“What is your name?”
Old Wei stared at Yang Che, his back a little hunched, and his body seemed to be in poor health, as he would cough a few times with every sentence he spoke.
Yang Che was startled, but still replied truthfully, “My name is Yang Che.”
Old Wei nodded, then looked at the thin, sallow-faced young man and said,
“I’m old and my body isn’t too good, so I need a helper. This young man named Yang Che can stay and help me.”
Upon hearing this, the thin, sallow-faced young man’s eyes immediately flashed with envy. He quickly cupped his hands and said, “Since Old Wei has spoken, there’s naturally no problem.”
He then turned to Yang Che and said, “You’re a lucky boy, hurry up and thank Old Wei.”
Although Yang Che didn’t know what was going on, he vaguely realized that he might not have to mine anymore?
So he quickly mimicked the gesture of cupping his hands and expressed his gratitude.
The thin, sallow-faced young man soon led Hu Lai and the others away, leaving Yang Che standing there, somewhat at a loss.
Old Wei looked Yang Che over with a strange gaze and said,
“Yang Che, I see you’re quite strong, so I’m keeping you here to help me. However, the work here isn’t easy either. Today is your first day, so just get familiar with things. These are some rules about the mining tools at Xingshan Mine; you must remember them firmly.”
As Old Wei spoke, he tossed a thin booklet to Yang Che.
Yang Che took it, but said somewhat awkwardly, “Old Wei, I… I’m illiterate.”
“It doesn’t matter if you’re illiterate. As long as you do your job well here, I can slowly teach you to read.”
Old Wei didn’t seem surprised that Yang Che was illiterate. After all, among those sent here to mine, how many were literate?
Yang Che’s heart leaped with joy upon hearing this; wasn't this exactly what he most desired right now?
However, after being deceived by the Flower Demon and Foreman Zhao, Yang Che had started to be more cautious in all matters.
“Thank you, Old Wei,” Yang Che said gratefully.
“Don’t thank me so quickly. There are conditions for me keeping you. Starting tomorrow, before work each day, you must run a full lap around the entire mine within one hour.
If you can’t finish, you won’t get breakfast or lunch that day. If you can accept this condition, you stay; if you can’t, you can choose to go mining.” Old Wei said indifferently.
Yang Che didn’t quite understand why Old Wei would add this condition, but after some thought, he still agreed, “I accept.”
It was just running a lap around the mine, how hard could that be!
He often explored Wanglong Mountain and believed he had good stamina. Moreover, he could learn to read and write with Old Wei and wouldn't have to mine. This seemed worthwhile no matter how he looked at it.
After Old Wei explained some more important rules and the details of the tasks Yang Che would be responsible for, he walked to the long table by the stone house door, sat down, and half-closed his eyes.
“Old Wei, where will I live from now on?”
Yang Che felt a slight anxiety, fearing that his bundle hidden under the bed would be discovered by Hu Lai and the others.
“Of course, you’ll live in this stone house. There’s a bed in the inner room. Just tidy it up.”
“Okay, Old Wei, then I’ll go back and get my bundle.”
…
Yang Che returned to the simple wooden house from before, only to find that there was no one inside.
He retrieved his bundle and then quickly came to the stone house where the tools were stored, finding the bed Old Wei mentioned in a corner of the inner room.
After a simple tidy-up, he placed his bundle under the bedding, then turned and walked towards the area piled with tools.
He needed to first familiarize himself with all the types of tools here, sort them, and pick out all the broken ones for Old Wei to repair.
Over the next few days, Yang Che was surprised to find that he lost both his breakfast and lunch, because he simply couldn’t run a full lap around Xingshan Mine within one hour.
However, Old Wei really did start teaching him to read.
Old Wei’s teaching method was very unique; he started with the words from that thin booklet.
And Yang Che was pleasantly surprised to find that his comprehension and learning ability were so good that even he was astonished.
He couldn't help but recall the black fruit he had eaten, and combining that with what the Flower Demon had said back then, Yang Che realized that it was most likely this black fruit that had improved his Aptitude.
Several days later.
A burly, bearded man suddenly burst in. Yang Che recognized him as Foreman Zhao.
“Old Wei, what’s the meaning of this? Yang Che was bought by me with real silver.”
Foreman Zhao stood in front of the stone house, his Face grim, his tone filled with great dissatisfaction.
Upon hearing this, Yang Che’s anger surged, and deep in his eyes, a suppressed flame of fury burned.
Old Wei, however, asked indifferently, “How much silver did you spend? Bring me the contract, and I’ll give you the silver.”
Foreman Zhao, however, snorted coldly, “Hmph, Wei Yongzheng, others may fear you. But I, Zhao Min, don’t fear you.
In Wu Gate, my nephew Zhao Qu is a Core Disciple of the inner Sect. You’re just an outer Sect Elder who was demoted to Xingshan Mine for committing a grave mistake. You want to forcefully take my mine slave? No way.”
Old Wei, Wei Yongzheng, with his hunched back, suddenly looked up, and a sharp glint flashed in his eyes. He said hoarsely,
“Zhao Min, I’m keeping Yang Che. If you’re not convinced, you can have your nephew come and ask me for him. I’d like to see how much influence this outer Sect Elder, who once committed a grave mistake, still has in Wu Gate.”
“You…”
Foreman Zhao Min clearly didn’t expect Old Wei to be so unyielding regarding Yang Che, which made things difficult for him.
Zhao Min didn’t care much about a mere mine slave, but Wei Yongzheng’s attitude made Zhao Min lose Face.
Zhao Min was one of the few people at Xingshan Mine who knew Old Wei’s true identity.
He had originally thought that using his nephew’s name as an inner Sect Core Disciple would at least not be weaker than an old man who was on his last legs and had been demoted to this mine for committing a grave mistake, but he hadn’t expected Wei Yongzheng to give him no Face at all.
“Alright, you wait.”
Zhao Min left with an extremely ugly expression, flicking his sleeve.
Yang Che watched all of this with cold eyes, remaining silent.
Only after Zhao Min left did he say with some concern, “Old Wei, will this cause you trouble?”
Wei Yongzheng snorted coldly and said, “This Zhao Min is just relying on having a rather talented nephew. Although I am a person demoted by the Sect to be punished here, I am not someone that any Disciple can casually bully.”
Yang Che had never heard of any Sect, outer Sect, inner Sect, Core Disciple, Elder…
These terms were both strange and new to him.
But Yang Che didn’t ask much; he just wanted to quickly learn to read and write, to fully understand those three ancient texts and the black scroll, and then to continue to Cultivate and become a true Immortal.
He now regarded Cultivation as his top priority.
Just like that, more than two months passed in a flash.
Zhao Min never appeared again during this time. Yang Che had also thoroughly understood the matters of distributing, replacing, and repairing mining tools.
And under Old Wei’s guidance, he had mastered more and more characters. At the same time, through casual chats with Old Wei, he had a rough idea of what the so-called Sect was all about.
One morning, as the dawn light just broke, Yang Che had already left the stone house and began running laps around Xingshan Mine.
When he ran to a remote, uninhabited section, he carefully looked around, then crouched down and slipped into a very well-hidden abandoned mine shaft.