Invincible Soul Emperor

Chapter 246: Chapter 246 I’m Here to Buy Mining Slaves

Ye Qingchen had no intention of forcibly rescuing his father, so he disguised himself as a merchant. Not far from the Xuan Ore Cave, he asked around about the situation before heading inside.

Five hundred meters from the entrance, disciples of the Heavenly Profound Sect stopped Ye Qingchen.

”Halt your carriage! What’s your business here?”

Ye Qingchen smiled, hopped down from the carriage, and said to the disciple who had stopped him, ”Sir, I am a traveling merchant. I would like to speak with the person in charge here to discuss a deal.”

The Heavenly Profound Sect disciple furrowed his brows. He looked at Ye Qingchen’s absurdly young face, which hardly seemed like that of a merchant. However, seeing Ye Qingchen ostentatiously riding a Raging Cloud Horse, he figured the young man’s identity couldn’t be simple.

Therefore, the disciple hesitated. Ye Qingchen smiled, clasped his hands respectfully, and discreetly slipped a low-grade Spirit Stone into the man’s hand.

This man was just an outer disciple of the Heavenly Profound Sect, and a single low-grade Spirit Stone was equivalent to his entire annual stipend. After accepting the stone, his face lit up. He became much more respectful toward Ye Qingchen and said, ”Please wait a moment, Young Master. I need to report this.”

Ye Qingchen nodded, and the disciple trotted off into the Xuan Ore Cave.

Over ten minutes later, the disciple returned, accompanied by a brawny, fleshy-faced middle-aged martial artist. This was the man in charge of the Xuan Ore Cave, Zhang Changshui. The disciple had spoken highly of Ye Qingchen in front of Zhang Changshui, emphasizing how generous the young man was with his money.

Zhang Changshui was the type whose eyes lit up at the sight of money, so when he heard a big spender had arrived, he rushed out to greet him.

The two approached Ye Qingchen, and the disciple made the introduction. ”Young Master, this is the man in charge of our Xuan Ore Cave, Steward Zhang Changshui.”

Ye Qingchen clasped his hands respectfully toward Zhang Changshui and said, ”This humble one greets Steward Zhang.”

As he spoke, Ye Qingchen handed Zhang Changshui a brocade pouch.

Zhang Changshui took the pouch and weighed it in his hand, discerning that it contained at least dozens of low-grade Spirit Stones. Overjoyed, he laughed heartily and said to Ye Qingchen, ”And how may I address you, Young Master? What brings you to our Xuan Ore Cave?”

Ye Qingchen smiled and replied, ”I am a traveling merchant, surnamed Liu. I’m the third oldest at home, so everyone calls me Liu San. Might we speak in private?”

Zhang Changshui nodded repeatedly. He instructed the disciple to look after the carriage, then led ”Liu San” into the Xuan Ore Cave.

Only upon approaching the Xuan Ore Cave did Ye Qingchen get a clear view. A huge mountain of ore loomed before him, with a dark entrance about three to four meters high. Even in broad daylight, no light penetrated the pitch-black opening, making it look like the gaping maw of a beast, ready to devour everything outside.

Ye Qingchen furrowed his brows. Could it be that Father has been living here for the past ten years?

However, Zhang Changshui certainly didn’t reside within the cave itself. Instead, a neat row of houses stood just outside, and he led Ye Qingchen into one of them.

Ye Qingchen pushed his thoughts aside. Rescuing his father was the priority. He said to Zhang Changshui, ”Steward Zhang, to be frank, I came here hoping to purchase something from you.”

Zhang Changshui paused, surprised. The Xuan Ore Cave produced nothing but ore, and judging by Ye Qingchen’s attire, he didn’t look like an ore merchant. Puzzled, he asked, ”What does Young Master Liu wish to purchase? Feel free to speak your mind.”

Ye Qingchen smiled and said, ”I have heard that the miner slaves of your Heavenly Profound Sect are all prime material, carefully selected for their ability to work. Therefore, I would like to boldly ask if I could purchase a few from you, Steward Zhang, to serve as servants back home. Rest assured, I am willing to pay one hundred low-grade Spirit Stones for each slave!”

Upon hearing this, Zhang Changshui’s mouth fell open in astonishment. If there was one thing the Xuan Ore Cave had in abundance, it was miner slaves. Moreover, the Heavenly Profound Sect had originally purchased these miners for only one or two low-grade Spirit Stones each.

Ye Qingchen was offering the exorbitant price of one hundred low-grade Spirit Stones per slave. Doesn’t that mean I could make a huge profit? What’s more, countless miners die in the Xuan Ore Cave every year. I can just report to the Sect that these ones died, and all those Spirit Stones will be mine!

At this thought, Zhang Changshui was overjoyed and personally led Ye Qingchen into the Xuan Ore Cave to select some slaves.

Upon entering the cave, Ye Qingchen’s brow furrowed even more deeply. The air was thick with the stench of decay. The few slaves he saw were all hunched over, clad in rags, and swung their pickaxes with feeble, listless motions. It was obvious they had long suffered from malnutrition.

Zhang Changshui saw Ye Qingchen’s deepening frown as he looked at the skeletal miners. Fearing this big spender might lose interest, cutting off his path to riches, he hurriedly explained, ”Young Master Liu, the quality of the slaves varies. Let’s continue further inside; there are better ones deeper in.”

Of course, Ye Qingchen had no intention of buying slaves. However, he hadn’t found any trace of his father yet, so he had no choice but to follow Zhang Changshui deeper into the cave.

The deeper they went, the darker it became. Yet with Ye Qingchen’s strength and the aid of his Dual Pupil Martial Soul, he could still see clearly. What infuriated him, however, was that the living conditions of the miners only grew more miserable the further they went. The Heavenly Profound Sect disciples guarding the mine treated these slaves as less than human, beating or cursing them at the slightest provocation. Furthermore, many of the miners were shackled, their bodies covered in bloody scars from the disciples’ abuse.

After roughly two hours, Ye Qingchen had finally walked through the entire Xuan Ore Cave.

To his bitter disappointment, he saw no sign of his father. A terrible premonition arose within him, and his heart sank. The information from my Double Pupils can’t be wrong. Qin Dahai’s thought was that Father had been sold here. But I haven’t found him...

Ye Qingchen’s worry grew. Could Father have already died in this Xuan Ore Cave?

Meanwhile, Zhang Changshui was growing concerned. After their complete tour, the young master before him seemed to have found no slaves to his liking. He asked Ye Qingchen, ”Young Master Liu, among those miner slaves you saw, did any catch your fancy?”