Scouting the Ground

Cheng Buzheng didn't step forward to stand up for the Middle-aged Man, either.

His gaze stayed fixed on Huang Li. He planned to tail him and find that Mine Overlord, Wang Daba, so he could fleece him a little.

Fleecing a fat sheep like that gave him no pangs of conscience at all. He thought about it with a smug grin.

Meanwhile, the arrogant young man was taking Spirit Stone Raw Ore from the Middle-aged Man's basket and loading it into his own. He took nearly half before weighing it in his hand and finally stopping!

At the sight, the Middle-aged Man's eyes turned red. In the end, he silently closed them.

A stubborn tear trickled from the corner of his eye.

Such examples of the strong preying on the weak were merely one corner reflected in the vast world of cultivation.

Cheng Buzheng knew the Middle-aged Man was at fault, terribly at fault. His mistake was having a low cultivation.

The arrogant young man hoisted his large basket and walked deeper into the tunnel. He had no idea that a little tail was stealthily following behind him.

Along the way, Cheng Buzheng occasionally saw miners greeting Huang Li, but Huang Li didn't even spare them a glance, his face full of disdain.

It was clear that the Mine Overlord, Wang Daba, had built up his prestige over a long time. Even his lackey acted as if all of this were only natural.

A quarter of an hour later.

The arrogant young man reached a cave entrance. Two cultivators stood guard outside, and they nodded to each other.

Then he didn't go straight in, but called out softly:

"Brother Ba..."

He knew better than to speak too loudly or too softly. He had the precise measure of it down pat.

After all, the last time, one of the underlings had spoken a little too loudly and disturbed Brother Ba's cultivation. He'd been beaten so badly he was almost unrecognizable. A lesson written in blood.

"Come in!"

A domineering voice rang out from within.

The arrogant young man had not a trace of his usual arrogance now. He entered the cave with his head bowed and his eyes lowered.

They didn't notice that, three zhang beneath the rocky ground, a streak of yellow spirit light followed him into the cave.

The arrogant young man entered a cave roughly three zhang across.

A middle-aged cultivator with a stern expression sat cross-legged on a relatively flat rock. A pile of Spirit Stone Raw Ore lay in the corner.

"How did it go?"

"Big Brother, that kid Guo Daniu eventually handed over the Spirit Stone Raw Ore obediently, under your fearsome reputation!" He then recounted the whole thing.

At this point, the arrogant young man suddenly seemed hesitant.

"But... Big Brother, we're not short on Spirit Stone Raw Ore. Why collect his protection fee for next month already?

What if that stirs up defiance among the other miners... wouldn't that be more trouble than it's worth?"

"Haha..." Wang Daba said, rather pleased, "I didn't expect you to think things through so much now, Little Huang. Not bad... not bad!"

Huang Li quickly followed up with flattery. "It's all thanks to your guidance, Big Brother. Otherwise... how could I have thought so much about it?"

"Hmph!"

Wang Daba's mood was as changeable as the weather, his expression shifting in an instant.

"Of course I did that... to warn Guo Daniu. He thinks he can sneak around and contact Song Laoer from No. 6 Mine Tunnel without me finding out?

If I don't teach him a lesson, he won't know how many eyes King Ma has!"

Hearing this, Cheng Buzheng more or less understood what had happened, and he was even happier.

He'd worried that if he kept fleecing the same person, he'd have a hard time getting away with it after a few times. Now it seemed there was at least one more sheep. He wondered whether No. 1 and No. 2 had any sheep, too.

He reckoned there probably were. After all, where there were people, there was strife—especially when the profits were so rich. He couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

"This mission was worth taking!"

Having gotten this unexpected surprise, Cheng Buzheng had no interest in listening any longer. He now knew that Wang Daba stored his Spirit Stone Raw Ore in this cave.

It wasn't a good time to act yet. He planned to scout the places where the other Mine Overlords in the Spirit Stone Mine Cave stored their hoards.

When the time came... Just thinking about it made him grin from ear to ear!

Cheng Buzheng didn't dawdle. He slipped out of the tunnel occupied by Wang Daba, then sent out a thread of Divine Sense, ghostlike, to watch what was happening aboveground!

From time to time, he saw miners swinging their Mining Picks, working hard to dig up Spirit Stone Raw Ore.

Suddenly, he spotted patrol cultivators in the distance and jumped in alarm. He hurriedly withdrew his Divine Sense and sank another three zhang, reaching a depth of six zhang in total.

That was more than enough to ensure that the patrol cultivators wouldn't find him unless they searched deliberately.

Besides, he wasn't stupid enough to wait around for the patrol cultivators to catch him when they searched carefully. By then, he'd have long since run far away.

Cheng Buzheng wandered around, memorizing every branch of the tunnel, then investigated them one by one.

He searched for a long time without encountering a single guide, which left him a little frustrated.

Cheng Buzheng didn't hesitate. He returned to the end of the main tunnel and stared at the eight Branch Mine Tunnels before him, lost in thought.

"Counting from left to right, Wang Daba has occupied the seventh Branch Mine Tunnel. The eighth and final tunnel hasn't had any guides so far.

"So this time, I'll start with the Sixth Branch Mine Tunnel and check them one by one from there.

"If I weren't wearing these sect robes, I could easily fish for them and find their Spirit Stone Raw Ore storage spots. I was careless—I should've changed clothes!

"Never mind. I'll check them out first. As long as I figure out when they collect protection fees, it'll be easy to find a guide."

At that thought, a streak of yellow spirit light shot toward the Sixth Branch Mine Tunnel from three zhang beneath the rocky ground.

This time, he didn't investigate every nook and cranny. He made a rough circuit, found no guides, and promptly slipped out of the Branch Mine Tunnel.

As time passed, his scouting went smoothly enough, but the results were disappointing.

Cheng Buzheng was investigating the Second Branch Mine Tunnel. He still hadn't seen a single guide in the first four Branch Mine Tunnels, which left him somewhat disheartened.

As the saying went, when you reach the mountain, a road appears; when the boat reaches the bridge, it will straighten itself out.

Suddenly.

"Fellow Daoist Meng, hand over this month's protection fee!"

A voice rang out aboveground.

Cheng Buzheng, who'd been about to leave, stopped dead. He thought to himself:

"Guide... Do you know how hard I've been looking for you?"

"Brother Li, could I pay the shortfall next month?

"There are only a few days left before my payment is due. Right now, after setting aside the Spirit Stone Raw Ore I need to turn in, I'm still a little short!"

"I'll speak to Big Brother about your situation. Whether he agrees or not, I can't say... If Big Brother doesn't agree, don't make things difficult for me!"

"Of course... I'd never make things difficult for you!"

Cheng Buzheng listened quietly to the conversation above, waiting for the guide to retrace his steps.

That way, he could quickly find out where the Spirit Stone Raw Ore was stored.

Then he heard a burst of rustling, which was probably the sound of the Spirit Stone Raw Ore changing hands.

Not long after—

"All right... I'll be off. Big Brother gave me until today to collect all the Spirit Stone Raw Ore.

"I'm pressed for time and have a heavy task ahead. I'll get back to you later!"