Hidden Moth-Chapter 555 - 316: Dust and Smoke Scenery in the Phoenix Tail Village

The pair finally exited the Grotto Heaven Gate at around five-thirty in the morning, and as they left, He Kao still heard a cold grunt from Wei Luo. It seemed angry, yet more like a pout—clearly, she wasn’t pleased that her master had privately chatted with He Kao behind her back.

As they walked down the steep mountain path to the gentle terrain outside Jinghua Village, Jiang Daozhen surprisingly overturned into the bushes a world-famous vehicle—a three-wheeler.

These tricycles are common around the Pugang agricultural market. Early on, they had a more colloquial name, "Tong Tong Tong," describing their sound, as many used diesel engines then.

Recently, however, many three-wheelers have been converted to electric vehicles, greatly reducing noise and selling far and wide abroad, even with the distinctive Eastern Country electronic sound indicator—"Attention: Reversing!"

In this deep mountain wilderness, He Kao heard this familiar alert once more and wondered, "Are we really going on this?"

Jiang Daozhen replied, "You just said walking was slow, and now you’re reluctant to use a vehicle?"

The truck bed contained a long-handled bamboo broom and a large woven willow basket. He Kao had no choice but to sit next to the basket. The road wasn’t smooth, and if not for He Kao’s cultivation, he might have been jolted out.

Luckily, upon entering the village, there was a smooth paved road. Daylight had broken, and many country folks, especially the elderly, rose early, already heading out with hoes and baskets. They’d greet Old Man Jiang on the road.

The three-wheeler passed through Jinghua Village in the morning light, entering a mountain road constructed as part of a national policy to connect villages. The minimum standard mandated was a 3.5-meter-wide paved road, funded by government grants and local fundraising.

Phoenix Tail Town, evidently well-off, had gathered enough funds to widen the road by another 1.5 meters, making it five meters wide, enough for two large vehicles to pass, and built a step-pool style drainage ditch on one side, with a sidewalk on the other.

Clearing such a standard road in the deep mountains wasn’t easy. It’s an ordinary-seeming miracle of the industrial age. For now, there were no other cars on the road, only Old Man Jiang’s three-wheeler.

Jiang Daozhen unexpectedly sped up the three-wheeler to over thirty kilometers per hour. It may not sound fast, but on winding mountain roads, on an open-bed vehicle, it blew He Kao’s hairstyle to one side.

They left Jinghua Village, winding through mountains for over ten kilometers and passing a tunnel about nine hundred meters long before entering another basin.

This was already within Pijing Village’s territory. Not far behind the village lay the gate to Observing Body Sect’s Pijing Grotto Heaven.

Heading to Pijing Village, they finally encountered an oncoming vehicle—a school bus with a yellow-painted cabin, heading toward Jinghua Village to pick up children for school in the town.

Besides the town where the township government is, Phoenix Tail Town has jurisdiction over eight natural villages. Except for Cai Ping Village at the mountain entrance, the other seven villages and the town are lined up within the mountains, interconnected by tunnels—tunnels opened only in the new century.

The village houses were beautifully built, with some having antiquated designs that didn’t seem outdated. They were arranged according to the terrain with elegance but without clutter, a masterstroke of planning.

Many sorcerers reside here, including some high-tier sorcerers. Phoenix Tail Town has a permanent population of over eleven thousand, with over eight hundred sorcerers registered, and more than four thousand Guests of Fate. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

Besides sorcerers and Guests of Fate, many ordinary people live locally; they aren’t very aware of the sorcerers, Magic Sect, or the secrets of techniques, only hearing some ancient legends.

How sorcerers manage not to reveal their identities and magic cultivation, and coexist harmoniously with uninformed locals, is considered a daily requirement from the Magic Sect for disciples, with many habits cultivated through such details.

Continuing along the winding mountain road for dozens of kilometers, passing through Pijing Village, and a second tunnel about a kilometer long, and then walking five or six more kilometers, they arrived at the township of Phoenix Tail Town.

Upon entering town, the daylight was very bright, and ahead, the road was unexpectedly congested! That was at the entrance of Fengwei Village Primary School.

A key difference here, compared to many other mountainous villages nationwide, is the young population structure.

Many remote mountain villages now see young people move out for work, choosing to settle and buy homes in cities. Children attend school in the city, leaving nearly only the elderly, even many schools built at the end of the last century have been merged and closed.

Yet, Phoenix Tail Town has plenty of young people, with many local children; it has everything except a university, from kindergarten to high school.

Each village has a kindergarten located in the community activity center. As for the twelve grades from primary to high school, they’re concentrated in the township.

Interestingly, several elders from the Ancestral Hall and many stewards from various sects used to teach in local schools.

Even high school exists here, generally only accepting local students. Nowadays, each grade has only two classes, but facilities are complete, and teaching staff is quite competent. The annual college entrance exam average scores rank among the city’s top, often first.

The city’s key high schools can select the best students from across the city, whereas Phoenix Tail Town High School admits only local students, making such performance more remarkable.

Several times the county and city planned to close down the high school at Phoenix Tail Town and integrate its teaching resources into other key high schools, but various reasons thwarted these plans.