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

Chapter 576 Dove Flower

Since that incident at night, no one has dared to make things difficult for Duan Rong. Whenever Wang Long sees him, he immediately lowers his head and avoids eye contact.

Aside from busying himself with the small kitchen, Duan Rong spent the rest of his time wandering around the village. As a skinny, dark-skinned child of seven or eight years old, he was rarely noticed by the bandits who occasionally encountered him in the village.

He wandered around for two days and found two herbs that could treat external injuries, but he didn't see a single poisonous herb.

That day, after delivering lunch to the third leader, Li Tang, Duan Rong carried the empty food box and strolled leisurely along the road.

He had carefully examined all the weeds along the road and found not a single poisonous plant. Therefore, as he walked along the road, he no longer looked at the weeds, but instead looked around, occasionally glancing at the various courtyards along the way.

The afternoon sun was blazing, blinding him. Duan Rong looked for a while, then turned away, but suddenly stopped, his face slightly dazed.

He turned his head and looked again at the roof of a side room in a courtyard not far away.

There, in the cracks between the tiles, grew an inconspicuous little grass, swaying gently in the afternoon breeze.

Looking from this spot, Duan Rong saw that the small blade of grass was right in the center of the sun, and the sunlight was so dazzling that it made his eyes water. He immediately moved to another spot, standing in the shade by the roadside, and looked up again. This time he could see clearly that a small, waxy red flower was blooming on top of the blade of grass.

The moment he saw it clearly, a gleam of joy flashed in Duan Rong's eyes. "It's a dove-shaped flower!?"

The stamens of the dove-shaped flower are highly poisonous. Although this dove-shaped flower has already bloomed, it is clear that due to the poor soil, only a small, shrunken flower has emerged.

But even this small flower is more than enough to poison a person.

Duan Rong felt a surge of excitement.

After searching for many days without success, I unexpectedly came across this dove-shaped flower today when I looked up by chance!

Duan Rong suppressed his excitement and circled the courtyard. The courtyard was quite dilapidated, with walls made of adobe bricks; he guessed it couldn't be someone of high status living there.

Duan Rong wandered around outside for a while, but didn't hear any movement inside. So he picked up the empty food box, walked to the courtyard gate, and knocked on the door.

The old, warped wooden door creaked and groaned. Then, an aged voice echoed in the courtyard. "Who is it?"

A few breaths later, the door opened, and an old man in patched clothes stood there, looking at Duan Rong with displeasure. "I thought it was someone knocking? Turns out it's this little brat!?"

Duan Rong smiled and said, "Sir, I went to deliver food to the Third Master, but I forgot the way. Could you please show me the way?"

"Get lost! Who's your boss?!" The old man slammed the door shut.

Duan Rong was scolded, but he smiled happily instead. He took two steps back, looked up at the small flower on the roof of the side room, and his eyes sparkled.

"After searching for so many days, we've finally found something!"

Duan Rong left with the empty food box, his mood improving considerably along the way. Even if only an old man lived in that courtyard, he couldn't go and pick the food now; after all, it was broad daylight, and there would be too many people around!

After lunch, Duan Rong began to busy himself with the tasks that Old Man He had given him. After preparing all the meat and vegetable dishes, he took off his apron and went out again.

Every time Duan Rong stepped out of the courtyard, the children still working there would stare at him expectantly. What seven or eight-year-old child doesn't love to play? In their eyes, Duan Rong spent his days running around playing after finishing his work.

Guo Tian, ​​Lu Chu, and the others would stare blankly at Duan Rong's back. Unlike the other children, they were more curious about what Duan Rong was doing every time he went out.

While Duan Rong was sleeping at night, Lu Chu whispered something in his ear. But Duan Rong was exhausted after running around all day and didn't want to talk. He just told him to go to sleep, then turned over and fell fast asleep.

Having no other choice, Lu Chu lay down and went to sleep.

The more Duan Rong acted this way, the more Lu Chu scratched his head, wanting to know the answer. He glanced at Guo Tian and lowered his voice, saying, "Duan Rong has gone out again."

Guo Tian was peeling potatoes in his hands when he said after a while, "Didn't he notice? His feet are covered in blisters."

In the past few days, Duan Rong, wearing those straw sandals that were rubbing his feet, has run almost all over the entire village.

That afternoon, only the last patch of grass in the southeast of the village remained. This time, Duan Rong not only paid attention to the grass, but also to the rooftops of the various courtyards.

As evening approached, Duan Rong walked back to the courtyard, exhausted. Another afternoon had passed without any results.

He went into the small kitchen and started a fire. Not long after, Old Man He came in.

After delivering dinner to the third leader, Duan Rong ate his own meal and then sneaked into the shack to sleep.

As soon as he lay down, he couldn't help but exhale a breath of stale air. His legs felt like they were about to break, and were already somewhat numb.

Duan Rong turned over, wrapped the blanket, which had several holes in it, around himself, and fell into a deep sleep.

When he opened his eyes again after sleeping, the shack was quiet, with only a few people snoring softly.

Duan Rong got up and got out of bed. In the pitch black, he reached Guo Tian's side, bent down, and gently patted Guo Tian.

Guo Tian woke up immediately. In the darkness, he saw a pair of eyes looking at him, but it was pitch black and he couldn't recognize the figure at first.

Duan Rong lowered his voice and said, "It's me!"

Upon hearing the voice, Guo Tian's heart skipped a beat, and he whispered, "Is something the matter?"

Duan Rong said, "Come out with me."

Guo Tian didn't speak, then quietly got out of bed. He knew Duan Rong wouldn't call him for no reason.

The two walked quietly to the door of the shack. They looked at the room where Old Man He lived and saw that the window was completely dark.

At this moment, the pale moonlight spilled into the courtyard, as white as frost!
Duan Rong gestured to Guo Tianshi, and the two of them slowly walked through the courtyard and went out.

As soon as they left the courtyard, they walked along the shadows along the wall.

Throughout the journey, Guo Tian remained silent, simply following Duan Rong. This was why Duan Rong chose to call him!

The mountain village was eerily quiet, as if it were submerged in the darkness of the endless mountains, with only the arrow tower casting a faint, flickering light.

The bandits patrolling the perimeter often slacked off at night, finding a corner to gamble. Before long, Duan Rong and his companion arrived at the courtyard where Duan Rong had discovered the dove-shaped flower during the day.

Guo Tian looked puzzled, wondering why Duan Rong had brought him to this remote and dilapidated courtyard so late at night.

Duan Rong stood there, looked around, and listened to the sounds in the courtyard. After confirming that there was nothing unusual, he pulled Guo Tian to a mud wall.

Guo Tian stood in front of the mud wall, and Duan Rong suddenly leaned in and whispered something in his ear. Guo Tian gave Duan Rong a strange look, but said nothing, and then suddenly assumed a horse stance.

Duan Rong leaned against the wall, stepped onto Guo Tian's raised leg, and then leaped over him, sitting on Guo Tian's shoulder.

Then Guo Tian slowly got up, keeping an eye on his surroundings to avoid being caught by patrolling bandits.

After Guo Tian got up and lifted Duan Rong up, Duan Rong leaned against the wall and stood up on Guo Tian's shoulder. Then, Duan Rong lifted his leg and put it on the wall.

Duan Rong stood on high ground and first scanned the surrounding area. Seeing that the nearby alleys were pitch black and there were no bandits patrolling, he slowly let out a breath.

Looks like I'm still pretty lucky.

Duan Rong then stepped onto the mud wall and walked for a while. After all, he still had martial arts experience. Although this body was thin, he was already familiar with it. Basic strength and balance were still no problem for him.

After walking along the mud wall for a while, he arrived at the side of the side house. Duan Rong guessed that no one lived in the side house, but even so, he had to be extra careful.

Guo Tian stood below, watching Duan Rong's actions with utter bewilderment. He initially thought Duan Rong was going to steal something; there might be something important in the courtyard that he needed to obtain.

But Duan Rong did not jump down from the courtyard. Instead, he walked along the mud wall to the side of the side house and then climbed onto the roof.

Guo Tian's heart jumped into his throat. The roof was covered with tiles, and if Duan Rong were to slip and fall, it would definitely cause a huge commotion.

Then they'll be exposed!

But at this moment, he didn't dare to call out to Duan Rong, and could only stand there staring intently at Duan Rong's every move.

Duan Rong stepped on the roof tiles, testing his footing with each step before taking a firm one. At this moment, his thin, seven- or eight-year-old body had an advantage; at least he was light and unlikely to break the old tiles.

Duan Rong walked step by step, getting closer and closer to the dove-shaped flower in the darkness.

Guo Tian stood below watching Duan Rong pluck a blade of grass from the roof! His eyes flickered; he was certain that it was no ordinary weed.

Duan Rong clutched the dove-shaped flower in his hand, then stepped on the roof tiles and started walking back. Just as he was about to jump off the roof, he suddenly stomped down, and a cracking sound was heard. A piece of old tile had clearly been crushed by Duan Rong's foot; the cracked tile rolled down and landed in the courtyard with a thud!
"Who is it!" came an old, hoarse voice from a dark window.

Duan Rong's heart tightened, and he immediately jumped off the roof. Like a wildcat, he stepped on the mud wall and leaped down, rolled on the ground, and together with Guo Tian, ​​darted into the shadows in the alley.

In the courtyard, the door opened, and an old man wearing a robe came out carrying a lantern. He stood in the courtyard, looked around, but didn't see a single person. He looked down and saw a pile of broken tiles at his feet.

"Those stray cats again!" the old man muttered, then went back to his house to sleep. His yard was so poor it was practically dirt solid; what thief would bother there?
His son was originally the fourth leader of this caravan, and he had enjoyed a few good years. However, his son died away from home a couple of years ago. Out of consideration for their past relationship, Meng Zongqiu and the others didn't kick him out of the stronghold and let him live out his days in this dilapidated courtyard. However, they never inquired about him, and in the past six months, the amount of food he received each month had been decreasing.

The one in charge of the grain was the third-in-command, so when Duan Rong said during the day that he was delivering food to the third-in-command, the old man flew into a rage.

Duan Rong and Guo Tian walked back in the darkness.

Walking into a secluded, dark place, Duan Rong suddenly picked the flower from the dove-shaped flower, threw away the stem and leaves, then took out a piece of rag, wrapped the small flower in it, and put it in his pocket.

Guo Tian watched his careful movements and asked, "What kind of flower is that?"

"The dove-shaped flower," Duan Rong answered softly.

"Poisonous?" Guo Tian asked.

Duan Rong said, "Hmm. The stamen is poisonous. This one is too small, but it shouldn't be a problem to poison one person."

Guo Tian's eyes narrowed, and he asked, "Who do you want to poison?"

Duan Rong said, "I haven't decided yet. This flower still needs to be treated to force out the poison!"

Guo Tian said, "Duan Rong, we've just come out, and this place is secluded. Let's exchange information."

"Good!" Duan Rong's eyes lit up.

He had been searching for poisonous herbs in the mountain village for the past few days, but he also noticed that Guo Tian and the others worked with the children every day, and they always chatted while they worked.

Duan Rong knew that Guo Tian would definitely be able to extract a lot of information from those children, and he had been wanting to hear it for a long time.

Guo Tiandao said, "There isn't much useful information either. The chief, Meng Zongqiu, lives in a bunker. It's said that all the gold and silver treasures in the stronghold are stored in that bunker."

Duan Rong nodded and said, "Yes. I've seen that bunker. I went there with Old Man He to deliver food."

Guo Tian asked in surprise, "You went in?"

Duan Rong said, "We didn't go in, we just took a look from the outside. That bunker is built against the mountain, and it must be full of traps and mechanisms inside. If we were to attack it head-on, even if all eight of us had reached the first level of the Inner Breath Realm, we probably wouldn't be able to take it down."

A look of seriousness flashed in Guo Tian's eyes. Eliminating Jiang Hanyan's obsession and killing Meng Zongqiu and his group seemed to be more difficult than he had imagined!

Duan Rong asked, "Are there any others?"

Guo Tiandao said, "Also, the second-in-command, Wu Mingfu, is in charge of the stronghold's armory, which contains crossbows!"

"Crossbows?!" Duan Rong's eyes lit up; this news was clearly very important. If the eight of them had four crossbows, two people operating one, their power would be considerable!
"The key to the armory is on Wu Mingfu," Guo Tian said.

A hint of unease flashed across Duan Rong's eyes.

Once, Wu Mingfu ordered a late-night snack to go with his drinks. He had delivered the food to Wu Mingfu's place once. Wu Mingfu was quite fond of food and had a drinking problem! But he never thought of any way to poison Wu Mingfu.

Moreover, even if Wu Mingfu was poisoned, how could the key to the armory be obtained from him? There were still guards in his courtyard.
Even if we obtain the key, the makeshift armory is a sensitive place, so how could it be left unguarded?
Obtaining crossbow bolts from the armory is no easy task!
Moreover, even if they obtained crossbows, they wouldn't be able to break into Meng Zongqiu's bunker with them!
Guo Tian continued, "And there's the third leader, Li Tang, who's in charge of the mountain stronghold's grain! The key to the granary is on him."

Duan Rong's eyes flickered slightly. In the past two days, he had wandered around the mountain stronghold and had seen two places heavily guarded, so he had avoided them from a distance.

Looking back now, one of the locations was quite close to the courtyard where the second-in-command, Wu Mingfu, lived, while the other was very close to the courtyard where the third-in-command, Li Tang, lived. It's quite obvious where the armory and the granary were!
(End of this chapter)