Sangjin led Chen Mo, Nangong Xue, four bodyguards, and a group of Armed Militants to a mine in the valley not far from the stronghold.
Though it was supposedly nearby, the drive still took more than half an hour in fits and starts. The roads were simply terrible, and the mine lay deep in the virgin forest, with practically no roads along the way—nothing but untouched wilderness.
Fortunately, there were quite a few Guards at the mine, enough to ensure the safety of the mining operation. Besides that, most of the miners were prisoners.
These prisoners were mostly people captured after each conflict, along with villagers from Mountain Village settlements whom General Chafei had seized while sweeping through the surrounding areas.
They were all pitifully thin, little more than skin and bones. They wore nothing but cloth shorts, and some simply had a strip of cloth wrapped around their waists.
After Chen Mo and the others entered the mining area, the workers merely gave them numb looks before returning to their work.
Chen Mo was no saint, so he was hardly surprised. Besides, these were not his countrymen. They could do whatever they wanted.
However, Nangong Xue could not bear to look at them. It had been the same the last time she came, but there had been nothing she could say. Seeing this again, she still revealed an unhappy expression, though she said nothing. She knew well enough that some matters were not for her to interfere with.
Besides, everything that existed had its reasons. Since it had a reasonable side, it had a reason to exist.
She glanced at Chen Mo beside her, only to find that he showed no expression at all. He had not even spared the miners a second glance.
Nangong Xue immediately pouted and