Chapter 8: Embracing a Bright Future
In the dark mine tunnel, Lu Ye walked along with the old man while inspecting the contents of the storage bag.
He quickly found some Qi and Blood pills and a few healing pills. Just like with Manager Yang’s storage bag, there was yet another messy assortment of bottles and jars that Lu Ye didn’t recognize.
There were also a few more ores but they were not as good as the ones Manager Yang collected.
Zhou Cheng’s status was not as good as Manager Yang’s, so his life’s savings were likewise not as great.
But Lu Ye was already very satisfied; after all, he only happened to pick this stuff up.
He transferred the long sword in his hand into the storage bag and tied it around his waist.
With this storage bag for cover, the storage bag that he kept close to his body would be safer.
He wanted to ask the old man about cultivation and the uses of the various spiritual pills he had obtained, but after thinking about it, he gave up on the idea. Although the old man was a senior and seemed to have a cordial and kind personality, no one could say for sure exactly what his temperament was truly like. In addition, Lu Ye wasn’t in any position to ask him for advice since they had only met by chance; there was not much of a relationship between them.
Lu Ye’s absolute top priority at the moment was to follow him out of the mine tunnel. If he inadvertently offended the senior through a slip of his tongue, he would be kicking himself in the foot with no one but himself to blame.
As he lead the way in front of Lu Ye, the old man did not seem to be walking fast. Despite this, Lu Ye actually needed to jog to keep up with him. Occasionally, the old man would suddenly disappear but he always returned not long after.Lu Ye guessed that he had discovered several hidden Evil Moon Valley disciples along their path and was killing them pre-emptively.
The mines tunnels were so criss-crossed and the terrain was so complex that even Lu Ye would normally have to put in some effort to discern the correct route when he went through the many intersections. But the old man seemed to be casually strolling through them as he pleased. Nonetheless, every turn he chose was correct.
After only half an hour, Lu Ye saw light coming from ahead!
That was the exit of the mine.
As the old man walked out of the dim mine tunnel and they both embraced the light of day again, Lu Ye couldn’t help but be in a daze. He actually gave birth to a wonderful feeling of being a human being again.
“Elder Tang!”
At the exit of the mine tunnel there were several figures standing guard. They were cultivators from the various sects of the Great Heaven League who were stationed there to prevent the disciples of Evil Moon Valley from escaping.
One after another each of them immediately saluted as soon as they saw the old man appear.
The old man nodded slightly.
One of the leading middle-aged cultivators looked at Lu Ye suspiciously and asked: “Elder Tang, he is…”
The old man said: “A disciple of the Mysterious Heaven Sect that was destroyed a year ago. He was abducted and taken here as a mining slave. He helped me out a little so I brought him with me on my way out.”
The middle-aged cultivator understood, and raised his hand to beckon to a young cultivator next to him: “Bring him to register in our records.”
“Yes!” The young cultivator heard the order and said to Lu Ye: “Follow me!”
Lu Ye turned his head to look towards Elder Tang. He wanted to thank him, but Elder Tang was already far out in the distance.
The middle-aged cultivator who had just spoken had followed Elder Tang closely and said: “Elder Tang, Deputy Leader Pang has an order. Since you’ve come out, please go see him. There are important matters to discuss.”
Elder Tang stretched out his hand and stroked his beard, complaining: “I’m a handful of old bones, but can’t rest for a moment.”
After saying this, he soared into the sky and disappeared in a flash.
At this time, Lu Ye was already heading in another direction under the leadership of the young cultivator. The cultivator had no intention of socializing with Lu Ye while Lu Ye had always been the type that felt silence was golden.
Lu Ye smiled knowingly when he recalled what Elder Tang had just said.
‘This old man is a really good person.’ He thought.
Lu Ye didn’t help him in the mine tunnel. On the contrary, he was the one who had benefitted from the old man’s kindness. But Elder Tang had just said as such, obviously deliberately.
For a senior expert like him, a casual word could solve Lu Ye’s many troubles.
Such as the storage bag hanging from his waist!
For Lu Ye right now, this thing was actually a bit troublesome. When he had taken the storage bag from Zhou Cheng’s corpse, Lu Ye had already expected it would be as such.
He had already planned to part with it if someone from the Great Heaven League saw this storage bag. After all, his current social status was just one of Evil Moon Valley’s recently-freed mining slaves. Furthermore, he still had to ask for help from and depend on others for the time being.
Only when he had a stable home and backing could he keep all the real good things on him. Besides, in the grand scheme of things, Zhou Cheng’s storage bag was nothing to cry over.
But with the casual remark of Elder Tang just then, he was no longer afraid that anyone would come up with the idea of stealing this storage bag from him.
In the end, he was not able to thank him in person. It made Lu Ye feel a little bit regretful, but he also felt that there would always be a chance in the future.
Outside of the mine was a huge valley, surrounded by mountains on three sides. The only road to go in and out was on the Eastern side. At that moment, the valley was lively and crowded.
Lu Ye looked around and saw that there were many traces of battle in the valley, and there were still some wet blood stains on the ground. The whole valley reeked of the pungent smell of blood.
It seemed that when the Great Heaven League conquered this place, the people of Evil Moon Valley had suffered severely.
Large flags were planted all over the valley. Different words and patterns were engraved on the flags, which Lu Ye thought should represent different sects and families.
Under the banners were swarms of people, all bustling about with activity.
According to the information Lu Ye had, the Great Heaven League was an extremely large umbrella organization. There were many different types of organizations that composed the League, including countless large and small sects and families. The forces he saw in front of him at the moment were only a tiny fraction of all the ones in the Great Heaven League.
The Myriad Demon Ridge, which opposed the Great Heaven League, had the same structure.
After regaining his freedom, Lu Ye was in a good mood; he felt renewed and invigorated when he saw everything. Meanwhile the young cultivator who led the way in front of him had to urge him to keep up several times.
Their destination was a corner of the valley where many people were gathered. Unlike the vividly dressed cultivators Lu Ye saw along the way, most of those gathered here were covered from head to toe in grime. They looked malnourished and sickly, with some seeming to be in a distressed and extremely emotional state. It was particularly apparent in some of the beautiful young women.
The grimy, grey-coated people were all former mining slaves who worked in the mineral veins. Years of hard labour and malnutrition made them look like fleeing refugees.
But not all the people captured by Evil Moon Valley would be put to work in the mines. There were also some beautiful women whose experiences were generally more miserable. Now that the mine had been captured, they had been rescued. But the memories of their tragic experiences were doomed to be impossible to escape from.
Seeing this group of people, Lu Ye immediately understood that they were all people who had been forced into slavery by the Evil Moon Valley. Now that they had regained their freedom, they were gathered together here for some unknown reason.
In the front of the group of people, there was a table. Behind the table, a chubby young-looking cultivator was leaning back on a chair and napping with his arms folded.
The young cultivator who led Lu Ye came forward and tapped lightly on the table.
The fat cultivator was startled and almost fell off his chair. After he saw the person in front of him clearly, he patted his chest: “You kid, you really scared me to death.”
The young cultivator was speechless and whispered: “Brother Pang, although handling registration is a cushy job, you can’t act like this. If the adults in the league were to see you…”
Before he could finish his words, the fat cultivator waved his hand impatiently: “Every single day, you’re as long-winded as a bitch.” After a pause, he asked, “What’s the matter?”
The young cultivator moved aside, revealing Lu Ye behind him: “Register him in the books and investigate his identity.”
The fat cultivator was so obese that his eyes were almost made invisible by the fat on his face. But the moment he saw Lu Ye, his originally small eyes suddenly became very large as they fixed on the storage bag on Lu Ye’s waist.