Young master, why not become a corpse immortal?

Chapter 268 You want me to go? To my death?
The scholar glanced at the red notice in his hand, then at the donkey's head, and then looked down at the red notice again.

A deep look of despair slowly crept onto his face.

How is this going?

Why do I have to go to Qingniwa again?
And I'm the only one left on this trip?
Did I inadvertently offend Donkey Head? Does he want to send me to my death?

The scholar's mind was filled with all sorts of suspicions, but he still couldn't figure out why the donkey-headed man had given him this job.

"Don't overthink it. I sent you to Qingniwa not to search for the treasure, but to remind Governor Lü to be wary of a possible attack by the grassland people and to take precautions."

How could Donkey Head not understand the scholar's thoughts?
To prevent him from escaping halfway, I offered a brief explanation.

Upon hearing this, the scholar breathed a slight sigh of relief.

As long as you're not going into danger alone, that's fine.

However, a little worry still arose in my heart.

If you were to travel alone to a distant land and encounter nomads on the way, wouldn't it be terrible to lose your life?

Seeing the scholar hesitate, Donkey Head let out a barely audible sigh.

He then reached into his robes, fumbled around for a moment, and pulled out a strangely ugly jade beast.

This thing looks just like a toad, its body covered with pits and spots, and its eyes slanted upwards. If it weren't made of jade, it probably wouldn't have been noticed if it were thrown on the street.

"This is from Yu Bao's home. Carrying it will bring you a bit of good fortune. Although it can't guarantee you'll be indestructible, it can help you ward off disasters and difficulties. Take it with you."

The scholar's eyes lit up with joy, and he immediately took the jade treasure with both hands.

He cultivates the path of literature, and his physique is far weaker than that of martial artists. If he encounters any setbacks or difficulties along the way, he could easily lose his life.

Such a treasure, capable of warding off disasters and averting calamities, is tantamount to adding half a life to his life. It is something that is hard to come by even with a lot of money. Today, thanks to the esteemed person, he naturally feels as if he has obtained a priceless treasure.

He performed a deep bow with utmost respect before speaking:

"In that case, I'll go pack my things now."

After speaking, the scholar hurriedly left the teahouse.

Watching the scholar's departing figure, Donkey Head suddenly saw Lin Jiang's face.

Lin Jiang is now also in Qingniwa, where he has settled down and started a business for Lan Ke.

Although no one had ever seen him in Qingniwa, for some reason, Donkey Head always had a vague intuition.

That piece of land might really be related to this kid.

……

Ma'an Village in eastern Daxing is located outside Beihaiguan and is still some distance from the northern defense line. It serves as a rest stop between Qingniwa and the northern defense line.

Originally, a group of horse traders gathered here. Someone happened to see a mountain in the distance that resembled a saddle, and so they named the place Saddle.

More and more merchants came to buy horses, and occasionally there were friendly travelers on the grassland. People gathered and dispersed, and the original one stable became two stables, and the two stables became a village.

The village is home to both grassland herders and local people from Daxing, making it a rare place where people live in harmony.

In a simple tavern, several weary travelers were slurping noodles.

They all had the appearance of people from Daxing, and perhaps because they had been wandering the world for many years, their skin was tanned dark and shiny, and their bodies were quite burly and strong.

After hastily finishing the noodles, they ordered two small cups of strong liquor that burned their throats. They toasted each other and drank them down. Only then did the leading man lower his voice and say:
"There's something really valuable hidden in Qingniwa."

"Is the news authentic?"

"The informant heard about this from Da Shan. Da Shan has been talking about this for a long time, and we even hired an informant because of it."

“That bison is always reliable. The meat that even he is so eager to eat must be a piece of fat.”

"Let's send someone down to scout ahead and use the 'Turtle Treasure Method' to gauge the depth of the terrain."

The moment the thought arose, a restless feeling stirred within their blood.

They hurriedly tossed down a few coins to pay the bill and then disappeared at the entrance of the noodle shop.

Stepping into a courtyard, the courtyard was desolate and empty, with no extra clutter.

Then someone started a fire, someone wrote words, and someone took out a Three Realms Stele made of three pieces of bone and began to rub it in their hands.

In an instant, flames licked the rim of the basin, and the note and the bone tablet were thrown into the raging fire at the same time.

Wisps of smoke rose and settled in the muddy ditch outside Qingniwa.

……

"Let's get to work!"

The foreman cupped his hands together like a megaphone and let out a long, drawn-out whistle.

The clear, melodious shouts echoed through the forest and reached everyone's ears.

Loggers wielded their axes to clear the way, carpenters followed closely behind, quarrymen chiseled at the rocks, and bricklayers built the foundations. On the vast construction site, the work of hundreds of craftsmen unfolded in an orderly manner.

Lin Jiang was witnessing such a large-scale construction project for the first time.

The various schools of thought each had their own rules and methods, and the way of carpentry is no exception.

Two experienced woodcutters circled the giant tree, their axes rising and falling, producing a deep, resonant song:

"Ah~ Majestic green mountains, ironwood stands tall a thousand feet!"

"Hey! Ha! Steel Teeth Bites Mountain Soul!"

"Hey! Whoosh! Axe-cut marks on stone!"

With each line sung, the axe gnawed deeply into the tree trunk, like a hot blade cutting through fat. The massive tree, as thick as a man's waist, collapsed with a deafening roar, sending up clouds of dust.

As soon as the shadow of the tree fell, several apprentices hurried forward to haul away the timber.

In the distance, two treants, humming and hawing as they moved slowly, also carried timber on their shoulders, helping with the transport. These two treants were left behind by Li Guang. However, compared to magical artifacts with self-awareness, they were more like objects that could only operate autonomously, their actions entirely dependent on commands.

Seeing the bustling scene, Lin Jiang felt that the village was being built much faster than he had imagined.

He could also tell that most of these apprentices lacked a foundation in cultivation, while their masters were mostly at the first or second level of cultivation.

Lin Jiang couldn't help but recall the mountain bandits he had encountered on his journey through the clouds.

The cultivation level of that group of people was almost the same as that of the craftsmen here.

However, the bandits used their logging methods for highway robbery.

Looking at the scene before him, Lin Jiang felt a slight itch in his heart.

If I lend a hand, the construction period might be accelerated.

But he first sought out the foreman to inquire whether there were any taboos or inappropriate practices.

As the foreman saw Lin Jiang strode over, his face immediately filled with fear, and his posture became extremely respectful.

Even before setting off, to prevent his men from causing trouble, he had specifically instructed several foremen:

The person in charge this time is a very important figure, so we must be careful with our words and actions.

The supervisor naturally dared not be negligent in the slightest.

After Lin Jiang asked the question, the supervisor was momentarily stunned.

He has worked in this industry for many years, met countless people, and has done favors for many truly capable individuals.

Those highly skilled individuals, who can move mountains and level plains, and whose methods are far more swift and exquisite than those of ordinary people, would never be willing to personally go down to the ground to do such rough work.

In their view, such actions were tantamount to squandering years of arduous cultivation.

We can't afford to lose face!

But these days, it's really rare to see someone proactively asking if there's anything they can help with.

"I do not yet know what kind of skills you possess."

When the foreman asked him a question, Lin Jiang thought for a moment and simply walked over to a big tree.

He lowered his body slightly and placed his palms upside down on the tree trunk.

"Boom."

The tree trunk rose up in response.

Supervisor: "?"

The foreman suddenly remembered that before he left, he had heard a storyteller in the marketplace recount the chivalrous spirit of the martial arts world, in which a hero was said to be able to uproot a willow tree as thick as his waist.

Because of this incident, many martial arts practitioners in the city almost came to blows. Some asserted that uprooting a tree required extraordinary strength, but it would not be difficult to cut it down with a sharp weapon. Others argued that if one has the strength to cut a tree down, how could one not be able to uproot it?
Unfortunately, they were all from the outer hall, and none of them could cut the thick trunk in half with a single stroke, nor could they uproot the giant creature. They could only resort to verbal and physical fights.

At the time, the supervisor thought it was just a spectacle, but he never expected that he would witness such real skill in just two days.

Judging from Lin Jiang's relaxed demeanor, the foreman guessed that even if he threw a punch with his bare hands, the other party could probably break the wood at will.

The foreman wiped away the cold sweat that beaded on his brow.
"Go and find some sturdy trees to pull up today, but remember not to be greedy, and don't pull up too many in a conspicuous way, lest you offend the local earth god."

Lin Jiang nodded in agreement and then happily went to pull up the tree.

With his arrival, this human-shaped stroke of good fortune, it didn't take long for the woodcutters nearby to stop swinging their axes.

A crowd gathered around, marveling at the sight.

I have never seen uprooting a tree as easily as weeding.

Seeing Lin Jiang leave the arena, Jiang Jinyue also felt a desire to win.

Although she didn't possess such divine power, she could still fell a tree with a single blow by drawing the long sword from her waist.

With the two men joining in, the logging speed increased dramatically. In just half an incense stick's time, they had finished the work that would have taken the woodcutter two days.

After the two men had been locked in a fierce battle for an hour, the timber from the entire forest was neatly prepared.

The woodcutters, of course, were not idle either; they went to repair the timber.

These tasks were beyond the capabilities of Lin Jiang and Jiang Jinyue.

Strength alone is not enough; you also need skills.

With this assembly line operation, the roof frame was erected very quickly, and the first house was about to be erected.

Lin Jiang, having uprooted all the surrounding trees, paused to admire his masterpiece.

Looking at the bustling crowd in the distance, a warm feeling welled up in his heart.

Jiang Jinyue collapsed to the ground.

Fine beads of sweat had already soaked her forehead.

In terms of strength and endurance alone, she was no match for Lin Jiang.

Lin Jiang laughed twice and pulled Jiang Jinyue up from the ground.

It was noon, and in the distance, the cooks had already begun prying up earthenware pots, beckoning everyone over to eat.

Lin Jiang was also lifting his foot, intending to go that way.

But before he could take a step, his foot was suspended in mid-air.

Lin Jiang frowned.

Someone arrived near the foggy town.

Who's so inconsiderate as to come during mealtime?

(End of this chapter)