Chapter 638

Chapter 638: Entering the Private Mine

"Husband, you finally came back! I just had a strange dream where you suddenly turned into a butterfly and flew away!" Bai Xiaolu opened her sleepy eyes, tears shimmering at the corners. She felt that her husband’s eyes seemed much deeper than before, like looking up at the starry sky, so far away that it felt unreal, yet it made her heartbeat quicken, her cheeks flush, and happiness blossom in her heart.

Li Hui, the groom who had been missing for four days after their wedding night, was busy moving things into the room. He was unaware of how many packages and boxes were piled at the door, and by the time Bai Xiaolu shook off her sleepiness, he still hadn’t finished unpacking.

Soon, there was barely any space left in the room; boxes were stacked high, and packages were crammed together. Xiaolu was both surprised and puzzled about what her husband was up to.

Li Hui turned around, closed the door, and flashed a grin at Bai Xiaolu as he patted the heart shield on his chest.

"Hey… this…"

Bai Xiaolu rubbed her eyes, lost in thought as she said, "Could it be that I’m dreaming? How did my husband suddenly become a ninth-level miner?"

"Pretty good, right? These past few days weren’t wasted." Li Hui sat down next to Bai Xiaolu and opened a wooden box he had brought along.

"What’s this?" Xiaolu’s eyes widened in astonishment.

"Antique manuals and conditioning elixirs bought from the black market. Starting today, you’ll quit your current job and focus on cultivating using the methods I’ll teach you."

"No work? Then how will we eat and drink?" Seeing the bags of rice and spiritual materials piled under the cupboard, Xiaolu realized her husband had already planned for her, and her heart raced with excitement.

"Your talent isn’t bad! But your foundation is too weak; we need to start over. After dawn, I’ll search for work in a private mine, and you should quit your job inspecting spiritual rice. If the city’s regulatory office sends someone to ask, just show them this token." Li Hui casually took out a red iron token that had the character for "order" inscribed in purple, with a note on the back allowing a special thirty-day leave.

"Ah! A special leave token! With this token, you don’t need to quit your job, and you can directly get a month of paid vacation. The city’s regulatory office won’t meddle in our business." Xiaolu took a deep breath, looking at her husband, trying to comprehend how he could have changed so drastically in just a few days.

"Do as you wish." Li Hui smiled. He found her some tasks to keep her busy; as long as she practiced diligently, they wouldn’t have to rush into having children. In the Extreme Huan Continent, the cultural atmosphere encouraged a high birth rate, and encountering someone who didn’t want children seemed odd. Once he figured out the situation here and learned how to suppress time and space, he would decide whether to stay or leave.

Xiaolu was incredibly excited and could hardly sleep! But her husband was tired, lying in bed, snoring peacefully. She cautiously helped him out of his clothes, covering her mouth as she giggled with delight.

Her family had put great pressure on her. Although she had many brothers and sisters, her father favored her greatly, hoping for a good future for his daughter. Yet she felt she had disappointed him after eighteen years of love.

It was only natural to feel this way; her father’s requirements weren’t too high. All he wanted was for her to have her own place and a stable job—no more going down the mines and risking danger! Unfortunately, she hadn’t fulfilled either requirement, making this an unblessed marriage.

With this in mind, she placed her hopes on her husband, wishing he would strive for greater strength. To her surprise, her wish came true so quickly; in just a few days, he had gone from being a level five miner to a level nine—a miraculous shortcut that likely involved finding multiple mining seedlings.

"My husband is so ambitious and lucky… Wait, what did he say when he got back? Something about going down those abandoned private mines?"

At that moment, Xiaolu realized with a start, turning to the person on the bed, pinching her waist as she lowered her voice, "Hmph, you reckless brat! Are you trying to get killed? I’ll talk to you about this when you wake up…"

As dawn broke, Li Hui opened his eyes. He slept to recharge his talismans. His Heart Talisman was close to forming a Dao Fruit, and getting three hours of sleep each day was ideal.

Suddenly, the round mirror on the wooden table flickered. Bai Xiaolu spoke into it, "Husband, I’ve gone to ask for leave; don’t go into the private mine! If you dare to go against my advice, I’ll… do you see this frying pan? I’ll give you a taste of domestic violence!"

Li Hui laughed heartily. This girl cooked wonderfully; her culinary skills were exceptional. Maybe she could develop her talent as a spiritual chef.

"Alright, I got it."

After saying that, he turned off the round mirror, waved to take his breakfast, and with a flicker of his form, he stepped out of the room, heading toward the carefully chosen private mine he had scouted the day before.

Why did he choose so carefully? Because there were many questions he needed to answer upon arriving at the Extreme Huan Continent. In the mining trade, people often spoke of time phantoms, but what exactly they were remained unknown. He needed to select a mine where he might encounter these time phantoms to explore further.

In many small cities, due to the lack of funds to refill abandoned mines, the city’s regulatory office sold nearly expired depths of time and space to those willing to take risks who also had large sums of spare cash.

When Li Hui arrived at the mine, the lifting mechanism produced a massive sound as the winch creaked and clanked, gradually positioning the old cage.

The mine owner impatiently said, "You’re the last one, kid! Grab a market lantern; this isn’t like those market bears; it’s high-end! The light can cover a large area for mining. Of course, I won’t keep track of your work points here; I’ll just pay you. If you want a communication card for the black market, that’s fine, but it will cost you."

Thirty or forty people stepped into the cage, including an old man, sturdy men, and women.

Li Hui wasn’t wearing his regular mining gear but held a stork beak chisel to blend in with the crowd.

"Hahaha, what a pretty boy! A clean guy like you going down a private mine isn’t common." A burly man next to him chuckled in a deep voice.

"This is my first time in a private mine. Please take care of me," Li Hui replied with a shy smile. He was confident that in any world, a good face could earn some favor, and indeed, he received a warm welcome.

A tall, red-haired woman wrapped her arm around his, flaunting her figure as she said, "Don’t be in a hurry to leave after entering the mine; I can bear you a child to remember the occasion."

"Cough, cough…" Li Hui found the attention a bit excessive.

Everyone laughed, and as the winch operated, the cage began to descend rapidly.

The wind howled past their ears as everyone shut their mouths, trying to maintain their balance. This was what a private mine was like; riding in the cage was always a heart-pounding experience, and the mine owner wouldn’t consider whether the miners could handle it.

After a while, the cage finally began to slow down.

Li Hui looked up and noticed that influenced by the Time Dust, the cage seemed to have entered another world, distances and depths no longer visible.

"Bang…" The cable tightened, and the cage swayed as there was no large door ahead, only a pitch-black cave entrance.

Peering through Bai Ze’s divine eye, he saw raging time force swirling around the cave entrance, as if it would annihilate it in the next moment.

Seeing clearly was not a good thing; it added to the psychological burden.

Li Hui blended into the crowd, moving forward as the market lantern in his hand emitted a ghostly green light. In a fleeting moment, he slipped into the shadows and vanished…