Chapter Seventy: Human Life Hangs in the Balance
The next day, just as dawn broke, Jiang Chen had barely finished his morning exercises when Shuanzi came over to summon him.
The young master of the mine had returned and wanted to meet all the cultivators who had been guarding the mine.
From the look in Shuanzi's eyes, Jiang Chen could see the unease and fear he was trying hard to hide.
He had known last night that Hu Shaomeng would be returning, but he hadn't expected him to come back so quickly.
And from the looks of it, he had probably come straight to the mining area without even going home first.
"Alright, I understand."
Jiang Chen didn't say much more. He let the early-rising maid Xiaoxiao continue sweeping the courtyard while he headed to the gathering place for the mine's personnel.
The listless middle-aged cultivator Xiang Qian, the alchemy-obsessed Zhang Hai, the narrow-minded Ge Heng, plus Jiang Chen himself—that made the four transcendent cultivators currently at the Hu family mine.
Together with Steward Hu, they formed the so-called upper management of the mining area.
Hu You had a portly build, looking more like a wealthy merchant than an official.
His son Hu Shaomeng, on the other hand, was handsome and tall. He sat in the seat of honor with a broad, imposing posture. The steward, who liked to boast about being Hu Shaomeng's cousin from the main family, now stood respectfully to the side.
From Hu Shaomeng's posture and demeanor, he seemed to be an extremely arrogant person.
As Jiang Chen and the others filed in one after another, he didn't speak.
He waited until all four transcendent cultivators had arrived before slowly saying, "You've all worked hard at the Hu family mine for quite some time. I've been busy cultivating at the Sea-Fishing Tower and couldn't come visit you often. My sincerest apologies."
Though his words expressed regret, his gaze acknowledged no one.
But even the narrow-minded old man Ge Heng didn't dare take issue with this.
The Sea-Fishing Tower was the most powerful sect on the nearby archipelago. If one were to measure the influence of sects near the State of Qi, it was probably on par with the East King Valley.
"Not at all..."
Ge Heng was halfway through his polite response when Hu Shaomeng cut him off with a wave of his hand.
"I've called you all here today to make an announcement." Hu Shaomeng said flatly. "You already know that the ore vein is about to be exhausted. The mine will be shut down at the end of this month. I'm letting you know in advance so you can seek employment elsewhere."
Jiang Chen was stunned for a moment.
What did this mean? He had just managed to get in here, and now he was being laid off?
Steward Hu, standing nearby, also looked completely shocked—he clearly hadn't known about this beforehand.
The disheveled Xiang Qian yawned. "Fine, doesn't matter. Doesn't make a difference where I go anyway. Sigh, that's just how life is."
Ge Heng glared at him fiercely, then turned to Hu Shaomeng and asked incredulously, "Wasn't there still half a year left? Why shut down suddenly?"
"Exactly," Zhang Hai added. "My current batch of pills is at a critical stage."
"Decision's been made." Hu Shaomeng couldn't be bothered to explain. He waved his hand in a dismissive gesture. "Go pack your things. You can leave now or at the end of the month. I'm about to push through the Gate of Heaven and Earth soon, so I don't have time to talk!"
Push through the Gate of Heaven and Earth...
Ge Heng clamped his mouth shut tightly.
"Young Master Hu," Jiang Chen spoke up. "I only just arrived at the mine a few days ago. When Steward Hu recruited me, this wasn't what he said."
"You'll be paid for one full month." Hu Shaomeng looked at him, his Heaven-Piercing realm aura subtly radiating outward. "Any objections?"
Jiang Chen thought for a moment, then said, "No, no objections."
It wasn't that he was giving up entirely. Rather, Hu Shaomeng's impatient behavior actually reassured him.
Something unexpected must have happened.
He could leave first, wait for the change to occur, then come back to see what was really going on and seize the opportunity.
The Sea-Fishing Tower was indeed powerful, but at the Heaven-Piercing realm level, Jiang Chen wasn't afraid of anyone right now.
Hu Shaomeng waved his hand. "That's settled then. Go settle your pay with the steward. I won't keep you."
Only these transcendent cultivators needed his personal attention and arrangement. The ordinary martial artists and miners could simply be let go—no advance notice required.
Steward Hu seemed to deflate all at once, still unable to believe that this mine would close at the end of the month. Yet he absolutely didn't dare defy Hu Shaomeng's orders. He forced himself to perk up and led everyone out.
Since Jiang Chen was the newest arrival, his accounts were the clearest, so Steward Hu had him enter the office first.
Steward Hu handed over a box. "Ah An, take a look. If there's no issue, just press your thumbprint."
Jiang Chen took it casually and glanced inside, then chuckled softly. "You gave me an extra half."
Inside the box were two whole Dao Essence Stones, both full-sized and untouched. But they had originally agreed on a salary of one and a half stones per month.
"No way. Because we couldn't find anyone, didn't we agree on two stones per month back then?"
As Steward Hu spoke, he even gave Jiang Chen a subtle wink.
Some color had finally returned to his ashen face.
Jiang Chen couldn't help asking, "Why are you being so generous to me?"
"This young man!" Steward Hu said with a stern expression. "Just take it when I tell you to."
Jiang Chen had no choice but to accept the box. No matter what, this was the old man's goodwill.
As he turned to leave, Steward Hu's low, dejected voice came from behind him. "Among all these transcendent masters, only you actually treated us like human beings."
Half a Dao Essence Stone—that was the maximum support within his power.
Jiang Chen fell silent for a moment.
...
He stepped out of the office. Zhang Hai, who had been waiting outside, was about to go in.
Suddenly, Shuanzi's shouts could be heard from far away.
He came stumbling over, gasping for breath as he yelled, "Someone's dead! Someone's dead!"
A death at the mining area was usually related to some fierce beast.
Everyone immediately tensed up.
"Slow down and speak," Hu Shaomeng commanded.
The moment he heard Hu Shaomeng's voice, Shuanzi immediately shuddered, took a breath, and forced himself to speak steadily. "Xiaocui... Xiaocui jumped into the well!"
Who was Xiaocui? Jiang Chen looked around and noticed everyone was looking at Ge Heng.
And Ge Heng's face had instantly changed.
Xiaocui was the maid from his courtyard.
Hu Shaomeng rose. "Let's go see."
...
Each of the four transcendent cultivators had their own separate courtyard, scattered throughout the mining area.
These were naturally completely different from the large communal bunks where the miners lived.
Ge Heng and Zhang Hai's courtyards were close to each other, while Jiang Chen and Xiang Qian's were near one another. That was why Jiang Chen kept running into the dispirited middle-aged cultivatortor who wandered everywhere.
When the group arrived, a crowd of miners had already gathered in Ge Heng's courtyard.
"Young Master Hu! Young Master Hu, you must justice for this girl!"
"Xiaocui had such a hard life, Young Master Hu!"
The situation was actually quite simple. After enduring Ge Heng's prolonged abuse, the maid named Xiaocui could no longer take it. After Ge Heng left, she had jumped into the well and killed herself.
From the miners' scattered words, a rough picture of Xiaocui could be pieced together.
Including the bruises on her body, her sudden bouts of crying, her multiple failed attempts to escape before being caught...
The miners spoke one after another, but none dared to mention Ge Heng's name directly.
They didn't even dare to look at him.
The authority of transcendent cultivators had long been deeply ingrained in their hearts.
Faced with the evil deeds of one transcendent cultivator, they could only place their hopes on another.
Ge Heng's face was extremely dark as he swept his gaze over the miners, his look silencing their annoying chatter.
But with Hu Shaomeng present, there were four transcendent cultivators in total.
He didn't know how they would respond.
Usually, beating and tormenting a maid was nothing—such matters were easily covered up. Even the authorities wouldn't make things too difficult for a transcendent cultivator.
But once someone died—even just an ordinary mortal—it was no small matter.
Because every transcendent cultivator had once been a mortal themselves.
Through generations of enlightened efforts, the principle that "human life hangs in the balance" had become a consensus of every normal nation or sect.
But.
There was always a "but."
This consensus could not be completely solidified into rules.
Just as powerful mortals also dared to kill servants without much consequence.
While such acts were crimes, they could only be prosecuted when someone of greater power appeared to do so.
This was the truth of the world as it stood today.