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Wei Mingxuan’s heart raced to his throat.
Just as he felt he might bleed out on the spot, a figure flew in, pulling him away to hide in the opposite direction of the stone pile.
The moment they escaped from behind the haystack, Commander Meng drew his large knife and stepped toward the haystack, murderous intent evident.
However, there was no one behind the haystack.
The mine overseer approached to take a look and said, “Commander Meng, there’s no need to be so tense. Besides the abducted refugees, everyone here is one of us; spies can’t get in.”
He glanced at the forest behind the mine, a cold smile playing on his lips. “After all, those five hundred wolves we keep on the mountain don’t eat grass.”
“Let’s hope so.” Commander Meng coldly sheathed his knife and returned to the pile of ore, staring at the people loading the stones onto the carts.
“……”
At this moment, behind the empty shed.
Looking at Wei Mingxuan, who was unscathed, Wei Yunlan felt a wave of fear wash over her. “Mingxuan, you’re too reckless!”
Wei Mingxuan wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, not daring to meet his sister’s gaze.
Thinking back to the earlier perilous moment, he felt his legs weaken; he had almost become the next victim of that barbarian commander’s blade.
“Sister, thank goodness you all arrived in time…”
“It was thanks to Yu Wu’s quick movements. Otherwise, your head and neck would have been separated by now.” Wei Yunlan felt incredibly grateful for her dealings with Tianshu Pavilion.
If she hadn’t negotiated with Tianshu Pavilion after learning about Mingxuan’s location, exchanging the promise to lead them to the black iron mine for their help in rescuing him, the consequences could have been unimaginable had they delayed even half a day longer.
After bringing Mingxuan over, Yu Wu and the other members of his team dispersed to different areas.
Now, the only familiar faces remaining beside Wei Yunlan and her brother were four guards.
Wei Mingxuan, still in shock from earlier, listened to the sounds of stones being moved from the direction of the mountain road, turning pale as he said, “Sister, the ore extracted from this iron mine is being sold to the Barbarians!”
Wei Yunlan had also noticed the Barbarian from earlier.
The Barbarians were significantly different from the people of Dayong in both stature and skin color. Compared to the people of Dayong, the Barbarians resembled uncivilized savages, with a ruggedness that bore a hint of beast-like quality—easily distinguishable at a glance.
Although she had previously speculated about this with her parents, seeing the Barbarians appear in the heart of Dayong was still a considerable shock.
The Liu family, along with the officials from Lianzhou colluding with them, were actually trading with the Northern Barbarians…
Selling Dayong’s iron ore to the Northern Barbarians meant that the silver they earned today would become the swords that would strike down Dayong’s soldiers, the blood that would flow from the citizens of Dayong.
How dare they profit from such sinister dealings!
This group of traitors!
Taking advantage of the moment when they were busy transporting the ore and had no time to check their surroundings, it was the perfect time to leave.
Seventh Lady Yu urged in a low voice, “Miss Wei, we need to hurry.”
“Mingxuan, where is Wang Gui? Go find him; we’re preparing to leave this place.”
After Wei Yunlan spoke, Wei Mingxuan moved slightly but hesitated, “Sister, were the people who just saved me here to investigate this black iron mine?”
Wei Yunlan glanced at Seventh Lady Yu, who nodded. Understanding there was nothing to hide, she replied to Wei Mingxuan, “Those are Tianshu Pavilion’s people. They will come up with a plan to shut this place down in a few days after their investigation.”
Hearing this, the hesitation in Wei Mingxuan’s eyes turned into determination. “Sister, I can’t leave now.”
“Mingxuan?” Wei Yunlan’s heart skipped a beat.
Wei Mingxuan gritted his teeth and said, “If I leave now, it will alert the Barbarians and the masterminds behind this black iron mine might escape. Plus, I can be of some use by staying!”
“What do you intend to do?” Wei Yunlan’s expression grew tense.
“I’ve been assigned to record the mining operations and have figured out the daily output of ore. There are a few refugees here who are familiar with me and Wang Gui. I can gather information about the layout of the mine, and I can also… find a way to steal their account books.”
As Wei Mingxuan spoke, he became increasingly convinced that staying would be more beneficial. “Sister, when things go awry in the mine, I can calm those abducted refugees and lead them to avoid trouble. I don’t want to be a hindrance to the brave people from Tianshu Pavilion.”
His words stirred even the nearby Seventh Lady Yu and the others.
It was true; having the young master of the Wei family stay could indeed be beneficial, especially since he was already familiar with the people here!
“Have you thought this through?” Wei Yunlan gazed into Wei Mingxuan’s eyes.
Wei Mingxuan suppressed all his fears, responding without a hint of hesitation, “I have!”
This kind of determination and courage was something Wei Yunlan had never seen in her brother before.
Despite her myriad worries, she nodded in agreement. “Alright, I promise you.”
As she spoke, she took a whistle from her sleeve and handed it to him. “Be careful in everything. If you encounter danger that you cannot face, run to the back mountain. I will have people guarding there for the next few days. With this whistle, if you blow it, we will come to your aid.”
Wei Mingxuan took the whistle, preparing to tuck it into his chest, but then he suddenly realized what he had just heard. He pointed toward the back mountain in surprise, “Sister, are you talking about this back mountain?”
Wei Yunlan nodded.
The shock in Wei Mingxuan’s eyes intensified as he swallowed hard and asked, “Sister, you didn’t just come from that direction, did you?”
Wei Yunlan nodded again.
“But there are wolves on that mountain!”
Wei Mingxuan’s hand holding the whistle trembled slightly. Did his sister and the others just have good luck and not encounter any?
“They have raised hundreds of wolves on that mountain. Just in the past few days, several people have been tossed to feed the wolves…”
Wei Yunlan gently patted the top of Heiyun’s head. “Wolves are not to be feared, especially since we have Heiyun with us. The wolf pack here wouldn’t dare to provoke it easily.”
As Wei Mingxuan looked at Heiyun, it was as if he were gazing at a celestial being descended from the heavens, repeatedly exclaiming, “Divine dog.”
Seemingly understanding this praise, Heiyun shook its ears and puffed out its chest, displaying a proud demeanor.
“……”
On the road from the Capital to Lianzhou, a group was hastily riding their horses.
They had been traveling for quite some time without any signs of stopping for rest.
At the front, Qi Xu asked the person beside him, “How much longer until we arrive?”
“Two days. At the latest, we’ll reach there by tomorrow night.”
“Good.” Qi Xu nodded slightly and said in a deep voice, “Then inform the Qinghe Gang and the Lianping Sect to act together tomorrow night at dusk.”
His men had already discovered that the Lianzhou Prefect, Pei Jiang, had sent a statue made of fifty thousand taels of gold to Concubine Ling last year.
After learning this, he realized that reporting the iron mine matter to the court would likely be futile.
Pei Jiang must have relied on the favor of someone close to the emperor to act so boldly.
But what if the court did nothing?
The issue of privately mining iron in Lianzhou and selling it to the Northern Barbarians must be resolved.
He had never placed his hopes on the person sitting on the dragon throne.
He wanted to see for himself the actions of these traitors in Lianzhou exposed to the public. Who would dare to protect them then?
Would Emperor Xiaoming dare?
Unless he wanted to be despised by all and leave behind a stench for eternity!
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