2: Chapter 2 First Steps into the Mine

Early the next morning.

The morning light pierced through the gaps in the Grass Hut, like golden needles stinging Yun Song awake.

He rubbed his sleepy eyes and sat up, his gaze suddenly fixing on a colorful piece of paper on the table, its brightness striking.

Yesterday he had been too busy tidying up the Grass Hut to examine it closely, so he picked it up to inspect it now.

The paper clearly depicted Spirit Stones of the five attributes: metal, wood, water, fire, and earth.

Below each type of Spirit Stone was some small text.

He read it word by word silently, engraving these characteristics firmly into his mind.

Changing into a brand new, well-fitting servant uniform and hanging his token at his waist, he picked up the mining hoe and the night-luminescent pearl, then pushed open the door to walk out of the Grass Hut.

The Mine Cave was to the west of the Grass Hut, where a thousand-foot-tall mountain stood majestically, with dense Mine Caves at its foot.

From afar, the cave entrances looked like the gaping maws of wild beasts, exuding a chilling aura.

He walked along the rugged, rocky path for about the time it takes to burn a stick of incense and finally arrived at the foot of the mountain.

His gaze swept over hundreds of Mine Caves before finally stopping at one.

Above the entrance, a massive boulder hung like the head of a giant beast, casting a large shadow.

At the entrance, five people, all around twenty-five years old, were sitting in a row, although they wore Miner servant uniforms.

Their clothes were clean and crisp, with absolutely no traces of mining dust or mud.

On the far left was a thin man with a pointed head, his mung-bean eyes darting around.

His right hand kept unconsciously reaching into his chest, as if stroking something.

The fat man beside him puffed out his round belly, glancing at Yun Song up and down, and exchanged a meaningful look with the thin man.

The man in the middle had his arms crossed, veins bulging on his arms, exuding an air of someone not to be trifled with.

The person to his right leaned against the stone wall, eyes frequently scanning the depths of the Mine Cave, as if waiting anxiously.

The last person wore a bamboo hat and lay half-reclined on a pile of rubble, eyes closed, seemingly resting, yet also appearing to be observing in secret.

Yun Song didn't think much more about it; he gripped the mining hoe tightly and resolutely walked into the Mine Cave.

The moment he stepped inside, the night-luminescent pearl in his hand was activated by the darkness, suddenly emitting a dazzling white light that illuminated everything within a ten-foot radius.

The cave walls were uneven, the ground was full of rubble, and the stones on the path varied in size.

Some of the sharp edges of the rubble were as sharp as knives; a moment of carelessness could lead to cuts.

After walking for about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the sound of "ding-ding-dang-dang" mining suddenly came from ahead.

Yun Song felt a surge of joy and unconsciously quickened his pace.

After turning two corners, a faint light appeared ahead, and a blurry figure gradually became clear.

But as he got closer, the mining sound suddenly stopped abruptly.

The person turned abruptly, gripping the mining hoe with both hands in front of his chest, eyes staring at him vigilantly.

Yun Song was puzzled, not understanding why he would make the other person so guarded.

He tried to squeeze out a friendly smile, wanting to break this stiff atmosphere and incidentally ask for some mining tips.

But the person remained full of defense, radiating a "stay away" coldness, his eyes not softening in the slightest.

The words on the tip of his tongue were swallowed back by Yun Song; he shook his head helplessly and turned to walk elsewhere.

In the journey that followed, he bumped into several more Miners after twisting and turning, but everyone was the same as the first; upon seeing him, they instantly tensed up, their eyes full of caution.

This series of abnormal encounters made the confusion in Yun Song's heart grow heavier.

Finally, he found an empty rock wall, took a deep breath, gripped the mining hoe with both hands, and smashed it down hard.

With a crisp "clang," the mining hoe collided with the rock wall, sparking a few embers, but only a shallow white mark remained on the rock wall.

A strong vibration traveled through the wooden handle throughout his whole body, numbing the web between his thumb and index finger, and making his arms tremble slightly.

"Good grief! This hardness is just ridiculous..."

Yun Song widened his eyes, his face full of disbelief.

He rubbed his numb hands, steadied himself again, gathered all his strength to lift the mining hoe, and swung it crazily dozens of times before stopping.

But the rock wall in front of him remained intact, with only an almost invisible shallow mark added.

Sweat streamed down his cheeks; he was burning with heat and collapsed onto the ground, his chest heaving violently.

Looking at that almost invisible mark, all his anticipation turned into disappointment.

He raised his hand to wipe his sweat, but a sudden, piercing pain shot through his palms, making him tremble all over.

Looking down, he realized that because he had used too much force earlier, the palms of his hands were torn and bleeding, with bright red beads of blood constantly seeping out.

He had been so focused on staring at the rock wall just now that he hadn't realized his palms had been chafed so severely by the wooden handle.

Only now, upon stopping, did he feel the pain rushing in, making even his fingertips tremble uncontrollably.