Chapter 3 - Chapter 3: A Misunderstanding

The pitch-black mine wasn't completely dark—just overwhelming for eyes accustomed to sunlight. Simple oil lamps hung at intervals along the cave walls, casting dim light enough to barely see the path.The tall and short man, carrying loads on shoulder poles, deliberately slowed their pace, glancing around from time to time.These two sneaky figures were exactly the ones Shen Youkun had gritted his teeth about failing to eliminate—their heights made them easy to tell apart.After putting some distance between themselves and the miners ahead, and confirming no one was approaching from behind, the tall Wu Jinliang still looked shaken. He muttered softly, complaining to his companion: "That was too close! We almost got recognized by Shen Youkun. I told you this was too dangerous, but you just had to come meddle."Shi Chun muttered back: "We're fine, aren't we? We double-checked—they're all outsiders we've never seen. Besides Shen Youkun, no one should recognize us. That face-to-face encounter was just a coincidence; it won't happen again."Wu Jinliang widened his eyes in warning: "Chun, don't be so lucky. We're being way too bold. What if we run into him again? He's not blind—he can't keep missing us. He must hate us to the core, and my height is way too noticeable. I'm scared of loitering in front of him! If we bump into him again, he'll definitely recognize us. One shout from him, and we'll be swarmed and beaten..."Shi Chun interrupted disdainfully: "Shout? If he doesn't recognize us, fine. If he does catch us red-handed, let him try shouting. He's just a guy stripped of his cultivation—how hard would it be to grab him as a hostage? I can take him down in a split second if something feels off. What's there to fear? Just stay bold and stop scaring yourself.""Uh..." Wu Jinliang was lost for words. Thinking about it, he realized Shi Chun was right—Shen Youkun would be easy to capture if they crossed paths again.But on second thought, he shook his head: "No, it's really unnecessary to risk this. They have so many men. We've seen the stuff—it's just a pile of bones buried for who knows how many years. We touched it, checked it out, and found nothing special about the skeleton. The key point is, it's way too big. Even if it's valuable, the two of us can't move it. Staring at it any longer is a waste of time, and we'll get exposed. Let's leave quickly!"He never used to repeatedly urge the leader like this, but things were different now. They'd accumulated enough "merit," and all their responsibilities in Dong Jiuyuan were fulfilled. Even if they wanted to see the daughter of the shopkeeper in the city one last time, there was no need to risk their lives. They could just wait for the meeting, exchange their "merit" for freedom, and avoid unnecessary trouble.Their presence here was actually related to that newly earned "merit."In short, they'd seized a huge amount of supplies—an unexpectedly massive haul. Everyone was overjoyed, but their leader had frowned and muttered to him that something felt off.The security force didn't seem to match the quantity of supplies, meaning they'd obtained it far too easily.Wu Jinliang had thought nothing of it—what mattered was getting the goods. But after successfully selling the supplies in the city, the leader found it odd again that the transaction had gone so smoothly.He argued: Anyone who could gather so many supplies in the exile land must have considerable strength and influence. Even if they couldn't retrieve the stolen goods, they should at least have the courage to demand an explanation. If it were Dong Jiuyuan that had been robbed of such a large amount, they'd stir up trouble by leaking news to attract covetous eyes, even if they couldn't fight back. Yet everything had gone so smoothly that not a single unusual whisper was heard.Later, the lookout they'd left at the robbery site reported back—after guarding for several days, no one had come to investigate or track them down.The "merit" exchanged for the supplies was exactly enough to buy freedom for everyone in Dong Jiuyuan. Faced with this number, the leader had frowned and fallen silent for a long time.Knowing no reason could stop the excited crowd from leaving, he said nothing more, distributing the "merit" fairly to everyone.After the commotion died down and everyone left, the leader watched their departing figures and suddenly bowed deeply in a long salute.Wu Jinliang had seen his eyes redden—he seemed to be crying.The leader had turned away, as if not wanting to be seen, and Wu Jinliang had pretended not to notice.In the end, only the two of them remained. He'd thought he understood why—the leader was smitten with the daughter of Bowang Tower's shopkeeper, a fact known to everyone. She came to the nearest city to settle accounts roughly every three months.Waiting to see her one last time before leaving made sense. Even if he couldn't get her contact information outside, he at least needed to say goodbye—otherwise, he'd never be able to forgive himself.But to his surprise, the leader had made other plans, saying their staying might serve as bait. If someone had deliberately sent them the supplies to let them leave, they'd surely come to investigate when they found the two hadn't departed.Wu Jinliang had thought the leader was overthinking—who would be kind enough to send so many supplies to let them escape this wretched place?Yet someone had indeed come. They'd traced it back and uncovered Shen Youkun as the mastermind behind it all.Why would Shen Youkun do such a thing? It was incredible. With plenty of time before the shopkeeper's daughter arrived, they'd decided to investigate out of boredom—and that's how they'd ended up here.No matter how much he pleaded, Shi Chun was determined to keep risking it, continuing forward: "With so many people to feed every day, plus the large amount of supplies secretly sent to us, I refuse to believe all this expense is for nothing. We just can't see the point yet. I'm sure we'll figure out his trick in the end."Wu Jinliang was so anxious he wanted to stamp his feet. Catching up, he urged again: "Even if there's a trick to the skeleton, we can't handle it or take it with us. It has nothing to do with us—it's not worth risking our necks for."Shi Chun turned to him and asked: "Where do you think Shen Youkun got all these supplies so suddenly? Did he save them up?"Wu Jinliang shook his head—he didn't believe it. After leading Dong Jiuyuan for years, they'd only sent dozens of people to the city. Shen Youkun had been exiled here for just two or three years, yet the supplies they'd "stolen" alone were enough to free over a hundred people, not to mention the daily expenses for so many men. None of this could be easily accumulated in such a poor place.Where did it come from, then? They both knew the answer—probably from the city gate checkpoint. After all, exiles were divided into classes, and such things were not uncommon.But so what? Were ants like them qualified to question those in control of the checkpoint? They could try if they wanted to court trouble.Thus, Wu Jinliang countered: "Does it matter where it came from? Chun, let's go—it has nothing to do with us."Shi Chun: "Nothing to do with us? With Shen Youkun's connections outside, do you think he'll let us off easily even after we leave? Especially since he took the initiative to send us away—can you really feel at ease? If he can smuggle so many things in, how hard would it be for him to ask someone outside to deal with us?"At this, Wu Jinliang's heart skipped a beat. He whispered hastily: "What do you want to do?"Shi Chun leaned in and replied softly: "The supplies clearly came from questionable sources, and something shady is going on here. If we find out what's really happening and get our hands on something useful, we'll have more room to maneuver."Wu Jinliang nodded thoughtfully, instantly dropping his objections—though he couldn't help complaining: "Chun, why did you have to provoke Shen Youkun of all people? Now, while others leave happily after earning enough 'merit,' we're stuck living in fear."Shi Chun sighed: "Do you think I wanted to? Damn it, who knew he actually had connections?"It was a thing of the past. When Shen Youkun had first been exiled here, he'd acted differently from ordinary people—arrogant and condescending, flaunting his family background to intimidate others wherever he went. Most people, thinking about their future, didn't want trouble and avoided him.That's why some exiles stripped of their cultivation could still command local natives with cultivation—their backgrounds held weight.As time passed, Shen Youkun grew bolder, acting more and more recklessly. Eventually, he crossed paths with Dong Jiuyuan and ran right into Shi Chun.Shi Chun's reputation in the area was no joke—he wouldn't tolerate such arrogance. Yet out of fear of Shen Youkun's background, he'd still shown courtesy.But Shi Chun wasn't easily intimidated. He couldn't just take Shen Youkun's word about his background—he had to verify it. So he imprisoned Shen Youkun, still treating him to good food and drink, while telling him to contact his family through the city gate checkpoint.But after repeated attempts, Shen Youkun had never been able to prove his background.The consequences were predictable—"Damn it, he lied to me!" Shi Chun had made him pay. He'd long had his eye on the fine clothes Shen Youkun had been exiled in; first, he'd stripped Shen Youkun naked in public, subjecting him to endless humiliation and abuse.He hadn't killed Shen Youkun then—he'd wanted Shen Youkun to know what it was like to live worse than death. He'd spread the news that Shen Youkun was a liar and handed him over to the authorities.He'd thought Shen Youkun was doomed, but word came back that Shen Youkun was being treated like royalty.A little investigation revealed the truth—Shen Youkun really did have connections outside, and they'd finally made contact with the checkpoint.Shi Chun had been dumbfounded. After learning more, he'd realized: Shen Youkun's background was real, but the checkpoint was also powerful—no family's connections could easily bypass it. That's how the misunderstanding had arisen. By the time the Shen family had smoothed things over with the checkpoint, Shi Chun had already thoroughly offended Shen Youkun.Later, Shen Youkun had repeatedly gathered groups to take revenge, but never gained the upper hand.Fed up, Shi Chun had found a way to teach him a severe lesson, and Shen Youkun had finally calmed down.There had been chances to kill Shen Youkun, but Shi Chun had held back. Killing him would have changed everything—his family could reach into the checkpoint, and they'd never let the matter rest. If they got serious, it would be easy for the checkpoint to cut off his means of survival—anyone could do it.