Chapter 2, Not Like a Mountain (Part 2)

Doubts about Fu Beixue: "If it is not for raw coal, then what is it for? Oil?"

Doctor! Doctor! Takahashi Jiro shouted for quite a while, and finally, the muddy military doctor rushed over. After examining Minoru Shimo-mura for a while, he shook his head at Takahashi Jiro.

At that moment, a rapid gong sound came from outside. Just as Fu Beixue was about to open the door, it was directly opened by Takahashi Jiro.

The death of Shimomura Toshiharu filled Kwon Cheon-jang with unexpected joy, as he thought to himself: "Evil people will eventually face their reckoning!"

Takahashi Jiro assisted Quan Qianzhang in leaving, while saying: "Teacher, Lieutenant Shimo-mura has arrived and has already led the team to the hillside on the side, waiting for you."

As the commander of the exploration defense team, Shimomura Toshiharu glanced at the drenched Kwon Cheon-jang and the others, merely nodding slightly before turning his gaze back to Zhengjia Village, which still had a few flickering flames. However, he soon shifted his attention to Feisi Mountain.

Quan Qianzhang shook his head: "It did not vanish into thin air, but rather is buried beneath the mountain of non-similarity."

"Professor, are you alright?" Fu Beixue asked anxiously.

In summary, it is not the case that there are no resources at all in the mountains

After speaking, the village chief, braving the heavy rain, beat the gong and called out to the villagers to evacuate

Quan Qianzhang came to his senses: "It's nothing..."

"What happened?" asked Shimomura Minoru.

Takahashi Jiro had not yet responded when several villagers carrying packages hurriedly fled outside. Immediately afterward, the village chief came running with a gong and said: "Sir, you must leave quickly; the mountain flood is truly coming."

Fu Beixue asked again: "But why are they so certain that there is natural gas in the mountains?"

Fu Beixue suddenly realized upon hearing this: "I understand now, the place we are going to today is the site of the old Qinglong Temple. After the mountain flood that night, not only was Feisi Mountain formed, but the entire Qinglong Temple was also buried beneath it"

Fu Beixue frowned and said: "Isn't this too difficult, the hungry chicken fighting for beans?"

Qian Qianzhang shook his head: "Currently, the technology for oil exploration in Japan is far behind that of Western countries, and they are well aware of this. However, apart from raw coal, although oil is their most scarce resource, there is another resource that they are also in urgent need of."

Toshiharu Shimamura instinctively raised the telescope, and at the moment he lifted it, a thunderous roar erupted. At the same time, Takahashi Jiro, Kwon Cheonjang, and Fu Beixue all clearly heard the sound of shattering glass. Just as they were still puzzled about what was happening, Toshiharu Shimamura fell backward, tilting his head up.

The lower couplet is: "The rat summer brings in the coolness of the beams"

Qian Qianzhang glanced at the door and said, "It is probably due to the legend of the Fei Si Mountain Qinglong Fire Well."

As lightning streaked across the window, Quan Qianzhang inside the room looked up, and the subsequent thunderclap made him involuntarily shudder

Qian Qianzhang explained: "In the past, there was a temple here called Qinglong Temple, but Qinglong Temple used to be a Daoist temple."

Takahashi Jiro lowered his head and said, "I agree with the professor's viewpoint"

Half an hour later, Takahashi Jiro led Quan Qianzhang and Fu Beixue to a higher hill on the side of Zhengjia Village

Lieutenant! Takahashi Jiro immediately rushed over and discovered that Shimomura Toshiharu's left eye was a bloody mess—a bullet had come from the opposite side, pierced through the telescope, and struck his left eye

Ah? Quan Qianzhang frowned, he harbored an immense dislike for the Japanese Major named Minoru Shimomura, for it was he who had initiated all of this. Unexpectedly, despite having arranged for Takahashi Jiro to accompany him, he still felt uneasy and personally rushed over.

What is the corresponding line?

Quan Qianzhang shook his head and said: "This person is not an ordinary mountain dweller. Listening to him, he understands this place better than we do, and he knows Feisi Mountain even better. Moreover, the Japanese sent us here for reconnaissance, not for the purpose of mining raw coal"

Takahashi Jiro slightly shook his head: "I seem to see someone on the mountain opposite."

Toshiharu Shimomura remained expressionless, not even glancing at Quan Qianzhang, and simply stated: "Experts from the Empire say that Manchukuo is rich in resources, and there may even be oil."

Takahashi Jiro immediately raised the telescope to observe, but due to the pitch darkness, he could see nothing.

Toshiharu Shimomura did not say anything to Kwon Cheon-jang, but simply turned to Takahashi Jiro and asked, "What do you think?"

Fu Beixue said: "Qinglong Fire Well? I know about fire wells; there is a record in the 'Book of Han' stating 'fire emerges from the ground.' At that time, the ancients did not understand it was natural gas and regarded it as a manifestation of divine spirits. But why add the words 'Qinglong'?"

Quan Qianzhang smiled and said: "Yes, this should be a legend fabricated by later generations. What I have heard is that someone presented the upper line 'Hungry chicken steals rice, child hits the tube' to Su Dongpo, and his response was 'Hot mouse on the beam, guest coughs in surprise'"

Takahashi Jiro, wearing a raincoat, stood at the door and said: "Teacher, we must evacuate now"

Qian Qianzhang nodded and said, "Indeed, that is correct"

Not long after the Long Dragon Temple was renamed to the Qinglong Temple, the century-old well within the temple suddenly ran dry. That night, amidst a thunderstorm, lightning struck the well, causing blue flames to erupt from its mouth, transforming it into a veritable fire well. Since that day, the Qinglong Fire Well has become a major wonder of the Qinglong Temple. However, Quan Qianzhang frowned as he recounted this, saying, "Unfortunately, it wasn't long before the Qinglong Temple completely disappeared."

Qian Qianzhang said: "Although this point is not explicitly stated in the materials they provided to me, I estimate that it must be related to this legend, as legends are based on certain factual grounds. Furthermore, isn't a so-called gas well generated by natural gas?"

Takahashi Jiro was well aware of Shimomura Toshiharu's character. At this moment, if he did not help Kwon Cheon-jang say something, he did not know what would happen next, because Shimomura Toshiharu had previously executed two experts from Manchukuo whom he deemed to be merely nominal.

The heavy rain miraculously ceased after continuing for half an hour, yet dark clouds still rolled in the sky, with lightning occasionally shooting out terrifying sparks from within the clouds

At the same time, Quan Qianzhang was also speculating in his heart about the identity of the gunmen on the opposite hill. Are they soldiers of the Anti-Japanese Allied Army?

付倍学 nodded repeatedly and said, "Yes, I also remembered. Professor, what does the Qinglong Fire Well mean?"

Qian Qianzhang recounted: "That was during the Wanli period, when it was still called Changlong Temple. The abbot of the temple was named Qingxu Daozhang, who enjoyed couplets and chess games in his daily life. He was inspired by observing two roosters in the temple competing for a grain of bean, and thus he composed a couplet that read 'Hungry roosters fight for beans', and then he sought a corresponding line.

Paybei nodded: "Is it also based on this legend that the Japanese confirmed the presence of natural gas beneath the Qinglong Temple?"

Fu Beixue was surprised: "The Taoist temple turned into a Buddhist temple? This is unheard of."

Takahashi Jiro clenched his fists, muttered under his breath, grabbed the rifle from the soldier next to him, and, using the tree as a support, began to search the opposite hilltop.

Quan Qianzhang stepped forward at this moment and said, "Without any resources, our exploration mission is over."

Lieutenant! Takahashi Jiro stepped forward to salute, "Professor, all is well."

Pay double attention: "Are you talking about natural gas?"

Just as Quan Qianzhang had not yet answered, a lightning bolt flashed across the sky and struck a large tree on the opposite hill, which promptly split in two. At the same time, Takahashi Jiro caught a glimpse of a person wearing a bamboo hat and raincoat standing on the mountaintop in the last glimmer of the lightning.

Quan Qianzhang walked to the door and before he could stand still, he heard a strange sound coming from the mountain.

Fu Beixue got up and walked to the window. After listening carefully for a while, he returned to Quan Qianzhang and said, "Professor, don't worry. That mountain villager must be talking nonsense."

Quan Qianzhang frowned and looked at Shimura Toshiji. He wished he could push this damn invader down the mountain with one palm right now.

Fu Beixue scratched his head and said, "Does it sound familiar?"

"Quan Qianzhang said, 'Yes, for many years no one could come up with a matching couplet. Until one summer, a monk named Huichan came wandering by. The two played chess together and it was like two kindred spirits meeting by chance. They regretted not having met earlier. Unexpectedly, one night, Huichan saw a mouse cooling off on a beam and came up with the matching couplet.'"

Qian Qianzhang frowned and said, "Shan Ming, this is a precursor to a mountain flood. We must leave immediately. Have the villagers evacuated?"

Pay Bei Xue is extremely surprised: "Does it disappear out of thin air? Why?"

Quan Qianzhang said: "That's right, although the Japanese are trying their best to extract mine gas, the technology is not mature yet. Moreover, the methane content in mine gas is only up to 60%, which is far inferior to natural gas."

Toshiharu Shimomura's breathing had ceased, and the surrounding soldiers immediately sought cover and crouched down, peering carefully to search for the gunmen on the opposite hill.