Free Web NovelChapter 714: Chapter 149: Heaven Truly Helps Me! (Three Updates)
"What if someone launches a surprise attack on the spirit stone mine and we need reinforcements?" Mu Qingge directly questioned.
The Giant Spirit Commander was taken aback, rendered speechless.
It seemed he hadn’t considered this. After a moment, he forced himself to say, "Who would dare act recklessly on our Floating Guest’s territory?"
Mu Qingge shook her head with a slight smile, saying nothing.
When she arrived, she already knew that to avoid conflicts, the three factions previously each dispatched a team to guard the mine, and the rest would have two teams resting in the city. Every half-month, they’d rotate.
This arrangement could be considered quite reasonable.
Mu Qingge didn’t plan to suggest any changes; it was only when she saw the path leading into the Yu Yan Mountain mine filled with brambles and weeds, rendering it barely a path, that she found it problematic.
The mined spirit stones could be transported out using Sumeru Containers, but what about people? If danger arose in the mine, and the city-stationed team needed to urgently assist, this path would become the first obstacle, an accomplice to the enemy.
Digging a road from the mine to outside the mountain could save a lot of time, unexpected happenings, and loss.
In this regard, the other three likely hadn’t thought deeply, or perhaps they were confident enough to believe no one would dare target the Yu Yan Mountain mine.
Mu Qingge didn’t press further, only glancing at Mo Yang, who nodded almost imperceptibly, indicating he understood her meaning.
Change takes time; matters concerning Dragon Teeth are mainly handled by Mo Yang, who will also deal with these three big factions. So the issues Mu Qingge raised today, Mo Yang just needed to remember to bring them up when an opportunity arose.
Travelling on such a path took a whole day to reach near the mine.
Mu Qingge sighed again, thinking that if there were a good road, at least two-thirds of the time could be saved!
"City Lord Mu, here is the Yu Yan Mountain mine." Commander Xuan Yue pointed to a giant hole in the mountainside, speaking to Mu Qingge.
The hole was deep, appearing as pure darkness from the outside. Near the entrance, many miners were busily moving the excavated spirit stones in and out.
The teams from the three Floating Guests were closely watching the miners, preventing them from secretly hiding spirit stones.
"Each time the spirit stones are mined, they’ll be weighed inside the cave and once again outside. If there’s a weight discrepancy, the entire shift of miners will be implicated and punished," the Floating Guest Steward explained.
Mu Qingge raised an eyebrow, acknowledging the strict management indeed.
"Move quickly!" came a shout from afar, drawing everyone’s attention.
They saw a Floating Guest adorned with a Bailian emblem raising a long whip, harshly flogging a miner who had fallen.
The whip landed on the miner’s back, tearing the skin and drawing blood. Yet, the miner dared not utter a complaint, trembling as he got up and quickly moved away.
Mu Qingge’s eyes briefly flashed as she asked, "Where do these miners come from?"
The Floating Guest Steward replied, "Oh, most are citizens from Tianping City. To make a living, they come here to be miners. Some are captives from the three major Floating Guest teams, sent here for labor. The one whipped just now is a Bailian captive."
"Captives?" Mu Qingge was somewhat curious and glanced at Mo Yang. How come Dragon Tooth Guards never mentioned captives?
Mo Yang immediately explained, "In the Floating Guests, some missions are to eradicate mountain bandits and marauders. These malicious individuals, once captured, are generally shackled and used as labor or slaves within the Floating Guest teams."
Mu Qingge nodded to show her understanding.
She also understood why Dragon Teeth had no captives. Because Dragon Teeth seldom took on such missions, and even if they did, they’d kill everyone, leaving no survivors, so naturally, there were no captives.
Regarding the miners, Mu Qingge refrained from offering opinions, thinking it was each person’s choice to make and bear.
After roughly touring outside and taking a glance inside the mine, Mu Qingge understood the status of the spirit stone mine.
Previously, Bai Xi had already told her quite a bit, and now her visit was just a formality.
"City Lord Mu, over there is our camp," Bailian’s Commander pointed at the structures near the mine, built with local materials, speaking to Mu Qingge.
One building was newer, unguarded outside, and had no flags on the walls, seemingly prepared for Dragon Teeth.
Indeed, the Floating Guest Steward quickly walked to the front of the building and bowed to Mu Qingge and Mo Yang, saying, "City Lord Mu, Commander Mo, this is the newly constructed camp for Dragon Teeth. Its layout is the same as the other three, with room sizes and interior setups all identical."
Mo Yang looked at Mu Qingge, seemingly leaving everything for her decision.
Mu Qingge tilted her chin, saying, "Let’s go inside and take a look." As soon as she spoke, the Dragon Tooth Guards behind her immediately proceeded into the camp.
The remaining two stood at the door like iron spears, upright and vertical.
The others followed Jing Hai inside for a quick inspection.
Their movements seemed to be honed through countless trainings. The professional demeanor of the Dragon Tooth Guards left Xuan Yue, Bailian, the Giant Spirit Commanders, and the Floating Guest Steward all astounded.
By the time they entered with Mu Qingge, the Dragon Tooth Guards, who had gone ahead, were already stationed at key points within the camp.
Jing Hai returned to Mu Qingge and reported, "Instructor, we’ve completed the inspection. However, there’s no place for daily training." freewёbnoνel.com
Mu Qingge gave an almost imperceptible nod and looked at the Floating Guest Steward. The latter understood and cautiously asked, "Uh, may I know what requirements Dragon Teeth have for this daily training ground?"
Meanwhile, thoughts arose in his heart.
The Floating Guests watching over the mine needed only to report for duty daily, so why was training necessary?
Not only was he puzzled, but even the other three leaders wore confused expressions. As Floating Guests, aside from mission tasks, they indulged in leisure and pleasure, self-discipline in cultivation was individual, but training grounds weren’t established even in their respective cities.
"Jing Hai will inform you," Mu Qingge said to the steward.
With that, she walked into the building, and Mo Yang followed closely behind.
Commander Xuan Yue and the others didn’t immediately follow. He looked at Mu Qingge’s back thoughtfully, "It seems with Dragon Teeth moving in, we’ll learn how they usually operate."
The Giant Spirit Commander snorted indifferently, "I see it as pretentious."
That night, Mu Qingge didn’t return to Tianping City but stayed directly in Yu Yan Mountain. The other three commanders, unable to endure the mountain solitude and lacking a beauty companion like Mu Qingge, returned to Tianping City before dark.
"When you return to Luoxing City, deploy some Dragon Hidden Army here for garrison duty. Divide them into three teams, each having one Dragon Teeth," Mu Qingge instructed, tapping her fingers on the table to Mo Yang.
"Yes, Little Lord," Mo Yang replied.
Mu Qingge thought for a moment and then said, "Don’t just keep your flying beasts idle, make sure to let them move when needed. They’ve all turned into balls; if you don’t want to let them go, they won’t even know how to fly."
Mo Yang’s face turned red, and he nodded quietly.
Everyone’s flying beast is a treasure at heart, usually well cared for and rarely ridden.
After discussing matters regarding Dragon Teeth with Mo Yang, he said, "Young Lord, we’re stationed here and train daily. Aren’t we afraid of being watched by the other three families?"
"Afraid of what," Mu Qingge said carelessly, "This training isn’t some secret that can’t be disclosed; its value lies in persistence. If they watch and can mimic that persistence, it’s their own fortune. I’m not so petty as to hide such trivial things."
Mo Yang nodded, saying to Mu Qingge, "It was my own pettiness."
Mu Qingge laughed and teased, "You really have become tight-fisted, how did I not notice before?"
Mo Yang smiled but did not speak.
He didn’t want to explain to Mu Qingge; anything related to her, he wanted to carefully hide, keeping it away from prying eyes.
...
That night, Mu Qingge finished her cultivation and, feeling sleepless, took Hou and Bai Xi into the depths of Yu Yan Mountain for a casual walk.
Before they knew it, they had walked into a canyon.
The canyon was flanked by steep cliffs, towering as if reaching the skies. In the middle, a meandering shallow river flowed, its smoothly polished stones clearly visible.
Following that little river deeper in, Mu Qingge suddenly sniffed and exclaimed, "Where does this medicinal scent come from?"
The faint aroma mixed in the mountain night breeze was indeed the scent of medicinal herbs. As a Divine Level Alchemist, Mu Qingge was naturally sensitive and familiar with these scents.
Thus, she smelled it, but her two companions felt nothing.
"There’s no medicinal scent around?" Bai Xi sniffed hard yet still smelled nothing.
She looked at Hou, who haughtily said, "Don’t look at me; I’m not an alchemist, can’t tell if there’s the scent of herbs."
Mu Qingge ignored the two and, with a thought, walked towards the direction the scent was coming from.
Bai Xi and Hou had no choice but to follow her, moving deeper into the canyon.
The deeper they walked, the wider the canyon became, and the shallow river gradually deepened. The sound of flowing water filled their ears.
Mu Qingge kept sniffing; the scent grew ever stronger.
She could even distinguish the aroma of certain herbs, knowing what they were.
After walking a bit more, Mu Qingge suddenly stopped.
Bai Xi and Hou quickly halted as well. However, the surrounding scenery in their eyes seemed no different from other places, full of wild grass?
But in Mu Qingge’s eyes, a burst of delight emerged. fɾeeweɓnѳveɭ.com
She suddenly walked briskly forward, exclaiming, "Didn’t expect a casual stroll to bring such fortune. This place is perfect for cultivating medicinal herbs!"
Saying this, she floated across to the other side of the shallow river, standing in front of a patch of lush ’wild grass’, and crouched down.
In the moonlight, Bai Xi saw Mu Qingge’s actions and could not help but ask in astonishment, "Are those all medicinal herbs?"
This was a question Hou couldn’t answer.
He only recognized some precious herbs beneficial to himself, not like Mu Qingge who understood tens of thousands, even millions, of herbs.
The two were about to move over when Mu Qingge suddenly said, "Don’t come over, or you’ll ruin this field of excellent medicinal herbs."
Hou grinned, seemingly dissatisfied with Mu Qingge’s distaste. He gave a haughty snort, turned forward, found a cozy spot by the river, and laid down.
Bai Xi remained by the shore, asking Mu Qingge, "Are there many herbs?"
Mu Qingge nodded joyfully, then suddenly realized that Bai Xi couldn’t see her nod while she crouched here. So she said aloud, "Indeed, there are at least a hundred types, all hundreds, if not thousands, of years old, very precious."
After speaking, she ignored Bai Xi and began to carefully collect them.
"Hundred-year-old Turtle and Snake Grass!"
"Zhifu Flower!"
"Nine-striped Grass!"
"Zhulingshu..."
Mu Qingge quickly categorized the herbs, calculating in her mind. Though not exactly rare, these herbs stood out due to their long cultivation, making their efficacy incomparable to ordinary counterparts.
As an alchemist, she truly felt like she was picking up money on a walk!
Mu Qingge continued collecting while moving forward; the further she walked, the more precious the herbs became, thrilling her as if she’d struck gold!
Gradually, Mu Qingge’s figure disappeared from Bai Xi’s sight.
Her eyes showed a bit of urgency, wanting to follow but fearing she might disturb Mu Qingge.
Hou opened a slit in his eye, glanced at her, and said, "Little Snake, don’t worry excessively. Within a hundred-mile radius, I’ve got my eyes on it; the girl won’t face any danger."
Hou’s words calmed Bai Xi considerably.
Since the incident with Mu Qingge at Cold Inch, everyone around her had become overly concerned about her safety.
"There’s even Vermilion Fruit!" Mu Qingge saw the red fruits on a tree, excitedly quickening her pace. "Vermilion Fruit is a natural elixir; eating the first one cleanses the bone marrow. Subsequent ones enhance spiritual power further!"
Without much hesitation, Mu Qingge took a jade box from her space and cautiously picked those Vermilion Fruits, placing them into the box.
Once she picked the fruits, she lifted her eyes and noticed in the cracks of rocks on the other side, tiny grass threads like hair or wriggling worms swaying in the wind.
Seeing this grass, her clear eyes suddenly narrowed!
