Devoted to Their Master, Together in Life and Death

Qin Shan and Shen Chaoge roared, "We are devoted to our master, and will follow him to the death!"

"We are of one mind with our lord, and we will follow him to the death!" The soldiers all over the mountain raised their arms and shouted in unison, their voices soaring into the sky.

Zhou Wanwan coughed and said, "But I'm only six years old, an age where I love to play. Besides, there are still many things I haven't done well. I just like playing outside."

Grand Tutor Zhao quickly said, "It's alright, you go ahead and do your thing. Come back when you're done. We old bones are here in the stronghold! It'll definitely stand the test of time."

Not only will it not collapse, Black Wind Stronghold is doing quite well these days.

The water that everyone in the village drinks is the bathwater that Lingbao and the others used.

In addition, each soldier receives a share of medicine every month, and these medicines are infused with energy.

While it can't instantly turn someone into a peerless master, it can significantly improve everyone's skills.

The people of Black Wind Stronghold are now as strong as oxen, and one ordinary soldier can do the work of three people outside. Their combat power is much stronger than before.

In addition, the weapons produced by the Black Wind Stronghold's armory are now even more explosive.

The crossbows built by the people from Luban Village stood in the open space, each as tall as two people.

Several craftsmen worked together to turn the winch, and with a "creak," the giant arrow was firmly locked into the crossbow slot.

Besides the ballista, the repeating crossbows and foot crossbows on the side were also neatly made, and the triggers were pulled smoothly and without any jamming.

Zhou Wanwan squatted to the side, teaching the craftsmen how to prepare the medicinal powder step by step, and also giving them instructions on the precautions for filling and sealing.

Just after he finished giving the instructions, the village chief of Luban Village walked over and said:

"Master, the explosives you requested are ready, a total of twenty earthenware jars."

"Shall we find a place to test its power?"

"Let's go! We're going right now!" Zhou Wanwan's eyes lit up and she nodded immediately.

The Old Scholar Tree led Zhou Wanwan for the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, and said:

"This mountain is quite far from where we live, and it's very desolate."

There wasn't a single tree nearby, and not a house for miles around. It was the perfect place to conduct the experiment.

The mountain was indeed very desolate; as you walked along, all you could see were loose stones and withered weeds.

Reaching a clearing halfway up the mountain, Zhou Wanwan jumped down from the Scholar Tree and dusted off her hands.

She looked around to make sure there were no obstructions in front, behind, or to the left or right, and that she couldn't see a single person, before pointing to a large blue stone in the center of the open space and saying, "This will do!"

Those pottery jars did not contain ordinary gunpowder, but rather thunderclaps that Zhou Wanwan had improved by combining techniques from Luban Village.

Its power far surpasses that of previous explosives; the force of its explosion and the strength of its shockwave are enough to split mountains and shatter rocks.

Zhou Wanwan had the explosives buried, making sure the fuse was very long, and then they all retreated dozens of meters.

Zhou Wanwan sat directly on the Old Scholar Tree and had someone light the fuse.

Once the fire is lit, the sparks travel rapidly forward along the fuse.

Zhou Wanwan immediately shouted, "Run! This thing must be incredibly powerful!"

The Old Scholar Tree was incredibly fast, carrying everyone a great distance in one go.

As soon as we stopped, we heard a deafening roar behind us, so loud it shook the distant mountains.

When everyone turned around, they saw that half of the barren mountain where they had just tested the explosives had been blasted flat, leaving a large, dark crater in the ground, with smoke and dust billowing everywhere.

Zhou Wanwan clapped her hands and exclaimed in surprise:

"My God, that's terrifying!"

I never imagined I could make such powerful explosives.

With this powerful explosive in hand, Zhou Wanwan felt much more at ease, and her sense of security immediately increased.

If any foolish army dares to attack Black Wind Stronghold in the future, she only needs to lay out this explosives and detonate them to kill a large number of them.

Although she really didn't want to use such a deadly weapon unless absolutely necessary, at the very least, it could save her own life and the lives of everyone in the village.

The Luban Village stammered, "If this were on the battlefield, it would be terrifying."

Zhou Wanwan smiled and said, "We absolutely won't use it unless it's a matter of life and death. Let's go back first!"

Just as I was about to head back, I heard a tree nearby say, "Wanwan, there seems to be something good in these mountains! I can smell a hint of wine, it smells so good!"

Zhou Wanwan raised an eyebrow. "There's wine in the mountains?"

The Old Scholar Tree and the other trees dug around for quite a while, and they actually managed to dig out a huge hole.

Zhou Wanwan chuckled and said, "What a pleasant surprise! I never expected anyone to hide something in this desolate place. I wonder whose it is."

Zhou Wanwan looked at the weeds beside her and asked, "Do you know who hid these things?"

The purslane at my feet spoke softly:

"Those people are bandits; their hideout isn't far from here."

"If you walk south from here, it will take about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn to reach their mountain stronghold."

A stalk of bitter lettuce chimed in:

"They delivered the items after listening to the advice of a sorceress in Zhou Family Village."

Everyone said that the sorceress was very accurate, predicting a great famine and war.

Tell them to quickly hide all their food and money.

Zhou Wanwan chuckled and said:

"Oh, it's that old witch doctor of mine again!"

"Excellent, excellent. Let me see what good stuff these bandits have hidden."

This Old Madam Zhou is indeed a capable person.

She had arranged cooperation with several nearby mountain strongholds and their leaders beforehand, ensuring mutual support.

Some mountain strongholds relied on her to tip them off and give them benefits, and she also relied on the strongholds to protect herself and the Zhou Family family.

Both sides benefited, and neither could do without the other.

Old Madam Zhou also secretly hid a lot of grain, silver, and valuables.

No matter what chaos erupts outside, she can ensure that she and the Zhou family are safe and sound, and that they have enough to eat and wear.

Because of this, the Zhou Family is now living a very good life. They have money and food in hand, and their wealth is substantial. No one in this area dares to provoke them easily.

Zhou Wanwan entered the cave, where there were jars of wine laid out on the ground, all of them large, coarse pottery jars.

Some jars were still sealed and stored away properly, while several others had been shattered, with wine spilled all over the ground and the air thick with the smell of alcohol.

In the corner were piles of boxes of silver, one after another, filled with silver Yuanbao and loose silver.

There were also many gold and silver jewelry items nearby: gold bracelets, gold necklaces, silver hairpins, jade pendants, pearls, and silk fabrics, all valuable items that the bandits had robbed and accumulated over the years.

There was also grain and dry rations, bags of rice, flour, and coarse grains piled up like small mountains, which were the most useful things in chaotic times.

Swords, spears, halberds, bows and arrows, and armor leaned against the wall—all weapons used in battle.

In addition, there were also a considerable amount of cloth, cotton, salt, and herbs.

With a wave of its hand, the Old Scholar Tree sent a large group of trees on a grand relocation.

The Old Scholar Tree looked at the wine and said, "This wine smells really good."

Zhou Wanwan chuckled and said:

"Then try it and see how it tastes."

If it tastes good, then let's go find out who brewed it.

A voice came from inside the wine vat. "This wine... wasn't brewed in this mountain stronghold, it came from the Clear Creek Winery at the foot of the mountain..."