novelraw Chapter 104: Got Lost
Chapter 104: Got Lost
East of Eggshell Village, in Huangni Village.
Jelena was there, directing Gegeda as it tore down the old buildings.
Huangni Village was being remodeled to make way for the future Eggshell Academy.
Li Huaizheng and Pei Xue were also busy there, their spirits high. While they couldn’t demolish buildings themselves, that didn’t stop them from discussing the plans for Eggshell Village’s transformation.
"These buildings definitely have to go. We’ll build a straight road through here!"
"We could dig out this depression, expand it, and turn it into a small pond!"
"No, this would be a good spot for the latrines!"
"The Boss can apparently conjure a Peach Blossom Forest. It would be wonderful if he could make one appear here. Imagine the students reading aloud amidst the blossoms, reciting poetry and composing couplets. How delightful!"
"We could suggest that to the Young Mistress! By the way, Elder Li, I heard you plan to hire those women Lord Yang Wanli brought back from the brothels as teachers. Is that... appropriate?"
"Sigh. They’ve had hard lives. But they’re literate, they understand the four arts of the zither, Go, calligraphy, and painting, and they have good temperaments. Why can’t they be teachers?"
"But... they come from a brothel..."
"They didn’t decide where they were born, and one’s origins shouldn’t be the standard by which we judge their worth. For scholars like us, inner virtue is what matters most. I believe they are more than suitable, and I’m willing to give them a chance."
"Okay... alright."
Pei Xue’s expression showed a flicker of understanding, but she suddenly froze. Pointing into the distance, she cried out in alarm, "Elder Li, look! What is that? Young Mistress, monsters have appeared!"
What appeared in her line of sight was, of all things, a group of giant snails. They moved forward in a tight, straight line, leaving a trail of glistening slime on the ground.
Jelena, who was riding on Gegeda’s back, turned to look. Her eyes lit up. "Don’t panic," she said. "Father must have sent these!"
She immediately jumped down from Gegeda’s back and walked over for a more curious look.
That group of giant snails was, of course, the Road Repair Snails.
They had started work the moment they were teleported to Eggshell Village. They required no commands or direction, their efficiency surpassing that of a professional construction crew. They designed the roads themselves and worked in perfect concert, filling in pits and leveling slopes as they went. The very first road they built was the one from Eggshell Square to Huangni Village!
The road was ten meters wide!
The 64 Road Repair Snails appeared to crawl forward slowly, but in their wake, the ground solidified into a layer of rock. It was not only perfectly flat and smooth but also incredibly Solid and Durable—a sight that was truly Beyond Imagination.
Jelena and the others watched in utter amazement.
The Road Repair Snails paid them no mind at all. The main construction force soon changed direction, heading off like a fleet of steamrollers to another location. Only a single Road Repair Snail was left behind, which calmly crawled into Huangni Village and began building the smaller paths at its own pace.
Just then, the white-haired Hai Pei came rushing over, riding a Wooden Ox Puppet.
He had borrowed the Wooden Ox Puppet from Li Huaizheng, and its belly was now stuffed full of peach blossoms.
But Hai Pei wasn’t there to return the Wooden Ox Puppet. He approached Jelena and called out, "Young Mistress, this mornin’ I saw a whole bunch of people wanderin’ around, shoutin’ about wantin’ to enter the river valley. They were dressed up like Refugees, but they were all young, able-bodied men. Didn’t look like Refugees to me!"
"Hm? Where are they?"
"Out east, fifty li away! No tellin’ where they are by now."
"Fifty li away? What were you doing so far out?"
"Beggin’ your pardon, Young Mistress. A few days ago, I had a taste of that wine Lord Yang brought back, and this old man had a flash of inspiration. I went out today to pick some peach blossoms to brew my own Peach Blossom Wine! I was also lookin’ for a good mountain spring and just wandered a bit too far without realizin’ it!"
"Peach Blossom Wine? Very well, carry on."
Jelena knew Hai Pei possessed a Wine Spirit Root, so she was very supportive of his brewing endeavors.
Still, Jelena couldn’t ignore the information Hai Pei provided. With Wang Yi away, she was the highest authority in Eggshell Village and couldn’t afford to be careless.
After a moment of thought, Jelena decided to head east and see for herself. She needed to determine whether they were genuine Refugees seeking shelter or ill-intentioned individuals trying to infiltrate Eggshell Village.
She left Gegeda, Li Huaizheng, and Pei Xue to continue the work on Huangni Village, while she returned to the village proper to retrieve six Six-Eared Yellow Dogs before heading east.
But after traveling for ten, even twenty li, Jelena hadn’t seen a single soul. She walked all the way out to fifty li, reaching the Hundred Miles Peach Blossom Forest that Wang Yi had created, and still saw no sign of any young, able-bodied Refugees.
’Could that Hai Pei have been seeing things?’
Puzzled, Jelena led the six yellow dogs on a patrol along the edge of the Peach Blossom Forest for another twenty or thirty li, but ultimately returned empty-handed.
「Meanwhile, in Qingliang Temple, northwest of Kaiyuan City.」
Red Tiger Camp Commander Lu Aqi held a teacup and listened quietly to Vice Commander Yue Gang’s report.
Yue Gang’s face was flushed, his head bowed. "Commander," he said, "all the spies I sent... have returned!"
"Oh? Is that faction so difficult to infiltrate? You couldn’t plant a single one?"
"That’s not it."
"’Not it? Then what is it?’"
"They... got lost!"
"Huh?" Lu Aqi almost spat out the tea he had just sipped. "Didn’t they have a guide?"
"The guide got lost, too. Said he’d never seen any Peach Blossom Forest or anything of the sort..."
"Useless! A bunch of useless trash!"
Lu Aqi cursed. At that exact moment, a man in a cyan robe appeared out of thin air inside the room. He carried a longsword on his back and looked at Lu Aqi with a grin. "Red Tiger Camp Commander Lu Aqi," he said, "I have an urgent, secret letter for you from the Prince Mansion!"
"Huh?"
Lu Aqi and Yue Gang started in unison, staring at the cyan-robed man in disbelief.
’This man appeared out of thin air!’
’But how is that possible?’
The cyan-robed man flicked his wrist, tossing a sealed letter to Lu Aqi. He then found a high-backed chair, sat down, and helped himself to Lu Aqi’s teapot and cup. After pouring himself some tea and taking a drink, he glanced at Lu Aqi and said, "What are you looking at me for? Read the letter. I brought it all this way for you. Go on, read it while it’s fresh!"
"Oh..."
Lu Aqi opened the letter doubtfully. A single glance was enough to confirm it was indeed a secret message from the Prince Mansion, but its contents were decidedly strange.
’The Prince wants me to obtain the [Spiritual Artifact Rice Cooker] at any cost... but what in the world is a Spiritual Artifact Rice Cooker, and where am I supposed to get one?’
Lu Aqi felt completely lost. He looked toward the cyan-robed man and said, "Sir..."
The cyan-robed man quickly waved a hand, cutting him off. "Don’t ask me. I don’t know a thing. I’m just the delivery guy. Now that the letter’s delivered, my mission’s complete. Farewell!"
With that, the cyan-robed man snapped his fingers, and his figure vanished into thin air.
Lu Aqi and Yue Gang were stunned once more. They both felt they had just encountered some extraordinary individual and were still struggling to understand what had just happened.
「Meanwhile, on Mengbai Island.」
A large quantity of supplies had already been loaded onto the small train.
Wang Yi had already finished opening all his blind boxes. He decided to take the small train on a trip—not back to Eggshell Village, but first to Black Mountain Stronghold to build the second Shanhai Pass.
It was also worth mentioning that Wadu had discovered another resource point in the wild and gathered 300 stalks of Cyan Spirit Grass from it.
Cyan Spirit Grass was a spirit herb and a medicinal ingredient. Wang Yi had Yang Qingniu and the others use the Spiritual Artifact Rice Cooker to refine the herbs into 300 Piyao Pills!