Chương 171: Wind and Clouds over Qinghe

Black Iron Stronghold. Song Que was sitting, listening thoughtfully to Knife report on the work of the past few days.

"Hehehe, Lord, it turns out the person who supplied the military crossbows to that One-Eyed Dragon before was this very Lin Min! When we caught him, he kept claiming to be cousins with One-Eyed Dragon! I took him to the mass grave and told him his 'brother' was down there among the pile! The guy was truly almost scared into peeing himself!" Truly, searching far and wide for iron shoes, only to find them without any effort!

He had previously ordered people to investigate One-Eyed Dragon's source for military crossbows for many days without news. He didn't expect the mastermind to deliver himself right to his door today! Boss Song laughed happily.

"Haha, doesn't this prove the two of them are destined for our Black Iron Stronghold? Is everything arranged properly?"

"Reporting to the Lord, everything is settled! Aside from Lin Min, who obediently went to the Manufacturing Camp, the other eight captured men were all sent to mine iron ore! The remaining four women are currently detained." Hearing Knife's hesitant tone, Song Que pondered for a moment and said:"Since they are already here, we cannot simply release them. Send those women to do cooking and cleaning for now.

If anyone in the stronghold takes a liking to them, they can marry them; it all depends on their own abilities. Enforce this rule strictly: rape and murder are strictly forbidden! Our Black Iron Stronghold will one day wash ourselves clean and transition to legal business! This discipline must be strictly managed!" Hearing this, Knife also breathed a sigh of relief and cupped his hands:"The Lord is merciful."

"Instruct the people in the Manufacturing Camp to squeeze every bit of skill out of this guy Lin Min! Don't let it go to waste! At the very least, they must learn how to manufacture military crossbows!"

"Yes, Lord! Speaking of the Manufacturing Camp, it seems they have a pleasant surprise for you!" Hearing Knife's words, a few things flashed through Song Que's mind, and he felt pleased.

"It's late now. Tomorrow morning, I will personally go to the Manufacturing Camp and see what kind of surprise they have prepared for me." Saying that, he looked at Knife and asked:"Knife, you should have already heard about what happened in Qinghe, right?" Hearing Song Que ask about this, Knife could no longer maintain his inner calm. He dropped to one knee, raised his hand to the sky, and swore:"This subordinate thanks the Lord for avenging me!

I, Hu Xiaodao, am willing to be loyal to you for the rest of my life!" Song Que had communicated with him beforehand, so Knife didn't doubt in the slightest that the demise of the Dong father and son was the work of his 'Lord Wu Chang'! Consequently, he felt immense gratitude toward Song Que in his heart.

"Mhm, very good. In a while, I will find someone to clear your name. Later, when the time is right, you can personally go find that woman who framed you and take your revenge!" Thinking of past events, Knife's expression shifted before he answered in a deep voice:"Thank you, Lord."

"Good, then go rest. Tomorrow, instruct the brothers below that for the foreseeable future, everyone must stay in the stronghold; we will not be conducting 'business' anymore! Once the situation in Qinghe County stabilizes, I will notify you. During this time, everyone must obediently behave for me!"

"Obey your command! Tomorrow morning, this subordinate will personally announce this matter. This subordinate takes his leave."... The next morning, 'Stronghold Leader Impermanence' and a group of blacksmiths from the Manufacturing Camp surrounding him were curiously observing a strange carriage in the middle of the courtyard. It was called 'strange' because, aside from the carriage body looking like a normal one, the chassis, axles, and wheels underneath were entirely made of steel!

"Have you tried having a horse pull this carriage? How does it compare to a normal wooden carriage?"

"Reporting to the Lord, we just recently finished this carriage, so we haven't tested it much yet. But when I took it for a test drive yesterday, I found it only slightly heavier than a wooden carriage; otherwise, there are no issues." Mo Yang stepped forward and answered. Hearing this, Song Que nodded slightly and stepped forward, personally pulling the carriage around for a few laps. He simultaneously activated his Domain, meticulously sensing the operation of the equipment on the carriage.

Before long, Boss Song finally stopped in satisfaction.

"Not a bad job! Just standardize the size of the wheels and the steel balls inside the bearings! Also, remember to add beef tallow for lubrication, and it will be complete!"

"Thank you for the encouragement, Lord! We will immediately make the modifications!"

"Haha, Old Mo! You've made a great contribution this time! I must reward you properly! Speak, what reward do you want?" Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"Lord, this is the result of the hard work of all the brothers in the Manufacturing Camp, not just this subordinate alone! This subordinate does not dare claim credit!" Mo Yang didn't greedily demand credit at all.

"Good, very good! Aside from your primary contribution, I will not skimp on rewarding the Manufacturing Camp! Go back and discuss what you want, then report to Knife; he will satisfy your requests!"

"Thank you, Lord!" Everyone from the Manufacturing Camp bowed excitedly.

"Haha, you deserve this. Also, next time you build a carriage, you can design the axle a bit longer! After all, compared to wood, steel can bear much more weight! We can make the carriage wider to carry more goods!"

"This subordinate will remember." Smiling and nodding, he felt incredibly satisfied with this trip. Giving Mo Yang's group a few more instructions, he happily returned to his villa. Staying at the Black Iron Stronghold for a day to let the underlings remember their 'Lord Impermanence', as night fell, Song Que and Xiong Ba quietly left and returned to Plum Manor. For the next few days, he was determined to hide and not show his face, regardless of the monstrous floods raging in Qinghe County outside!...

A wasteland outside Lingjiang City. Several ghostly figures in black clothes secretly gathered.

"Has the Venerable not arrived yet?" One of them asked in a deep voice.

"He should be here soon." The group stopped talking, silently hiding in the shadows and waiting. Right at this moment, an object resembling a cloud of black smoke rapidly flew toward them! Even before the object arrived, a terrifying chill rose, causing the men in black to shudder involuntarily! In a moment, the 'thing' arrived before everyone. Looking closely, it was actually an Evil Ghost! Its entire body was wrapped in an incredibly dense, violent aura that burned incessantly like black flames!

It floated weightlessly in the air, its eyes emitting a deep, crimson light as it sized up everyone. The men in black seemed accustomed to the Evil Ghost's existence. Showing no surprise, they all bowed to it in unison:"Greetings, Venerable!"

"Jie... jie... jie..." The Evil Ghost let out a piercingly shrill laugh.

"Shut up!" Immediately after, it shouted shrilly at itself.

"Which one of you can clearly explain to this Venerable what happened?!" The person who had asked the question earlier didn't shy away, stepping forward and speaking solemnly:"Venerable, it was like this. In Qinghe County last night..."

"The evidence is absolutely conclusive! It involves a County Commandant being murdered right in his manor! The people from the Yangnan Six Doors are truly furious this time! Deputy Inspector Cai Wei personally led people to investigate! Venerable, the situation is extremely dangerous right now!"

"Bastards! How did this happen?!"

"Jie jie... jie..." The Evil Ghost began its bizarre screeching again, making 'Blood-Robed', who had possessed it using a secret technique, extremely furious!

"Bastard! This beast is starting to backlash! Listen closely to me: obediently hide in your homes these next few days and don't make any unusual moves! This Venerable will personally investigate this matter! Everyone return and await my next summons!"

"Jie jie... jie... shut up!" After a shrill shout, the Evil Ghost flew off like a gust of wind, quickly disappearing deep into the mountain forest. Leaving the men in black looking at each other, they eventually shook their heads, sighed, and vanished into the night separately.... One day, while leisurely sitting in the courtyard enjoying tea and enthusiastically reading a book with Mengmeng—the fox whose head was filled with dreams of becoming an immortal—Boss Song saw Nie Feng return!

This was his first time returning to Plum Manor in almost a week since he entered the city last time. Waiting for Nie Feng to run into the courtyard, Song Que put down his book and smiled, calling out:"Old Nie! Is everything in the city alright?"

"Young Master, you have no idea! Qinghe County is completely in chaos right now! Fortunately, you instructed the people below not to act rashly beforehand; that avoided quite a few conflicts!" Nie Feng walked up beside him and stood respectfully to report.

"Sit down, no need to be so bound by formalities. Have a sip of tea first, then tell me everything that happened in the city these past few days."

"Thank you, Young Master!" Old Nie still worked with the same rigorous adherence to hierarchy and order! Only after Song Que told him to sit did he find an empty chair, sit down, and slowly explain.

"Young Master, since that day, various factions have been constantly sending people into the county! From the Imperial Court, there are military personnel and Six Doors officers! From the martial world, there's the Lingjiang Gang, disciples from various sects, and martial world heroes! They truly turned Qinghe upside down! Among them is a Deputy Inspector from the Six Doors, Cai Wei! Hearing Lord Wu say it, he is already a First-Tier martial artist!

The Lingjiang Gang also dispatched a Sixth-Grade Elder and a Fifth-Grade Vice Hall Master to take over the South Docks and simultaneously hunt down Weng Hong!" Speaking up to here, Nie Feng sighed:"Suddenly, a large number of experts appeared, making people from local factions like us walk on eggshells when going out on the streets, terrified of offending some big shot!"

"Haha, I anticipated this would happen, which is why I returned to Plum Manor to lay low! I wonder how the investigation into the Blood Demon Cult is progressing?"

"Still the same. The main culprit, the Blood-Robed Venerable, and that woman Weng Hong are like needles in a haystack; there's no news at all! But I heard Head Constable Wu say they've uncovered quite a few clues regarding the kidnappings! Evidence shows the mountain bandits at Eagle's Sorrow are deeply involved! Young Master, our Black Iron Stronghold also needs to be extra careful, lest this fire spreads to us!" Nie Feng said worriedly.

"Mhm. Rest assured, Old Nie! I already reminded Knife last time to temporarily pull everyone back to the stronghold! We'll wait out this period and decide later. Right now, even the collection of 'toll fees' has been suspended!"

"It is still the Young Master who calculates thoroughly!" Nie Feng admired him endlessly. Continuing the chat with Old Nie, Song Que heard quite a few interesting rumors! First was the upper echelon of the Fierce Tiger Gang! These guys, who were enjoying themselves in Lingjiang Commandery, were left dizzy and bewildered by Old Lu's series of operations! Before they could even digest the news, they were secretly locked up and investigated by the government and the Lingjiang Gang!

Right now, they were probably still sitting in there 'enjoying' themselves! Next was the victim, the Lingjiang Gang! Old Du was screwed over quite badly by Boss Song this time! The root cause was that forged letter! The handwriting was Song Que's imitation of that woman Weng Hong! Although not perfectly identical, bearing a resemblance was enough! Everyone grew even more suspicious that this was all orchestrated by this demoness! As for the motive?

The letter stated it clearly: this Vice Hall Master Weng wanted to be promoted to full Hall Master! The mention in the letter that the Blood Demon Cult had heavily infiltrated the Lingjiang Gang truly scared Du Ruhui half to death! This time, Old Du actively cooperated with the Six Doors, thoroughly investigating all the gang's upper echelon! Coincidentally or not, they actually discovered two more Demonic Cult practitioners!

Seeing the unstable situation, these two tried to escape secretly, but how could they escape the inescapable net laid by several big shots?! In the end, they were taken away. No one knew if any information had been extracted from them yet! Hearing this, Boss Song was secretly delighted! That's the way it should be! Being busy is good! Idleness breeds mischief! Whenever this guy Old Du has free time, he easily comes up with crazy ideas!

"Young Master, there is one more thing I want to report to you!" At this moment, Nie Feng suddenly spoke up.

"Oh? What is it? Speak freely, Old Nie."

"Young Master, it's about my sworn brother! He replied the day before yesterday and immediately set out for Qinghe County! He is estimated to arrive here in a day or two! I returned this time to ask for your opinion, Young Master!"

"Is it the sworn brother you mentioned last time, Shen Ziming?"

"Yes, Young Master."