1439 Awakening Stones (1/2)
Translated by XephiZ
Edited by Aelryinth
---
---
The journey was long, crossing mountains and ridges. The newly discovered fire vein was located some distance from the city.
The west of China was less populated, with tall mountains, vast lands, thick woods, and serene valleys. It was extremely difficult to find one of the rare fire veins in a place like this. Luckily, after the two renowned clans spent a long time surveying the land, they had found a safe path leading to the fire vein. They even established a relay station at Kunlun Mountain's Sun Ridge specifically for the fire vein.
The relay station was called Wangyang Station. It used to be an under-developed village, but as the two renowned clans started investing in it, it had slowly grown to a small town.
The Mui Clan and Dongfang Clan were cooperating with the local government. The local government was hoping that their remote village could be developed further, and the roads, railways, and safe zone would be extended further. The inland areas and places in the West were getting more attention since the eastern coastline was now threatened by sea monsters.
The Mui Clan had long claimed ownership of Sun Ridge. The local government, Magic Association, and military would not be getting any share of the place. They were mainly focusing on developing Wangyang Station, since its growth would allow the local government to develop Tianyu Town further. As such, the military and the government were willing to lend the Mui Clan and Dongfang Clan a hand.
The relay station was still in rather rough. Wooden planks, stones, and cement were stacked all around the place. Since the place was quite remote, railroads were not yet established, and the roads were mostly muddy paths. Dust and mud scattered all over the relay station as one truck after another drove to the relay station...
”We are considering building roads here, but that's only possible after the fire vein is accessible,” Dongfang Mo explained. He had arrived in person.
Building roads was going to cost a fortune. Only huge clans were able to afford the expense. It would bring great benefits to Wangyang Village, since it would give them easier access to the outside world. It was extremely inconvenient to be stuck in the mountains, especially crossing the mountains and ridges just to get some supplies from other places.
”What are the trucks carrying?” Mo Fan noticed that the trucks were carrying colorful stones with jagged edges out of the station, apart from bringing in resources.
”A long time ago, Mui Guangqing was placed in charge of the business and came to inspect it. He stumbled into an old Hunter who had discovered traces of a fire vein. They ended up forming a team to look for the fire vein. It turned out that the fire vein did exist, and it's a B-grade pure fire vein. Mui Guangqing was immediately promoted to an elder of the clan, and was placed in charge of the fire vein.” Dongfang Mo glanced at a man in his thirties nearby with a smile. He seemed to be quite familiar with the situation here.
Mui Guangqing was a very humble man who did not speak much along the journey. Mo Fan initially thought he was just a normal member of the Mui Clan tagging along. To his surprise, the man was in charge of the fire vein, and was the one who had discovered it!
”I'm just lucky, it's not worth mentioning at all,” Mui Guangqing explained calmly.
”It's not just about luck. Most people would be reluctant to give up on a comfortable life in the city and come to such an inhospitable place, let alone visiting this place in person to inspect the clan's business...” Dongfang Mo seemed to admire Mui Guangqing.
”Uncle Mo, stop flattering me; I'm just more serious about my tasks. Anyone else could have discovered the fire vein, too. Our biggest problem now is to excavate it. As a matter of fact, there are lots of treasure vaults like Sun Ridge here in the west, but it's too difficult to excavate them. The military, government, and renowned clans are not willing to take huge risks. If our clan didn't join hands with your clan, which is known for its expertise in the Fire Element, we really would have no idea how to deal with the fire vein, and some other renowned clans might end up snatching it from us. We wouldn't care so much if the military wanted to take it away, we could just think of it as contributing to the country, but we are worried that some renowned clans are planning to claim it by annexing us and putting pressure on us,” Mui Guangqing said.
”Unfortunately, our Dongfang Clan is bringing disgrace to our own name this time. I'm afraid we aren't capable enough to take on the job this time. We are only in charge of mining and refining the ore...” Dongfang Mo turned to Mo Fan.
”Uncle Mo, I think you've overestimated this guy's capabilities. Our Dongfang Clan might not be better than them in other areas, but there's no way we are going to lose to anyone when it comes to the Fire Element. Why are we bothering to let an outsider interfere with our business?” Dongfang Ming grumbled.
Dongfang Ming was an old acquaintance of Mo Fan. He had nothing better to do now after failing to join the Enforcement Union. As such, he had returned to the clan to see if there was anything he could help with.
Dongfang Lie was a more straightforward person. Even though there was a period where he found Mo Fan to be an eyesore, he was utterly impressed by Mo Fan's talents when they were fighting for the spot on the national team, and was willing to reconcile with him. Meanwhile, Dongfang Ming was more narrow-minded. He was still holding a grudge against Mo Fan because of what had happened in Hangzhou!
”You're just here to lend a hand. Stop interrupting, can't you see that us adults are discussing business here?” Mo Fan said imperiously, not showing any mercy to Dongfang Ming.
Dongfang Ming was on the verge of losing his temper.