Rebirth and Rewriting Fate

The sound was off, and the immersive experience told Ye Xingchen that something was wrong.

"Zhu Ling, let's go take a look at the back." Ye Xingchen led Zhu Ling to the back.

The road was littered with gravel, making it difficult for pedestrians. After walking for about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, we found cart tracks next to the tangled grass, indicating that we had come from another direction.

Following the tire tracks, we arrived at an inconspicuous entrance. The entrance was small, only wide enough for two people to pass through. A little further inside, there was a mechanism, presumably for hoisting bags of goods up. The weeds growing near the entrance showed signs of being trampled, and some yellowish-black powder was scattered among them.

Ye Xingchen squatted down and examined it closely, touching it with her hand, and realized with a start that it was sulfur and gunpowder. This wasn't the work of an earth dragon; it was man-made blasting of the mountain. She was absolutely certain of it.

Once they understood this, they realized the gravity of the situation. If they didn't stop it, and the blasting of the mountain continued, everyone was likely to perish.

"Zhu Ling, go back immediately and tell the Prince that this is not an earth dragon, but someone is trying to blow up the mountain," Ye Xingchen said decisively.

"Miss, let's go back together," Zhu Ling said, almost in tears.

"I have to stay and keep an eye on things, so I can react to any situation that might arise," Ye Xingchen explained.

"But..." Zhu Ling said, frightened.

"Good boy, the sooner you see the prince, the sooner I'll be safer," Ye Xingchen encouraged.

"Okay, okay, Miss, I'll go right away. Wait for me." Zhu Ling hurriedly ran off.

"Have we arrived at the map?" Gu Ruoxiao asked from the other side, having just dealt with the unexpected situation.

"Here it is, Your Highness, please take a look." The steward hurriedly handed over the map.

"Is there an exit on this side of the mountain?" Gu Ruoxiao asked after looking around for a moment.

"Ah, I just sent someone to ask, and we'll have the answer soon. What a coincidence, you're asking this question too. Is it that important?" the steward said, wiping his sweat.

"Who asked?" Gu Ruoxiao asked, puzzled.

"A girl asked the same question just now." The steward looked around and said, "Huh, why isn't she here now? Maybe she was scared by the earth dragon just now."

Gu Ruoxiao pondered for a moment, "Chengfeng, where is Miss Ye?"

"Reporting to you, sir, I have failed in my duty. I did not see Miss Ye, nor did I see Miss Zhuling beside her," Chengfeng said.

"Are you talking about those two young ladies who were just over there? One of them even gave me a pancake," said a man who looked like a local villager. "I just saw them head that way." The man pointed in the direction.

"What place is over there?" Gu Ruoxiao asked.

"That's the other side of this mountain," the uncle replied.

"Chengfeng, take someone with you and come over there to take a look," Gu Ruoxiao said. "Major General Xu, I'm leaving this place to you."

The major general at the city gate hurriedly accepted the order.

Zhu Ling ran in a hurry and even tripped and fell. The pain brought tears to her eyes, but she was scared and couldn't stop. Her young mistress was waiting for her to bring reinforcements.

Fortunately, footsteps could be heard not far away.

Zhu Ling looked up and seemed to see hope.

"Your Highness! Your Highness!" Zhu Ling shouted.

"Miss Zhuling, what happened? Where is your young lady?" Gu Ruoxiao asked.

Zhu Ling hurriedly explained everything in detail, emphasizing the instructions given by the young lady.

Gu Ruoxiao realized the seriousness of the problem. "Take this girl back and tell Major General Xu to bring a team of men to meet us here."

“But it’s my young lady,” Zhu Ling said urgently.

"You should go back first. You're only holding us back. Don't worry, I'll definitely bring your young lady back," Gu Ruoxiao promised.

On the other side, Ye Xingchen was looking at the hanging basket and felt that he should do something.

Fortunately, she knew she had to rely on herself while traveling, and she had brought her dagger. Ye Xingchen pulled the dagger from her boot and cut the rope of the hanging basket. The basket fell, the oil above spilled out, and the oil lamps in the cave lit up one by one.

Holding the dagger, Ye Xingchen pondered for a moment before slowly advancing.

What's there to be afraid of when you've already died once!

The further they went, the weaker the oil lamp became. After walking for about the time it takes to brew a cup of tea, they saw torches illuminating the way ahead.

As Ye Xingchen approached, he saw a large cave with several large cages built against the cave walls using iron bars. Dozens of people were imprisoned inside, but they were all motionless, some leaning against the wall, others lying down, as if they were asleep. There were no guards around.

Ye Xingchen quietly stepped forward, nudged someone, and whispered, "Hey, wake up! Wake up!" But the person remained unmoved.

Ye Xingchen looked around. Although the lights were on, the place was so quiet, a deathly stillness.

"Are you here to bring us food?" a weak voice asked.

Ye Xingchen searched and found that the sound was coming from behind the person who had their back to him, where a small head was peeking out slightly.

"Is that you speaking? Come here for a moment?" Ye Xingchen called softly.

The little boy thought for a moment and then moved over.

"Do you know what happened to these people?" Ye Xingchen pointed to the people on the ground.

“They’re all asleep. You didn’t come to deliver food, so were you just captured too?” the little boy asked.

"Then why aren't you asleep?" Ye Xingchen asked curiously.

"My stomach hurt last night, so I didn't eat any steamed buns." The little boy took a steamed bun out of his pocket and handed it to Ye Xingchen. "Are you hungry? Do you want some?"

Ye Xingchen took the steamed bun, broke it open, and smelled it. It turned out that a large amount of sleeping pills had been put in it, no wonder they were all fast asleep.

How old are you this year? What's your name?

“I’m almost ten years old, and everyone calls me Erdan. That’s my older brother, his name is Xu Li.” The little boy pointed to the man he had just been leaning against.

"Then why are you here, and what are you doing here?" Ye Xingchen continued to ask.

"We're digging up those big, dark rocks here," the little boy gestured. "Is it almost dawn outside now?"

“It’s daytime now.” Ye Xingchen frowned.

"Huh?" Erdan looked puzzled.

It seems someone is keeping them locked up here, controlling these miners. To avoid attracting attention, they've been given large amounts of sedatives and forced to work day and night.

Looking at the iron lock, Ye Xingchen glanced at his small dagger and was speechless. It was probably impossible to cut through it.

The most urgent task is to bring them all to their senses.

Fortunately, having created so many poisons in his past life, he still carried some medicine with him. Ye Xingchen quickly mixed the antidote into water and had Erdan feed it to everyone. Before long, people began to wake up in twos and threes.

Among the awakened crowd, some stared warily, while others had empty, lifeless eyes.

"Sister, this is my older brother, Xu Li." The boy named Erdan grinned at Ye Xingchen, while the man named Xu Li quickly hid the child behind his back and asked, "Who are you? What do you want?"

Having no intention of getting involved, Ye Xingchen asked directly, "Where is the key to the iron cage?"

Xu Li stared at him coldly, without saying a word.

"It's in the box in the center of the stage," someone in the crowd shouted.

Ye Xingchen looked at the center of the platform, where tables, chairs, and goods were arranged. Besides bowls and utensils, there was also a small box on the stone table.

It should be in there. Ye Xingchen guessed to himself, then walked over and opened the box.

"Hey, wait a minute!" As Xu Li spoke, the sound of bamboo arrows piercing the air suddenly came from all around.

In that instant, Ye Xingchen realized he had triggered a trap and could only frantically dodge the arrows.

However, an arrow is coming straight at him, piercing his vital point.

It's over. Ye Xingchen closed his eyes. Was his second life really over just like that?