Chapter Fifty-Two: The Southern City Mine

“We’re here…”

Led by An’an, the three of them arrived atop a hillside.

“Where is this?” Lin Cheng and his companion looked at An’an in confusion.

“This is the Southern Mine,” An’an replied.

“Is this the dowry that the Qiu family promised to marry you?” Qiu Yingying asked.

An’an scoffed, “Qiu Yan is dreaming. He’s a lecher who relies on his status as the young lord to bully men and women all day long…”

Qiu Yingying teased her, “Wouldn’t it be nice if you became the young lord’s wife in the future?”

An’an retorted, “Qiu Yingying, I see what you’re up to. You’re hoping I’ll get married so you can have Lin Cheng all to yourself…”

“That’s nonsense…” Qiu Yingying protested, a blush spreading across her cheeks.

Only Lin Cheng seemed to enjoy the playful banter between the two girls.

“I’ll never marry. I want to follow Brother Lin Cheng for the rest of my life…”

“Brother Lin Cheng doesn’t want An’an to marry someone else, right?” Sensing Qiu Yingying’s embarrassment, An’an clung to Lin Cheng’s arm, her sweet voice nearly making him weak at the knees.

“You… Shameless!” Qiu Yingying wanted to do something too, but her shyness kept her in check.

Seeing that she had bested Qiu Yingying, An’an lifted her chin in triumph.

Lin Cheng tapped An’an’s forehead. “The two of you can never behave when you’re together… So, why did you bring us here?”

As he spoke, Lin Cheng surveyed the mine ahead.

The mine was surrounded by mountains, nestled as if in a basin. From here, they could faintly see figures moving about, hauling stone out of the quarry and busily working.

Supervisors wielding whips paced among them, shouting orders, while squads of soldiers patrolled the perimeter.

“Hurry, hurry…”

“Move it! If you delay the work, you’ll pay with your lives…”

“Worthless rabble, days have passed and you haven’t produced a single spirit stone…”

“If the young lord is displeased, I’ll make an example of you myself…”

…

Watching the exhausted miners below—some so overworked they coughed up blood yet still forced to labor under constant abuse—Lin Cheng felt a surge of anger.

“These are soldiers from the City Lord’s Mansion, aren’t they? To oppress the people so—truly despicable…” Lin Cheng said.

An’an replied, “Of course. The Qiu family’s actions have long earned the resentment of Dragon City’s people, but everyone endures in silence, intimidated by the City Lord’s power.”

Lin Cheng frowned, “Your Dragon City is said to have four great powers. With the Qiu family acting like this, haven’t the other three ever considered joining forces to overthrow the City Lord’s Mansion?”

An’an sighed, “My father has thought about it, but the other two families are stubborn and self-serving. As long as the City Lord’s Mansion doesn’t threaten their interests, they’ll never oppose it…”

“To them, what does the life or death of commoners matter?”

Qiu Yingying agreed, “An’an is right. In this world, families always put profit first. Indifference has become the norm.”

Lin Cheng said, “I can’t right every wrong in the world, but since I’ve witnessed this today, I’ll do what I can…”

He was about to act when An’an grabbed his arm. “I know you have a hero’s heart, Brother Lin Cheng, but now isn’t the best time…”

Seeing their puzzled looks, An’an explained, “The Southern Mine is the largest in Dragon City. It doesn’t yield many spirit stones, but it still brings in several thousand a year—a fortune in the mortal world…”

“The An family has learned that the Qiu family comes to collect the spirit stones only once a year. I estimate they’ll be here in the next few days.”

Lin Cheng asked, “So you want us to ambush them when they come for the spirit stones?”

Qiu Yingying was confused. “Why not just go down now and wipe them out with Brother Lin?”

An’an rolled her eyes. “Do you even know where they keep the spirit stones? More importantly, the Qiu family always stations a cultivator of the Spiritual Realm to guard this mine. Do you have any idea what that means?”

“Spiritual Realm?” Qiu Yingying exclaimed.

Lin Cheng’s eyes lit up, a faint smile forming at his lips.

An’an curled her lip. “Even Uncle Qiu hasn’t reached the Spiritual Realm… And my father says the Qiu family has three Spiritual Realm cultivators in the open, but who knows how many they’ve secretly trained—at least two more, I’d guess.”

Qiu Yingying covered her mouth in shock. “So, the Qiu family has five Spiritual Realm cultivators?”

An’an nodded. “That’s how they’ve kept the three families in check all these years. If my grandfather hadn’t reached the Earthly Spirit Realm two years ago, the An family would already have been swallowed up by them…”

Lin Cheng stroked his chin thoughtfully. “Do you know what level of cultivation the Qiu family’s strongest has reached?”

An’an shook her head. “I’m not sure, but I’d guess it’s about the same as my grandfather.”

Lin Cheng asked, “Your father’s also a Spiritual Realm cultivator?”

An’an nodded.

With a general grasp of the power balance, Lin Cheng felt reassured.

Touching his nose, he said, “Honestly… I’m just a Grandmaster of True Qi, but dealing with a mere Spiritual Realm cultivator isn’t much trouble…”

He thought for a moment before continuing, “But let’s follow An’an’s plan and wait until they transfer the spirit stones before making our move.”

When the girls realized Lin Cheng could face a Spiritual Realm opponent, their eyes sparkled as they gazed at him.

“Hey, hey, if you look at me like that, I’ll get embarrassed…” Lin Cheng said.

“Yeah right… I bet you’re loving it,” the girls said, folding their arms and turning away in unison.

—

That night, the three of them returned to the Southern Mine.

From the hillside, they saw the mine below still ablaze with lights. Supervisors continued to whip the laborers.

Crack!

“Work faster…”

“No slacking! Who told you to stop?”

“Tonight the envoy arrives. If he sees you dawdling, he’ll report to the young lord. If you’re not afraid of losing your heads, I’m certainly not eager to lose mine…”

With each threat, another lash landed.

Hearing these sounds, the three exchanged glances—it was as they’d expected: the Qiu family was sending someone to collect the spirit stones under cover of darkness.

Lin Cheng scanned the mine and noticed that in the northern slope, a tower glowed brightly—clearly the mine’s command post.

He quietly led the two girls up the mountain to the tower, carefully observing the surroundings.

With an arm around each girl’s waist, he leapt down; before An’an and Qiu Yingying could react, they landed lightly atop the tower.

Held in Lin Cheng’s embrace, the girls’ hearts pounded furiously, red-faced as they hastily wriggled free.

Before he could savor the rare feeling of holding such softness, both girls pinched his waist hard, scolding in hushed voices, “Scoundrel…”

Lin Cheng blushed, unconsciously rubbing his nose to hide his embarrassment.

Just as he was about to speak, a dark figure leapt toward the tower from afar, covering the distance in a few bounds.

A cultivator of the Spiritual Realm!

Sensing the newcomer’s power, Lin Cheng’s eyes narrowed.

As if responding to the palpable aura outside, the door of the tower swung open.

A burly man of about fifty strode out.