2: Kid, you're lucky!

Gu Changsheng's muscles tensed instantly, and a chill shot straight from his tailbone to the top of his head.

He did not turn around suddenly, but instead turned around bit by bit with a slow and stiff movement consistent with an eight-year-old child.

Standing behind him was a thin, gaunt old man, wearing the same miner slave tunic as him, his face covered in deep ravines, which were traces left by years of erosion from the dust in the mine and the passage of time.

His back was hunched, and his whole person exuded an aura of decay, like someone on the verge of death.

But those eyes were completely devoid of the turbidity of an old man; instead, they were like two yellow jades embedded in mud, flashing with shrewd and greedy light.

This was not a child's voice.

The voice was shrill, simply because the old man was too thin and weak, causing his airways to be narrow.

It was Old Fourth Zhao.

Information about this person immediately surfaced in Gu Changsheng's mind.

An old bachelor in the miner slave camp, with no children, notoriously unsociable and stingy, who always looked at everyone with a cold, sinister demeanor.

"Grandpa Zhao."

Gu Changsheng called out timidly, his body subconsciously blocking the marrow cleansing grass.

"Hehe." Old Fourth Zhao let out two dry laughs, like a broken bellows being pulled.

"Little Changsheng, what are you doing running out to such a remote place all by yourself?"

"I... I came to look for crickets."

Gu Changsheng lowered his head, unconsciously scraping the ground with his toes, perfectly playing the part of a child caught lying by an adult.

This lie was clumsy, but for an eight-year-old child, it was incredibly realistic.

"Looking for crickets?"

Old Fourth Zhao's laughter grew louder. He took two steps forward, his withered body bringing a strong sense of oppression.

He did not look at Gu Changsheng, but instead walked around him, his gaze fixed tightly on the crack in the bluestone slab.

"Are you looking for this kind of 'cricket' that glows?"

It's over.

Gu Changsheng's heart sank.

He knew this was a Spiritual Plant!

There were many ignorant people in the miner slave camp, but there were always one or two who had lived long enough, had seen more, and knew some strange tales of the wilderness. Old Fourth Zhao was clearly one of them.

"Grandpa Zhao, I don't know what this is. I just thought it looked pretty..."

Before Gu Changsheng could finish speaking, he was rudely interrupted by Old Fourth Zhao.

"Shut up!"

The old man whipped his head around, terrifying light bursting from those yellow jade-like eyes.

"You little brat, you dare play tricks in front of me? This is a Spiritual Plant! A treasure that can allow one to ascend to the heavens in a single step if handed over to an Immortal Master!"

His breathing became heavy, his Adam's apple bobbed up and down, and his withered chest heaved violently.

"Hand it over!"

Old Fourth Zhao reached out his withered, chicken-claw-like palm towards Gu Changsheng.

"Give it to me, and I'll appreciate your filial piety and look after you in the mine from now on. If you don't... this West Hill slope is desolate and uninhabited; who would know if there was one more meal for the wild dogs?"

A threat.

A naked threat.

Gu Changsheng's brain was spinning rapidly.

Resist? He was an eight-year-old child, and the other party was an adult. Even if he were frail, his strength would far exceed his own.

Call for help? This place was too remote; by the time someone arrived, he would already be a corpse.

What to do?

Give up the marrow cleansing grass and save his life?

No.

Gu Changsheng instantly dismissed this thought.

If he handed it over, would Old Fourth Zhao let him go? An eight-year-old child who knew his secret and had seen his greedy face. To nip trouble in the bud, the chance of Old Fourth Zhao killing him to silence him was one hundred percent!

Since he might die either way, he could only... try to delay as much as possible and wait for the "secret following" by his uncle mentioned in the intelligence!

Right, the intelligence said his uncle would follow in secret to protect him! As long as he could stall until his uncle arrived...

After a moment of surging thoughts, Gu Changsheng looked up, his face full of a child's fear and grievance, with bean-sized tears swirling in his eyes.

"Grandpa Zhao, I'll give... I'll give it to you."

While sobbing, he slowly squatted down, extended his trembling little hand, and reached towards the marrow cleansing grass.

Seeing him yield, a triumphant, ferocious smile appeared on Old Fourth Zhao's face.

"Consider yourself sensible."

He stared intently at Gu Changsheng's hand, afraid that he might damage the Spiritual Plant in the slightest.

Just as Old Fourth Zhao watched him dawdle for a long time and prepared to do it himself.

"Gu Changsheng!"

A deep and familiar shout came from the bottom of the hill like a thunderclap.

"Where the hell did you go, you little brat! It's almost dark, and you still don't know to come home!"

It was his uncle, Gu Dashan!

Old Fourth Zhao's waist, which was just about to bend, stiffened suddenly. He sprang up like a startled wild cat, looking towards the bottom of the hill with shock and suspicion.

"Kid, consider yourself lucky!"

Old Fourth Zhao spat viciously and glared at Gu Changsheng with resentment, his gaze as if he wanted to swallow him alive.

He was thin and small; Gu Dashan could knock him down with one punch. Moreover, this child clearly didn't know how to consume the Spiritual Plant, so it wouldn't be too late to double back and kill him tonight.

Thinking of this, he did not linger, hunched his body, and scrambled into the nearby bushes, quickly disappearing from sight.

Gu Changsheng did not hesitate for a moment.

He practically lunged at it, pulling up the marrow cleansing grass by its roots as fast as he could, and shoved it haphazardly into the innermost pocket of his clothes.

Then, he casually pulled a few handfuls of ordinary "Black-Joint Grass" that looked similar to the one in Grandpa Sun's diagram and clutched them in his hand.

After doing all this, he stood up and responded towards the bottom of the hill.

"Uncle, I'm here!"

Soon, the tall and sturdy Gu Dashan climbed up. When he saw Gu Changsheng, he immediately slapped him on the back of the head.

"I called you for ages before you answered! Do you want to die on the mountain?"

Gu Dashan grumbled and cursed, but still checked to see if Gu Changsheng was injured.

"Aunt asked me to pick herbs, and I spent a long time looking." Gu Changsheng held up the ordinary herbs in his hand, his face full of grievance.

Gu Dashan glanced at them, couldn't recognize what they were, and waved his hand impatiently.

"Alright, alright, hurry up and get home!"

Although he was cursing, he didn't leave first but followed behind Gu Changsheng, heading down the mountain together.

Returning home, when Mrs. Li saw the herbs Gu Changsheng had picked, she sniffed them skeptically, tossed them aside, and gave him the usual scolding.

Gu Changsheng listened without a word, then silently returned to his drafty utility room.

After closing the door, he let out a long breath of stale air and slid down to the floor, leaning against the door panel.

He took the marrow cleansing grass out from his clothes.

In the dim room, it was emerald green throughout, the fluorescence on its leaves flickering, filled with a strange vitality.

An hard-won Opportunity.

The lingering fear of having escaped death.

The two emotions intertwined, making his heart still pound wildly even now.

Old Fourth Zhao... That old thing's resentful gaze lingered in his mind, unable to be shaken off.

He knew that he had been targeted by a venomous snake.

In this miner slave camp where human life was worth less than a dog's, an old bachelor who had developed murderous intent and had no scruples could do anything.

He must find a way to get rid of him!

In the depths of Gu Changsheng's heart, a murderous intent surged.

He was not someone who would sit and wait for death; rather than passively waiting for danger to arrive, it was better to proactively nip the threat in the bud!

Just as he was pondering a countermeasure, the familiar pale golden text quietly appeared in his mind.

【Urgent Intelligence: Miner slave Old Fourth Zhao has developed murderous intent towards you, believing you are hiding a great treasure. He plans to sneak into your home at zi hour tonight to kill you and seize the treasure. Risk Assessment: High.】