Unparalleled Evildoer

Chapter 148: Shocking Mining Site

Madam Qing looked at Wuzhan with a gaze as sharp as lightning for a long moment, then smiled and said, "Sir, do you have no other purpose for coming here?" Her words were very clear.

Wuzhan smiled slightly and said, "There really is something we need to find."

"What kind of thing is it? Can I help you find it?"

"Fairy Tears!"

Madam Qing shuddered slightly when she heard this. She looked at Wuzhe and chuckled, "You are joking, my lord. How can there be fairy tears here? My lord, you should go to the Heavenly Palace to look for them."

"Fairy tears are a rare medicinal herb that takes a thousand years to bloom. They are only recorded in Bashu. They are rare in a hundred years and are worth a fortune. Madam is well-informed. Have you never heard of them?"

"I will send someone to look for her and see if I can help you find her." Then he asked, "The girl you brought with you has a strong cultivation base. I wonder who taught her?"

Miao Xin said in a sweet voice: "I am a disciple of Taishan, and I am now responsible for protecting your safety."

Madam Qing was surprised when she heard this: "Oh, I heard that Bixia Yuanjun never interfered in the government affairs, but she actually sent her disciples to protect important officials in the court. It seems that the adults are really very proud."

Wuzhan asked, "Madam, can you take me to the mine now?"

Madam Qing smiled and said, "Well, I am old and weak, so I cannot go with you to inspect the mines. Let Tinglan go on my behalf. I will prepare some light wine and vegetarian dishes in the mansion, and wait for you to return home and rest."

Wuzhan stood up and said, "Thank you very much, ma'am!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a gorgeous woman walked in from the inner courtyard. She was wearing a blue and white skirt that reached her chest. She was graceful and calm. She had extraordinary cultivation. She must be a hermit master raised by Madam Qing. She came in front of Wuzhan and bowed, saying, "My little girl, Tinglan, greets you, sir!"

Wuzhan said: "Thank you for leading the way, young lady!"

……

The mineral deposit was at the foot of the mountain on the other side of the valley. Tinglan took Wuzhan and Miaoxin to introduce the local customs and people. They walked very slowly and did not meet any strong men or pedestrians on the road, and Wuzhan did not tell them anything.

Coming to a fork in the road, Tinglan wanted to turn left, but Wuzhan saw that the road had sparse ruts, while the other road had dense ruts, so Tinglan went to the right. Tinglan smiled slightly and said, "Your Excellency is really observant. Nothing can be hidden from your eyes!" Then she turned to the right.

Near the mine entrance, a strong sour smell was pungent. Tinglan took out three wet silk handkerchiefs and handed two to the two men. "The sour smell is too strong. Please use it to cover your mouth and nose." She demonstrated how to put it on herself.

Oil lamps were burning on both sides of the tunnel in the mine, springs were trickling from both sides of the road, red crystals could be seen everywhere, the air was suffocating, and the temperature was no cooler than outside. There was still no strong man in sight, so Wuzhan asked, "Where have all the strong men gone?"

Tinglan said, "Unfortunately, we are stopping the training today, and all the able-bodied men have gone to rest."

Wuzhan said: "Oh, then I can open the furnace and check it out."

There was no more words. They walked for half an incense stick of time and came to an open space. The walls were all cinnabar ore. A large spherical furnace with a diameter of three or four meters was located in the middle. There were more than a dozen strong men around who were repairing the furnace. The furnace was divided into two parts. The lower part was used for heating wood, and the middle part was separated by an iron plate. The cinnabar ore was placed on it during smelting. The upper part was a large cover with exhaust holes, which were used to discharge steam for cooling and turning it into mercury.

Wuyan glanced around and asked, "Why is there only this one furnace?"

Tinglan smiled and said, "This one is enough!"

Wuzhan said in a deep voice: "Miss Tinglan, you are exaggerating. If there is only one furnace, how long will it take to refine ten thousand kilograms of mercury? Why is the lady so secretive when speaking? Is there something to hide?"

"If you don't believe Tinglan, you can stay for a few days until the furnace is repaired, and then come back to check."

"It won't take a few days, we'll be able to see you now!" As he said that, he quickly took Miao Xin and walked towards the stone wall door opposite that was emitting heat waves.

Tinglan tried to stop him, saying, “Sir, the exit is this way!” Seeing that Wuzhan ignored her, she flew in front of him and stood in front of him.

"How dare you stop the Qin Censor from investigating the case!" Wuzhan said coldly.

"Tinglan doesn't dare, it's not safe over there. Tinglan is considering the safety of adults."

With a 'swish' sound, Miao Xin suddenly produced a foot-long blue fire sword in her hand, with flames surging and cold air. The tip of the sword was pointed in front of Ting Lan's eyes, "Get out of the way, your safety is my responsibility."

Tinglan was not afraid of the sharpness of 'Sea Heart Burial Fire'. He glanced at Miaoxin with a slanted eyebrow and said with a faint smile: "I have heard that Taishan's swordsmanship is famous all over the world. I am fortunate to meet you today. I just want to learn from you." As he spoke, his figure flashed and he took a step back. With a 'crash', a seven-section whip appeared in his hand. With the circulation of his true energy, the seven-section whip immediately turned into a red snake, swinging its tail unsteadily.

"If you lose, you must open the stone wall and let the adults in to check."

"What if you lose?"

"I won't lose, so don't ask, just make your move!" Miaoxin said coldly after Wuzhan avoided him.

"You are truly a reputable and upright sect. Even your tone of voice is so arrogant. Well, today we will see how capable you are!" As soon as he finished speaking, he leaped up into the air, and the seven-section whip flashed a red light, like a thunderbolt, striking down from the sky.

Miaoxin saw the red light coming at her fiercely and knew that Tinglan's true energy was strong and should not be underestimated. He tapped the ground with one foot and flew out diagonally. However, the red light suddenly turned halfway down and chased after her like lightning. Miaoxin was calm and collected. She flashed a soft light with her fire sword and rushed forward. With a "snap", the seven-section whip collided with the fire sword, sparks flew, and the tip of the whip bypassed the fire sword and flew over Miaoxin's brows.

Miao Xin did not expect Ting Lan's move to change so quickly, and was secretly surprised. The fire sword shook with the momentum, and with a "hum" sound, the whip tip was shaken away and swept back to Ting Lan who was flying down. Ting Lan was secretly shocked. She did not expect that the divine fire was so flexible and easily resolved this "circling the tree to hit the bird" move. She circulated the true energy in her body and infused it into the whip. The seven-section whip flew in the air and turned into several fire snakes, circling and covering Miao Xin's face.

"How vicious!" Miao Xin shouted, and the flaming sword danced, whistling and flashing, 'bang bang...', the red light burst out, blocking Ting Lan's 'Confused Snakes and Skulls' completely.

Tinglan was unwilling to give up and wanted to continue attacking. At this time, he saw Miaoxin swinging his sword at him. The fire sword was erratic and shot out a blue light. He did not dare to delay and waved his whip to block it. Before he could block it, another blue light followed behind it. Almost in an instant, sixteen more swords appeared behind it, rolling and slashing at him.

Tinglan quickly dodged and the seven-section whip spun rapidly, covering her body. "Dangdang..." colorful lights shot out, and Tinglan's arm became numb. The whip handle almost slipped out of her hand. With a "whoosh", a blue light could not be blocked and flew over her shoulder, cutting off a few strands of hair. With a "dong", it hit the stone wall, leaving a crack. A cold feeling spread throughout her body, and she stopped in a hurry, "I lost!" She knew that the gap between her and Miaoxin was quite big.

"Boom..." The heavy stone door slowly opened, and heat waves mixed with a pungent sour smell rolled out. Wuzhan had found the mechanism and opened the door. Miaoxin ignored Tinglan and landed beside Wuzhan like a flying swallow, looking inside with him.

Inside was another wide tunnel, with sounds of chiseling, creaking, and burning coming from deep inside.

"Since you insist on coming in, please follow me!" Tinglan led the way and walked in front.

The further we went in, the higher the temperature became and the brighter the fire became. We even saw sunlight shining into the mine. The next scene was shocking.

The towering mountains in the distance were mined into hundreds of acres of flat land. There were tens of thousands of naked strong men working in the entire mining area, sweating profusely. Hundreds of large smelting furnaces stood in front of them, the bellows were whirring, the flames were billowing under the furnaces, the heat waves were boiling, mercury was flowing slowly along the furnace troughs, being collected, and sealed in wooden barrels. There were clanging sounds of rock drilling and quarrying, and the teams carrying wood, ore, and slag were densely packed and noisy.

The whole scene was even more cruel than the construction of the Great Wall, and the environment was even worse, except that there was no cursing and scolding from officials, but mostly the sweat of slaves struggling for life.

Miaoxin quickly turned her face away, not daring to look directly at those strong men. She felt a little shy and sentimental, and silently recited the Heart Purification Mantra.

Someone died suddenly, and the handling was simple. Someone was responsible for carrying him onto a slag truck, and he was buried along with the slag in a valley not far away. The valley had been filled up, and Wuzhe had watched it for a long time. He could guess this scene even without being there. He was familiar with it.

"Your Excellency has seen it too. It is not advisable to stay here for long. Madam is still waiting for you to return home!" Tinglan said leisurely.

……

There was no conversation along the way. When they returned to Zhenfu Mansion, the banquet had already been prepared. Madam Qing changed into a peony skirt, which made her look more luxurious. When she saw Wuzhan coming back, she stood up and greeted him happily, "It seems that Your Excellency now knows how the mercury was refined. Is there any undead causing trouble?"

Wuzhan smiled slightly and said, "I really found a clue."

Madam Qing asked the host to sit down and said, "Please take a seat and let us hear what you have to say!"

After Wuzhan sat down, he said calmly, "This mercury has too much resentment, so it attracted the anger of the dead during transportation. Madam, how many wronged souls are buried in this mine?"

Madam Qing sat down slowly. Her face was calm when she heard this. She poured a bottle of wine, looked at Wuzhan, and said softly, "Didn't you see it, my lord? There are corpses everywhere, but they are not wronged souls. They all came voluntarily. Before entering the valley, they all signed a life and death contract. We paid a lot of money to their families. They came here knowing that they would die. What can I do? Did you feel pity for them?"

"Madam, do you think that by paying them, you can decide their life and death?"

Madam Qing smiled and said, "Your Excellency has seen the fighting on the battlefield. Who decides their life and death?" She raised the golden cup, her beautiful eyes moving around, examining everyone without any obstruction, "Your Excellency should first taste the wine brewed in this mansion. Take a sip, and I guarantee that your Excellency will let go of everything."

Wuzhan picked up the golden cup and said, "If it's so magical, I'd like to take a sip to see if it works." As he spoke, he took a sip of the sweet and fragrant Fenjiu. Wuzhan seldom drank alcohol, but after one sip, he immediately felt warmth in his abdomen and his spirits lifted. "It's indeed a good wine!" he exclaimed.

Madam Qing smiled and said, "If you like it, I will have someone send you a cart."

"Actually I have no interest in wine, so there is no need for me to give it to you, Madam." Wuzhan put down the golden cup and said calmly to Madam Qing.

"Oh, then what is the lord interested in?" Qiu Shui turned his head and said softly to Miao Xin who was sitting next to Wuzhan: "Miss Miao, come and have a taste too!" The maid reached out and filled the golden cup in front of Miao Xin.

Miao Xin said: "Thank you for your kindness, Madam, but Miao Xin doesn't know how to drink!"

Madam Qing pointed to a few small plates of cakes on the table and said, "I forgot that Taishan disciples don't drink alcohol, but this is specially prepared for the young lady, please help yourself!"

Wuzhan asked calmly, "Madam, aren't you afraid that I will report this to His Majesty when I return?"

Madam Qing was startled when she heard this, then suddenly she showed her charming demeanor and said with a sweet smile, "My Lord, do you know who I am working for?"

"Of course I know, but it seems like Madam is not only doing things for him!"

"Oh?" He put down the golden cup and asked, "Then tell me, sir, if I don't do this for him, then for whom?"

"Madam, you have no children. What do you want to do with all this money?"

"Recruiting able-bodied men requires huge expenses, and the small profits earned are all saved and donated. How can there be too much money saved? Besides, I am short-sighted and like worldly things. Your Excellency should have seen that."

"If you investigate carefully, you will find out eventually. Do I need to say more? Madam, your business is really brilliant. You have won the approval of His Majesty, and your name will be passed down through the ages. You have also gained money, and more importantly, tens of thousands of mercenaries. However, it has caused hardship to the people who have nowhere else to go. How can they not feel resentment after death?"

Madam Qing pointed it out without any obstacle, her face suddenly stern, "Sir, you really are here to embarrass me, what do you want?"

(End of this chapter)