Chapter 23 : Chapter 23
Chapter 23: The Mine Vein Revolt
The following day.
Under the crack of overseers’ whips and the pressure of the guards, the mine slaves on the mountain worked at fever pitch extracting ore. Cart after cart of freshly mined ore was sent to the storage grounds.
“Move faster! I’m talking to you! Why are you dawdling? Don’t want your life anymore?”
A fat overseer waved his whip and shouted at a middle-aged mine slave. Two guards followed behind him.
The middle-aged mine slave gave him a long look, then increased his speed.
But that look somehow irritated the fat overseer.
For reasons he himself did not understand, when that lowly mine slave had looked at him just now, he had actually felt a trace of fear. That was something he could not tolerate.
Fuming, he strode over to the middle-aged mine slave.
Crack!
His whip lashed viciously across the man’s back.
The blow staggered the mine slave, and a bright red welt immediately appeared across the exposed dark skin of his back.
“How many lives do you have, daring to glare at me?”
The fat overseer grinned savagely as he brandished the whip.
The mine slave secretly clenched his fists. He squeezed so hard that the joints turned white.
He took a deep breath, wanting to flare up.
But for some reason, he slowly released his fists again.
“Overseer, I’m just a crude fool. Please don’t lower yourself to my level.”
The mine slave lowered his head as he spoke.
“Hmph. Your granddad’s in a good mood today, so I’ll spare you this time. If there’s a next time, watch your dog life.”
The fat overseer spoke with a false smile.
Then he swaggered away with his two subordinates.
Watching that mountain-like back recede, the mine slave’s eyes filled with gloom.
On the other side, as the overseer and the others walked farther away...
One guard laughed and teased him. “Brother Hu, what’s with your sudden Bodhisattva heart today? If this had been before, a brat like that daring to act tough with you would’ve already lost his life.”
The overseer snorted.
“That dog had good luck. Word came down from above—some big shot from the master family is coming to inspect the mine within the next two days, so we’re to behave ourselves.”
“A big shot?”
The guard’s eyes lit up.
He hurriedly asked, “Brother Hu, you’re always well-connected and well-informed. Do you know which big shot is coming?”
The overseer was extremely pleased by that remark. His eyes narrowed into slits with satisfaction.
He pointed at the sky above their heads.
“Incomparably important.”
The guard understood at once and sucked in a sharp breath.
“Don’t go spreading this outside, understood?”
The overseer shot him a look.
The guard grinned. “Brother Hu, don’t you know me? My mouth’s famous for having a lock on it.”
The overseer gave a disdainful snort.
The group laughed as they went on their way.
In the distance, the middle-aged mine slave’s ear twitched. His hands paused mid-motion, and his face visibly darkened.
...
A day of blood and sweat finally ended with sunset.
The sky gradually darkened.
The moon lifted its head at the edge of the heavens.
After supper, the exhausted mine slaves sprawled all over the mine cave to rest. This was the most pleasant moment of their entire day.
After counting heads, the overseer on night patrol sneered.
“It’s curfew now. All of you had better stay obedient and sleep. If anyone is discovered running around outside, everyone in this cave dies. Understood?”
“Understood.”
The responses were weak and lifeless.
Satisfied, the overseer nodded and moved on to inspect the next area.
Once they were certain he had gone far enough, a fairly sturdy mine slave sighed.
“Six more gone today.”
“The next one might be us tomorrow.”
The mine slave lying beside him gave a bitter laugh.
“If I’d known surrender would end like this, I would’ve been better off dying on the battlefield cleanly. At this rate, we’ll probably never return home in this life.”
“A miserable life is still better than death. Better to live one more day if we can.”
“...”
...
Half an hour later, snores thundered through the cave.
Several men carefully got to their feet and crept toward the depths of the mine cave.
Among them was the middle-aged mine slave who had been whipped earlier that day.
“General, we can’t wait any longer. While working during the day, I overheard that damned overseer talking. He said the Li family behind the mine is sending a major figure here for inspection!”
The middle-aged mine slave spoke respectfully to a gaunt old man.
The old man frowned. “Do you know who this so-called major figure is?”
The middle-aged mine slave shook his head. “They didn’t mention a name. They only said he was someone of the utmost importance.”
At once, the old man’s expression grew grave.
“That can only mean a Qi-Blood Realm cultivator of the Li family.”
At those words, a shadow fell over everyone’s hearts.
“If I were at full strength, I would not fear a Li family Qi-Blood Realm cultivator in the slightest. Unfortunately, I was gravely injured in that great battle, and even now I have only barely recovered to Physical Body Realm Major Accomplishment. If I face him, I will surely die.”
The old man shook his head.
“General, we can’t just sit and wait for death! The concealment art we practice cannot fool a Qi-Blood Realm cultivator.”
The middle-aged mine slave, Tie Xiong, spoke anxiously.
The others hurriedly echoed him.
The old man thought for a moment, then clenched his teeth and finally made up his mind.
“At this point, we can only rise ahead of schedule.”
“From my observations during this period, apart from that Elder stationed at the mine, the Li family also has two Physical Body Realm cultivators guarding the exit.”
“If we want to escape after we rise up, we must first get past them.”
“Defeating them will not be hard. Killing them is the difficult part. If they entangle us, none of us will escape. Therefore, to ensure absolute certainty, I must recover a bit more strength—ideally back to Physical Body Realm Perfection.”
Tie Xiong, however, shook his head with some difficulty.
“In your current state, to recover to Physical Body Realm Perfection, you would need the qi and blood of at least several hundred people. The corpses thrown into the mass burial ground are nowhere near enough. Besides, the abnormalities there have already drawn the attention of that Li family Elder. You cannot go again.”
So the mysterious shadow from the mass burial ground...
Had been this gaunt old man all along.
“The mass burial ground is no longer an option. But aren’t there ready-made corpses right here?”
The gaunt old man sneered.
The others shuddered and retreated several steps, staring at him in horror.
The old man was first startled, then immediately understood and cursed, “Fools. What use would your scraps of flesh and blood be to me?”
Then he turned his gaze toward the sleeping mine slaves in the distance.
At once, the others understood what he meant.
Tie Xiong hesitated. “General, they are still the people of our Dongling homeland.”
The old man let out a cold laugh. “If they do not die, then we will.”
The group fell silent for a long moment, and then each of them made his choice.
Slowly, they walked toward the sleeping mine slaves.
A bloody slaughter quietly unfolded inside the cave.
...
Half an hour later, the gaunt old man swallowed the last blood bead.
In front of him, hideous dried corpses had piled into a small hill.
“At last, I have recovered to Physical Body Realm Perfection.”
The old man laughed loudly.
“Congratulations, General!”
The others cupped their fists in congratulations.
“You did well this time. Do not worry—I will definitely take you back to Dongling. Now, we may move.”
“We vow to follow the General to the death!”
...
At the mouth of the mine cave, several mine guards leaned against the wall, dozing.
In their half-sleep, they vaguely saw several figures slowly emerge.
The guards immediately straightened up and barked, “It’s curfew. No one is permitted outside. Violators will be killed on sight—”
Before they could finish, their necks were twisted and broken.
“Brothers, the Li family is tyrannical and unjust. They treat us as ants and slaughter us at will. If we stay here, sooner or later we die anyway. Better to rebel with me!”
A booming voice rang through the darkness and echoed across the entire mine vein.
In an instant, countless voices answered!
“The Li family is unjust—rebel!”
“Brothers, kill! Kill all these Li family lackeys!”
“Kill!”