Chapter 199: The Mysterious 'Master']

I don’t know how Xiao Yunshuo and Yuan Xu are doing now.

They were mixed in with the other captured men and should be in the mine now.

Just as Chen Fenghe was hesitating about how to contact them and discuss the next step, there was suddenly a commotion at the village gate.

She dodged and hid in the dark, and looked over secretly, only to see several masked men surrounded by a group of people who looked like bandits walking towards them.

As they approached, Chen Fenghe vaguely heard the guide say respectfully, "Master, over the past month, we have unearthed two hundred thousand kilograms of ore and refined approximately twenty thousand taels of gold. All of this has been stored in the warehouse, waiting for you to review it before shipping it out. In addition, a few days ago, I sent a pigeon message to you. According to the exploration of experienced miners, there should be an even richer mine deep within this deposit. Now, my subordinates are working overtime to dig it through in a day or two, and by then we should be able to mine at least another hundred thousand kilograms of ore!"

Shen Fenghe narrowed her eyes slightly.

This man's behavior and words don't seem like those of a bandit.

What's with the master and subordinates? It sounds like the tone of an official.

However, if one does not have some background, he would not dare to secretly mine gold behind the imperial court.

However, the richer mine he mentioned should be the one she just emptied, right?

Unfortunately, they will probably be disappointed.

The masked man nodded, his tone not without excitement as he said, "Very good. You have done a good job! You will reap the rewards in the future!"

The person who led the way immediately knelt down and said, "Thank you, Master!"

Then he asked, "Master, this mine is dark and dangerous. Do you really want to go in and take a look?"

Before the masked man could say anything, another masked man behind him started to scold him, "Master, you came here in person just to see this? And didn't you just say that the richer mine was about to be dug through? Of course, we need Master to check it out! Why don't you lead the way?"

The guide heard this and naturally did not dare to neglect it, and hurriedly said, "Yes!"

As he spoke, he led everyone into the mine.

Shen Fenghe was stunned for a moment. She seemed to have heard the voice of the person who had just spoken somewhere before.

After thinking for a moment, I remembered.

It was Qu Wenmin's voice.

If it really was him, then it would make sense.

These bandits spoke mostly Mandarin, and the group that had abducted them had acted with meticulous care and strict discipline, not like a random group of bandits. The military boots they wore also had a reasonable explanation.

Chen Fenghe quietly glanced at the man whom even Qu Wenmin called "Master". This man's identity... must be the man in the sedan chair they saw from afar on the road before?

Could it be from the palace?

When Chen Fenghe thought of this, he felt inexplicably uneasy.

Although Xiao Yunshuo and Yuan Xu are both easily impressed, everyone has habitual and unconscious behaviors and expressions. Ordinary people may not be able to tell them apart, but if they are close friends, they may still have some suspicion.

If the person called 'Master' was someone close to Xiao Yunshuo, he might be able to recognize Xiao Yunshuo!

However, if she rashly followed him into the mine now, she would be discovered and suspected.

Chen Fenghe forced herself to shift her attention to other things.

The man just now said that they have refined 20,000 taels of gold and put it in the warehouse.

She didn't even let go of the raw gold ore, so how could she let go of the ready-made gold?