Chapter 527: The Immortals Saved Us
The villagers were about to witness a sight that would forever be etched in their memories.
High above, the clouds parted, revealing an enormous shovel reaching down from the heavens. The shovel, ten zhang wide and long, gleamed with an icy sheen, reflecting the sun's brilliance, almost blinding to behold. As it emerged from the clouds, a colossal golden hand followed, its fingers wrapped around the shovel's impossibly thick wooden handle, descending slowly...
With a single, decisive scoop, the massive shovel plunged into the mountain-sized heap of earth and rubble blocking the mine entrance! A gargantuan mass of debris, truly like a small mountain, was effortlessly lifted. Instead of whisking the earth back to the sky, the shovel pivoted, found a deep hollow nearby, and deposited the debris there. Then, with its back, it pressed down, compressing the soil until it was firm. The very ravine that had forced villagers to take a lengthy detour was, in a matter of moments, transformed into level ground.
“Ah! Ah! Ah! What divine power is this?” the villagers gasped in unison.
The colossal shovel continued its work, scooping left, then right. In short order, the entire mountain of rubble vanished, finally revealing the mine's entrance to everyone.
Yet, the entrance itself remained choked with sand and gravel, suggesting the collapse had extended a fair distance into the shaft.
The enormous shovel then ascended, retracting into the clouds and disappearing from sight. A few blinks later, the clouds parted once more, and the golden giant hand reappeared. This time, it extended a single index finger, probing into the mine shaft. With a delicate scrape of its fingertip, it dislodged a torrent of sand and stones, then another gentle scrape...
And just like that, the passage was clear!
The finger withdrew, leaving behind a gaping, shadowy mine entrance for all to see.
What they didn't realize, however, was that the fifty-odd survivors trapped inside the mine were currently terrified out of their wits.
Moments earlier, armed with their mining tools, the trapped men had been desperately digging their way out. Suddenly, the earth began to rumble violently. It felt as if something immense was digging from the outside, creating a truly terrifying cacophony.
Unaware of what was happening, they clung to the faint glow of their oil lamps, frantically continuing their desperate excavation towards the outside.
Then, as they dug, the sand and rock before them suddenly shuddered. The miners recoiled in terror, scrambling away from the blockage. A moment later, a colossal golden finger pierced through, bursting a huge hole in the debris with a thunderous roar, half of it visible. It flexed, then scraped away more earth...
The mine shaft was cleared in an instant!
But the fifty-odd miners, petrified to their souls, let out a chorus of terrified screams within the cavern's depths.
Now, consider this:
If you were tirelessly tunneling your way out of a subterranean chamber, only for a colossal finger to suddenly breach the last barrier from the outside, clearing your path, and then withdraw to leave a gaping hole to the surface—would you dare to step through?
The miners didn't know about anyone else, but they were acutely aware that *they* certainly wouldn't dare.
A monstrous entity undoubtedly waited outside. How could they possibly venture forth?
A terrified huddle of men, their trousers soiled with fear, peered cautiously out of the opening. They glanced left, then right, but couldn't summon the nerve to step beyond the threshold.
After an indeterminate stretch of time, a figure suddenly materialized at the mouth of the mine.
The miners squinted, then exclaimed, “Is that—the Village Chief?”
Behind the Village Chief, other figures emerged—men and women, all craning their necks, peering tentatively into the dark shaft. They stood in the full light, while the mine remained shrouded in gloom, making it impossible for them to discern anything within.
But the miners could clearly see out. A great cry rang out: “My wife!”
“My brother!”
“Mother!”
Recognizing their loved ones, their fear instantly dissolved. With a joyous roar, they surged out of the mine.
The reunion of survivors with their families, after such a harrowing ordeal, was profoundly moving.
At the mine entrance, villagers and miners embraced fiercely, weeping tears of relief and snot in an outpouring of raw emotion.
It was a long while before the emotional scene subsided into a hushed calm.
Finally, one of the miners managed to ask, “What just happened? We saw an enormous finger reach into the mine... surely that was a hallucination?”
“No, it was no hallucination! It was an Immortal! A celestial being from the heavens came to save you,” the old Village Chief declared, his beard trembling with excitement. “That lady out there, she summoned the Immortal to our aid.”
“An Immortal?” The miners exchanged bewildered glances.
It was only then that they truly noticed the new arrivals in the village. At their head stood a woman of evident stature, her attire exuding an opulent grace, her hair styled in the elegant bun of a married lady. Behind her followed two senior maids and a full contingent of a hundred guards. A single glance at her impressive retinue was enough to tell them this was someone far beyond their station, someone not to be crossed.
Though they didn't fully grasp the situation, a noblewoman of such presence demanded deference. They decided it best to prostrate themselves first and ask questions later.
The miners rushed forward, prostrating themselves before Gao Yiye, their foreheads touching the ground. “Many thanks, Esteemed Lady, for saving our lives,” they chorused.
Gao Yiye offered a gentle smile. “Please, rise! It was not I who saved you, but the Heavenly Lord Dao Xuan.”
The miners looked confused, but Gao Yiye was in no rush to explain. Soon enough, the countless comic books from Gao Family Village would arrive. Once the cultural campaign began, these people would quickly understand who the Heavenly Lord Dao Xuan was; there was no need to force-feed them the knowledge now.
She smiled gently. “From now on, when you mine, you must prioritize safety. On slopes like this, you need to implement proper landslide prevention measures. We cannot have such incidents occur again.”
The miners quickly affirmed their understanding.
Just then, a villager sprinted down from the cliff, shouting, “The Prefect is here!”
Everyone converged at the cliff's edge, peering down. Qiu Qianfan had indeed arrived, leading a large contingent of laborers, prepared to excavate the mine and rescue the trapped.
In these tumultuous times of the late Ming, any official who still prioritized saving lives was considered a benevolent one.
Qiu Qianfan hadn't been slow. He ascended the slope, reached the village, and his eyes widened in surprise. “Eh? Eh? The mine entrance... it’s already cleared?”
The villagers pointed to the heavens. “Reporting to the Prefect, just moments ago, this Esteemed Lady summoned an Immortal. The Immortal, with his own divine hand, cleared the mine in but a few scoops.”
Qiu Qianfan was speechless.
How was he to believe such a tale?
He would sooner believe himself elevated to Grand Secretary by tomorrow than accept that an Immortal had personally unearthed a mine. Only days prior, the cotton farmers had claimed the Four Dragon Kings descended to bring rain, a story he’d flatly dismissed. Rain was a blessing from the heavens, yes, but to insist the heavens dragged the Dragon Kings by their necks to deliver it was pure fabrication.
After a scrutinizing gaze at Gao Yiye, he formulated his own explanation: the mine shaft couldn’t have been buried too deeply. Lady Li’s hundred guards, combined with the villagers, must have excavated it swiftly.
Very well! The people were rescued, and the precise method was inconsequential.
Qiu Qianfan exhaled, a visible tension easing from his shoulders. “Though it was a journey in vain, this official feels no disappointment; rather, I am pleased. In matters of life and death, an unnecessary journey is always preferable to one where intervention was required.”
It was then that the newly rescued miners suddenly swarmed around Qiu Qianfan, dropping to their knees with a rustle of clothes. “Prefect,” they implored, “when will we receive our wages?”
Gao Yiye blinked in surprise.
The Heavenly Lord paused.
Comments