Chapter 460: Chapter 212: Dispute—Can’t Hold It? (Part 2)

That Cheng Ping is only arrogant in front of us; didn’t his sister obediently become Chen Yingba’s concubine? Those elite families, which one isn’t a watchdog of the Chen Family, trying every day to send women to the two brothers and flatter them? Such trash, calling them elites, I spit on them…”

Seeing Li Baihe’s voice getting louder, Shang Ping listened in shock and quickly went to close the door. He was about to tell Li Baihe to keep his voice down, but then Li Baihe continued speaking.

“Do you really think that by marrying Cheng to the Duan Family, that Duan Xing will help persuade the other seven families to jointly recommend you? Don’t be naive. Last year and the year before, weren’t three elites the descendants of those elite families?

Even with an arranged marriage, they will wait a generation or two before granting the promotion qualifications. You should know well enough that even if Cheng marries into the Duan Family, he will have to work diligently for them for at least a decade before having any real opportunity for promotion, right?”

Luo Ming’s silence was testimony enough to Li Baihe’s harsh truths.

Shang Ping beside him opened his mouth but ended up saying nothing.

What Li Baihe said was harsh, but it was an undeniable reality.

“Besides, the woman sent by the Duan Family for the marriage clearly looks down on Cheng and us. Have you asked Cheng if he’s willing to marry her? Even if the marriage is arranged, we’ll still have to bow our heads in submission afterward. What’s the point?”

“What exactly are you trying to say?”

Upon hearing Luo Ming’s inquiry, Li Baihe looked him straight in the eye and spoke:

“My intention should be clear to you, older brother. The Beehive isn’t a good place. Never mind comparing it to Great Xia; in terms of strength, it’s even inferior to our Rogel Camp. Staying here, our best outcome would be becoming slaves of the Chen Family. Returning to Redwood Ridge, returning to Great Xia, is our best path forward!”

The last sentence was spoken by Li Baihe with decisive clarity, rendering Luo Ming and Shang Ping silent for a long time.

“Big brother, regardless of what you think, this Hong Yu is our best chance to return to Great Xia. I must seize it. Given Cheng Ping’s nature, the mining area must have plans on how to deal with Hong Yu. Maybe as soon as day breaks, they’ll send someone after him. I need to go bring him over!”

After Li Baihe finished speaking, he immediately turned and left the room, obviously heading to the mining area to find Hong Yu.

Luo Ming got up to call him back but opened his mouth and couldn’t get the words out.

Shang Ping beside him also didn’t know what to say and eventually just sighed.

“Uncle He, wait for me!”

Li Baihe had just walked out the door and hadn’t reached the passageway when someone stopped him.

“Little Cheng, why are you here?”

Turning around, he saw his nephew Luo Cheng, and Li Baihe’s expression shifted in surprise.

Luo Cheng walked up to Li Baihe, hesitated slightly, and said, “Uncle He, I want to go with you to find Hong Yu.”

Li Baihe paused upon hearing this, seeing the hesitation on Luo Cheng’s face. He immediately realized that Luo Cheng must have overheard his conversation inside with Luo Ming.

“Little Cheng, this is between your father and me, you don’t need to get involved.”

Luo Cheng showed a worried look and said, “Uncle He, I don’t want to marry into the Duan Family, nor do I want to stay in the Beehive Camp. I want to return to Great Xia.”

Li Baihe was startled and hadn’t yet responded before Luo Cheng continued speaking.

“I remember the leader of the Great Xia Camp, Xia Hong. When the Wood Puppet Monster turmoil occurred two years ago, he saved us. I recall his strong abilities and good nature; we’ll definitely be happier returning to Redwood Ridge than staying here.”

Looking at the still somewhat youthful face of Luo Cheng, Li Baihe felt a pang of heartache.

It was clear that Luo Cheng wouldn’t dare say these things to Luo Ming.

Li Baihe knew well that Luo Ming’s changes over the years were ultimately for paving the way for his youngest son, Luo Cheng. But he never considered what Luo Cheng really wanted.

Luo Cheng was an obedient child, empathetic to his father’s intentions, and never willing to speak these things to Luo Ming. He only focused on cultivation to avoid disappointing him.

“Alright, Little Cheng, I’ll take you to find him!”

Considering that Hong Yu’s status in Great Xia likely isn’t low, taking Luo Cheng to meet him and leaving an impression wouldn’t be a bad thing, so Li Baihe nodded, took Luo Cheng along, and headed towards the mining area.

………

“Our Beehive has a total of four iron mines, interconnected through underground tunnels after years of mining. The four mining areas are essentially adjacent, only differing in mining entrances, with eight in total.

You’re new here, so you’ve been assigned to the eighth area. There are eight numbered tunnels over there. It’s about dawn now, so you should sleep first. When the night falls, someone will call you to receive a pickaxe, and then you can follow the team over.”

After exiting the nineteenth tunnel, there is a large space about a hundred meters in diameter.

Besides a wooden house by the entrance, the stone walls in the southeast and west directions have hundreds of small caves lined up, likely for miners to reside in;

The north side has eight tunnels, marked from 1 to 8, evidently the entrances to the mining areas.

Xia Hong was standing at the wooden house entrance as the supervisor explained the precautions to him and pointed to a small stone chamber on the west, indicating that cave 93 would be his residence.

“Why isn’t there much foot traffic in the eighth tunnel?”

It was soon going to be daylight, according to the Ice Abyss schedule—it was time to sleep. Therefore, many miners were returning through the tunnels, but Xia Hong observed for a while and noticed that the vast majority were returning from the first seven tunnels. Few people came back from the eighth tunnel, which piqued his curiosity.