The tunnel at the end of the mine had been excavated into a "T" shape because they had dug into the middle of a skeleton, and then began to dig to the left and right along the reclining body of the skeleton, which exposed the entire tail end. The current excavation status was focused on uncovering the head.
According to the size and scale of the skeleton, given the current pace of excavation, it was estimated that it would take about half a day longer.
At this moment, the excavation noise had paused, and a buzzing crowd had gathered, discussing animatedly. Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang, who had hurried over, could hear the commotion from afar as they walked between the ribs of the skeleton.
The skeleton was very large and long, with no claws found thus far, suggesting it might be a type of gigantic serpent. The length alone, already uncovered, approached nearly thirty yards.
The color of the skeleton was also somewhat strange—half black and half translucent, reminiscent of ink jade.
"Is it glowing? What exactly is this?"
"Could it be that the glowing thing is what we're supposed to dig up?"
"Do you think this thing could be worth a lot of money?"
The tall and the short one ran to the back of the crowd and heard various discussions. Some were curiously chatting, while others whispered conspiratorially, as if plotting something.
In any case, the crowd in front was tightly packed, blocking the view. Some stood on their toes craning their necks, and others even jumped up like gibbons, hanging from the upper skeleton to get a better view, effectively making it difficult for any latecomers to see what was going on up front.
Shi Chun immediately started tapping shoulders, "Excuse me, let me through, please…"
Some people made way, others were slow to react, and some just shrugged in the tight squeeze, indicating it was difficult to move. Others sized him up, with an expression that said why should they make way when everyone else was squeezed together.
The hastily formed group was indeed lacking proper manners.
Seeing such reactions, Shi Chun, not indulging their behavior, lashed out with his whip, making whooshing sounds as it struck, eliciting yelps and strange cries, along with angry shouts and questions about why he was hitting them.
Shi Chun didn't bother to answer; he just wanted to see clearly what was going on up front.
Sometimes, violence indeed worked better than politeness, as it at least made everyone hastily clear a path for him, no matter how tight the squeeze.
That whip did indeed carve out an air of authority that shouted East Nine Plain was his turf.
Following behind, Wu Jinliang's nerves trembled slightly, sweating a little from anxiety, wondering if such public display was too much.
He realized that the Master didn't see himself as an outsider at all, not the least bit courteous, completely lacking the cautiousness of a stealthy thief.
When he decided to infiltrate this group, he thought he would need to dodge and weave thrillingly throughout, but after joining, he found he might have overthought it. He felt the Master had twisted the plot a bit, and now, it was ridiculously askew.
The crowd was indeed too large, and even following the Master, he couldn't make it to the front. He was blocked again by people squeezed from the front row, but luckily, being tall enough, he could finally see what was happening up front, and his eyes widened in shock!
Shi Chun, naturally, had made his way to the front, where the Supervisors, hearing the whipping noise behind them, turned to look and, recognizing one of their own, quickly returned their focus upward.
Shi Chun, looking upward, widened his eyes incredulously.
On the rib-like dragon bone skeleton, there lay yet another skeleton, resting atop the dragon bone, not completely excavated and partly buried in the earth, still discernible from its partially exposed fierce outline as a serpent's head, though whether it was the head of this dragon bone was unknown.
Whether it was or not didn't matter—what fascinated everyone was the seemingly third eye socket above the two eye holes on the serpent's head, which was unclear whether it was another eye socket.
What captivated everyone was that inside this concave bone socket, which resembled a third eye, was a cluster of floating purple nebulous mist, like a mini nebula composed of numerous tiny Purple Shining Nebula stars, constantly changing shape. It drifted like flowing clouds, at times staring back like countless eyes, or fluttering like myriad enchanting butterflies, strikingly beautiful.
The Purple Shining Nebula was almost as large as a person, because someone was standing on the serpent's head bone trying to touch the nebula, serving as a size comparison.
Indeed, he was very bold—having no idea whether the Purple Shining Nebula was harmful, yet daring to touch it while many held their breath and watched intensely.
Those who could see knew this nebula was no ordinary thing; it might be the true treasure the employer was seeking to excavate.
Some were secretly curious—this employer was really bold, leaving such a marvel unguarded; did he truly believe no one could steal it?
On either side of the serpent's head bone, people excitedly swung their pickaxes at the soil, attempting to unearth the entire serpent's head. The soil and rocks continuously fell with clattering noises, luckily, the heavy moisture deep underground prevented much dust.
The Supervisor touching the nebula moved his hand back and forth inside it, stirring in various ways, yet seemingly unable to affect the nebula, occasionally uttering surprised "eh eh eh" sounds.
Shi Chun, irritated by his "ehs," cursed him inwardly, itching to know what exactly was going on.
Finally unable to hold back any longer, he slapped his whip against his waist, ready to leap up and try for himself.
Suddenly, a Supervisor in the front row cried out, "Everyone get down, stop digging, and stop touching it too, get off, everyone come down, wait for Mr. Shen to decide."
The Supervisor and several miners who had been chipping away immediately jumped down one after another.
This move was akin to pouring a bucket of cold water on Shi Chun's itchy head. He stared at the Supervisor who had spoken, somewhat unsure about the man's standing. If the man truly held a position of authority, it would be quite risky for him to disobey openly, as it could expose him.
Yet, like everyone else, from the moment he saw the Purple Shining Nebula, he was convinced that it was the primary target of this excavation. After all, he had personally inspected the skeleton and found nothing noteworthy. Any earlier doubt he had was now answered.
Although the Land of Exile was legendary, with many illustrious figures having fallen there, and he had heard numerous moving legends, this was his first encounter with the spectacle of the Purple Shining Nebula. He knew immediately it was extraordinary.
The emergence of this object made Shi Chun naturally assume that he did not have much time left.
He had previously mistaken Shen Youkun's target to be the massive Dragon Bone, which would be difficult to transport and thus posed a significant challenge. However, if the target was this nebula, taking it away would likely be much easier.
That is to say, the goal was achieved, and it seemed the excavation would likely end soon.
The consequences of ending were stopping work and closing up, after which the workers would inevitably be consolidated. Once consolidated, his ability to slip through cracks and manipulate things from within would no longer be viable, and any reduction in numbers would be immediately noticeable.
All these were secondary to him. He had the courage to face direct confrontation since he had dared to come. The real problem was that his purpose for infiltrating was not yet accomplished—was the operation to end just like that?
He knew Shen Youkun was up to no good, but he had not managed to catch Shen holding the smoking gun. Leaving the Land of Exile, he knew Shen would not let him off.
What use was digging up some treasure as leverage? Many in the Land of Exile dug mines for money.
If he could not articulate his accusations clearly, he could not use them to threaten anyone.
Could he really threaten Shen Youkun with his suspiciously large supplies? Perhaps another more powerful figure could manage, but he was a small fry against a force that could extend its hands into the city's gates; using it as leverage was almost laughable.
Therefore, his attention returned to the Purple Shining Nebula. If he could figure out its function, there might still be a chance.
However, he also understood that even if he managed to get close to the nebula, identifying its function immediately was highly unlikely.
Without other options, he might just have to find a way to snatch it and then decide on his next moves.
The problem was that he hadn't even laid hands on it yet; he vividly remembered how the Supervisor had interacted with the nebula.
Since Shen Youkun was here for this object, he must have a way to secure it. If all else failed, he would just have to wait for Shen to take it and then try to snatch it from him.
However, with the opponent having more people and power, causing a commotion could get messy. Though, he might use the few Supervisors who had been killed to his advantage, inciting the crowd by claiming Shen Youkun wanted to silence everyone...
In a flash, his mind whirred with myriad strategies, deciding to try interacting with the nebula first.
Facing the unknown without even attempting was not his style.
There was no time to delay, and he knew he had little time left. The Supervisor he had encountered on the road had already gone to inform Shen Youkun, who would be arriving shortly.
Luckily, he could also speak. With a sudden thought, he raised his voice, "Mr. Shen is arriving shortly. Mr. Shen has spoken, only two should remain on site, everyone else must immediately retreat to the corner and wait."
While speaking, he grasped a whip in his hand, stepped forward, and turned to face the crowd, shaking the whip slightly in a somewhat dismissive manner.
There were too many people around. If he could somehow take the Purple Shining Nebula, it seemed inappropriate to steal it in front of so many.
He wasn't sure if this bluff would work, but regardless, he decided to go for it and see.
He was the one who had pushed his way to the front with the whip, recognizable from a wound on his arm. Many remembered, some showing dissatisfaction from having been whipped.
Seeing this, Wu Jinliang felt a headache coming on. This fellow was starting his antics again.
"You are..." the Supervisor who had just given orders asked hesitantly.
Seeing the suspicion in his eyes, Shi Chun's gaze flashed. Prepared to adapt rapidly, he decisively changed his premeditated plan. Raising his whip, he pointed it at him and cut his words off, "You stay here with me to oversee, everyone else turn the corner and stay out of sight."
Then, whipping to signal the other Supervisors to enforce it, "Mr. Shen has business to attend to, you all watch the others later and do not allow anyone to peek."
Everyone thought, what else could be happening? They just wanted to claim the valuable Purple Shining Nebula without letting everyone see how it's done.
The ordering Supervisor, hearing he could supervise on-site, was significantly relieved. Putting his doubts aside for the moment, he waved his hand to the others, "Let's follow Mr. Shen's instructions and move aside!"
Other Supervisors immediately started shouting, driving the crowd back.
Now grasping the whip behind his back, Shi Chun secretly sighed in relief. Fortunately, it worked.
In the crowd, Wu Jinliang was slightly baffled, mistakenly thinking there was a chance for him. He did not expect it to be others who would stay. What did this mean?
After catching Shi Chun's glancing signal, though unsure why, he turned and complied, blending in with the group.