Chapter 106: The Living Bodhisattva and the Poisonous Scorpion

Jiang Jiang Mingyu picked up a piece of jet-black, gleaming ore and examined it closely, unable to hide the excitement in his eyes.

"Where did this come from?"

He raised a torch; the orange-red firelight illuminated his face, outlining the resolute lines of his profile.

The soldier holding the torch pointed not far away: "In that dirt pit over there, right there."

"Your subordinate was ordered to search this area, noticed the loose soil on the ground was unusual, and so dug it open."

"My lord, what is this stuff? It's pitch black—is it coal too?"

"This is no ordinary coal; it is clearly iron ore!" His face lit up with joy as he squeezed the ore in his hand, his muscles tensing.

Before transmigrating, he had at least studied materials science and was quite familiar with this.

Zhu Ge Yu, standing nearby, frowned slightly; after moving closer to examine it carefully, his eyes revealed a look of sudden realization: "Master was right; this is indeed iron ore." Born into a great aristocratic family, he naturally possessed this trifling amount of knowledge.

"To think that this desolate Scorpion Gully actually harbors such an important strategic resource." Jiang Jiang Mingyu smiled and shook his head, "That Poisonous Scorpion clearly sits atop a golden mountain yet still engages in banditry; truly, he is foolish beyond measure."

Speaking thus, a look of self-satisfaction overflowed on his face as he solemnly waved to the soldiers beside him: "Quickly, excavate this entire area with full force; I must determine the reserves of iron ore here."

The soldiers immediately responded and moved into action, raising hoes and shovels to begin digging in unison.

Under the moonlight, their figures floated amidst the clanging sounds.

Jiang Jiang Mingyu nodded with satisfaction, his gaze burning as he stared at the mine pit, his mind already calculating the grand strategy for mining this batch of iron ore.

One double-hour passed, and the time approached the third watch of the night; as the soldiers busied themselves, the survey results emerged—"Report to my lord, we have dug to a depth of three feet and found nothing but this ore!"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Jiang Mingyu's face first lit up with joy, then assumed an expression of deep thought as his right hand unconsciously stroked his stubble. "Very good. Order everyone to guard this secret strictly and make no noise. Wait until I return to Shangmu before sending people to mine it."

Zhu Ge Yu leaned close to Jiang Jiang Mingyu, his face full of confusion: "My lord, do you not plan to sell these ores immediately?" He tilted his head, his brows slightly furrowed.

Jiang Jiang Mingyu nodded heavily, his eyes firm and powerful: "Selling the ore is only one aspect; more importantly, I intend to use this batch of iron ore to upgrade the military equipment of the City Defense Battalion." Speaking thus, he clenched both fists, his speaking pace noticeably accelerating.

"The weapons and armor currently used by the soldiers are no different from scrap iron; using these against the Other Xi Xia cavalry, even if our side has fifty thousand troops, heavy casualties will be unavoidable." As Jiang Jiang Mingyu spoke, he gestured in the air, outlining the shapes of sturdy armor and sharp spears.

"In the past, my silver was limited, so I could only swallow my anger and endure; but now it is different—with iron ore as our backing, upgrading our military equipment is just around the corner." Speaking thus, Jiang Jiang Mingyu's eyes sparkled; he slapped his thigh, his tone fervent and high-spirited.

"Tomorrow morning, after dealing with the Poisonous Scorpion, we will immediately return to Shangmu; let's get straight to work!" Jiang Jiang Mingyu clenched his fist, as if he could already see the soldiers with greatly boosted morale and the city's defense lines becoming even more impregnable.

Even now, he remained worried that it would not be long before Prince Qi, having received Tang Cheng'an's message, would begin his retaliation.

Early the next morning, in the shanzhai main hall.

Jiang Jiang Mingyu stood with arms crossed, staring intently at the Poisonous Scorpion, who was bound hand and foot, his gaze sharp as lightning.

"Shall we go? Poisonous Scorpion," he said, raising an eyebrow.

After a night of silence, the Poisonous Scorpion had also calmed down; he looked up at Jiang Jiang Mingyu: "Lord Jiang, how do you intend to deal with me?"

His voice was hoarse, and a hint of despair lingered in his eyes.

"Could it be that, just like at Mount Sanqing and Black Wind Ridge, you will take our heads to offer to the imperial court in exchange for merit?"

Jiang Jiang Mingyu sneered coldly, shifting his gaze to look down the mountain: "No, you are different from those bandits; you are a hundred times smarter than them."

"That you dared to scheme against this official proves your brain is not faulty."

He turned his head to look at the Poisonous Scorpion, a cold light gleaming fiercely in his eyes.

"Do you think this official would let you off so cheaply?"

The Poisonous Scorpion trembled all over, nervously swallowing a mouthful of saliva.

"You always claim you never indiscriminately kill commoners; then I shall take you to see the commoners and hear what they have to say."

Jiang Jiang Mingyu spoke word by word, his tone eerie and chilling.

"If even a single sentence of your previous boasting proves false, this official will skin you alive on the spot."

The Poisonous Scorpion's face instantly changed drastically, sweat rolling down his forehead: "You surnamed Jiang, if you mean to kill, then kill; why this unnecessary trouble?"

His voice trembled; he had already realized that Jiang Jiang Mingyu intended to expose his crimes.

Jiang Jiang Mingyu snorted coldly: "What? Is the Poisonous Scorpion, full of benevolence and righteousness, frightened?"

"Pity; the one calling the shots now is I, and dying will not be so easy for you." With a wave of his hand, the soldiers beside him stepped forward to lift up the Poisonous Scorpion.

As he was dragged toward the mountain foot, the Poisonous Scorpion continued to shout incessantly: "You surnamed Jiang, if you mean to kill, then kill; why all this nonsense..."

Jiang Jiang Mingyu watched coldly from the side, a cold smile curling the corners of his lips. Below Scorpion Gully lay Qiuchuan Town.

Jiang Jiang Mingyu looked up at the forty or fifty commoners in the distance who were pointing and commenting, and asked loudly: "Folks, do you recognize this person?" He pointed one finger at the Poisonous Scorpion, his brows slightly furrowed, his tone serious.

An old man with a graying beard timidly spoke up: "We recognize him; this is Lord Poisonous Scorpion from the mountain shanzhai." His voice was faint, and his eyes darted about evasively.

Jiang Jiang Mingyu nodded, staring at the old man: "Old uncle, tell me, how is this Lord Scorpion's reputation among the common people?"

The old man answered without hesitation: "Young man, the Poisonous Scorpion is one of the rarest of great good men in these ten li and eight villages!" He suddenly perked up, reverence shining in his eyes.

"Although he occupies the mountain and calls himself king, he never harms us commoners; during the busy farming season, he even sends people to help, and he frequently repairs bridges and paves roads." The old man gestured excitedly, a smile overflowing on his face.

"Where else can one find such a good person? Having the Poisonous Scorpion stationed on the mountain is the fortune of our eight generations!" Speaking thus, the old man turned back and shouted loudly to the crowd: "Is that not so, folks?"

Following the old man's cry, the commoners behind him began to echo loudly: "That's right, that's right, our Lord Scorpion is a rare good person!" "Exactly, exactly, Lord Scorpion is the Living Bodhisattva of our Qiuchuan Town!"

"Who are you people, and why have you tied up our Living Bodhisattva? Is there no Wang Fa?"

"..."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Jiang Mingyu's face assumed a strange expression, and he fell silent.

Tuke Tuke Siluo, who had been ready to execute the Poisonous Scorpion at any moment, was instantly dumbfounded: "My lord, this... did we wrong him?"

His thick brows instantly knotted together; the axe he had raised froze in mid-air, his mouth slightly agape, his eyes filled with incredulous shock.

Li Dog-Egg was also completely baffled: "Exactly, what is going on? I'm confused."

He scratched his messy sideburns, his bean-sized eyes filled with bewilderment, his wrinkled nose and mouth twisted into a knot, completely unable to understand what had happened.

Neither Jiang Jiang Mingyu nor Zhu Ge Yu spoke; they simply listened quietly to the endless stream of praise flowing from the mouths of the commoners.

The two stood straight as arrows, hands behind their backs, their expressionless profiles like two statues, merely concentrating on listening to every word in the air.

The Poisonous Scorpion, knowing his death was certain, could not help but sneer: "How is it, Lord Jiang? Are you satisfied?" His lips curled into a sinister arc, mockery shining in his eyes, his voice full of deliberate ridicule.

"I, the Poisonous Scorpion, did intend to kill you, and I know I cannot escape death today; but to say I harmed the common people—I, the Poisonous Scorpion, do not accept it."

He widened his bloodshot eyes, his voice low and fierce, every word seeming to be squeezed out between his teeth, his entire body's muscles trembling slightly.

He twisted his head tightly to one side, as if suffering the greatest grievance in the world.

His neck stretched straight, revealing the protruding tendons, his lips pressed tight into a straight line, his eyes filled with anger and disdain.

This situation was exactly what Jiang Jiang Mingyu had expected: "Everyone, I am the Imperial Envoy Jiang Jiang Mingyu." His tone was calm and composed, his pace unhurried, his steady demeanor clearly showing he had anticipated such a reaction.

"The bandits on the mountain have been completely captured by this official. If you have any grievances, speak freely; this official will stand up for you."

He raised his head slightly, his tone confident and sincere, his entire face showing no flaw, looking utterly righteous.

Unexpectedly, the old man from just now wore an expression of disbelief; he bent his waist and said, "Youngster, stop pretending. Poison Scorpion, this old man understands."

His cloudy eyes narrowed suspiciously, all the wrinkles on his face knotted together, his voice low and wary, the whole man radiating intense distrust.

"It must be that you heard the Imperial Envoy was coming, feared we would speak out of turn, so you came personally to test us."

He sized Jiang Jiang Mingyu up and down, the intense suspicion in his tone clearly visible, convinced he was merely a spy sent to probe their intentions. He patted his dry, thin chest, his bony palm making two dull "pa-pa" sounds against his worn cloth clothes: "Rest assured, ever since those twenty-plus people in the town were killed by you, we have long understood the rules." The old man's cloudy eyes darted around, his voice low and sycophantic, the wrinkles on his face all tightened.

"Even if the Imperial Envoy truly comes, we will say the same, guaranteeing we will not cause you any trouble." He bent his body even lower, his neck shrinking into his shoulders, his mouth busy with constant promises that he would never leak any secrets. His knobby fingers gripped his knees tightly, his whole body radiating a humble and cowardly aura.

Across from him, Poison Scorpion, cold sweat streaming down his pale cheeks, his hands gripping unnaturally tight, his eyes staring at the old man in terror as if seeing a ghost.

Yet the old man, foam flying from his mouth, showed no sign of stopping. He smiled cautiously, the corners of his mouth stretching almost to his ears, all the wrinkles on his face squeezed together: "By the way, Poison Scorpion, the fifteen-year-old girl from the Old Hu family is all ready."

"Old Hu said that if you take a fancy to that girl, it is his family's eight-lifetime fortune; we will send her to you before noon tomorrow." His hands clasped together, his face piled high with a sycophantic smile, his voice full of flattery, his expression humble down to the dust.

"Previously, we were ungrateful; please, Poison Scorpion, my lord, be generous and do not have our heads chopped off as well." As he spoke, he trembled as he knelt on the ground, his head bowed so low it nearly touched the earth, as if he were about to be beheaded at any moment.

At this moment, Jiang Jiang Mingyu could no longer suppress the fire in his heart; his cold eyes were like two sharp long swords drawn from their sheaths. His brows were tightly furrowed, his lips pressed into a straight line, the fire of anger burning fiercely in his eyes, ready to erupt at any touch.

He shouted sternly: "Killing and harming lives, forcibly snatching commoner girls, forcing the people to dare to be angry but not speak; Poison Scorpion, what do you have to say?" He questioned loudly, his speed extremely fast, his volume so great it seemed like he was accusing this utterly evil demon.

"Shame on you for having the face to speak so arrogantly before this official; if this can be endured, what cannot be endured?" His eyes widened, his gaze sharp as lightning, the corners of his mouth twitching as he barely held back his rage, speaking the injustice in his heart word by word, beat by beat.

"Do you remember what this official said before? If you utter a single untruth, this official will flay you alive." His voice was cold and bone-piercing, his tone filled with killing intent, making one's hair stand on end.

Jiang Jiang Mingyu's eyes sharpened, cold light bursting forth: "Come, bind this beast in human skin and flay him with a thousand cuts." His eyes shot forth cold, sharp light, his tone grim and domineering as he issued a merciless death sentence.