Chapter 7 - Magnetite Mine
Qiao Mu still remembered how Qiao Liu had broken his leg and nearly lost his life when he went up the mountain a while ago. Not long after he was carried down the mountain, rumors of mountain spirits in Hulan Mountain arose. The nocturnal mountain spirits would come and go unpredictably, and they liked to attack people and dig out their organs for devouring.
After rumors of Hulan Mountain being haunted spread, the originally already deserted mountain was spurned even more, and the villagers would not normally climb up the mountain.
Thinking back on it now, the unlucky Qiao Liu must have unconsciously neared the magnetite mine when he went up the mountain, and someone secretly wanted to take his life.
However, he was able to coincidentally escape this calamity. Although he returned with his life intact, his body was tainted by the scent of magnetite, so the hyenas were able to sniff him out with their special sense of smell.
It could be considered a feat that the hyenas were still able to sniff out the faded scent on Qiao Liu after half a month.
Therefore, it was needless to say that the rumors of Hulan Mountain being haunted must have been the doing of the third prince, Mo Teng. Its purpose having been to intimidate the ignorant villagers.
The Heavenly Dao Sect disciples ordered 10-20 servants to enter the cave. After some tinkling, knocking, and thumping movements, about five to six large rattan baskets, as well as around 20 corpses that were still warm to the touch, were transported outside.
“It appears these people retreated with great haste and had to abandon these freshly mined magnetite and tools. They only had time to dispatch these miners.” The cyan-robed man from the Heavenly Dao Sect snorted. He turned to look at the resplendently-clothed youth on the side, suddenly saying with a smile, “What are your thoughts on this, Third Prince Teng?”
Fine beads of sweat covered the noble youth’s forehead. Hearing him, the noble youth hurriedly chuckled and cupped his fists as he said, “Senior Brother Ji must be joking. Since you discovered someone privately extracting from a magnetite mine, which is in violation of the rules, then they naturally must be punished severely. Seize those daring people as soon as possible and punish them.”
The cyan-robed man sent Third Prince Mo Teng a meaningful look and smile before nodding and saying, “Third Prince is right. The Heavenly Dao Sect won’t wrongly accuse anyone, but naturally we also won’t spare anyone who dares to challenge the dignity of the Heavenly Dao Sect.”
Sweat dripped down the noble youth’s head like rain, and his lips rigidly turned up, revealing a smile that looked worse than crying.
All the servants who were making trips back and forth to the cave had faces brimming with delight. Amidst this joyful atmosphere, the little girl’s woodcut-like face appeared particularly indifferent and detached.
“You are called Qiaoqiao.” A glistening pair of phoenix eyes on a naturally handsome face suddenly appeared in front of her.
Qiao Mu, who was originally sitting on top of a dirt pile with her arms around her knees, instinctively tilted her head back, displeasure flashing through her eyes. Upon turning her head, she was met with the youth in spotless white clothes laying like a pile of snow by her feet.
He had one hand supporting his chin, and his dark hair gently fell on one side of his face as he looked at her with a bright smile on his thin lips.
The wind brushed across his face and his phoenix eyes which contained a glass-like splendor. Instantly, the thousands of colors from countless worlds appeared to be stolen by him, and everything, except for him, lost its color.
Qiao Mu unhappily shifted to the side and consciously distanced herself farther, no, a little farther, from the “dangerous character!”
Crown Prince Lian’s seductive eyes instantly grew round, and he stared in disbelief as Qiao Mu continuously moving further away from him.
How could this be? Was he really this unsightly? What did the disdainful and alienating look in the little miss’ eyes mean?
Could he really be that awful?
While Crown Prince Lian was suffering from the psychological blow, Qiao Mu had already stood up without a care and jogged over to Senior Brother Ji. She extended her arm toward him and impolitely made a few beckoning motions.