Liu Yu nodded lightly, then noticed that Sun Ju was the only one who had arrived on time. It was already the hour of the Snake. His brows drew together slightly as he asked:
"Where are Senior Brother Su and the junior brothers? Have they still not arrived?"
Sun Ju shook her head, indicating that she had not seen any of them arrive.
Remembering the maids Chai Wenzheng had arranged the night before, Liu Yu's heart was as clear as a mirror. He understood why the others had yet to arrive, but could hardly explain it openly to Sun Ju.
The pleasures of fish and water were only human nature, and he had no business interfering in anyone else's private life. But today was the day of the mission handover, and their neglect of public duties for private pleasure irritated him.
"Junior Sister Sun, you did well to arrive at the appointed time. Since our fellow disciples have yet to arrive, sorry for the trouble, but please go and fetch them one by one."
Liu Yu's expression darkened slightly, and a trace of chill entered his voice.
"Yes, Senior Brother!"
Although Sun Ju was not particularly willing to go, she saw Liu Yu's expression and did not want to displease him. After all, this senior brother was powerful and possessed excellent magical artifacts. She would have to serve under him for another five years; offending Senior Brother Liu would be disastrous.
Sun Ju immediately followed Liu Yu's instructions and went to fetch the others one by one.
A quarter of an hour later.
Wu Chang, Zhou Guibo, and Xie Huaxiong stood in the hall with their heads lowered while Liu Yu regarded them coldly. Sun Ju sat in a chair to one side, looking down at her arm as though something fascinating were on it, turning a blind eye to the scene before her.
"Originally, this was your private business, and I had no desire to interfere. But since your personal affairs have delayed the mission, neglecting public duties for private pleasure, I have no choice but to step in."
"As the person in charge of this mission, I do not want this to happen again. Over the next five years, anyone who repeats this offense will, at the very least, be reported to the sect for punishment without leniency. In more serious cases, I will send them back to the sect to take part in the war!"
"As long as you carry out your duties properly, I do not care how you seek pleasure afterward. But you must do your jobs well and make sure nothing goes wrong. All right, sit down!"
Liu Yu spoke at an unhurried pace. As his gaze swept around the room, no one dared raise their head to meet his eyes. With his superior cultivation and a perfectly valid reason at hand, he took the opportunity to give them a warning and establish his authority.
Zhou Guibo, Wu Chang, and Xie Huaxiong dared not argue. Upon hearing his words, they immediately nodded in agreement and each found a chair to sit in.
A great sect with a long heritage like the Primordial Yang Sect placed the utmost importance on etiquette and hierarchy. Liu Yu's status was already a rank above theirs, and there was also the gap in their strength. Since they were in the wrong to begin with, they could only obediently accept his reprimand without talking back, however displeased they felt.
Not long after they sat down, Su Ding walked in, cupped his hands, and said loudly:
"How embarrassing. Sorry for keeping you waiting, Junior Brother Liu."
His eyes were slightly dark-rimmed and his skin pale, giving him the look of someone long steeped in sensual pleasures. His poor aptitude had seen him sidelined to a posting in Cold Moon City, and now that the Spirit Stone Mine War had begun, he would have to return to the sect to take part. Knowing that his chances of survival were slim, he had lost heart, abandoned cultivation, and begun enjoying himself while he could.
"It was only a short wait, nothing to worry about. We should not delay. Since you are here, Senior Brother Su, let us set off!"
As Inner Disciples, the two held equal status, so Liu Yu could hardly say much. After today, they might never meet again. So long as Su Ding left no hidden pitfalls in the mission, Liu Yu was willing to be fairly tolerant of him. He merely urged him to complete the handover promptly.
"Very well. Since you are so concerned with the sect's affairs, Junior Brother, let us go."
Seeing that the junior brothers had no desire to chat, Su Ding did not invite a rebuff. With that, he led the way out.
Liu Yu glanced back at the others, signaling for them to act as circumstances required, then led the four out of the city lord's manor hall.
The six of them assembled outside the hall, took out their magical artifacts, and flew east by north from Cold Moon City.
The Cold Iron Ore Vein lay roughly a hundred li from Cold Moon City. Liu Yu and the others reached it in a little over an hour. Had Wu Chang and the other three not been slower due to their lower cultivation, an hour would have been enough.
Liu Yu and the others halted their magical artifacts above the Cold Iron Ore Vein and looked down.
The cold iron produced by the Cold Iron Ore Vein was merely a material for refining lower-grade magical artifacts, and the profits were not particularly high. Naturally, cultivators would not be used to mine it; all the miners were mortals.
Although mortals mined slowly, with enough people thrown into the work and lives spent to fill the gaps, the monthly output was still considerable.
It was just noon, and on the level ground below, many miners were handing over the ore they had dug up in exchange for food.
Most of these mortals were dressed in rags, their tattered clothes like a few strips of rotten cloth wrapped around their bodies. With disheveled hair, filthy faces, and black grime covering them, they looked little different from beggars.
Some were skin and bones. Unable to mine enough ore, they were whipped bloody by the overseers and screamed repeatedly, receiving pitifully little food. Others were robust and muscular, easily mining enough ore to collect their full ration. They regarded the former with contempt before striding aside to enjoy their meals. The overseers grinned savagely without restraint, scanning every miner in line, waiting for some lucky soul to hand in less than the required quota so they could lash him and listen to his screams.
According to Cold Moon City's public account, everyone condemned to work as a miner was a heinous criminal, and not one of them was any good. Liu Yu naturally knew the truth, but as long as Chai Wenzheng supplied enough miners each month and the mine produced its full quota of cold iron ore, he had no desire to meddle in such matters.
This world was always this cruel. I can easily decide the fate of mortals, and high-level cultivators can just as easily control whether I live or die.
After all, Liu Yu had been born in a peaceful world in his previous life. A trace of pity flashed in his eyes at the scene below. He knew that such circumstances were not something a mere Qi Refining Period cultivator could change. What did these mortals' lives and deaths have to do with him, anyway? If he failed to submit enough raw cold iron ore each month, he too would be punished by the sect.
Recalling the accounts in the Essentials of Demonic Cultivation and everything he had seen and heard over the years, the ripples on the lake of his heart soon faded. The dark eyes beneath Liu Yu's lashes quickly regained their calm as he watched it all indifferently.
Su Ding, Wu Chang, and the others remained unmoved. They had long grown accustomed to cultivators standing high above everyone else and treating mortal lives like grass. Only Sun Ju had a similar trace of pity in her eyes. She opened her mouth, but ultimately said nothing.
Liu Yu and the others descended from the sky, their escape lights touching down before a wooden hut outside the mine entrance, and put away their magical artifacts.
Many people at the mine saw the immortal masters arrive without warning-and several of them at once-immediately causing a commotion.
After the overseers quelled the commotion with their whips, an old man with a drooping mustache soon came forward to greet them. His clothes differed from those of the surrounding overseers and guards, and he appeared to be a steward.
The old man approached and bowed deeply, a fawning smile on his face. Clearly recognizing Su Ding, he addressed him respectfully:
"Greetings, Immortal Master Su. What instructions do you have? Just say the word, Immortal Master, and this humble servant will attend to it immediately!"
Su Ding chuckled, then turned toward Liu Yu and the others and said:
"All right, rise. My assignment has ended, and I will soon leave Cold Moon City to return to the sect. These fellow disciples will be taking over my posting at the mine. Go and tell the junior brothers in the mine to come here immediately."
Hearing this, the old man rose, keeping his waist slightly bent and not daring to stand straight. He gave Liu Yu and the others a fawning smile and said:
"As you command. This humble servant will inform the immortal masters inside immediately. My name is Lin Dayong. If any of you immortal masters need anything, just say the word, and I will do everything in my power to see it done properly!"
With that, Lin Dayong slowly backed away, taking several burly men with him to notify the four Outer Disciples previously stationed there.
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