Chapter 6: The Trial of Life and Death

  Yin Xu, Pu Jun, Lu Ming and Zhou Da have a very good relationship with each other. Today, Lu Ming was bullied by five thugs because of trivial matters, which led to a verbal dispute and he got injured. Pu Jun saw it and naturally stopped them, leading to a fight.

  It just so happened that Yin Xu saw it and lent a hand, which was only natural. Zhou Da, who received the news last, rushed over in anger to help out. Yin Xu's quick and precise fighting skills, Pu Jun's agile and nimble movements, and Zhou Da's powerful divine fist complemented each other perfectly. Although they were outnumbered, they won with absolute certainty.

  In an instant, the five thugs were knocked to the ground. The five of them had been tyrannical and lawless for a long time, but today they met their match and were subdued. The onlookers saw the five thugs lying on the ground wailing and groaning, and nine out of ten people felt a sense of schadenfreude.

  No one noticed a cavalryman riding down from the small hill, with his hand on the hilt of his long sword at his waist, watching this scene unfold, frowning. He cursed: A bunch of fools! It's got to be done by Captain Wu himself!

  A horse galloped up from beneath the seats, and a man shouted: "Who dares to fight? Stop at once!"

  Onlookers scattered to the side to watch the commotion as soldiers approached. Yin Xu and Pu Jun were helping Lu Ming up from the ground, who was still a bit weak after just waking up from his daze. Zhou Da stood on the side, glaring furiously at several thugs who were groaning in pain.

  "What kind of person can't even follow the rules? What's going on here?" The newcomer was none other than He Kun, the newly promoted monitor.

  The thugs rolling on the ground saw He Kun arrive and immediately became excited, hastily shouting: "He Wu Chang, these few people are committing murder!"

  "They're picking fights and hitting people!"

  "Take charge for us!"

  Wu Changhe Kun rode on horseback, with a long bronze sword hanging from his waist. He glanced at the five thugs and heard the cries for help rising one after another, a look of displeasure flashing across his face. His gaze swept over, glaring fiercely at Yin Xu and others, shouting sternly: "What are you doing here causing trouble?"

  Yin Xu said in a deep voice: "He Wu Chang, it was not us who provoked the trouble, but they were the ones who hurt my friend first. We fought back to rescue him."

  He Kun smiled and didn't smile, raised his whip and pointed at several rough men on the ground: "Oh? The ones who got hurt are them."

  "Exactly! This kid is arrogant and hurt people with his hands, my brother didn't want to bother with him, otherwise how could he have been beaten by him?"

  Zhou Dalian sneered and said coldly: "Pfft, a good-for-nothing who can't even match up to others, yet you don't know shame."

  Pu Jun retorted: "It was they who injured Lu Brothers first, we only fought back!"

  He Kun said solemnly: "Director Wu has always been meticulous and clear, this matter is crystal clear. It's you few who provoked trouble and beat up others, must be severely punished."

  "This is a matter that everyone can see, and I hope the adults will investigate clearly." Just now, He Kun and the rough man exchanged glances, and he saw it clearly, with obvious bias in his words. Yin Xu even suspected that He Kun was secretly manipulating things behind the scenes. But he had no connection with him, let alone any grudges or hatred, could it be that he had unintentionally offended him?

  At this time, Gao Yi heard the news and rushed over. Since he had a good relationship with Yin Xu, after learning about the whole thing, he said to He Kun: "He Wu Chang, this matter can't be blamed on Yin Xu and his men, after all, they were forced to take action."

  He Kun said disapprovingly: "Gao Jian Gong, don't talk nonsense. Just now, Ben Wuzhang saw it clearly, and it was indeed these few people who started the fight."

  "What's going on..."

  He Kun bluntly interrupted: "Director Gao, don't say any more, I've made up my mind. These people must be locked in the 'Land Dungeon'."

  "Uh, but..."

  "What's going on? Gao Jianyi repeatedly pleaded for them, is there some kind of connection between them?"

  Gao Yi immediately fell silent, like a cicada in winter. He was a supervisor, one level lower than He Kun's supervisor, and had no choice but to retreat to the side. Looking at Yin Xu and others, his eyes showed a few points of sympathy.

  "He Kun shouted: 'You several people who fought, each of you will be locked in the "land mouse cave" for two days!'"

  Gao Yi was shocked and wanted to speak but was stopped by He Kun.

  What's a dungeon? Yin Xu didn't know what it was, but he was sure it wasn't anything good. Just now Lu Ming had just woken up from his serious injury, and Pu Jun had also suffered some minor injuries. If they were all punished, it would be even harder to recover. So he said loudly: "I'll take the punishment for those few, but will they also receive a lighter sentence?" As for Zhou Da, since he wasn't around, someone had to protect Pu Jun and the others.

  "Brother Dong is coming!" Zhou Da and several others hastily stopped him.

  "It's okay, no need to fight, just take good care of Lu Ming!"

  "You alone? That's a cave of eight-day-old mice!" He Kun was excited and almost laughed out loud.

  Gao Yi could no longer hold back, and spoke out: "Eight Trigrams Earth Mouse Cave... He Wu Chang is not going to make it..."

  From He Kun and Gao Yi's eyes, Yin Xu saw something wrong. However, a great man's word is like a horse that has left the stable - no hardship can stop it?

  Facing He Kun's inquiry, Yin Xu Zheng nodded heavily.

  Gao Yi shook his head and whispered a few words, He Kun remained silent for a while before saying: "Alright then! Since Gao Jian Gong pleaded for leniency, let's change it to five days in the dungeon!"

  Gao Yi was at his wit's end, his eyes filled with worry...

  He Kun left with a triumphant and cunning smile, under the gaze of Gao Yi, Pu Jun, Zhou Da, and hundreds of civilians, as Yin Xu was taken away by soldiers to receive the so-called "earth mouse hole" punishment.

  Yin Xu was taken to a low-lying area on one side of the camp, and finally saw what was called "groundhog hole", which was literally an ancient version of a small black room.

  A three-foot square pit was dug underground, and after he crouched in, the top was sealed with large stones by someone. Inside, it was completely dark, like a small black room, and it was impossible to stand up straight. Every day, someone would send a small amount of food through the gap.

  People are locked in, unable to see a single ray of light, unable to stand up, and muscle atrophy may occur due to prolonged inactivity. The underground is damp and cold, and now it's already autumn, who can bear staying inside for long? If it rains outside, the rainwater will seep in, and people will be drowned alive or disabled after a long soak. More seriously, once locked in, people lose track of time, and it's easy to collapse and die.

  This was a particularly cruel form of punishment in the Qin army, mainly used to deal with the generals of the six states or those who were extremely evil. No one had expected He Kun to treat Yin Xu this way. Generally, people locked up in the "earth mouse cave" would become seriously ill after two days and might be disabled; generally, they would collapse within three days; almost no one survived for four days.

  He Kun detained the crowd for two days, originally intending to torment a few people. Unexpectedly, Yin Xu agreed in one breath, taking on the task alone. He Kun was overjoyed, aren't you seeking death?! It's not like anyone else can be blamed! And it was precisely because of this that Gao Yi was shocked and tried to intercede. After much persuasion, He Kun reduced the punishment to five days on condition of not punishing the five scoundrels. But can anyone survive five days in the "earth mouse cellar"?

  Yin Xu knew all this, as he crouched into the narrow "earth mouse hole", shaking his head secretly and thinking to himself: I was too careless! But if he didn't come, could Lu Ming and Pu Jun survive for two days? Yin Xu seemed to have forgotten that he had to endure five days of the cruel "earth mouse hole", a complete test of life and death. Could he hold on?