A thousand enlightenments in one night, starting from being a menial apprentice.

Chapter 574 Years in the Blink of an Eye
It was almost lunchtime, and the courtyard was already bustling with activity, filled with the aroma of food...

In the small kitchen, all the ingredients were already prepared.

Old Man He personally packed the food into three large food boxes. He carefully closed the lid of the last food box, turned to Duan Rong, and said, "The food boxes are marked on the side. This one is for the head of the household, this one is for the second head, and this one is for the third head. Remember them carefully. The three heads have different dietary restrictions, so don't mix them up!"

Duan Rong looked at the food box, nodded, and said, "Elder He, don't worry, I won't make a mistake."

Old Man He picked up two of the food boxes, one in each hand, and said, "These are the Third Master's food boxes. Today is the first day, let me show you the way."

Duan Rong, being small and thin, struggled to lift the third food box and followed Old Man He out of the courtyard.

Although Old Man He looked quite old, he was very strong and carried the two food boxes without any effort. As he walked, he said to Duan Rong, "I will deliver these daily meals to the First and Second Bosses. The Third Boss lives on the other side, so you can deliver them to him."

Duan Rong said, "Understood, Elder He."

Old Man He continued, "I haven't finished yet. You also need to remember the way here, First Boss and Second Boss. Although you don't need to deliver the daily meals, the three bosses sometimes need something on short notice, such as some soup or late-night snacks with drinks. You'll be the one to deliver those things."

After Old Man He finished speaking, seeing that Duan Rong did not respond, he asked, "Did you remember it?"

Duan Rong said, "I've got it."

Old Man He said, "I mean, have you memorized the path we've taken?"

Duan Rong had actually been carefully memorizing the route, but at this moment he pretended to be clueless and asked, "The route?!"

Old He stopped and turned around, saying, "We just turned a corner from that side, so be careful."

Duan Rong said, "Understood, Elder He. I've noted it down."

The two walked for a while, and then Old Man He suddenly stopped by a large, overturned millstone by the roadside and said, “Remember this millstone. Going south from here leads to the head of the gang, and going east leads to the second-in-command.”

After finishing his sentence, Old Man He continued walking forward.

Duan Rong stood by the millstone, looking around with a glint in his eyes.

After walking for about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn from the millstone, the two had reached the innermost part of the mountain stronghold, close to the mountainside.

Duan Rong saw a strange building from afar, built against the mountainside and surrounded by high walls on two sides, making it difficult to see the true appearance of the building inside.

Old Man He said, "That's the bunker where the chief lives!"

Duan Rong gasped for breath as he walked.

Meng Zongqiu actually lives in such a place!

Duan Rong knew without a doubt that Meng Zongqiu had hidden all the gold and silver treasures in the stronghold inside the fortress.

Moreover, that bunker must be full of traps and mechanisms!

Jiang Hanyan's obsession was to kill Meng Zongqiu; it was truly a fool's dream!

These ruthless bandits, who live on the edge of death, are most afraid of dying! They're not so easy to take down!
Duan Rong relied on devouring the spirit of a weapon to display his swordsmanship, all so that he could get close to Old Man He and make it easier to use poison!
After all, he had another advantage: he could identify all kinds of herbs and was an expert in poisons! But the moment he saw the fortress, Duan Rong had given up hope of being able to poison Meng Zongqiu.

Meng Zongqiu not only lived in this fortress, but on the day the village was massacred, he stood at the village entrance on horseback with his face covered by a headscarf. To this day, Duan Rong has never even seen his face.

All of this points to one thing: Meng Zongqiu is an extremely cautious person. Anyone who tries to tamper with his food would be risking their own life!

Unless there is an extremely ingenious method of poisoning or an extremely well-hidden poison, which Duan Rong currently lacks, he will not be able to use such a method.

The most ingenious methods of poisoning require a deep understanding of the target person, starting with details of their daily life, in order to achieve the goal of deceiving everyone.

But Meng Zongqiu clearly hid everything about himself very well, so that no one would know about him!

No one understands him, so no one can target him!
This mountain stronghold is full of bandits. Does Meng Zongqiu really trust his men? The food he sends over every day is probably tested for poison with silver needles!
The moment Duan Rong saw the bunker, he knew it was impossible to kill Meng Zongqiu with poison.

Old Man He led Duan Rong to the front of the bunker. He put down the food box, pulled a rope there, and a melodious bell sound rang out from inside the high wall.

Then, a thick wooden door opened, and a young man with a gloomy, pale face walked out, pointing at the food box and saying something in a babbling voice.

Duan Rong's eyes flickered. This man was fairly good-looking, but unexpectedly, he was mute.

Old Man He handed over the head of the gang's food box, then pointed at Duan Rong and said, "From now on, the job of delivering meals will be handed over to him!"

The young man with the gloomy face glanced coldly at Duan Rong, then picked up the food box and slammed the wooden door shut.

Old Man He seemed to be used to this, and didn't take the man's rudeness to heart. He turned around and said, "Let's go, let's go to the second-in-command's place."

Duan Rong followed Old Man He for a few steps and asked, "Is that person mute?"

Old Man He said, "He wasn't originally mute, but the chief had his tongue cut out. Anyone who enters the bunker must not have a tongue, and they also cannot read!"

Upon hearing this, Duan Rong's heart tightened. Without a tongue and unable to read, there was no way to transmit information outwards.

Meng Zongqiu really did a brilliant job. This way, no one outside will ever know what he's doing in that bunker!

This person is not easy to deal with!

Old Man He and Duan Rong arrived at the courtyard where the second-in-command lived. The guard at the gate glanced at Old Man He and said, "The second-in-command isn't here. Put the dishes here for now."

Old Man He then put down the food box and left with Duan Rong.

Duan Rong stood there, only glancing at the courtyard twice. It was just an ordinary courtyard, nothing special.

Then, Old Man He led Duan Rong to the courtyard of the Third Master. As soon as they got close to the courtyard, Duan Rong heard a burst of giggles.

When the guards at the gate saw Old Man He and a child carrying a food box approaching, they let them in directly.

Duan Rong followed Old Man He across the courtyard!

Old Man He stood under the eaves and called out, "Third Master! I've brought you your meal!"

The laughter inside finally stopped, and Li Tang's clear voice rang out. "Old He! Come in! I'm starving!" Old He then led Duan Rong into the house.

Duan Rong carried the food box, lowered his head and went in meekly, not daring to look up.

As soon as Old Man He walked in, he pointed to Duan Rong behind him and said with a smile, "Third Master, from now on, he will be the one delivering your meals. His name is Duan Rong."

"Duan Rong?" Upon hearing this, Li Tang turned his head and glanced at Duan Rong, only to find him to be an unfamiliar face. He then asked, "Where's Wang Long? Wasn't he just replaced a couple of days ago? Why has he been replaced again!"

Old Man He chuckled, "Wang Long is no good. He's not up to par! This lad is clever and quick-witted when it comes to work!"

"Really?" Li Tang asked casually, not really caring. "Anyone can deliver it, as long as the food is ready!"

Old Man He turned his face away and yelled at Duan Rong, "Duan Rong! Hurry up and set the dishes for Third Master!"

Duan Rong immediately carried the food box to the table, opened it, and took out the dishes one by one.

Li Tang was sitting at the table, sipping tea. Beside him sat a woman dressed in red and green, with a gold hairpin in her hair. As Duan Rong placed dishes on the table, he glanced at the woman.

He recognized her at a glance; she was one of the five women who had been held captive at the village entrance during the massacre the previous day. Now, she was no longer dressed as a village girl, but in fine silk and satin, which made her look quite noble. Her face was adorned with rouge, making her look like a blooming peach blossom.

Moreover, just yesterday at the village entrance, she was weeping and wailing, as if she had lost her parents, but now, with Li Tang holding her waist, she's smiling and flaunting her charms...

The contrast between before and after made Duan Rong sigh inwardly!
People will give up anything to survive!
Her family's heads might be hanging on that tree at the village entrance, or perhaps they were even killed by Li Tang himself. Otherwise, why would he have kidnapped her to the village entrance? Her loved ones' bodies are barely cold, and she's already dressed in gold and silver, flaunting her charms to her enemy!

Duan Rong placed the dishes down, then picked up the empty food box and stood there obediently.

Old Man He said, "Third Master, please enjoy your meal. We'll take our leave now."

Li Tang ignored him, but Old Man He gave Duan Rong a wink, and the two of them left the courtyard.

As soon as they stepped out of the courtyard, Old Man He looked at Duan Rong and asked, "Have you memorized the route?"

Duan Rong said, "I've memorized them all."

"Let's go back!"

Old Man He dusted himself off and walked forward with his hands behind his back. Duan Rong followed behind him carrying a food box, but he was preoccupied the whole way.

Meng Zongqiu naturally couldn't kill him with poison, since he couldn't even get into the bunker!

But perhaps the third leader, Li Tang, has a chance! But even if you want to poison Li Tang, you can't put the poison in his food!

This requires Duan Rong to come up with a clever way to poison Li Tang, not only to kill him, but also to find a way to avoid getting himself involved!

This goes beyond just methods of poisoning; it may also require certain special properties of the poison itself!
But the problem now is that he is trapped in this mountain stronghold and can't get any poisonous substances. However, the endless mountains outside the stronghold have an inexhaustible supply of poisonous herbs!

Duan Rong was skilled at identifying various herbs; given half a day, he could obtain a large number of different types of poisonous substances with various properties.

But now he had no chance at all. These children were all laborers kidnapped from the village by bandits; how could he possibly let them leave the mountain stronghold?
The mountain stronghold wasn't small, but the vegetation and weeds were quite limited. Duan Rong really wasn't sure if there were any poisonous creatures there.

As Duan Rong walked, he began to look at the weeds along the roadside and in the corners of the walls, trying to see if there were any usable poisonous plants among them.

Duan Rong was carrying a food box and was standing by a wall, scratching at a clump of weeds with his foot when Old Man He, who was walking ahead, suddenly turned around, looked at Duan Rong with a strange expression, and asked in a deep voice, "What are you doing there?"

"Ah~" Duan Rong was slightly taken aback and said, "I accidentally stepped in some dog poop, so I'm just rubbing myself here..."

Old Man He said, "Hurry up, don't dawdle!"

Duan Rong then followed. The weeds there were growing very well, but there wasn't a single poisonous plant among them.

The two quickly returned to the courtyard of the kitchen, where Guo Tian and the others were already squatting and eating. Lunch was still a mixed flour and wild vegetable bun, but it was a little better than breakfast, with a bowl of sour cabbage soup with vegetable leaves floating on it. For these children who had been hungry for many years, this was already a delicacy.

As Guo Tian slurped the sauerkraut soup, he thought to himself that with their current workload and food, even if they had martial arts techniques and mental methods in their minds, and enough experience, they still couldn't achieve anything.

Achieving the Inner Breath Realm requires a significant expenditure of Qi and Blood! Inner Breath is something that is refined from Qi and Blood!
Given their current situation, it's simply impossible for them to succeed!
Jiang Hanyan's suggestion to have everyone practice martial arts was simply impossible. Furthermore, it was impossible for them to have endured five or six years in this Divine Demon Illusionary Realm! However, it's likely that Jiang Hanyan wasn't just making things up back then.

Because as long as they don't kill Meng Zongqiu and the other two, and thus extinguish Jiang Hanyan's obsession, they will have no way of leaving this realm of gods and demons. Even Jiang Hanyan herself cannot decide this.

If something can be changed, is it still considered an obsession?

Jiang Hanyan proposed that plan because, in her view, there was no better way to kill Meng Zongqiu and the other two.

Jiang Hanyan clearly understood the mountain stronghold and Meng Zongqiu and his two companions better than any of them. Although Guo Tian and the others had only stayed there for a day, they already understood what Jiang Hanyan meant.

Given their current situation, trying to kill Meng Zongqiu and the other two is like an ant trying to shake a tree—a pipe dream!

Must they really find a way to survive and master martial arts in order to escape the illusionary realm of gods and demons? Such a thought was hard for any of them to accept!
"There must be another way!" Guo Tian thought coldly as he ate his cornbread. Just then, he saw Duan Rong carrying a food box and following Old Man He in.

Duan Rong followed Old Man He into the small kitchen, and put the empty food box he was carrying back in its original place in the house.

Old Man He first gave Duan Rong instructions for the afternoon's tasks, which were to prepare dinner for the three heads of the household, how to handle the meat bones, and how to prepare the vegetables. Duan Rong took care of all of this, which would save Old Man He trouble later.

Old Man He explained everything before leading Duan Rong to the stove. Old Man He lifted the pot lid, and a fragrant aroma wafted out.

There were two bowls of vegetables, one large and one small, in the pot, with steamed buns on top.

Old Man He brought out a large bowl and said, "Eat up! The bowl inside is yours! Work hard, and you'll have meat with every meal in the small kitchen!"

After saying that, Old Man He picked up the bowl and walked out of the small kitchen.

Duan Rong brought out the bowl of vegetables and steamed buns. He took a bite of the bun, drank a sip of the vegetable soup with oil floating on top, and chewed it, immediately tasting its salty and fragrant flavor.

He sat on the threshold of the small kitchen, holding his bowl, eating his vegetable bun while frowning in thought.

There were quite a few strips of fatty meat in that dish!
He was thinking that if he couldn't kill Meng Zongqiu and the others right away, he would have to find a way to survive in this magical realm of gods and demons! Eight or ten years was a possibility!
He can get out as long as he kills Meng Zongqiu and the others! From this perspective, Jiang Hanyan's statement is correct!
Nutrition and martial arts training are equally important! No one can guarantee that they can kill Meng Zongqiu and his group and escape the illusionary realm of gods and demons in a short time!
Especially after Duan Rong saw the fortress where Meng Zongqiu lived, he felt even more strongly that this mission might not be completed! If that were the case, he could only accept the worst outcome: to endure it here and train himself to become a master again! Although this was very tough, this magical illusion was ultimately just a pipe dream; when the dream ended, everything would vanish! Ten years or twenty years would be nothing more than a blink of an eye!

(End of this chapter)