Fairy, Please Forgive Me, I Never Meant to Impersonate Your Husband

Chapter 29: The Substandard Yuan Stone Mine

After discussing the Mist-Shadow Cloaks, Luo Xiangluo produced an object resembling a broken piece of jade and handed it to Wu Yuan.

“This was mentioned in the intelligence report. One of our scouts was severely injured retrieving it, but he insisted on bringing it back.”

“With this, along with Madam Cheng’s miniature activation array, even ordinary scouts can use the cloaks on a large scale, no cultivation required.”

“I see.” Wu Yuan examined the object carefully, clearly fascinated. Still, he asked, “Is the scout in critical condition?”

“We requested low-grade healing pills from the relay station. After taking them, he’s out of danger.”

Luo Xiangluo was pleased that Wu Yuan hadn’t let greed cloud his judgment. His concern for his subordinates proved his success wasn’t just luck.

“I never expected to find something like this near Redleaf Cliff.” Wu Yuan sighed in amazement.

Yet he was puzzled. This, too, was absent from his dream memories of the area.

“Neither did I,” Luo Xiangluo admitted. “A substandard yuan stone mine, right under our noses.”

“If only it were a grade higher…” Wu Yuan couldn’t help but wish for more.

“Master is insatiable! This is already a tremendous fortune. Merchant Huan Su roamed the wilderness for seventy years and never found a single substandard mine.”

“True enough.” Wu Yuan chuckled. “This intelligence is a major achievement. Reward everyone involved. Once the Rain-Piercing Tower is complete, the rewards will be distributed—especially for the injured scout. I’ll give him a chance to change his fate.”

“Thank you, Master. But the real credit goes to Madam Cheng. Without her cloaks, this discovery would’ve been impossible. So, I have a small request…”

“Speak.”

“Madam Cheng wishes to meet you.”

Wu Yuan frowned. Madam Cheng was talented, but even though she was now under his command, he doubted her loyalty.

Moreover, as a recent widow, her request likely came with an agenda—perhaps even a plea for freedom. He wasn’t sure how to respond.

“We’ll discuss that later.” He deftly changed the subject. “Right now, I need to inspect that mine. You’re coming with me.”

“Are you searching for spirit pearls?”

“You guessed correctly. Yes, spirit pearls are invaluable to me. A substandard mine should have some.”

“It wasn’t a guess. Your intent was obvious.”

“A yuan stone mine yields either stones or pearls. You didn’t ask how many substandard stones the scout retrieved, yet you’re interested in the mine. That means you want pearls.”

Wu Yuan laughed heartily. “It seems my Rain-Piercing Tower has a bright future—its leader is truly sharp.”

Luo Xiangluo brought only five people: two tall male slaves, two delicate female slaves (all now scouts), and Auntie Fang.

Had Luo Xiangluo not pointed her out, Wu Yuan wouldn’t have recognized Madam Cheng’s attendant.

He had seen her before—during their capture—but back then, she’d seemed like a withered crone, at least two hundred years old by this world’s standards.

Now, she looked like a middle-aged woman. Though her face was plain, her strange, form-fitting outfit accentuated her figure, drawing his attention.

Not that he harbored any inappropriate thoughts—he simply sensed something odd about her.

Auntie Fang’s attitude toward Wu Yuan was polite but distant. She clearly disliked him.

Yet he wasn’t concerned. Her combat prowess, at the early Skin-Refining Realm, was negligible. Even with Madam Cheng’s formations, they posed no threat.

If Madam Cheng’s formations were truly formidable, she wouldn’t have stood idle during the merchant caravan’s last battle.

Wu Yuan suspected she’d only inherited fragments of formation knowledge—limited in both quantity and power.

For this trip, Wu Yuan brought thirty armed guards (all at least late-stage Tempered Tendon Realm) and even his doppelgänger.

In a crisis, merging with his doppelgänger could temporarily elevate his main body to the Bone-Forging Realm. Safety was assured.

The mine lay twenty-odd li northeast of the Rain-Piercing Tower, nestled along the eastern extension of Redleaf Cliff’s mountain range—connected underground.

The group followed the mountain’s foothills eastward, minimizing encounters with monsters.

Along the way, Wu Yuan studied the terrain.

The small spirit-wood grove near the tower had been nearly cleared. In a few days, it would be gone entirely, forcing the loggers to seek new groves farther afield.

But he wasn’t worried. Though spirit-wood forests were rare, the Insect Demon Hills had been largely untouched. Resources would last a century at least.

East of the grove, a broad stream stretched dozens of zhang wide, fed by mountain springs. The group crossed easily via stepping stones.

“That’s where the Mist-Shadow Bananas grow.” Luo Xiangluo pointed northward, about a mile away.

Wu Yuan was intrigued but prioritized the mine. Unless it was on the way, he wouldn’t detour.

Beyond the stream lay a forest of towering stone pillars, overgrown with weeds and shrubs. Humanoid demons and deadly insects lurked within.

Past this area, they reached the mine’s location.

“A cave?” Wu Yuan was surprised.

The cavern, a thousand zhang wide and a hundred tall, stood just two li from the mountain range—still geologically linked.

A strange expression crossed his face. In his dream memories, this cave appeared only on old maps. It wasn’t near any major routes, so he’d never visited it in his early years.

By the time he’d passed through a century later, it had been destroyed in a cataclysmic battle—one whose cause remained unknown.

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“Could it have been over this mine?” he wondered.