Regardless of whether they were truly there to quell the rebellion, they had arrived for that purpose, and upon seeing a group of people rush out of the cave, they imdiately drew their weapons with a clatter.
Those who rushed out of the cave saw the people outside drawing weapons on them, and those who had weapons imdiately drew theirs in response.
The tension on the miners' faces was clearly visible; they didn't know what was happening.
Those from outside shouted, “Put down your weapons!”
Their companions echoed the warning.
Those who ca out of the cave roared, “What do you want?”
As the crowd parted, Shen Youkun walked out, pointing at the group rushing in from outside and scolding, “What do you want? Are you tired of living?”
Despite losing his cultivation, he still maintained his fierce deanor in the face of gleaming blades, showing how little he thought of these natives. This was also a bad habit they had indulged in, for example, the chief of East Nine Plains didn't humor him, and he was sowhat afraid then.
Upon seeing him, the group from outside let their sharp blades droop. The one leading them asked in surprise, “Mr.
Shen, are you alright?”
“What could be wrong with ? Why aren't you guarding outside? What are you doing rushing in?” Shen Youkun angrily retorted. He was counting on these guys to block the escapees.
With such a confrontation between the two sides, the situation was imaginable. Shen Youkun was utterly furious, cursing, “A bunch of idiots!”
After confirming there was no danger, Qi Ziru was also carried forward.
His unhurried voice suppressed the agitated Shen Youkun, “Was it just one person who broke out?”
He wanted to confirm. If it really was just one person, to dare to risk his life alone and trick everyone like this, then he would indeed have to look at him with high regard.
“Yes, just one person.”
“We only saw one person.”
“No, not far from the entrance, there was also a miner lying there, seemingly severely injured and unconscious. It might also be fake.”
“Oh, you're right. If the miner's rebellion is fake, then that supposedly severely injured and unconscious miner could also be fake too.”
As the crowd responded, a guard who had been standing at the cave entrance also added, “That miner was the tallest big fellow, very noticeable. I rember him going in and out several tis.”
Upon hearing this, Shen Youkun suddenly muttered to himself in a daze, “Tall fellow, two people…”
The scene of almost colliding with a tall fellow at the cave entrance flashed in his mind simultaneously. With a slap, he suddenly slapped himself hard, growing even more agitated, “It was them, Uncle, it was…”
Qi Ziru interrupted him decisively, “Shut up, go seal off the cave entrance first.”
Shen Youkun anxiously said, “Uncle, I know who it is, it's…”
Qi Ziru suddenly said sharply, “I told you to shut up!”
“…” Shen Youkun imdiately fell silent. His uncle was truly angry, so he could only obediently shut up.
The personnel on site then quickly chased them out under Qi Ziru's command.
By the ti the group rushed out of the mine, dusk had fallen, and there was no longer any sign of anyone.
Qi Ziru did not let everyone pursue or search everywhere. He bluntly stated in front of everyone, asking who could guarantee that the culprit hadn't deliberately set up a diversion and was actually still hiding in the cave? Who could guarantee that the culprit hadn't taken advantage of the chaos to mix among them? They counted the number of people present and found that five overseers were missing.
Qi Ziru also did not unmask the masked individuals one by one to check.
So of those who earned this remuneration were well-known in certain circles.
They only needed Shen Youkun to know who they were but did not wish to reveal their true faces in front of everyone. However, Qi Ziru did not check for this reason.
Qi Ziru also did not send the guards who had been secretly ambushing around back. He only left a small number of people to block the cave entrance, and all other manpower was incorporated into the excavation team, instructing everyone to dig out the remaining parts of the skeleton inside the mine as quickly as possible.
He accepted the suggestion of the two overseers that the earth and rock did not need to be removed but could be dumped into nearby tunnels. In short, the excavation speed had to be fast.
After arranging all this, Qi Ziru laboriously got up from his reclining chair, raised a hand to stop those carrying the sedan chair from accompanying him, and strolled through the valley, with only Shen Youkun following.
Shen Youkun was visibly nervous, looking around, knowing who was causing trouble.
Now that he was out of the protective circle, he was indeed a little afraid that the culprit might suddenly jump out.
After there were no other people nearby, Qi Ziru stopped, glanced at his nephew, and looked towards the dark sky, “Don't be nervous, they already have what they want and are busy escaping.”
Upon hearing this, Shen Youkun was indeed comforted. He looked back at the cave entrance, pondering his uncle's intention.
He was certain the culprit had fled, yet why did his uncle say the culprit might be in the cave and seal off the entrance?
Qi Ziru's voice broke his thoughts, “Was it that chief who ca to visit?”
Shen Youkun imdiately perked up, “That's right, it was ‘Shi Chun’ and ‘Wu Jinliang’ who ca. The guard at the entrance reminded ; I rembered that Wu Jinliang must have t at the entrance.
I was busy looking for you earlier and overlooked it for a mont.”
Qi Ziru sighed with a 'tsk tsk', “It really was them! Just two people, yet they dared to brazenly mix among so many people and act so recklessly, even such an obvious tall fellow dared to blend in.
They simply regard us as nothing! What imnse courage! Not only did they make us run around in circles, but taking the treasure was as easy as picking sothing from a pouch. What a person! No wonder you were willing to spare no expense to get rid of them rather than engage in direct conflict.
So you had already learned a profound lesson, but you refused to disclose it beforehand. If I had known earlier it was soone with such thods, how could I have let you handle it so easily? How could I have let them succeed so easily?”
Shen Youkun muttered sowhat guiltily, “Earlier in the mine, I already guessed it was them.
I wanted to tell you, but you scolded and wouldn't let speak.”
The implication was: look, sotis when I want to speak, you don't let , and when I don't want to speak, you bla for not speaking.
It's really hard for to get it right, isn't it?
Qi Ziru, who was physically and ntally inconvenienced, originally didn't want to get angry, but at this mont, he couldn't help but change his expression and curse, “Idiot! Haven't you said enough already? Based on what you said, anyone with a bit of insight could guess who took the treasure if they bothered to investigate further.
Before we catch them, we absolutely cannot let any outsider know who stole the treasure.
Only our forces can pursue them, otherwise, you and I won't be able to account to the family. Do you want to attract other factions to snatch the treasure? Not a single person who heard your words today can be left alive!”
Speechless, Shen Youkun choked several tis, finally realizing that he had a screw loose in his head.
Under his guilty conscience, he changed the subject and said, “Uncle, that fellow is very cunning. If he ran off with the treasure, it might not be so easy to catch him again.”
Qi Ziru shot him an annoyed glance, then clasped his hands behind his back, gazed into the distance, and slowly said, “If nothing unexpected happens, he should not be able to escape.”
Shen Youkun was startled, “Cannot escape?”
He didn't know if it ant now, or that he would eventually be caught.
Seeing his uncle's relaxed and composed deanor, it seed to imply the forr. He vaguely realized sothing and couldn't help but look around.
Qi Ziru snorted, “The heavy responsibility entrusted by the family, do you think I can place all my hopes on you? While you were recruiting people, I had already contacted another group of people here as backup. If you succeed, fine; if not, soone else can step in at any ti.
When I received your confirmation that you had found the item and rushed here, I took the opportunity to survey the surrounding terrain. I had people set up ambushes on so of the probable escape routes.
I had already ordered that anyone found leaving this place without my permission, once discovered, would absolutely not be spared!”
Shen Youkun could understand such arrangents, which were to guard against any stragglers escaping from here, but he still doubted, “How many people have you arranged? The surrounding area is so vast, and there are too many paths to escape.”
Qi Ziru: “He's afraid of pursuit, so he'll be eager to flee far within a short distance.
He should escape along the easy routes, so the chances of encountering them should be high.”
Shen Youkun still worried, “Uncle, that fellow is not only cunning but also a good fighter here.
If the blocking forces are too thin, they might not be able to stop him.”
Given such a large area, he believed his uncle couldn't have groups of people stationed everywhere, nor could he create such an exaggerated formation in the Land of Exile.
“He can't escape, unless he finds a loophole. As long as he's discovered, even if he's at the High Martial realm, he won't get away!” Qi Ziru's faint response was filled with confidence.
Shen Youkun's small eyes, set in his fleshy face, blinked again and again. He understood.
His uncle's backup plans were very thorough. He imdiately beca sowhat excited, eagerly anticipating the situation after that rogue Shi Chun fell into his hands, his molars grinding uncontrollably.
Qi Ziru was unconcerned with his reaction. Lowering his head, he paced back and forth, muttering to himself, “What exactly is that purplish-glowing Nebula? Does the family know, or do they not? They probably don't, otherwise, for such an important item, they wouldn't have kept in the dark beforehand…”
What he was thinking now was, if they failed to stop him and let that chief escape, should he conceal this matter from the family? After all, he would have to silence all relevant insiders afterward.
People are prone to selfishness, easily considering their own interests. He worried that this trouble might incur the family's displeasure, leading to an unexpected early departure from here.
After all, he had already found what the family asked for and truly didn't want to create new complications.
Despite his confident deanor in front of his nephew, the chief's ability to run rampant here still sowhat bothered him, leaving him feeling a bit uncertain in his heart…
Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang hurriedly ran to a mountain crevice and moved a large stone, pulling out two bundles of clothes from within.
Both of them usually wore clothes when going out, as they represented the face of East Nine Plains.
They also retrieved two weapons from the pit: one large and one small knife.
The small one wasn't actually small; it was the size of a normal saber, but it appeared small in comparison to the larger one, and it ca with a cloth-wrapped sheath.
The large knife, however, had no sheath.
It was entirely black, nearly half a zhang long, nearly a chi wide, and its back was as thick as a fist. It was a very large and heavy item, which Wu Jinliang effortlessly swung with one hand and hoisted onto his shoulder.
This knife had no particular origin; he had personally forged it at a blacksmith's shop. The blacksmith had told him to use whatever materials he wanted, so he, operating on the principle of never missing a good deal, personally used ample materials to forge a heavy one.
Later, he found that large weapons had their own advantages in a fight, and he gradually got used to it.
When Shi Chun cared about his appearance, Wu Jinliang would carry his saber.
There was naturally no need for that when they were fleeing for their lives.
After replacing the large stone, the two n slung their knives and bundles and quickly ran off again.
Along the way, they always ran along low-lying terrain like mountain gullies, not daring to easily run to higher ground, where they could be easily spotted. Only occasionally, when they wanted to check the situation behind them, would they go up a nearby hilltop to look for pursuers.
After running for a while and doing so again, Shi Chun, who had looked back a few tis and was about to duck back into a mountain gully, suddenly reached out and pressed Wu Jinliang's shoulder. Both of them ca to an abrupt halt halfway up the mountain.
Wu Jinliang was just about to ask what was wrong, but before he could, Shi Chun was already cautiously looking around and said, “Sothing's not right!”
He imdiately turned back, crouched down, and crawled to the mountaintop, lying prone, looking back along their path.
So Wu Jinliang crouched beside him and asked the question, “What's wrong?”
Shi Chun said in a deep voice, “It’s too quiet.
We haven't seen anyone chasing us all this way. Do you think it's normal for them to just let us escape like this?”
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