Chapter 7: Chapter 7 Stirring the Grass to Alarm the Snake
As Shi Chun passed through the crowd, he gave Wu Jinliang a look, and then slipped away alone.
After a short wait, Wu Jinliang too edged to the side in the relaxed crowd, pretending to labor while using the excuse of adjusting the wicks of the oil lamps to walk away.
Once out of sight of the others, he immediately dashed to follow Shi Chun. He hadn't gone far before he spotted Shi Chun leaning against the cave wall, head down, catching his breath.
Something seemed off. Wu Jinliang quickly approached and asked, "What's wrong?"
The specifics could not be discussed at that moment, and Shi Chun couldn't explain clearly either. All he knew was that the strange vision in his right eye had gradually disappeared, and his eyesight seemed to have returned to normal. His body was slowly recovering too, much stronger than before, but not yet completely back to normal.
Shaking his head, he said, "I screwed up. The moment Shen Youkun arrives, we'll be exposed. We need to get out of here fast. I need time to recover; you'll have to carry me for a while."
Wu Jinliang was taken aback, "Were you hurt by someone?"
As he spoke, he hoisted Shi Chun onto his back.
Shi Chun: "No, I'll explain later. Quick, let's go. Be careful to avoid Shen Youkun, he should already be inside."
Wu Jinliang immediately carried him and sped off.
As expected, even though the mine was dug long and deep, Shen Youkun still managed to arrive. Wu Jinliang, carrying someone, hadn't run far before he turned around and ran back to a fork they had passed, swiftly darting into a side tunnel to silently hold their breath.
Soon, a team of people brushed past them, with two bearers carrying the litter with Qi Ziru on it, and Shen Youkun being carried by someone else.
There was no choice; with cultivation destroyed and without the help of a monk, it was hard to run fast in such a distant mine with uneven ground.
The people who had gone to report earlier and the two who had provided digging advice also followed behind them in a hustle back.
After the group passed by, Wu Jinliang quickly carried his companion out again and continued to run towards the exit.
Shi Chun whispered in his ear, "We won't make it if we don't run. Full speed ahead."
Wu Jinliang grunted affirmatively and immediately took off at full speed, darting quickly through the mine.
Shi Chun, lying on his back, waved his hand along the way to extinguish the oil lamps they passed...
The group carrying the makeshift litter reached a large crowd blocking the way. Shen Youkun, who was riding people like horses, was not pleased at the sight of the idly standing workers and bellowed, "Get out of the way, make room!"
Seeing that it was him, the people, whether standing or sitting, hurriedly got up and moved to the sides, clearly showing a respect far greater than that for the Supervisors.
Shen Youkun's party quickly passed through.
No one noticed whether Shi Chun, who was supposed to report, was there or had returned.
After turning the corner and rushing to the end of the mine, Shen Youkun and the others saw the huge and grotesque snake skull resting on the Dragon Bone, as well as the third eye socket on the skull, but they did not see the Purple Shining Nebula.
Shen Youkun, who had jumped to the ground, immediately turned his head to look at the Supervisor who had reported the vision.
The Supervisor immediately pointed to the skull and emphasized, "It was floating right there before, as large as a big table top, without a shadow of a doubt, everyone saw it."
Qi Ziru believed there was no reason for this man to lie. He looked back from his litter at the other Supervisor who was sitting against the wall in a pool of blood.
It was only then that everyone's attention returned to this dead man. Shen Youkun quickly walked back, lifted the man's mask with his hand, confirmed it was the man he had summoned, and then turned his gaze back the way they had come, only to realize that none of the group that had come with him had actually followed. What did this mean? Were they blind?
He immediately shouted loudly, "People!"
The sound echoed in the mine.
Shortly after, several Supervisors arrived, hesitantly approaching as if uncertain, and upon seeing their colleague killed, they were even more alarmed, unsure why Shen Youkun had struck such a deadly blow, feeling a threat to their own safety.
Then, they discovered that the Purple Shining Nebula had disappeared and thought they understood what had happened.
But when Shen Youkun pointed at the dead body and asked, "What happened here, who did this?" their expressions showed astonishment, realizing they might have been mistaken. One of them ventured to ask, "Wasn't it you, Mr. Shen, who killed him?"
Shen Youkun was furious, "Nonsense! When I arrived, he was already lying dead here."
Qi Ziru on the litter further dispelled the Supervisors' doubts, "The wound has stopped bleeding, and the fresh blood on the ground has ceased flowing."
As this was said, the Supervisors suddenly realized their mistake; if Shen Youkun had just inflicted the wound, the blood would certainly still be flowing.
Shen Youkun angrily exclaimed, "You'd better not tell me you don't know who did this!"
The Supervisors exchanged glances, their eyes filled with suspicion and a shared doubt. One said, "What about the man Mr. Shen sent with the order? He was just now alone here with the head for a while."
Shen Youkun was irate, "What man with the order, what nonsense are you talking about?"
Qi Ziru on the litter gestured to calm the Supervisors down, "Don't rush, speak slowly. What order? What's going on?"
Several Supervisors naturally did not dare to conceal anything, supplementing each other's accounts as they described the events that had transpired earlier.
After listening, Shen Youkun furiously pointed towards the way they had come, "A bunch of idiots, don't you realize you've been played? Get moving and chase them down!"
Qi Ziru added a line, "Chase them to the cave's entrance. If you don't see anyone, don't bother chasing further—just seal off the entrance."
The Supervisors looked towards Shen Youkun, unsure of who they should listen to.
Shen Youkun started to speak but stopped, his treasure stolen, he certainly wanted to relentlessly pursue, but after a cold glare from Qi Ziru, he could only agree, "Let's do it this way then."
The Supervisors immediately accepted the command and left quickly.
As they left, Shen Youkun wanted to ask for reasons, but Qi Ziru berated him first, "I told you to personally supervise on-site. Who allowed you to leave?"
Shen Youkun was again at a loss for words, feeling somewhat wronged. His uncle had suddenly arrived, inspected the excavation site, and found it too stuffy, so he left. How could he not follow? It was difficult to discuss certain matters in front of so many people in the cave; surely his intention was to seek out his uncle for clarification. Little did he know such an incident would occur.
The incident having happened, Qi Ziru didn't bother to argue further and motioned for the carriage to depart. Before leaving, he glanced back at the snakehead and muttered to himself, "They've actually dug up some other treasure..."
Having traversed the mine multiple times and familiar with its layout, Shi Chun, as they approached the exit, ceased his practice of snuffing out the lamps. The lamps near the exit were left burning. He patted Wu Jinliang's shoulder, "Stop, I've nearly recovered."
He also jumped down to the ground, taking deep breaths to sense his physical state again.
Wu Jinliang asked again, "Weren't you just fine? Why expose our ruse?"
Shi Chun replied, "We'll speak later. Get ready to force our way out!"
"What!" Wu Jinliang exclaimed in shock, "Can't we use the old method and blend our way out?"
Shi Chun answered, "We don't have the time, it's too late now." While speaking, he rubbed his arm where an injury was, wiping away the caked mud, intentionally creating a bloody appearance. Wincing slightly at the pain, he immediately presented his bloodied arm in front of Wu Jinliang.
Without needing an explanation, Wu Jinliang promptly smeared the blood on his own face, while not forgetting to remind, "Think carefully about this. If we reveal ourselves openly, our identities will likely be exposed. Having witnessed Shen Youkun's secret, he'll be even more relentless in pursuing us."
"We've already startled the snake; if we don't leave now, we'll never get out. We have no choice but to focus on the immediate situation," Shi Chun couldn't help but sigh. He glanced back at the pitch-black path they came from, retracted his bloody arm, smeared some blood on his face and nose, then turned and dashed towards the cave entrance.
Wu Jinliang followed closely behind.
They could see the light outside the cave, and as they neared the entrance, Shi Chun gestured with a look back. Wu Jinliang sat down against the cave wall, instantly assuming the guise of a fatally wounded man.
Shi Chun, on the other hand, acted like a gravely wounded man fleeing for his life, running straight out of the cave.
The two guards outside were startled by the sight, one quickly supported him, the other asked urgently, "What happened?"
Shi Chun used a spell to shout hoarsely in all directions, "Quick, rally together, Mr. Shen is in danger, hurry to save him!"
The sound echoed all around them.
At this announcement, figures began to appear atop the surrounding hills.
The guard supporting him asked again urgently, "What happened?"
Taking in the situation around him, Shi Chun used another spell as he cried out in lament, "A great treasure has been unearthed in the cave. The miners have become greedy and rebelled! The situation is dire, Mr. Shen is in great peril; everyone hurry to the rescue, or it'll be too late—please, save Mr. Shen swiftly!"
Treasure? Both guards were stunned, their heads turning in unison towards the dark cave.
Simultaneously, people began to leap down from the surrounding hills, more and more of them flying towards the cave.
"Forget about me, hurry and save the master." Shi Chun pushed the guard and then collapsed on the ground, gasping for breath.
The guard hesitated a moment but seeing his companion rushing into the cave, quickly followed suit.
The reinforcements arriving later from various hilltops did not concern themselves with Shi Chun's well-being on the ground. Seeing that the cave guards had already gone in, they hurriedly rushed in as well, assuming the guards must've checked and confirmed the situation with Shi Chun.
Soon, the figures surrounding them dispersed, and Shi Chun, lying on the ground, immediately looked up, shouting into the cave, "Jinliang, are you dead yet?"
Wu Jinliang's figure quickly appeared in the cave entrance, and as he approached the exit, he "died" on the ground again, questioning the outside situation, "How is it out there?"
Shi Chun leaped to his feet, calling out, "Let's go!"
Wu Jinliang instantly "revived," and rushed out, following closely behind Shi Chun.
Whether all the hidden figures had left the area, Shi Chun did not know; he simply ran towards a spot where people had previously emerged...
Inside the mine, Shi Chun's action of extinguishing the lamps caused some trouble for those chasing them. As they rushed into the darkness, it was so black they could not see their hands in front of their faces, rendering even the monks' enhanced vision useless.
Lighting every lamp along the way again was not practical; they could only proceed with some relighting the lamps with protective spells for illumination to continue the chase.
By the time they did this, even Shen Youkun and Qi Ziru had caught up to them.
The people who ran in from outside to save the master encountered the same ridiculous situation. The lamps were fine for a stretch inside the cave entrance, causing no suspicion as they charged in, but as they plunged into the darkness and realized everything ahead was black, there was a scramble to find the fire steel to light the lamps on the way.
As vast groups holding up lights from both sides met head-on, confusion ensued. The rescuers from outside thought the rebels had burst forth.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone