"Yunlang, I think we should go to the King's Martial Arts Academy. It looks like this martial arts academy is not simple." Lin Shuhang looked at the imposing King's Martial Arts Academy behind him and said to Zuo Yunlang excitedly.
Zuo Yunlang frowned and said, "But each person costs three thousand taels of silver! The two of us need six thousand taels a year, which is too expensive."
"It doesn't matter. With the help of witches and ghosts, we can afford even 60,000 taels of silver, let alone six thousand taels of silver."
"No, I can't help you anymore with the money matter," said the ghost ghost.
Lin Shuhang asked in surprise: "Why?"
The ghost said: "Because I can't do anything this time."
Lin Shuhang became anxious and said, "How is that possible? Can't you turn stone into gold?"
The ghost ghost smiled bitterly and said: "The Midas touch is just a low-level trick, and it cannot really turn rocks into gold. This kind of trick can be used by ordinary people, but it will show its flaws in front of Qi cultivators.
.I think that old man is a Qi cultivator, you can’t deceive him.”
"What should we do?" Lin Shuhang became embarrassed when he heard the wizard say this.
The ghost ghost said helplessly: "There is no other way. You can only find a solution on your own."
Several people were worried and frowned in confusion.
At this moment, a delicate and smooth arm suddenly rested on Lin Shuhang's shoulder, and a pungent smell of rouge immediately entered his nose.
"You two brothers, are you so free?" A high-pitched voice came from behind.
Lin Shuhang looked back and saw a young woman wearing a small red coat.
This woman was pretty pretty, with thick eyebrows, big eyes, long legs and a slim waist, and a pair of breasts that made her little red coat bulge, sticking to Lin Shuhang's back like a ball of cotton.
"Who is this? He is dressed like a ghost and almost scared me to death!" Lin Shuhang cursed in his heart.
"Excuse me, do we know this sister?" Lin Shuhang asked awkwardly.
The woman smiled softly and said, "Don't we know each other now?"
"hehe……"
The woman whispered: "How about it? Are you two brothers interested in playing with your sister across the street?"
"What are you playing for?" Lin Shuhang was confused.
The woman said without shyness: "Brother, are you pretending to be confused? Of course you are playing with your sister."
Lin Shuhang's face turned dark immediately. Damn, this guy's feelings are like a chicken! No wonder he smiles so lewdly, is he in need of sex?
The woman poked Lin Shuhang's back with her breasts and said with a sweet smile: "Let's go, little brother, go to the other side to play with my sister. I promise to make you happy."
"Get out!" Lin Shuhang glared and cursed.
Being scolded suddenly, the woman was stunned and then got angry.
The woman glared at Lin Shuhang and cursed: "If you don't want to play, you won't play. You're so cruel! I really don't understand what's wrong with young people nowadays. They would rather play with Brokeback Mountain than play with women."
Lin Shuhang said angrily: "I'll break your uncle's back! Get out of here or I'll beat you up!"
"Hmph! There must be something wrong with the incomprehensible style!" The woman glared at Lin Shuhang, turned around and left the two of them.
"You say I'm sick? Whoever falls in love with you is considered sick!" Lin Shuhang's mouth was filled with anger.
Wu Gui laughed and said, "I didn't expect you, Lin Shuhang, to be quite decisive and able to refuse the temptation decisively. I admire your style very much."
Lin Shuhang said angrily: "What kind of certainty? She looks like a ghost and yet she dares to sell it. She doesn't even count the wrinkles on her face. She just wants to eat young grass!"
The witch ghost chuckled. This was the first time that Lin Shuhang and Zuo Yunlang heard the witch ghost laugh so happily, and the sound was indescribably pleasant.
It took a while for Lin Shuhang's anger to gradually subside. Seeing that Lin Shuhang had regained his composure, Zuo Yunlang said, "Brother Fang, let's go find a job. When we save enough money, we can come to the King's Martial Academy to practice martial arts."
"That's all it can do, but which job is the most profitable?" Lin Shuhang asked.
Zuo Yunlang said: "How about we go mining? I heard that mining is the most profitable, and many people have made a fortune from mining."
Lin Shuhang frowned and asked: "Mining? Where to dig?"
Zuo Yunlang said: "I have heard that there are many mines in this area of Zezhou, but I have never been to the Beize Snow Region and don't know much about it. Let's find some people to inquire about it later."
Lin Shuhang thought about it and said, "Okay then, let's go dig and try to enter the King's Martial Academy to practice martial arts as soon as possible!"
Zuo Yunlang nodded: "Yes!"
After agreeing, the two of them walked towards the gate of the martial arts academy.
Lin Shuhang walked up to the old man guarding the door and said, "Uncle, we didn't bring enough money. Next time we come back, please take a break and don't let your waist slip."
After saying that, Lin Shuhang and Zuo Yunlang left the King's Martial Academy together.
"Didn't you bring enough money? You don't have any money at all? Oh no!" The old man shook his head and continued to lazily bask in the sun.
…
Zezhou is located in the southwest of the Beize Snow Region, close to the Lianyun and Wusong mountain ranges, and is a fortress in the southwest of the Beize Snow Region.
Within the Zezhou territory, there are many mountains and rivers, and its thousands-mile-long border contains countless mineral deposits. Among them, Gurunsi City is a border county that mainly produces mineral deposits.
Gulens City is a city-state attached to Zezhou City, and its population is mostly composed of workers who have been mining here for many years.
Zezhou City is equivalent to a municipal-level city, Gurunsi City is equivalent to a county-level town, and "Xizhou" is equivalent to a provincial-level region. The Beize Snow Region is vast and is divided into Dongzhou, Xizhou, Nanzhou, and Beizhou.
Zhouzhou, Leizhou, Yuzhou, and Zhongzhou in the central region.
At the beginning, Gurrens City was not a city, but a mine. For the convenience of life, many miners simply moved their families here and settled in the mines.
As more and more miners settled here, the small Gullens gradually expanded into a "miners' settlement" dominated by miners. The population has remained at around 50,000 all year round. It is Zezhou's
The most representative city among several city-states.
However, although the population base of Gurrens City is huge, there are only about a hundred soldiers guarding the city.
In fact, there is a reason for this. Gurrens City is located in the west of the Wusong Mountains. The traffic here is blocked and the environment is dangerous. It has no strategic value, so it is natural for the garrison to be defended by a hundred people.
In the city of Gurrens, the garrison of about a hundred people was only used for decoration and to guard against the enemy, and the security force needed to rely on official personnel.
There is a seventh-grade government office in Gurunsi City, with 315 serving officials.
In normal times, 315 official servants are more than enough to manage tens of thousands of city residents. When necessary, the county magistrate can also deploy more than 600 reserve official servants.
If there was no war, such a powerful official force would be enough to deal with all emergencies in Gurrens City.
It only took one day for Lin Shuhang, Wu Gui and Zuo Yunlang to arrive at Gurrens City.
Before arriving here, Lin Shuhang and Zuo Yunlang had heard about some things.
Pedestrians told me that the mine outside Gurrens City mainly produces crystal ore of various qualities and is garrisoned by more than a hundred military personnel. After being screened and classified, the crystal ore excavated in daily life will be transported by caravans.
Finished products are processed in various processing areas, including various places in the snowy areas of Beizawa and the adjacent Central Plains area.
Usually, the ore shipped out of the mine will be transported by caravans to various processing sites in the snowy region of Beize for unified processing. The crystal ore dug out from the underground mines may be made into jewelry for elegant people to play with, or made into magic tools for use.
Used by warlocks and alchemists, and of course some extremely high-quality crystal ores are used by alchemists as medicinal materials.
The final processed crystal ore will be transported from various processing sites to various demand countries through commercial channels, and the huge profits can be imagined.
On the first day they arrived in Gurrens City, Lin Shuhang and Zuo Yunlang easily found a job - digging underground.
Excavation of crystal mines is a physical job. Miners must go deep into the underground mineral strata to dig out rocks and crystals using simple primitive tools such as adzes and chisels. This is not only time-consuming but also labor-intensive, and it also poses safety risks. Because the mine is not only filled with
Threats such as various toxic gases and water seepage and landslides exist. If you don't handle it well, you will die among the underground rocks.
Standing in front of the dark mine, Lin Shuhang and Zuo Yunlang looked particularly excited. After all, the profession of miners was still new to them.
"What are those two boys doing? If you want money, go and work quickly!" A businessman and supervisor stood there with a big belly and yelled at the two of them.
"What is it called! I am a paid laborer, not an unpaid laborer. Do I need to be treated like a prisoner?" Lin Shuhang cursed and followed several thin and dirty miners into the mine with Zuo Yunlang.
The mine is very large, about six meters wide and two meters high. The ground is paved with two-way sleeper rails, and the two walls are inlaid with lighting crystals every few meters. Rail cars loaded with crystals of various colors are constantly being pushed out of the underground mines by the miners.
"Hey, two new kids, come up, come up! This way." A thin, middle-aged miner called to the two people who were standing in the mine and looking curiously.
Lin Shuhang was stunned, pointed at his nose and asked: "Uncle, are you calling us?"
After confirming that the man was calling him, Lin Shuhang and Zuo Yunlang jumped on the rail car that was about to go to the underground mine.
After the two of them were seated securely, the man applied the brakes, and the rail car carrying a dozen people began to slide rapidly into the cave.
The mine was very deep, and the rail car continued to slide down for a long time before stopping.
Hundreds of meters underground, the air was filthy and hot, and it was also filled with pungent gas. Although it was only a small amount, it still made the two of them choke and shed tears.
Such a harsh underground environment made Lin Shuhang and Zuo Yunlang very uncomfortable. After a while, Zuo Yunlang squatted on the ground and vomited, with tears streaming down his face.
Seeing this new little miner squatting on the ground and vomiting before he started working, the other old miners who were desperately digging with their adzes were not surprised. They thought that they were also with Zuo Yun when they first went deep into the mine to dig.
Lang can't adapt to this underground environment mixed with a small amount of toxic gases.
Lin Shuhang also felt uncomfortable in his stomach. Waves of shocks came from his stomach, which made his head feel dizzy. All the strength in his body disappeared instantly, and his body became as soft and cottony as noodles.
However, the situation improved a lot after resting for a while. According to Lin Shuhang, young people still have some adaptability.
When he heard that wages were calculated here not by the number of days, but by the amount of work, Lin Shuhang shook his head and stood up with a curse. He didn't want to swallow and spit when others took the gold coins.
He held the manuscript and gave it a hard shovel against the hard stone wall, and his mouth was immediately numb from the shock.
Looking at the stone wall, I only dug out a small piece of stone.
"Sir, why are you so hard?" Lin Shuhang shook his numb wrist, spit into the palm of his hand, picked up the manuscript and started reading wildly again.
After a hundred blows, he was sweating profusely. Lin Shuhang was so energetic that he simply took off his clothes and prepared to practice shirtless.
However, Lin Shuhang's luck seemed to be a little worse. Although he waved the manuscript with an alarming frequency and with an alarming strength, he couldn't dig out a single crystal ore after frantically digging for a long time.
Looking at the pile of useless stones at his feet, Lin Shuhang finally broke out without digging out a single crystal ore.
"I'm not going to do it anymore!" Lin Shuhang, whose face was red, roared and slammed the pickaxe in his hand against the stone wall!
There was a loud "bang" sound, stone chips flew, and the hard iron manuscript broke in response.
Lin Shuhang, who was extremely aggrieved, threw away the broken iron pickaxe and sat down on the ground, feeling sulky.
A supervisor was shocked by the situation here and walked over with a sullen face while holding a small notebook.
The supervisor stood in front of Lin Shuhang and gave him a strange look, then took a pen and recorded: "No. 56032, one damaged tool..."
When the supervisor said that damage to mining tools would result in a deduction of wages, Lin Shuhang became anxious and jumped up to argue with the man.
The supervisor ignored him, curled his lips and sneered, then walked away with his notebook.
Lin Shuhang, who was aggrieved and depressed, almost went crazy. He picked up the broken manuscript and smashed it against the stone wall!
Unexpectedly, before he could finish venting his anger, a yellow crystal stone was smashed out as soon as he wrote the manuscript.
Lin Shuhang was startled, then became excited.
"Yunlang! Yunlang! Brother, I have dug a crystal mine! I have dug a crystal mine!"
Lin Shuhang dug out a yellow crystal the size of a fingernail from the stone wall and ran towards Zuo Yunlang.
There was a burst of sighs all around, and the miners rolled their eyes and laughed.
It turns out that topaz is the lowest variety among all crystals. A fist-sized topaz only costs one tael of silver, not to mention a crystal smaller than a fingernail?
Lin Shuhang's face immediately darkened.
…
In the blink of an eye, Lin Shuhang and Zuo Yunlang had been staying in the mine for more than half a month.
After working hard in the mine for half a month, Lin Shuhang and Zuo Yunlang have gradually adapted to the underground environment. Although their luck is not very good, they can still dig out a few fist-sized crystal stones every day.
Although his performance was mediocre, Lin Shuhang was already satisfied. After all, he could not stay hundreds of meters underground forever and live a humble life mixed with the smell of sweat and gas. But Zuo Yunlang, who had never done heavy work before, was still so bad.
Zuo Yunlang has lived in a wealthy family since he was a child. He has never done heavy work before and has undergone tremendous changes since he entered the mine. He is depressed all day long and looks like he is dying.
However, this guy would occasionally get into a mood, and when he got into the mood, he would pick up a pickaxe and start working wildly. Unfortunately, within half a month, he owed the mine owner several tools, which made him the object of ridicule among the miners.
"How long will it take to save three thousand taels of silver?!" Zuo Yunlang complained, looking at the calluses on his hands.
"It's early. Now we still owe the mine owner money for tools! Work harder!"
Lin Shuhang wheeled the pickaxe hard against the stone wall, and with a "bang" sound, the steel head suddenly broke.
"Oh shit, it's broken again!" Lin Shuhang shouted depressedly.
"Let's see what's coming out again this time?" Lin Shuhang threw the thing away and squatted on the ground.
When he opened up the gravel in front of him, a strange black bead immediately rolled out from it.
This was a completely black fossil bead, the size of a glass ball, spinning miraculously in front of Lin Shuhang.
"Holy shit, Yun Lang, come here and see what this is?" Lin Shuhang shouted as he looked at the black bead that could rotate on its own.
"What? Did you dig up the coffin?"
Hearing Lin Shuhang's scream, Zuo Yunlang immediately ran over with a pickaxe.
Lin Shuhang pointed to the black bead on the ground and said, "Look at this bead, it can actually move on its own!"
Zuo Yunlang was also shocked when he saw the black bead that could rotate on its own.
"What, what is this?!" The two of them looked at the bead at a loss. After looking at it for a long time, the bead was still turning slowly.
Zuo Yunlang said: "Brother Fang, I see why this bead is so evil. Let's not touch it yet."
Lin Shuhang said: "How dare I move? Come find Uncle Zhang and see what this is? Why is it so scary!"
"Okay, I'll call Uncle Zhang to come and take a look."
Zuo Yunlang quickly threw away his pickaxe and called Uncle Zhang to go.
Uncle Zhang is a kind-hearted old miner. When the two of them are scolded by the supervisor, it is Uncle Zhang who comes forward to say good things. It can be said that in the entire mine, the kind-hearted Uncle Zhang is the only "relative" for the two of them.
Soon, the well-informed Uncle Zhang was invited over from another mine by Zuo Yunlang. He was an old man with a face full of vicissitudes of life.
"Uncle Zhang, look at what this is, why is it so evil?"
As soon as he saw Uncle Zhang, Lin Shuhang shouted.
Uncle Zhang was shocked when he saw the bead that could move on its own.
After looking nervously for a while, seeing no one there, Uncle Zhang grabbed the black bead.
"This, this is a lucky pearl! I have been digging mines all my life, and this is the first time I have seen such a legendary thing!" Uncle Zhang said with a trembling voice.
"Yunzhu?" Lin Shuhang and Zuo Yunlang looked at each other.
"Uncle Zhang, what is a lucky pearl?" Lin Shuhang asked.
Uncle Zhang glanced behind him nervously again, then took a deep breath and explained to the two of them.
It turns out that this stone bead that can rotate on its own without relying on external force is called Yunzhu. It is a very rare mineral crystal.
Luck beads are also called spinning beads and perpetual motion beads. They can rotate on their own depending on the light of the sun and moon. As long as the light source is sufficient, these beads can run endlessly. It can be said to be a very magical thing.
It is said that the formation of luck beads is extremely difficult, because the predecessor of this kind of crystal is the crystal nucleus of some ancient creatures.
Legend has it that in ancient times, before humans appeared, there were countless creatures of all kinds living in this world.
At that time, the world was first opened, and there was abundant spiritual energy, which gave birth to many strange ancient creatures.
After those ancient creatures absorbed the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, they would breed a kind of elixir (crystal core, crystal elixir) in their heads that condensed a lifetime of energy. Those elixirs were the predecessors of this kind of fortune bead.
The ancient era lasted for a long time. During that era that spanned countless years, various monsters and beasts were rampant, so that distant and incredible ancient era was also called the "Crawling Age."
Although the age of crawling is not glorious, it is long, so long that it has led to the birth of a new civilization - the civilization of monsters!
The monster civilization is the first civilization born in this world. After a long period of evolution, the ignorant monsters gradually gained consciousness and thinking. They learned to use their brains to think, and began to rise again in another way.
However, time is both fair and cruel. Time can allow a civilization to be born from ignorance, and it can also make an era disappear from eternity.
The new civilization is gradually growing and growing. Everything is so natural. All conscious beings are dreaming about tomorrow, because under the guidance of civilization, tomorrow will be better.
However, the coming of a catastrophe ruthlessly destroyed all of this.
It was a real catastrophe that destroyed the world and was called the Doomsday Era!
With the advent of the doomsday era, the long "Crawling Era" and the new monster civilization were suddenly destroyed. The mountains turned into seas, the seas turned into mountains, the forests turned into charcoal, and life became wreckage...
Countless stars fell from the sky, melting the hard earth into a sea of fire with their blazing light and heat, followed by rising smoke and dust, covering the sky and the sun, and carrying a pungent smell.
The monsters' eyes showed panic. Facing the end of this era and the destruction of civilization, they fled in fear with a kind of sorrow of fate.
The earth behind him was burning, but it couldn't illuminate the dark sky. The screams and a kind of mournful wail resounded throughout the world!
This is really a kind of doomsday, tragic, shocking, and unimaginable!
The catastrophe lasted for three centuries.
Three centuries later, the ancient era ended, the new civilization collapsed, and an ancient creature called the monster completely disappeared from the world...
Over time, the devastated land that was once riddled with holes has lost all traces of the original catastrophe after a long period of time. The soil has covered the bones of monsters, the age of crawling, and the new civilization.
Everything is calm again...
Thousands of years later, human civilization first appeared in this world. After countless long epochs, human civilization rose, the world became the world of humans, and the era also became the era of humans.
When humans first dug out the crystal core of a demonic beast from a mineral deposit nearly a kilometer deep, they did not know that it was a demonic beast crystal core that had been buried under soil and ore for hundreds of millions of years.
Faced with the mysterious beads that can still rotate after experiencing vicissitudes of life, human civilization is shocked!
Human beings began to try to explore and seek knowledge, and finally found the lost civilization of monsters underground.