The wind inside the snow mountain mine was colder than outside.
Luo Jiuge, wearing the standard cold-weather clothing issued to everyone, gripped her special iron pickaxe with both hands and struck the rock wall repeatedly, the vibrations numbing her tiger's mouth.
She had been digging for almost a week. When she was first brought in, she had thought the so-called “froststone” would be somewhat special. Like unearthing a sealed ore, some ancient holy artifact, or a secret the Holy Court hid in the snow mountain.
But after digging for half a day, all she found was ordinary gray stone, and then more ordinary gray stone. Open her eyes, stone. Close her eyes, still stone!
How could she have transmigrated to another world only to become free labor for a dark force?! Was there any justice left?!
The more Luo Jiuge thought about it, the angrier she got. She let out a low shout and brought her pickaxe down with force.
With a “bang,” she actually knocked down an entire section of the rock wall. Loose rocks clattered down, nearly hitting another prisoner who had also been brought in for quarrying.
Luo Jiuge herself was stunned. She looked down at her hands, gloved in thick material, then clenched them. When did she get so strong? Could these days of mining actually have increased her strength?
Before she could figure it out, an angry curse came from beside her.
“Are you crazy?!”
A dusty-faced man, pickaxe in hand, first glanced toward the guard knights. Once he confirmed no one was immediately coming over, he lowered his voice and said fiercely:
“If you want to die, die by yourself! Don't drag others down with you!”
“Sorry,” Luo Jiuge quickly put down her pickaxe. “I couldn't control my strength just now.”
The man wasn't having it. He slapped the loose rocks off his pant leg, his eyes red with anger.
“Couldn't control it? If my leg were broken, could your 'couldn't control it' put it back together?”
Luo Jiuge had originally intended to apologize properly, but hearing this, her own temper flared a little.
“I said it was my fault, and I apologized. Isn't your leg perfectly fine?”
“That's because I dodged quickly!”
The man's voice rose sharply, then immediately dropped back down as if he remembered something. Then, he directly thrust his pickaxe in front of Luo Jiuge.
“Troublemakers like you, brought in separately, must have done something serious. Stay away from me, don't try to harm me!”
As soon as he said this, the surrounding prisoners stopped their work, and the apology on Luo Jiuge's face faded.
“I'm innocent.”
The man sneered dismissively, “Who here isn't innocent? We're already unlucky enough; we don't want to be implicated by someone like you again.”
Luo Jiuge looked at him. Suddenly, the sound of colliding armor came from the other side of the mine.
“What's all the noise about?”
Several prisoners' faces changed. They immediately lowered their heads and resumed striking the rock wall with their pickaxes.
A knight in armor walked over, his gaze sweeping over the loose rocks on the ground, then at the pickaxes in Luo Jiuge's and the man's hands. He frowned.
“What? Looking for a fight?”
The man lowered his eyes. “No.”
The knight sneered, “No? You seem quite energetic to me.” He raised his whip handle and pointed at the pile of stone materials nearby.
“Since you're so energetic, this pile of stone will be an extra three baskets today. Anyone who doesn't finish won't get dinner.”
The surrounding prisoners all let out a collective sigh of relief. A flicker of anger crossed the man's eyes, but he forcibly suppressed it.
Luo Jiuge wanted to explain, “We're not—”
The knight coldly cut her off, “Did I give you permission to speak?”
Luo Jiuge's lips moved, but she ultimately closed her mouth. She knew the consequences of angering the guards, so it was best not to invite more trouble.
The knight swept his gaze over them again. “If I see anyone slacking off again, it won't be as simple as digging three extra baskets.”
With that, he turned and left, the sound of his armor gradually fading.
The sporadic sound of hammering resumed in the mine, though it was much duller than before.
The man glared at Luo Jiuge, then silently walked further inside and continued to chisel the rock wall.
Luo Jiuge was speechless, but she picked up her pickaxe again, her peripheral vision catching the section of rock wall she had knocked down.
On the rock wall, a dark mark, seemingly not belonging to ordinary rock strata, was exposed.
She was about to get closer for a look when someone nearby suddenly whispered:
“On that rock wall… there seems to be a painting.”
Luo Jiuge picked up a torch, exhaled a puff of white mist, and wiped away the fragmented ice. The torchlight illuminated a section of an ancient mural.
At the forefront was a massive, black, twisted substance, with countless roots extending around it, almost covering half the rock wall. Even from the rough carvings, an unsettling sense of evil could be perceived. Beside it, a group of stick-figure people were fleeing. Some had fallen, some looked back, and some reached out, as if trying to pull their companions back.
Luo Jiuge frowned. Was this a piece of history?
She continued to chip away at the froststone nearby, holding the torch to illuminate further back.
In the second mural, a sword-wielder appeared. The person's image was unclear, only their long sword, pointing at the black monster in front, could be seen. Many people stood behind him. There were those in worn robes, those in animal skins, those with short stature, and those with pointed ears. They surrounded him, palms forward, as if channeling all their strength into the sword.
Luo Jiuge stared at the sword-wielder's back, a strange, indescribable feeling suddenly welling up inside her. She whispered, “Who is this?”
An elderly man beside her glanced over, his voice very low. “The first Hero King.”
Luo Jiuge turned to look at him. The old man seemed tired too; he simply sat by a pile of rocks, propping himself up with his pickaxe, and took a few breaths before continuing:
“Legend says that a hundred years ago, all races were embroiled in war, and the Decay contamination nearly swallowed half of Celantia. Then, a sword-wielder stepped forward, united the races, defeated the Queen of Decay, and ignited the first Holy Radiance Oath.”
Luo Jiuge looked back at the mural.
In the third panel, the sword-wielder knelt on one knee, using his sword to pin the black substance into the ground. Many black broken points were scattered around, like residual root limbs severed and scattered. But beneath that black substance, a very thin black root extended along the edge of the rock wall. However, at this point in the drawing, that section had been forcibly chiseled away.
Luo Jiuge reached out to touch the incomplete carving and asked:
“What happened to him afterward?”
The old man glanced left and right, confirming the guards were far away, before saying:
“History books say he disappeared. But my grandmother used to say, this was the beginning of Celantia's disaster.”
Luo Jiuge, as if her professional curiosity had been activated, loved to dig for story details and pressed on:
“Why did your grandmother say that?”
The old man's expression was somewhat complex as he looked down at the loose rocks on the ground:
“She was a witch.”
Luo Jiuge's eyes showed understanding. The old man quickly added:
“Not the harmful kind. She would brew herbal medicines and cure illnesses. People from several nearby villages had received her kindness.”
“What happened then?”
The old man sighed, “Later, she went mad.”
The torchlight flickered on the rock wall, casting shadows in his eyes.
“She used to enjoy researching strange herbs, poring over old books, and listening to elders tell histories no one dared speak of anymore. But one day, she suddenly started proclaiming everywhere that even gods could fall.”
Seeing Luo Jiuge listening intently, the old man beckoned her closer. Luo Jiuge hesitated for a moment but still leaned in.
The old man whispered into her ear:
“She also said that the gods currently worshipped by the various races are the true monsters.”
Luo Jiuge's breath hitched. She slowly pulled back, her expression growing solemn:
“What happened then?”
The old man gazed at the paintings on the rock wall, his eyes distant:
“Later, people from the Holy Court arrived. They said she was bewitching people and spreading heretical statements. That winter, she was tied to a wooden stake at the town entrance and burned alive.”
Luo Jiuge asked in surprise, “She was burned alive just for saying those things?”
The old man gave a bitter smile, “What else? An old woman, with only herbs and old books in her hands. What could she use to resist the high and mighty Holy Court?”
With that, he picked up his pickaxe again and continued to chisel the froststone, muttering:
“We are all common folk. What can common folk use to contend with monsters holding whips?”
Luo Jiuge's heart was heavy as she walked back to the mural with her torch.
The murals further back were the most damaged. A section of text was carved there, crooked and illegible to her.
She checked left and right, confirming the guards weren't paying attention, then brought the torch closer.
The tip of the torch was charred black. She tapped off some ash, rubbed it between her fingers, and then lowered her head to lift the inner side of her cold-weather clothing.
The clothes were thick and old, perfect for leaving marks.
Luo Jiuge didn't understand the characters, so she could only trace their shapes from the rock wall, stroke by stroke, onto the inside of her clothing.
Just as she finished tracing the last character, a sudden roar echoed from deep within the mine.
Boom—!
The entire rock wall shuddered violently, and loose rocks showered down from above.
Someone shrieked, “It's collapsing!”
Luo Jiuge whipped her head around. A crack had appeared in the supporting wooden beam at the end of the mine, and rocks tumbled down from above, extinguishing torches one by one.
Knights shouted, “Everyone! Run outside!”
The prisoners immediately dropped their tools and rushed toward the mine entrance.
Luo Jiuge was also pushed, stumbling as she ran out.
The crack above grew wider and wider. Loose rocks scraped against her shoulder as they fell, making her gasp in pain.
Luo Jiuge followed the crowd, rushing to the mine entrance, where cold wind hit her face.
Just as she caught her breath, she suddenly heard a hoarse cry for help from deeper within the mine.
“Help—!”
It was the man she had argued with earlier.
Luo Jiuge's steps abruptly halted. The knight in front, seeing her stop, coldly shouted:
“If you don't want to die, get out now!”
She turned to look inside the mine. It was already half-blocked by dust and loose rocks, and the torchlight was growing dimmer.
The cry for help came again, weaker than before.
Luo Jiuge gritted her teeth, turned, and rushed back in.
...
When the snow mountain mine collapsed, Vevran was outside the temporary camp, listening to her adjutant report news from the capital.
The wind and snow swept over the mountain ridge, making the edges of the tents flap violently.
Suddenly, a dull roar came from a distance, and the snowy ground trembled slightly.
Vevran raised her eyes. The adjutant's expression changed slightly. “It's from the direction of the mine.”
A moment later, a knight galloped up, tumbling off his horse in a scramble.
“Lady Vevran! The snow mountain mine has collapsed!”
Vevran's expression remained unchanged. She calmly said, “Casualties.”
The knight reported truthfully, panting, “Most people have evacuated. Half the entrance has collapsed. Several prisoners are injured, and also…”
His voice paused for a moment.
Vevran looked at him. “And what else?”
The knight braced himself and said, “That Descender named Luo Jiuge rushed back in to save someone…”
Vevran's face quickly darkened. She said sharply:
“I told you, she must live.”
The knight shivered in fear and immediately lowered his head. “My subordinates have already sent people—”
“Sent people?” Vevran coldly cut him off. “People are still inside, and you're standing here telling me you sent people?”
The knight's breath hitched. He immediately prostrated himself, his body trembling.
Vevran: “If she dies in there, you don't need to come back either.”
Cold sweat instantly broke out on the knight's back. He dared not make another sound.
Vevran turned and quickly left the camp, leaping onto a snow beast.
Beo let out a low growl, its four feet crushing the snow layer, leading a team of knights, and galloped toward the mine.
Wind and snow swept past her ears. Vevran gripped the reins, her face terrifyingly cold.
Luo Jiuge couldn't die, at least not now. The capital needed to pry clues about the Grey Dove Monastery from her, and also needed a suspect who could be presented before the Holy Court.
If she died here, all the trouble would fall onto Vevran herself. Her family would also be implicated.
Thinking of this, Vevran lowered her body, bracing against the wind and snow, and accelerated.
Rate on N.U.
