Chapter 7 - Chapter 7: Beating the Grass and Startling the Snake

As Shi Chun passed through the crowd, he shot Wu Jinliang a meaningful glance before slipping away alone.After a brief pause, Wu Jinliang also edged his way out of the loitering group. Pretending to be diligent, he busied himself trimming the wicks of the oil lamps and gradually faded into the distance.Once out of sight, he immediately quickened his pace, darting forward to catch up. He didn't have to go far before spotting Shi Chun leaning against the cave wall, head bowed and gasping for breath.Noticing something was wrong, Wu Jinliang hurried over and asked, "What happened?"There was no time for details now, and Shi Chun himself couldn't have explained clearly. All he knew was that the strange visions visible through his right eye were fading, his eyesight seemed to be returning to normal, and his body was slowly recovering—stronger than before, though not fully back to normal.He shook his head. "It's messed up. Shen Youkun will see through us the moment he arrives. We have to get out of here fast. I need to rest my strength—you'll have to carry me."Wu Jinliang was startled. "Did someone beat you up?"Without waiting for a reply, he slung Shi Chun over his back.Shi Chun said, "Not exactly. I'll explain later. Move quickly, and watch out for Shen Youkun—he must have already entered the mine."Wu Jinliang immediately set off at a run, carrying him on his back.As expected, despite the mine's length and depth, Shen Youkun had arrived right on schedule. Wu Jinliang hadn't run far with his burden before he was forced to turn back. He darted into a side tunnel they'd passed earlier, holding his breath and freezing in place.Moments later, a group of men thundered past. Two sedan carriers bore Qi Ziru on a reclining chair, while Shen Youkun was also being carried on someone's back.Helpless—his cultivation had been stripped away. Without the help of a cultivator, navigating the mine's uneven, rough terrain was impossible at any speed.The man who'd gone to deliver the message, along with the two supervisors who'd proposed the excavation plan, were also scrambling along in their wake.Once the entire party had passed, Wu Jinliang quickly slipped out of the side tunnel and resumed their dash toward the exit.Shi Chun whispered in his ear, "We're out of time—sprint as fast as you can."Wu Jinliang grunted in acknowledgment, then poured all his strength into his legs, hurtling through the mine tunnels.Shi Chun, clinging to his back, waved his hand as they went, snuffing out every oil lamp in their path…The group carrying the reclining chair charged headlong into the crowd blocking their way. Shen Youkun, riding like a lord on his human mount, scowled at the workers' lazy, slovenly demeanor. Enraged, he roared, "Out of the way! Clear a path!"At the sight of him, the men—whether standing or sitting—sprang to their feet and scrambled to the sides. His authority was clearly far more intimidating than that of the ordinary supervisors.Shen Youkun's party surged forward unimpeded.No one spared a thought for the so-called "messenger" Shi Chun—whether he was present or had ever returned.Rounding the corner, they charged all the way to the mine's end. There, Shen Youkun and his companions beheld the colossal, menacing serpent skull resting atop the dragon bones, and the third eye socket in its forehead—but the fabled shimmering purple nebula was nowhere to be seen.Shen Youkun jumped down from his carrier's back and immediately rounded on the messenger supervisor.The supervisor pointed frantically at the skull, exclaiming, "It was floating right there earlier! As big as a tabletop! I swear it's the truth—everyone saw it!"Qi Ziru, still reclining on his chair, believed the man had no reason to lie. He glanced back at the dead supervisor slumped against the wall in a pool of blood.Only then did everyone's attention snap to the corpse. Shen Youkun strode over, reached down, and tore off the dead man's mask. Recognizing him as one of his own men, he turned to glare in the direction they'd come from. He realized with a jolt that their entire group had arrived, yet not a single man from the crowd they'd passed had followed them. What the hell was that about? Were they all blind?He let out a thunderous shout, "Someone get over here!"His voice boomed and echoed through the mine tunnels.Within moments, several supervisors came running, approaching hesitantly, their faces uneasy. At the sight of their dead colleague, their alarm turned to dread. They wondered why Shen Youkun had resorted to such brutality, a cold fear creeping into their hearts for their own safety.Then they noticed the purple nebula was gone—and suddenly thought they understood.But Shen Youkun pointed at the corpse and demanded, "What happened here? Who did this?"The supervisors exchanged stunned glances, realizing they might have been mistaken. One ventured, "Where is the man you sent to deliver the order, sir? He was alone with our foreman here just a short while ago."Shen Youkun's anger flared hotter. "What man? What order? What nonsense are you talking about?"Qi Ziru raised a hand to calm the supervisors, saying, "Take it easy. Speak slowly. What order? What exactly happened here?"Daring not to hide anything, the supervisors took turns recounting the entire incident from earlier, filling in each other's gaps.When they finished, Shen Youkun flew into a rage without a moment's hesitation, pointing back the way they'd come. "You bunch of fools! Can't you see you've been tricked? Hurry up and take a squad to chase him down!"Qi Ziru added coolly, "Chase him all the way out of the cave. If you don't find him, come back and report. And make sure no one leaves the mine area."Shen Youkun was still seething, itching to argue that they couldn't just let the entire workforce be confined indefinitely—but one icy glare from Qi Ziru silenced him. He reluctantly mumbled, "Do as he says."The supervisors immediately took their orders and raced off.As soon as they were gone, Shen Youkun was about to demand an explanation, but instead, he was met with a sharp rebuke from Qi Ziru. "I told you to stay here and keep a close eye on things! Who allowed you to leave the site?"Shen Youkun clamped his mouth shut, his face twisting with frustration and a hint of grievance. His uncle had arrived unexpectedly. After inspecting the excavation site, he'd complained about the stuffiness and gone outside, and Shen Youkun had had little choice but to follow. There were matters he needed to discuss with his uncle in private—things he couldn't have said in front of all those people in the cave. How could he have known this disaster would unfold?The deed was done, and Qi Ziru had no patience for further excuses. He waved a hand, signaling his men to carry him out. Before leaving, he glanced back at the serpent skull, muttering to himself, "To think they dug up such an extraordinary treasure…"Having made multiple trips through the mine, Shi Chun had memorized the layout like the back of his hand. As they neared the exit, he stopped snuffing out the lamps, leaving the final stretch of the tunnel illuminated. He patted Wu Jinliang's shoulder and said, "Stop. I've recovered enough to walk on my own."He slid off Wu Jinliang's back, took a deep breath, and focused inward, checking his body's condition once more.Wu Jinliang asked again, "You seemed fine just now. Why are we going to be exposed?"Shi Chun replied, "I'll explain later. Get ready to fight our way out!""What?!" Wu Jinliang exclaimed in shock. "Can't we sneak out using the same trick as before?"Shi Chun said, "There's no time left—it's too late." With that, he raised his hand and roughly wiped the dirt off his arm wound, reopening it and making it bleed profusely. The pain made his lips twitch, but he promptly held his bloodied arm out to Wu Jinliang.No explanation was needed. Wu Jinliang immediately dipped his fingers in the blood and smeared it across his face. At the same time, he warned, "You need to think this through. If we charge out head-on, our identities will definitely be exposed. Having witnessed Shen Youkun's secret, he'll never let us live.""We've already beaten the grass and startled the snake. If we don't get out now, we'll never get the chance. We have no choice—we have to focus on the immediate crisis first." Shi Chun let out a heavy sigh, glanced back at the pitch-black tunnel behind them, then withdrew his bloodied arm and daubed some of the blood on his own mouth and nose. Without another word, he turned and sprinted toward the cave entrance.Wu Jinliang raced after him.The bright light of day was visible just ahead. As they approached the exit, Shi Chun shot a glance over his shoulder. In an instant, Wu Jinliang collapsed against the cave wall, slumping to the ground and assuming the perfect guise of a man gravely wounded and left for dead.Shi Chun, meanwhile, put on a show of being mortally injured as he stumbled out of the cave.The two guards stationed outside were alarmed to see him. One rushed forward to support him, while the other cried out, "What's going on?"Shi Chun channeled his remaining cultivation and shouted at the top of his lungs, his voice ringing out across the hills, "Hurry! Assemble everyone immediately! Mr. Shen is in danger! We need to rescue him at once!"His words echoed loudly in all directions.As soon as he finished speaking, figures began popping up on the surrounding mountain ridges, peering down to see what the commotion was about.The guard supporting him asked again urgently, "What happened? What's the emergency?"Shi Chun surveyed the scene around him, then called out again in a voice choked with grief, "A huge cache of treasure was unearthed in the cave! The miners got greedy and mutinied! The situation is critical—Mr. Shen's life is at stake! Everyone, hurry to his aid! We're running out of time! Please, go save Mr. Shen!"Treasure? The two guards froze, their heads snapping in unison to stare into the dark cave mouth.At the same time, people began leaping down from the surrounding hillsides, streaming toward the cave entrance in growing numbers."Don't worry about me—go save the master!" Shi Chun pushed the guard away, then collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath.The guard hesitated for a moment, but when he saw his companion dart into the cave, he quickly followed suit.None of the men arriving from the hills paid any attention to Shi Chun, lying on the ground. Seeing the guards rushing into the cave, they immediately poured in after them. In their minds, the guards must have already verified Shi Chun's story—so there was no reason to doubt it, which only served to strengthen their resolve.Soon, the surrounding hillsides were empty of people. Shi Chun, still lying on the ground, craned his neck and called into the cave, "Jinliang—are you dead yet?"Wu Jinliang's figure quickly emerged from the shadows. Just before reaching the entrance, he collapsed to the ground again, feigning death, and whispered, "How's the situation outside?"Shi Chun sprang to his feet in an instant, yelling, "Let's go!"Wu Jinliang "revived" just as quickly, darting out of the cave and chasing after Shi Chun.Shi Chun had no idea if all the hidden sentries had left their posts—but he didn't stop to check. He simply ran toward the direction where he'd seen people fleeing earlier…Deep inside the mine, Shi Chun's earlier act of snuffing out all the lamps threw the pursuers into disarray. Charging into the pitch-black darkness, they soon realized there wasn't a single light left to guide their way. The darkness was absolute—so thick they couldn't see their own hands in front of their faces. Even their enhanced cultivator's eyesight was useless.Trying to relight every lamp along the way before continuing the chase was impossible. Instead, some of them relit a few lamps, holding them aloft and channeling their cultivation to shield the flames from being snuffed out, then pressed forward with their pursuit.Their delay was so great that even Shen Youkun and Qi Ziru, who'd set off later, managed to catch up to them.The rescuers who'd rushed into the cave from outside encountered the exact same absurd predicament. The lamps in the first section of the tunnel were still burning brightly, so they didn't suspect a thing and charged headlong inward. It was only when they plunged into the total darkness that they realized the rest of the tunnel was completely unlit—and they were left fumbling around in the dark, searching for flint and tinder to relight the lamps.Moments later, the two groups—one chasing the fugitive, the other rushing to rescue their master—crashed head-on, both holding torches. In the chaos and confusion, the rescuers from outside immediately assumed the pursuers were the rebel miners charging out to attack them.