Chapter 3: A Misunderstanding |
Inside the pitch-black mine shaft, it wasn't completely without light. One just couldn't adapt immediately after coming in from the outside's brightness.
Every so often, a simple oil lamp hung on the tunnel wall, providing dim light, barely enough to see the way.
The two figures, one tall and one short, carrying shoulder poles, deliberately slowed their steps, looking back and forth from time to time.
These two secretive individuals were precisely the ones Shen Youkun had grit his teeth about not clearing out. Their heights alone were enough to distinguish who was who.
After they had widened the distance from the miners ahead and confirmed no one was approaching from behind, the tall Wu Jinliang still looked traumatized, grumbling softly to his companion, “That was close, Shen Youkun almost recognized us. I told you this was dangerous, not to come, but you insisted on joining the fun.”
Shi Chun mumbled back, “It's fine, isn't it? We've repeatedly confirmed it through our informant; they're all new faces from out of town. Except for Shen Youkun, none of them should know us.
Running into him face-to-face just now was pure coincidence; it can't happen all the time.”
Wu Jinliang glared, reminding him, “I'm telling you, Chuntian, don't be so complacent.
What we're doing is too brazen. What if we run into him again? He's not blind; he can't keep misidentifying us.
You dare to swagger in front of him? I'm scared! If we run into him again, there's a nine out of ten chance he'll recognize us. Then, if he shouts, we'll immediately be surrounded and beaten…”
Shi Chun interrupted dismissively, “Shout what? If he doesn't recognize us, so be it.
But if we really run into him face-to-face and he exposes us, let him try shouting. He's just a cultivation-crippled piece of trash.
Is it hard to snatch him and use him as a hostage? As long as I sense something's wrong, it's a piece of cake. What's there to be afraid of? Go boldly; don't scare yourself with groundless fears.”
“Uh…” Wu Jinliang was speechless, scratching his head. On second thought, it did seem to be the case; if the guy named Shen ran into them again face-to-face, he'd be easy enough to grab.
However, a thought then occurred to him, and he quickly said, “No, there's really no need to take any more risks. After all, they have so many people.
We've already seen the stuff—just a pile of bones buried for who knows how many years. We've touched them, we've probed them, and we haven't found anything special about that skeleton.
The crucial thing is that the pile of bones is too big; even if it's valuable, the two of us can't take it away. Looking further is pointless; staying longer makes it easy to be exposed.
Let's pull out quickly.”
He wouldn't have so painstakingly and repeatedly tried to dissuade his chief before, but now things were different.
They had already accumulated enough “Merit,” and all responsibilities in East Nine Plains had been discharged. Even if they wanted to see the daughter of the proprietress of Far-Gazing Tower Tower in the city again, there was absolutely no need to take further risks.
They could quietly wait for a meeting, then directly exchange “Merit” for freedom. There was no need to seek trouble again.
The reason they were here, incidentally, was related to the “Merit” they had just accumulated.
In short, they had seized a large amount of supplies, a truly substantial amount, which even surprised them.
Everyone was overjoyed, but their chief at the time had frowned and mumbled to him that something felt wrong.
The strength of the guards and the quantity of the supplies seemed mismatched, implying that obtaining them had been too easy.
He didn't think much of it, as long as they got the goods, but their chief had left a hidden mark at the robbery site.
Later, after the goods were sent to the city and successfully sold, their chief again felt something was off, that the transaction had gone too smoothly.
He said that anyone capable of accumulating so many supplies in the Land of Exile should have considerable strength and influence. Not only did they not try to snatch them back, but they didn't even have the courage to confront them.
If East Nine Plains had so much stolen, even if they couldn't reclaim it, they would spread rumors to attract covetous eyes, causing trouble for the opponent. Yet, things had gone so smoothly that not a single abnormal rumor was heard.
Afterward, the hidden mark left at the robbery site also brought back news: after several days of waiting, no one came to investigate or pursue the matter at the scene of the robbery.
And the “Merit” exchanged for that large amount of supplies, according to market rates, was precisely enough to buy freedom for everyone from East Nine Plains.
Faced with this sum, their chief frowned and remained silent for a long time.
Faced with everyone's excited and no longer restrainable urge to leave, no reason could likely stop them.
Their chief didn't say much, fairly and justly distributing the “Merit” to everyone.
After a period of commotion, silence fell.
Having seen everyone off, his chief watched them depart, then suddenly cupped his hands and bowed deeply and for a long time towards their retreating backs.
He noticed that his chief's eyes were red, and it seemed he had shed tears at the time.
The chief turned his head, as if not wanting him to see, and he also pretended not to see.
Finally, only the two of them remained.
He thought he understood why his chief hadn't left: the daughter of the Far-Gazing Tower Tower proprietress came to the nearby city to settle accounts approximately every three months, and his chief's affection for her was widely known.
Seeing her only once every three months, it was understandable to stay and wait for a meeting.
After all, they were about to leave; even if he couldn't get her contact information from outside, he should at least meet to say goodbye, otherwise he might not be able to justify it to himself.
Who knew his chief had made other arrangements with him, saying that their staying might serve as bait, and that if someone truly intended to send them away, finding that they hadn't left, they would certainly come to investigate.
He thought his chief was overthinking. In this godforsaken place, who would be so kind as to give so many supplies to help them leave?
Later, someone really did come.
Then, tracing the source backward, they found Shen Youkun behind the scenes.
Why would Shen Youkun do such a good deed? It was utterly bizarre.
The two naturally tried every means to investigate. There were still many days until the proprietress's daughter came to settle accounts, and they were idle anyway.
As they investigated, it led to the current situation.
And now, no matter how much he persuaded him, Shi Chun still decided to continue the risk, his steps forward unwavering.
He said, “The daily expenses for so many people, plus the large amount of supplies secretly sent to us—I don't believe such a huge cost would be for something meaningless. It's just that we don't understand it yet.
I believe we'll figure out his tricks in the end.”
Wu Jinliang was so anxious he wanted to stomp his foot, catching up to him to persuade again, “Even if this skeleton has some tricks, if we can't chew through it, can't take it, then it has nothing to do with us.
It's not worth the risk for this.”
Shi Chun turned his head and asked him, “Shen Youkun suddenly produced such a large sum of supplies; where do you think it came from? Did he save it up?”
Wu Jinliang didn't believe it was saved up.
They had been in charge of East Nine Plains for a few years and only sent a few dozen people to the city, while Shen Youkun had only been exiled for two or three years. Just the supplies they had ostensibly robbed before could have sent all one hundred-plus of them away, not to mention the expenses for so many people now.
None of it could be easily accumulated in this barren place.
So how did it come about? Some things were clear to everyone.
The problem was likely at the city gate pass. After all, exiled individuals were categorized into different ranks, and similar incidents weren't uncommon.
But what could they do? Did these ants have the right to question those who controlled the city gate? If they wanted to find trouble for themselves, they could certainly try.
Thus, Wu Jinliang retorted, “Does it matter where it came from? Chuntian, let's go.
It has nothing to do with us.”
Shi Chun: “Nothing to do with us? Given Shen Youkun's background outside, even if we get out, do you think he'd easily let us off? Moreover, he's the one actively sending us out; can you be at ease? If he can bring so much stuff in, is it hard for him to make arrangements outside to deal with us?”
At these words, Wu Jinliang's heart sank.
He quickly whispered, “What do you want to do?”
Shi Chun also leaned in and whispered back, “The origin of those supplies is clearly problematic; something illicit is definitely going on here. If we figure out what's happening and can get our hands on some useful information, we'll have more room to maneuver.”
Wu Jinliang made an “oh” sound, deep in thought, and his earlier objections instantly vanished. However, he couldn't help but complain, “I'm telling you, Chuntian, of all the people you could have provoked back then, why did you provoke Shen Youkun? Now look, others accumulate enough ‘Merit’ and leave happily, but we have to live in fear.”
Shi Chun sighed, “You think I wanted to? Damn it, who knew he really had a background?”
It was an old story. Back then, Shen Youkun had just been demoted and wasn't like an ordinary person.
He carried himself with arrogance, still looking down on others even after being demoted. Wherever he went, he'd bring up his family background to intimidate people.
Most people, planning for the future, didn't want to cause trouble; if they couldn't afford to provoke him, they'd avoid him.
This was also why some exiled cultivators whose cultivation had been crippled could still command some native cultivators here.
After a while, Shen Youkun grew bolder and started throwing his weight around. Eventually, he provoked East Nine Plains and happened to run into Shi Chun.
Shi Chun's reputation in this area was not to be trifled with; he wouldn't tolerate anyone's bad habits. However, out of apprehension for Shen Youkun's background, he still showed deference.
But Shi Chun wasn't easily scared; he wouldn't just believe someone's claims of background without verification. So, he put Shen Youkun under house arrest, still treating him well with good food and drink, while simultaneously telling Shen Youkun to contact his family through the city gate pass.
As it turned out, no matter how Shen Youkun tried, he couldn't prove his background.
The consequences were predictable: “Damn it, you tried to fool me?” Shi Chun certainly wouldn't let him off easily.
He had long coveted the fine clothes Shen Youkun wore upon entering, so the first thing he did was publicly strip Shen Youkun naked, followed by a thorough humiliation and beating.
At the time, he didn't kill Shen Youkun, because he wanted Shen Youkun to know what it meant to live a life worse than death.
He spread the news that Shen Youkun was a fraud and handed him over to the relevant parties.
He thought Shen Youkun was surely dead, but the news that came back was that Shen Youkun was being treated like an honored ancestor.
Upon investigation, he found out that Shen Youkun indeed had a background outside and had successfully contacted this side. Shi Chun was indeed a bit stunned after learning the truth.
After further understanding, he roughly figured out that Shen Youkun did have a background, but the city gate pass was also very formidable, and not just any family's background could easily smooth things over. This caused the misunderstanding, and by the time the Shen family had smoothed things over here, Shi Chun had already offended Shen Youkun terribly.
Later, Shen Youkun indeed repeatedly rallied groups to trouble him, but they never gained an advantage.
Unable to bear the annoyance any longer, Shi Chun found a way to severely teach him a lesson, and only then did Shen Youkun finally settle down.
During this time, there were opportunities to kill Shen Youkun, but Shi Chun held back. If he really killed him, the nature of the situation would change.
Shen Youkun's family could reach into the city gate; would they tolerate such an insult? If they truly became ruthless, it would be too easy for the city gate to cut off his path to survival; anyone could do it.
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