For example, marrying a wife, or flying into the skies.
He wanted to marry a virtuous wife who could give him a cute little boy.
He wanted to fly, to reach the hazy clouds in his memories, to gaze at the sky, to look at the earth, and to feel the wild wind against his face.
That must be beautiful.
"If I die, only Fourth Brother will be left."
Chen Shaohu covered his nose, looked at his panicked Fourth Brother, and couldn't help but cry aloud.
Crying and crying.
He suddenly realized his nosebleed had stopped.
"..."
Chen Shaohu wiped away the blood, let go of his hand, and, sure enough, it wasn't bleeding anymore.
At that moment.
He felt a little embarrassed and awkwardly looked at Fourth Brother, thinking how shameful it was to cry like that earlier, fearing Fourth Brother might scorn him.
"It's normal to have a nosebleed from the heat."
Chen Jichuan relaxed upon seeing this, smiled at Chen Shaohu.
But his heart was far from eased.
It had started with nausea and retching.
This time, it was nosebleeds.
What might come in the next few days?
Chen Jichuan helped Chen Shaohu sit on a raised stone, layered with dry grass and covered with a cotton blanket: "Take a rest first."
Then he turned around.
Grabbed the iron shovel and started hammering away furiously.
There were Black Armor guards stationed at the base of the ladder on the mountain; escaping was impossible. The only way now was to quickly find twenty pieces of Spirit Ore and get Chen Shaohu out first.
"Fourth Brother."
"I'm fine."
Chen Shaohu didn't feel right resting either. Supporting himself, he stood up and continued breaking apart the ores.
The time came again when the mist thickened.
Chen Jichuan and Chen Shaohu walked out of the cave to report to the overseer.
They reached the foot of the ladder.
Chen Jichuan glanced around casually and noticed that far fewer people had come tonight. The overseer tallied the numbers, and sure enough, there used to be 478 people, but now there were only 454, a reduction of 24.
"Master."
"My dad is worn out; the ladder is too high. If he climbs down again, he'll fall to his death."
Even in the North Second District where Chen Jichuan was, some had not shown up.
Chen Jichuan turned toward the person who spoke and recognized Li Ming. His father, Li Sanshui, was one of those absent. No one knew what crime the duo had committed to get locked up in this place, but they'd been here in the North Second District for two years now and had always seemed fairly agreeable.
Now.
Li Ming was grinning obsequiously at Mine Supervisor Qian Lai.
Qian Lai completely ignored him—
Smack!
He swung his whip straight across Li Ming's face, leaving a bloody mark.
"Ah!"
The pain was unbearable.
And the strike was too sudden.
Li Ming was knocked to the ground, clutching his face and screaming in agony.
The other miners in the North Second District were stunned.
Usually.
This Qian Lai was mild-mannered and had never lost his temper. But now, without saying a word, he raised his hand and struck, scaring everyone out of their wits.
"Back at the 19th Mine, even the mine supervisors like Qian Lai had their own assessments, and needed to complete a monthly quota. Thus, they'd hesitate to abuse or beat miners without cause, as fewer Iron-repellent Ores collected meant penalties or tarnished reputations."
"But now—"
Chen Jichuan smiled bitterly in his heart, an icy chill spreading deeper.
"Get Li Sanshui down here quickly."
"Fall to your death, or I'll whip you to death. Take your pick!"
Qian Lai coiled his whip, sneering coldly as he stared at Li Ming.
"I—"
"I'll go right away."
Li Ming didn't dare protest and quickly went to find Li Sanshui.
It wasn't just Li Ming.
Nor only Li Sanshui who hadn't shown up.
The base of the mountain erupted in chaos, with cries and commotion echoing for a while—
Only to fall into an eerie silence.
Shortly after.
Amid the quiet, there came the sound of 'bang,' 'bang,' shocking everyone until they shivered.
Chen Jichuan exchanged a glance with Chen Shaohu: "Someone fell to their death!"
It was clear that someone had slipped off the ladder.
From such a high cliffside, the fall was unquestionably fatal.
"Father!"
"Brother!"
Faintly, cries could be heard from the distant foot of the mountain.
Chen Jichuan felt an icy chill inside.
Not knowing when he and Chen Shaohu might meet the same fate, falling to their deaths.
As his mind wandered.
The overseer left.
Among the 24 miners who hadn't shown up, 10 had fallen to their deaths with a 'bang, bang.'
Of the remaining 14, 8 were taken away after inspection.
Li Sanshui from the North Second District was one of them.
Chen Jichuan saw clearly that Li Sanshui was utterly exhausted, with large patches of his gray hair fallen out, giving him a somewhat comical appearance. Qian Lai ordered him to stick out his tongue, which was covered in blisters, clearly symptoms of oral ulcers.
"Hair loss."
"Oral ulcers."
Chen Jichuan observed Li Sanshui's condition and felt more certain of his earlier theory: "Radiation!"
...
Returning to the cave.
Chen Shaohu was a little scared: "Li Ming said his dad started feeling nauseous and retching seven or eight days ago, then had nosebleeds, and in just the last two days, his hair started falling out. The man's completely drained."
"It's nothing."
"Mr. Li is old. He just can't endure the strain anymore."
Chen Jichuan knew what Chen Shaohu was thinking and spoke up to reassure him.
But inside, he steeled himself and continued to hammer away frantically at the ores, searching for Spirit Ore.
Chen Shaohu noticed this.
He stayed silent.
But he worked alongside, knowing that it might not take more than a few days before he ended up just like Li Sanshui, with hair falling out, blistered tongue, and then—
...
Three more days passed.
Over these three days.
More and more miners began showing various symptoms—
Including, but not limited to, nosebleeds, hair loss, and oral ulcers, as well as symptoms of skin ulceration and coughing up blood.
Some even overheated and burned into piles of ash; others froze entirely into blocks of ice.
Panic spread.
Some couldn't bear it and tried to flee, but were intercepted by the Black Armor guards and hung from the cliffs.
Others gave into despair and leapt from the caves, ending their suffering.
Most, however, succumbed to worsening illness, falling by accident or being taken away by the overseers, their whereabouts unknown.
Chen Jichuan didn't think about escape.
Didn't want to fall to his death.
Didn't want to be taken away.
So he worked even harder, to the point of seeming almost manic.
Chen Shaohu's nosebleeds became more frequent, occurring increasingly often. Aware that his days were numbered, he spent his time chatting and joking with his Fourth Brother, reminiscing about the past and dreaming about the future.
He worked harder too, just hoping to help his Fourth Brother find a few more Spirit Ores before he died.
On the seventeenth day in the cave.
Chen Shaohu held his nose with one hand.
He was bleeding again.
And with the other hand, he gripped an iron shovel, striking heavily at a millstone-sized Iron-repellent Ore—
Clang!
The ore broke apart, revealing a chunk of green stone.
No larger than a baby's fist.
Uneven and blemished.
"Spirit Ore!"
Chen Shaohu froze, then was overjoyed, picking it up and stumbling forward to find Chen Jichuan: "Fourth Brother, I found one!"
Chen Jichuan lifted his head.
At a glance, he saw the indigo-colored stone in Chen Shaohu's hand, slightly smaller than the piece Feng Mo had once shown them. His expression brightened with happiness.
It was the first Spirit Ore they had ever found.
This was the beginning.
This was hope.
"Only nineteen more to go."
Chen Jichuan's tone was lighthearted, but bitterness filled his heart.
Chen Shaohu, however, didn't notice. Excitedly clutching his nose and holding the Spirit Ore, he handed it to Fourth Brother with eager eyes: "Spirit Ore is so hard to find. Do you think there's something strange about it? Fourth Brother, take a look."
The local boy had listened to many stories Chen Jichuan shared.
Now he couldn't help but recall plots where heroes began their rise to greatness. Despite understanding that death loomed near, he held onto hope, unwilling to give up until his very last breath.
Thinking about how terrifying this place was.
And how those adults overseeing the mine placed such great value on Spirit Ore. Perhaps there was something fishy about it—possibly even a life-saving opportunity.
"Something strange?"
Chen Jichuan took the Spirit Ore and smiled bitterly inwardly: "What could be strange about it? All those symptoms—the dizziness, the nausea—are probably caused by radiation from this very Spirit Ore."
As these thoughts ran through his mind.
He looked at Chen Shaohu's hopeful eyes and couldn't bear to crush his dreams.
He also knew that Old Fifth likely wouldn't last much longer. The only thing he could do was to make his final days a little happier.
His mind shifted, ready to say something comforting—
But unexpectedly—
...
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