"I thought I was going to die in there!"
Jin Xiaoshi exhaled a breath of stale air, and then, with all his might, he slammed his head against the edge of the cave entrance. With a loud "boom," the originally narrow entrance was forced open a little.
After regaining his footing, the Tenth Prince raised his voice and shouted into the dark cave, "We're out! Everyone, come out quickly!"
The sound, like thunder, echoed through the cave.
A brief silence fell over the cave, followed by a series of hurried and chaotic footsteps that grew clearer and clearer as they approached. Finally, they sensed the breath of freedom and rushed out impatiently.
One by one, figures emerged from the cave, covered in mud and filth, looking utterly disheveled. Some had wounds on their faces, blood mixed with dust, while others were ragged, their shoes missing, their bare, bloodied feet treading the ground.
But at this moment, they couldn't care less about any of that; everyone's face was filled with joy and excitement at surviving such a disaster.
After climbing out of the cave, they collapsed to the ground, breathing in the fresh air, feeling the cool breeze on their cheeks, and looking up at the blue sky and white clouds, as well as the lush, vibrant trees around them.
At this moment, they truly realized they were still alive. The feeling of relief after escaping death welled up in their hearts, and many people couldn't help but have tears in their eyes.
"Waaaaah... I thought I was going to die."
"I'm still waiting to earn some money to marry my fiancée, sob sob... Once I get the money, I'll go propose and never come back, it's too scary!"
"We don't even know the gender of the child in my wife's belly yet, it's such a waste for her to die like this!"
"If I die, my wife will definitely remarry with our son, live in my house, and beat my kids! Bah! I'll crawl out of here even if it kills me!"
"Wow—my newlywed wife! Guihua—I'm still alive, please don't remarry!"
"Get lost, I don't even have a wife yet!"
"Hahaha... Having survived such a calamity, good fortune is sure to follow. Once I've earned some money, I'll buy back all my family's fields and land! And I'll buy a calf too!"
The miners who escaped were both crying and laughing.
After everyone had climbed out of the cave, Dao Hong, along with the strongest men Jin Xiaowu and Jin Xiaoliu, carried three tightly bound men out.
They saw the three men who were tightly bound.
The miners gritted their teeth, their hatred reaching its peak. If looks could kill, these three men would probably be riddled with holes and dead beyond recognition!
Especially when they saw the man who was as thin as a bamboo pole, their anger reached its peak, and they wanted nothing more than to rush forward and tear him to pieces.
"Skinny guy—why did you blow up the mine! I gave you half a steamed bun the day before yesterday, and you're trying to kill me!"
"You heartless bastard! I fed my steamed buns to the dogs! I only saved one bite for you because you were starving and shivering, and this is how you repay me!"
"Send them to the authorities! They must be sent to the authorities!"
"I'm willing to testify! They're the ones who blew up the mine with firecrackers!"
"If it weren't for the young masters discovering us in time and letting us quickly retreat to the safety of the mine, we would all be dead here today! You heartless bastard!"
"Pah! If the young master stops me, I'll beat you to death!"
The skinny monkey, tightly bound, had a face full of despair, his eyes empty and lifeless, like withered wood.
When he heard the angry curses from those who used to call him brother, Skinny Monkey lowered his head in shame, clenched his teeth, and refused to make a sound.
The other two, however, struggled and shouted, "You've got it wrong! I'm taking my firecrackers back to use for my son's wedding!"
"Me too! It's a misunderstanding! It's all a misunderstanding! My son has been wanting firecrackers for years, and I finally managed to buy them. I was just planning to put them in my pocket and take them home. I absolutely didn't mean to take them to the mine!"
"Besides, my firecracker didn't even go off! It was the skinny guy's firecracker that went off! It has nothing to do with me!"
The two struggled and argued frantically.
"Clang—"
Dao Hong's face darkened, and without hesitation, he drew his gleaming broadsword from his waist and held it to their necks.
They fell silent instantly.
Jin Xiaoshi vigorously wiped the mud off his face with his sleeve, his eyes wide with anger, and shouted, "Hmph! Let's see how you argue when we get to the government office! Save your arguments for the courtroom!"
"Hmph, I'm afraid they won't even live to see the government office."
Jin Xiaoba sneered, "I'm afraid we'll be ambushed and killed on the way before we even reach the prefectural city."
Upon hearing this, the two people who had been struggling and arguing seemed to have been choked, their eyes wide with terror, and they finally quieted down.
On the contrary, the skinny man looked more relieved.
Jin Xiaosan, whose mind worked the fastest, immediately chimed in, "Hmph! They think they can bury us all under the mountain? Not so easy! I'll definitely send this man to the government office!"
"right!"
Jin Xiaoshi and Jin Xiaoba immediately echoed.
The other sons of the Jin family also gathered together upon hearing the commotion to discuss countermeasures. The dozen or so mediocre individuals quickly came up with an excellent idea.
They escorted the three men to the government office, banging drums and singing all the way. With everyone watching, they didn't believe the person behind the scenes would dare to make a move.
At the entrance of the mine.
Everyone was holding various tools and digging hard at the sealed entrance. Their clothes were soaked with sweat, but no one showed any sign of stopping.
Time is life.
Life is passing by, second by second.
Suddenly, the sound of rapid hoofbeats came from afar. A huge carriage sped towards them like a bolt of lightning, its four horses galloping at an incredible speed, as if they were about to break the ground.
In the blink of an eye, the carriage arrived at the entrance of the cave.
Despite the driver's desperate efforts to pull on the reins, the carriage slid a distance before finally coming to a stop. However, before the carriage had come to a complete stop, the door was suddenly pushed open, and the Jin family patriarch, supported by his family elders, jumped off the carriage impatiently.
Jiang Jiaojiao's heart sank.
The moment her gaze met that of Old Master Jin, the anxious expression on his face was instantly replaced by shock.
The old master's expression instantly caught the attention of all the men in the Jin family. They all stared wide-eyed at the dusty man in front of them, incredulous.
"Jiaojiao—what are you doing here? Didn't you say you went with His Highness to find medicine?"
"Could the miraculous medicine be in Shu County?"
The Jin family patriarchs were so overwhelmed with joy and shock that they almost forgot about the most important matter at hand.
At the critical moment, it was Old Master Jin who was the first to come to his senses. He pointed tremblingly at the mine entrance that had collapsed beyond recognition and the people who were digging with all their might, his voice hoarse and filled with fear: "This...this really collapsed!"
"Boys...you lads!"
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