Chapter 307: Chapter 271: The Top Scholar’s Mysterious Tracks

After the Ghost Vendor left, Sang Que looked towards the southwest in the mountains.

“I want to go over and take a look.”

Sang Que was certain that the Red Umbrella Ghost had been swallowed by Yu Da, and suddenly appearing here must have something to do with Yu Da.

Yao Zhen had the same thought. She was now part of Bright Moon Mountain, and it was her duty to remove threats from Bright Moon Mountain. The foundation of her Taoist Temple had already been excavated, and she didn’t want Qingfeng Temple to be lost before it was even built.

The two squeezed into the flower sedan together; as long as Sang Que thought about the place in the mountains or pointed in a direction, the flower sedan would speed towards it, ignoring all obstacles in between, traveling in a straight line.

In no time, they arrived in the mountains, and the flower sedan stopped outside the original Ghost Realm. The Red Umbrella Ghost was wary of the aura inside and refused to go further. After reaching the location, the flower sedan dropped to the ground and vanished with the four Headless Ghost Slaves.

Sang Que and Yao Zhen stepped out from the flower sedan and took in the scene of the mountains. Sang Que immediately realized that it was not Yu Da who had been wandering here, but the Zhuangyuan Ghost.

Because there were still traces of ink paintings in this mountain forest, as if a piece of the normal world had been hollowed out and filled with ink, it seemed completely out of place with the surroundings.

Yao Zhen calculated the time and sighed with relief, “Fortunately, I saw the Ghost Realm just appear that day. Just a little short of seven days from now, if you look closely, the Ghost Realm is gradually dissipating from the surroundings. The dispersal process is slow, but it won’t form a Death Domain.”

This Ghost Realm, along with its surrounding area, had no Wandering Souls or Evil Spirits appearing. As the ink faded, the trees below died, losing all vitality.

Yu Da might have encountered the Zhuangyuan Ghost, or for some reason, Yu Da released the Red Umbrella Ghost, which was then trapped by the Zhuangyuan Ghost. When she summoned the Five Ghosts, there was a pulling force on nearby ghosts willing to contract with her.

So the Red Umbrella Ghost escaped the trap of the Zhuangyuan Ghost’s Ghost Realm. It seems that this is the only possibility.

And the Zhuangyuan Ghost was quite smart—aware that there were people in the vicinity with profound Daoist techniques, he quickly fled.

Sang Que and Yao Zhen split up along the edge of the Ghost Realm, exploring the mountain forest, but there was no sign of the Zhuangyuan Ghost, nor did they know where he had gone.

Yao Zhen was somewhat worried, unsure where the Zhuangyuan Ghost might go to harm the people next.

“Let’s go back.”

Sang Que took Yao Zhen on the flower sedan back to Bright Moon Mountain.

The flower sedan stopped on the high mountain edge of the Mountain Entrance Gorge. The bright moon hung high; the sky was full of stars, and moonlight illuminated all parts of the mountain like water.

In recent days, Sang Que and Yao Zhen together renamed several locations in the mountain.

Yao Zhen’s Qingfeng Temple was situated near Little Stone Forest outside the mountain; through a forest trail from Qingfeng Temple, you enter the Gorge in the mountains. This gorge is named ’Chaotian Road,’ and eventually, when the checkpoints are built inside, it will be ’Chaotian Pass.’

The two mountains that flank the Chaotian Road are simply named ’Double Screen Mountain’; these two mountains are quite high, completely concealing everything behind from the outside.

Previously, Jinfeng Mountain had bandit activities; the government was aware every year that they needed political achievements and would dispatch troops for cleaning up.

Once Yao Zhen’s Taoist Temple was almost complete, she could register with the government, letting them know the bandits in this area have been eradicated by her, prompting them to assign Jinfeng Mountain to Yao Zhen as territory for her Taoist Temple.

In this region full of Evil Spirits, the government was pleased to see someone willing to manage it. Added to the relationship between the Taoist Sect and Evil Suppression Bureau, the government would only symbolically collect a bit of tax silver each year and send people to inspect, not interfere much.

In the future, the government might even build a village near the Taoist Temple, increasing the population.

Yao Zhen could then leverage the Taoist Temple’s name to openly recruit disciples while secretly gathering people in the mountains—a win-win.

Initially, Yao Zhen’s choice to build Qingfeng Temple outside the mountain indeed helped Sang Que a lot.

Standing atop Double Screen Mountain, Sang Que scanned various parts of Bright Moon Mountain: previously barren, filled with forest and wild grass now. The wilderness had been partially cultivated, with square fields scattered across the mountain’s flat areas.

Rivers, fields, village—a scene reminiscent of Taoyuan.

The place destined for city construction had its trees already felled; from above, one could discern outlines in an Eight Diagrams shape.

Alongside Xuan River’s tributaries, simple embankments have been built; shortly, river channels will be dug to direct tributary waters into the mountain’s inner areas, passing by all fields, and waterwheels and mills will be constructed.

Throughout this process, Yao Zhen will remain by the river, ensuring Water Ghosts don’t suddenly emerge.

Yao Zhen frequently scouted in various areas of the mountain these days, discovering excellent clay and a large patch of mulberry forest.

Mulberry leaves can be used to rear silkworms, and clay can be used to fire bricks.

Utilizing modern internet information, building a brick kiln wasn’t difficult; Sang Que intended to directly fire bricks mixed with vermillion and Ten Victory Stone fragments.

During Wangshan City’s construction, resource issues meant not all city walls used specialized city bricks. Sang Que planned to be more extravagant, entirely using specialized city bricks for construction, including Chaotian Pass and Yao Zhen’s Taoist Temple.

By today, Sang Que had provided all the planning and technical blueprints she could; now it’s up to others to gradually realize her vision, working hard to overcome construction difficulties.

After all, she had no experience, could provide little guidance, and merely trusted in the wisdom of the laborers.

Although they were still a makeshift group, with time’s catalysis, they should eventually grow.

Once the basic infrastructure was completed, they would implement the next phase of military training plans.

Having caused various problems previously, bandits she had killed to serve as warnings were now buried in Corpse Nourishing Land, nourished with wild animal blood hunted from the mountains.

The weapon workshop was also part of Sang Que’s plan; Jiang Zao had no shortage of ready-made blueprints for use; talent in this aspect was still lacking.

Additionally, there’s a scarcity of raw materials; buying in bulk from the modern world would strain her mother’s wallet. If only there were iron ore in the mountains.

“Yao Zhen, I have to leave for a while, but if all goes well, I’ll be back within a month,” Sang Que told Yao Zhen.

She thought Yao Zhen would ask where she was going and had prepared to use Yan Daozi as an excuse, saying she was going to find her master.

Yao Zhen didn’t ask, simply nodded and said, “Got it, I’ll look after things here. Deduct my wages if anything goes wrong. I still rely on you for my Qingfeng Temple; once it’s built, I’ll bring my master over. She’ll definitely love it here.”

Sang Que paused, “Zhang Junyao, the Zhang Family girl from Pu’an City, is my business partner. She will deliver cattle and sheep soon. Please receive them and hand over the items I’ve stacked to the right of the warehouse door to her. If the mountain needs anything, tell her. If money falls short, put it on credit; I’ll settle with her when I return.”

In the Ruan Family Village, Sang Que cleared a warehouse, storing grains inside; successfully, in three months after planting potatoes and sweet potatoes, the harvest could temporarily ease the food crisis.

The goods meant for Zhang Junyao included Glutinous Rice and Vermilion, Ten Victory Stone raw stones, glass products, and industrial electrified peachwood. After Yao Zhen reviewed them, they were almost comparable to naturally formed Thunderstruck Wood but could still be used for Magic Artifact production.

Sang Que left the Red Ghost behind, using the Ghost Slave Seal to add an action rule to the Red Ghost: patrolling the mountain, immediately killing any Evil Spirits or Evil Ghosts entering without her permission.

Having explained various matters, Sang Que sent Yao Zhen back to the Ruan Family Village to rest and visited other four villages, explaining her temporary departure and advising the second and third chiefs.

She handed over the hand crossbow and the remaining fifty crossbow arrows to Luo Danian, instructing him to keep a close watch on others, strictly following her rules, prohibiting bandits from acting what they liked. Her patience had limits; if Ghost Slave Seals weren’t scarce, these people wouldn’t have survived.

After confirming no significant issues, Sang Que packed her small bundle, rode the flower sedan out of Bright Moon Mountain—now with Yao Zhen in the mountain, if she didn’t go far, disappearing directly in the village, Yao Zhen would surely notice.

Seizing this opportunity, she hoped to solve all matters regarding the Golden Child and the Story Relay group so there would be no concerns on the modern side, enabling exclusive focus on developing here.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep