Arouse Envy, Gazes in the Darkness!

As Qin Yao lined up behind Little Liuzi, preparing to follow the mine slaves back to the village, he suddenly heard a voice tinged with mockery.

"Qin Yao, you, the 'Provincial Laureate' who was convicted and reduced to slavery, have really stepped in dog shit and struck it lucky. You've finally made it through, huh?"

The speaker had a pair of phoenix eyes and a thick, bushy beard.

He was Yang Yongchao, a minor boss at Ding Mine Pit responsible for leading the teams traveling to and from the family camp.

Everyone at the mine respectfully called him Captain Yang.

He looked at Qin Yao with a teasing gaze and said in a snide tone, "Now that you're free, maybe in a day or two you'll become a clerk at the village office.

"Still returning to the village with us mine slaves—wouldn't that be beneath a 'Provincial Laureate' like you?"

Qin Yao understood that Captain Yang either felt unbalanced because Qin Yao had gone from a mine slave anyone could bully to a petty official in the yamen in the blink of an eye.

Or perhaps he wanted to squeeze some benefits out of Qin Yao now that he had regained his freedom.

Or perhaps it was both.

Faced with such a textbook petty man, Qin Yao might look down on him, but he had no intention of completely tearing off all pretense and killing him outright.

So he casually replied, "Captain Yang, you jest. I received this special pardon solely thanks to the Grand Empress Dowager's hundredth birthday and the imperial family's grace. How could I dare call it 'dog-shit luck'?"

Qin Yao's neither servile nor overbearing reply immediately changed Yang Yongchao's expression.

The hat the youth had placed on his head was simply too large—large enough to crush him to death!

Captain Yang's face turned green. He waved his hands repeatedly. "Hey, hey, hey! That's not what I meant! Quit digging a fucking pit for me, kid!"

Qin Yao smiled faintly and continued, "As for whether I'm being 'wronged' or not, as Captain Yang put it, there's no such thing.

"Though I'm no longer a mine slave, I'm still a commoner. What right do I have to put on airs?

"The reason I'm returning to the village with our main group is, first, so I can walk this old road one more time with my former companions. Though no words are spoken, it is still a reluctant farewell.

"Second, it's purely a little selfishness on my part. The road back is long, and night has fallen.

"I'm but a frail scholar. What if I end up serving as a midnight snack for some wolves, tigers, or leopards?"

"Ha ha ha ha..."

The moment Qin Yao said this, kind laughter erupted from the crowd.

First, he said he wished to walk the old road once more with his mine-slave "colleagues," parting in silent reluctance. That alone quietly touched many hearts.

To the mine slaves, was this not a sign that he had not forgotten where he came from—a sign of respect for them?

For these convicted men who had struggled at the bottom for years...

They could still tell who sincerely treated them like human beings, and who merely spoke pretty words before chopping them up to feed the dogs when trouble came.

Then Qin Yao openly admitted that he was afraid of death and needed the warmth of the group.

His frankness won him another wave of goodwill.

In just a few sentences, he left the snide Yang Yongchao unable to gain even the slightest advantage.

Captain Yang's mouth twitched. He snorted coldly. "Hmph. What a sharp-tongued little brat.

"If any of you laugh again, I'll whip your mouths to pieces!"

After that threat, the mine slaves all fell silent as cicadas in winter.

When Yang Yongchao saw their reaction, he immediately felt the heady satisfaction of having recovered his former authority.

With the corners of his mouth lifting, he swept out an arm. "Move out!"

The road home lay beneath a hazy night, deep blue as ink.

Qin Yao felt that every step he took was far lighter than before.

Not merely because the shackles around his ankles were gone.

But because he had now broken free from the heavy prison of his identity as a mine slave and regained his freedom!

From this day onward, he could take his grandfather and younger sister anywhere in the Great Yan Kingdom openly and aboveboard, without fearing that anyone would discover their identities and make them relive the same nightmare...

This feeling of regaining freedom was even more exhilarating than tipping back a bottle of cold drink in the blazing heat of summer!

When the mine-slave team returned to the family camp, quite a few neighbors noticed something unusual about Qin Yao.

"Eh? Why isn't Old Qin's boy wearing shackles today?"

"Yeah, what... what's going on?"

"Don't tell me they forgot?"

"You don't know? This former 'Provincial Laureate' has been specially pardoned.

"From now on, he's no longer a mine slave!"

"And that's not all. I heard that all the scholars pardoned this time have to report to the village office to be assigned work."

"Huh?"

"This... there's actually something this good?!"

"That's the village office! He's going to be an official!"

"Unbelievable, truly unbelievable! The old Qin Family has really struck it rich!"

"Oh my, my daughter only got engaged to Pang Datou from Three-Bend Street yesterday. What a pity, what a pity!"

A middle-aged woman slapped her thigh in frustration. "Ah, I never should've worried that Qin Guanren would work himself to death from exhausting his body at the mines every day."

"If we'd gone to propose marriage earlier, wouldn't we be 'relatives of an official family' by now?"

Someone gloated, "Hehe, just settle down. You simply don't have that fate!"

"Exactly. Before, it was 'that Qin Family boy' this and 'that Qin Family boy' that. Now you're calling him 'Qin Guanren.' Tsk, tsk, tsk..."

"No, my second sister-in-law's family still has an unmarried girl. I need to hurry over and put in a good word."

The middle-aged woman's eyes suddenly flashed. "Now that the Qin Family is wealthy and prestigious, their threshold has risen. We may not be able to reach for the position of principal wife, but there's still hope of becoming a concubine!"

With Qin Yao's current martial cultivation, he could basically hear every word exchanged among the neighbors, leaving him rather torn between laughter and tears.

Once the group dispersed, he hurriedly took Little Liuzi home with him.

"Creak~"

"Big Brother~"

The moment she heard the door open, Qin Lan came hopping over.

"Yao'er is back."

Old Master Qin also looked up with a smile, only to discover that more than Qin Yao had stepped through the door. "Eh? And this is?"

Lan'er's cheerful steps, which had been about to carry her into her brother's arms, abruptly halted as well.

"This boy is Li Liu. Greetings, Master and Young Miss."

To show his sincerity, Little Liuzi gave his full name when introducing himself.

As soon as the words left his mouth, he dropped to both knees with a thump and gave Old Master Qin a solid kowtow!

"Oh my, child, what are you doing? Hurry and get up."

Qin Dashan was startled and hurriedly moved to help him up.

"These past days at the mine, Big Brother Qin saved this boy's life. You deserve this bow!"

Little Liuzi said with utmost seriousness.

"Alright, alright, hurry up and get up. Come inside and talk."

With a supporting hand from Qin Yao, he lifted the young boy into the house as easily as an eagle snatching a chick.

Yet he failed to notice that just as his group entered and shut the door behind them, Yang Yongchao, the team leader standing diagonally across the street, was watching him with a deeply meaningful gaze...