The few former dandies nearby had never witnessed such a bloody scene. They scrambled back in a panic, and just as one was about to scream, Xu Yunfan raised his Iron Pickaxe. In the dim torchlight, the blood splattered across his face made him look like a demon.
"Scream again, and I'll kill you too!"
Cui Ye frantically clamped a hand over his mouth, staring at Xu Yunfan in terror. The other three or four men scrambled out of the mine tunnel as if their lives depended on it.
Catching the stench of urine in the air, Xu Yunfan frowned. Forcing down his discomfort, he bent over and hastily took the food and two waterskins from Jiang Yu's body.
'I have to find a place to bury this guy. The Supervisors patrol at random times. If they discover Jiang Yu was murdered, they'll start asking questions. If Cui Ye rats me out, I'll be completely on the defensive.'
As for whether Cui Ye's group would report him to the Supervisors...
Xu Yunfan wasn't the least bit worried. For descendants of disgraced officials like them, snitching to a Supervisor was a death wish.
For the scions of disgraced officials exiled to this place, death was only a matter of when, not if.
The mines operated on their own set of Rules. A Supervisor could question you, but you could never question a Supervisor.
Most of the people sent down here were heinous criminals; they wouldn't just let you run your mouth. The Mining Supervision Office had its own system.
Many of those sent down were influential nobles. All it would take is a few promises to the Supervisors to stir up trouble.
Why would the Mining Supervision Office ever allow that?
He licked his lips, took a large gulp from a waterskin, and quickly composed himself before dragging Jiang Yu toward a nearby mine tunnel.
A good while later, the men who had fled in a blind panic finally came to their senses, unsure of how far they had run. One of them was panting, his eyes bloodshot and full of malice.
"That bastard... How dare he? He's a twig! It's not like we couldn't have taken him!"
The others gradually collected themselves, their hearts filling with a mixture of shame and fury.
Xu Yunfan looked scrawnier than any of them, yet they had been so stunned by the viciousness of his one strike that they hadn't dared to move forward.
"That son of a bitch."
Cui Ye cursed, raising his Iron Pickaxe to charge back, but was pulled to a stop by one of the others.
"Wait. We need to be smart about this. If he puts up a desperate fight and one of us gets injured, we won't survive for long down here."
The conditions in the mines were abysmal. An open wound had almost no chance of healing; it would just fester and rot.
And if you expected the Supervisors to help? They were more likely to whip you to death on the spot.
"Why don't we tell the Supervisors? That servant committed insubordination, killing his own master! It's lawless! An unforgivable crime!" one man said bitterly.
Another scoffed and sat down with a thud.
"We're the sons of traitors. You think a Supervisor will listen to you?"
The man who had spoken fell silent, reluctantly dropping the idea.
Cui Ye's gaze was cold, his fingers clenched around his Iron Pickaxe.
"There are four of us. You're telling me we can't take on one man?"
He turned to look at the others.
"I'll go in first. Are you still too afraid?"
He couldn't stomach being publicly humiliated by Xu Yunfan like that. He wouldn't let it go. The memory of Xu Yunfan's face filled him not only with fear, but also with immense resentment.
"Let's go! Let's go! I won't rest until I've drunk his blood and eaten his flesh!"
Hearing this, the others hesitated no more. They all tightened their grips on their Iron Pickaxes and headed back the way they had come.
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Xu Yunfan dragged Jiang Yu's corpse into the deepest, most silent part of the mine tunnel.
He took a breath, washed down half a piece of hard bread with water, and recovered some of his strength.
He raised the Iron Pickaxe again and swung it without the slightest hesitation. The tool struck down, carving a huge gash in the ore below. The force of the impact bounced the pickaxe high into the air. He tightened his core, his shoulders and arms shifting with the motion.
The Iron Pickaxe traced an arc through the air before falling heavily onto the iron ore at his feet.
By using the rebound, he could maintain maximum efficiency with minimal exertion.
In the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, he had already dug a small pit.
Xu Yunfan paused, a hint of surprise on his face. 'Every swing of the Iron Pickaxe feels easier now. I'm using the rebound force to my advantage, and it almost feels effortless.'
'The basic mining skill is already this good. I wonder what will happen when I reach a Skill Level of 500 and advance.'
After burying Jiang Yu's body and erasing any trace of the deed, Xu Yunfan was about to leave when he froze. He turned his head to the side. A pair of eyes, hidden in the shadows, was watching him intently.
'Those eyes...'
His interest piqued, Xu Yunfan moved a little closer.
When he could make out the man's sharp, angular features in the gloom, Xu Yunfan's expression flickered.
"King of Yan?!"
Li Haomiao, the King of Yan, of the Great Zhou Royal Family.
Memories from this body's previous owner surfaced—memories of the King of Yan, Li Haomiao. The last time his predecessor had seen him was at a banquet in the Jiang Mansion, hosted by Jiang Yu's father, Elder Jiang Pushe.
The number one Martial Dao genius of the Great Zhou Royal Family, a True Disciple of the Taoist Sect, a gifted statesman, a profound scholar, benevolent, and charitable...
He had held all these titles and more. Tall and straight as a pine, with sharp Sword Eyebrows and eyes like stars, he possessed a natural heroic air. His every gesture exuded a charm that was impossible to ignore—the very picture of perfect handsomeness.
His eyes, in particular, were so clear and bright they were unforgettable.
Now, this King of Yan was missing three of his four limbs. His left arm was all that remained, but a scar stretched from his wrist to his elbow—the tell-tale sign of a severed tendon.
His face was marred by three gruesome, terrifying scars, as if drawn by a knife.
If not for those eyes, Xu Yunfan would never have recognized him.
He remarked with a sigh, "To think the King of Yan would end up in these mines. That Empress is truly vicious."
'Though he didn't know the full details of what had transpired in the Jade Capital, he was certain the Empress was behind the King of Yan's fall. Who else could have had a member of the Royal Family mutilated into a human stump and left to rot in the mines?'
'Still, Xu Yunfan surmised that when the Empress of Great Zhou took power, she would have had to purge the Court and install her own loyalists. How else could a woman secure her throne?'
'Li Haomiao, with his impeccable royal pedigree, would have been a natural target. The rumored crime was conspiracy to commit treason by colluding with the neighboring Daqian Dynasty, and the punishment was the loss of both legs and an arm.'
"Demoness..."
Li Haomiao's eyes shifted. Leaning against the wall, he glanced at Jiang Yu's burial spot before his gaze fell upon Xu Yunfan.
"Power flows through both your arms, your stance is fluid as a wave. Every strike with the pickaxe is precise, fast, and strong. You have a good foundation."
As he spoke, Li Haomiao raised his chin slightly, his cracked lips twitching.
"The son of Jiang Ming, the Left Pushe. What happened to him?"
"Oh, he was exhausted from mining and was looking for a place to rest. Unfortunately, he slipped, hit his neck on a sharp rock, and died. I'm just taking care of the body for him."
Seeing Xu Yunfan's completely straight face, the corner of Li Haomiao's mouth twitched. His eyes then shifted to the piece of hard bread peeking out from Xu Yunfan's shirt.
Noticing his gaze, Xu Yunfan silently tucked the bread further into his shirt, hiding it completely.
"..."
A brief silence fell over the mine tunnel. Xu Yunfan wore a slightly sheepish grin.
"King of Yan, if there's nothing else, I'll be on my way."