Chapter 496: Paradise on Earth
"I wonder where the Tianzhu Mountain that the lord is talking about is? Everyone in the world wants to seek immortality, but they can't find any clues. It must be the method of the gods."
In response to Zhuge Liang's question, Xia Yu smiled and pointed to the horizon: "It's not far, not far. Tianzhu Mountain is in Lujiang County, Yangzhou. It will take ten days or half a month to walk there."
Zhuge Liang: (￣□￣)
The remote village where he lives is located in Langya State, Xuzhou. Xuzhou is about 600 kilometers away from Yangzhou. Isn’t that far?
"My lord, in terms of time..." Zhuge Liang hesitated, thinking back to what Xia Yu had said before: the Yellow Turban Army was about to attack. If he didn't catch up with them, then...
"Don't worry about this. On the way to Xuzhou Langye State, I investigated the marching route of the Yellow Turban bandits. It will take them at least half a month to pass through here."
Xia Yu patted Zhuge Liang on the shoulder and gave him a reassuring look.
"Besides, we don't have to walk back to Tianzhu Mountain, so it won't take long."
Hearing this, Zhuge Liang was confused, but seeing that Xia Yu spoke with certainty and confidence, he did not ask any more questions, but followed him out of the village.
After arriving in the suburbs, Xia Yu led Zhuge Liang to a flat cliff, put his thumb and index finger into his mouth, and blew hard.
A loud whistle sounded, followed by a strong wind and shadows.
I saw a huge strange bird swooping down. The bird was made up of black and red colors, with a snake-like body, four wings, six eyes and three legs.
There was a scarlet murderous look flashing in his eyes, which made Zhuge Liang's face tighten and he couldn't help but tighten his grip on the sword at his waist.
"Don't be nervous. This is the mount . Its name is Suan Yu. Although it is a demon, it is incredibly fast. With it, it only takes half a day to get to Tianzhu Mountain from here."
Xia Yu waved his hand, and the strange bird Suanyu immediately lowered its head, not daring to open its eyes, as if it was a little afraid of Xia Yu.
Upon hearing this, Zhuge Liang was a little surprised, as if he didn't expect that Xia Yu could even subdue demons.
Demons are monsters born from chaotic evil energy, characterized by dark red eyes and ferocious appearance. Demons are usually synonymous with brutality, so how could they willingly become mounts?
But the scene before him forced him to believe it, which also made Xia Yu more and more mysterious in his eyes.
“Let’s go!”
Without waiting for Zhuge Liang to think about it, Xia Yu asked the other party to get on the bird. Although the bird was as slender as a snake, it was big enough for four or five people to ride on.
The two of them sat one in front of the other, so it didn't seem crowded.
Xia Yu, who was sitting in the front, knocked on Suanyu's head. After receiving the signal, Suanyu immediately spread his four wings, rolled up a strong wind, and flew into the sky, leaving the cliff.
Because Xia Yu was using magic to control the wind in front, there was no strong wind. After about half a day, the plane, which was originally flying at a high speed, slowed down.
In order to avoid scaring others, Suanyu did not fall directly into the village, but stopped on a cliff.
Then, under Xia Yu's guidance, the two came to a fortress at the foot of the mountain. The fortress was surrounded by wooden fences, and the sentry soldiers at the gate tower could be vaguely seen.
"Brother Zichuan, you're back!"
The young soldier patrolling at the gate of the city saw Xia Yu and stepped forward happily.
"Yeah, I'm back."
Xia Yu nodded. The city here could almost be considered built by him single-handedly, so the people here naturally knew him.
"Who is this?"
The young soldier looked at the blindfolded boy next to Xia Yu. Feeling the soldier's gaze, Zhuge Liang bowed and said, "I am Zhuge Liang, with the courtesy name Kongming."
"Oh, I'm **, with the given name **." The young soldier also hurriedly bowed. Although etiquette is generally not a big deal in the village, he cannot lose face in front of outsiders.
"Okay, you can continue patrolling. Military Advisor Zhuge is a talent I recruited. He may be your superior in the future ."
"yes!"
The young soldier saluted hastily and continued his daily patrol.
After the soldiers left, Zhuge Liang suddenly spoke up: "My lord, I have taken a high position since I arrived. Won't these soldiers have any objections?"
The term "superior" appeared as early as the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty. "Book of the Later Han Dynasty·Biography of Yang Zhen" says: "I was granted the position of superior." "Records of the Three Kingdoms·Wei Zhi·Biography of Cui Lin" says: "But because I did not serve my superior, I was demoted to the governor of Hejian."
Therefore, Zhuge Liang, who was well-read in poetry and books, naturally knew the meaning of the word "boss".
"Ha!" Xia Yu sneered, clenching his fists until they creaked. "They dare? Here, convince them with reason."
Hearing this, Zhuge Liang's eyelids twitched and he sighed in his heart. He had already boarded the pirate ship, how could he get off?
Zhuge Liang stopped thinking about it and began to observe the city.
But just this kind of observation really allowed him to see many new and interesting things.
What surprised him most was the papermaking workshop. The earliest paper appeared in the Western Han Dynasty. Its quality was rough and could not be used for writing.
After improvements by Cai Lun in the Eastern Han Dynasty, paper reached a level that was light in texture, low in price, and suitable for writing.
But nowadays bamboo slips are still the mainstream means of recording, and paper is far from becoming the mainstream.
But in the papermaking workshop in this walled city, the paper produced was as white as snow, as thin as a cicada's wing, and there were even many booklets bound with the paper.
For a moment, Zhuge Liang had the illusion that "this thing should only exist in heaven."
In addition, there are smelting furnaces, brick-burning kilns, wine-making cellars, etc., which are far beyond the current technology and amazed Zhuge Liang.
"My lord, everything here..."
"That's right, I brought them all." Xia Yu smiled proudly. Since he started practicing Taoism, his memories of the past have become clearer and clearer.
Coupled with the magical five elements magic, he advanced the craftsmanship of the village by hundreds of years. Although it cannot be compared with modern times, it at least surpassed the future Tang Dynasty.
"It's truly a work of art." After thinking about it , Zhuge Liang could only exclaim in admiration.
After touring the fortress, the two walked towards the mountainside. It was the autumn harvest season, and the golden wheat in the wheat fields was so dazzling that Zhuge Liang couldn't help but stop and watch.
Xia Yu, who was leading the way, noticed Zhuge Liang's actions and the corners of his mouth curled up slightly. This is the real magic of the Five Elements.
In addition to being used as an offensive thunder, the wood-attributed magic can also stimulate the growth of plants. It would be a waste if it were not used on crops.
Extraordinary power is used to produce far more than ordinary people working day and night.
After looking at the wheat fields for a while, the two set off again. Not long after, they arrived at the mountainside, which was covered with emerald green bamboos. In the bamboo forest, there was a small village.
The houses in the village are all built with bamboo and are divided into several locations by cliffs. The connection between the cliffs is not an ordinary wooden bridge, but a bridge grown naturally by wooden vines.
Those living in the village are not ordinary villagers. The residents here are all practicing Taoists dressed in white. It is a thriving scene.
“This place is truly a paradise on earth.”
Just as Zhuge Liang was sighing with emotion, a crane suddenly flew out from below the cliff and swooped down towards the two of them.
With a whoosh, the crane suddenly turned into an old man with white hair and beard. The old man landed steadily and walked over with a smile.
