"An armory?" Niu You Dao exclaimed in surprise.
Yuan Gang stood up and walked to the windowsill. From there, he retrieved three stones and placed them before Niu You Dao.
These three stones were black, dark-red, and yellow.
Niu You Dao picked up the black stone, held it, and felt its texture. He frowned and said, "Coal?"
He then set it down and picked up the dark-red stone. He examined it closely, then whispered, "Iron ore?"
Yuan Gang nodded. "Correct. It's indeed coal and iron ore. When I was inspecting everything here, I saw children playing with these things. They're constantly found around the village. There are many artisans and blacksmiths in the village."
Niu You Dao understood what he was implying. These materials rarely appear together in the same place. There must be something specific being manufactured here. And given Ning Wang's past, it wasn't hard to guess what they were making.
He put down the iron ore and picked up the yellow stone. He examined it thoroughly, then sniffed it. "Sulfur?"
Yuan Gang nodded. "Children were playing with this too. It's most likely connected to the volcano."
Niu You Dao placed the stone on the table and tapped it. He then mused, "Is it convenient to transport weapons in the mountains?" And then he immediately remembered the underground passage that connected this place to Cang Wu County. He couldn't help but chuckle. "It seems this place is quite interesting!"
The next day, as soon as Niu You Dao opened his door, he saw a silhouette before him. It was Shu Qing. She immediately smiled.
Niu You Dao descended the stairs, and Shu Qing was startled. She noticed that Niu You Dao had already combed his hair. Many thoughts instantly flitted through her mind, but she remained silent.
However, Niu You Dao himself explained, "I need to spend three days calming myself and clearing my thoughts. When I enter secluded cultivation, I must be free from any constraints." He was preparing to enter seclusion and decided to cut such ties with the princess. What kind of impression would it give, a princess coming every morning to braid your hair? Especially after such a long time. People would start to get the wrong idea.
Besides, he had already learned how to tie the knot himself.
"So that's it!" Shu Qing immediately smiled. "That makes sense!"
Niu You Dao looked at her leg. "Princess, have you managed to rest well during this time?"
Shu Qing nodded.
After breakfast, Yuan Gang and Yuan Fang walked alongside Niu You Dao. They strolled through the village. Niu You Dao appeared relaxed. His clothes were loose, his hair flowed down his back. He didn't even carry his sword. Yuan Gang held the sword.
Fields, mulberry trees, and even cabbage growing under the sun's rays, and women working the land.
"What a landscape!" Niu You Dao sighed approvingly, then added, "Bear, what if you were to establish a Southern Mountain Monastery here?"
Yuan Fang answered without hesitation, "No!"
Niu You Dao stopped and turned to him. He asked with a surprised expression, "Such a good place—clean mountains, pleasant weather, a prosperous and abundant land where people won't intrude. Why don't you want it?"
Yuan Fang tilted his head and whispered, "There are too few people here. Who would light incense in this desolate place?"
"It seems you won't be satisfied until people start donating money for incense at your temple," Niu You Dao looked at him with disdain, then turned and continued walking, smiling.
Yuan Gang, who had been silent all this time, spoke up:
"To make the Southern Mountain Monastery renowned, one shouldn't seek a lavish and grand location. In a modest mountain, there can be a renowned immortal; in a shallow lake, there might be a dragon spirit. Only if the abbot himself becomes famous will the temple gain renown. Then, donations will flow in. At that point, perhaps you'll need to seek a place for true tranquility."
Niu You Dao reached out and patted Yuan Fang's shoulder. "Bear, listen to Monkey. There's wisdom in his words."
Yuan Fang froze for a moment, finding Yuan Gang's words profound. He murmured to himself, "In a modest mountain, there can be a renowned immortal; in a shallow lake, there might be a dragon spirit..."
Niu You Dao and Yuan Gang stopped and looked at the motionless Yuan Fang.
Yuan Fang quickly approached them and, with hands pressed in prayer, said excitedly:
"Amitabha Buddha, if not for Lord Yuan's true words, I would still be wandering in darkness!" He bowed deeply as he spoke.
Niu You Dao and Yuan Gang silently exchanged glances, thinking to themselves that this demon was truly a spiritual being.
Yuan Fang, however, humbly added, "Still, establishing a temple here is not good. Even if people wanted to come here, they wouldn't be able to."
The two men turned and walked on. One tries to help, and he still refuses.
The two friends had already noticed that whenever the conversation turned to the temple, Yuan Fang became serious. He truly seemed to want to become an abbot!
They circled the mountain and noticed a rapidly flowing river. The riverbank was quite lively, which caught their attention.
On the bank, someone was carrying a log upstream on their shoulder. In the river, people were floating downstream on logs, sitting on them as if riding horses. Moreover, they held sticks like weapons. These sticks were wrapped in cloth, and the wet cloth made them even heavier. Each person tried to use their stick to knock a person floating nearby into the water.
Even Niu You Dao, who wasn't particularly considered a master of strategy, understood that this was cavalry training. Only, this training was extremely dangerous. Much more dangerous than on horseback. Training on a log required significant strength. It was far harder to stay on a log than on a horse. And then they also had to knock down people floating next to them.
They constantly observed scenes of people falling from the logs, immediately swimming to the bank, then pulling the logs ashore and carrying them upstream.
A sound of a carriage rumbled from behind. The three men turned their heads and saw Meng Shan Ming, who had been brought in a sedan chair. He stopped beside them.
"Their fathers, some were injured, some maimed, some perished. In such turbulent times, they have little opportunity to live in peace... However, after Ning Wang's death, this place won't remain calm for long. Sooner or later, we'll be discovered, which is why the youth are training now. For their own protection, for the young prince!" Meng Shan Ming said with a sigh.
It was not a suitable place for conversation due to the noise, so he waved his hand, inviting everyone. And they followed him along a small path.
Niu You Dao, looking around, asked, "What is this place? Where are we?"
Meng Shan Ming replied, "We are already beyond Qingshan County. One could say we are within the borders of Zhao Kingdom. However, these are vast, inaccessible mountains, and it's dangerous for people to live here. In addition, there are dangerous miasmas everywhere. It would be difficult for outsiders to reach here. Were it not for that secret passage, even the locals would find it hard to leave this place. Even without the noxious vapors, it would still be difficult for an ordinary person to come here. Your master, Mister Dong Guo, specifically came here to scout the situation. He said that for an ordinary person to reach here, at least several months would be required. And we occupy only a very small part of these mountains, like a drop in the ocean. It will be difficult for outsiders to come here. So you can safely enter secluded cultivation!"
Dong Guo Hao Ran was here? He investigated these places? It seems he had close ties with Ning Wang.
Niu You Dao thought to himself. He asked, "Since my master was here, he most likely found methods to get rid of the dangerous miasmas?"
"Indeed!" Meng Shan Ming nodded. "Anyone who has stayed here for a long time knows the keys to all these harmful miasmas and how to deal with them..."
Niu You Dao stood before the cave, his arms hanging, his eyes closed, and silent.
A path had been cleared to this cave over time. Meng Shan Ming pointed out this cave to him and asked if it was suitable. Niu You Dao replied that he would go. So, people had thoroughly prepared and cleaned the cave.
People were stationed around to guard the cave day and night, preventing outsiders from approaching.
Only one person was needed at the cave entrance. Due to the thick walls, a sudden attack by other people could be ruled out.
Niu You Dao had not yet broken through to the Zhu Ji level. He had only read about it in books. Moreover, he didn't have any pills to help him break through the level. Nor did he have the protective environment of sect disciples. Therefore, he had to proceed cautiously and rely only on himself.
Yuan Gang and Yuan Fang emerged from the cave.
Yuan Gang said, "Lord Dao, everything has been thoroughly checked. There shouldn't be any problems."
The two men had checked everything inside several times, not missing a single corner.
Niu You Dao opened his eyes and calmly said, "During this time, I'm counting on the two of you."
Yuan Gang said nothing, while Yuan Fang simply smiled and said, "No problem."
Without another word, Niu You Dao calmly walked inside and disappeared into the darkness of the cave.
Yuan Gang and Yuan Fang immediately lowered the curtain they had prepared beforehand to prevent wind or rain from disturbing Niu You Dao and continued to stand guard at the entrance.
Niu You Dao himself didn't know how long the breakthrough would take. So from this moment on, Yuan Gang and Yuan Fang would take turns standing guard. After a while, they would take turns resting behind the curtain.
Inside the cave, the space wasn't very large. The entrance was small, but the cave itself was quite wide. In the innermost part, an oil lamp sat on the floor.
Approaching it, Niu You Dao sat cross-legged and regulated his breathing. He slowly closed his eyes, and with a flick of his sleeve, a powerful gust of wind extinguished the lamp.
The cave plunged into darkness...