Chapter 0043 - The Great Green Mountain
Qin Wen continued to run after dawn, avoiding all the spirit demons and hunting parties he could, as well as the occasional mercenary teams he saw. He tried to hurry and also tried to adapt to the environment of the forest.
Two days later, he crossed the area of the main sacrificial mountain bush and rushed into the depths of the denser and more dangerous forest, rushing all the way to the Great Green Mountain.
The further he went, the more dangers he encountered, and he also saw some strange and weird spirit demons.
He encountered a mysterious white deer that suddenly disappeared into the dense forest, a ten-meter tall giant monster running wildly through the ancient deep mountains, more than a dozen black monkeys worshipping the moon to cultivate in the middle of the night, and even strange demonic beasts traveling in the river.
Qin Wen persevered through the dangers and also adapted to survive in the forest.
On the eighth day of the hunt, he finally arrived at the Great Green Mountain!
This was a mountainous thicket in the northeastern part of the Cloud Luo Forest, and it was also a large mining area that stretched for twenty to thirty kilometers.
There were five large mines scattered around, which provided the Green Cloud Sect with a staggering amount of crystals every year. Some of it was used to cultivate the disciples of the Qing Yun Sect, and some of it was used to exchange other valuable spirit herbs or pills with the outside world.
Before Qin Wen even got close to the Great Green Mountain, he could feel the feverish atmosphere inside the mine from afar.
More than 200,000 workers were working day and night to provide the Green Cloud Sect with abundant resources. They were all from Thunder Ancient City, and had originally lived happy and prosperous lives, enjoying comfort and peace, but because of the accident back then, they had been reduced to mining slaves, toiling away in this isolated mining area.
Eight years! Eight years!
Qin Wen stood at the top of the mountain, silently looking out, suddenly a little afraid to go any closer, much less daring to see the tragic scene.
What had happened eight years ago? Qin Wen was still unclear even now.
"Because the tribute that Thunder Ancient City gave to the Qing Yun Sect was robbed, drawing the wrathful punishment of the Grand Elder of the Qing Yun Sect." This was the explanation Tu Wei gave him at the very beginning, but now that he thought about it, it definitely wouldn't be that simple.
Qin Wen climbed up the high mountain in front of him and hid in the canopy of the trees, waiting for the night to fall and also secretly alerting himself to any dangers that might appear at any time. The dense forest around the mine area was infested with a large number of spirit demons, and there were also many mercenaries and bandits operating there, all of whom coveted the precious crystals inside, and would occasionally force their way into the mine to loot it or loot the team that was escorting the crystals.
That's why the Great Green Mountain has its own guards, partly made up of the disciples of the Qing Yun sect, and partly made up of the guards formed by Tu Wei himself, who are martial artists selected from the townspeople. The escort guards led by Tu Wei had a very low status and a hard job, trying to protect the suffering people while patrolling outside and facing the threat of ghost demons and bandits.
Late night!
Qin Wen calculated the time and left the high mountain, cautiously approaching the mining area.
He hadn't been here before, but the map Caiyi had given him showed the layout of the mining area in detail.
Directly to the east of the mining area was a luxurious mansion, which was the residence of the seated elders and the main camp of the crystal quarry, which was heavily guarded by at least a hundred disciples of the Qing Yun Sect, and which also housed the powerful spirit demons that had been transferred from the Qing Yun Sect.
The place Qin Wen went to was the small courtyard next to the mansion, which was marked on the map as the residence of her Qin family.
The map made by Cai Yi was very detailed and careful, listing the patrol routes and timing of the guards.
Qin Wen carefully sneaked into the mining area, safely avoiding everyone, and approached the courtyard next to the mansion.
This place was even more modest than expected, it was all stone and wood stacked houses, compactly arranged, very quiet and no bright light, not sure if they were all asleep or there was no one there.
Qin Wen climbed over the wall and walked in, standing in the dark shadows, looking at the dark courtyard, surprisingly, he didn't know what to do.
Think of the year the magnificent grandeur of the town master's mansion, and then look at the current simple and dilapidated compound, the heart of a burst of despondency, although he knew that his relatives have not lived well all these years, but it really is to stand here, the heart is still very difficult.
Where is my uncle?
Where is my aunt?
Where is my sister?
There are other cousins, relatives ...
Should I wake them up? Qin Wen's hands tightened and loosened, loosened and tightened.
Suddenly, the sound of hurried footsteps came from outside, as if someone was approaching.
"Back?" Qin Wen hurriedly straightened his clothes, calmed down, and tried to smile.
Boom! The courtyard door was rudely pushed open, and a group of people entered the courtyard with torches raised.
"Qin Ying! Qin Ying! Get up!"
"It's not even midnight yet, and you dare to be lazy and sleep?"
"Young master is calling you to accompany him, hurry up!"
A man shouted at the top of his voice, and the people following behind him pounded on the wall and banged on their weapons.
Wearing fine embroidered robes and Qing Yun Sect belt pendants, their posture was brutal.
The stone houses were all lit with candles, people were sleepily pushing open the doors, each stone house was not large, yet they all housed more than a dozen people, all women, from children to the elderly, looking at the Qing Yun Sect disciples with fear and anger.
"It's early in the morning, why do we still have to accompany the wine?" An old woman walked out on her crutches and looked at them indignantly.
"Stinking old woman, you're the one with too much to do, hurry up, where's Qin Ying? The young master misses her." The man smiled wickedly.
"I'm not going! Qin Ying is already asleep!"
"Not going? That's fine! The old rules, tomorrow, all mining slaves in the five major mines will work for one hour, share one less bottle of water, and give one less piece of dry food. Oh yes, lately the east side has been unstable, some mercenaries are causing trouble, do you want to have more of your guards go over and take a look?"
"You ... are shameless!" The old woman was so angry that she coughed, her stick hitting the ground hard.
The other women were furious, but they had all become numb, and none of them dared to resist.
"Auntie, I'll go." Behind the woman, a thin young girl came out, her face was haggard and you could tell she was tired, she tried to smile and relieve the other relatives.
An aunt?
She was an aunt?
Qin Wen looked at the old man in disbelief, two tears rolling down from the corners of his eyes, his chin trembling and twitching.
This old person is an aunt?
She was clearly less than fifty years old!
The memory of her, graceful and elegant, elegant and beautiful, how ... how ... could she be?
The young girl changed her clothes, gave the crowd a reassuring smile, and followed the Green Cloud Sect disciples out of the small courtyard.
The people in the courtyard are worried, but there is no power of resistance, they can only watch as Qin Ying is taken away.
The woman grabbed her staff and tapped gently on the ground. "Go inform the Tu Wei! That bastard from the Qing Yun Sect is restless!"
The young woman was Qin Wen's younger sister, Qin Ying! Two years younger than Qin Wen, she was already tall, pretty, and full of beauty. It was just that the long period of hard labor had left her with a dull complexion and a poor mental state.
She was brought into the luxurious mansion next door, her hands unconsciously clenched in her sleeves, her eyes filled with nervousness and vigilance.
Deep inside the mansion, in a large courtyard, was a scene of extravagance and wealth.
The sound of the zither was soulful and clear.
A group of dancing women were dancing, with enchanting dances and light gait.
Each woman was dressed in revealing clothes, with a shiny white bustier and pants on the inside and a thin red veil on the outside, revealing their perfect bodies to the eyes of outsiders.
Inside and outside of the courtyard, there were many Green Cloud Clan disciples who recklessly admired her exquisite body.
Although they were dancing lightly like fine willows in the wind, their faces were all expressionless, and their eyes showed exhaustion.
In the courtyard, there were wide tables and chairs, and a young man under the age of twenty was reclining on them, holding an exquisite wine jug and shaking his head drunkenly. Beside him, several pretty young girls were sitting on their knees, gently waving their feather fans for him and massaging his legs as he half squinted his eyes to enjoy the wonders in front of him.
"Young master, Qin Ying brought it." The group of Green Cloud Sect disciples brought Qin Wen into the courtyard and didn't rush to leave, all greedily admiring the swaying dancing girls.
"Little Ying'er, go take a bath and change your clothes first." The teenager smiled and held Qin Ying's hand.
"What do you want me to do?" Qin Ying was filled with grief and anger every time she saw the scene in the courtyard; these women used to be her Qin family's maidservants, just responsible for getting up and living, but now they were reduced to dancing girls doing shameful things.
"Doing what? You said, "Do what? You are the maid, I am the lord, you must come when I tell you to come, and you must do whatever I tell you to do."
"Leng Yuliang, we Qin family members are the servants of the manor, not your slaves.
"Tell that to the grand elder, it's useless to yell at me. I do not care what your Qin family has done, and I do not care what your status is, all I know ... is that you must listen to me now. Leng Yuliang staggered to his feet and drunkenly walked over to Qin Ying. This little girl deliberately did not change herself and looked ordinary, but he could see that this was a beauty embryo, and the beginning ... hey ... started to develop.
I like this kind of green and half ripe fruit.
"What are you going to do?" The women playing the piano and dancing all stopped and stood in front of Qin Ying, protecting their young lady.