“Wake up... Wake up... Time to work.”
Shen Ci was still a bit dazed when he was shaken awake. The moment he opened his eyes, he saw a fat man wearing a hood handing him a tool for mining spirit stones.
What was going on? Hadn't he been committing a robbery with his senior brothers?
Then, he remembered what had happened earlier. He had been knocked unconscious.
What was the situation now? He tried to circulate his spiritual energy, only to find that it was completely locked.
Turning his head, he immediately saw his two senior brothers.
Even the target they had been trying to rob was there, looking just as bewildered as they were by the scene before them.
Had they all been kidnapped?
He remembered that the one who attacked him and his senior brothers was their target, wasn't it?
Could it be that he had been too shocked at the time and had misseen... It must be.
Otherwise, why would that person be here too?
“What are you standing around for? Get to work!”
The hooded fat man suddenly barked. Just as Shen Ci was about to speak, the target they had been trying to rob beat him to it:
“On what grounds? I am—”
Before he could finish, the fat man grabbed him by the collar and turned to leave.
“Hey, hey... What are you doing? Let go of me...”
Splat...
“Ah!...”
While the target was still screaming, Shen Ci saw the fat man drag him just around the corner and hack him to death with a large broadsword.
The scream pierced his very soul, and blood sprayed three feet high.
Shen Ci couldn't help but feel incredibly glad that he had been slow to speak.
A moment later, the fat man looked down at them, parting his lips to reveal a row of forest-white teeth:
“Are you going to work or not?”
Shen Ci and the others turned pale with fright:
“We'll work, we'll work... We're really good at mining, we definitely won't damage the spirit stones...”
With that, the three of them grabbed their mining tools and began to mine spirit stones for dear life.
A bad life was still better than a good death. As long as they were alive, there was hope. If they died, they were truly gone.
“Work hard. If you don't mine enough, you'll be hacked to death on the spot...”
“Yes, yes...”
Shen Ci and the other two hastily agreed.
After tossing out the threat, the fat man turned and left.
Once the fat man was gone, the three of them exchanged glances.
Their eyes were filled with sorrow, tears, and an unspeakable desolation...
Without a word, they resumed mining.
“Eldest Senior Brother, how was it? Did I play a fierce bandit well enough?”
Huang Tianbao took off his hood and asked Lu Ming with a chuckle.
“Excellent. I didn't expect your acting skills to be so superb.”
“Woof woof!!”
Big Yellow also nodded in agreement, as if saying, You've got some skills, kid!
“Of course. After all, I used to be a bandit and ran a gang...”
Hearing the praise from Lu Ming and Big Yellow, Huang Tianbao's eyes crinkled into slits from smiling.
“Great Sect Master, Second Sect Master, Third Sect Master.”
Just then, Niu Lansan and the others returned with a group of people.
“Mhm...”
“Take a break, then follow me out in a bit.”
“Alright.”
Niu Lansan and the others agreed and went to settle in.
...
Lu Ming walked outside and happened to see Wang Defa checking the formations.
Looking at his head of white hair, Lu Ming's eyes flickered:
“Old Man Wang, when are you going to reach Foundation Establishment? I've given you so many spiritual pills and miraculous herbs, but why hasn't there been any effect?”
Wang Defa turned around and chuckled:
“Great Sect Master, don't waste your effort. I think it's a lost cause. I'm really no good at cultivation.”
Lu Ming nodded helplessly:
“Old Man Wang, how old are you this year?”
Wang Defa stroked his beard:
“I'm eighty-four this year.”
Lu Ming stroked his chin and muttered:
“Seventy-three, eighty-four, if Yama doesn't invite you, you go yourself. That's a critical hurdle for you!”
Hearing this, Wang Defa glared and blew at his mustache, displeased:
“Great Sect Master, what nonsense are you talking about? I had my fortune told when I was a child. They said I would live to 108, and then 128, though there are still two calamities in my path...”
Lu Ming's eyes spun:
“Old Wang! Do you think it's possible that those two calamities are having your grave dug up and your ancestral tablet kidnapped?”
Wang Defa looked at Lu Ming speechlessly:
“Who would be so wicked to do such a thing?”
“Hehehe... I've done both of those things. Muhahaha...”
Hearing Lu Ming's sinister laughter, Wang Defa's eyes widened.
“When I'm buried, it must be done behind your back.”
“Haha... Old Man Wang, here's something good for you.”
With that, Lu Ming reached out and handed Wang Defa a box.
Wang Defa was stunned for a moment, but he still opened the box.
Suddenly, his eyes went wide as he stared at Lu Ming in utter disbelief.
“Star... Snow Lotus.”
Lu Ming looked at Wang Defa:
“Oh... not bad! You actually recognize the Star Snow Lotus.”
Wang Defa swallowed hard:
“I told you, except for cultivation, I'm decent at everything else. I'm actually quite knowledgeable.”
“Yes, not bad. Eat this Star Snow Lotus and contribute well to the Heavenly Demon Sect. Oh, right, you still need to cultivate diligently to raise your realm... That's the key to solving your lifespan issue.”
Lu Ming said, looking into the distance.
“You're really giving this to me?”
Wang Defa stared at Lu Ming in disbelief.
“Of course. If I weren't giving it to you, why would I bring it out?”
Wang Defa's hands trembled. “This... this is too valuable.”
“You're worth it.”
Then, Lu Ming suddenly asked out of curiosity:
“Old Man Wang! Did you ever divine that I would give you a Star Snow Lotus?”
Wang Defa, who was just starting to feel touched, froze. Snapping out of it, he looked at Lu Ming speechlessly:
“Don't you know that diviners don't read their own fortunes?”
Lu Ming shook his head. “I didn't.”
Suddenly, remembering that the Grand Elder had also read his fortune, he looked at Wang Defa:
“Old Man Wang, can you read mine?”
Wang Defa refused outright: “I don't divine the fortunes of people with higher cultivation than me.”
“Huh?”
Lu Ming was taken aback. “Why?”
“What do you mean why? I'm afraid of being beaten to death.”
Lu Ming's mouth twitched. “Even if it's inaccurate, I won't beat you.”
“It's my rule...”
Lu Ming was somewhat helpless. The old man was quite stubborn, completely unyielding.
Oh well.
Just then, Big Yellow ran over:
“Woof woof!?”
Boss, let's set off.
“Alright.”
Lu Ming agreed, leaving a few people behind to guard the place.
Then, he handed out a hood to Niu Lansan and each of the others.
“Put them on. Don't let anyone recognize you. We have no background, no backing...”
Hearing this, Niu Lansan and the others seriously put on their hoods.
Then, with a sinister laugh, Lu Ming led Big Yellow and the others out to kidnap more people.
Wen Ruyu was leading a group of disciples, negotiating with Hu Laitou and his crowd from the Thousand Hands Sect.
“Hu Laitou, can you show some face? Is your Thousand Hands Sect full of pickpockets? You snatch spiritual herbs from us every single time. What's the deal with that?”
Hu Laitou wasn't intimidated in the slightest. Craning his neck, he shot back:
“We clearly saw it first! You're the ones who insisted on snatching it!”
“Bullshit! We saw it first!”
“We did!”
“We did!”
“Screw it!”
“Attack...”
As the argument escalated, the two groups clashed.
Just as both sides were fighting with hot-blooded intensity, a massive gold brick suddenly flew in from above.
With a flash of light, everyone's weapons flew out of their control, entering the golden light and disappearing.
This familiar scene instantly left everyone stunned.
“Damn, our weapons got snatched again...”
“You thief...”
In the instant everyone cried out in shock, a large gold brick appeared behind each of their heads.
Steady, precise, and ruthless.
Thud... Thud...
The entire crowd was knocked unconscious on the spot. Only Wen Ruyu and Hu Laitou flickered away, dodging the consecutive gold bricks.
But they still couldn't escape, as a giant gold brick materialized above their heads and flattened them.
The moment they lost consciousness, only one thought remained in their minds: Well, this time we didn't just lose our weapons, we lost our dignity too.
Rate on N.U.
