sbdcsierra Chapter 358 A Huge Urn
Chapter 358 A Huge Urn
The situation at Yankeng was now in complete chaos.
The steward, who had been subdued by Lu Yangyang, had lost an arm and was in excruciating pain. These stewards were used to swaggering around and couldn't bear this humiliation. But no matter how ignorant he was of the situation, he didn't dare to confront Lu Yangyang head-on. He could only grit his teeth and endure the pain, saying, "I...I'll...take you there."
Lu Yangyang kicked him, signaling him to lead the way.
Amidst the surging crowd, Lu Yangyang grabbed the foreman and quietly slipped to the edge of the crowd. Just as they were about to leave, their intentions were immediately discovered, and several salt workers quickly surrounded them: "What are you trying to do?"
Lu Yangyang had a sudden inspiration. She pointed to the steward she had restrained and said, "To catch the thief, you must first catch the king. Brothers, if we want to leave this hellhole safely, we need to find their chief steward. Otherwise, as you know, there are troops stationed here. If a battle breaks out, there will inevitably be countless casualties. With just the few of us, we might not be able to escape. So I think we need to find their chief steward first. Do you agree with me?"
The salt workers exchanged glances. They had never considered escaping; the chaos they had just witnessed had given them a glimmer of hope, which was why they had come together. Hearing the young man's words, they found some merit in his argument and glared fiercely at Lu Yangyang, shouting, "You'd better not try anything funny!"
Lu Yangyang hurriedly said, "I guarantee that everything I said is true. If you don't believe me, you can ask him!"
She kicked the steward she had subdued.
The manager quickly nodded: "Yes, that's right."
The salt workers were relieved.
Lu Yangyang pulled him along, but after only a few steps, one of the salt workers called out warily, "Wait a minute, we'll go with you!"
Lu Yangyang nodded: "Okay! If you don't believe me, then come along with me!"
The group quickly followed.
However, none of them noticed that there was a shadow behind them, following silently like a ghost.
The steward led Lu Yangyang past the salt ponds where salt was boiled, and through rows of densely packed sheds that resembled anthills. Pointing to several small courtyards built of brick and stone, he said, "That's where our head steward, Steward Yang, lives. The other head stewards also live nearby. Steward Yang doesn't come here often; the saltworks are mainly managed by Third Master, Fifth Master, Sixth Master, and Eighth Master. According to the calendar, today is the day Steward Yang is supposed to arrive, but he shouldn't be here yet."
What Third Master or Fifth Master? Lu Yangyang suddenly remembered that the one Chang Hai had taken them to see today was the Fifth Master...
"How many masters does your saltworks actually have?" Lu Yangyang kicked the manager again.
The steward winced in pain and replied with a sob, "There are nine masters in total. The eldest master is Steward Yang, the second master is..."
He suddenly froze, and Lu Yangyang kicked him again. The pain was so intense in the sweltering heat that he broke out in a cold sweat. He dared not try anything funny anymore and stammered, "Second Master, Seventh Master, and Ninth Master are at sea. Fourth Master passed away two years ago."
maritime?
Lu Yangyang's expression changed, and she kicked him to his knees, pressing one hand on his shoulder: "What else? Speak!"
"You, you guys!" The manager wanted to scream in pain, but Lu Yangyang grabbed his neck and made his face turn blue and purple.
Lu Yangyang took a needle out of her sleeve and stabbed it directly into his head.
The manager's pupils dilated violently, and he struggled desperately, shouting, "You, you bunch of arrogant fools, you, you can't escape..."
"I understand." Lu Yangyang nodded, then twisted his neck with a slight force.
"You...you...you..." Lian Sheng stared at the scene in disbelief, and even the salt workers who had previously doubted her looked at her in disbelief.
“Didn’t you say you were going to find their manager? How are you going to find him if you’ve killed him?” one of the salt workers questioned.
Lu Yangyang kicked the corpse at her feet away: "Don't bother looking anymore, it's useless. If you want to live, gather all the salt workers in the mine right now, or none of you will survive tonight."
"What do you mean?" the salt worker asked, confused.
"Do you think you're the first to resist? Under such oppression, do you think you're the only ones who seized this slim chance to rebel? Impossible. Before you, there must have been many more who rebelled, but this place remains unchanged, even more so than before! Because they're certain that none of you can escape. This place is a giant sinkhole. The ships at sea are full of soldiers. If anyone rebels, they'll all be slaughtered and replaced with a new batch. There are plenty of criminals. If this prefecture isn't enough, they'll move to another. Nobody cares about the life or death of a convict serving time. Many convicts die in service every year. Human life is worth less than that of animals." Lu Yangyang looked at the stunned group: "Do you understand now? Go back immediately, gather together, and don't act alone."
The salt workers stared at Lu Yangyang in disbelief, and after a long while, they asked in trembling voices, "Why, why should we believe you?"
"Believe it or not." Lu Yangyang felt strange when she entered this place. Such a dangerous environment and such strong oppression. If it were the previous farmers who had no choice, it would be fine. They were trapped here with nowhere to go. But those sent here later are criminals who are very likely to be vicious. Can they not resist?
That's impossible; someone must have rebelled.
But where did those people go? Why did no one ever realize something was wrong here? Weren't there any escapees who desperately wanted to uncover the truth about this place? No, there must have been, but they're all dead.
They have no way to escape this place.
There were troops stationed outside the mine, and ordinary people could not get in. At sea, there were still troops stationed, or perhaps they were not troops stationed, but cargo ships used by them to sell smuggled salt.
If that's the case, then everything makes sense.
If things hadn't escalated today, if she hadn't had that sudden inspiration to ask who else was in charge here, if she hadn't heard the word "sea," she wouldn't have turned her attention to the salt mine.
This salt mine is like a giant urn.
Once you're in, no one can escape.
Only in this way can those who secretly trade in this place continuously exchange the salt for money, which then ends up in their own pockets.
By this time, the salt workers were completely terrified. Lu Yangyang didn't have time to explain to them in detail, and only said to Lian Sheng, "Let's go!"
Several salt workers realized what was happening and hurriedly stopped her: "Wait, what will we do if you leave? Where are you going?"
"I have other things to do, get out of the way!" Lu Yangyang didn't have time to explain to them. Now that things were in chaos, the area could be surrounded and slaughtered by the soldiers at any moment. She had to hurry and find the women who had been sent here. If she was too late, the women would be the first to die if the shacks were set on fire!
These salt workers were pitiful, and so were the women, but no one here cared about their lives.
The salt workers were intimidated by her imposing manner and were unwilling to stop her. Lu Yangyang led Lian Sheng quickly toward the shack.
She had only taken a few steps when someone called out to her: "Lu Yangyang".