Chapter 174: Finding a Way Out in the Dark
The meeting lasted until nightfall. Yet, not a single person left. Even the oldest villagers, Grandma Hu and Old Great-Aunt Chai, remained seated the entire time, listening intently.
Since the ancestors of Lu’an Village first entered these mountains to seek refuge centuries ago, the village had never been this lively, nor had it ever been so full of passion and hope. Everyone listened with rapt attention, as if catching a glimpse of a brilliant future.
By the time Jian Xingxia returned to the old house, her throat felt like it was on fire.
Now that the trial run had ended, the members of the Insomnia Support Group were sleeping in shifts, so very few people showed up for dinner. She hadn’t had time to call the plump auntie back up the mountain, so Lin Sanniang had taken charge of the arrangements.
Since Jian Xingxia hadn’t returned, Lin Sanniang hadn’t left either, remaining on guard at the manor. Seeing Jian Xingxia return looking utterly exhausted, Lin Sanniang quickly urged her to lie down in her room.
“Can you manage any food? Or would you prefer some mung bean soup first?”
Jian Xingxia nodded vigorously, croaking out a few words through her raspy throat: “I want it iced.”
Even though her voice was practically gone and drinking iced mung bean soup was no different from drinking poison to quench thirst, she still desperately wanted it. She was just so, so incredibly tired. For the first time, Jian Xingxia truly understood how difficult it was for the village cadres like Hu Da, Qi Shan, and Wei Liang.
Lin Sanniang brought over a bamboo tray, deftly dodging Jian Xingxia’s hand as she reached directly for the iced mung bean soup.
“Miss, your throat is raw. You shouldn’t drink something this cold right away. Have some honey water first.”
With that, Lin Sanniang handed her a cup of warm, pale-beige water. “Da Hei poked a beehive in the mountains today and brought back a massive honeycomb.”
Jian Xingxia took a sip of the warm honey water to soothe her throat, but upon hearing those words, she nearly dropped the cup. “He poked a hornet’s nest?!”
“Not hornets, just ordinary honeybees—the kind that gather nectar.” Lin Sanniang smiled helplessly. “Da Hei’s shift ended and he had to go back. Since you weren’t back yet, he kept insisting that I explain it to you. He said while he was clearing the wasteland, the bees kept stinging him left and right, leaving him with several huge bumps.”
Recalling Da Hei’s appearance, Lin Sanniang felt it was indeed rather severe. “One of his eyes was swollen completely shut, and his lips and cheekbones were puffed up high.”
Da Hei had desperately begged Lin Sanniang to explain for him: Bees, sting! Dangerous! Can catch!
Hearing the word “dangerous,” Jian Xingxia suddenly understood. Da Hei had a “prior record” of catching wild pheasants and squirrels, and she had strictly warned him that if he wanted to touch any animals or trees in the mountains, he had to ask her permission first. He was only allowed to take direct action in dangerous or emergency situations.
Evidently, the silly giant had been stung who knows how many times and agonized over it for ages before finally making his move.
Savoring the sweet aftertaste of the honey water, Jian Xingxia felt both exasperated and amused. Yet, she couldn’t help but feel that having people like Da Hei and Lin Sanniang around made all her hard work and effort truly meaningful.
After she finished the cup of honey water, Lin Sanniang cut a small piece of the honeycomb for her. “Miss, keep this in your mouth and let it dissolve like syrup. It’s good for your throat.”
Jian Xingxia placed the honeycomb in her mouth and bit down gently, letting the pure, rich sweetness of the honey coat her throat. Her throat really did feel a bit more comfortable.
“Sanniang, you should head home. The guesthouse won’t be open tomorrow, as I want to make adjustments to a few areas. Since there won’t be many guests, I’ll probably summon Da Hei and Shang Yue over.”
Lin Sanniang had already heard from Da Hei that the Owner had picked up a man from the dirt today. That must be this Shang Yue.
Jian Xingxia continued, “The plump auntie has worked hard these past few days, so give her a day off tomorrow. If you want to rest, you can take a longer break too. Just come over for an hour or two so we can discuss a few things.”
Lin Sanniang smiled. “Miss, it’s no trouble at all. Staying at the manor counts as resting for me anyway. Just call for me whenever you need.”
Compared to the work Lin Sanniang used to do as a hired laborer—toiling in the fields, carrying heavy loads at the docks, and washing clothes—the chores at the manor were incredibly light and easy.
“Alright then. Go back early and get some rest. I’ll wash up and sleep soon too.”
That night, Jian Xingxia went to bed early. Her mind was still filled with worry for Shang Yue.
The recruitment quota refreshed every morning at five o’clock, and she intended to summon Shang Yue the exact moment it did. Shang Yue’s status was similar to Da Hei’s—one a convict slave, the other a Kunlun slave—so his working hours could be longer. If Shang Yue hadn’t died, she would let him get some proper rest at the manor tomorrow.
This was the first temporary worker she had encountered who was on the verge of dying at any second, and Jian Xingxia was deeply anxious. When she fell asleep, she even dreamed that Shang Yue was covered in blood, completely buried under the earth.
Terrified, Jian Xingxia woke up, reached for Da Hua who was sleeping on the wooden chest at the foot of her bed, and tucked the hen right next to her pillow. Only after inhaling the faint, comforting scent of the hen did she finally manage to fall back asleep.
Meanwhile, Shang Yue’s actual situation was not much different from Jian Xingxia’s nightmare.
Clutching the machete—which looked completely ruined on the outside but retained over ninety-five percent of its functionality—along with the blades, matches, hemp rope, and other supplies Jian Xingxia had managed to stuff into his hands, Shang Yue plummeted back into the dark cavern.
The ground beneath him suddenly vanished. Before Shang Yue could even brace himself, he crashed heavily onto another patch of earth.
The drop wasn’t high, so the fall itself didn’t hurt much. However, the rest of his body and his head throbbed with excruciating pain.
“Sss—”
Even though he had just undergone saline wound cleansing, Shang Yue couldn’t help but gasp sharply. He reached down to touch his leg. Below the calf, it was bent at an unnatural angle. The bone was broken.
Shang Yue tried to open his eyes to see, but the moment he did, a piercing pain flared through them. The mine shaft had collapsed; he was still trapped underground, and his body and head were covered in loose dirt. The moment he opened his eyes, sand and dust fell straight into them.
Shang Yue immediately clamped his eyes shut, letting his tears wash the grit and dust out.
A voice called out nearby in the darkness, “Who is that? Who’s left? Is it Lu Bo or Ke Wen?”
Another voice answered, “It’s not me. I’m looking for an exit.”
Ke Wen spoke up as well, his breath considerably weaker: “It’s not me either… I can’t move…”
As someone began groping around in the dark toward him, Shang Yue forced himself to endure the blinding pain. Sharp gasps punctuated his words as he finally spoke up.
“It’s me.”
“Shang Yue?” Lu Bo recognized his voice. Being closest to Shang Yue, he quickly crawled over. “Are you alright?”
Shang Yue shook his head. “Not good. One of my legs is broken.” In truth, his body was covered in gashes from falling rocks, but none were as severe as his leg.
Wang Sheng, who had spoken first, asked, “What happened on your end? Why did it suddenly collapse again?”
Only then did Shang Yue realize that the moment the mine caved in, he must have been transported to that bizarre, wondrous manor. Now that he was back, he had inexplicably materialized somewhere else and been battered by falling debris all over again.
Once his tears had thoroughly washed away the grit, Shang Yue managed to endure the pain and force his eyes open. The mine shaft was pitch-black; he couldn’t see a thing. He could only hear the rustling sounds of four or five men breathing and shifting against the dirt and stone.
Shang Yue replied to Wang Sheng, “I was knocked unconscious by the initial cave-in just now, and I only just woke up…”
Lu Bo crawled closer and told Shang Yue, “We’re in the middle section of the shaft. This clearing is about seven or eight meters long, held up by a few broken timbers. There are another three or four meters over that way.”
“How many people are here?” Shang Yue asked, carefully feeling down his leg to check if the bleeding had stopped.
Lu Bo went silent for a moment before answering quietly, “There were seven originally. You, me, Wang Sheng, Ke Wen, Old Ou, Xiao Si, and Xu Laowu.”
Shang Yue caught the ominous tone. “And now?”
Lu Bo didn’t answer. Instead, he began helping Shang Yue inspect his leg injury in the dark.
Ke Wen wheezed in terror, “Are you guys still there?”
“We’re here,” Wang Sheng cut in. “Right now, the living ones are you, me, Lu Bo, Ke Wen, and Old Ou. As for Xiao Si and Xu Laowu…”
“One was already gone when we found him.”
“The other bled out… just about a quarter of an hour ago, he drew his last breath.”
Wang Sheng didn’t say it out loud, but Ke Wen probably wasn’t going to make it either. He was pinned beneath a heavy timber. He could still speak for now, but there was absolutely no way to pull him out from under it.
“Where is Old Ou?”
“On the other side. He’s… not doing too well,” Wang Sheng said hesitantly.
“Is he injured?” Shang Yue asked.
“No, his physical injuries aren’t too bad. But he seems… he seems to have lost his mind.”
Shang Yue listened closely. Sure enough, he could hear the faint sound of Old Ou muttering incoherently not far away.
By now, Lu Bo had finished checking Shang Yue’s leg, and his tone grew heavy. “Shang Yue, your bone is snapped cleanly. If we can’t find something to splint it, the broken bone will pierce straight through your flesh the moment you move… Even the gods wouldn’t be able to save you then.”
Hearing this, Ke Wen, the youngest among them, suddenly burst into tears. “Brother Lu, are we going to die here? I don’t want to die, I don’t want to die!”
Lu Bo remained silent. He was in the best condition out of the survivors. Wang Sheng’s head had been gashed open and he had lost a lot of blood before managing to stop it. Ke Wen, needless to say, was completely pinned by the timber that had once supported the shaft. Old Ou had gone mad. Now there was Shang Yue, but Shang Yue’s leg was broken.
Wang Sheng cursed fiercely, “Curse that damn dog of an Emperor! Curse those corrupt officials and soldiers! They don’t dare go to the frontier to fight the war, losing thirteen cities in a row and leaving the citizens of Great Yan to be slaughtered! The Emperor runs away to hide, yet he still forces us to quarry stone just to build his traveling palace!”
Wang Sheng’s emotions finally shattered, and he wailed as he cursed, “If I die here today, I will become a ghost and never let them off!”
Lu Bo fell silent for a moment, then unexpectedly muttered, “If I ever get out of here, I will definitely kill that dog Emperor!”
Ke Wen wept loudly, “Brother Wang, Brother Lu, I don’t want to die! Save me, please save me!”
Lu Bo’s heart felt incredibly heavy. Even the usually quick-witted Wang Sheng had no idea how to comfort Ke Wen at this point. He let out a miserable laugh. “Look at us… even Shang Yue’s leg is broken, and we can’t even find a single wooden strip to bind it…”
They could barely survive themselves; how could they possibly save Ke Wen?
Ke Wen’s loud wails had barely left his throat when a voice suddenly echoed through the collapsed shaft.
“I have it.”
“Huh?” Both Wang Sheng and Ke Wen froze.
In the pitch-black darkness, they could only instinctively “look” toward the direction of Shang Yue and Lu Bo.
Shang Yue repeated firmly, “I have the things to bind a broken leg. Lu Bo, help me.”
“Wang Sheng, strip the clothes off Xiao Si and Xu Laowu. We’ll use them to start a fire in a bit.”
“Ke Wen, hang in there. Once I strike a fire and get some light, we will come save you.”
Through the darkness, only Shang Yue’s calm, steady voice resounded.
