Ji Chenghe, seeing that Steward Xue did not heed his advice, returned to the Red Tree Slope camp, panting and carrying his meat congee.
Alas, some people, when they insist on courting death, not even gods can save them.
Another hour passed. After the people of Red Tree Slope had finished their meal, Lightning finally returned.
It carried a stone in its mouth, its body covered in crimson bloodstains, and behind it followed Heavy Rain, whose fur was dyed red with fresh blood.
When Lightning had left, Bai Sheng, worried about it, had asked Heavy Rain to follow. It seemed her decision was correct; they had indeed encountered an ambush on the way.
"Lightning! Heavy Rain!"
Bai Sheng, Lu Ye, Lu Yun, and the others called out to them and immediately rushed over.
"Lightning, Heavy Rain, you... are you injured?" Bai Sheng's eyes welled up with tears. How could she be so fortunate that these animals that followed her were so loyal?
The two creatures shook their heads. It was not their blood, but the blood of those who had wanted to capture and kill the great silver snake.
They had bitten them all to death and torn them to shreds, especially their faces, which were torn the most.
They could not leave any future trouble for their mistress, lest those people use it as an excuse to trouble her. Therefore, they had destroyed all evidence that could identify them.
Looking at these two beasts, the people from the mine knew that the dozen men they had sent out were all gone.
But they could only suffer in silence. If they admitted to sending people to track, capture, and hunt the great silver snake, wouldn't that be equivalent to admitting to the other party that they had deliberately framed them?
Several mine bosses had grim expressions, their teeth clenching and grinding.
Bai Sheng and Granny Wu examined Lightning and Heavy Rain and, finding no serious injuries, were finally relieved.
Lu Ye picked up the stone and had Wen Zhi Mo cut it open with a professional cutting knife. Then he raised his hand and showed it to the people from the mine.
Upon comparison, the ore that Lightning had found was completely different from what the mine bosses had brought, but it was the same type as the piece Bai Sheng had sold to Wen Zhi Mo.
"Roar roar roar!" The people of Red Tree Slope cheered in unison, their shouts shaking the heavens.
Bai Sheng immediately had her own people, who were guarding the mine, called back. They would need them for the fight to come.
Lu Ye roared loudly, "The facts have proven that your mine, in order to snatch our workers from Red Tree Slope, colluded to frame my Lightning for theft! Today, none of you can escape!"
The foreman of the mine, with his pointed hat, suddenly ran over, shouting as he ran, "Young Master Lu, spare me! This old man was coerced by them! This old man doesn't know those ores at all!"
Yang Ming stepped forward, gave him a fierce kick, and sent him flying back towards the mine, landing at the feet of a mine boss.
That mine boss was furious. He picked up his saber and swung it at the foreman. The foreman's head rolled to the side, and blood splattered everywhere.
The scene was too shocking and gory, yet not a single person from Red Tree Slope covered their children's eyes.
They wanted their children to witness firsthand how hard-won everything at Red Tree Slope was!
They wanted their children to be accustomed to a life of licking blood off swords and blades to survive in this cruel environment!
Bai Sheng picked up the megaphone and said sternly, "Now that the truth is out, my Lightning has found another piece of the same ore. This is enough to prove that you deliberately framed us! Therefore, all of you must kneel down and kowtow three times to my Lightning and say sorry three times! Otherwise, no one will leave Red Tree Slope intact today!"
"That's right! Our mistress is right! You must kowtow and admit your mistakes to Lightning!" a worker shouted from the crowd.
"Kowtow and admit your mistakes, and we'll let you go!" another person shouted.
"Kowtow, admit mistakes! Kowtow, admit mistakes!" everyone echoed loudly.
For so many years, they had never had so much dignity! To make these arrogant and overbearing mine bosses kowtow to a snake and admit their mistakes!
One of the mine bosses opened his mouth wide, seemingly cursing loudly, but due to the overwhelming shouts from the people of Red Tree Slope, Bai Sheng could not hear what he was saying.
"Everyone, please be quiet for a moment!" Bai Sheng turned and raised her hand towards the people behind her.
All the shouting abruptly stopped.
Now Bai Sheng could hear clearly.
The man furiously cursed, "Ignorant lowly peasants! You dare to snatch our workers, you are truly seeking death! Do you know who our patron is? I'm afraid the mere mention of it would scare you to death!"
Bai Sheng sneered: Your Highness the Crown Prince, this time, your own subordinates courted death. Don't blame this young lady for showing no mercy.
"Stop the nonsense. Are you going to kneel or not? Admit your mistakes or not?!" Bai Sheng saw that they were not speaking and smiled, "I will count to three. If you do not kneel and admit your mistakes, then Red Tree Slope will not be polite! One, two, three!"
The people from the mine. Kneel to a snake? How was that possible!
They wanted to see what this pregnant woman could do to them. They had the Crown Prince behind them!
Bai Sheng and Lu Ye exchanged a glance and smiled, "Very good. Now, everyone at Red Tree Slope, listen clearly!
It is these people who have prevented us from planting trees and crops, and who have repeatedly framed us!
It is they who wanted to destroy your livelihoods and force you into those man-eating mines to do the hardest work for the least pay!
Today, we will capture them all, not one will be spared!"
This woman is truly audacious! The mine people looked at each other in terror and drew their weapons.
Some tried to seize the opportunity to escape, but they were intercepted by Yang Ming and a group of people flanking them.
Now, the mine side was completely surrounded by the people of Red Tree Slope.
Lu Ye took the megaphone and shouted loudly, "Listen up, people from the mine! Those who surrender immediately step over here! You will be spared!"
As soon as Lu Ye finished speaking, two or three people rushed out from the mine and stood directly on the side of Red Tree Slope.
The leader was Supervisor Huang, Huang Xiaoyan. Following him were his two confidantes.
From the day he learned that the Crown Prince was privately manufacturing weapons, he had decided to abandon the dark and embrace the light, defecting to Red Tree Slope, which was equivalent to defecting to Prince Yu. He had remained hidden there to continue gathering information about the mine.
"Huang Xiaoyan! You dog bastard! How dare you betray me!" Mine Boss Jiang pointed at Huang Xiaoyan and cursed him loudly.
Huang Xiaoyan stood on the side of Red Tree Slope, smiling at Mine Boss Jiang. Mine Boss Jiang called him stupid every day, but in reality, he was the truly foolish one.
Red Tree Slope had an excellent relationship with Prince Yu. Prince Yu's memorials could directly reach the Emperor. If the Crown Prince privately mined iron ore in Prince Yu's territory and privately manufactured weapons, and if Prince Yu reported it directly to the Emperor, the Crown Prince's situation would not be so good.
Moreover, these people from Red Tree Slope were simply amazing! They could dig wells in the desert, plant trees, grow crops, and they all managed to grow!
Those who could accomplish such things were no ordinary people!
Huang Xiaoyan decided to take a gamble. He bet on Red Tree Slope, he bet on Prince Yu.
There were a few more people who wanted to run over, after all, the people of Red Tree Slope were too terrifying. Dozens of people held shining weapons in their hands, while the workers each held a farm tool. One rake swung at them could surely split their heads open.
But looking at the mine bosses beside them holding dripping sabers, they gave up the idea, as it was highly likely they would be stabbed in the back at any moment.
Seeing that no one else surrendered, Lu Ye turned around and ordered loudly, "Arrest all these people! Commence the operation!"