Rebirth and Rewriting Fate

The expected pain did not occur, and Ye Xingchen opened his eyes.

Before Ye Xingchen stood Gu Ruoxiao, his eyes sharp and deep, his brows furrowed, holding the arrow in his hand.

A look of disbelief flashed in Ye Xingchen's eyes.

The sound of the mechanism turning again rang in my ears.

"Chengfeng, disable the mechanism!" Gu Ruoxiao said, her voice tinged with anger.

"Yeah, so what? Are we going to have to go through this again? Maybe we'll all end up dying here. How can I not be angry when my life is threatened?" Ye Xingchen muttered to himself.

"Who just said it was on the table?" Gu Ruoxiao asked, raising her eyes.

After a moment of silence, Gu Ruoxiao emphasized, "Who is it?"

"Oh dear, I haven't even finished speaking yet, why is this girl in such a hurry? Every time the manager comes to unlock the door, he has to turn off the mechanism on the wall first," someone in the crowd muttered.

Ye Xingchen looked behind her and asked, "Why are there only the two of you?"

“The reinforcements are still on their way,” Chengfeng explained.

Ye Xingchen roughly told Gu Ruoxiao what he had learned and his suspicions.

After thinking for a moment, Gu Ruoxiao had Chengfeng open all the doors of the iron cage.

These people stood in twos and threes, some still inside the cages, unwilling to come out. Everyone stared at the three of them.

We can't stay in the cave any longer; we need to get out quickly.

"Do you know where the exit is?" Ye Xingchen asked, but no one answered.

"Who exactly are you people?" Xu Li asked in return.

“We have been sent by the imperial court to help you,” Chengfeng replied.

Everyone fell silent, and the scene froze for a moment.

"Brother, I think they're good people." Erdan tugged at Xu Li's arm, breaking the silence.

"Don't any of you want to go out?" Ye Xingchen asked.

"What's the point of going out? You'll just get caught and beaten half to death anyway. It's better to live a miserable life than to die," someone in the crowd muttered.

"Exactly. What use are people from the capital? The Cui family is powerful and wealthy, and they're even related to the imperial family. They can't protect us. We'll be in even worse shape after you leave."

"Weren't the county magistrates of earlier years also ambitious, but they all died tragically in the end?"

Everyone was talking about it.

"How long have you been here?" Ye Xingchen asked.

“Sister, I’ve been here for two years, while some of the older brothers and uncles have been here for three or four years,” Erdan blurted out.

"You've been away from home for so long, don't you want to go home and see your families? Can you bear to make your families worry?" Ye Xingchen continued.

Some people in the crowd silently lowered their heads.

"You've been mining in the mountains, working day and night. Recently, an earthquake struck Linchuan, causing heavy casualties in the county. Are you aware of that?" Ye Xingchen continued to press.

"What did you say? How could this happen?" The crowd began to murmur amongst themselves, and everyone's expressions turned grim.

"What happened, whether your family is safe, you need to see for yourselves. You are not only individuals, but also sons, husbands, and fathers. These are responsibilities you need to shoulder." The crowd gradually quieted down.

"Brother, I want to go back and see Mother." Erdan tugged at Xu Li.

“We’ll go with you,” Xu Li said.

"Alright, those who are willing to leave, come with us. The choice is in your hands, and you should have the courage to take responsibility for your choices." After saying that, Ye Xingchen looked at Gu Ruoxiao.

Gu Ruoxiao had been observing coldly for a long time. When Ye Xingchen looked at him, he gestured for Chengfeng to lead the way.

So a group of people followed Chengfeng and walked out along the same road they had come from.

With a deafening roar, numerous stones rained down, instantly blocking the path they had come from.

"Master, they're going to blow up the mountain," Chengfeng said.

"They want to use the excuse of the earth dragon to blow up the mine, raze this place to the ground, and destroy the evidence." Their eyes met, and Ye Xingchen read the same view in Gu Ruoxiao's eyes.

"This way." Chengfeng led the way, and the panicked crowd hurriedly followed.

In the midst of the chaos, the group stumbled into a stone chamber and rested there for a while.

A moment later, Chengfeng returned. "Sir, I checked, it's completely blocked off. And the explosions over there are still going on."

"We must find a way to survive," Gu Ruoxiao said.

A commotion arose in the crowd as Xu Li asked an old man, "Uncle Zhang, you've been here the longest, do you know if there's any way out?"

The old man, named Zhang Bo, waved his hand and said, "How could I possibly know about those people? I've only been to the door of this stone chamber once." He pointed to the door of the stone chamber.

"Have you been to this stone chamber before?" Gu Ruoxiao asked.

"Yes, I brought water, but they wouldn't let me in. It's like this stone chamber is very precious," the old man replied.

"It's precious," the crowd discussed, looking around.

Ye Xingchen looked at the stone chamber. It wasn't very big. There was a statue standing there, which should be an ancestor of the Cui family. The artificial mountain next to it was gushing water, and there was a large pond next to it. He couldn't really see anything valuable about it.

This water... Ye Xingchen suddenly remembered that Nan Rao had mentioned that there was a large body of water next to this mountain. Could there be some hidden secret beneath the water?

"Wang..." Ye Xingchen hurriedly called out, "Young Master Gu, is Chengfeng able to swim?"

Gu Ruoxiao looked at Chengfeng. "I will," Chengfeng replied.

"You suspect the exit is underwater?" Gu Ruoxiao asked, tapping the railing with her fan.

"How will we know if we don't try?" Ye Xingchen replied.

He turned to the crowd and asked, "Is there anyone else who can swim?" No one answered.

"The path to survival depends on everyone's joint efforts," Ye Xingchen emphasized.

“I will,” Xu Li stepped forward. A moment later, two more people stepped forward.

"Are there ropes in the mine?" Ye Xingchen asked after thinking for a moment.

"Yes, I know where it is," Erdan quickly replied.

After some preparation, the four of them were already standing on the shore, ready to go.

Ye Xingchen emphasized, "I'll say it one last time: after you four go into the water, swim in different directions to find the exit. The rope will keep going down. If you encounter danger, pull the rope hard immediately, and we will pull you back right away. If you can't find it, that's okay. You must come up and breathe within the time it takes to brew a cup of tea. Remember, your lives are also very important."

Upon hearing the last sentence, Gu Ruoxiao gave Ye Xingchen a deep look.

Those underwater were searching for a way out, while those on shore were pulling on their ropes; half an hour had passed and they still hadn't found an exit. The sounds of explosions overhead continued to draw closer, and everyone began to panic.

When the three miners surfaced again, they were still shaking their heads. They rested for a moment and waited for Chengfeng to come up and check their direction. But after a while, Chengfeng did not appear.

Time ticked by, but Chengfeng still hadn't appeared, and the rope binding him remained motionless. Gu Ruoxiao gripped the rope tightly. Everyone's hearts were in their throats, and the three miners floated on the water, waiting.

It was extremely quiet all around.