"What took you so long to get here?"
Suddenly, a shout came from the fork in the path ahead, and a figure wearing a woven mask emerged, pointing at the two, one tall and one short, standing in the dim light.
This mine-like tunnel had more than just one passage.
In the beginning, the target's location was unknown, so the local cultivators dug randomly for about a month underground.
Once they finally found what they were looking for, they focused on one direction to excavate, creating multiple forks in the tunnels.
The overseer's questioning came naturally, as the two chatting and dawdling along were clearly slacking off.
According to Wu Jinliang's earlier words, were they being too blatant in their actions?
Startled by the scolding voice, both men immediately bent their backs and prepared to scramble forward, eager to admit their fault.
Their synchronized actions couldn't have been more in unison.
However, the overseer, annoyed by their evident laziness, didn't waste any time.
He flashed over and sent a whip lashing towards Shi Chun's face, intent on teaching them a lesson.
People's temperaments are just like that—sometimes self-centered.
This act irritated Shi Chun.
As far as he knew, whether miners or overseers, they were all hired by Shen Youkun for the job.
They were merely handling different tasks.
No one had a permanent place here, so why create unnecessary animosity?
Wu Jinliang, also momentarily stunned, didn’t react or attempt to intervene.
He felt confident that the Big Boss had his ways of handling things.
Shi Chun's initial instinct was to dodge or maybe even retaliate.
The pole on his shoulder almost swung out by reflex.
But considering the current situation, he restrained himself, not wanting to provoke the other party or complicate matters.
He decided to let the overseer vent his anger but stood rooted, unwilling to make things worse.
But he couldn’t just take the whip to his face; what would happen to his looks? He might still rely on them in the future.
He raised a hand to block it.
With a whip crack, pain shot through Shi Chun, forcing a grimace as he quickly checked his arm to see a welt forming and bleeding.
The sudden pain angered him; he didn’t expect the other to strike so hard.
Wu Jinliang winced as he watched Shi Chun's skin break open, sympathizing with the pain.
Despite his brewing anger, Shi Chun endured it.
With a bow, he faced the overseer and attempted to diffuse the situation.
“Speak, what’re you dawdling for?” The overseer's whip shifted from Shi Chun’s chest to prod Wu Jinliang, demanding an answer. “Don’t want this job anymore, do you?”
Shi Chun hurriedly replied, “No dawdling here, hero, please calm down,” showing his bleeding arm to garner some pity, hoping it’d satisfy the overseer.
The overseer was unfazed, “Do you think I’m blind?”
Wu Jinliang quickly spoke up, “We weren’t dawdling, I twisted my ankle, so I’m moving slow.”
The overseer pointed to his ears, “So now I’m deaf too, huh? You were yakking all the way here, think I didn’t notice? Fine, since you’re so adamant, I won’t make it difficult for you. Just stand here and chat all you like, as long as no one minds. Go on, keep chatting.”
The tall and short duo's faces turned a shade darker, realizing that standing out in the open was the last thing they wanted.
They were trying to blend in, not draw attention, especially not from Shen Youkun.
Taking hostages wasn’t an ideal solution unless absolutely necessary.
Shi Chun immediately clasped his hands in plea, “Mighty hero...”
“Don’t move!” the overseer barked, stopping Shi Chun's movement with his whip, “I said stand there and chat, didn’t you hear me? Go on, chat!”
Shi Chun paused, and giving Wu Jinliang a quick look, he signaled.
Wu Jinliang dropped the carrying pole from his shoulder and knelt suddenly, tears flowing, “I was wrong, I have a family to support. Please, sir, let me off this once…”
As he cried, he crawled over and clutched the overseer’s leg, begging pitifully.
The overseer, surprised by the sudden display of submission, tried to shake him off, but Wu Jinliang held firmly.
Tearful, Wu Jinliang crawled up his leg.
The overseer soon realized something was amiss as his hands were bound invisibly, unable to free himself.
Sensing danger, he tried to knee Wu Jinliang away, but a sudden coldness at his throat stopped him, as he glimpsed a metallic glint even in the dim light, feeling a sting on his neck.
Under this deadly threat, he dared not move further.
Shi Chun, holding a knife at his throat, quietly signaled Wu Jinliang who then carried their victim away, heading down the path from where the overseer had appeared.
Shi Chun quickly tucked the knife away, put on a woven mask, and tied a black cloth over his injured arm, picking up the fallen whip.
Silently, he merged their two carrying poles and swept aside any trace of blood, all while keeping an eye out for any approaching figures.
As the spell settled the dust, two more overseers hurried by, raising no questions at the neatly stacked poles or Shi Chun himself.
But the scent of blood stopped them both, moments later.
“There’s a smell of blood,” one muttered.
Both looked towards Shi Chun, who calmly raised his bloodied arm, “Just playing with the whip, got careless.”
Without pretending, he remained at ease, convincing the overseers, who glanced at one another, of his harmlessness.
Before they could probe further, Shi Chun hurriedly changed the subject, “What’s the rush?”
“Checking the excavation progress. The remaining debris is less. We’re considering depositing it into other caves directly to speed up,” one explained.
“Sounds reasonable,” Shi Chun nodded agreeably, waving them on.
As they moved on, Shi Chun looked back towards the mine’s depths, suspecting something had changed, noting the miners weren’t emerging as often.
Wu Jinliang quietly emerged, inquiring, “All clear?”
Shi Chun replied, “Your chat almost got us caught; keep it to yourself.” He pointed at the poles, signaling to move on.
Wu Jinliang hesitated, “Why am I always the one to haul these poles? We should take turns.”
Shi Chun remarked, “Are there any overseers as tall as you? Want someone to spot you right away?”
Caught by that truth, Wu Jinliang had no counterargument, knowing that a taller figure would stand out too much.
Having infiltrated under the guise of miners, the pair shuffled around, dodging suspicion skillfully, switching roles of miner or overseer when needed.
Following Shi Chun’s view, the Eastern Nine Plains was within his territory.
The duo rarely got involved, darting around the underground, fearless though always pragmatic: stay if unnoticed, flee if caught.
Nonetheless, Wu Jinliang gave a quiet sigh, “Keep killing them at this rate, they’ll notice soon.”
“Can’t you be quiet?” Shi Chun signaled, reminding it wasn’t the time or place to talk freely.
Hardly had he spoken than a figure rushed towards them, a masked overseer, nearly colliding before stopping short and moving on without pause.
“Why the hurry?” Shi Chun intercepted the overseer, “What’s happened?”
“Found something, need to alert Mr. Shen,” the overseer hastily replied, shrugging off Shi Chun’s arm and disappearing quickly.
“We found something?” Shi Chun murmured, exchanging glances with Wu Jinliang.
What exactly had they discovered besides that mysterious skeleton?
Realizing there might be more, they couldn’t resist pursuing, quickly following the lead through the mine.