Chapter 3592 — Sometimes Retreat Brings Peace

Seeing Wretched Senior Brother at a loss, Dai Wuchang pressed on with a cold face: "Just because you're on good terms with some newcomer, you want to arrange for him to get a nice mining zone? Is this Spirit Jade Hall your family's business or something?"

"That..." Wretched Senior Brother was struck dumb by the retort.

Yet Dai Wuchang continued: "Wretched Junior Brother, don't think that just because I, your senior, came out of Qingyun Pavilion, I can recklessly favor our own people from Qingyun Pavilion. Quite the opposite—to keep the other two pavilions from getting any hold over us, I must be all the stricter with my own. The reputation and image of all Qingyun Pavilion is at stake here, so don't blame me for not sparing your feelings!"

The words were spoken with righteous indignation, dragging in even the reputation and image of Qingyun Pavilion, and Wretched Senior Brother was instantly left speechless. He had never been one skilled with his tongue; speaking up in opposition this time had already taken all the courage he could muster, and after such a sudden dressing-down from Dai Wuchang, he simply did not know what to say.

Meng Jueming watched the scene with a look of contemptuous satisfaction. A worthless thing is a worthless thing—if you're a salted fish, then don't ever dream of turning over!

"Since Senior Brother Dai has already put it that way, then we, as his own people, can hardly make things difficult for him over a little private gain, can we?" Meng Jueming feigned magnanimity, then looked coldly at Wei Zhao with a sneer: "Wei Zhao, I'll say it plainly—the contract for Mine No. 10 is yours. If you want to back down now and be a turtle pulling in its head, I won't blame you. After all, sometimes retreat brings peace—that's Wretched Junior Brother's favorite saying, isn't it? You've been running with him these past few days, so I'm sure you've picked up a bit of the essence, hahaha!"

The crowd chimed in with a chorus of jeering laughter. After all, it was Wei Zhao being thrown into the dead Mine No. 10; since it was no concern of theirs, they were naturally happy to enjoy the spectacle. In truth, the newcomers still harbored considerable grievances about being assigned to Mine No. 8 rather than the better Mine No. 7, but they dared not challenge Meng Jueming, so they could only seek a little psychological comfort in the even more miserable Wei Zhao.

Mocked and ridiculed in public like this, Wretched Senior Brother's face flushed bright red at once, but those few words he had spoken earlier had already exhausted all his courage. Now he dared not open his mouth at all, and could only look imploringly at Wei Zhao, hoping Wei Zhao would be wise enough not to suffer a loss in the moment and would hurry off with him.

Yet Wei Zhao only smiled, and looking calmly at the smug, arrogant Meng Jueming, said lightly: "Following Senior Brother Ku, at least I can still learn a thing or two. But following you, Senior Brother Meng—not only would I learn nothing, I might well lose the hen while trying to catch the chick. It seems following Senior Brother Ku is the better choice."

Lose the hen while trying to catch the chick! Meng Jueming's expression changed at once—Wei Zhao's words had struck right at his sore spot. He was still aching over those two pieces of spirit jade he had handed over yesterday, and now his gaze toward Wei Zhao turned wary and suspicious. He could not tell whether Wei Zhao's words were an innocent coincidence or a deliberate jab at his wound!

Of course, even if he knew Wei Zhao was deliberately picking at his scab, Meng Jueming would at most assume Wei Zhao had seen through yesterday's frame-up, and would never imagine that those two pieces of spirit jade had actually been stolen and hidden away in his jade pendant's space.

Wei Zhao paid him no further mind, and turning to Wretched Senior Brother said: "Senior Brother Ku, don't worry about me. I know what I'm doing."

With that, Wei Zhao strode over, took the contract for Mine No. 10 from Dai Wuchang's hand, and with a flourish of the brush signed his own name in bold, flowing strokes.

"Ah!" Wretched Senior Brother shook his head helplessly at the sight, but matters had come to this, and it was too late to stop it now. He could only think of a way later on, to see how he might help Wei Zhao suffer a little less in the mines.

"Hmph. Worthy of the strongest newcomer—truly bold!" Meng Jueming praised with his lips, though his eyes were full of gloating delight and secret relief.

If Wei Zhao had played the turtle pulling in its head now, then even as the managing senior brother, Meng Jueming could at most have gained a verbal advantage and could not truly have made Wei Zhao eat dirt. But now Wei Zhao had signed the contract without a second word—and in the days to come, there would be no end of hardship for him to taste!

Even Wei Zhao, that unlucky wretch assigned to the dead Mine No. 10, dared to sign the contract—so the other newcomers present were all the less likely to shrink back. Three months it was, then, three months; so long as they worked hard enough, there would still be some profit to be had.

Once everyone had signed, each was given a jade token—judging by the material, they were made from the cheapest scrap jade. Each bore a number: everyone else's marked No. 7 or No. 8, while the one in Wei Zhao's hand bore No. 10.

"What you hold in your hands is a passage token. The number on it tells you which mine you may enter; no other mine is permitted," Dai Wuchang instructed them, then sat back down in his seat. Who knew what mechanism he pressed, but the enormous iron door before them began slowly to open of its own accord...

"All right, since you all have your passage tokens, follow me in," Meng Jueming called out, and took the lead through the door. The others exchanged glances, then followed.

Beyond the great door was not the mining zone they had imagined, but a vast antechamber. Inside, apart from four skilled guards in uniform, there were four more staff members whose sole duty was to search the disciples going in and out.

These staff members were specially trained, leaving no corner unchecked from top to bottom, and they conducted themselves with utmost professionalism. Before such a rigorous search procedure, any attempt to smuggle spirit jade out was courting death—there was not the slightest chance of slipping anything past.

Yet Wei Zhao noticed that these staff members all seemed quite familiar with Meng Jueming. When searching the newcomers, they were painstakingly thorough, but on Meng Jueming they merely went through the motions. And earlier, that Dai Wuchang had also clearly sided with Meng Jueming to suppress Wretched Senior Brother. It seemed this managing senior brother was quite well-connected in these parts!

After the search, they passed through the antechamber, and only then did the group formally enter the spirit jade mine. Before their eyes stretched a deep, vast space; from floor to ceiling the mine roof stood a full forty or fifty feet high. It was not the crude little mining pit they had imagined, but plainly a massive mining cavern carefully reinforced and designed. Bright fluorite stones, large and small, were set into every corner of the ceiling and walls, and at first glance it resembled not so much a mine as a mysterious underground world—a feast for the eyes.

And within this deep, vast mining cavern, what now lay before the group were ten mining tunnels leading off in all directions!