Chapter 165: Commencing Demolition

After the rain cleared, the weather turned cool and a gentle breeze was blowing.

On the way back to Ancient Mountain Village, Qin Mutou remained gloomy and distracted several times when Xu Mo tried to speak to him.

Xu Mo patted Qin Mutou on the shoulder and asked, "What is the matter? Are you still upset about losing to that woman?"

Qin Mutou blamed himself, saying, "Master, I am sorry. It is all my fault for being so useless."

Xu Mo shook his head and said, "Mutou, one should not belittle oneself like this. They say there are always mountains beyond mountains and masters beyond masters; such an outcome is entirely normal."

"Besides, you are still young, and your practical combat experience is far inferior to hers, which is why you lost. Once you gain more experience in the future, she will certainly be no match for you," Xu Mo encouraged.

Qin Mutou nodded without speaking, clearly still minding the matter.

Xu Mo offered a couple more words of comfort and then dropped the subject, leaving Qin Mutou time to adjust his mood on his own.

The next morning, the sky was clear and vast.

Xu Mo and Qin Mutou headed to Yang Family Village again, going straight to the home of Mason Kuang.

Mason Kuang had been waiting for Xu Mo at home since early morning. Expecting Xu Mo to bring a large group of people, he had even prepared tea and snacks to host them. To his surprise, he only saw the two of them.

"Young Master Xu, why are there only the two of you? Where are the others?" Mason Kuang asked, looking behind Xu Mo.

Xu Mo replied, "Mason Kuang, there are no others, just the two of us."

Mason Kuang's expression darkened slightly. "Young Master Xu, with just the two of you, how do you expect to clear the mountain path?"

Mason Kuang suddenly felt that this Xu Mo was entirely unreliable and failed to keep his word.

Seeing that Mason Kuang was unhappy, Xu Mo quickly explained, "Mason Kuang, don't worry. Although there are only two of us, I can still clear the mountain path."

With that, Xu Mo took a jar bomb out of the basket on the cart.

"Mason Kuang, this is called a jar bomb. It is packed entirely with gunpowder, and its destructive power is immense. No matter how large the boulder is, it can be blown apart with this!" Xu Mo introduced proudly.

Mason Kuang shook his head and said, "Young Master Xu, gunpowder is fine for making firecrackers to make a little noise, but wanting to blast open stones? You must be joking!"

In Mason Kuang's view, gunpowder was perfectly fine for fireworks and firecrackers, but blasting rocks was completely out of the question.

Xu Mo smiled and said, "Mason Kuang, my gunpowder is called black gunpowder, which is somewhat different from the gunpowder you usually use. Its explosive force is much greater. If you don't believe me, you will see for yourself in a moment."

"Isn't black gunpowder still just gunpowder? Does adding the word 'black' make it any different?" Mason Kuang remained skeptical.

Without offering further explanation, Xu Mo said, "Mason Kuang, let us head up the mountain now to clear the path as early as possible and put this troublesome matter behind us."

Mason Kuang let out an inner sigh, holding no hope whatsoever, but still nodded. "Very well, since you want to go, let us go together. We were heading up the mountain anyway."

After speaking, Mason Kuang called out to his son, grabbed his tools, and led Xu Mo and Qin Mutou up the mountain.

Mason Kuang and his son walked the mountain paths year-round, so their paces were very brisk and swift.

Qin Mutou had also grown up in the mountains since childhood and was skilled in martial arts. Even with a basket of jar bombs strapped to his back, he still moved as swiftly as if flying.

Only Xu Mo found the climb arduous. Every so often, he would fall far behind them, forcing the other three to stop and wait for him.

This made Xu Mo feel extremely awkward and depressed, prompting him to make a silent resolution to properly exercise and build up his stamina once he returned.

Finally, the four of them arrived at the spot where the mountain path was blocked.

Looking up, Xu Mo saw that the path was indeed blocked by a massive mountain boulder.

Not only was there the boulder, but the surrounding area was also choked with large amounts of earth and broken trees, which nearly buried the boulder's midsection and firmly wedged it in place.

"Master, that rock is huge!" Qin Mutou could not help exclaiming.

Xu Mo looked further up the mountain slope and quickly spotted a clear gap in the mountainside, bearing very fresh marks.

Clearly, this boulder had broken off from that spot and rolled down.

Pointing toward the gap, Xu Mo said to Qin Mutou, "Look, it detached from up there."

Qin Mutou glanced up and immediately nodded.

Shortly after, Qin Mutou pointed at the boulder and said, "Master, look, there is a rope ladder on the rock."

Xu Mo quickly spotted the rope ladder as well.

Mason Kuang said, "Nowadays, if anyone wants to go up the mountain, they either have to take another path or climb over this giant rock. But wanting to transport large stones down the mountain is practically impossible."

Xu Mo said confidently, "Mason Kuang, although this rock is larger than I imagined, rest assured, I will still take care of it!"

With that, Xu Mo shouted, "Mutou, start blasting!"

"Understood, Master!" Qin Mutou responded loudly.

Following that, the two began digging holes beneath the boulder.

Mason Kuang and his son exchanged glances, then went forward to help, likely feeling too embarrassed to stand idly by and just watch.

The time it took to burn an incense stick passed...

At Xu Mo's request, four relatively deep small holes had been dug into the base of the giant boulder, angled toward the bottom of the rock.

Afterward, Xu Mo placed four jar bombs into the four holes respectively.

The fuses of the jar bombs in the basket had already been lengthened overnight, specifically to ensure that after lighting them, there would be enough time for everyone to run into the safety zone.

Having placed the jar bombs, Xu Mo twisted the ends of the four fuses together and lit a previously prepared torch.

Handing the torch to Qin Mutou, Xu Mo said, "Mutou, you run the fastest. You light the fire in a moment, and I will lead Mason Kuang and the others over there."

Delighted, Qin Mutou nodded hastily. "Master, you can rest easy leaving this to me!"

Qin Mutou had long wanted to detonate a jar bomb, and now he was setting off four at once; just thinking about it felt thrilling.

Subsequently, Xu Mo led Mason Kuang and his son toward a distant spot.

Unsure of how powerful four jar bombs exploding simultaneously would be, Xu Mo adhered to the principle of safety first, and the three of them walked several dozens of paces away before stopping.

Mason Kuang's son was utterly puzzled. "Young Master Xu, is there any need to retreat this far?"

Xu Mo replied, "Safety first. Further away is always better than closer, wouldn't you say?"

Mason Kuang was equally baffled as to why they needed to hide so far away, but he remained silent, thinking to himself that people from the city were far too timid. They were just setting off a firecracker, yet they felt the need to retreat this far—and it was even buried in the dirt.

At that moment, Xu Mo shouted loudly to Qin Mutou, "Mutou, light the fire!"

"Understood, Master!"

Acknowledging the order, Qin Mutou turned and used the torch to ignite the twisted ends of the fuses.

The moment the fuses caught fire, Qin Mutou dropped the torch and sprinted toward Xu Mo at a hundred-meter dash speed.

Before long, Qin Mutou reached Xu Mo's side.

As soon as they met, they shared a tacit understanding and immediately covered their ears with both hands.

"Ha ha ha ha..."

Their actions instantly provoked laughter from Mason Kuang and his son.

The father and son felt that the two of them were being far too dramatic. They were already standing so far away—how loud could it possibly be?

Immediately following this, a series of deafening explosions erupted from beneath the boulder ahead, and the ground began to shake.

The roar of the explosion echoed throughout the entire valley, startling countless birds into flight and leaving Mason Kuang and his son utterly dumbstruck...