159: Chapter 159: Want to Live? First Be a Glorious Working Man
The interrogation room was just a newly assembled alloy steel box, completely airtight.
In the center of the room sat a single chair, specifically designed to seal a Cultivator's true energy; other than that, it was empty.
Wu Xiangtian was slumped in that chair.
His life had been saved, but his cultivation was completely crippled, making him a waste even worse than an ordinary person.
Having fallen from a high-and-mighty Foundation Establishment immortal master to this ghostly state, he had completely collapsed.
Therefore, the interrogator didn't have to put in much effort; after asking a few casual questions, he spilled everything like beans being poured out.
When Jiang Ning and Zhang Liancheng entered, Wu Xiangtian lifted his head with great effort.
When he saw Jiang Ning's young and calm face clearly, his pupils suddenly constricted.
"It's her!"
Although he had only caught a glimpse of her in the water mirror before, he remembered clearly that this was the "mortal woman" he had harbored crooked thoughts about.
"But..."
The aura on this woman was even more terrifying than their Wu Clan ancestor's; it was unfathomable!
It was a pressure that made him feel it was a struggle just to look up at her.
"She is no mortal!"
This was clearly a supreme expert he wouldn't even dare to imagine!
A thought struck his brain.
He... he actually had the audacity to provoke such a great deity?
"Pfft—" Wu Xiangtian couldn't hold back a mouthful of black blood and sprayed it out directly.
He looked at Jiang Ning, his face full of death-like fear and regret.
If he could do it all over again, he wouldn't dare to provoke this group of monsters wearing human skin, even if it killed him!
"Do you have news about the Qingyun Sect?"
Jiang Ning ignored his internal monologue and spoke directly.
There was no discernible emotion in her voice.
"Yes... yes, Senior!"
After feeling that terrifying pressure, Wu Xiangtian immediately changed how he addressed her.
He didn't dare to hide anything and hurriedly replied with a hoarse voice:
"The Qingyun Sect is located three thousand li east of Black Stone Valley; it used to be a decent-sized sect."
"However..."
He paused and stole a glance at Jiang Ning.
"But in recent years, the Qingyun Sect has had a rough time."
"Speak." Jiang Ning's reaction remained indifferent.
"Yes, yes." Wu Xiangtian didn't dare to dawdle. "I heard that decades ago, the spiritual vein of the Qingyun Sect's main peak started to wither for some unknown reason."
"Once the spiritual vein was gone, the sect had no output, the disciples' cultivation became slower and slower, and the sect naturally became poorer and weaker."
"About half a year ago, I heard that the Qingyun Sect owed the 'Money Gang' to the east a large sum of spirit stones and couldn't pay it back, so they were blockaded at their mountain gate."
"In the end, it seems the Qingyun Sect leader was forced to sign an agreement, mortgaging the mining rights of the last bit of the main peak's spiritual vein to the Money Gang."
"I reckon the current Qingyun Sect exists in name only; the disciples have all run away, leaving only an empty shell. It won't be long before they have to sell off the mountain..."
Wu Xiangtian whispered while secretly observing Jiang Ning's reaction.
But he was disappointed.
On Jiang Ning's face, there was none of the anger or sadness he had imagined.
She listened quietly, terrifyingly calm.
After he finished speaking, Jiang Ning nodded.
"That's enough."
She turned to leave as soon as she finished speaking, as if what she had just heard was a story completely unrelated to her.
"Sen... Senior!"
Seeing her about to leave, Wu Xiangtian panicked and shouted at the top of his lungs: "Senior, please spare my life! I've told you everything I know! Please, see that I still have some use and spare my dog life!"
He was truly terrified now.
He feared that this female devil would dispose of him after finishing her questions.
Jiang Ning stopped and looked back at him, asking indifferently:
"What use do you still have?"
"I... I..." Wu Xiangtian's brain spun rapidly. "Our Wu Clan! Although our Wu Clan isn't big, we have entrenched ourselves in this Black Stone Valley for hundreds of years! We know the terrain around here like the back of our hand!"
"Where there are mines, where there are herbs, where there are demonic beasts—we know it all!"
"You have just arrived, Senior, so you must need a guide who knows the ropes! Our Wu Clan is the best candidate!"
"Besides, our Wu Clan still has hundreds of people! Their cultivation isn't high, but they are all good hands at working! Mining, gathering herbs—they can do it all!"
"As long as you spare us, Senior, our Wu Clan is willing to work like cattle and horses for you, with absolutely no disloyalty!"
In order to survive, Wu Xiangtian threw away all the dignity of a Cultivator.
He just wanted to live now.
Jiang Ning didn't respond after listening.
She turned her head to look at Zhang Liancheng beside her.
"Commander Zhang, what do you think?"
Zhang Liancheng rubbed his chin and thought for a moment: "Reporting to the Chief Engineer, I think it's feasible."
"We are currently flying blind and really lack intelligence. Manpower is also tight; if we can recruit a batch of local labor to do rough work like mining, it can greatly increase our efficiency."
"Most importantly..." Zhang Liancheng lowered his voice, "Through them, we can figure out the rules of this world faster. This will be very useful for us to take root here in the future."
Jiang Ning nodded.
Zhang Liancheng thought the same thing as her.
Earthlings were outsiders after all.
To gain a foothold here, or even influence this place, they must have a group of local "collaborators."
This Wu Clan, scared out of their wits, was just right.
"Good."
Jiang Ning turned back and looked at the expectant Wu Xiangtian again.
"I can spare you."
"I can even give your Wu Clan a massive opportunity."
Upon hearing this, Wu Xiangtian almost went crazy with joy and kowtowed until his head thudded: "Thank you, Senior! Thank you for your mercy, Senior!"
"However," Jiang Ning changed the subject, "I don't keep idlers here, and certainly not useless people."
"If you want to survive and get benefits, you must demonstrate your value."
She picked up a tablet from the table, pulled up a document, and threw it in front of Wu Xiangtian.
"This is the 'Labor Dispatch and Resource Cooperation Agreement' for our 'Xia Kingdom Reclamation Group'."
"You, representing the Wu Clan, sign it."
"From today on, your Wu Clan is the First Mining Extraction Brigade under our Reclamation Group."
"You work for us. We will provide you with protection, food, and technology you couldn't even dream of."
"Of course, there is also a salary."
"La... labor dispatch?"
"Mining Extraction Brigade?"
"Sa... salary?"
Wu Xiangtian stared at the glowing board; he didn't recognize any of the dense block characters on it, and he had never even heard of those terms before.
He was completely dumbfounded.
He had lived for over a hundred years and this was the first time he'd heard that one had to sign this thing to surrender? What was it called... a "contract"?
But he couldn't care about that much now.
Sign it, and he could live.
Don't sign it, and he would die.
"I'll sign! I'll sign!"
He tremblingly reached out and, following Jiang Ning's instructions, pressed his bloody handprint at the end of the electronic contract.
A bright red handprint appeared on the screen.
Between the immortal and mortal realms, the first "labor contract" from modern Earth civilization was thus born.
Watching this scene, Zhang Liancheng's mouth curled into a meaningful arc.
He knew clearly in his heart that this was no simple contract.
This was the first nail driven into this antiquated world.