Chapter 4: Brutality, Slaughter, Plunder Part 2

An utterly absurd thought suddenly surfaced: ever since bringing back the magical beast cub from the Thorny Jungle, he had dreamed for two nights in a row.

But… the figure in his dream seemed about his own age, which made no sense.

Unable to figure it out, Xuzhi simply pushed it aside for now.

He wasn’t exactly normal to begin with—no innate talent, a peculiar constitution, and bouts of fainting sickness.

Adding vivid dreams to the mix didn’t seem all that strange.

Xuzhi prepared to get up when the door was pushed open.

Lante stormed in, cursing furiously. “Those heartless bastards!”

Just before the door shut, some noisy commotion drifted in from outside.

Xuzhi sat up and asked, “What happened?”

“There’s a new notice posted,” Lante said, tapping his blind cane. “Work in the mining district continues as usual today.”

Xuzhi fell silent and buttoned up his coat.

Ming Shuang had been woken by the noise as well. He sat up, gazing at the two men in bewilderment.

By the time Xuzhi had changed his clothes and gone out alone to buy breakfast, one of the mining district overseers was standing in front of the bulletin board, shouting loudly, “Temporary workers can skip it, but contract workers must go!”

Seeing the poor expressions on everyone’s faces around him, he added, “Just for one day! Eight beast tamers have arrived from the valley! Eight of them! What do you all have to fear?”

“The beast tamer lords themselves said it’s safe to enter the mining district today. The risk isn’t that high!”

The miasma fog hadn’t yet reached full eruption. If the beast tamers could control the magical beasts that had already been corrupted, then the others truly did have a chance to linger nearby.

The camp had taken this into account and wanted mining operations to continue for one more day, gathering as many supplies as possible.

Otherwise, after today, they’d have to wait at least three months for the miasma fog to fully dissipate before reopening the mining district.

Even if the miners didn’t want to go, there was no choice. Temporary workers could leave at any time, but contract workers could not.

Their contracts were held by the camp, and they had to hand over enough materials each day to complete their quota.

If any accidents happened, the camp would only lose manpower—they could always find more contract workers later.

Xuzhi watched coldly for a moment before returning to the room.

He had bought thin meat porridge today. After feeding Ming Shuang until he was full, he took the tool kit from the drawer.

Ming Shuang instinctively drew close, wanting to hide in his coat, but Xuzhi stopped him.

“You can’t come with me today,” Xuzhi said in a low voice. “Stay in the room. I’ll be back before noon.”

Once he returned, he could carefully consider what to do with the little dragon hatchling.

Ming Shuang clamped down hard on his sleeve, pretending not to hear.

“The place I’m going is even more dangerous than yesterday,” Xuzhi tried to explain patiently. “If something happens, I won’t be able to protect you.”

The Little Dragon hatchling released his sleeve and hugged his hand instead, letting out a firm “Awoo!”

Then I’ll protect you!

Ming Shuang’s stamina had fully recovered, and though his magic power had been depleted by a third from entering dreams the night before, he still had his dragon breath.

He absolutely refused to separate from Xuzhi. If real danger arose…

Ming Shuang thought to himself that he was a dragon, after all. At the very least, he could make sure he wouldn’t hold Xuzhi back.

He still didn’t quite understand why Xuzhi always had to go to such dangerous places. He’d said the same thing yesterday.

But Xuzhi had already made up his mind and wanted Lante to help watch the little dragon hatchling.

Lante nodded. “Don’t worry about it.”

However, Ming Shuang was just as stubborn.

He refused to go to Lante and flew right back into Xuzhi’s arms the moment he was set down. Even when Xuzhi tried to tie his claws with a strip of cloth, the little dragon hatchling bit through it effortlessly.

Time to head to the mining district was running out, and Xuzhi was at his wits’ end. He finally compromised. “Fine.”

He looked at the little dragon hatchling in his arms, his face tense and his tone stern. “If you’re coming with me, you have to stay hidden. You’re not allowed to go anywhere without my permission.”

If he moved quickly, he could finish his quota in three hours… no, two hours… and get out of the mining district as soon as possible.

Ming Shuang let out a happy “Awoo!” and expertly burrowed into the pocket of Xuzhi’s coat.

Xuzhi carefully adjusted his clothes, grabbed his tool kit, and hurried out the door.

Twenty minutes later, he arrived at the mining district.

Xuzhi had left late and was among the last to arrive. He collected his work uniform and pressed his palm to the magic stone at the entrance to log in.

After donning the work uniform, he strode quickly into the depths of the mining district.

The mining district had originally been part of the valley region. Even after the miasma fog fully dissipated, a thin layer of gray mist still lingered in the air like a dull veil, limiting visibility.

Sunlight seemed blocked out, unable to penetrate through. The surrounding vegetation was withered and listless, exuding an aura of profound decay.

On some of the higher tree trunks and rocks, black crystals of various sizes had condensed.

The crystals wriggled slowly, as if alive.

These were the crystal ores, which had many uses. They couldn’t be touched directly by hand when harvested, or the crystals would explode in a self-destructive attack when startled.

Xuzhi silently approached a crystal ore cluster and carefully used his tools to harvest it with practiced skill, placing it into a sealed wooden box.

There were no temporary workers today, so the number of miners was much smaller. He deliberately chose a secluded spot to avoid anyone noticing anything odd about his coat.

Ming Shuang curled up obediently in the coat pocket, staying quiet.

With Xuzhi’s heartbeat so close, it gave him a faint sense of security, and Xuzhi gradually relaxed a little.

About half an hour later, he’d harvested all the nearby crystal ores and prepared to move elsewhere.

He skirted a cluster of withered bushes ahead and walked a short distance forward.

Suddenly, a thick stench of blood drifted through the air.

Xuzhi halted immediately, warily scanning his surroundings.

Ming Shuang in the coat pocket also caught the unusual scent and jerked his head up.

A gust of wind blew through, scattering the surrounding mist and clearing his line of sight.

Screams rang out in the distance, accompanied by the sounds of trees snapping and being trampled.

At the same time, Xuzhi’s sharp instincts kicked in, and he whipped around to flee.

“Thud—”

Half a mangled, blood-drenched corpse came flying through the air as a black shadow burst from the mist.

It was a giant scorpion, at least a 3rd Tier magic beast. It was in a frenzied state, its originally deep purple eyes dulled and murky—a telltale sign of miasma fog corruption.

No one knew if it had escaped from the valley side or been overlooked by the Miasma-Clearing Team, but it had followed the scent of humans into the mining district.

Xuzhi’s expression grew taut as he instinctively shielded Ming Shuang in his arms.

Unsure if the berserk giant scorpion had spotted him, he fled toward narrower terrain, trying to shake it off.

But the giant scorpion’s hearing was acute. Its tail stinger whipped, sending several bolts of lightning crashing down from nowhere to strike the tree beside Xuzhi.

The tree trunk snapped with a crack, the ground exploded, and Xuzhi had no choice but to leap back and dodge.

At that moment, the giant scorpion locked onto its prey and closed in rapidly.

Two more bolts of lightning hammered down. A crystal ore nearby was startled into exploding. Xuzhi dove to avoid it, forced to roll across the ground twice.

The giant scorpion’s form emerged from the mist. It panted roughly, exhaling thick black miasma from its nostrils. Its elongated tail stinger crackled with electricity, poised to lash at Xuzhi.

Xuzhi had just pushed himself up when he saw the little dragon hatchling wriggle out from his coat.

Ming Shuang leaped forward, assuming a battle stance in front of him. He slammed his paw down with a fierce “Awoo!”

Xuzhi’s face darkened. He didn’t have time to stop him. “No!”

Frost spread from the young dragon’s paw, infused with dragon breath as ice magic surged toward the giant scorpion.

A faint glow lit the ground as an attack magic array formed. The temperature around them plummeted, even solidifying some of the black miasma clinging to the giant scorpion.

The giant scorpion’s massive body shuddered, and it let out a pained groan. Under the pressure of draconic might, it instinctively felt fear and submission.

But in its frenzied state, it had little reason left. The final bolt of lightning from its tail stinger still came crashing down.

Xuzhi’s heart nearly stopped. He rolled at the last instant, pulling Ming Shuang protectively into his arms.

The lightning struck his back. He grunted in pain.

The sight of Xuzhi’s injury reignited the giant scorpion’s fury. Its tail stinger whipped forward, coiling around his leg and dragging him closer.

Ming Shuang was both anxious and enraged. He launched himself at the giant scorpion.

His dragon breath was spent, and he had only a sliver of magic power left, but it sharpened his claws with concentrated frost.

Ming Shuang slashed viciously at the giant scorpion’s right eye. It recoiled in pain.

But it didn’t release its grip on Xuzhi’s leg. Instead, it lowered its head, baring its fangs, intent on killing to soothe its agony and inner turmoil.

Xuzhi calmly raised his hand to block. The fangs pierced his arm.

His other hand gripped a short dagger, stabbing precisely into the giant scorpion’s left eye.

Remnants of frost lingered in the air, hampering the giant scorpion’s movements. It couldn’t dodge and staggered.

Black blood laced with miasma fog dripped along the blade onto Xuzhi.

The moment it touched his skin, the blood evaporated into mist, sizzling with electric currents.

It was the giant scorpion’s lightning system magic elements.

Xuzhi suddenly felt his body grow heavy, his breathing labored.

His mind clouded over. In a daze, his pupils contracted sharply as an uncontrollable surge of emotions welled up within him.

Brutality, slaughter, plunder.