Huh? Isn't this an adventure kingdom building game?!-Chapter 51: Mine Ghost

"98!"

"Ding ding ding!"

"99!"

"Ding ding ding!"

Jiang Yuan didn’t feel how time had slipped by, it was already past three in the afternoon. Luckily, the iron ore needed for the quest was almost gathered, and with the Earth Mirror Book skill boost, he found a huge iron ore, which could yield twenty to thirty pieces once fully mined.

In fact, mining itself wasn’t that time-consuming; the worn pickaxe needed to strike three times to yield one piece of iron ore. The key was that time was wasted in finding the iron ores.

This stuff seemed to be randomly distributed scattered around the ancient mine cave, without forming any proper veins. You could only collect one piece and then find the next location.

Sometimes even the Earth Mirror Book skill couldn’t give a specific location, and you had to rely on luck to choose a direction to smash stones.

The good thing was that you could pick up many stones while mining, but the bad thing was if you were unlucky, you might choose the wrong direction and spend a long time without finding any iron ore, finding only useless mud.

The data showed that after going more than a hundred meters deep into the mine cave, he finally gathered enough for the quest with some extra. He pondered that it was time to return, mining some ores along the way. After leaving Old Dragon Cave, he would check how many trees his apprentice had chopped; if not enough, he would strive a bit more, aiming to build the melting workshop before the wilderness descends!

"Ding ding ding! Thud!"

As he was thinking, Jiang Yuan had just mined a piece of iron ore when he heard the sound of earth collapsing, scaring him into a jump.

[Discovered a mysterious space within the ancient mine cave, be cautious, there may be monsters guarding the treasure chest inside]

The system promptly reminded him, and he deftly switched the pickaxe in his hand to a date wood stick, cautiously approaching the collapsed area that formed an opening wide enough for two people to enter side by side.

"Woo woo woo~ it’s so cold!"

"Hee hee hee! Someone has come to join us!"

In the dim light, first, indistinct wailing crying sounds came, then he heard a shrill laugh squeezed out. The next second, he felt a chill as two hideous shadows floated out from the stone walls.

[Beginner Mine Ghost: Resentment left behind by those who tragically died in the mines, their sole purpose is to trap more people as mine ghosts in the caves as substitutes]

The description made the back of Jiang Yuan even chillier; in just a few seconds, the two beginner mine ghosts had already been attracted by the fresh human aura and were floating over.

"Whoosh!"

Almost instinctively, he raised his right hand, and the Heaven-Burning Flame burst out a brief but intense flame towards them.

One mine ghost bore the brunt, its health decreased almost entirely, and Jiang Yuan seized the victory to disperse it with a stick; then he chased after the other ghost that fled in fear.

"Woo woo woo~"

Haunting ghostly wails echoed in the roughly ten square meter empty cave, giving him a headache and seemingly making him feel colder.

[You have been subjected to a ghostly wail attack, Life Energy -5]

"Damn! So it’s a ranged magic attack monster!" Unable to care about the cold, Jiang Yuan ran faster.

The mine ghost’s movement was elusive, darting through stone walls, occasionally letting out wails. If this went on, he wouldn’t be able to withstand it. But luckily, whether due to a setting that prevents mine ghosts from leaving the mysterious space or they being attracted by the presence of a living person, the mine ghosts keep circling within the small range of ten square meters.

After chasing and hitting several rounds, he finally discovered the mine ghosts’ movement patterns.

Whenever the ghostly wail skill was activated, it would certainly hide within the stone walls nearby, and after a few seconds, it would float out from the northwest corner, similar to returning to the original point after releasing the skill.

Thus, Jiang Yuan spared a moment to pull out braised pork from the storage bag, took two bites to recover health, then rushed to the northwest corner right after the mine ghost’s skill ended, raised his date wood stick, and struck it as it floated out for a chaotic blow, finished off with three to four hits.

[Ghost Ore +1]

[A special ore formed from the condensed yin energy of mine ghosts, can be refined into weapons or elixirs that contain yin energy]

"Can be used for artifact refining and medicine, seems quite potent." Holding it, he felt a deep-seated yin energy and hurriedly stored it in his storage bag, carefully checking the large cave for other monsters before breathing a sigh of relief and walking to the corner to open the old-fashioned treasure chest.

[Star Spirit Flower +9; Ningxin Grass +12; Purple Gold Lotus +7; Gold Coins +211]

He harvested generously, feeling delighted, he struck the stone wall to collect two more pieces of iron ore, then emerged and continued mining along the map’s guidance as he headed back.

"Master, you finally came out!" Wan Mingchuan just finished chopping down a big tree, raised his head to see his master leave Old Dragon Cave, and excitedly rushed forward to ask: "Are there monsters inside? Is it dangerous? Can I join you next time?"

Momentarily blinded by the bright sunlight, Jiang Yuan narrowed his eyes and shook his head, saying, "There are indeed monsters inside. It’s too dangerous for you; let’s wait until you’ve mastered the ’Heaven-Burning Scripture’."

Wan Mingchuan felt a bit dejected, becoming more aware of the differences between cultivators and ordinary people.

"I collected some mushrooms and chopped down many trees, but I’m not sure if these mushrooms are poisonous." He scratched his head in slight embarrassment and said, "Riverfront Village doesn’t allow anyone to enter the mountains to pick mushrooms on their own. They say someone once picked poisonous mushrooms that caused a fatal incident, and the consequences were severe. They also say Mother Nvwa doesn’t like mushrooms, and if found in the village, the whole family will be expelled.

When Grandpa took me hunting, he would occasionally pick some to cook and eat, but we never encountered any poisonous ones..."

Only then did Jiang Yuan realize why, when he mentioned they could collect mushrooms to Lin Chunxi and the others, the kids showed no reaction. Turns out Riverfront Village had such odd rules.

Worrying about poisoning was understandable, but Mother Nvwa not liking mushrooms was bizarre.

Are they worshipping the Mother Nvwa that I know?

"No worries, I can tell whether they’re poisonous or not; you just collect them and don’t eat them casually." Actually, he only recognized common mushrooms, but wasn’t there a system notice to help with that?

He sorted through a pile of various fresh mushrooms and picked out two poisonous varieties to discard, collecting the rest into the storage bag, then gathered the large quantity of trees Wan Mingchuan chopped down, had the materials ready for building the melting workshop!

"Let’s go home." Jiang Yuan’s mood was fantastic, and he generously praised his apprentice, Mingchuan, causing Wan Mingchuan’s ears to turn red.

He thought, whether it’s gratitude for a known encounter or the mentor-apprentice bond, the grilled fish and braised pork he offered could make anyone in Riverfront Village willing to work for him; he only chopped a few trees and gathered mushrooms, what was there to be so good?

[Affection +100]

[Affection +100]

...

JIang Yuan felt that he merely spoke truthfully, praising his apprentice’s diligent nature without exaggeration, and look how touched the kid was, the affection level even upgraded significantly.

Trekking through the rarely-trodden lush jungle, the master and apprentice had just picked a few mushrooms when they heard a hoarse, elderly voice ask, "Excuse me, have you seen my son? He went out to gather herbs several days ago and hasn’t returned."