"I trust Yunkui Summit, I trust Sect Master Yixuan, and I also trust Aunt Swee— sis!"
After leaving those words behind, the worker Wang Meng headed back.
Arden assured him that within three days, the workers would receive a clear explanation, with Sweety acting as guarantor.
"Brother Arden, who's responsible for the mine?"
Ju Fufu was clearly angry. Delaying the mine's operation was one thing—it just meant earning fewer Dennies—but ruining Yunkui Summit's reputation was unacceptable.
Even the medical expenses of injured workers were being withheld. That was truly infuriating.
"Who else could it be? That guy Yi Jing."
Yi Jing was an executive deacon of the Administrative Hall, and all matters of operation were under his responsibility.
"No idea what kind of tricks he's pulling this time."
Arden didn't bother hiding his disgust for Yi Jing. After all, the fact that he and Martial Uncle Yi Jing didn't get along was something even the feral cats of Yunkui Summit knew.
The drop in shop performance before the personal disciple assessment, Yunkui Summit's financial crisis, and now the trouble at the Meffer Mine—both were under Yi Jing's responsibility. If someone said Yi Jing wasn't at fault, Arden wouldn't believe it even if Ju Fufu's tiger fur were plucked bald.
"Fufu, let's go! We're heading back to the mountain gate!"
Still, this wasn't something he and Ju Fufu could decide on their own. Ultimately, it had to be settled by their master, Yixuan.
…..
After returning to Yunkui Summit, Arden immediately informed Yixuan about the Meffer Mine.
Yixuan then summoned Yi Jing and questioned him about the situation.
"Sect Master, and my two martial nephews, you've wronged me… I only just received the news myself. I already dispatched disciples the day before yesterday to investigate. It just takes some time."
Yi Jing defended himself, keeping his posture extremely low. Especially that term "martial nephews"—it was so sickeningly ingratiating that Ju Fufu and Arden both broke out in goosebumps.
This Yi Jing… has he changed his nature?]
Watching Yi Jing constantly explain himself, so completely different from his uual attitude, the thought surfaced in Arden's mind.
Impossible!
The moment it appeared, Arden dismissed it.
A dog doesn't stop eating shit. When things behave abnormally, there must be something fishy going on. Arden was far more inclined to believe Yi Jing was plotting something.
"I understand. You may go back."
Since nothing useful could be gleaned, Yixuan dismissed Yi Jing.
"Fufu, Arden, I'll have to trouble the two of you to make a trip."
As the sect leader, Yixuan knew full well that she couldn't listen to only one side. She had to investigate thoroughly before making a decision.
"Yes!"
"Master, just wait for our news."
…..
Returning to Waifei Peninsula, arriving at Failume Heights, Arden and Ju Fufu—guided by the worker Wang Meng—boarded a ferry and ascended to the Aerospace Island where the Lemnian Hollow and the Meffer Mine were located.
"Traveling back and forth between the mine and Failume Heights is really inconvenient. It'd be great if there were a cable car."
After spending quite some time reaching the Meffer Mine, Wang Meng voiced a small complaint.
In reality, there was a cable car connecting Failume Heights and the Lemnian Hollow mining area—but it was an asset of Porcelumex, and they certainly wouldn't allow their competitors to use it.
"Careful!"
As they entered the Lemnian Hollow and headed toward the Meffer Mine, Ju Fufu suddenly shoved Wang Meng, who was leading the way, to the ground.
Clang!
At the same time, Arden drew his sword and swung it to his side.
Pfft~!
An incoming ether missile was shattered midair.
Immediately after, Arden pulled a talisman from his pouch and tossed it into the sky.
"Celestial Talisman Arts: Thunder!"
Boom—!
A bolt of lightning descended from the heavens, blasting an Ethereal that had been hiding in the shadows and launching long-range sneak attacks into dust.
Roar—!
However, in the blink of an eye, even more Ethereals surrounded them.
"…"
Arden frowned slightly.
"Looks like we came at the wrong time."
Being attacked by Ethereals the moment they neared the Meffer Mine, Arden couldn't help suspecting that New Eridu's protagonist had switched from the video-rental siblings to him.
"Or you could say we came at exactly the right time!"
Ju Fufu, on the other hand, looked excited, clearly itching to show off her skills.
…..
With Arden's and Ju Fufu's abilities, normal Ethereals—and even Elite Ethereals—were no match for them.
Ju Fufu swung Hu Wei or sat on it while spinning, clearing out any Ethereals that approached. Arden protected Wang Meng while flinging talismans, eliminating distant Ethereals and any that slipped through.
Before long, they had cleared several waves of Ethereals.
What Wang Meng had said earlier was true—Ethereal attacks at the Meffer Mine weren't strange, but attacks of this scale and frequency were highly abnormal.
"Brother Arden, over there is…"
After clearing another wave and rescuing trapped workers, a group of people approached from the direction of the Meffer Mine.
They were all wearing apricot-yellow Daoist robes. Like Ju Fufu and Arden, they were Yunkui Summit disciples here to clear Ethereals.
"Senior Sister, Second Senior Brother… you finally made it!"
A chubby young man at the front greeted them familiarly.
Bu Lü, Yi Jing's senior disciple, along with the seven or eight disciples behind him, were all Yi Jing's students.
If quality was lacking, quantity made up for it. Sect Master Yixuan had only four personal disciples, but Yi Jing had more than a dozen—and he still intended to recruit more, accepting anyone who came.
If most outer disciples hadn't preferred joining under Sect Master Yixuan, Yunkui Summit would probably have been completely filled with Yi Jing's disciples by now.
"Hello, Junior Brother Bu Lü."
Arden cupped his fists in greeting, far friendlier than he ever was toward Yi Jing.
Although Bu Lü was Yi Jing's senior disciple, Arden had a fairly good impression of him.
"How's the situation at the mine? Tell me about it."
When Yi Jing said he had "sent disciples to investigate," he had been referring to Bu Lü and the disciples behind him.
Sigh—
Hearing Arden's question, Bu Lü let out a long sigh. "What else can we do? Just do our best to clear Ethereals and protect the workers… a few brothers even got injured because of it."
"It's great that the two of you came. Now we don't have to worry anymore!"
Seeing Arden and Ju Fufu, Bu Lü visibly relaxed.
When it came to fighting Ethereals, aside from Sect Master Yixuan herself, the strongest in all of Yunkui Summit were Arden and Ju Fufu—the couple who openly showed affection every day and who absolutely deserved to be burned at the stake—cough—the most powerful pair among their peers. Even their master Yi Jing fell far short.
"Mm, let's go inside and talk."
Arden glanced around. They were extremely close to the mine now, and the mining equipment and structures were already visible.
…..
Inside the mine's rest area, Bu Lü gave Arden and Ju Fufu a detailed account of the current state of the Meffer Mine and the difficulties it faced.
In short, the situation was extremely grim.
"There's nothing I can do. We can only rely on Senior Sister and Senior Brother."
Bu Lü spread his hands, decisively tossing the burden of solving the problem onto Arden and Ju Fufu.
"We'll do our best to resolve it."
Arden didn't shirk the responsibility. After all, he and Ju Fufu had come here precisely to completely resolve the Meffer Mine's predicament.
"However, the treatment and compensation of the workers must be properly handled."
"Rest assured. Before you two arrived, I had already made arrangements."
"Very good."
Arden nodded in satisfaction at Bu Lü's reply.
Compared to the operation of the Meffer Mine, Yunkui Summit's reputation was far more important.
The mine belonged to the Mayflower family. Yunkui Summit only held operational rights and a portion of the profits. Prestige, however, was the true foundation that allowed Yunkui Summit to stand against Porcelumex in Waifei Peninsula.