Chapter 53: A Ray of Hope in Desperation (Part 1)
Pa!
The severed arm landed at Jiang Yuebai's feet, splattering her with blood, causing her to tremble and take a step back.
Ye Lianyi laughed, "This is the consequence of messing with my stuff!"
"Peng Laosan, what's going on with this little girl?" Fan Mazizi asked.
Peng Sanyang nodded and explained with a bow, "She's a disciple favored by the real person of the golden core in the sect. She got involved in some trouble, got punished, and will be taken away in two years. The Foundation Building supervisor from the Internal Affairs Hall personally brought her here. Cui supervisor also said for you..."
Peng Sanyang didn't dare to say the rest of the words, and Fan Mazizi sneered.
Ye Lianyi walked up to Jiang Yuebai, grabbed her chin, and lifted her face.
"Not bad, quite an impressive background. Cultivating to the fourth level at such a young age, an inner disciple?"
Jiang Yuebai, trying to appear afraid, said, "Senior sister, I didn't know this was your mine, really..."
Fan Mazizi chuckled, "Who cares about her background? Once she's in the mine, it's my territory. I'll do whatever I want! If Cui Sheng has the guts, let him come personally and ask for her."
Fan Mazizi approached aggressively, making Jiang Yuebai tense.
Ye Lianyi raised her hand, "Just a little girl. Besides, we'll have to return to the sect in the future. Better to avoid unnecessary trouble."
After saying that, Ye Lianyi reached out to Jiang Yuebai, "Hand over the storage pouch."
Jiang Yuebai hurriedly held her waist and stepped back, "I... I don't have anything..."
Ye Lianyi extended her hand towards Jiang Yuebai, "Hand over the storage pouch."
Jiang Yuebai quickly pressed her waist and stepped back, "I... I don't have anything..."
"Courting death!"
Bang!
Fan Mazizi kicked, and Jiang Yuebai, enduring without resistance, was solidly kicked in the abdomen. She flew and hit the mountain wall, organs twisting in pain as she groaned.
Ye Lianyi mocked with a smile, walked to Jiang Yuebai, crouched down, and pinched her face.
Between her fingers, the nails slowly traced bloodstains on Jiang Yuebai's face, causing her to frown in pain, tears welling up in her eyes.
"Little girl, there are rules in the mine, and relying on external support is unreliable. Do you know how many people die here every day?"
Ye Lianyi snatched the storage pouch from Jiang Yuebai's waist and searched her again. All she found was a piece of clothing and a body-refining technique manual. Wiping away Jiang Yuebai's faint spiritual imprint, she raised an eyebrow.
"So many Qi-refining pills, quite well-prepared. Don't say that I don't give you a way out. I’ll eave one bottle of Qi-refining pill for you. Don't go where you shouldn't, don't touch what you shouldn't. Understand? If you can endure and return, it's your skill. If you can't endure and die here, it's your fate."
Jiang Yuebai, biting her lip and shedding tears, watched Ye Lianyi leave with the pouch.
As they delved deeper, Peng Sanyang pushed Jiang Yuebai into a dark mine tunnel. "Stay here honestly. You can leave if you want, but if you dare to go to other mine tunnels to steal, I'll break your legs and feed you to the monsters."
Peng Sanyang glanced at Jiang Yuebai's fearful and helpless expression, feeling satisfied, and left with the torch, leaving her alone in the darkness.
As Peng Sanyang left, Jiang Yuebai's tears continued, but the fear and helplessness in her eyes disappeared, replaced by a calm indifference.
Wiping off the blood on her lips and face, Jiang Yuebai clenched the bottle of Qi-refining pills, lit a torch, and walked towards the depths of the mine.
Squeak!
A foul smell accompanied by the sound of rats came. Jiang Yuebai covered her nose, and with the light of the torch, dozens of black rats fled deeper, leaving behind a corpse that had been gnawed open.
With her stomach churning, Jiang Yuebai endured and continued walking. The number of bodies increased—intact, incomplete, decaying, turning into skeletons—piled up, and black rats the size of kittens were everywhere.
Turning a corner, Jiang Yuebai saw a collapsed giant rock blocking the way. More bodies were under the stone, and rats passed through the corpses, disappearing from sight.
Carefully observing the surroundings, although there were no spirit stone mines here, there were many traces of excavation, especially on both sides of the collapsed area, where many stones had been quarried.
The bodies were likely not thrown here after death but were forced to self-destruct, just like her. Clearly, Fan Mazizi was the ruler here, and perhaps there were other rulers elsewhere. The people in the mine had their own ways of survival.
If she wanted to survive, she had to depend on them or become a new ruler.
Unfortunately, neither of these paths suited her. She was too young, and no one would accept her. At the moment, she didn't have the strength to become a ruler. She could only find another way.
Jiang Yuebai sat down and ate a Qi-refining pill to relieve the pain in her stomach. As she surveyed the surroundings, a thought crossed her mind.
Why were there more bodies at the collapsed site, and where did those rats escape to?
Jiang Yuebai approached the collapsed area, stepping on bones and decaying flesh. The flame on the torch suddenly flickered.
"Is there wind?"
Jiang Yuebai's eyes lit up, and she quickly raised the torch to find the source of the wind.
In the end, she separated the bodies, crouched down, and held the torch in front of the rat hole. The flame continued to sway outward.
Jiang Yuebai stood up, used a purification technique, and went outside to check.
Confirming that no one had passed by, Jiang Yuebai returned inside, took off her shoes, and took out a jade finger guard. She unfolded the protective formation flag she had collected from her grandfather's small courtyard, isolating herself from detection and sound.
The severed arm landed at Jiang Yuebai's feet, splattering her with blood, causing her to tremble and take a step back.
Ye Lianyi laughed, "This is the consequence of messing with my stuff!"
"Peng Laosan, what's going on with this little girl?" Fan Mazizi asked.
Peng Sanyang nodded and explained with a bow, "She's a disciple favored by the real person of the golden core in the sect. She got involved in some trouble, got punished, and will be taken away in two years. The Foundation Building supervisor from the Internal Affairs Hall personally brought her here. Cui supervisor also said for you..."
Peng Sanyang didn't dare to say the rest of the words, and Fan Mazizi sneered.
Ye Lianyi walked up to Jiang Yuebai, grabbed her chin, and lifted her face.
"Not bad, quite an impressive background. Cultivating to the fourth level at such a young age, an inner disciple?"
Jiang Yuebai, trying to appear afraid, said, "Senior sister, I didn't know this was your mine, really..."
Fan Mazizi chuckled, "Who cares about her background? Once she's in the mine, it's my territory. I'll do whatever I want! If Cui Sheng has the guts, let him come personally and ask for her."
Fan Mazizi approached aggressively, making Jiang Yuebai tense.
Ye Lianyi raised her hand, "Just a little girl. Besides, we'll have to return to the sect in the future. Better to avoid unnecessary trouble."
After saying that, Ye Lianyi reached out to Jiang Yuebai, "Hand over the storage pouch."
Jiang Yuebai hurriedly held her waist and stepped back, "I... I don't have anything..."
Ye Lianyi extended her hand towards Jiang Yuebai, "Hand over the storage pouch."
Jiang Yuebai quickly pressed her waist and stepped back, "I... I don't have anything..."
"Courting death!"
Bang!
Fan Mazizi kicked, and Jiang Yuebai, enduring without resistance, was solidly kicked in the abdomen. She flew and hit the mountain wall, organs twisting in pain as she groaned.
Ye Lianyi mocked with a smile, walked to Jiang Yuebai, crouched down, and pinched her face.
Between her fingers, the nails slowly traced bloodstains on Jiang Yuebai's face, causing her to frown in pain, tears welling up in her eyes.
"Little girl, there are rules in the mine, and relying on external support is unreliable. Do you know how many people die here every day?"
Ye Lianyi snatched the storage pouch from Jiang Yuebai's waist and searched her again. All she found was a piece of clothing and a body-refining technique manual. Wiping away Jiang Yuebai's faint spiritual imprint, she raised an eyebrow.
"So many Qi-refining pills, quite well-prepared. Don't say that I don't give you a way out. I’ll eave one bottle of Qi-refining pill for you. Don't go where you shouldn't, don't touch what you shouldn't. Understand? If you can endure and return, it's your skill. If you can't endure and die here, it's your fate."
Jiang Yuebai, biting her lip and shedding tears, watched Ye Lianyi leave with the pouch.
As they delved deeper, Peng Sanyang pushed Jiang Yuebai into a dark mine tunnel. "Stay here honestly. You can leave if you want, but if you dare to go to other mine tunnels to steal, I'll break your legs and feed you to the monsters."
Peng Sanyang glanced at Jiang Yuebai's fearful and helpless expression, feeling satisfied, and left with the torch, leaving her alone in the darkness.
As Peng Sanyang left, Jiang Yuebai's tears continued, but the fear and helplessness in her eyes disappeared, replaced by a calm indifference.
Wiping off the blood on her lips and face, Jiang Yuebai clenched the bottle of Qi-refining pills, lit a torch, and walked towards the depths of the mine.
Squeak!
A foul smell accompanied by the sound of rats came. Jiang Yuebai covered her nose, and with the light of the torch, dozens of black rats fled deeper, leaving behind a corpse that had been gnawed open.
With her stomach churning, Jiang Yuebai endured and continued walking. The number of bodies increased—intact, incomplete, decaying, turning into skeletons—piled up, and black rats the size of kittens were everywhere.
Turning a corner, Jiang Yuebai saw a collapsed giant rock blocking the way. More bodies were under the stone, and rats passed through the corpses, disappearing from sight.
Carefully observing the surroundings, although there were no spirit stone mines here, there were many traces of excavation, especially on both sides of the collapsed area, where many stones had been quarried.
The bodies were likely not thrown here after death but were forced to self-destruct, just like her. Clearly, Fan Mazizi was the ruler here, and perhaps there were other rulers elsewhere. The people in the mine had their own ways of survival.
If she wanted to survive, she had to depend on them or become a new ruler.
Unfortunately, neither of these paths suited her. She was too young, and no one would accept her. At the moment, she didn't have the strength to become a ruler. She could only find another way.
Jiang Yuebai sat down and ate a Qi-refining pill to relieve the pain in her stomach. As she surveyed the surroundings, a thought crossed her mind.
Why were there more bodies at the collapsed site, and where did those rats escape to?
Jiang Yuebai approached the collapsed area, stepping on bones and decaying flesh. The flame on the torch suddenly flickered.
"Is there wind?"
Jiang Yuebai's eyes lit up, and she quickly raised the torch to find the source of the wind.
In the end, she separated the bodies, crouched down, and held the torch in front of the rat hole. The flame continued to sway outward.
Jiang Yuebai stood up, used a purification technique, and went outside to check.
Confirming that no one had passed by, Jiang Yuebai returned inside, took off her shoes, and took out a jade finger guard. She unfolded the protective formation flag she had collected from her grandfather's small courtyard, isolating herself from detection and sound.
THX for translation. Waiting for the updates...
ReplyDelete