The Legend of the Condor Heroes: From Being Expelled from Peach Blossom Island

Chapter 496 Smoke Emerging from Seven Orifices
Wu Chengyu was still quite excited and his mouth was dry.

"Come in," he said, immediately putting away the parchment drawings.

A maidservant, carrying a tray in one hand and pushing open the door with the other, looked somewhat familiar; she was the same one he had encountered a few days ago when he had brought Pu Zhishen into the inner hall.

She was plain-looking, with dark skin and rough hands; she looked like an ordinary, unsophisticated maid.

"Deputy Banner Chief, I have prepared tea and some snacks for you. It's not dinner time yet, so you can have a little something to eat first."

Wu Chengyu raised an eyebrow. Compared to her ordinary appearance, the girl's voice was very pleasant, like the tinkling of a bell.

He examined the maid's face again carefully. She was not disguised. Wu Chengyu was a master of disguise and had extraordinary eyesight. If the maid was disguised, she would not have been able to hide it from him. Therefore, this was not another Xiao Zhao.

"What's your name? Where do you live?"

“Replying to the deputy banner chief, my name is Zhaodi, and my home is in Houtu Village in the back mountain.”

Hou Tu Qi, Hou Tu Feng, Hou Tu Cun—names that are nothing new, but Wu Chengyu knew that there were similar villages on the back of the mountains where each of the Five Elements Banners was located. These were villages spontaneously formed by the disciples and their families of Hou Tu Qi, and every family in them had disciples of Hou Tu Qi.

More than a hundred years ago, after the failure of the Qian La uprising and the relocation of the Ming Cult to Bright Peak, a small society had formed in the surrounding area of ​​several hundred square kilometers.

The Ming Cult disciples did not abandon their families and homes to join the rebellion; their families mostly lived in the mountains near Bright Peak.

However, the families of the Five Elements Banners are relatively exclusive, and only the families of their respective disciples gather together.

Pu Zhishen was an outsider, assigned by higher authorities. He was not a true member of the Houtu Banner, so although he was a banner chief, his family members were not in Houtu Village.

Pang Kun, however, was an absolute member of the Hou Tu Banner, and his father was the person in charge of Hou Tu Village, wielding great influence within the Hou Tu Banner.

The same applies to the families of other Five Elements Banner members. Only the families of the earliest Five Elements Banner disciples can enter the back mountain, and it is difficult for those who join later to integrate.

Only those who have stayed in the Five Elements Banner for a long time, gained recognition, and established marriage ties with direct descendants are allowed to move into the village.

Wu Chengyu hadn't thought much of it before, but now he realized that this arrangement actually had a deeper meaning, which could be considered as ensuring the bloodline of the Five Elements Banner.

"The name Zhao Di is quite auspicious. Has it brought you a few younger brothers?"

Zhao Di's face froze: "I can't summon my brother. My father went to the Central Plains with the sect leader a few days ago and hasn't returned."

Wu Chengyu was speechless for a moment. Zhao Di's father must have died in battle against the Beggars' Sect disciples at Phoenix Mountain, so he could be considered a soldier's surviving family member.

"You'll be my personal maid from now on?"

“My father is gone, and my mother is in poor health. It was General Pang who, out of pity for me, sent me to Houtufeng to find a job.”

I heard that the deputy banner chief's father also had an accident there, so we're in the same boat. Zhao Di is willing to take care of you.

"In that case, don't call me Zhaodi anymore. I'll give you a name, Xiao Zhao. I think it sounds better than Zhaodi."

Zhao Di murmured "Xiao Zhao" a few times, and thought it sounded nice. She smiled shyly and said, "Xiao Zhao thanks the Deputy Banner Chief for bestowing this name upon me."

"Alright, you can go now."

Xiao Zhao bowed slightly, and just as she was about to leave, she turned to Wu Chengyu and said, "Deputy Banner Master, the weather is getting colder, and it's chilly in the mountains. Should I get some charcoal to light the fireplace in this room and get rid of the dampness?"

Wu Chengyu's physical body has undergone a complete transformation, and his skill has reached its peak. He is no longer affected by heat or cold, so he is not uncomfortable with the weather in Kunlun Mountain. However, he is burning firewood at this time of day.

He looked at the stone wall on one side of the room and saw that a fireplace had indeed been carved out, somewhat like the kind of fireplaces found in the West, which he often saw in videos of wilderness construction in his previous life.

The fireplace is a brick and stone structure, embedded in the stone wall. The opening of the fireplace is fitted with an iron door, about one foot square, with an openable vent. This kind of fireplace is very effective at heating, as long as there is always firewood burning.

Wu Chengyu had just moved in and had been drinking outside these past few days, so the fireplace hadn't been lit yet.

"It's only August, is it really necessary to light a fire?"

Xiao Zhao smiled secretly, then quickly suppressed her smile: "I heard that the deputy banner leader used to live in Jiangnan, so he probably doesn't know much about the weather in the Kunlun Mountains."

Located in the western region and surrounded by mountains, the Kunlun Mountains have been relatively calm this year. In previous years, it would start snowing as early as August. The snow and wind in the Kunlun Mountains are incomparable to those outside.

Our Hou Tu Tang is built inside the mountain, avoiding wind and snow, but it is inevitably cold and damp, especially in winter, when the cold penetrates to the bone.

Fortunately, our Hou Tu Tang is skilled in construction. When the main hall was built, fireplaces were dug into most of the rooms. The flues in the fireplaces were interconnected, forming a fire wall, which made the main hall warm and comfortable. Otherwise, winters would have been unbearable.

Wu Chengyu understood. In his previous life, he was born in Haiqing Province, where it often snowed in October. From the capital of Haiqing Province westward to the Qilian Mountains and Kunlun Mountains, it was common for it to snow in August, and the temperature could even drop to minus 20 or 30 degrees Celsius in winter.

Therefore, Hou Tu Qi, leveraging its advantages, set up its main hall inside the mountain, not only for defense against external enemies, but more importantly for warmth. The fireplaces were a true marvel of warmth; remarkably, Hou Tu Qi not only had the ability to hollow out half the mountain, but also to connect the chimneys of each room together. Each room with a fireplace represented a wall of fire, ensuring that winters here wouldn't be too harsh.

However, he moved here five or six days ago. Although he had been out drinking with other Five Elements Banners for two or three nights and hadn't returned, he was, after all, the deputy banner leader. His fireplace should have been lit, but Xiao Zhao only brought it up today.

It seems that although Hou Tu Qi did not dare to intimidate him at this time, the invisible rejection still existed. It was not until he won the drinking contest against the other four Qi that he won Hou Tu Qi's respect. It seems that Xiao Zhao is the same. Now that he is considered half one of his own, she took the initiative to bring up the fireplace.

Otherwise, it's likely that the people of Houtuqi will only suddenly remember to light a fireplace for him when the weather gets colder, and they'll make him suffer for a while before making any decisions.

While the Five Elements Flags may not seem to hold a high position within the Ming Cult, their internal cohesion far exceeds Wu Chengyu's imagination.

Wu Chengyu didn't hold a grudge, but he glanced at Xiao Zhao a few more times, making Xiao Zhao blush, before letting her go.

"Alright, then I'll trouble Miss Xiao Zhao to light the fireplace for this poor deputy banner chief and warm him up."

Xiao Zhao seemed to be a clever girl, and she understood Wu Chengyu's meaning. She clearly saw through her intentions, but she didn't care, and the matter was left unresolved.

She stuck out her tongue a little shyly, turned around and got some firewood. Then she used bark and flint to start a fire. Her technique was clearly skilled, and in no time, the fireplace was ablaze.

The room immediately warmed up. The temperature was fine, as Wu Chengyu was immune to heat and cold, but the dampness in the room dissipated, making it much more comfortable.

“Deputy Banner Chief, please rest first. Banner Chief Pang said that you have brought honor to our Hou Tu Banner these past few days, so you must be tired. If there is anything you need, just tell me directly.”

As soon as she finished speaking, Xiao Zhao bowed and left. Wu Chengyu remained paralyzed in the room for a while, his mind still preoccupied with the meaning of "smoke coming from seven orifices," and for a moment he couldn't stay still any longer.

He changed into civilian clothes and walked out of the room. Xiao Zhao was resting in a room next to him. It looked like the fireplace in this room had been burning for more than a day or two. Although the room was small, it was much drier than Wu Chengyu's room.

"Deputy Banner Master, aren't you going to take a rest?"

"I can't stay in the room any longer, I'm going out for a walk. Speaking of which, I've been in our Five Elements Banner for several days, and I've only been drinking. I haven't even had a proper look at the Hou Tu Banner headquarters. Can you show me around and give me a tour?"

Xiao Zhao is actually quite lively. After accepting Wu Chengyu for the first time, she was not shy at all: "Then, Deputy Banner Master, come with me. Our Hou Tu Banner has been expanding in these mountains for hundreds of years. It's very easy for newcomers to get lost."

Next, Wu Chengyu got a general idea of ​​Hou Tu Tang. The entrance to Hou Tu Tang was located halfway up the mountain, but once you entered from the inner hall, it occupied a large area within the Hou Tu Peak.

Not only does it have comprehensive logistical support, bunkers and sentries, armories, and two or three medium-sized training grounds, but it has also dug underground rivers within the mountains and established a complete water supply and drainage system.

In addition, Wu Chengyu also saw two extremely large granaries and more than a dozen storage rooms, which contained enough grain and fodder to feed several thousand people for a year.

This Hoututang can be said to be the most complete military shelter, capable of accommodating 5,000 soldiers for long-term residence. The current 1,000-plus people are simply not enough to fulfill its full potential.

Even if surrounded by a large army, as long as the fortifications and secret passages are guarded, and information from the mechanisms is readily available, one man can hold off ten thousand. With the stored food and water, it is not impossible to hold out for a whole year.

Moreover, Wu Chengyu knew that with Hou Tu Tang's capabilities, there must be an escape route in this hidden troop cave, and more than one. But these were things that he, as the newly appointed deputy banner commander, could not possibly know. He estimated that even Pu Zhishen, who had served as the banner commander for so many years, was not qualified to know these secrets.

Only those true descendants of the Five Elements Banner can know the true secrets of the Five Elements Banner.

As Wu Chengyu walked, he reached the deepest part of Hou Tu Tang and actually carved open the mountain wall, creating a large terrace in the middle of the cliff on the other side. Looking out from the terrace, he could see several plumes of thick smoke rising straight into the sky from the mountain, blending into the mountain mist.

If you were on the mountainside directly in front of Hou Tu Tang, you wouldn't be able to see the thick smoke at all. The entire Hou Tu Tang gives outsiders a sense of solemnity and death, without any human warmth or human touch. This arrangement is truly ingenious.

"Xiao Zhao, what's with this smoke? Where's the fire?"

“Deputy Banner Chief, you’ve forgotten that most of the inhabited rooms in this mountain have fireplaces, and the various chimneys are connected to form a fire wall, but the smoke always has to be expelled.”

Therefore, our ancestors ingeniously converged all the flues together and built seven large chimneys hidden deep in the mountains. The smoke you see comes from these seven chimneys.

Upon hearing this, Wu Chengyu suddenly realized that he had been pondering the so-called "smoke coming from the seven orifices" without any clue. Could it be that the seven orifices refer to these seven large chimneys?

"Whether it's the Thick Earth Banner or the Five Elements Banner, they each have different abilities and are all breathtaking. It's just a pity that the upper echelons of our Ming Cult don't seem to pay much attention to the Five Elements Banner. It's a real shame."

Wu Chengyu said this half from the bottom of his heart. In this feudal era, to have such ingenious architecture was already beyond the limitations of this time.

The other half sensed someone approaching, and that someone had been following them for a while; this person was Pang Kun.

"Hahaha, I never expected that Vice Banner Chief Zhou would value my Hou Tu Banner so much. It's quite unexpected." Pang Kun looked at Wu Chengyu with a complicated expression, a mixture of wariness and approval.

Wu Chengyu knew that he had only initially integrated into the Hou Tu Banner and had only gained the praise of the disciples below. In the eyes of these Hou Tu Banner disciples who were of impeccable lineage, he was still an outsider.

But at this point, one could be more forthright: "Commander Pang, what I said is all from the heart. I wonder if I could ask Commander Pang to be my guide so that I can see this place, which is shrouded in smoke, up close?"

(End of this chapter)