"We haven't reached the place yet, who knows if things won't take a turn for the better."
Chen Xin remained calm.
Wheat Field and the others didn't believe him, thinking Chen Xin was clearly deceiving himself with these words.
However, a person suddenly burst into the slave barracks at this moment.
He wore bronze armor, and Chen Xin knew at a glance that this person was a soldier of freeman origin.
After he came in, he didn't say a word and immediately kicked Da Hei, the young slave who had previously mocked Chen Xin for looking at Cultivation Techniques, hard against the wall.
The reason was simply that the soldier's arrival made him freeze at the doorway and forget to make way, so Da Hei received the lesson he deserved.
However, after kicking the person, the soldier was clearly unwilling to move even a single step further inside.
Just standing outside this dog-kennel-like barracks made the soldier feel as though his body and mind were being defiled.
"You guys are lucky, the court's war with the Eastern Yi is going to stop for a few years, at least you won't die immediately.
But you are still useful.
Clean yourselves up and follow me to the mine in the West of Ji City tomorrow.
You'd best not think about escaping on the way, otherwise I'll let you know what it means to live a life worse than death!"
After the soldier finished speaking, he left.
Although it was a very simple sentence, it determined the fate of Chen Xin and the others.
Some were happy, some were sad.
When they heard they didn't have to go to the battlefield, Chen Xin's colleagues cheered and were extremely excited.
Some knelt on the ground, praying to ghosts and gods, thanking them for their protection.
Some laughed like idiots.
Only Wheat Field looked troubled.
Among the six people, he was the only one not so young.
Although the death rate in the slave mine was not as high as on the battlefield, for an old person like Wheat Field, it was indeed something that wouldn't allow him to live much longer.
As for Da Hei, who was kicked to the side, it was clearly not as simple as just being casually kicked, as it appeared on the surface.
He hadn't gotten up since being kicked, just lay in the corner, covering his stomach and groaning softly, not daring to make a sound.
Nothing to say overnight, the next day, as soon as dawn broke, Chen Xin and the others were called up.
They quickly packed their few belongings, and everyone left the barracks, with Wheat Field being the last to leave.
"What's the point of the old man dragging his feet?
Will staying inside a little longer save him from death?"
After losing the threat of death, these young slaves no longer saw Wheat Field as their backbone like they did when they were worried before.
They began to joke around casually, treating the hardship Wheat Field was about to face as a topic for conversation and laughter.
Wheat Field came out shortly after.
Chen Xin noticed his face was full of confusion and worry.
Shaking his head, Chen Xin didn't pay attention to him.
Turning his head, Chen Xin observed the surroundings.
At least a thousand slaves were being transferred this time.
Everyone had different appearances, but everyone was equally disheveled, equally like ants...
The soldier who had visited Chen Xin and the others' barracks yesterday arrived again.
He threw a bundle of thick rope, signaling Chen Xin and the others to tie their hands to the rope and follow him.
Chen Xin was not unfamiliar with this and didn't say much, skillfully tying his hands to the rope.
The soldier suddenly frowned: "How is there one person missing?
Weren't there six of you?
Where is that slave?"
A young slave closest to the soldier quickly replied: "He was kicked by you yesterday and is still lying inside, unable to get up."
The soldier slapped this slave's face with his hand.
The slave was hit hard, and half of his face immediately turned red.
"Didn't I tell you to call me Lord Shu?"
Chen Xin muttered in his heart, 'You really didn't tell us,' but Chen Xin was already used to these people's casual actions.
Lord Shu pointed at two slaves who hadn't had time to tie themselves to the rope and said: "Truly useless.
You two go and carry it.
Even if it dies, it has to wait until it reaches the mine to die."
Da Hei was quickly carried out and then casually tied to the rope.
When all six people were tied to the same rope, Lord Shu, like leading a dog, pulled the front end of the rope and set off to join the large group and begin the transfer.
...
About three hours into the journey, Lord Shu went behind a tree to relieve himself.
Wheat Field, the elder among the slaves, quickly seized the opportunity and began to persuade them: "Even if we are temporarily exempted from military service now, we will still face a narrow escape from death when we reach the mine.
It's too hard and too tiring there.
I heard many people die before they turn thirty.
Even those in the best health have never been heard of living there past thirty-five.
If you ask me, now is our chance to escape.
I can untie the knot now, then I'll cut the rope and take you guys to run.
What do you say?"
Except for Wheat Field, the remaining slaves were all young people.
The oldest slave besides Wheat Field was only less than 23 years old.
Naturally, no one was willing to take the risk.
Going to the mine would allow them to live for at least another ten years, but choosing to run would truly be a narrow escape from death.
No one paid attention to Wheat Field.
Those who had previously sighed about not escaping with Wheat Field now looked as if they didn't know him.
Even though Wheat Field later spoke of the benefits of freedom, no one was willing to follow.
In the end, Wheat Field didn't muster the courage to escape by himself, because he knew his limitations.
Chen Xin estimated that after walking for another two hours, the mine finally appeared in the sight of Chen Xin and the others.
It was clearly a newly discovered mine shaft, and there were still slaves transporting Materials and building the outer wooden fence.
Everyone envied the slaves doing construction work, because at least they didn't have to go down into the mine.
There wasn't much time to adapt.
Chen Xin and the others arrived here at noon, and after being assigned living quarters and eating, they had to start going down into the mine in the afternoon.
The Overseer of Chen Xin's mine shaft was a minor noble.
After this layman, who had never mined himself, told the slaves how to do their work, he distributed bronze picks and wooden buckets that could be carried on their backs to each slave, and then drove Chen Xin and the others into the mine shaft.
After entering the interior of the mine shaft, Chen Xin found that it was not as dark as he had expected.
There were luminous stones hanging at intervals here.
Chen Xin had seen Master use these stones before, they seemed to be called fluorite.
Although the entrance was not large, the inside was still very spacious.
At least a hundred people came in this time, but it didn't feel crowded inside.
Chen Xin liked to be alone, so he found a secluded corner that could only accommodate him, and then began to observe the surroundings.
The lighting here seemed to be one thing, but other than that, there was no safety protection whatsoever.
Clearly, this place would be closed whenever it collapsed, as for whether slaves would be buried when that happened, it's probable that those people hadn't considered this issue.