rebuilt, making them even taller.
There were still many traces of damage and repair on the city walls, indicating that it had suffered attacks from fierce beasts after he left.
The number of people in the city was clearly much larger than before, bustling and lively, with a hint of a later-era atmosphere. The buildings were neatly arranged according to Jiang Wen's instructions, and even various areas had been designated.
"Thanks to the urban planning you helped me with back then, I can now safely control this city on the frontier. Look at this residential area; it's where my subordinates from Li City live. They've all moved to Tianyuan now and will belong solely to me from now on," Jiang Wenji introduced the city's scenery to Jiang Wen. Compared to before he left, Tianyuan could indeed be considered a metropolis now.
"Tianyuan now has 12,000 households, totaling over 420,000 people. Many are scattered tribes from the surrounding areas who moved to Tianyuan City because of attacks from foreign races," Jiang Wen understood the current scale of Tianyuan after hearing her words. Such a large number of people would be considered a metropolis even in Daqian, let alone now. It could be said that Tianyuan City's siphon effect would only grow stronger, and more and more people would come to settle here in the future.
After all, the larger the metropolis, the safer it is. The more people there are, the more prosperous it becomes. People like prosperity and yearn for prosperous scenes.
Seeing the merchant stalls that had already appeared, as well as the various shops with hieroglyphic signs, Jiang Wen sighed that even the people of ancient times were not much different from later generations in terms of wisdom. It was only differences in understanding that led to the differences in their lives compared to later generations. But it was precisely because they came step by step that the appearance of later generations came to be.
"My Marquis, what do you think of me?" Jiang Wenji asked.
"A ruler should have the bearing of an emperor," Jiang Wen thought of this sentence and spoke it out.
Jiang Wenji was stunned for a moment after hearing this, then laughed heartily.
The two no longer talked about it, simply looking at the surrounding street scenes along the way. Finally, they walked to the top of the city wall, gazing at the setting sun in the distance. Jiang Wenji softly said, "When I first met you, I thought I had encountered an evil cultivator. But I never expected that you would be the one to save me. Now that Tianyuan stands here, you are still helping me. My ministers betrayed me, my guards abandoned me, and only you are willing to continue following me."
"If I could pluck the stars from the sky, they would surely be yours."
Jiang Wenji looked at Jiang Wen with gentle eyes. Amidst his astonished expression, she grabbed his hand and opened it. She placed an extremely exquisite piece of white jade in his palm, then turned and left.
In the breeze of the evening, only a short sentence was left behind: "As long as I am not dead, you will always be my most important minister."
Jiang Wen looked at the slightly hot white jade in his palm, standing there in contemplation for a long time. He didn't understand why Jiang Wenji would suddenly say these words, as if she were saying goodbye to him.
Returning to the residence Jiang Wenji had prepared for him, it was a rather large manor. It was built with bluestone and wooden planks and painted a bright red color. It looked spacious and exquisite, much better than before.
There were also slaves cleaning in the house. According to them, they were half-demon descendants with somewhat auspicious appearances. Jiang Wen remembered that he had joked with Jiang Wenji about auspicious appearances being good, and Jiang Wenji had even asked what auspicious appearances meant. He never expected that she would actually find a few for him to use as servants.
After instructing the few things in the house, Jiang Wen went inside to rest. Later, Xiu Qi arrived, and Jiang Wen called Xue over as well. He taught the two of them the Tai Shen Mystic Technique and instructed them to practice diligently in the future.
Jiang Wen stayed in Tianyuan for a long time this time. Spring and winter alternated, and unknowingly, several years had passed.
His cultivation once again stepped onto the path of refining Qi into Divinity, even gaining a deeper understanding than last time. Without the help of the divine statue, he had a few more insights after embarking on the Golden Core path again.
Although his current cultivation was not as good as before, his foundation was solid, but he didn't have as many magical treasures.
During this period, Jiang Wen published some more books and also created paper. When he saw the first piece of paper barely come into being, he almost couldn't hold back. Others' time-travel inventions were simple, but it took him so long to make paper, which was really embarrassing.
However, once the right path was found, it would be much easier to follow. Paper quickly became a bestseller in Tianyuan City and was even sold throughout Taicang, becoming a unique specialty of Tianyuan.
After organizing the books, Jiang Wen looked out the window. It was already the summer season, and everything was lush and green. Children's laughter never stopped, and various flying beasts came and went in the sky.
Occupying the canyon pass that divides the plains, Tianyuan City's location was uniquely advantageous. The north and south were divided by huge mountains, and travelers could only pass through the Tianyuan City pass. This was the only way to the old lands and the only entrance to Taicang from the old lands.
Merchants trading back and forth were continuous, and even many foreign races were hidden among them. Jiang Wen and Jiang Wenji were both aware of this. But they did not break the unspoken rule. As long as these foreign races did not cause trouble, Tianyuan City welcomed all friendly people.
It was precisely because of this that Tianyuan City had a complex population, with countless tribes. Some rare tribal people were even difficult to see in the Taicang capital.
Jiang Wen's expression became serious, and he looked at Xue, who had rushed over, and asked, "What happened?"
"Senior Brother, Senior Brother, he's dying."
