Mofan was hoping to solve Jiang Xia's problem through the Dongfang Clan. To his surprise, the Dongfang Clan had a grudge against Jiang Xia too.
"I do know someone in Hangzhou's government. I'll ask him what's the deal with the tax. If it doesn't make any sense, we can get rid of it," Mo Fan said.
"I'll leave it to you then. As for the matter you mentioned, I'll think of something for you too. The Dongfang Clan has a few elders that Jiang Xia is willing to give face to," Dongfang Lie said.
The only person Mofan was familiar with in Hangzhou was none other than Councilman Zhu Meng. Even though Zhu Meng was from the Imperial Palace, he had expanded his network in Hangzhou after the plague. As for the matter related to the iron mine, he would be able to find the answer if he asked around.
Coincidentally, Zhu Meng happened to be in Hangzhou. Mofan went straight to his place. There was no need to be courteous with him.
…
Zhu Meng opened the door. He was still wearing his pajamas when he realized there were ladies in his house. He awkwardly led them into the living room and changed his clothes.
"Why did you shave your beard? I feel like you look more dignified with a beard. You look like you've just been released from prison …" Mofan joked when he saw Zhu Meng's change.
"Pfft, everyone is saying that I've become younger. You're the only one that doesn't know how to talk. Tell me, what kind of trouble did you get yourself into this time? "Zhu Meng asked.
"Are you familiar with an old man called Jiang Xia?" Mofan went straight to the point.
"Jiang Xia? You can say that I'm familiar with him. We're both Councilmen. We've seen each other a lot during the meeting. Even though he's retired, there's still an endless stream of people asking him for help. Did you offend him? Why do you always look for trouble with these troublemakers? I'm telling you, Jiang Xia is a lot more senior than me. If he wants to harm you, I won't be able to protect you, "Zhu Meng said.
"I just want to ask him something," Mofan said.
Mofan immediately told him about his search for the Tree of Vows.
"I see … I don't think there's anything wrong with the person you're looking for. I heard that Senior Lu Yi and Jiang Xia were the ones who found the Tree of Vows, but I know Jiang Xia quite well. He's like a businessman. He never does things that are meaningless to him. He'll try his best to turn everything he has into benefits," Zhu Meng said.
"Ah? Doesn't that mean I have no chance at all? If there's no other way, I'll ask the Black Totem Snake to tie Jiang Xia up and interrogate him. I really need a Totem Source Energy. If this high level Totem blocks me again, I will be killed by those enemies I provoked in the past! "Mofan said.
The Essence Orb had yet to be filled, and the power of the Demonic Element was dormant. Mo Fan was feeling very uncertain. He had been courting death a lot lately, and he was afraid that he would die on the way!
"Wow, if you do that, he's going to turn your Fanxue Mountain upside down! There's nothing wrong with his personality. He's a businessman, after all. He's willing to let go of his personal grudges as long as it's beneficial to him. You don't have any grudges against him in the past. The people of the Lu Clan only purposely spread rumors to him to make him hold a grudge against you. If you can offer him something valuable, he'll be more than willing to tell you about the Tree of Vows and the taxes, "Zhu Meng said.
"So you're trying to cater to his interests?" Dongfang Lie said.
"Something like that. He's more than willing to accept anything that can bring him benefits," Zhu Meng said.
"Is he interested in pretty girls? I have a little beauty with European ancestry …" Mofan said.
"Ugh … she's already so old, stop fooling around." Zhu Meng glanced at little Apas awkwardly. This Mo Fan really knew how to say all kinds of nonsense!
"Money, I don't have it," Mofan said.
As usual, Mo Fan was in need of money. He could easily squander it no matter how much money he was given!
"You've come to the right place today. I happen to know what Jiang Xia has been worrying about lately. Dongfang Lie, didn't you pay a heavy tax when you bought the Rock Iron Ores? "Zhu Meng said.
"Exactly!" Dongfang Lie said angrily.
"Well, I'm familiar with the Rock Iron Ores. It's a kind of rock that's formed when the islands of the Thousand Islands Lake are connected to the lake. It's called the Rock Iron because it's rusty brown in color. There are more than a hundred islands in the Thousand Island Lake that are slightly larger in size. They are surrounded by these Iron Rocks. After collecting them and smelting them, they can be used as raw materials for some defensive equipment … "Zhu Meng drank his tea as he talked about the Iron Ore.
"Let's not talk too much about it. I don't really care," Mofan interrupted.
"Fine, fine. The Thousand Islands Lake is now considered a semi-safe zone under Councilman Jiang Xia's jurisdiction. Every year, the Thousand Islands Lake will provide the government with a rare material other than the Rock Iron Ores. We call it the Dam Rock, since it can be used to build dams, lakes, and even sea dams, "Zhu Meng said.
"Dam Rock?" Mu Ningxue had obviously heard of the material before.
"HAHA, Fanxue Mountain must be in desperate need of the Dam Rock. It's hard to get even with a thousand gold coins. The Rock Iron Ores are considered impurities compared to the Dam Rock. It's up to Jiang Xia to decide if he wants to sell it or not, "Zhu Meng said.
"What's the Dam Rock for?" Mofan asked.
"The Dam Rock is similar to the Earth Pistil. It's an Elemental Rock that contains a tremendous amount of energy. As you can see, Pudong is being submerged by the sea. A long dam has been built on the Huangpu River to prevent the water from rising any further. It's impossible to build such a long dam with only builders. Besides, the Dam Rock is no different from foam to Warrior-level and Commander-level creatures. The Dam Rock is used to provide the dam with the power of the Earth Element. It's able to strengthen the dam by injecting energy into it. It can also make it more flexible, allowing it to repair itself quickly if it's damaged. It's no longer a lifeless wall, "Ling Ling said.
Most demon beasts had strong bodies. Warrior-level creatures could easily reach a height of a few dozen meters with a single leap. Therefore, the walls that were over ten meters or twenty meters tall that ordinary people saw were no different from small mounds in their eyes.
The Dam Rock was magical. Not only could it transform the walls with the Earth Element to stop the demon creatures from crossing it, it was sturdier than ordinary rocks, too!
"Didn't the East Maritime Fortress in Tokyo have two tall dams? One is a short one, while the other is a tall one. No matter how many demon creatures there are, they won't be able to cross the tall dams because the tall dams are made of Dam Rock. It's like a powerful magic formation. It's also the reason why Tokyo is still safe even after so many battles. A complete Dam Rock is equivalent to a city, "Mu Ningxue said.
The Dam Rock was a kind of Earth Pistil. The Earth Pistil was a barrier that encapsulated an area and marked every demon creature within its range. If a city inland was built with the same God Rock, it was basically safe to erect it. The Dam Rock's function was slightly weaker. It could only form a dam wall to stop the enemy from crossing it. However, it was also a great protection for many cities along the coastline!
"For some reason, a new species of demon creatures has appeared in the Thousand Islands Lake. They're called the Salamander Demons. Originally, the formation of Rock Iron and Dam Stones was a rather complicated natural reaction. It was due to the gentle ripples of the lake water sending some floating substances to the edge of the island. After coming into contact with the island stones with fine holes, the particles would slowly adhere to the island. Every year, the amount of Rock Iron and Dam Stones produced by the hundred or so islands of the Thousand Island Lake was rather limited. Some Earth Mages were required to collect them every day before dawn. However, the Salamander Demons need the floating particles too. They have absorbed the Rock Iron and the Dam Rock. These Salamander Demons aren't that difficult to eliminate at first, but for some reason, they have suddenly become indestructible. It's extremely difficult to kill them, "Zhu Meng said.
"Are these Salamander Demons able to convert the energy contained in the Rock Iron and the Dam Rock into their own shells?" Mofan asked.
"Mm, that's basically it. Jiang Xia didn't treat these Salamander Demons seriously at first, but now, it's even harder to eliminate them! Besides, as you know, if the Salamander Demons don't have a natural predator, they will destroy the resources and the environment around them like a plague or a plague of locusts. Jiang Xia has broken a lot of things because of this. If you can help him solve the problem, he will bring you to the Tree of Vows himself. He won't even have any problem finding the Deer God! "Zhu Meng said.
"No wonder, no wonder he added some kind of ecological disaster tax to the Rock Iron. The price is insane!" Dongfang Lie said.
"Mm, if he can't get the Dam Rock, he won't be able to make the Dam Rock. He has enough Rock Iron in his warehouse to build a town. He will surely raise the price of the Rock Iron. Otherwise, where is he going to find the money to deal with the problem?" Zhu Meng said.
"Alright, I thought Jiang Xia was purposely picking on us," Dongfang Lie said.
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