46: A mysterious mine

"If you want to thank me, then work hard and don't let my silver go to waste."

Chen Heng continued to flip through the Fire Element Cultivation Method in his hands without even raising his head.

In truth, the silver he gave to his subordinates was not much; compared to the money that could be earned at the mine, it was a drop in the ocean.

It was only that much money throughout the year, yet it was enough to make these blade-wielders loyal to him.

Why not do it?

An hour later, the carriage slowly came to a stop.

Stepping off the carriage, Chen Heng immediately felt that the atmosphere at the mine was a bit off.

The miners all had dark circles under their eyes, and their eyeballs were bloodshot.

The entire mine was terrifyingly quiet; apart from the clanging sounds of excavation, there was no other noise.

"What's going on?" Chen Heng frowned.

Although the work of a miner was indeed not something that would make anyone happy, it shouldn't make them look like their whole family had died, right?

It was obvious that something was fishy here.

"I'll go ask." Yagyu Han volunteered to go inquire about the situation.

Chen Heng didn't say anything and leaned against the carriage, waiting for Yagyu Han's return.

Ten minutes later, Yagyu Han, who had also become jittery, walked back.

"Big Brother, this place doesn't seem right." Yagyu Han cautiously observed his surroundings.

"I just went to try and get friendly with them, but not a single person paid any attention to me."

"Even when I used the identity of White Tiger Hall to scare them, they didn't react; they were all like puppets."

"Also, even if I kicked them, they didn't react. They didn't even brush off the dust and just stood back up to continue mining."

"And..." Yagyu Han hesitated to speak further.

"Speak!" Chen Heng felt the situation was becoming increasingly wrong.

"The cooking stoves they use are exceptionally clean, and the leftovers in the clay pots have grown mold."

"I have a feeling they haven't eaten in a long time..."

The more Yagyu Han spoke, the more his hair stood on end.

This was mining, the most physically demanding work.

How did these people survive without eating? By absorbing Immortal Qi?

"..." Chen Heng frowned deeply. Why were all the industries given to him such profitable but defective goods?

"I'll go take a look."

As soon as Chen Heng stepped into the mine, a sense of viscosity enveloped him.

It felt as if he had crawled into a giant lump of slime; all his movements were being hindered.

"There really is a problem."

Focusing his Qi and blood into his eyes, his dark pupils instantly turned green.

Strangely, no matter how Chen Heng observed, the situation around him remained unchanged.

It was completely different from when he encountered that hairball the day before yesterday; the miners were still working, and the viscosity around him had not disappeared.

Continuing to walk forward, that sense of viscosity became increasingly intense.

"This is..." Chen Heng squatted down and pushed the gravel on the ground aside.

A twisted human face appeared before Chen Heng.

Of course, it wasn't a real human face; it was just a drawing on the ground.

But the texture of this drawing was very eerie. It seemed... to have temperature?

Chen Heng felt more and more that the situation around him was extremely abnormal.

Out of caution, Chen Heng immediately retreated from the mine.

He hadn't brought his black fiend blade when he went out today, so if he encountered an Anomaly, he would only have his fists to use.

"Yagyu Han, take the brothers and stay here to watch the place. I'm going to the hall."

Chen Heng got into the carriage and instructed the coachman to speed up to White Tiger Hall.

White Tiger Hall, main hall.

Qi Longhu was leisurely sipping tea; this was one of the few times he had to relax.

"That set of punches just now was so good; my Realm has had another Breakthrough."

"I estimate I'm not far from the Acquired Realm."

"Old Wang Ba's alcohol tolerance is still so poor; he got drunk after only six catties of yellow wine."

"When I have time later, I'll call that kid Chen Heng over and see how his alcohol tolerance is."

Qi Longhu was still talking to himself when a commotion broke out outside the door.

"Executive Chen, no, Vice Envoy Chen, the Hall Master is resting, and he won't let anyone in."

Bang! Clatter, crash!

"Big Brother Qi, I need to ask you something!" With a loud boom, the rosewood door of Qi Longhu's room was sent flying by Chen Heng.

It lodged perfectly into the brick wall behind Qi Longhu.

"..." Qi Longhu's mouth twitched, and the veins on his forehead bulged.

"Speak, what is it?" Qi Longhu suppressed the anger in his heart and put down the teacup in his hand.

"Is there a problem with that mine?" Chen Heng went straight to the point, not mincing words at all.

"Oh right, I forgot to tell you about that." A mischievous smile appeared on Qi Longhu's face.

"As I thought." Chen Heng nodded, just as he had expected.

"This mine originally belonged to Vermilion Bird Hall. That woman definitely wouldn't let you get your hands on it so easily."

"She also said that if you really dared to take it over, she would wipe out your whole family."

"What else?" Chen Heng continued to ask.

Vermilion Bird Hall was a minor issue; if they dared to make a move, Chen Heng would dare to tear Vermilion Bird Hall apart.

"What else?" Qi Longhu looked confused.

"That's it, what else could there be?"

Seeing that the confusion on Qi Longhu's face didn't seem fake, Chen Heng recounted what he had encountered at the mine.

Now it was Qi Longhu's turn to be dumbfounded.

Because that mine belonged to Vermilion Bird Hall, Qi Longhu had never cared about it.

When did the mine become like that?

"It seems you don't know either, Big Brother." Chen Heng was a bit troubled; why did he always run into such troublesome matters?

"No, it's not just me who doesn't know." Qi Longhu also felt that things were not right.

"I estimate the Gang Leader and the other two Hall Masters don't know about these things either."

Qi Longhu narrowed his eyes.

"I know why that stinky woman from Vermilion Bird Hall made me say those things to you yesterday."

"She must have known the mine had problems and intentionally said it for you to hear."

"Did you sign that contract? If not, hurry up and return it to the Gang Leader!"

"It's too late, I've already signed it." Chen Heng took out the signed contract, his face wrinkled like a chrysanthemum.

"..." Qi Longhu and Chen Heng looked at each other, speechless.

"Let's find a way to solve this matter."

"Anyway, there's no rush."

"Take it slow."

After patting Chen Heng on the shoulder, Qi Longhu started playing dead.

"Forget it, I'll find a way myself." Chen Heng knew Qi Longhu couldn't help.

If the mine had been occupied by some demons or ghosts, Qi Longhu might have been useful.

But in this situation, Qi Longhu was just a decoration; he was too ugly even to be a mascot.

"I'm going to Vermilion Bird Hall; if I cause any trouble, remember to clean up after me."

Chen Heng got up and left the main hall.

"Go, go ahead. You can even beat that stinky woman to death."

Sitting in the carriage, Chen Heng didn't go to Vermilion Bird Hall to cause trouble right away; instead, he returned home.

He ordered the coachman to deliver some food to the brothers at the mine and let them make do for the night at the mine.

Closing the door, Chen Heng took out the Fire Element Cultivation Method.

It was still early before the optimization count refreshed, so Chen Heng sat cross-legged and circulated the Nine Revolutions Longevity Art.

The foundation of the Fire Element Cultivation Method itself was very good; the optimized technique would definitely be much stronger than the Nine Revolutions Longevity Art.

But Chen Heng didn't plan to give up the Nine Revolutions Longevity Art; this thing was a Cultivation Technique that could increase one's lifespan.

Looking at the entire Great Liang Kingdom, the Nine Revolutions Longevity Art was the top of the top Internal Skill.

Apart from having zero offensive capabilities, the Nine Revolutions Longevity Art was still very good.

Now, he just needed to wait until midnight.