Chapter 102: Discovery of the Sulfur Mine

The members of the Fierce Tiger Guard hardly got out of bed until nearly noon. In the afternoon, as they patrolled the streets of Nanhai Town, each of them walked awkwardly—some clutching their waists, others hobbling on bent legs—looking utterly drained.

As they passed by Chu Yun’s guard training ground, the crowd couldn’t help but laugh and tease, “Come on, come on, keep dancing! Keep having fun!”

The Fierce Tiger Guard was instantly embarrassed, wishing they could disappear into the ground.

Without massages, relaxation, or stretching, Lin Yan and the Fierce Tiger Guard took three or four whole days to recover their normal strength.

Seeing this, Lin Yang couldn’t help but ask, “Yan’er, what’s wrong? Why do you all look so unnatural when you walk?”

Lin Yan replied, “It’s nothing. I just accidentally fell while walking.”

His mother hurriedly expressed concern, “Yan’er, where did you fall? Is it serious?”

Lin Yan waved her off, “Not serious, not serious. Just resting for a couple of days will fix it.”

Lin Yang snorted coldly, “Nonsense! You fell, and yet the entire Fierce Tiger Guard also fell? I’ve seen all of you these past couple of days, and none of you are normal.”

Lin Yan had no choice but to admit that he had underestimated the military training routine Chu Yun and his team practiced. After training alongside them for a day, he felt soreness all over the next morning. It was then he realized Chu Yun’s training was no ordinary matter.

Lin Yang grew increasingly curious about this routine.

He knew how grueling the Fierce Tiger Guard’s usual training was, so the fact that even they couldn’t endure Chu Yun’s routine surprised him greatly.

He then examined the Herbal Compendium Fitness Exercises and was even more astonished.

Because to him, it looked like dancing—like playing and having fun.

Had he not seen the condition of Lin Yan and the Fierce Tiger Guard, and confirmed they were indeed following these exercises, he would have seriously doubted his understanding.

Lin Yang sighed inwardly, acknowledging that Chu Yun was truly a man gifted with divine secrets. Using a set of movements that appeared to be mere dancing, seemingly playful and lighthearted, he had nonetheless created an extraordinarily intense workout.

Moreover, because the routine was simple and resembled a dance, many people in Chujia Town had taken to learning some of the moves, occasionally breaking into a few steps themselves.

This had the astonishing effect of turning the entire town into a community of fitness practitioners.

It must be understood that their standing army was costly to maintain, and they conscripted ordinary citizens to join the war effort and defend their homeland.

Yet, the common folk lacked any real combat ability and were essentially cannon fodder on the battlefield.

And yet the majority of the army was made up of these conscripted civilians.

In other words, the main force consisted of ordinary people.

If nationwide fitness training could be implemented, it would raise the combat effectiveness of the common people, thereby greatly enhancing the army’s overall strength.

Thus, Lin Yang quickly instructed Lin Yan and the Fierce Tiger Guard to learn this routine seriously from Chu Yun and his guards, then promote it throughout the Fierce Tiger military camp.

But that wasn’t all. Lin Yang also sent a message by pigeon to the King of Qi, wildly praising the miraculous Herbal Compendium Fitness Exercises and urging the king to promote it extensively throughout the Great Qi Dynasty’s camps and among the civilian population.

As a result, the entire Great Qi Dynasty was suddenly swept by a wave of enthusiasm for the Herbal Compendium exercises.

Though technology was backward and grain yields were low—many people barely had enough food to eat and little leisure time for fitness routines—their entertainment options were so limited that many families’ greatest nighttime amusement was merely discussing how to have children, how to have more children.

This was but a minor episode.

Yet this small event made Lin Yang and the King of Qi place even greater trust in Chu Yun, and they rewarded him generously with twenty taels of gold.

Chu Yun could never have imagined that a simple, ordinary fitness routine from the Herbal Compendium before his transmigration would earn him such a reward here.

But he did not pay it much mind; what mattered was that the king and Lin Yang now trusted him more, allowing him to operate with greater freedom.

From then on, besides teaching thirty women nursing skills and sixty guards the Herbal Compendium exercises, Chu Yun would also take Ye Zelan out of town to gather herbs.

But the herb gathering was just a pretense.

The real goal was to search for undiscovered limestone caves to find more deposits of potassium nitrate.

Chu Yun had also discovered that the area near Chujia Town and Pingba Village in Nanhai Town was characterized by karst topography, full of limestone caves. Judging by the natural defenses of the Jiadao Valley around Nanhai Town, the area was even more complex than simple karst formations.

Further proof came when Chu Yun and Ye Zelan, while out on their herb-gathering excursions, noticed that the main rocks across the tributary of the Nanhai River in the southeast of Nanhai Town were no longer limestone.

This indicated that the southeastern part of Nanhai Town was an area of active tectonic movement—a seismic zone.

Therefore, Nanhai Town was actually a rich town in terms of natural resources.

Chu Yun’s third sought-after mineral was sulfur.

Sulfur deposits mainly occur in two types of locations: near volcanoes or in regions of active tectonic movement.

Thus, the southeastern area of Nanhai Town was highly likely to contain sulfur mines.

One day, Chu Yun took Ye Zelan on a detour across the tributary of the Nanhai River.

They hadn’t gone far when Ye Zelan suddenly said, “Chu Yun, I’m somewhat familiar with this area. I think I came here with my father before when gathering herbs. So I can be sure that ahead lies a barren mountain, almost devoid of even weeds, let alone herbs. Moreover, that barren mountain has a strange, unpleasant smell. I fear prolonged exposure would be harmful to our health, so we shouldn’t go any further.”

Upon hearing this, Chu Yun was overjoyed. “Miss Ye, how far ahead is this barren mountain you speak of? Take me there quickly, please!”

From Ye Zelan’s description, it was very likely a sulfur deposit.

Though Ye Zelan didn’t understand why Chu Yun was so excited, she said nothing further and led him to the barren mountain she had mentioned.

Upon seeing the mountain, Chu Yun immediately rode closer for a thorough inspection.

“It’s a sulfur mine!”

“Hahaha, it really is sulfur!”

Having confirmed the sulfur deposit, he laughed with delight.

Originally, Chu Yun had planned that if he couldn’t find sulfur in Nanhai Town, he would invent sulfur soap and use it as a guise to purchase large quantities of sulfur.

Now that he had found a sulfur mine, there was no need for such a ruse.

After all, such an approach would have not only deprived him of a lucrative business but also risked exposing his extensive sulfur purchases.

Naturally, after discovering the sulfur mine, Chu Yun was eager to begin mining it.

Upon returning to Nanhai Town, he immediately sought out Lin Yang. “Time flies. We’ve been in Nanhai Town for almost a month now. I apologize for the many disturbances. Meanwhile, it seems there’s been little movement back in the capital...”

Lin Yang understood his meaning and said, “Count Chu Yun, from what you’re saying, I take it you plan to leave Nanhai Town?”