Zhang Tie had kept his eyes closed, immersed in his Sea of Consciousness. He conserved his strength while using his ears to monitor everything within and outside the cave.
Two hours later, both the cave and the outside had settled back into silence. Snores rose and fell throughout the cave, and Zhang Tie opened his eyes.
Xiu Wen was sleeping beside him. He had not rested properly the previous night, having been awakened in the middle of the night. After a day of grueling physical labor, the exhaustion seeping out from the marrow of his bones had left him utterly unconscious in sleep. Unless someone shouted right in front of him or there was some major commotion, he would not wake up. Everyone else in the cave was sleeping just as heavily as Xiu Wen.
Other than the snoring, the only sound remaining in the cave was the occasional rumbling of empty stomachs from those who had gone to sleep hungry. With insufficient food, the only other way for everyone to fend off hunger was to drink large amounts of water before sleeping.
Zhang Tie merely touched Xiu Wen's shoulder, sending him into the Castle of Black Iron. Then Zhang Tie rose and quickly made a circuit of the cave, sending everyone inside into it as well.
Having done all that, Zhang Tie quietly slipped out of the cave.
Beside the cave where Zhang Tie and the others had stayed were other caves where human prisoners rested. Under Dark Vision, the conditions in every cave were as clear to Zhang Tie as broad daylight.
With the experience from the first time, and because the Sainer Family had not expected the same thing to happen again the day after someone had "escaped," the day's hard labor had left everyone sleeping deeply.