"Who's there, dawdling around for what?"
A sudden shout came from the fork ahead, and a figure wearing a woven mask turned out from the junction, pointing distantly at two men, one tall and one short, in the dim light.
This mine-like tunnel had more than one passage; because the exact location of the target wasn't known at the start of the excavation, a group of native monks had been digging blindly underground for a couple of months. It wasn't until they found the target that they focused on digging in one direction, hence the numerous forks in the tunnel.
It was the dillydallying pair, engrossed in chit chat, with obviously sluggish steps and a languid air, which had attracted the Supervisor's questioning.
As Wu Jinliang had put it before, is what we're doing too overt?
Either way, upon hearing the shout, they both tensed up, and spotting the Supervisor, they immediately bent their backs, ready to run forward and admit their mistake, sycophantically syncing their actions.
But the Supervisor was truly annoyed by their evident laziness and disregard for his authority, and with a swift move, he lashed out with his whip at Shi Chun's face, aiming to teach a lesson.
Human nature and temperament can be so self-centered sometimes.
The act left Shi Chun quite displeased; as far as he knew, whether miners or Supervisors, they were all recruited by Shen Youkun to work. It was just a different division of labor, none of them a stable job. Since they were all in this together for the time being, why be so unnecessarily vindictive?
Wu Jinliang was taken aback and offered no reaction, not helping or trying to intervene. Such a trivial matter, he believed the Master could handle himself.
Shi Chun's instinct was to dodge and even retaliate, to make the other party see some colors; his shoulder pole almost flew out in response, but considering the current situation, he held back, not wanting to provoke further and escalate the noise.
He decided to let the other party vent their anger and so stood still without moving or trying to dodge.
But he couldn't let the whip lash his face without any reaction; what if it disfigured him? He thought there might still be a possibility of making a living off his looks in the future.
He lifted a hand, blocking it in front of him.
Whack, the sound of the whip cracking, the pain caused Shi Chun to grimace, and as he quickly pulled back his hand to look, a bloody whip mark was visible on his arm, swelling with blood at an alarming rate. Enraged, he hadn't expected the Supervisor to strike with such force.
Half of his skin was gone, and Wu Jinliang too grimaced in sympathy, looking as if it pained him as well.
Still, Shi Chun bit the bullet and bowed to the Supervisor, who had moved closer, wanting to downplay the situation.
"Speak, what were you dawdling for?" The Supervisor's whip jabbed at Shi Chun's chest and then turned to prod Wu Jinliang, pressing, "Don't fancy the job anymore, eh?"
Shi Chun hurriedly said, "Wasn't dawdling, wasn't dawdling, noble sir, calm your anger," showing off the bloody arm to the Supervisor pitifully, hoping the latter would let it go.
But the Supervisor was still furious: "You think I'm blind?"
Wu Jinliang quickly said, "Truly wasn't dawdling, I just twisted my ankle, that's why I was slow."
The Supervisor pointed to his own ear, "It seems you think I'm not only blind but deaf as well. You two buzzed along so happily; you think I didn't notice? Fine, you want to play tough, sure, I won't make it hard for you. You can stand there and chat all you like as long as no one else has objections. Chat, go on, keep chatting."
The comment made both the tall and short man's faces change subtly. They had been looking to exploit any loopholes here; how could they stand around allowing passers-by to take notice of them? They were afraid that Shen Youkun's arrival would make things even more problematic – were they really going to tie him up and take him hostage? Unless absolutely necessary, they didn't want to take someone hostage.
Shi Chun immediately started to plead, "Esteemed sir..."
"Don't move!" The Supervisor's shout interrupted, his whip pointing to Shi Chun's feet that intended to step forward to bow, "Didn't you hear me? I said stand there and take your time chatting. Go on, keep discussing."
Shi Chun stood still, his eyes from behind his hanging hair locked onto the Supervisor. Then he gave Wu Jinliang a look.
Wu Jinliang dropped his shoulder pole with a clatter on the ground and, under the sudden scrutiny of the Supervisor, dropped to his knees, tears streaming down, "I'm wrong, I've got elders above, little ones below, I'm relying solely on the pay from this job, kind sir, please show mercy and forgive me this once..."
He continued to wail and crawl forward, hugging the Supervisor's legs and begging.
So easily brought to tears? The Supervisor was taken aback, demanding "Stand aside", trying to push him away, yet the other clung on.
Wu Jinliang continued to cling and sob his way up.
The Supervisor soon realized something was wrong as he found both of his hands abruptly held at the waist, unable to break free despite his best efforts.
Sensing danger, just as he tried to knee the clinging person away, a chill suddenly touched his neck, and he noticed the metallic gleam on his chin, still chillingly bright in the dim light. He could already feel the pain of a cut along his neck.
Feeling the threat, he dared not move at all.
Shi Chun had somehow fished a small knife out of nowhere and pressed it against the Supervisor's throat, his shoulder pole also dropping to the ground.
The Supervisor, now anxious, said, "What are you trying to do?"
"Shut up!" Shi Chun warned.
The Supervisor whispered quieter, "Everything is negotiable..."
Shi Chun, who had moved behind him, lifted his bruised arm and covered the Supervisor's mouth beneath the mask, silencing him with action as the blade on his neck unhesitatingly slashed out a spray of blood, not giving the other man a chance to panic.
Wu Jinliang had foreknowledge like a soothsayer, and a moment before the blood splattered, he somersaulted away from beneath its spray.
The Supervisor, who had struggled with all his might and cultivation, was pinned to the ground. Shi Chun's knee pressed hard against his lower back, and with a hand over the mouth, a resounding snap was heard as he twisted the neck.
While the Supervisor's body continued to convulse, Shi Chun, who had wiped his blade clean, had already stood up, now looking toward the depths of the mine. Faint footsteps were approaching; he whispered, "Someone's coming, get rid of him quickly."
This was why he had resolutely decided to kill the Supervisor; with people coming and going, if he were to be delayed, he would lose his chance to blend in.
Without hesitation, Wu Jinliang hurriedly picked up the Supervisor's still twitching body and ran, heading toward the fork in the path where the Supervisor had come from.
Shi Chun quickly hid his dagger under the cloth covering his thigh, swiftly pulled a woven mask over his face from beneath his basket, tied black cloth strips around his arms, picked up the Supervisor's whip, hastily stacked two loads of baskets to the side, and turned to sweep the ground with a kick that brought up dust to cover the fresh blood.
Just after dispersing the dust with a wave of his hand, he saw two men dressed as Supervisors approaching briskly.
Passing by, the two had no intention of interacting with Shi Chun, even though there were two sets of stacked baskets nearby, which they took no notice of; however, an unusual scent made them halt one after another, their nostrils flaring.
One of them spoke in a deep voice, "The smell of blood!"
The other nodded and looked around; both quickly turned their gaze toward Shi Chun on the roadside.
Shi Chun remained calm and composed, lifting his arm where the blood hadn't yet dried, and with a slight pressure in his voice, said, "Playing with the whip, I accidentally hurt myself."
He wasn't feigning composure; he truly wasn't panicked.
The two Supervisors, having seen his injury, felt both reassured and somewhat astonished.
Not waiting for their further questions, Shi Chun took the initiative to change the subject, "What are you up to?"
One Supervisor explained, "Checking the progress of the excavation. There shouldn't be much earth left to move. We're thinking of discussing with Mr. Shen whether there's a need to carry it all the way out—maybe just dump it into another tunnel. It would save time and effort and speed up the excavation."
"An excellent point," Shi Chun nodded his agreement and gestured nonchalantly for them to go.
The two Supervisors promptly left.
Shi Chun, watching them go, then turned back to look toward the depths of the mine, thinking, it's no wonder that no miners carrying heavy loads had come out in a while.
Wu Jinliang's figure immediately appeared from the fork, hurrying to Shi Chun's side and speaking in a low voice, "It's done, anything wrong?"
Shi Chun replied, "It's all because of your incessant nagging; if you hadn't kept whispering, we wouldn't be in this trouble." He pointed at the stacked baskets to the side, signaling Wu Jinliang to pick them up and leave.
Wu Jinliang was somewhat reluctant, "Why is it always me playing the role of the laborer? Shouldn't we take turns?"
As they walked, Shi Chun retorted, "Have you seen a Supervisor as tall as you? Are you afraid you won't stand out enough?"
The remark silenced Wu Jinliang; indeed, a towering figure like his was too conspicuous among the Supervisors and wouldn't escape notice.
In fact, his unusual height had previously aroused the suspicion of the other miners. It wasn't as if they were blind and wouldn't be suspicious, but the false Supervisor Shi Chun would appear on the scene later to prove that Wu Jinliang was a recent arrival, dispelling the miners' doubts.
When facing the scrutiny of the Supervisors, they applied the same technique. If they encountered anyone too wary to deceive, their method of dealing with it was simple—take them out.
After surveying the personnel situation in the area, they had blended in effortlessly; not sticking out, staying hidden when necessary, at times together, other times apart. Shi Chun even alternated between the roles of a miner and a Supervisor, nimbly switching identities on the fly.
In Shi Chun's words, this East Nine Plain was their territory!
In any case, they hardly did any actual work, running around the underground mine, scouting everywhere, virtually flaunting their presence in broad daylight.
They were, of course, not without preparation—with the resolve: deal with it if possible, run if not!
But Wu Jinliang, trailing behind, still sighed, "We've taken down another one. If this keeps up, with fewer and fewer people, it will be difficult not to get caught."
"Can't you keep your mouth shut?" Shi Chun turned back to scold him, warning him that this wasn't a place for idle chatter; they had almost run into trouble just now.
No sooner had he said this than he quickly turned back forward, just as a figure darted by, moving so fast it nearly collided with them.
The approaching figure was also a masked Supervisor who paused to dodge the two men before rushing off again.
In such a hurry? Shi Chun sensed that the Supervisor's reaction was amiss; he wouldn't miss an opportunity for reconnaissance and immediately extended a hand to stop him, asking, "Why the rush?"
"I've found something; I need to inform Mr. Shen." The other man replied dismissively, pushing past the arm that blocked his path, and quickly moved away.
"Found something?" Shi Chun muttered to himself, then turned to exchange puzzled glances with Wu Jinliang, both surprised.
Hadn't the thing already been found? Wasn't it just an unidentified skeleton? Was it worth such a fuss?
Realizing there might be something more, and having come this far, they naturally didn't want to miss out. They both instantly moved, heading straight towards the end of the mine.