His eyes and thoughts remained fixed on Zhu Fa's slip. Despite having little information or context to work with—like searching for a needle in a haystack—Yang Qing moved to one of the shelves in his office and pulled out a scroll. He carried it back to his desk with a focused expression.
Wearing an attentive look, he removed the scroll from its tube and spread it across the table. It was a map.
"The Turtle Lapis Lazuli Empire should be around here…" Yang Qing murmured thoughtfully. Using his right index finger, he traced diagonally across the map, scanning intently until his finger stopped at the southwestern portion.
His gaze lit up as it landed on a spot a few centimeters away from where his finger rested. "There it is!"
"Hmm, I wonder if there's anything interesting nearby…" he muttered, deep in contemplation. A faint golden light suddenly enveloped three of his fingers—his index, middle, and thumb.
