The drinks and peanuts in front of them had lost their flavor. Chu Ge and Qiu Wuji exchanged a glance and simultaneously said, “Let’s go check it out.”
Just outside the town, near the mountains, was the mining area. It wasn’t a place for precious stones or treasures but rather a high-quality iron ore mine used to forge the standard weapons for sect disciples. The Cloud Horizon Sect was renowned for its tallurgical skills, and even an ordinary standard longsword made by them was considered top-notch. Qiu Wuji had once been quite proud of this fact.
However, no matter how good the forging techniques were, they depended on the availability of mineral resources.
Upon learning from books in the modern world, Qiu Wuji’s first reaction was; could it be that the rise of my sect is stained with dirty marks in every pore, and I’m the one who’s responsible for it?
The two flew towards the mining area. Chu Ge turned to look at Qiu Wuji’s gloomy expression and found it sowhat amusing.
When a female sect leader from the world of martial arts novels read Mao Zedong’s political theory in the modern world, it seed like there was a sowhat unique flavor added to the chivalrous and righteous style.
Chu Ge rembered reading fan fiction where Lin Daiyu participated in a revolution. The absurdity was beyond words.
To the point where the sense of chivalry had been washed away, and he was now more concerned about how to help Qiu Wuji handle this situation.
Upon reaching the mining area, they found it heavily guarded. A narrow path led into the heart of the mining area, and Cloud Horizon Sect disciples were stationed along the path. So were even patrolling in the snow, indicating the strict managent of the sect. Nobody was slacking off.
Of course, when it ca to the Sect Master, security was practically nonexistent.
The two sneaked in quietly, observing the situation. They saw a line of miners pushing one-wheeled carts, transporting ore into storage, while overseers kept a watchful eye on them.
After careful observation, Qiu Wuji felt slightly relieved.
There were no antagonistic behaviors like those seen in novels or movies, and there was no lashing with whips or crying for rcy. Everything was in good order, with people coming and going, displaying a lot of enthusiasm for their work.
It seed that the carts had been modified with artifacts; they were easy to push and stable. Even when snow fell on them, it was blown away by a light breeze, unable to affect the miners pushing the carts.
The sounds of mining echoed from the pit, a hive of activity.
Qiu Wuji let out a long sigh of relief. “Thank goodness… I thought we might witness the kinds of scenes that make one’s blood boil, and if that happened under my own leadership…”
Chu Ge chuckled. “It’s the image of a righteous and noble sect, after all. To be honest, it’s just an overthinking. In the Heavenly Dao’s setting, Cloud Horizon Sect is a righteous sect, and it absolutely cannot deviate from this standard. A few minor issues are normal; if they’re discovered, they can be corrected. Don’t get too hung up on it.”
Qiu Wuji hesitated. “Maybe a cursory look might not reveal anything, but could there be occasional oppression or withholding of food and wages?”
Chu Ge laughed. “What we’re doing is spot check, the most objective approach. If we find flaws in this, it’ll be even harder for regular supervision. If the person in charge sends a notice saying they’re coming down for an inspection today, they’ll tidy up everything here, welco the leaders with a nice al, three cups of wine, and, when they leave, receive an excellent rating. What else can you do? Do you want to watch over it yourself all the ti?”
Qiu Wuji was curious, “Why are you so experienced with this?”
Chu Ge replied, “I used to work in a state-owned cooperation. It was even more chaotic back then. It’s better now.”
Qiu Wuji: “…”
“It’s just that if there are any oversights, we don’t need to worry too much. In this setting of traditional fantasy, do we really need to start an industrial revolution?” Chu Ge couldn’t help but laugh. “Alright, alright, seeing you so worried is kinda cute. You’re reminding of Qiuqiu.”
Qiu Wuji argued, “Why can’t we start a revolution in a traditional fantasy setting?”
Chu Ge was taken aback, scratching his chin and pondering for a while before hesitating, “Well, my plot definitely won’t go in that direction. It doesn’t match the tone. But maybe, after it’s finished, if you’re still here and want to try sothing like that… I’m actually looking forward to it. When the world of cultivation reaches that point, I wonder what kind of developnts it will undergo. Damn, now I’m thinking about writing a new book about this…”
Qiu Wuji asked, “What prerequisites would I need to change the unchanging traditional background of this world?”
“Industrialization,” Chu Ge replied. “In a fantasy world like this, it might manifest as the widespread use of magical artifacts or sothing similar. If that’s not achievable, then at least focus on technological advancents. This is a topic that can’t be covered in a short conversation. If you’re interested, you can continue reading about it later.”
Qiu Wuji nodded. “Understood.”
Then she rembered sothing. “Since you don’t plan to write about these changes in your future chapters, would it affect the storyline if I started gradually pushing for advancents in industry and comrce, or promoting the spread of artifacts, for example?”
Chu Ge pondered for a mont, unable to make a clear judgnt.
In theory, his future plot would be about battles between Nascent Soul and higher-level cultivators, with no connection to the basic society. If one read any random cultivation novel, once they reached the Nascent Soul stage and beyond, mortals would no longer appear; everyone is the sa.
Therefore, changes in the mundane world wouldn’t affect the plot at this stage. Moreover, these changes were gradual and wouldn’t be visible to the naked eye until the book was finished.
In theory, it shouldn’t affect the storyline, or at least not to the extent that imdiate corrections were needed.
Chu Ge also understood why Qiu Wuji wanted to do this. It wasn’t because she genuinely wanted to start a revolution or bring about societal change. It was still in line with the previous thes—she wanted to see if she could do sothing beyond the constraints of the Heavenly Dao setting, breaking free from its limitations.
Now that they weren’t rushing into things and were discussing it together, Chu Ge felt that it was worth trying.
“You can give it a try,” He said after so consideration. “But don’t rush it; taking too big a step might trigger a correction.”
With the approval of the Heavenly Dao, Qiu Wuji was in a good mood and smiled. “I wasn’t planning to rush. I’m still traveling the world with my disciple.”
To contemplate social change while traveling the world was truly unique in this world.
However, both of them knew that these were the real tasks at hand. In fact, this was one of the fundantal reasons why Chu Ge wanted to travel the world—to understand every aspect of this society, rather than rely observing from a high vantage point.
As for the actual heroic deeds and martial arts competitions… well, that was sothing Chu Tiange could handle.
Just as they were thinking along these lines, Qiu Wuji’s expression suddenly changed slightly, and she made a hushing gesture.
At the sa ti, she held Chu Ge’s hand, sharing her perception with him.
Before Chu Ge could even feel how Qiu Wuji’s real hand compared to Qiuqiu, distant voices entered his ears:
“Young Master, as you instructed, I’ve been spreading rumors about their exploitation of the common people in the towns surrounding the Cloud Horizon Sect.” It was the voice of the man they overheard in the tavern.
A young voice responded with a laugh, “You’ve done well.”
“But, Young Master, what’s the point of doing this? I don’t think we can tarnish the Cloud Horizon Sect’s reputation. In fact, so towns hold Qiu Wuji in such high regard that when I ntioned these rumors, soone almost ca at with a hoe, and I felt like there might be so flying swords coming after .”
“Having flying swords involved is exactly what I want. There are many hidden talents around the Cloud Horizon Sect, including forr sect disciples and high-ranking mbers living in seclusion in the mountains. They may be furious for a mont, but they consider themselves righteous and won’t harm you. However, when they hear these rumors, they’ll surely report them to the sect.” The young master chuckled. “That’s precisely what I’m after.”
The man was puzzled, “But what’s the use of that? They haven’t actually committed any wrongdoing.”
“Who says they haven’t? Even the cleanest lakes have mud and silt. I’ve personally witnessed an outer sect deacon forcibly taking the villagers’ treasures and oppressing won, and I’ve taken care of him.”
“Uh, and then?”
“As long as Qiu Wuji hears these rumors from the outside world, when I approach her with the outer sect deacon, she won’t harbor any hostility towards . Instead, she’ll appreciate my chivalry. This is just the first step in getting closer to Qiu Wuji.”
Chu Ge: “?”
Qiu Wuji: “…”
After all that, was this your intention?
The man in the conversation also seed sowhat exasperated, “Young Master, is this really necessary? Trying to get close to Qiu Wuji through such convoluted ans, I thought you wanted to discredit the Cloud Horizon Sect.”
“It’s not that I insist on being convoluted, but Qiu Wuji is too distant. Under normal circumstances, I can’t even et her once. Only matters that concern the sect’s reputation have a chance of getting her personal attention. It’s not easy for either…” The young master sighed softly. “Once we have the chance to et and talk, I have my ways…”
The voices beca inaudible.
Qiu Wuji’s expression seed to be sowhere between a smile and a smirk as she let go of Chu Ge’s hand.
Chu Ge stared at her in amazent. “Hey, how did you suddenly eavesdrop on a conversation from so far away and locate it so precisely?”
Qiu Wuji replied calmly, “Ever since I discovered that this place doesn’t match what that person claid, my divine sense has been tracking his whereabouts. I was initially wondering if it was an enemy trying to maliciously tarnish our reputation, but then…”
She blushed slightly.
It turned out to be attracting bees and butterflies again… This was embarrassing. Why did it always have to be this kind of situation? Couldn’t sothing more dignified happen instead? It’s embarrassing for our world to be like this while being observed by the Creator God.
No, the one who should feel embarrassed is the Creator God himself. After all, he’s the one who created this world filled with romantic entanglents!
She glanced at Chu Ge, who was deep in thought.
“What are you thinking?” Qiu Wuji asked curiously. “It’s just a scheming person; I can just ignore him.”
Chu Ge shook his head and muttered softly, “Just a scher? Perhaps not.”
The story didn’t include any specific plot of a young master intentionally approaching Qiu Wuji. This incident was more like ripples created by the characters outside of the main plot, with no impact on the main storyline. This ant that the young master’s actions didn’t succeed. It was even possible that he didn’t get to et Qiu Wuji in person, just received a brief audience with one of the Elders and was sent away with a few words, which was highly likely.
However, now that Qiu Wuji had heard about it, these ripples gained a life of their own and started bearing a different kind of fruit – what would happen if they actually t?
Was this young master rely a scher with ambitions to taste the delicacies of life, or was there more to him than t the eye? Did he harbor personal ambitions, or was there soone pulling the strings behind him?
The Heavenly Dao is watching.
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