As Shi Chun passed through the crowd, he gave Wu Jinliang a look and quietly slipped away by himself.
After a short wait, Wu Jinliang also moved to the side among the casual workers, actively working, using the excuse of adjusting oil lamp wicks to move far away.
Once out of sight of the others, he immediately darted after Shi Chun and didn't have to go far before he saw him leaning against the cave wall, panting with his head down.
Seeing that something was wrong, Wu Jinliang immediately went over and asked, “What’s wrong?”
What exactly was wrong was not the time to discuss in detail, and Shi Chun couldn't explain it clearly either.
He only knew that the strange vision he could see with his right eye had gradually disappeared, his eyesight seemed to have returned to normal, and his body was slowly recovering, much stronger than before, but not yet fully normal.
He shook his head, “I messed up.
Shen Youkun will expose me as soon as he arrives, so we need to leave quickly. My body needs to recover, you’ll have to carry me for a bit.”
Wu Jinliang was slightly startled, “Were you injured?”
As he spoke, he hoisted Shi Chun onto his back.
Shi Chun: “No, I’ll tell you later.
Hurry, be careful not to run into Shen Youkun, he should already be inside.”
Wu Jinliang immediately carried him away quickly.
As expected, although the mine shaft was dug long and deep enough, Shen Youkun still arrived. Wu Jinliang, carrying Shi Chun, hadn't run far before he turned back, ran to a crossroads he had just passed, and quickly ducked into the diverging tunnel, holding his breath and concentrating.
Soon, a team of people rushed past with a rustle. Two sedan chair bearers carried Qi Ziru on a reclining chair, and Shen Youkun was also being carried on someone's back as they ran.
There was no choice. With his cultivation crippled, if there were no cultivators to help, in such a deep mine shaft where the ground was uneven, he couldn't run fast.
The person who had gone to report earlier and the two who provided excavation suggestions also hurried back behind them.
After the group passed, Wu Jinliang quickly carried Shi Chun out and continued to run outwards.
Shi Chun whispered in his ear, “We won’t make it if we don’t run. Go out at full speed.”
Wu Jinliang grunted in affirmation, immediately charging at full speed, darting swiftly through the mine shaft.
Shi Chun, on his back, waved his hand along the way, extinguishing the oil lamps in their path…
The group, carrying a crude reclining chair, rushed to a large crowd blocking the way.
Shen Youkun, who was riding a person like a horse, was furious to see a bunch of workers lounging about. He bellowed, “Get out of the way, make way!”
Seeing that he had arrived, the people, whether standing or sitting, all rose and moved aside, clearly more intimidated than by the overseers.
Shen Youkun and his group quickly passed through.
No one noticed whether the so-called Shi Chun, who went to report, was present or had returned.
After turning the corner, they rushed all the way to the end of the mine shaft. Shen Youkun and the others saw the huge and ferocious Dragon Bone skull placed on the Dragon Bone, and they also saw the third eye socket on the skull, but they did not see the so-called purplish-glowing Nebula.
Shen Youkun, who had jumped to the ground, immediately turned to look at the reporting overseer.
That overseer immediately pointed at the skull and emphasized, “It was floating there just now, about the size of a large tabletop, absolutely no exaggeration, everyone saw it.”
Qi Ziru believed this person had no reason to lie. From his reclining chair, he looked back at the overseer sitting against the wall in a pool of blood.
It was only then that everyone's attention returned to this dead person. Shen Youkun quickly walked back, reached out and removed the man's mask, confirming it was someone he had recruited.
He turned his head to look at where they came from, only to realize that only they had come over; none of the group from before had followed. What did that mean? Were they blind? He immediately roared, “Someone!”
The sound echoed in the mine shaft.
In a short while, several overseers ran over, approaching hesitantly and uncertainly. Seeing that their colleague had been killed, they were even more alarmed, not knowing why Shen Youkun would resort to such a cruel hand, feeling somewhat endangered themselves.
Then, they discovered that the purplish-glowing Nebula had disappeared and believed they understood something.
Unexpectedly, Shen Youkun pointed at the deceased and asked, “What happened? Who did this?”
Several overseers were stunned, realizing they might have guessed wrong.
One of them tentatively asked, “Wasn’t it you, sir, who killed him?”
Shen Youkun immediately flew into a rage, “Nonsense! By the time I arrived, he was already dead here.”
Qi Ziru, from his reclining chair, further dispelled the overseers' doubts, “The wound has stopped bleeding, and the blood on the ground has stopped flowing.”
Upon hearing this, the overseers suddenly realized that if Shen Youkun had just made the move, the blood would still be flowing.
Shen Youkun angrily added, “Don’t you dare tell me you don’t know who killed him!”
Several overseers exchanged glances, their eyes filled with surprise and doubt, all having the same suspicion.
One said, “Where is the person Master Shen sent to issue the order? He was here alone with the chief for a while just now.”
Shen Youkun was furious, “What person issuing an order? What nonsense are you talking about?”
Qi Ziru, from his reclining chair, raised a hand to soothe the overseers, “Don’t rush, speak slowly.
What order was issued? What happened?”
The overseers naturally dared not conceal anything, mutually supplementing each other as they recounted the events that had transpired earlier.
After listening, without needing more words, Shen Youkun furiously pointed back the way they came, “A bunch of fools! You were tricked and didn’t even realize it? Hurry up and take people to pursue them!”
Qi Ziru added, “Pursue them outside the cave.
If you don’t see anyone, don’t pursue further, just seal off the cave entrance.”
Several overseers immediately looked at Shen Youkun, somewhat unsure which one to listen to.
Shen Youkun hesitated to speak, his treasure stolen—how could he not pursue them all the way? But with a cold glance from Qi Ziru, he could only echo, “Let’s do that.”
Several overseers immediately took their orders and quickly left.
As soon as they left, Shen Youkun wanted to ask the reason, but unexpectedly, he was first rebuked by Qi Ziru, “I told you to personally supervise on site, who told you to run out?”
Shen Youkun again hesitated to speak, feeling somewhat wronged. His uncle had suddenly arrived, and after inspecting the excavation site, he felt a bit stuffy and went out.
It was hard for Shen Youkun not to go out to find him, and some things were not suitable to say in front of a crowd in the cave. He definitely wanted to find this uncle to clarify the situation, who knew such a thing would happen.
Since the matter had already occurred, Qi Ziru didn't bother to argue with him. He raised a hand, signaling for them to leave.
Before departing, he turned back to glance at the snake skull and muttered to himself, “Unexpectedly, a different treasure was unearthed…”
Having gone back and forth many times and familiarized himself with the mine's terrain, Shi Chun saw that they were almost at the exit. He stopped extinguishing the oil lamps along the way, leaving the lamps near the exit unextinguished.
He patted Wu Jinliang's shoulder, “Stop, I’ve recovered enough.”
He himself broke free and jumped to the ground, taking deep breaths and sensing his body again.
Wu Jinliang asked again, “Weren’t things going well all along? Why do we have to be exposed now?”
Shi Chun: “I’ll tell you later, prepare for a forceful breakout!”
“Ah!” Wu Jinliang exclaimed, “Aren’t we going to sneak out the way we came in?”
Shi Chun: “No time, it’s too late.” As he spoke, he raised his hand and forcefully wiped the wound on his arm, wiping away the caked mud, deliberately making it bloody.
He winced slightly from the pain, then extended his bloodied arm towards Wu Jinliang.
No explanation was needed.
Wu Jinliang immediately reached out, dabbed blood onto his face, and at the same time, did not forget to remind, “You need to think this through. If we go out directly, our identities might not be kept secret, and since we’ve glimpsed Shen Youkun’s secret, he will be even less likely to let us go.”
“We’ve already stirred the grass to startle the snake; if we don’t get out now, we won’t be able to. There’s no choice, we can only deal with the immediate situation first.” Shi Chun couldn’t help but sigh, looking back at the dark path they had come from. He retracted his bloodied arm and smeared some blood on his mouth and nose, then turned and ran towards the cave entrance.
Wu Jinliang followed closely.
Having seen the light from outside the cave, as they neared the entrance, Shi Chun signaled with a glance, and Wu Jinliang slumped against the cave wall, sitting down.
In an instant, he looked like he was severely wounded and dying.
Shi Chun, on the other hand, appeared to be heavily wounded and fleeing, running directly out of the cave.
The two guards outside the cave were greatly surprised by the sight. One quickly helped him up, and the other urgently asked, “What happened?”
Shi Chun then used a spell to shout hoarsely in all directions, “Quick, quickly gather! Mr.
Shen is in danger, hurry and save Mr. Shen!”
The sound echoed loudly all around.
As soon as these words were uttered, figures appeared one by one on the surrounding hilltops, looking over.
The guard supporting him urgently asked again, “What happened?”
Shi Chun glanced at the surrounding situation, then used a spell again to cry out mournfully, “A large amount of treasure has been dug up in the cave, and those miners have become greedy and rebelled! The situation is urgent, Mr.
Shen is in danger! Everyone, hurry to save him, it will be too late otherwise, please go quickly and save Mr. Shen!”
Great treasure? Both guards were stunned, turning their heads in unison to look into the dark cave.
At the same time, people began jumping down from the surrounding mountains, then more and more, rushing over.
“Don’t mind me, hurry and save Mr.
Shen.” Shi Chun pushed the guard, then naturally fell to the ground, panting.
The guard hesitated slightly, then suddenly saw his companion flash into the cave first, and immediately darted in after him.
The people who arrived from the various hilltops afterward didn't bother with Shi Chun, dead or alive, on the ground.
Seeing that the guards at the entrance had already entered, they immediately rushed in. In their view, the guards must have communicated and verified with Shi Chun, so there was no problem, which further dispelled their doubts.
The figures around quickly emptied out. Shi Chun, lying on the ground, immediately craned his neck and shouted into the cave, “Jinliang, are you dead?”
Wu Jinliang’s figure quickly appeared in the cave.
When he was almost at the entrance, he “died” on the ground again, asking about the situation outside, “How is it outside?”
Shi Chun immediately flipped over and jumped up, shouting, “Let’s go!”
Wu Jinliang immediately “came back to life” and rushed out, running closely behind Shi Chun.
Shi Chun didn't know if all the people lurking around had left, but he ran towards a spot where people had just run out…
Inside the mine shaft, Shi Chun’s action of extinguishing the lamps along the way caused some trouble for the pursuers.
Rushing into the darkness without seeing any light, they finally realized something: it was too dark, pitch black, so dark they couldn't see their own hands, and even the cultivators' vision was useless.
It was unrealistic to relight all the lamps along the way and then continue the pursuit.
Instead, some people had to relight oil lamps, hold them in their hands, and use spells to provide illumination before continuing the chase.
While they were delayed, even the later arriving Shen Youkun and Qi Ziru caught up to them.
Likewise, the reinforcements who ran into the cave from outside to rescue Mr. Shen encountered the same absurd situation.
For a stretch of road after entering the cave, the lamps were fine, so they suspected nothing and charged inward. It was only when they rushed into the darkness that they realized the entire path ahead was dark.
They fumbled around, searching for fire strikers and the oil lamps along the path.
When large groups of people holding torches from both sides collided head-on, there was another chaotic and tense scene; those who came from outside thought the rebels had broken out.