"Yang Ling, after today, I, Zhang Wei, owe you nothing."
Zhang Wei smiled, waved his hand, and turned to leave.
Yang Ling watched his retreating back.
"You've tricked me twice. The benefits I got from you at most offset one of those times. You still owe me one."
Zhang Wei's steps faltered for a moment, then he quickly walked away without acknowledging Yang Ling.
Returning to the wooden hut.
Yang Ling continued practicing Boulder Crushing Fist and the Vajra Bright King Technique.
The next day.
The proficiency of his Boulder Crushing Fist increased by another twenty-something points.
The experience value for the Vajra Bright King Technique also reached: 40.He was not far from reaching the 100 points needed for Beginner's Insight.
He went out and headed towards the mine entrance, ready to see if it had been unsealed.
But he had only walked halfway when he bumped into Zhang Wei again.
"Why haven't you left yet?"
Yang Ling laughed. "Can't bear to leave the Fire Crystal Rock mine? Want to level up here?"
"You think I don't want to leave?"
Zhang Wei's expression turned somewhat ugly. He glanced towards the direction of the mine entrance, his eyes filled with gravity and solemnity.
"The Mountain and River Sect has sent a manager. His status is higher than Supervisor Wu and Supervisor Niu."
Zhang Wei said in a low voice, "This manager has spoken. No miner is allowed to leave."
"What happened?"
Yang Ling's mind stirred, asking a question he already knew the answer to.
"Who the hell knows."
Zhang Wei said absentmindedly.
Yang Ling guessed he was afraid his relationship with Zhang Hao would be exposed.
Right then, a Mine Guard started walking towards them.
Zhang Wei, feeling guilty, immediately walked away upon seeing this.
"Yang Ling? Supervisor Wu wants you to come over. Follow me."
The Mine Guard called out.
"Me? What's the matter?"
Yang Ling was slightly taken aback.
The Mine Guard said impatiently, "Why ask so many questions? Just follow me."
"Yes, yes, yes."
Yang Ling nodded repeatedly and followed him towards the mine entrance.
Zhang Wei saw this scene and was somewhat surprised.
"They're looking for Yang Ling? What does Supervisor Wu want with him?"
He couldn't figure it out, but he still felt a sense of relief in his heart.
As long as they weren't looking for him, it was fine.
He believed the other party wasn't foolish enough to expose the Boulder Crushing Fist.
At the mine, in front of Mine Shaft No. 1.
The corpses of Fifth Brother and the others had already been dug out and were lying side by side at the mine entrance.
Having been dead for many days, their bodies had already begun to rot, emitting a foul stench.
Seeing this scene from a distance, Yang Ling couldn't help but take a deep breath.
Did Supervisor Wu call him over because he had discovered something?
"My Strength is currently 11 points. Using Boulder Crushing Fist can add another 3 points, but I also can't hold the Steel Pickaxe at the same time, so my maximum Strength is only 14 points."
"The Vajra Bright King Technique hasn't reached Beginner's Insight yet. I'm still far from being a match for Supervisor Wu."
Yang Ling's thoughts raced, and a trace of cold sweat gradually appeared on his palms.
However, as he got closer, he saw that not only was Wu Que present, but Supervisor Niu was also there, along with Chief Constable Lin and that Master Hui Neng.
A young man dressed in white, with mountain and river patterns embroidered on his clothes, was chatting and laughing with Hui Neng, though his expression carried a hint of ingratiation.
"Supervisor Wu, Yang Ling has been brought."
The Mine Guard said respectfully.
Supervisor Wu nodded slightly, his gaze falling on Yang Ling.
"Yang Ling, do you know who the corpses on the ground are?"
A flicker of fear appeared in Yang Ling's eyes. He glanced at the corpses on the ground and quickly shook his head.
"I can't recognize them."
They were all rotten. How could he easily recognize them?
"It's Old Fifth."
Supervisor Wu said indifferently. "From what I know, he only made an enemy of you during this period."
"What!? It's Fifth Brother!?"
Yang Ling took a few steps back in horror.
Hui Neng and the young man, who had been observing him, nodded thoughtfully upon seeing this.
"Master Hui Neng, it seems now that these miners were likely all killed by the Butcher of Prisoners."
The young man said solemnly. "The Butcher of Prisoners probably hid your esteemed temple's Buddhist scripture in Mine Shaft No. 1. I will order people to dig three feet into the ground to find this scripture."
"It would be best if it can be found. I must trouble Patron Wang to pay more attention to this matter."
Hui Neng placed his palms together.
"Master, you are too polite."
The young man laughed. "The matters of the Bitter Awareness Temple are the matters of our Mountain and River Sect!"
After speaking, he looked at Supervisor Wu.
"Transfer the most experienced miners under your command to Mine Shaft No. 1. Dig hard for half a month. If you find the lost Buddhist scripture of the Bitter Awareness Temple, you will be credited!"
"Yes, Senior Brother Wang."
Supervisor Wu immediately clasped his fists and bowed.
"Master Hui Neng, after Supervisor Wu and the others discovered this anomaly, they sealed the mine and have been very attentive to this matter. Entrusting the task to him won't go wrong. Let's go stay in Green Mountain City for a while and wait for news."
The young man said with a smile.
Yang Ling now knew he wasn't in danger and quietly took a look at this young man's attributes.
Character: Wang Jing
Profession: Martial Artist
Strength: 19
Agility: 10
Spirit: 5
Martial Arts: Mountain and River Drawing Sword Technique (Skilled), Black Tiger Fist (Skilled), Iron Skin Technique (Comprehensive Mastery)
Faction: Mountain and River Sect
Three martial arts! Two at Skilled level!
"This is the difference between a Mountain and River Sect disciple and Wu Que. He is indeed much more powerful than Wu Que, probably a bit weaker than Hui Neng."
Yang Ling thought to himself.
"Patron Wang Jing, let's just stay in the Miner's Village and wait for news. It's thirty miles from here to Green Mountain City. Going back and forth isn't very convenient."
Hui Neng said with a smile.
"The Miner's Village... Alright then."
Wang Jing seemed somewhat disdainful of the Miner's Village's environment, but since Hui Neng had suggested it, he naturally couldn't oppose.
He gave Wu Que some instructions, then personally led Hui Neng, Chief Constable Lin, and the others away.
The corpses of Fifth Brother and the others were naturally taken away by Chief Constable Lin's subordinates, likely to be examined again by a coroner.
After they left, Wu Que regained his imposing manner as the head of the mine.
"Yang Ling, you are already an experienced miner. You can participate in the search work in Mine Shaft No. 1 this time. It will be good experience for you before you compete with other veteran miners from other mines in the future."
Wu Que said indifferently.
"Yes!"
Yang Ling quickly nodded.
This suited his intentions perfectly!
As long as he could mine and level up, anything was fine!
"Supervisor Niu, you arrange the others. Actually, we don't need too many people. Keep it to around forty or fifty. To prevent anyone from trying to muddle through."
Wu Que instructed.
"Don't worry, I'll arrange it."
Supervisor Niu nodded with a smile.
He paused. "Then, should the mine be unsealed?"
"Senior Brother Wang has come personally, so it must be unsealed. This time, regardless of whether we can find anything or not, our Mountain and River Sect's attitude has been sufficiently sincere. I believe the Bitter Awareness Temple won't blame us. The Fire Crystal Rock mine is our top priority."
Wu Que said.
After speaking, he also left quickly, seemingly not the least bit sad about Fifth Brother's death.
Soon, the news of the mine being unsealed spread.
Countless miners, like hungry wolves, swarmed in and started working to earn money.
Yang Ling was arranged to enter Mine Shaft No. 1 with a group of veterans including Uncle Wang.
They were also accompanied by over a dozen Mine Guards, obviously responsible for keeping an eye on them.
Before entering the mine shaft, Supervisor Niu only had one sentence of instruction.
"Do your best."
Uncle Wang and the other veterans naturally understood this principle and felt relieved.
As long as they weren't required to definitely find something, then mixing time in Mine Shaft No. 1 and digging for some Fire Crystal Rock would be easy.