Chapter 16 I Became the Goddess's Son-in-Law?! (Sixteen)

Upon arriving at the hot spring area, they encountered soldiers from the Yin family guarding the area. Seeing Si Xuansu and Jiang Yiqing, the soldiers initially tried to stop them, but Si Xuansu's imposing presence deterred them. The two then proceeded to the solidified strata...

Upon arriving at the hot spring area, they encountered soldiers from the Yin family guarding the area. When they saw Si Xuansu and Jiang Yiqing, they tried to stop them, but Si Xuansu's imposing manner deterred them.

The two arrived at a place with solid strata, where they saw hundreds of craftsmen working hard to chisel the stone, but making no progress. Jiang Yiqing was curious about the geology of the place, so she jumped off her horse, placed her hand on the ground, and began to examine the strata.

What she saw there was astonishing.

"Snowflake Geyser Fragment x9, Whirlpool Immortal Spring Fragment x9"

Jiang Yiqing took a step back, somewhat frightened—no, stunned by the surprise. She had only guessed that there might be some strange stones inside the solid ground, but she never expected it to be a snowflake-shaped rock.

To learn about various rare and precious materials, Jiang Yiqing bought books from the mall and learned about the origin of Snowflake Geyser Stone. It is a unique stone formed by ancient magma movement, with a snow-white color and faint snowflake patterns, hence the name Snowflake Geyser Stone. This stone is known for its hardness, and it is difficult for ordinary people to cut it with knives and axes.

Although these are not holy-grade stones, they are still top-grade. What's rare is that there are nine fragments at once, which make up a perfect set. It's simply amazing!

The same goes for the fragments of the Whirlpool Immortal Spring, which together form a complete set. Jiang Yiqing looked at the name and it seemed to be the name of a spring, but she wondered what its origin was.

"Host, congratulations on obtaining the sacred immortal spring. Even immortals may not be able to bathe in such a precious spring. Your luck is comparable to that of a god!" The system's voice trembled slightly, as if it could not believe that Jiang Yiqing was so lucky.

Jiang Yiqing was overjoyed upon hearing this. The Whirlpool Immortal Spring was actually a sacred item?! Even a fragment of the Nine-Star Heavenly Ginseng or the Silver Thread Spirit Tooth was so powerful, and now there was a complete set of fragments. Wouldn't that be a fortune?

To be fair, Jiang Yiqing wouldn't have come here if it weren't to deal with the Yin family. The fact that there was a sacred-grade vortex spring in the hot spring area was something that Yin Qiang and his son could never have imagined. Jiang Yiqing loved to make her enemies suffer a great loss, so without saying a word, she put the vortex spring into her spatial storage.

However, as expected of a sacred spring, it took some time to collect. Seeing her squatting on the ground looking somewhat uncomfortable, Si Xuansu asked, "Yi Qing, did you find something?"

Jiang Yiqing couldn't wait to share her joy, saying, "There's a hot spring underground, and it's of excellent quality."

Si Xuansu was surprised that she could discover an underground hot spring just by looking at the surface. She was very impressed by her extensive knowledge: "Is that really the case? This place is rich in hot spring resources. Several have been dug out since hundreds of years ago. It is normal that there are still undiscovered ones underground."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Yiqing secretly sighed at her good fortune. For hundreds of years, no one had discovered this immortal spring, making her its owner.

She smiled even more sweetly. Actually, she always felt that something was missing in the space, and then she realized that what was missing was a hot spring. It was so wonderful to be able to find the Whirlpool Spring today!

Si Xuansu thought her smile was sweet and charming, but there was also a hint of cunning in it. The upturned corners of her eyes made her look like an adorable little fox, so she couldn't help but smile along with her.

Just as Jiang Yiqing was about to tell Si Xuansu about the snowflake-shaped stone, a noise suddenly came from the side.

Jiang Yiqing turned her head and saw Yin Qiang walking down the hillside next to her. He looked at them with great vigilance: "What are you doing here? This is the Marquis's residence. Even a general of the central army cannot trespass here."

Jiang Yiqing thought to herself that this was going to take over the entire hot spring area, but little did she know that a magical spring had already fallen into her hands? If Yin Qiang knew, he would be furious, but Jiang Yiqing didn't plan to tell him.

Yin Qiang received a message from his subordinates that General Zhongjun and his wife had entered the hot spring area. He rushed over and saw the two lingering at the construction site on the hillside. For some reason, his eyelids twitched, and he had a bad feeling.

“Young Master, we are here to share the burden of the Marquis.” Jiang Yiqing patted the dirt off her hands, stood up from the ground, and smiled at Yin Qiang.

Yin Qiang naturally didn't believe him, looking at her suspiciously: "Share your burdens? Don't be ridiculous, what's your purpose?"

Jiang Yiqing whispered something to Si Xuansu, who nodded and said to Yin Qiang, "I am indeed here to share the burden for the Marquis. I have heard that the strata here are very hard, and many craftsmen have been unable to find a way to deal with them. I thought that I might be able to lend a helping hand."

Seeing Si Xuansu's intimate behavior with her, Yin Qiang clenched his fists so tightly they cracked, and his eyes reddened with jealousy. However, when he heard that Si Xuansu wanted to help dig the spring, he did not refuse.

After all, the construction was at a standstill, and if it dragged on for too long, the emperor might blame them. He knew how capable Si Xuansu was, and it would be a good thing if he could help them break through the rock.

"Then please show us your skills, General." Yin Shang said ruthlessly, "But if there is no result, I can only say that you took the initiative to send troops, but failed to perform your duties effectively."

Jiang Yiqing felt that he would take the opportunity to shift all the responsibility for the delay onto them.

Si Xuansu drew her sword from her waist. With a simple movement, everyone was captivated by her. Jiang Yiqing was stunned by her sharp aura and neat, beautiful movements, staring at her intently.

Then Si Xuansu raised his sword "Zhuyu" and slashed it at the boulder. With a loud bang, the boulder split open from the middle.

The dust kicked up blurred everyone's vision, making it difficult for them to see clearly. Si Xuansu struck with her sword a few more times, shattering the boulder into several pieces. Even the terrain where she landed was altered, changing from flat to a jagged mess of rocks.

Jiang Yiqing was extremely surprised. She knew that the snow-covered rocks here were three zhang deep, and Si Xuansu had actually shattered the rocks at the deepest point. How much power did that require?

Moreover, although she seemed to be just casually wielding her longsword, each strike was actually carefully considered. The stones were cut into bizarre yet perfectly proportioned shapes, making them look like works of art.

Si Xuansu herself was also somewhat surprised. She felt that her strength was much greater than before, and this was precisely after she ate the Spirit Tooth Fruit. The fruit that Yi Qing gave her must have been a kind of miraculous fruit that could increase strength, making her capable of handling thousands of pounds of force.

Seeing the stone break apart, Yin Qiang danced with joy and directed the craftsmen: "Load all the stones onto the carts and transport them away, quickly!"

When Jiang Yiqing heard that he wanted to take the stone away, she thought that the area around the hot spring was missing something to decorate the scenery. The snowflake-shaped stone would come in handy, and besides, it was a stone cleaved by the goddess herself. How could she let him take it away?

"Doesn't the young master have anything to give us in return? Why don't you leave this stone to us?" Jiang Yiqing said with a smile, trying to stop him.

Yin Qiang had learned his lesson from her mistakes. Seeing how much she wanted the stones, he wondered if they were something special. These stones were as white as jade, with patterns on them, making them rare and fine materials. He even wanted to transport them back to the Marquis's mansion to build a large garden.

"This place was discovered by me first, so the stone belongs to me. You two helped voluntarily, and you didn't say anything about asking me to repay you."

Jiang Yiqing thought to herself that he was indeed shameless, but she didn't mind. She had just written the character "fly" on the stone, and no matter where the stone was, she was sure it would fly into the general's mansion tonight.

“What you say makes sense, but surely you can at least give us the hundred taels of gold?” Jiang Yiqing asked again.

Everyone knew that Yin Qiang had promised a reward of one hundred taels of gold to the person who had broken through the strata. Hearing this, he nodded reluctantly and said, "I will send someone to transport the gold to the General's Mansion later."

“No need,” Jiang Yiqing said. “We should distribute the gold to the stonemasons who work here. Your Highness, you should send someone to the Marquis’s residence to collect the money now. We will wait here.”

Upon hearing this, all the craftsmen present raised their fists and cheered.

"Young Master Jiang is mighty! General Si is mighty!"

...

When Yin Qiang saw that Jiang Yiqing had used his money to curry favor, his face turned ashen, but he still sent someone to get the money.

Since the opportunity to get out was rare, Jiang Yiqing invited Si Xuansu to stroll around the hot spring area together.

Si Xuansu agreed, and Yun Lin ran as if she were riding the clouds. At first, Yin Qiang was chasing after her on horseback, but later he could no longer catch up with them.

After swatting away the annoying flies, Yunlin arrived at the source of the hot spring dug by the Yin family.

Jiang Yiqing jumped off her horse and observed that although this hot spring could not be compared with the Whirlpool Immortal Spring, it was still a top-quality hot spring.

The Yin family was extremely cautious about this hot spring, as it was a gift to the Emperor and could not afford the slightest mistake. Soldiers were guarding it, and they were very nervous when the two arrived.

Jiang Yiqing smiled and told them she was just going to take a look, and indeed she only took one look before leaving.

The soldiers were relieved, unaware that Jiang Yiqing had already tampered with their equipment.

The servants of the Yin family finally brought the gold. Jiang Yiqing, adhering to the principle of sharing wealth, distributed the gold to the craftsmen.

Everyone had worked so hard for so long without any reward, and they were in a time of great distress and anxiety when they received the gold. They didn't know how to express their gratitude to the two men.

And so, Jiang Yiqing and Si Xuansu left the hot spring area amidst the praises of all the craftsmen.