Xiang Bo has followed the large army to the north.
When he first set out, he was actually a little suspicious, thinking that he had been discovered, so he was deliberately released to the Western Regions by Li Shuihui.
But along the way, they came in an ox cart and had enough food, so it wasn't too hard. What's more, the leader is Qiuxian among the three brothers from the Western Region. So gradually, Xiang Bo felt relieved.
It's just that he still has a grudge against the Western Regions and his party. He didn't want to go to the Western Regions and wanted to stay in Xianyang City. After all, going to the far west to find immortals is very different from what I originally imagined.
Fortunately, before leaving, Li Shui drew a big cake for them, saying that if there was any discovery, they would be able to gain fame, fortune, and wealth at their fingertips in the future.
Xiang Bo thought about it and thought it would be good to go to the Western Regions and get close to Ying Zheng after returning.
The alchemists around him were even more excited. In their view, searching for immortals in the past was a blind cat's failure. They relied on hearsay and traveled long distances, and even they themselves were not sure about finding the immortal.
But this time it was different. This time it was organized by the Banished Immortal, and what they were looking for was the Banished Immortal's hometown.
It can be said that this time is the most confident they have ever had. Along the way, many naive alchemists began to discuss how they would live their lives after ascending to immortality...
Among the crowd, only Xiang Bo was sneering: Banishing an immortal? The hometown of the gods? What a joke. Don’t I still know the details about Huaiguzi?
Huai Guzi was just a low-ranking alchemist in the Chu region, relying on some medical skills and witchcraft to barely survive. If it weren't for Xiang Liang's backing, he would have starved to death on the streets.
Would such a person be banished to immortality? It's just ridiculous.
When Xiang Bo remembered that Ying Zheng in Xianyang City also believed in Li Shui, he felt even more that the Qin Dynasty was rotten and would be replaced by the Chu Dynasty sooner or later.
Along the way, he was thinking about these things.
Suddenly, the bullock cart stopped. Qiuxian jumped out of the car and said to everyone: "We're here, everyone, come down."
Everyone was a little puzzled: "Are we here now? How far have we walked? This doesn't look like the Far West. I heard that the Far West is full of yellow sand. The sun is blazing during the day, and the wind is biting at night. But This...this is the grassland. Could this place be the territory of the Huns?"
Sure enough, Qiuxian said: "The place where you are is the hinterland of the Xiongnu."
The alchemists were all panicked. The Xiongnu and the Central Plains have been at war for many years, and the two sides have a deep hatred. If you suddenly appear here now, once the Huns come over on horseback, everyone will be taken away and made slaves.
Many people jumped back on the bullock carts and tried to escape back to the Central Plains. Some people asked loudly: "Isn't there a safer route to the far west? Why do we have to go through the hinterland of the Huns? It's better to go around."
Qiuxian looked at them coldly, and after a long time, he said calmly: "My three brothers passed by here that day, and went through all kinds of hardships to reach the far west. Now you have ox carts, companions, and Food, what are you afraid of? What’s more, General Li Xin’s troops have already wiped out this place. There are no Huns infesting this place.”
It was the last sentence that worked, and many people breathed a sigh of relief.
After calming down, someone asked: "Aren't we going to the far west to find immortals? What are we doing here? There... won't be immortals here, right?"
This place is flat, with neither mountains nor sea. How could there be immortals? Besides, immortals always live in isolation. This place is full of Huns. Will immortals live with barbarians? If there really were immortals here, the Huns would have encountered them long ago.
Qiuxian ignored everyone's doubts and ordered his cronies to divide the alchemists into several teams. Each received his tools.
Xiang Bo and Ma Sheng received the shovels, then got on the ox cart and began to search for mineral deposits.
According to what they learned in the magic class, they distinguish the color of stone and the color of soil. Observe the river water, dig out the sediment in the river... and use a shovel to dig holes in the ground if necessary.
The north was unobstructed, and the cold wind blew from afar, making Xiang Bo's heart feel cold. He couldn't help but sigh: This is simply hard labor.
Xiang Bo wanted to escape, but it was not easy to escape. After Li Xin occupied this place, he built a watchtower every few miles. These watchtowers divided the occupied territory into small squares.
On each tower, four soldiers were stationed, looking around with telescopes day and night.
During the day, once the Huns soldiers appear, they can be discovered several miles away. By the time they attacked, the Qin army had already assembled and was waiting to work.
Even the bgbushu of the Huns soldiers could be seen clearly. The usual bluffing, defeating more with less, and other confusing tricks used on the grassland are all useless.
At night, unless the Huns marched in the dark, any light of fire would arouse the vigilance of the lookout soldiers.
It is extremely difficult to advance in the dark all the way, because there are no clear roads on the grassland like in the Central Plains. The vast plains here are only relative. Sometimes you are lucky if you trip over a ditch or bump in the horse's leg. If you accidentally enter a swamp, it will be a disaster.
The watchtower was not only useful to the Huns, but also to the Fang soldiers.
There was once an alchemist who couldn't bear the hardship and felt that he was not looking for immortals at all, so he sneaked away. As a result, he was discovered by the lookout soldiers not long after he ran out, and was quickly captured.
At that time, Qiu Xian first read out the document he had signed, and then gave him a slap in the face. He claimed that if he committed the crime again, he would be severely punished.
Xiang Bo observed for a long time and felt that he had no chance to escape. Even if he could sneak away during the night, it would be unrealistic to stay up all day and come out at night. Food is a big problem. One person can only carry a few days' worth of food, and this amount of food is definitely not enough.
Finally, he accepted his fate and continued to explore for mineral deposits on the grassland. Four watchtowers can enclose a small area, and they explore it piece by piece.
In addition to exploration teams such as Xiang Bo, there are also map teams.
The map team would ride in an ox cart, measure the land, calculate the mileage, and then draw it into a map.
To keep the map accurate, they tied a strip of red cloth to the wheel. Then lie down next to the car and observe the count. According to their calculations, the wheel rotates 256 times and the mileage can reach one mile.
So the man counted there every day. Every mile, a small flag was taken from the car and planted on the ground.
Someone was riding a horse behind, drawing a map according to the small flags on the ground.
This job is not easy either. The guy in charge of counting always feels dizzy after counting circles.
A few days passed, and good news kept coming. A certain alchemist discovered an iron mine. After Qiuxian reported the news to Shangjun Courtyard, the alchemist received a reward of 50,000 yuan and a bronze medal with a commendation order engraved on it.
There was also a certain alchemist who discovered a fish he had never seen before in the river. It's non-poisonous and extremely delicious, which also received accolades. Of course, the value of discovering fish and discovering iron ore cannot be the same. But at least it's an honor. He also received five thousand coins and an honorary bronze medal.
These good news made the alchemists feel itchy, and they were also looking forward to discovering something. Even if it's not for meritorious service. But after all, I have been searching for too long recently and still found nothing, and everyone is a little frustrated. Even if you find something rare, it would be nice as a spice to your boring life.
That evening, Xiang Bo was prospecting when he suddenly heard someone saying not far away: "I've found black jade, a jade that's completely black."
The nearby alchemists swarmed away.
They saw several alchemists digging pits and digging out many black stones. But after watching it for a while, the onlookers became a little suspicious. These stones don't look like jade.
An alchemist picked up a piece, played with it, shook his head and said, "There is a huge difference between this thing and jade."
He threw the stone away and his palm was stained black.
The people around me studied it and said, "This thing may be used for grinding."
Everyone excitedly took out the inkstone, poured water on it, and rubbed it for a while. The more I grind on it, the more I feel something is not right.
Someone didn't believe in evil, so he took out a pen and dipped it in black water, and wrote a few words on the fairy paper. Then there was the big disappointment.
Especially the few alchemists who dug the pit thought they would be able to make a contribution, but they didn't expect to get such a useless thing, and they were dejected for a while.
It's getting dark now, and it's time to eat. Let's just put the pot in the pot and cook.
After digging the hole, I grabbed a piece of black stone to block the wind and built a chimney. Then everyone put the clay pots on top and started cooking.
Half an hour later, someone suddenly screamed: "The stove is on, the stove is on."
This statement is unclear and unintelligible. Everyone looked in the direction of his finger and were suddenly surprised. Those black stones turned red.
There is no high flame coming out of them, but if you put your hand on them and try them, you will find that the temperature is extremely high.
Suddenly, there was a crash, and the clay pot was cracked, and all the soup and grain inside spilled out.
A ball of hot steam emerged from the red stone, but the fire did not fade and was still emitting a blazing temperature.
Someone said: "This thing looks like charcoal."
Another person said: "It is more durable and hotter than charcoal. If it were charcoal, it would have turned into ashes after burning for so long."
Someone suddenly said: "Is it a thing from the fairy world?"
As soon as these words were spoken, many people began to worship the red-hot stones.
The news spread quickly, and Qiuxian came riding on horseback.
After looking at it for a few times, his expression suddenly changed. He took out a book from his arms, flipped through a few pages, laughed loudly, and said, "I will not deceive you if you banish the immortal."
The alchemists all asked in awe: "What is this?"
Qiuxian said: "Before leaving, Banished Immortal once asked me to pay attention to something. This thing's name is coal. It is as black as ink and can burn. It can be used for heating, but it can be used to make immortal weapons with twice the result with half the effort. Even in the immortal world China, coal is also popular."
When the alchemists around heard this, they all jumped for joy.
An alchemist said: "Since coal is so popular in the immortal world, and we have found coal, are we going to reach the immortal world soon?"
Qiu Xian said: "It is possible. However, the Exalted Immortal also said that I, the Chinese, are descendants of immortals. This coal should also exist in the mortal world itself."
Those alchemists added: "That means there is a 50% chance of finding the fairy world."
The alchemists all cheered.
