Chương 145: Daily Life in the Stronghold

On the road outside the East Gate of Qinghe City. In the dead of night, the piercing cry of an eagle echoed, startling the people and causing their expressions to change.

"What's wrong?" Li Xin asked in confusion. Xiong Ba, whose cultivation was far superior to his, had already noticed the anomaly. Staring intently backward, his fierce face showed a grave expression as he said:"Lightning is signaling us. We are being followed." Ignoring Li Xin, Xiong Ba clamped his legs hard against the Black Dragon Steed beneath him:"Wu Zhui, go!" Wu Zhui shot forward like an arrow released from a bow, instantly covering a distance of several zhang.

Its four hooves flew like a whirlwind as it chased after Lightning, who was flying ahead. Before they had run far, Xiong Ba spotted a dark figure in the bushes by the roadside ahead, panicking and turning to flee. With a cold expression, he grabbed the Iron Arm Bow from beneath the horse's belly and swiftly nocked an arrow. Swoosh! Clang! The person ahead was no slouch in martial arts either. Hearing the commotion behind him, he drew his sword and knocked the arrow away.

However, the force was too great, causing his footsteps to stagger. Swoosh!... Clang! Clang! How could Xiong Ba let this opportunity slip by? He continuously fired two more arrows. Only when Wu Zhui caught up to the villain did he drop the bow and reach for his dual hammers.

"Die!" Xiong Ba's ferocity erupted. His sharp eyes flashed like lightning in the night, radiating an intimidating aura. His hammer, carrying the momentum of a thunderbolt and the weight of a massive mountain, smashed down fiercely from the sky. Seeing this, the opponent was utterly terrified. The stifling air pressure made it hard for him to breathe. He hurriedly channeled all his internal energy and shouted:"I am..." Clang! BANG!!!! The person exploded into a bloody mist on impact.

From his hand to his chest, he was smashed into bloody pulp by Master Xiong's hammer. The sword he had hastily raised to block was also shattered into pieces, scattering everywhere. Unsatisfied, Xiong Ba rummaged around to see if there were any accomplices. After a while, finding no one, and seeing that Lightning showed no unusual signs, he sullenly returned.... Nameless Mountain, the villa on the mountainside.

Boss Song, who had been continuously using Lightning to secretly observe the situation around Plum Manor and the Black Iron Stronghold from the sky, was alerted by his soul fragment in the dead of night. Quickly syncing his vision with Lightning, Song Que immediately discovered the anomaly. He saw that not long after Xiong Ba and Li Xin drove the carriage out of the manor, someone was actually hiding and tailing them. One must know that this road led to Eagle's Sorrow Ravine.

Moreover, in the dead of night in such a desolate place, ordinary people had no reason to come here. Without hesitation, Song Que controlled Lightning to dive down and screech loudly to warn the foolish Bear and Li Xin. Regardless of whether that person was intentionally tailing them or not, anyone sneaking around here in the middle of the night wouldn't be a good person. Capture them for interrogation first! Unfortunately, Master Xiong didn't understand 'bird language'.

Looking at the mangled, half-destroyed corpse crumpled on the ground, Grandee Song felt a toothache. These two idiots! It's one thing if they couldn't capture him alive, but they killed him and didn't even know how to dispose of the body! Leaving the corpse like that, even a fool could guess where they were heading! Boss Song felt mentally exhausted.

Forcing down his discomfort, he controlled Lightning to descend and tidy up the scene, hastily erasing their tracks before flying straight toward another forested mountain direction. He found a piece of 'feng shui treasure land' to give this brother a 'sky burial'—a freefall drop. Only after finishing this task did he return to continue his aerial reconnaissance over Eagle's Sorrow Ravine. Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.... Not long after, Nameless Mountain.

Nie Feng and the others were busy moving the medicinal herbs and ores into the house.

"Young Master, someone was following us earlier! Lightning spotted him, and I smashed him to death with a single hammer strike!" Seeing the foolish Bear excitedly showing off his 'merit', Boss Song was left speechless for a moment. He had the heart to lecture him, but considering this big fellow might not be able to remember so many things, he let it go. He sighed and spoke:"You did very well. In the future, if you encounter someone like that, try to capture them for interrogation first.

Only beat them to death if you can't." Receiving Boss Song's praise, the kid was as happy as a child, grinning from ear to ear. He took out a letter from his robe and handed it to him:"Hehehe, Young Master, this is the letter Brother Hong sent you."

"Mhm, alright. Go help Old Nie carry the things. Finish early and go to sleep."

"Yes, Young Master!" Left alone, Song Que opened the letter and began to read. The content was just Zhong Hong recounting today's events in detail, along with a brief introduction to the newcomers. There wasn't anything particularly new. He skimmed through it and quickly set it aside.... The next morning, Song Que personally brought the pile of ores to the Manufacturing Camp. The group of blacksmiths naturally stopped their work and came out to greet the 'leader'.

Looking at their fearful and trembling appearances, Grandee Song secretly shook his head. Perhaps Old Xu had been too cruel to them in the past, leaving these people with a psychological shadow. Even though he had shown himself to be democratic and benevolent since taking power, the results hadn't improved much. Waving his hand to dismiss the idle people, Song Que only called over the head of the Manufacturing Camp, Mo Yang, and instructed:"Old Mo, can our Manufacturing Camp forge profound iron weapons?"

Previously, there were no specific job titles here; they were only established after Song Que took power. Mo Yang was also chosen by a vote among the people in the camp, as instructed by Song Que, to be the most prestigious candidate, entrusted with the heavy responsibility of being the first Camp Leader. Since the change of Stronghold Leader, the lives of these blacksmiths had improved significantly.

They were no longer threatened or forced into labor, and they received salaries and benefits just like everyone else. Moreover, Mo Yang himself was highly valued. Therefore, he was very grateful to Boss Song. Hearing the question, he pondered for a moment before replying:"Reporting to the Stronghold Leader: I have never done it before, but when I was in the commandery city, I once saw someone smelt profound iron. Our stronghold should be able to do it, but it will be very difficult."

Hearing him affirm it was possible, Song Que rejoiced inwardly. As for the difficulties, they just needed to find a way to overcome them!

"Oh? I wonder where the difficulty lies? If you need anything, just ask."

"Stronghold Leader, profound iron is difficult to melt, so to forge it, we must first modify the furnace to increase the temperature. Furthermore, this material is several times harder than ordinary iron. Forging it into shape will be very strenuous; we will need several people taking turns to strike it with hammers. Therefore, we also need people to practice." So that was it. Song Que nodded.

"Since that is the case, you first have people modify the furnace. As for the people wielding the hammers..." Grandee Song thought of what was written in the Tie Family Hammer Art: this martial art originated from the path of blacksmithing and smelting. To understand its essence, it was best for the practitioner to personally experience forging weapons. Anyway, there was plenty of free time on the mountain. Song Que felt he could give it a try:"I'll handle wielding the hammer."

"Stronghold Leader, how could we dare..." Waving his hand to stop Old Mo's dissuasion, he smiled:"There is no need to be so constrained. Didn't you say Xu Shicai was also an expert blacksmith in the past? I obtained a hammer art from him and want to gain some insights through forging weapons. Just consider me practicing martial arts; that will be fine." So that was the case! Mo Yang was completely relieved; he had feared the Stronghold Leader was dissatisfied with their abilities.

"Old Mo, since it will take time to modify the furnace, teach me some key principles of forging these next few days so I can get familiar with it."

"As you command, Stronghold Leader! Please follow me." For the next few days, aside from practicing martial arts and reading books, Song Que added a new hobby: blacksmithing. Everyone was very surprised by his bizarre behavior, but since Boss Song was the big boss here, who dared to gossip? Therefore, everyone pretended not to know about it. Boss Song comfortably went about his business. Perhaps he possessed a hidden innate talent for hammer mastery.

In short, just like Xiong Ba, the more he practiced wielding the hammer, the more he understood it, and his interest grew stronger.... There are no years in the mountains. Before they knew it, they had been hiding up here for over two weeks. From their initial unfamiliarity, everyone had now grown accustomed to life here. In reality, it wasn't much different from their time at Mirror Lake. Song Que's group quickly adapted.

Maintaining frequent contact with Zhong Hong, nothing significant had happened in the county city. It seemed the Demonic Cult crisis was all thunder and no rain, lacking any substantial attacks, which calmed his mood considerably. Hearing from Brother Hong, the people from the Six Doors had arrived in the county and hadn't left yet. With this being the case, even if those demonic practitioners had the guts of the heavens, they wouldn't dare jump out and court death right now.

Boss Song could peacefully wait for the Golden Bone Fruit to mature. Aside from that, there was one piece of good news and one piece of not-so-good news. The good news was that Brother Yi's military merits had been verified, and he would soon have a new appointment and return to the county; the brothers would be able to meet frequently. The bad news was that Dong Bo, one of the Four Young Masters of the Dong family, had actually been saved. Although blinded in one eye, his life was preserved.

He was currently recuperating at home and would likely be able to go out and ruin women again in a month or two. Towards this father-and-son pair, Song Que had long since placed them on his 'must-kill' list. It was just that he was busy right now and hadn't had the time to deal with them. Once matters here were settled, he would personally find a way to send this father and son on their way. Once my, Boss Song's, strength increases a bit, it will be time to settle the score with those dead dogs in Qinghe County!

I've recorded all the grudges in my little black book. Without settling them, I feel uneasy every day! Waking up refreshed after a good night's sleep, Grandee Song went out to the courtyard for his morning practice as usual. Seeing Xiong Ba already standing in the training ground as always, he smiled and asked:"Xiong Ba, where did that kid Li Xin run off to again? Was there any problem taking the newcomers on an escort mission yesterday?"