With Ye Chang officially out of the picture, a massive, suffocating weight was lifted off my shoulders.
For the first time since waking up in this magical world, I could finally breathe.
Now, I had room to execute the rest of my plans.
After finishing school, we would go directly to Xinxia’s house to play with her.
A few weeks passed, and Xinxia finally stabilized due to our constant presence and support.
I knew from reading the novel that Ye Chang had placed protective magic on her, so I never really worried about her physical safety.
By the time she turned twenty, she would be safely tucked away in the Parthenon as their Goddess, surrounded by Super-tier security.
After spending the next four months mapping the Western District, I focused my attention on the final piece of the puzzle: the Northern District.
The Northern District was where the Mu Family Manor was situated.
I didn’t need to be overly cautious; any adult seeing me exploring the area would just think I was a kid playing a game.
During our semester break, I casually proposed the idea of playing at Mu Bai’s house.
He eagerly accepted.
With our entire group tagging along, we entered the Mu Family Manor.
To say it was luxurious would be an understatement.
I had never seen a house built like a literal palace in my past life, so I was genuinely surprised by the sheer scale of it.
Seeing my awestruck expression, Mu Bai let out a soft chuckle, his signature smug face instantly returning.
Since my eidetic memory practically made me a certified prodigy, I was always at the top of our class, with him perpetually stuck in second place.
Because of that, he usually kept his ego in check around me.
But seeing me gawk at his family’s manor gave him the perfect excuse to act superior.
Every time I saw that smug look, I had a strong urge to smack him, but I kept my hands to myself, repeatedly chanting in my head, ‘He’s still a child.
He’s still a child.’
The Mu Family Manor wasn’t just a house; it was a sprawling, opulent fortress.
High walls, wrought iron gates, and private security mages patrolling the perimeter.
If the Dark Beast Monsters breached the city, this place would hold out the longest, but it was also a massive target.
We were walking past a massive hedge maze when we stumbled into a clearing.
Standing by a pristine fountain was a girl our age.
She had striking silver hair, porcelain skin, and an aura so naturally cold and aloof it felt like she was physically lowering the temperature of the courtyard.
Beside her sat a beautiful, calm woman reading a book.
Given their striking similarities, I could confidently deduce they were mother and daughter.
When we neared the fountain, they turned toward us.
Mu Bai immediately stepped up to the lady and politely introduced our group, conveniently leaving Mo Fan out.
I guessed that due to his father(Mo Fan’s), sometimes he would visit this mansion.
Even though Mu Bai had introduced me, I stepped forward and delivered my own introduction, weaponizing my passive title.
“Hello, kind lady.
I am Zhang Xiaohou.
I live in the Southern District.”
Mu Xueyan turned to me with a kind smile.
“Hello, Xiaohou.
Aren’t you a polite child?”
“Thank you, ma’am,” I replied.
Mu Xueyan smiled and gestured around.
“You can all play in the garden, but please don’t pluck any of the flowers, okay?”
The entire group simultaneously chimed in, “Okay, ma’am!”
“Good.
You may go play,” she replied.
I thought she might send her daughter to play with us, especially since the girl was constantly staring at Mo Fan, but that didn’t happen.
After we retreated to the garden, I nudged Mo Fan.
“Did you notice the Mu princess staring at you the whole time I was talking to that lady?”
“We were friends before she left for the Ancient Capital to study,” Mo Fan muttered.
“Because of my dad’s work, I’ve basically lived on the manor grounds and played with her since we were one.”
Oh, so that’s the childhood lore, I thought.
We continued to play for a while before I suggested exploring the outer grounds of the manor.
Mu Bai, eager to show off, smugly led the way.
Even though we were allowed in the gardens, the inside of the main house was strictly off limits.
Still, over the course of the semester holidays, I managed to fully map out the exterior of the estate.
The only thing left to complete my cognitive map of Bo City was the rest of the Northern District.
I was so thorough I even memorized where the potholes were.
Two months later, I had memorized every street, alley, and emergency exit in Bo City.
It was time to put it on paper.
This was when I experienced the art failure again.
I had a crystal clear map in my eidetic memory, but my hands lacked the physical skill to transfer it to paper.
After several botched attempts, I swallowed my pride and started practicing basic drawing skills every single day to manually level it up.
Meanwhile, I breezed through my first year of primary school without a hitch, finishing at the absolute top of the class.
During the one month school holiday, I stopped hanging out with Mo Fan.
Since I had already memorized all of Bo City, I dedicated my entire break to increasing my proficiency in martial arts.
Thanks to my intense focus, the skill leveled up within the first ten days of the holiday.
But after that, no matter how many times I repeated my forms or punched the air, the progress bar completely froze.
> [Martial Arts: Lv.
5]
I had hit my first true bottleneck.
It seemed I could only progress so far through self taught repetition without a proper instructor.
The seasons cycled through their familiar rhythm, and a full year evaporated.
Honestly, for a full year, not much changed.
My [Martial Arts] skill remained firmly stuck at Level 5, but my drawing practice had paid off immensely.
> [Drawing: Lv.
19]
I finally finished my master map of Bo City, securing it in a locked drawer in my wardrobe for safekeeping.
I also used the skill to paint portraits for my parents and grandma for their birthdays and anniversaries.
They were delighted, but not overly shocked; they had spent my entire childhood being surprised by my intellect, so they basically just accepted whatever genius thing I did at this point.
During this time, I broached the subject of getting a laptop again.
My father stared at me seriously for a few seconds before sighing.
“I need to save up money for it, Xiaohou.
I promise I’ll buy you one when you turn ten.”
I hugged him.
“Thank you, Dad.
You’re the best.” Then, I retreated to my room.
I was currently eight years old.
That meant I had to wait two more years to get my hands on a computer.
Because technology in this world relied heavily on magical power sources rather than standard electricity, running a cyber cafe was insanely expensive.
In fact, there wasn’t a single one operating in Bo City.
If I wanted to dive into programming and finance, I simply had to wait.
So, in the meantime, I focused on improving my other useful skills.
To be continued…