Emerald Cloud Valley

Emerald Cloud Valley is located ten miles northwest of Cloud Dragon County. Surrounded by mountains on three sides, a Resonant Water River over ten zhang wide flows through the area from west to east.

The Origin Mulberry trees planted by the Firewood Gang are situated within Emerald Cloud Valley, covering an area of over a thousand mu.

The Origin Mulberry tree is a species that relies heavily on the concentration of heaven and earth origin energy to grow.

Because Emerald Cloud Valley is enclosed by mountains on three sides, the valley floor gathers a significant amount of heaven and earth origin energy, which is precisely what allows the Origin Mulberry trees to flourish.

Decades ago, a branch of the Firewood Gang arrived in Cloud Dragon County. After scouting the area, they spent a large sum of money to purchase all the land within Emerald Cloud Valley to plant Origin Mulberry trees for the purpose of raising Origin Silkworms.

Following years of development, the cultivation of Origin Silkworms has become an indispensable source of profit for the local Firewood Gang.

At midday, Shen Mu finally arrived at the entrance of Emerald Cloud Valley. The Firewood Gang had constructed a wall several zhang high here and stationed two workshop masters to guard the location.

As for the area inside the walls, houses had been built for the gang members to live in and to cultivate the Origin Silkworms.

"Brother, this humble one is Shen Mu, a member of Yuan Mulberry Hall. I have been assigned to guard the Origin Mulberry fields and have come specifically to report to Deacon Hong."

Shen Mu walked up to the main gate and took out the token Qin Yu had given him, handing it to the guard on duty.

The Deacon Hong he mentioned was named Hong Jingcheng. He was the deacon responsible for the C-Grade Field area within Emerald Cloud Valley and would be his direct superior. He possessed a cultivation level at the seventh stage of the Boiling Blood Stage.

The guard took the token, verified it, and said, "Follow me."

Under the guard's lead, the two walked through the wooden gate.

Once inside, the sight that greeted Shen Mu was an endless expanse of lush green Origin Mulberry trees. Teams of gang members were moving through the fields, harvesting the leaves.

Are these the Origin Mulberries?

Shen Mu glanced at a nearby tree. It was a massive specimen that would require several people to encircle, standing dozens of zhang tall with dense foliage. Each Origin Mulberry leaf was the size of a palm, and the branches were laden with red and green Origin Mulberry fruits.

The Origin Mulberry tree has some similarities to the mulberry trees used for silkworms in my past life, but the leaves are larger, and the color of the foliage is somewhat different...

Shen Mu could not help but think to himself.

The guard leading the way smiled and introduced, "Little brother, the tree you are looking at is the ancestor of all the Origin Mulberry trees in this valley. All the others were propagated from its branches."

"So that's how it is."

Shen Mu nodded and couldn't help but ask, "Brother, I have a question. Since this valley is surrounded by mountains on three sides and the only entrance is gated by our gang, why is it necessary to station so many people to guard the fields?"

Standing at the wall, one could take in the entire valley at a glance.

The three sides surrounded by mountains consisted of cliffs hundreds of zhang high. If outsiders couldn't enter through the valley mouth, scaling those three cliffs to get inside would be no easy feat.

The guard shook his head and chuckled, "Brother, don't underestimate the methods of those people."

"You look at these three sides and think it's a natural fortress that no one can enter, right?"

"But over the years, I don't know how many people have found ways to get in."

"The common method is to scale the cliffs at night, climbing down into the valley to steal the Origin Mulberry fruits."

"Or they bring ropes hundreds of zhang long to rappel directly into the valley, with people waiting at the top to assist. In just half an hour, they can easily steal hundreds of catties of fruit."

"Some even make large umbrellas to jump from the cliffs, harvest the fruit, and then climb back up."

"In short, there is no method they won't try to steal our harvest."

Shen Mu asked, confused, "If that's the case, why doesn't the Firewood Gang station guards along the three cliffs?"

The guard laughed, "Little brother, look at the distance of these cliffs—they stretch for over a hundred miles. How many outposts would we need to cover that?"

Shen Mu couldn't help but offer a wry smile.

In the face of massive profit, there will always be those willing to risk their lives.

For those in the Boiling Blood Stage, stealing a batch of Origin Mulberry fruits from Emerald Cloud Valley would provide enough cultivation resources to last them at least a year.

Under such temptation, they would naturally come one after another.

Emerald Cloud Valley had six deacons responsible for managing the gang members, and they had living quarters built near the valley entrance.

The two higher-ranking workshop masters had their own private courtyards deeper in the valley and were rarely seen more than once a month.

As for the gang members tasked with guarding the fields, they lived in bamboo sheds located within their assigned sectors.

After the guard brought Shen Mu to Hong Jingcheng's residence, both men's expressions suddenly turned somewhat strange.

Through the door, the sound of a man's irrepressible panting could be heard, accompanied by the weeping, melodic cries of a woman.

It was clear that after waking up, he had felt a sudden urge and couldn't resist a morning exercise.

"Ahem, brother, you might not know this since you're new, but life here is extremely dull aside from staring at trees all day. So, the masters above occasionally 'order takeout'—having girls from the brothel brought in by carriage..."

The guard coughed, looking a bit embarrassed.

That certainly redefines the word 'takeout'.

Shen Mu couldn't help but mutter to himself.

Running into this situation right upon arrival was not a good thing for him.

If Hong Jingcheng felt the need to silence him, as a deacon with seventh-stage Boiling Blood cultivation, he would have no way to defend himself.

Regardless, he had to do everything possible to minimize the man's suspicion.

Only then would he avoid the risk of suddenly dropping dead in the night.

Thinking of this, a wicked grin immediately appeared on his face as he said with an ambiguous smile, "Understood, brother, rest assured. I will be a member of this place soon enough, and who knows, I might have a day where I need to order takeout myself. Naturally, I won't go spreading this around, so please put your mind at ease regarding that."

"Since Deacon Hong is busy with a thousand tasks, let us wait a little longer."

The way to keep a secret is to become a part of it and offer up one's own token of allegiance.

Although he had no intention of actually ordering takeout, if he appeared out of place the moment he arrived, how could that be conducive to unity?

The guard's tension immediately eased significantly. The newcomer had encountered this situation right upon arrival; if he were a rigid person and went around telling others, once the higher-ups found out, it would inevitably lead to a heap of trouble, and they might even send someone over to clean house.

Shen Mu's "reasonable" nature also helped to diminish the sense of estrangement between the two.

"Brother, you wait here, I'll be heading back first."

Seeing that there was no sign of the activity inside the room stopping, the guard feared that staying any longer would provoke a temper, so he offered a parting word and hurried away.

Shen Mu sighed softly and couldn't help but move a bit further away, waiting for Hong Jingcheng to finish his business.

About another stick of incense worth of time passed before the room finally quieted down.

"Ahem."

Just then, Shen Mu, who had been waiting outside for a long time, gave a timely cough.

"Who is it?"

Hong Jingcheng's impatient voice came from inside the room.

"My lord, this humble one is Shen Mu, newly joined to Yuan Mulberry Hall and responsible for guarding Mulberry Field C-11. I have come specifically to report to you!"

Shen Mu said respectfully.

The sound of clothes being put on immediately rang out from inside, and shortly after, a middle-aged man with a slightly pale complexion pushed the door open and stepped out.

Clearly, having rested and built up his energy for so long, he had been fully released.

"You are Shen Mu?"

Hong Jingcheng frowned slightly, a flash of killing intent crossing his eyes as he asked indifferently.

"My lord, this is my identity token, please take a look."

Shen Mu handed over his token.

Hong Jingcheng did not take the token, but after a glance, he asked in a deep voice, "Did you hear anything just now?"

"In reply to my lord, this humble one just arrived and did not hear anything at all."

Shen Mu immediately feigned a look of confusion.

"Hmm."

Hong Jingcheng's expression softened slightly, and he said indifferently, "The medicinal field you are responsible for guarding is in the southeast direction within the valley. If you cannot find the specific location, you can ask the gang members guarding the mulberry fields along the way."

"Keep these five signal arrows safe. If thieves appear in your guarded area to steal Origin Mulberry Fruit, you can immediately use the signal arrows to report it, and other gang members in the surrounding areas will naturally rush to assist."

With that, Hong Jingcheng took out five signal arrows and gave them to Shen Mu.

"Yes."

Shen Mu took the signal arrows and said, "Then I shall head over."

"Hmm."

Hong Jingcheng nodded.

Shen Mu said no more and walked quickly along the field paths of the Origin Mulberry Field toward the southeast of the valley.

At this moment, the guard who had left earlier appeared again, having returned at some point.

"Brother Hong."

The guard greeted him with a wicked grin.

Hong Jingcheng glanced at him, his tone slightly dissatisfied as he said, "You were the one who brought him here?"

The guard wore an innocent expression and cried out, "Brother Hong, I didn't expect you to still be busy in the middle of the day."

He then changed the subject, saying, "However, this brother feels that this person is quite perceptive. Surely he won't spread this around; it wouldn't do him any good."

He recounted the entire conversation he had with Shen Mu to Hong Jingcheng in great detail.

Hong Jingcheng smiled, "Since this person is flexible, the benefits he deserves in the future will naturally not be lacking."

In a place like Emerald Cloud Valley, calling a prostitute to one's door could be a major or minor issue if it were to be spread around.

If the higher-ups really wanted to hold him accountable, he might even be stripped of his position as deacon.

Between being stripped of his deacon position and the death of an ordinary gang member in Emerald Cloud Valley, the choice was undoubtedly the latter.

At that time, he could just use the excuse that the person was killed by a thief who snuck into the valley to steal Origin Mulberry Fruit, and no one would be able to find fault with that.

However, the guard's words did cause Hong Jingcheng to set aside his murderous intent.

If the newcomer were to die unexpectedly right after arriving, what would the higher-ups think?

Since the person had already promised not to spread the matter, it was better to avoid unnecessary trouble and just observe his performance in the future.

The guard smiled, "Then Brother Hong, I'll be heading back first."

"Mm."

Hong Jingcheng nodded, and only then did the guard turn and leave.

Shen Mu was naturally unaware that by stumbling upon Hong Jingcheng soliciting a prostitute, he had nearly brought a lethal disaster upon himself.

The art of language is such that one can often offend a person inadvertently, yet simultaneously use it to escape a calamity.

Had he shown even the slightest hint of disdain for such company, he might well have ended up as fertilizer in the Origin Mulberry Field tonight.