Feitian Shu laughed, a rough, unrestrained sound.
"Ha! I've been out of the jianghu for years now. Didn't expect my name to still be floating around."
Wang Chenggong stared at him, momentarily at a loss for words.
He truly hadn't expected to meet such a senior rebel from Hengshan here—someone whose name he had heard long before he himself took up arms. A surge of admiration welled up in his chest, rising like floodwater breaking through a dam.
"Brother Feitian Shu," Wang Chenggong said at last, unable to hide his curiosity, "after you joined Wang Jiayin's main force, you vanished completely. Everyone thought you were dead. Who would've imagined… you'd be here?"
Feitian Shu's expression dimmed slightly.
"It's a long and unlucky story," he said slowly. "Back then, I followed Wang Jiayin into Hequ County. When we attacked the city, I was right at the front, climbing the walls."
Wang Chenggong nodded instinctively. "That sounds like you."
Feitian Shu let out a dry chuckle. "I was wounded badly. Too badly. For months, I couldn't even get out of bed."
His voice grew calmer, flatter.
"Then the imperial army surrounded Hequ. Wang Jiayin broke out with his men… and left me behind. I was injured, immobile, lying there waiting to die."
Wang Chenggong opened his mouth, then closed it again. "This…"
Feitian Shu continued, as if recounting someone else's misfortune.
"I mixed in with the tens of thousands of old people, women, and children who couldn't escape. The officials saw I was weak and sick, assumed I was just another useless mouth, and handed us all over to Censor Wu Shen."
He paused.
"Wu Shen then transferred us to Shi Kefa. We marched and marched… and eventually arrived here."
Only then did Wang Chenggong truly understand.
"So you've been here a long time?" he asked.
Feitian Shu scratched his head. "A few years. One, two… bah, who cares. It's been several years."
Wang Chenggong hesitated, then lowered his voice. "Brother… your injuries—are they still not healed?"
"They healed ages ago," Feitian Shu replied casually.
"Then why didn't you escape?" Wang Chenggong blurted out. "This place doesn't look very heavily guarded."
Feitian Shu stared at him as if he'd heard something ridiculous.
"Escape?" He laughed. "Why would I escape?"
He gestured around. "There's food. There's shelter. Life's stable. Why would I go back to wandering the mountains, eating bark and dodging troops?"
Wang Chenggong's eyes widened. "Good food? Good shelter? Isn't this a labor reform camp? I heard if you don't work hard enough, they shoot you in the head with a flintlock."
Feitian Shu looked genuinely confused. "Who told you that?"
"Regional Commander Luo Xi," Wang Chenggong replied. He quickly recounted what had been said during their surrender and transfer.
Feitian Shu burst out laughing.
"That?" he said. "That was Shi Jian's lie."
"Lie?" Wang Chenggong froze.
"He made it up," Feitian Shu explained. "If he didn't scare Luo Xi into believing you were already doomed, the court would've demanded your execution. That story saved your life."
Wang Chenggong's mind went blank. "Saved me?"
"Of course," Feitian Shu said. "Didn't Shi Jian ask why you didn't charge alongside the Mongols? Your answer pleased Dao Xuan Tianzun. That's why you're still breathing."
Wang Chenggong stood there, completely stunned.
Before he could ask more, Feitian Shu suddenly straightened and waved toward the distance.
"Warden Zhong's coming."
A group of guards approached, led by a middle-aged man with calm eyes and an easy gait.
Feitian Shu leaned in and whispered, "That's Zhong Gaoliang. He treats people well. Everyone here respects him. Don't offend him—if you do, the other prisoners will deal with you first."
Wang Chenggong felt his head spin.
Prisoners… protecting their warden?
Zhong Gaoliang stopped in front of them and spoke plainly. He asked a few questions, then nodded.
"Wang Chenggong," he said, "you and your two thousand men are new here. I don't yet know your individual skills, and you're unfamiliar with this place. For now, I'll assign you to land reclamation."
He pointed toward the slopes beside the valley.
"These hills are being cleared. The soil will be prepared and planted with corn, sweet potatoes, and potatoes. You don't know how to plant yet, so your task is to prepare the land. Feitian Shu's group will handle planting."
Feitian Shu smiled. "No problem."
Wang Chenggong stood stiffly, not knowing how to respond.
Feitian Shu gave him a light shove. "Answer him."
"Huh? Yes! Alright!" Wang Chenggong said hurriedly.
Zhong Gaoliang smiled faintly. "I know you have many questions. Ask Feitian Shu. He's been here a long time—he knows everything."
With that, he left.
Only then did guards arrive to arrange housing.
More than two thousand men were assigned rooms, eight per room. Hundreds of rooms were opened in orderly rows.
Wang Chenggong stared in disbelief.
Only now did he realize just how vast the Thirty-Two Labor Reform Valley was. So many rooms had been allocated with ease—and there were still many left unused.
Feitian Shu grinned proudly. "Impressive, right? My people built all this. Back when we fought, we threw our lives away without hesitation. Now we build houses with the same attitude."
Wang Chenggong could only laugh awkwardly.
Suddenly, a deep, rhythmic sound rolled across the valley.
Thump—thump—thump.
Wang Chenggong stiffened. "What's that noise?"
"Oh, it's time for the news," Feitian Shu said.
"News?" Wang Chenggong echoed. "What's that?"
"Gaojia News," Feitian Shu explained. "Entertainment, information—it's how we know what's happening outside. Come on, gather your men."
Wang Chenggong did so.
People poured out of every dormitory, merging together. Soon, more than five thousand people gathered and moved toward a large plaza.
At the center stood an enormous object—a massive Immortal Treasure Mirror.
Wang Chenggong stopped short. "What… is that?"
Feitian Shu chuckled. "A Divine Mirror. Sent down from the Heavenly Palace by Dao Xuan Tianzun. It lets you see events a thousand li away."
Wang Chenggong stared. "You're joking."
Before he could say more, Zhong Gaoliang stepped forward. He swiped his finger across the mirror's surface. Strange square icons appeared. He tapped a few.
The mirror lit up.
An enormous image filled the screen.
Gao Yiye.
Her figure loomed larger than life.
Wang Chenggong gasped. "By the heavens—this must be a goddess!"
Feitian Shu corrected him calmly. "She's the Saintess."
Gao Yiye began to speak.
"Today is the nineteenth day of the sixth month, in the sixth year of Chongzhen. First, news from Huanglong Mountain…"
Her voice echoed across the plaza.
"All labor reform prisoners from Valley Eighteen, united in purpose, have completed the breakthrough of the 'Hard-to-Reach' Great Steep Slope, driving a cement road straight through it and turning a natural barrier into a thoroughfare…"
Wang Chenggong stood frozen.
For the first time in his life, he realized—
This world was nothing like he thought.