Helper

A foreman happened to pass by and saw the scene. He smiled and asked Gao Shiping, "Martial Uncle, who is this? It actually requires you to personally accompany him." Yue Qianchou dismissively turned his head aside, as if he hadn't heard.

Gao Shiping's expression, however, darkened. He reprimanded the foreman, "Don't be rude. This is your Martial Uncle Yue Qianchou. He merely made a small mistake and is temporarily assigned to work here. He'll be returning soon. How can you compare him to ordinary miners?"

"Martial Uncle Yue, Martial Uncle Yue," the foreman said with a fawning smile. His expression seemed insincere, and he muttered to himself that this must be the Yue Qianchou who had offended the Sect Master. If this was considered a small mistake, then most of the miners here would be considered innocent.

"Junior Brother, don't take his words to heart. Come, let's go to my place for a couple of drinks," Gao Shiping invited.

Yue Qianchou cupped his hands and smiled, "Then I'd be more respectful to obey!" The two laughed heartily, slinging arms around each other as they walked towards the guards' quarters, immediately attracting many gazes. Especially among the miners, their eyes shone with envy.

The guards lived a comfortable life. With a single command, good food and wine were quickly laid out on a table in a clean wooden house. Both were in good spirits, frequently raising their cups and drinking heartily, back and forth.

Miners were allowed one rest day every three days. There was a reason for this, of course: the labor intensity of mining was simply too great, and most miners' cultivation levels were below Foundation Establishment. Without rest, many would likely be worked to death before long. This was not a job that ordinary mortals could do; if given to mortals, they would probably only dig a few stones a day. Rest was naturally one of the methods to ensure mining output.

As they sat at the table, Yue Qianchou let out a satisfied burp and said, "It's quite a coincidence. Junior Brother, before I joined the sect, I had considerable experience in mining. If Senior Brother Gao trusts me, on the last day of every three days, please continue to keep an eye on the cave entrance for Junior Brother."

Gao Shiping understood the implication of these words and his eyes immediately lit up. The two laughed heartily again and spoke frankly. Finally, Gao Shiping insisted on escorting him, and Yue Qianchou couldn't refuse the warm invitation. As a result, the former directly sent the latter to his cave dwelling.

The arrival of 'Gao the Butcher' startled the other three people in the cave dwelling, who quickly scrambled to their feet. The two, exhaling alcohol fumes, affectionately called each other senior and junior brother, truly envying the onlookers.

Seeing his junior brother's living conditions, Gao Shiping frowned. He patted his chest and promised, "Junior Brother, please bear with it for now. Tomorrow, I will definitely find you a cleaner place to live. This matter is on my shoulders."

After 'Gao the Butcher' left, the attitude of the other three towards Yue Qianchou changed significantly. They became much more reserved and no longer dared to turn their backs to him.

Yue Qianchou understood. He glanced at the three and suddenly noticed a bloody scar on Shi Xiaotian's back, clearly from being whipped by the Wolf Fang Whip. He couldn't help but ask, "Shi Xiaotian, what happened to your back?"

Hearing his name, Shi Xiaotian quickly scrambled to his feet again to answer his Martial Uncle. Having witnessed the relationship between Yue Qianchou and the foreman, he dared not act as he did before. It turned out that Shi Xiaotian's task was short by a hundred low-grade Spirit Stones, and according to regulations, he was to be whipped once with the Wolf Fang Whip. This injury was a punishment.

Seeing that he had spoken, Yue Qianchou asked a few more questions. Shi Xiaotian answered them one by one.

It could be said that Shi Xiaotian was unlucky. His family was originally nobility in the Huaxia Empire. Because of his naturally good aptitude, he was taken notice of by a Core Formation stage cultivator of the Qingguang Sect, who wished to accept him as a disciple. Cultivating immortality was a rare and sought-after fortune in the Huaxia Empire, so his family happily agreed to the cultivator. Thus, Shi Xiaotian went to the Qingguang Sect. With his good aptitude, he reached Qi Refining Level Four in his first year. However, in his second year, his Master was killed by someone unknown at the foot of the mountain. The worst part was that he and a certain Elder's grandson simultaneously fell for the same female disciple. Being young, they inevitably engaged in some bickering over the woman, which angered a certain Elder, who then kicked him down here.

Upon hearing that his Master had also died, Yue Qianchou looked at him a couple more times. When Shi Xiaotian spoke of fighting over a woman, he couldn't help but laugh. Looking at Shi Xiaotian again, he felt a sense of kinship. Thus, he had the idea of helping him.

"Tomorrow, you'll go dig Spirit Stones with me!" After saying this, Yue Qianchou sat cross-legged and closed his eyes.

Shi Xiaotian was stunned. Although he was reluctant, he didn't dare say anything else. It wasn't until many years later, when he recalled that night, that he couldn't help but sigh at the immense joke fate had played on him. His destiny had taken a complete turn starting from that night.

The next day, Yue Qianchou, who had been sitting cross-legged, fell asleep without realizing it. In his dream, he was intimately entwined with someone bathing in the forbidden area. Perhaps he had listened to Shi Xiaotian's story of fighting over a woman, and his thoughts manifested in his dreams. Otherwise, why would the Immortal sister, whom he hadn't dreamed of for a long time, reappear? When he woke up with a yawn, the sun was already high in the sky.

Wiping the drool from the corner of his mouth, Shi Xiaotian's dirty face was filled with unconcealable anxiety right before him. Seeing that the other two in the cave dwelling were gone, Yue Qianchou smiled with satisfaction. He would never mistreat those who listened to him.

"Martial Uncle, you're awake. It's almost noon, let's hurry!" Shi Xiaotian had wanted to leave long ago. If it weren't for his concern about Yue Qianchou's relationship with Gao the Butcher, he wouldn't have been seen here now.

Seeing the two sets of mining tools laid out before him, Yue Qianchou grunted and walked out empty-handed. Shi Xiaotian picked up the two baskets and followed. The former glanced at him but said nothing, inwardly nodding. If Shi Xiaotian lacked even this bit of awareness, he wouldn't be worth helping.

The area around the Spirit Stone mine had already become deserted. Apart from some guards, only a few people could be seen at the entrance of the mine.

"Martial Brother Yue, you've really made me wait!" Gao Shiping, seeing the approaching pair at the cave entrance, laughed heartily. Yue Qianchou also waved and walked over, smiling, "How dare I trouble Senior Brother to come in person? I was just drinking too much yesterday and felt a bit tired, so I overslept."

"And this is?" Gao Shiping asked curiously, seeing Shi Xiaotian behind him.

Yue Qianchou said with emotion, "There's strength in numbers! I specifically found someone to help, so I'm more confident in completing the task."

"Ha! I believe in your abilities, Junior Brother, and you won't disappoint me," Gao Shiping said, his words carrying a deeper meaning that perhaps only Yue Qianchou could understand. He then took out something wrapped in a banana leaf and said, "Junior Brother, you'll be going in for another three days. Here's some food, take it with you!"

Smelling a meaty aroma, Yue Qianchou thanked him and took it. The other foremen almost popped their eyes out. When had 'Gao the Butcher' become so thoughtful? Some even suspected that the two had some homosexual tendencies.

The other foremen also called him Martial Uncle Yue affectionately. After inspecting the two late miners, they were allowed into the mountain cave. Even Shi Xiaotian, following behind him, benefited greatly. The cold and ruthless Gao the Butcher even nodded and smiled at him, which was truly a once-in-a-millennium event.

Yue Qianchou slowly ambled towards the deepest part of the mine. Shi Xiaotian, following behind, wished he could kick him. Half the day was almost gone, and he was still unhurriedly dawdling here.

He walked all the way to the cave entrance he had dug yesterday and stopped. He smiled and said, "Didn't you eat breakfast? This is all my fault for oversleeping. Come, eat something first. Once you're full, you'll have more energy to work." With that, he opened the banana leaf package, revealing a large piece of fragrant, golden-brown roasted meat, and tore off half to hand to Shi Xiaotian.

Yue Qianchou took a bite and nodded. Mmm! It tasted really good. He liked Gao Shiping, who could handle things diligently after receiving payment. Unlike some people in his previous life who took things but didn't deliver, he hated those types the most.

As they were eating with relish, they suddenly heard crying. Shi Xiaotian was holding the large half of roasted meat and crying his eyes out. Yue Qianchou was stunned and asked curiously, "What are you crying about?"

"Replying to Martial Uncle, I haven't eaten meat in a long time. I miss home," Shi Xiaotian said, wiping his tears and choking.

"What a child!" Yue Qianchou swallowed the meat in his mouth and said, "Damn it! I thought you were crying about something else. Stop being a crybaby like a girl. Eat up quickly! Once you're done, we have work to do."

Thus, the two squatted in the deepest part of the mine, devouring the roasted meat, the sounds of chewing echoing. After eating, Shi Xiaotian patted his belly happily. Yue Qianchou told him to grab his tools and led him into the cave he had dug.

When Shi Xiaotian saw exposed Spirit Stones all around the cave walls, his eyes widened. He couldn't believe it. Looking at the mine, it was clear that someone had dug here before, but why were the Spirit Stones right before his eyes being ignored? Of course, he didn't know that these were leftovers from Yue Qianchou, things he was too lazy to pick up.

Yue Qianchou pointed to the depths and said, "I discovered this. There are more inside, all with exposed Spirit Stones like here. Just a little effort will be enough for our three-day task. Xiaotian, if I let you mine alone to fulfill two people's three-day quota, can you do it?"

Shi Xiaotian nodded excitedly and said, "Martial Uncle, don't worry. You can rest on the side; I can handle it alone. Mining these Spirit Stones doesn't take much effort."

"Damn it! Do you think I brought you here to slack off?" Feeling misunderstood, Yue Qianchou's facial muscles twitched as he explained, "I'm not handing this place over to you so I can rest. I'm going to find better veins. We can't just take care of today and ignore the future!"

Hearing that Yue Qianchou was going to find better veins, Shi Xiaotian immediately patted his chest vigorously and said, "Martial Uncle, rest assured! Leave this place to me."

These words sounded like comforting someone about to die. Yue Qianchou rolled his eyes and said, "Don't go out for these three days. Stay here and mine with peace of mind! I'll bring you food. Remember to dig cleanly and don't waste the exposed Spirit Stones." After Shi Xiaotian agreed, he couldn't be bothered to say anything else. He turned and went out to find a good spot to mine high-grade Spirit Stones.

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