"Ordnance?" Niu Youdao raised his head in surprise.
Yuan Gang turned and walked towards the windowsill. He took out a few stones that were placed on the windowsill and placed them on the table in front of Niu Youdao.
There were three stones of different shapes. One was black, one was dark red, and the last one was yellow.
Niu Youdao took the black stone and examined it. When he touched it, he realized that his fingers had turned black. He frowned and said, "Coal?"
He put it down and picked up the dark red stone. After examining it carefully, he muttered, "Iron ore?"
Yuan Gang nodded. "Yes, it's coal and iron ore. I saw the children playing with them when I was in the village. These two things shouldn't have appeared in the village at the same time by coincidence. Also, the hands of some people in the village seem to be the hands of blacksmiths who are often exposed to high temperatures. There should be quite a number of blacksmiths. "
Niu Youdao understood what he meant. It was unusual for these two things to appear in the same place. They had the foundation to make ironware. Why would a village that lived in seclusion need so many blacksmiths to make ironware? Combined with King Ning's background in the military, the answer was obvious. Making armaments!
Putting down the iron ore in his hand, Niu Youdao picked up the yellow stone and examined it carefully. After examining it carefully, he put it in front of his nose and sniffed it. "Sulfur?"
Yuan Gang nodded. "It's also used by children to play with. This should be related to the volcano."
Putting down the things in his hand, Niu Youdao's fingers lightly tapped on the table. He revealed a thoughtful expression. Was it convenient to make a large number of armaments in this deep mountain? He thought of the underground river that could lead to the villa in Canglu County. It might even lead to the estuary. He could not help but chuckle. "It seems like this village has really put in a lot of effort!"
The next day, when Niu Youdao opened the door, he saw a familiar figure again. He exchanged glances with Shang Shuqing outside and smiled.
Niu Youdao walked down the stairs. Shang Shuqing was stunned for a moment. He realized that Niu Youdao's hair was casually tied up behind his back. He had returned to his original casual hairstyle.
She had a lot of thoughts in her mind, so she remained silent.
It was Niu Youdao who took the initiative to explain, "I want to spend three days to calm my mind, relax myself, and get rid of all distracting thoughts. I don't want to be restrained during this period of time." He planned to take advantage of this closed-door training period to stop this woman from combing his hair for him, so that he would not be able to refuse her kindness. What was the point of always asking a princess to comb his hair for him? After a long time, a man and a woman would not be able to communicate clearly, and it might cause misunderstandings.
Another thing was that he now knew how to tie his hair up and how to look at it.
So that was how it was! Shang Shuqing smiled and said, "Alright!"
Niu Youdao looked at her feet. "Princess, you should rest more for the time being."
Shang Shuqing nodded.
After breakfast, Yuan Gang and Yuan Fang followed behind Niu Youdao and strolled around the village.
Niu Youdao indeed looked relaxed. His clothes were not tied at his waist, and his long hair hung down his back. He did not even carry his sword, which was in Yuan Gang's hand.
There were farmlands, mulberry gardens, and cauliflower swaying gently in the breeze under the sun. The silhouette of a woman was busy among them.
"What a beautiful countryside." After taking a deep breath, Niu Youdao praised. Suddenly, he said, "Old Bear, how about I ask them to help you build Nanshan Temple here?"
Yuan Fang rejected him without hesitation. "No!"
Niu Youdao stopped and turned around. He opened his arms and said in surprise, "This is such a beautiful place with verdant hills and clear waters. You have enough to eat and wear, and no one will disturb you. Why not?"
Yuan Fang lowered his eyes and said, "There are too few people here, and the incense can't flourish. How can Nanshan Temple hide here and be nameless?"
"Always thinking about that bit of money. Useless." Niu Youdao gave him a disdainful look, then turned around and continued walking. He was just joking.
Yuan Gang, who did not speak much, said, "To make Nanshan Temple famous, the temple doesn't have to be big, and the location doesn't have to be prosperous. The mountain doesn't have to be high to be famous if it has a celestial being. The water doesn't have to be deep to be spiritual if it has a dragon. As long as you have a reputation as an abbot, no matter how remote Nanshan Temple is, there will be high officials and nobles who will try their best to find you and give you money. When that time comes, I'm afraid you can't wait to hide in peace. "
Niu Youdao raised his hand and pointed behind his shoulder. "Old Bear, listen. The monkey's words make sense. Why don't you let the monkey be the abbot?"
Yuan Fang froze on the spot as if he had been hit on the head. He stared blankly at Yuan Gang, who was in a daze. He muttered to himself, "The mountain doesn't have to be high to be famous if it has a celestial being. The water doesn't have to be deep to be spiritual if it has a dragon …"
Niu Youdao and Yuan Gang stopped walking and turned around to look at him.
Yuan Fang suddenly stepped forward and put his palms together in front of Yuan Gang. He said excitedly, "Amitabha. If not for Master Yuan's words, I don't know how long I would be obsessed!" He then bowed deeply.
Niu Youdao and Yuan Gang looked at each other speechlessly. They both had the same thought in their minds. This demon took it for real!
Yuan Fang stood up and added, "But building Nanshan Temple here is still not good. It's too remote. I'm afraid the high officials and nobles won't be able to find a way to get there."
The two of them turned around and walked away, ignoring his words. Only a ghost would help him build a temple here.
The two of them had already experienced this. As long as they talked about Nanshan Temple, this demon would be especially serious. Instead of being a demon, he was determined to be an abbot!
They took a detour to the back of a mountain where there was a torrential river. The bustling scene in the river attracted the three of them.
There were people carrying large logs upstream. In the river, there were people riding on the logs as if they were riding on horses. They rushed down quickly with the torrential current. They did not rush down alone, but in waves. The people sitting on the logs were wielding wooden sticks like knives or spears. The wooden sticks were wrapped in thick sackcloth that was soaked in water. Each of them waved the wooden sticks, stabbing left and right. It was as if they had gone crazy and wanted to knock the people around them into the river.
Even if Niu Youdao didn't understand how to fight on the battlefield, he could still tell that this was clearly a cavalry combat training. It was just that this training was a little dangerous. One could imagine how dangerous it would be if one was hit by this huge log in the rapids. The trainer had to be extremely careful.
It was too difficult to balance riding on a log in the torrential current. It was much more difficult than riding on horseback. Moreover, they had to fight each other. It was unknown how long these people had trained to be able to balance themselves. They saw people being knocked into the water continuously. Gradually, they floated to a distant area where the current was calmer. Then, they dragged the logs ashore and carried them upstream.
The sound of wheels came from behind. The three of them looked back and saw Meng Shanming, who was sitting in a wheelchair, being pushed over and stopped beside the three of them.
"Originally, their fathers were injured, disabled or dead. We wanted them to avoid the chaos and live a peaceful life here … After the news of King Ning's death came, this place was not a safe place for long. There is no place that can be kept secret forever. Sooner or later, trouble will sweep over this place. It is for the sake of self-protection and also for the sake of the Little Prince!" Meng Shanming looked at the young people who were training and sighed.
It was a little noisy here. It was not a good place to talk. He stretched out his hand and made an inviting gesture.
They accompanied the wheelchair and strolled along the path.
Looking around, Niu Youdao asked, "Where is this place?"
Meng Shanming said, "We have left Qingshan County. To be exact, we should be in the territory of Zhao Kingdom. However, this place is located in the depths of the vast mountains. The terrain is steep and not suitable for living. In addition, the natural environment is unique. Most of the places in the mountains are covered by miasma. It is very difficult for outsiders to find this place. Without the secret passage, it is also very difficult for people to get out of here. Even without the miasma, it is difficult for ordinary people to cross the dangerous mountains and enter and exit this place because of the terrain. Your master, Mr. Dongguo, has been here before. He has specially explored this place. I am afraid that ordinary people will not be able to get out of this place without a few months' training. We only occupy a small area in this vast mountain. It is like a grain of sand in the sea. Even if outsiders have the intention, it will not be easy for them to find this place. So, you can rest assured and practice in seclusion here! "
Dongguo Haoran has been here before? He has even been to this place. It seems that his relationship with King Ning is not ordinary! Niu Youdao murmured in his heart and asked, "Since my master has been here before, does that mean that you have a way to deal with the miasma in this mountain?"
"Yes!" Meng Shanming nodded, "If you hide in this mountain for a long time, you will be able to find some clues to overcome it …"
Three days later, Niu Youdao stood in front of a cave. His hands were hanging naturally by his side, and his eyes were closed in silence.
This cave was also halfway up the mountain. It had been excavated by the earliest people who came here. After learning about the ideal seclusion environment that Niu Youdao wanted, Meng Shanming asked him to see if this place was suitable. Niu Youdao said it was suitable. He immediately arranged for people to clean up the place thoroughly and even sprinkled sulfur powder on the ground.
He arranged for people to be on guard day and night, not allowing outsiders to come close.
The reason why he chose a cave was because it was thick enough. As long as someone guarded the entrance, it would not be easy to be ambushed. However, living in a house in the village had many worries. Niu Youdao did not have any experience in breaking through to the Foundation Building realm. The experience he had was obtained from ancient books. In addition, he did not have the necessary medicinal pills to break through, so he had to create his own method to break through. He was also not like the disciples of the sects, where the sects could provide security for his seclusion without worrying about being disturbed. Therefore, he could only be careful in this situation.
Yuan Gang and Yuan Fang walked out of the cave. Yuan Gang said, "Daoye, we've checked carefully. There shouldn't be any problems." The two of them thoroughly checked the inside of the cave several times, not leaving a single corner unchecked.
Niu Youdao opened his eyes and said calmly, "Thank you for your hard work during this period."
Yuan Gang did not say anything, but Yuan Fang said with a smile, "It's my duty."
Without saying anything, Niu Youdao's expression was calm as he walked into the cave unhurriedly and vanished into the darkness of the cave.
Yuan Gang and Yuan Fang put down the thick curtain that was temporarily set up at the entrance to prevent the wind and rain from entering. Then, they turned around and stood guard at the entrance.
Niu Youdao himself did not know how long it would take for him to break through. In short, from today onwards, the two of them would stand guard. They were not allowed to leave for even a moment. At most, they would take turns to hide behind the curtain to rest.
The space inside the cave was not big. The entrance was small, but it was wide inside. It was shaped like a gourd and was divided into a few levels. An oil lamp was lit on the ground at the innermost level.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
