Rumble!
Screech!
A few buses drove into the square outside the gate of Phoenix Mountain. The doors opened and Liu Ziming and his fellow workers filed out. They lined up in the square before looking up; what they saw made them shudder.
Despite it being right in the middle of the winter, green mountains stretched out in rolls here, covered by layers upon layers of verdant plantation. Everywhere they turned, they were met with a wonderful aura of liveliness and comfort.
These workers were all migrants just transferred to Shengtian after their hometowns became vast uninhabitable lands trapped under ice and snow. What they saw here made them open their eyes wide in speechlessness.
They waited a little while before several trucks also arrived from afar, carrying workers, construction materials, and transportation equipment. After they joined the line, a person appearing to be a leader of some sort finally came out; he turned out to be Old Shui.
He had been taking spiritual tea and spiritual rice since moving to Phoenix Mountain. Together with the Red Sun Sword Skill he began to learn lately, his physique had never been this impressive. Standing in front of the crowd right now, he actually gave off a quite intimidating air.
"All right. I'm Shui Yao, and I'm in charge of this project." He did not raise his voice deliberately, but his voice was heard loud and clear throughout the square. "Normally, we don't start jobs like this in the North in winter, but as you have seen, this is not a usual place. Consider it a blessing that you're able to work here.
"Our project is right on this mountain. Food and accommodation are provided; the estimated time is a month. The plan has all been set, so the only task for you is to use your muscles and carry things around. Be smart and learn from the masters as much as you can; it'll be for your own good. If you finish this one satisfactorily, there is another project right after this and you will be considered for the job.
"Ok, let's break you up into teams. Those that had their names called, line up here…"
After that, he began to split them into teams before starting the first day of work. Several elderly masters served as instructors, teaching them how to carry things up.
Before long, all workers and equipment were on their way up the mountain; the size of the team looked rather impressive.
Each team had different tasks; the team Liu Ziming was in went all the way up. Savoring the tweeting birds and fragrant flowers as they walked, they continued this wonderful excursion until they were halfway up the mountain. The team leader then said, "You'll be mainly working here. I'll now give out your tasks. Liu Ziming!"
"Here!"
He raised his hand right away.
"Now, have a look at these signs first, then take them down. Go find Old Zheng after that and put up the new signs."
"Yes, I'm on it!"
This job did not come easy, and Liu Ziming was very eager to do it right. He wasted no time and began the examination.
He saw that he was at a side road halfway up the mountain. It led to a temple called Ziyang Temple, but there was no one inside it. The temple covered quite a large area and there were twelve signs around it, directing different roads and scenic spots.
He recorded every one of them before finding Old Zheng, who was in charge of building materials. The latter gave him two new signs and a simple map. The task wasn't all that hard—all he needed to do was to take the old one out, dig a new hole, and jab the new one in securely.
Born and raised in Heishui Province, Liu Ziming had never been in Shengtian before and knew nothing about the city, but he was no fool. He had deduced from what he had seen here that this place was probably the residence of the legendary cultivators.
With that in mind, he became even more excited and cherished this opportunity more than ever.
He carefully replaced the signs. Old ridiculous names such as Ascending Platform, Set-free Pond, Three Lives Stone were all abandoned, and only two places ended up having a sign.
One was the backyard of the temple, where a new building seemed to be planned. The sign read: Warehouse.
Another was set at the fork of the road, and on it was the new name of the temple: Service Hall.
Before they realized, it was evening. Dinner was given out at the construction site.
Liu Ziming lined up with a disposable lunch box in hand. Four glossy barrels were giving off a pleasant smell of food, and before he had time to look closely, something heavy landed in his lunch box—a large portion of pork braised in brown sauce. After that was a portion of vegetable dish, meat dish, and soup each; also, they could have as much rice as they could eat.
He was a little surprised, then found a stone to sit down on and dived into his food.
As a matter of fact, although his hometown was destroyed, they still had some savings left, but the young couple dared not spend a dime. Without a future that they could look forward to, that money was their last resort. Each cent they spent felt like taking away a piece of their soul.
After eating a few mouthfuls of the meat, Liu Ziming suddenly paused. He then took out his phone, took a picture, and sent it.
"Hello, Honey, did you see the picture… yes, they're treating us very nicely here, and the job today wasn't all that hard… Honey, now that I've got a job, don't push yourself too hard. You can buy whatever you need… don't worry, I can always earn some more. Now, make yourself some nice food. I'll be back soon…"
He hung up after a few more words, wiped a tear off the corner of his eyes, and went back wolfing down his dinner.
They had a short break after the meal; the workers habitually gathered together, chatting and shooting the breeze. Liu Ziming crouched down in a corner, while his fellow workers sat around a local elderly master, looking for a good gossip.
"Master, can you tell us about this mountain?"
"That's right. You're from around here, so tell us about it!"
"Hoho…" The old man fumbled out his cigarette box out of habit before remembering that smoking was forbidden on the mountain. He put the box back embarrassingly and said, "There really isn't much to talk about. People of Bai Town had been living off Phoenix Mountain for many years and nothing unusual ever happened. About four year ago, somehow a green snake showed up on the mountain, injuring quite a lot of people. It was quite the headline back then; the government sent people in to catch it, but a police officer was killed."
"Yeah, I remember reading about it on weibo! I left comments under it!" said a young man immediately.
"What happened later was even stranger—the snake disappeared, just like that. Then it was a new year and Phoenix Mountain was not what it used to be." Smacking his lips, the old man went on, "There was first this new manor on the north side of the mountain. Man, that was a magnificent house. The mountain was then covered in fog all the time and an iron fence was set up. Somehow, a lot of expensive cars began to come to the north side—like, millions of yuan expensive. We didn't give it much thought at that time, but now that come to think of it, the immortals were probably moving in during that time…"
"And then? What happened then?"
"My dear grandpa, stop smacking your lips! Just tell us!"
The crowd could not stand the interruption in the middle of a story and urged him constantly.
"Then? Well, then the mountain began to change. It was neither too dry nor too wet, and the temperature was always just right. Do you remember what the last summer was like? Gosh, that heat! Well, here on the mountain, it was like an air-conditioner was on 24/7. Everyone was coming here to stay away from the heat. And now, do you see how cold it is out there and how it is here? I'm sweating even just with a thin sweater on." The old man chuckled.
"Did that immortal make this happen?"
"Where does the immortal live? Have you seen the place?"
"What's inside that fence? Can we go in there?"
Questions were popping out of everyone and the old man suddenly straightened up his face. "I have to warn you: you can go anywhere, but stay away from the fence. There is Mada Mountain 1 inside."
Mada Mountain!
The crowd jumped at the name. They were all northeasterners and knew what that name stood for. Before, they might think it a joke, but with what had been happening around them, they had to believe it now.
"Don't be a smart a*s on this. So many people have broken in before you're here and all of them have been thrown out. And they all looked like they had lost their mind when they were on this side of the fence again. Whoever inside was kind enough to let them come back alive. Do you think the government would give a damn if they decided to kill a couple of intruders? So, just be content. You've come all the way here, you're fed well, and you get paid for your work. What more do you want!"
"..."
The crowd had gone even quieter at those words. They were forced to leave their hometowns after the places that used to be their home were destroyed. In the new cities, they lived gingerly, having little idea of what was to become of them tomorrow. The stark contrast between the past and the present was pressing down so hard that they felt they were being squashed between two giant millstones at the turn of which their blood and tears were slowly squeezed dry.
It was so hard that even the simplest daydreaming could not last for more than seconds.
The old man looked at the faces of the strangers around him. Smeared with dirt and exhausted, they reminded him of the withered grass blown around by the wind in the wilderness, having no shelter to rest.
He had been there himself and knew that feeling. Slowly, he said, "I know you all had a family and a job and everything back then. Some of you even had your own business, which was so much better than I ever was. But this is how life is and we have no say in that. We should thank our ancestors' blessing that we're still alive today. Since you're here already, you'll have to live with it. There are still so many years ahead of you and you never know what will happen. We can always have another chance!"
5 km northeast of Phoenix Mountain, an ancient mountain city.
The city was built during the time of Emperor Daowu of Northern Wei Dynasty by Goguryeo and was named Wugu 2 City back then. Located near the stretching branch of Phoenix Mountain, it was set up over a valley using a cliff on the north as a side of the city wall. The rest of the city wall was built with wedge-shaped stones and divided into inner and outer walls. The perimeter of the wall was 16 km; the remainder of it now was 8 m high. Three gates were set on the east, west, and south, respectively, and the southern gate sat right at the entrance of the valley.
The mountain city sat on a rather tall ground, and the city wall was relatively intact. Relics such as sentry posts, flagpoles, commander-appointing stage, dried-up wells were still found all over the city. A river also wound its way through it.
This place was actually a tourist destination, but a very lousy one. With little scene to savor, hardly any tourists ever bothered to visit. Thanks to Phoenix Mountain nearby, the weather was quite pleasant in the city. Wild grass was scattered over the otherwise bare land, blocking the heavy snow outside.
Right now, a figure was drifting down from Cuanyun Peak—the highest peak of Phoenix Mountain. Despite the drop of hundreds of meters, it landed steadily on the city wall. It was none other than Xiaozhai herself.
Looking around, she took in the entire city and nodded with satisfaction. "Nice location and big enough. It's excellent to set up a market."
She then took out her phone and called Old Shui. "When you get the chance to go to the municipal government, tell them I'll take the area of the ancient city!"
"Oh, sure."
Old Shui pursed his lips on the other side of the line. 'Who dares say no when you've said you wanted it...'
With the capability of Phoenix Mountain and the contribution Old Gu had made, as long as they didn't openly oppose the government, they would live a peaceful life with all wishes granted from now on. Not to mention that Xiaozhai's parents were among the top leaders of Shengtian now, which only made their life easier.
Just look at her: unbelievably beautiful, almost next to no one in her capability, with both parents as high-ranking officials, having a resolute and persistent temperament, with a younger-sister-complex, and doting on girls… were you sure she was not the protagonist?
After Old Gu went into seclusion, Xiaozhai promptly began the preparation work. The front of the mountain was the first being revamped. All the signs of the old scenic spots were cleaned out and after idling their days for years, the priests of Ziyang Temple were finally kicked out.
Since they were going to open up a sect, they needed to close off the mountain first. Hence, she had made the decision to take back the land-use rights of the front mountain after the revamp was finished and close off the mountain for good.
Then, she was planning on this market.
Now that the news was out in the open, there was no point in hiding anymore. She would just do it. The aim was to build Bai Town into a cultivation paradise, laying foundation for the teaching and recruiting pupils in the future.
Since Phoenix Mountain was esteemed as the leading figure, it was only natural that everyone else came to pay their respect.
TL/N: see Chapter 251 TL/N: meaning "black bone"