Chapter 185: He’s Here!
Just as Shang Yue was gripped by absolute distress, the crazed Old Ou popped out from nowhere once again.
The moment he emerged and saw that everyone had already finished dividing the food, he became instantly incoherent with rage, singing and dancing around. Several people who knew him well quickly rushed forward to grab Old Ou and cover his mouth.
“Shh—do you want to draw the soldiers here?!”
With his mouth covered, Old Ou’s eyes were completely filled with indignation.
Everyone felt incredibly awkward. It was Lu Bo, leading the way, and Shang Yue, who had received the benefactor’s assistance, who had told them to finish eating the food as quickly as possible to recover their strength. Even the lotus leaves stained with the food’s gravy had been shared and eaten down by everyone, leaving absolutely nothing behind.
Yet Old Ou, no matter how one looked at it, counted as half a lifesaver to them. If it weren’t for Old Ou, Shang Yue and Lu Bo wouldn’t have discovered them buried deep underground either. Now, look at how things stood—they had barely managed to pad their own stomachs, yet their lifesaver had nothing to eat. Because of the guilt in their hearts, they didn’t dare use too much force while holding Old Ou.
As it turned out, for some unknown reason, this mad Old Ou possessed staggering strength. He suddenly broke free from the crowd, sprinted up to Shang Yue, closed his eyes, and began counting on his fingers to calculate.
“Today… fifth watch, assistance from a noble person… go, go alone…”
Others didn’t know what Old Ou was talking about, but Shang Yue’s eyes suddenly went wide. How did Old Ou know?!
Struck with profound shock, Shang Yue had no time to react before his tattered garments were seized by Old Ou. Before the crowd could catch their breath, they watched helplessly as Shang Yue was dragged away into the deeper woods by Old Ou, who had suddenly gone mad and possessed absolute strength.
Everyone hurriedly scrambled up, ignoring the pain of their injuries to give chase. Following that, they saw Old Ou dragging Shang Yue around to scout, though it was unknown what he was searching for. The exact instant they caught up, Old Ou pushed Shang Yue straight into a deep pit in the ground.
“What are you doing!” Wang Sheng shouted in fury. “Your life was saved by Brother Shang!”
Old Ou was entirely oblivious. Forming a mudra gesture with his fingers, he gave a roguish chuckle and pointed at Shang Yue: “You… die a little…” Then he turned back to the crowd that had caught up: “You all… live a little…”
Everyone felt both indignant and helpless, dividing into two groups. One group intended to forcibly pull Old Ou away to make him shut up. The other group hurriedly jumped into the pit to rescue Shang Yue.
But as Shang Yue felt the dirt pit, he suddenly seemed to realize something. He quickly climbed up, grabbed Old Ou, his eyes entirely filled with astonishment and an irrepressible joy—Old Ou definitely knew about the benefactor and that manor too!
“Old Ou, do you know about it too…”
“Ah! Ah! Ah—Disaster exits the mouth! The mystical affinity is entirely severed! No! No!” Old Ou suddenly grew even more crazed, his screams nearly echoing through this entire expanse of mountain forest.
Everyone hurriedly covered Old Ou’s mouth. Shang Yue didn’t dare ask further either; he faintly felt that Old Ou’s crazed words were actually serving as a reminder to him. Yet Old Ou also knew to shove him into a dirt pit.
Shang Yue knit his brows, a plan forming in his mind. He told the crowd to release Old Ou, deliberating his words as he spoke: “Old Ou, can you calculate what watch my benefactor will arrive?”
Old Ou’s eyes rolled around. He ceased screaming, murmuring, “The third watch won’t do, the fifth watch will. Sunset won’t do, sunrise will…”
Everyone let out a sigh. Old Ou was mysterious and divine to begin with, and after the mining disaster, it appeared he had gone even crazier.
Shang Yue, however, was highly delighted, continuing to question him: “If I wait inside the dirt pit, will the benefactor come?” He had originally been wondering how he would manage to go over if the benefactor summoned him again after he crawled out of the mine shaft. Now, looking at Old Ou’s behavior… could a dirt pit work too?
Old Ou offered no answer, merely looking at the sky as his mouth gibbered words that no one could understand. His tone was bizarre, yet he didn’t seem to be chanting at random either.
Lu Bo caught up, asking Shang Yue what had happened. Shang Yue deliberated for a moment, deciding to trust Old Ou this once.
“Old Ou calculated that I carry the luck of a noble person tomorrow. I reckon my benefactor might come looking for me tomorrow.”
“Really?” Lu Bo was pleasantly surprised. “That’s spectacular! I’ve just had Xiao Liu and his group secretly search for my retainers, agreeing to congregate at the summit tomorrow.” Lu Bo’s eyes flashed with a spark. “We cached weapons, food, and water at the summit. Once we retrieve them and rest until tomorrow night, we will charge down the mountain to seize the mining camp in one breath!”
Everyone excitedly echoed in low voices: “Brother Lu, we should have rebelled long ago! That crowd of guard dogs treated us like livestock, and this time they actually wanted to bury us alive. We have no choice but to rebel!”
“Exactly! My brother is still in the camp. If we don’t rebel, I fear he will be killed by them too.”
“Currently, warfare is breaking out everywhere outside. We might as well kill the soldiers and break out! Even if we can’t live, we can still kill a few enemy troops! We possess far more blood than this crowd of soldiers who hide in the mines and don’t dare go out to kill the enemy!”
The laborers who had escaped death by pure luck during the mining disaster felt their blood boiling, wishing they could charge out right now to slaughter the soldiers.
Lu Bo extended a sincere invitation to Shang Yue: “Why not invite the benefactor along as well…”
Shang Yue hurriedly waved his hands. “No, no, no, I carry no way to do that. The benefactor has her own place to go. Furthermore, the benefactor assisting me is out of her own good heart, but she doesn’t owe me anything. I cannot open my mouth to ask for this.” Even if the two worlds were distinct, Shang Yue could clearly see that Jian Xingxia’s living environment was a whole abundance better than theirs. They were all convict slaves burdened by tragic injustices and their own difficulties. But the benefactor looked to be a person of leisure and comfort, so she naturally wouldn’t come to a place like this.
Hearing this, Lu Bo explained, “I didn’t mean to force the benefactor to assist us. I merely heard you say that the benefactor must not be very far from this mine…” Anyone with even a bit of family property, who would be willing to live near a mine?
Shang Yue nodded. “I understand Brother Lu’s meaning, but this benefactor of mine also carries her own unavoidable difficulties and cannot show her face.” Shang Yue spoke the words he had drafted in his mind several times: “Furthermore, while inside the mining camp, I carry no idea what watch the benefactor will arrive. Instead, it was exactly Old Ou who just mysteriously muttered something about the third watch not working but the fifth watch working… there’s no saying his calculation is accurate.”
“Oh?” Everyone hurriedly grabbed Old Ou back.
Old Ou’s mouth kept muttering incantations, pointing at them one by one: “You won’t do, you can’t, you must not…” After pointing a full circle, only Shang Yue could do it.
Shang Yue seized the opportunity to take his leave of Lu Bo: “I’ve injured my leg, so I reckon I carried no way to ascend the mountain alongside you all.”
“I trust Old Ou. The fact that he could locate Xiao Liu and the others proves he possesses some supernatural talent. Since he said the benefactor will come looking for me, I will wait for the benefactor on this spot.” Shang Yue continued, “If the benefactor arrives after dawn, I will go to her to implore her assistance. However, before obtaining the benefactor’s permission, I cannot promise to definitely bring back supplies.”
“But regardless of whether I can bring back supplies, I will return at sunset tomorrow to meet up with you all at the summit.”
Lu Bo nodded. “I understand, but—” Lu Bo was also highly conflicted. Currently, Shang Yue knew their plan, and letting Shang Yue depart alone… it wasn’t that he couldn’t trust Shang Yue, but there was no way to hand over the lives of so many people just like that.
Yet Lu Bo still agreed to Shang Yue’s departure. If you employ a man, do not suspect him; if you suspect him, do not employ him. Shang Yue could have easily chosen not to produce that food and departed alone to begin with. He had a benefactor assisting him, so his future path would surely be a whole abundance smoother than theirs.
Lu Bo was a man of grand capability, so he ceased fretting on the spot. Taking his leave of Shang Yue, he led the group to proceed to the summit to meet up with his retainers. Before departing, he also bound Old Ou and hauled him away.
Shang Yue was left alone in the mountain forest. After resting for a period, he dragged his injured leg to scout near the collapsed mine shaft. But whether it was because he lacked a supernatural talent like Old Ou’s or because all the living individuals had already been rescued, he searched for nearly two watches without finding a single living person.
Near dawn, Shang Yue leaned against a large tree not far from the dirt pit, falling into a hazy sleep. When he was abruptly startled awake by the morning birds chirping, the early morning light had already dawned.
Shang Yue opened his eyes blankly. Before his gaze was that hazy vision of blood again, and within the blood was the sight of the mountains and the tiny white house. Shang Yue’s mind stirred, moving toward the tiny white house.
In the very next instant, he appeared inside the manor from yesterday.
Not far away, hearing the movement, Jian Xingxia whipped her head around.
“You’ve finally arrived! Did you get out of the mine shaft? I can recruit you for a full sixteen hours today!”
