Chapter 465, Iron Ore
Although Yongwang felt uncomfortable about Daohua poisoning him, he could understand it by putting himself in her shoes. After thinking for a while, he said, "Girl, don't worry, I won't betray you."
Daohua looked at him and said nothing.
Seeing that she didn't believe him, Yongwang didn't say anything more.
Rice Flower: "Can you tell me about the situation in your village?"
Yongwang looked at her, picked up a branch and began to draw on the ground: "Our village is surrounded by mountains, and there is only one entrance and exit, which is this stone cave full of traps."
"There are people guarding the cave every day, and they are all experts. Unless you can eliminate them all, you won't be able to escape."
Daohua's eyes flashed with doubt. Even if this was a hideout where the Eighth Prince's men gathered, there was no need to guard it so strictly.
"I heard you mention the Guards before. What do the Guards do?"
Yongwang was silent for a moment: "The guards are there to maintain order in the village."
Daohua raised an eyebrow. "Your village is really something. You even have a team dedicated to maintaining order. So, do fights often happen here?"
Yongwang: "Most of the people in the village are ordinary people. They just want to have enough food and clothes. They don't fight or quarrel."
Daohua: "That's strange. If no one is causing trouble, then what are we going to do with the guards?"
Yongwang didn't know how to answer, so he just kept silent.
Seeing him like this, Daohua continued, "You say you are ordinary people, but that's not necessarily true. You know my father is an official appointed by the court, yet you still dare to kidnap me? If you don't have someone behind you, who would believe you?"
Yongwang spoke this time: "It wasn't us who kidnapped you."
Daohua immediately asked, "Could it be that you are not in the same group with them?"
Yongwang said anxiously: "Of course not, I am in cahoots with them. I reported you as soon as I found out you stole my clothes."
Daohua was silent for a moment, pondered for a moment, and then asked tentatively: "What exactly does your village do?"
Yongwang glanced at Daohua, pursed his lips and did not answer.
Seeing that he didn't say anything, Daohua had to ask from the side: "Your village is so strictly guarded, can you go out normally?"
Yongwang shook his head: "I have been in Sishan Village for three years and have never left."
Daohua frowned: "What about the others? They can't get out either?"
Yongwang nodded.
Rice Flower: "Doesn't that mean you're trapped in this village? Aren't you going to make a fuss?"
Yongwang smiled bitterly and said: "No matter how much trouble you make, those who make trouble will be killed."
Seeing that he stopped talking here, Daohua became anxious. Just as she was about to continue asking, she saw Yongwang looking at her seriously: "Girl, don't ask anymore. The more you know, the harder it will be for you to get out."
Hearing this, Daohua fell silent.
This village must be hiding some secrets.
Daohua pondered for a while and said, "Take me to the exit."
Yongwang frowned: "Are you sure? The village is full of people looking for you."
Daohua looked straight at Yongwang: "I think you should have a way to help me avoid them, right?" This man has sharp eyes, and he dared to hide her secretly. It can be seen at a glance that he is a bold and shrewd person. Such a person must have some ability.
Yongwang's brows knitted even tighter: "Even if I take you there, you can't get out."
Daohua: "Whether I can go out or not is my business. It has nothing to do with you. You just need to lead the way."
Seeing Daohua's determination to get there, Yongwang knew that even if he didn't lead the way, she would find her way there on her own. After thinking for a moment, he nodded and said, "Okay, I'll lead the way for you."
Yongwang did not take Daohua out the front, but went out through the back door and went straight to the back mountain.
It wasn't until they were deep in the back of the mountain, their figures obscured by dense vegetation, that Daohua finally found the time to look back at the farmhouses at the foot of the mountain. They were quiet and peaceful, and she couldn't help but say, "Your village looks like a paradise on earth."
Hearing this, Yongwang sneered: "You said it too, it only looks like that, but the reality is not like that. In fact, most people in the village live a very hard life, and many die before they reach thirty."
Seeing that he was willing to talk more, Daohua would never miss the opportunity: "Why?"
Yongwang was silent again, and after a long while he uttered three words: "I'm exhausted." He relied on his relationship with Bald Brother and was a smart person to rely on Master Cao, and usually did some errands, so he didn't go to the arsenal to smelt iron every day. Otherwise, his body would not be able to bear it.
Daohua's eyes flashed: "You don't have a lot of land here, right? How could it be exhausting to give each family a little bit?"
Yongwang stopped talking again.
Seeing this, Daohua had to suppress the doubts in her heart and carefully look at the situation around her.
After more than half an hour, Yongwang slowed down and whispered to Daohua, "Miss, we're almost there. Be careful. The people guarding the entrances and exits are very powerful. Don't let them find you."
Daohua nodded, bent her body and moved forward carefully.
"See that stream? The entrance and exit are right next to it."
Daohua looked in the direction Yongwang's finger was pointing. A hundred meters away there was a pond of several hundred square meters in size, and behind the pond was a huge stone cave.
At this moment, five or six big men in black clothes holding knives were standing in front of the stone cave.
Yongwang lowered his voice and said, "That stone cave is the only exit from the village. Besides the few people standing outside the cave, there are also traps inside."
He then pointed to a cluster of houses only a few hundred meters away from the stream and pond. "See those houses? Those who kidnapped you live over there. If there's any disturbance in the cave, they can come over and provide support immediately."
Daohua frowned: "Do you know how many people there are?"
Yongwang: “There are thousands of people.”
Daohua looked surprised: "So many people?"
Yongwang added, "There aren't that many idle people. Some have been sent out on errands, and some have been sent into the army to do work. Anyway, there are usually only a few dozen or a hundred people who are idle."
Daohua: "What did you just say about marching into something?"
Yongwang: "You heard wrong."
Just as Daohua was about to ask more questions, a team of guards appeared in their sight.
Watching the guards heading towards the cave, Yongwang signaled Daohua to retreat: "Hurry up, every time there's a change of guard, someone will come out to patrol the mountain."
Daohua looked at the stream again and knew that there was no possibility of escape at the moment, so she followed Yongwang to retreat.
"Bang!"
When turning back, Daohua walked in a hurry and kicked a stone without paying attention, and fell directly to the ground.
"careful!"
Yongwang quickly ran over and helped Daohua up: "Are you okay?"
Daohua shook her head and squatted down to look at the stone she kicked.
Yongwang took a glance and his expression changed suddenly. Just as he was about to say something, he heard Daohua ask, "Is this iron ore?" Although it was a question, her tone was very certain.
Looking at the iron ore in front of her, Daohua suddenly remembered the smell of rust on the quilt. She suddenly looked up at Yongwang and asked, "Is there an iron mine in your village?"
Yongwang didn't expect that Daohua guessed it immediately, so he lowered his head and said nothing.
Seeing him like this, Daohua's doubts were instantly cleared up. Why was the village so heavily guarded? Why did Yongwang say that the people in the village died early?
"Could it be that the people in your village are secretly smelting iron and forging weapons?"
At the same time, Xiao Yeyang took the brothers Yan Wenkai and Yan Wentao and followed the incense balls left by the rice flowers to the valley on the other side of the cave.
Secret Guard: "Master, the incense pills are gone once they get here!"
Xiao Yeyang gazed around the valley and said in a deep voice, "Investigate this valley carefully. The incense pills disappeared here. There must be something wrong here."
(End of this chapter)
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