Chapter 24: A Good Place

After emerging from the space, Merlin's expression was one of intense excitement. It was understandable; seeing Ye Hai's miraculous space made her truly feel that the future of the Buda family was filled with hope.

Although Zhao Hai could not yet learn magic or battle qi, to Merlin, it was actually better if he couldn't. That way, he would be even safer.

Merlin did not want Zhao Hai to follow the old path of the Buda family. The family had risen to power through military merit, and to gain more merit, one had to fight wars—and war was extremely dangerous. Now that Ye Hai was the sole heir of the Buda family, Merlin did not want anything to happen to him.

Having obtained a space that could only be used for farming was actually better; they would no longer have to worry about food and drink. Moreover, as long as they had money, the Buda family could develop. There were many prosperous commercial families on the continent now, and even the old aristocracy did not dare to move against them lightly. Why? Simply because they were wealthy.

There were too many mercenaries on the continent, and those mercenaries were often desperate outlaws. As long as they were paid, they would dare to do anything. Commercial families were untouchable because of their wealth; if provoked, they could simply use money to buy your life. In the end, they would only lose some money, while you would lose your life. No one could afford to fight them.

Having experienced the entire process of the Buda family's decline from prosperity to misery, Merlin no longer thought of anything else. In her eyes, fame and fortune were now mere clouds drifting by; ensuring Zhao Hai lived well was the only thing that truly mattered.

Seeing Merlin's expression, Zhao Hai was also very happy. He knew Merlin truly cared for him, and the feeling of being cared for was wonderful. In his previous life, Zhao Hai had been an orphan, and no one had ever cared for him like this. The feeling warmed his heart.

It took a while for Merlin to calm down slightly. She walked to Zhao Hai's side and said, "Young Master, if there is any danger in the future, hide in the space immediately. Do not worry about us. You are the only sprout left in the Buda family; no matter what, nothing must happen to you."

Zhao Hai nodded and said, "Don't worry, Grandma Merlin, I know what to do. But as long as we are careful and keep a low profile in the future, nothing should happen."

Merlin nodded. Just as she was about to say something more, she heard Mutou's voice calling out, "Young Master, Young Master! I found a great place!" He was running down from the mountain as he spoke.

Zhao Hai and Merlin turned to look at the sprinting Mutou. He ran quickly to Zhao Hai's side and said, "Young Master, I found a great place up ahead. It will definitely meet your requirements."

Zhao Hai was stunned for a moment, then said with a face full of joy, "Good! Where is it? Let's go quickly."

Mutou pointed up the mountain. "Young Master, we have to go over the mountain. We can't go through the bottom."

Zhao Hai nodded. "Alright, let's go. Grandma Merlin, you rest here for a bit. Mutou and I will go."

Merlin shook her head. "No, I'll go and take a look too. In the future, I can't always have you leading the way for farming; I need to learn the route." Turning to Mutou, she added, "Mutou, lead the way." Mutou responded and started walking forward, with the two following behind.

Although this desolate mountain only had some weeds, it was still difficult to traverse. Though the weeds weren't tall, they were very tough; as they walked, they were frequently tripped up by the grass, making the path quite difficult.

Fortunately, it wasn't far. After walking about three miles, they discovered a large canyon ahead. This canyon was very peculiar, looking as if a massive boulder had fallen from the sky and smashed a giant hole into the mountain. It was surrounded by cliffs on all sides, with no visible path leading out to the outside world.

Zhao Hai stood there agape, feeling a mix of laughter and helplessness. This canyon met his requirements perfectly—it couldn't be seen at all from the foot of the mountain—but how were they supposed to get down?

Merlin noticed this as well. She turned to Mutou and scolded him with a smile, "Mutou, you blockhead! You found a place where even I would struggle to get down, let alone the Young Master. Even if you could carry him down on your back, what about the slaves? The slaves will be the ones farming here in the future. You don't expect to carry them down too, do you?"

Zhao Hai also looked at Mutou with annoyance. To be fair, the canyon didn't look extremely deep, perhaps only a few dozen meters, but looking down from the top was dizzying enough. Combined with the surrounding cliffs, getting down would be extremely difficult.

If they had plenty of supplies, it would be easy to build a mountain ladder, but they currently lacked the necessary resources. Even timber wasn't produced on this mountain, making a wooden ladder nearly impossible to construct. This was truly a dead end.

Mutou turned to look at them and grinned. "Young Master, Grandma Merlin, don't worry. Follow me." He then turned and walked toward the back of the iron mine.

Up until now, Zhao Hai and Merlin had never gone to the back of the iron mine because they knew it bordered the Corpse Swamp. The Corpse Swamp was famous for its poisonous miasma, toxic magical beasts, poisonous plants, and undead creatures. Consequently, no one in Merlin's group wanted to explore the back of the mountain; it represented danger.

Seeing Mutou heading toward the back, Merlin's face darkened. "Mutou, you brat, do you have a death wish? Get back here immediately!"

Mutou turned and smiled at them. "It's fine, Grandma Merlin, Young Master. Don't worry. Once we cross the ridge, there's a cave entrance not far away. We can enter through that cave to reach the valley. I just came out from there."

Merlin wanted to say more, but Zhao Hai nodded. "Alright, let's go see." He followed Mutou toward the back of the iron mine, and Merlin had no choice but to follow.

However, once they reached the summit, Zhao Hai was captivated by the scenery before him. On the back side of the mountain, the world was a chaotic blur. As far as the eye could see, there was nothing but multicolored mist. One could not see the sky or the ground; it looked as if the world itself was composed of this seven-colored mist.

It was beautiful—too beautiful. Zhao Hai had never seen such multicolored mist before, and it wasn't a dull, lifeless color, but a strange, brilliant, and dazzling spectrum.

A long, lingering sigh interrupted Zhao Hai's thoughts. He turned to see it was Merlin. She was also staring at the multicolored mist, letting out a soft sigh. "What beautiful scenery. Who would have thought that such beauty is actually the most lethal thing on the continent? This seven-colored toxic mist is the greatest barrier of the Corpse Swamp. According to all records, of those who have entered this mist, no more than ten have ever made it out alive. And those who did emerge were all top-tier experts of the continent. Even so, after emerging from the mist, they couldn't live longer than five years. No matter how powerful a priest or apothecary they were, they couldn't save them."

Zhao Hai felt a chill run down his spine. Looking at the mist again, the brilliant colors seemed eerie, as if countless evil spirits were inside, baring their teeth and smiling at him.

Not daring to look any longer, Zhao Hai called out to Mutou, who was waiting ahead, "Let's go." Mutou responded and moved forward.

They were now walking from the summit toward the back of the iron mine. It was strange; on the front side of the mountain, the grass looked malnourished, but on this side, the grass grew exceptionally well—so green it almost looked black, bursting with vitality. However, instead of covering the whole mountain like the front, it grew in small clumps, leaving the rest of the ground bare, like a bald head with a few tufts of hair.

Walking beside Zhao Hai, Merlin warned him and Mutou, "Young Master, Mutou, be careful. Do not touch that grass. It might be poisonous. Mutou is strong and might be fine, but because the Young Master drank the Water of Void, he must not touch these things."

Zhao Hai was startled. Although he felt Merlin was being a bit dramatic, he didn't dare to be careless. The Corpse Swamp was notorious for its dangers; it was better to be safe.

Carefully bypassing the clumps of grass, they followed Mutou for about five hundred meters until they saw a small cave. The cave wasn't very large, only able to accommodate three people walking in a row, and it was only about two meters high. The interior was dark, and the sound of flowing water could be heard from within.

Merlin walked ahead of Ye Hai, and a sphere of light appeared in her hand, illuminating the path before Zhao Hai brightly, guiding him into the cave.

It was evident that this cave was part of the mining tunnels built by the dwarves long ago; it was very neatly constructed, with stones stacked in a very even manner.

After walking into the cave for about five minutes, they reached an open space. This area was clearly just a temporary resting place or storage area for the dwarves. There were no living quarters here, just an open space of about three hundred square meters, and the sound of water was coming from Zhao Hai's right side.

Mutou turned to Zhao Hai and said, "Young Master, that over there is a mountain lake. I'm not sure if it's connected to the one behind our castle. If we go left, we can enter that valley."

Zhao Hai nodded. He didn't bother looking at the lake; he estimated it was likely part of the same body of water as the lake behind their castle. Since they didn't have large lighting tools, they wouldn't be able to see much anyway, so he decided not to look.

The two followed Mutou into the tunnel to the left. This tunnel was quite wide, enough for ten people to walk side-by-side, and it was five meters high. The ground was very dry, making it comfortable to walk on.

After walking for another ten minutes, light suddenly appeared ahead. Merlin extinguished her light spell and followed Zhao Hai quickly toward the light.