Chapter 7: The Existence of God

  In the workshop, Zhou Da was like an ant on a hot pot, restless and furious, pacing back and forth. Lu Ming lay on the couch with a pale face, his eyebrows furrowed into a knot, revealing his inner anxiety and worry. Pu Jun sat silently at one side, having not spoken for half a day already.

  They had already learned from Gao Yi's mouth about the cruelty of "Dixue Cave", the narrow space, inhuman torture, and no one could survive for four days. However, Yin Xu's sentence was five days, and he helped them each do two days' worth of labor, although Gao Yi pleaded to reduce it by three days, but it was all in vain. The news had already spread throughout the construction site, and no one believed that Yin Xu could come out alive, as no one could survive for five days.

  This heavy news made Pu Jun and others gasp for a while. Zhou Da was furious, almost with the intention of killing; Lu Ming felt guilty and regretful, thinking that it was all because of him, and he owed Yin Xu an apology; Pu Jun also felt guilty, as he was busy taking care of Lu Ming at the time, and Yin Xu's attitude was firm, if he had stopped him, it would have been seen as looking down on him, so he acquiesced. Although they thought that "Dixue Cave" wasn't a good place to go, they couldn't help but think about how terrifying it was.

  But now? All the blame is on Yin Xu's shoulders. At this moment, the three people also had a sense of reverence and emotion in their hearts. Usually, Yin Xu was generous and righteous, and they got along well with him. However, he was just a friend, and it was only during difficult times that one's character and relationships were truly tested. As the saying goes, "adversity reveals true feelings", this is exactly what it means.

  All these were done by Yin Xu, and today he used actual actions to explain what it means to see true feelings in adversity? What does it mean to insert a knife between the ribs for brothers? What is responsibility? The complex yet simple emotions of Pu Jun and others were touched.

  "No way, if it goes on like this, Donglai brothers will die!"

  "We'll find a way to persuade He Kun to reduce the punishment."

  "Even if we're in a tight spot, we should still stick together with our brothers from the East. Sharing difficulties is what makes good brothers."

  Pu Jun raised his head and said in a low voice: "Is it useful? Gao Yi actually helped to plead, if He Kun agrees, that would be a statement."

  One sentence, like a basin of cold water poured on Zhou Da and Lu Ming's heads, cooled their hearts by half. After a long while, Lu Ming finally asked: "Then what should we do? How can we save Donglai brothers, we can't just watch him..."

  Pu Jun said solemnly, "Lu Ming, you should take good care of your injuries. Zhou Da is here to keep watch and prevent anyone from coming to provoke trouble again. This is what Dong means by doing this, don't disappoint his kind intentions."

  "What about you?" Zhou Da couldn't help but ask.

  "I'll go find a way to catch some wild game and bring it back for Lu Ming and Donglai to supplement their food, first let them have enough physical strength to hold on, then we can think of a solution!" Pu Jun said, got up and left.

  Yin Xu woke up from his sleep, his muscles aching all over. He wanted to get up and move around to loosen up his limbs. But as soon as he sat up, "thud", his head hit the wooden board that was pressing down on a stone slab, causing him great pain.

  He just came to himself and found he was locked in a small "earth mouse hole".

  Underground, dark and without daylight, Yin Xu could only roughly estimate that he had been in for a day. The basis was that someone had come to deliver food before - a piece of rabbit meat, no need to think more, it must have been sent by Pu Jun and others.

  After starving for a whole day, Yin Xu gobbled it up and felt an instant sense of relief, unable to help but praise Pu Jun's barbecue skills. The damp and cold cave would have been unbearable without such high-calorie food to replenish their energy.

  Fortunately, it didn't rain for the past two days, so we didn't have to suffer that torture. However, the space inside the cave was cramped and narrow, and we had to solve all our eating, drinking, and sanitary problems within it, which made the air quality really infuriating.

  Staying inside, doing nothing, after a long time will make people feel inexplicable fear. In his previous life, he had seen a post online that if a person is locked in a room without day and night, taking away all timing devices, making people unaware of the passage of time. The person locked up would feel that time is passing unusually slowly, finally unable to bear it and collapse, as if used in special interrogations.

  Now, Yin Xu's experience is no different. He has to endure this mental torture. Fortunately, someone comes to deliver food every day, letting him know a little about the time, and for the rest of the time, he chooses to pass it by sleeping, only in this way, the waiting time will not be so long.

  But as the day went on, he found it increasingly difficult to fall asleep again. What was even more torturous was that prolonged maintenance of a posture caused his muscles to ache abnormally. Yet he couldn't get up and move around, all he could do was try to rub and massage himself to improve blood circulation. It only had a temporary effect, treating the symptoms but not the root cause!

  By the second day, this discomfort began to intensify, and under various physical torments, Yin Xu's heart also began to undergo some changes, becoming somewhat restless. Leaning against the wall of the "earth mouse cave", his back was icy cold, using his body to feel the endless darkness, quiet! The quiet Yin Xu could only hear his own breathing sound, so quiet that it was frightening.

  It's probably night now. The occasional tremors from the pounding of the earth had stopped, and the feeling that made him feel the existence of the world was gone. Yin Xu felt like a tiny dust particle floating in the vast sky, with nothing around him, as if the dark and cold night would swallow him up at any moment. A sense of fear and violence slowly crept over his heart, beginning to destroy Yin Xu's will.

  Ah!

  This violent energy had been accumulating for a long time, and Yin Xu could no longer control it. A loud roar burst out from the ground, almost waking everyone up from their dreams. Wu Chang He Kun snorted and said, "Can't hold on anymore, what heroism is this? Hmph!" After finishing speaking, he turned over and continued to sleep soundly.

  Gao Yi suddenly sat up from his bed, let out a long sigh, shook his head secretly, and spent the whole night sleepless. Pu Jun and others heard it in their ears, this sound pounded in their hearts, painful like a knife cut!

  After a loud cry, Yin Xu felt much more comfortable, his mind temporarily cleared up, the pounding heartbeat told him he was still alive. He didn't dare to think wildly like this, or he would collapse sooner or later, and he began to consciously control his thoughts.

  He recalled the memories of his past life, he remembered Pu Jun, Zhou Da and others, he recalled his heroic dreams since childhood... As he grabbed the water bag that had been with him all along, he also thought of Yu Niang who was full of tenderness towards him. Everything told him that he couldn't die, he must live on...

  It won't be long before the muscle soreness and the fear and violence in his heart strike again, Yin Xu was greatly shocked, and hurriedly searched for ways to resist in his mind. If not, going crazy and dying is only a matter of time.

  For a long time, Yin Xu suddenly remembered those monks and Taoist priests who were meditating. Why could they sit for so long with a calm mind? Ah! He thought of the answer, it was because their minds were free from distractions, eliminating miscellaneous thoughts, calming their minds and quieting their spirits. He also recalled that he had learned some qigong exercises from his friends in the past out of curiosity, which he could still use today.

  Yin Xu leaned forward, half-kneeling to stretch his waist and hips, finally sitting cross-legged, slowly entering a state of meditation like an old monk. At the same time, he secretly practiced that set of qigong techniques, the violent energy was gradually suppressed, transformed, and merged into his body, as if wandering through his limbs, acupoints, and meridians...

  The days went by, and Yin Xu's irritability and depression grew stronger. He often shouted loudly, and sometimes he would go crazy, punching the earth wall with his fists like raindrops, his hands already bloody and bruised. Fortunately, that thread of clarity in Lingtai was always there, and his desire to survive was very strong, pulling him back from the brink of collapse time and again. After each episode of madness, he would begin to practice qigong meditation, and the violent energy inside him would gradually soften and merge into his meridians. Unbeknownst to him, Yin Xu's powers were growing rapidly, which would greatly benefit his future martial arts progress.

  For several days, Yin Xu had been alternating between this madness and meditation. On a certain night or day, he finally reached his limit. Leaning against the cold wall, he fell into a deep sleep...

  The five-day period was an absolute torture for Pu Jun and the others, who often heard Yin Xu's heart-wrenching screams. They couldn't imagine what kind of pain it was. Every time they heard it, their hearts were like knives, and their eyes were moist.

  Although the cry was mournful, it was after all a "good news", proving that Yin Xu was still alive. However, from the fourth day in the afternoon, the cry never appeared again, and not only that, but also the food sent in for two consecutive days had no one touched...

  Pu Jun, Zhou Da, Lu Ming, and even Gao Yixin were all pushed to the extreme. Is it really true that no one can survive past the fourth day as traditional sayings go? Did Yin Xu really die? Almost everyone thought so, Yin Xu couldn't possibly be alive.

  He Kun also agreed to release him ahead of schedule at noon on the fifth day under Gao Yi's plea. However, in his opinion, what was released was just a stinky corpse!

  Gao Yi and Pu Jun rushed to the "Dishu Cave" with several others, many laborers couldn't help but glance over in that direction, then shook their heads and continued working. They're all dead, what's there to see?

  Zhou Da moved the large stones on the wooden board, Pu Jun trembled and opened the board, a pungent smell rushed out, but they seemed to be unaware. The mud wall had obvious fist marks and bloodstains, Yin Xu leaned against the wall, his hair was disheveled and covered his entire face, a pair of hands stained with blood were placed on his chest.

  Pu Jun's body trembled slightly, and he choked with emotion, unable to speak. Lu Ming on the side had already shed hot tears. Gao Yi shook his head helplessly, overcome with grief.

  "Cough!" A faint cough sounded, and Pu Jun rubbed his eyes in disbelief. Just now, he had clearly seen Yin Xu's chest rise and fall slightly. Could it be? He lowered his head and called out softly: "Donglai ge..."

  "You stinky kid, if you don't come, brother will really hang in there!" Pu Jun heard it clearly and unmistakably, it was indeed Yin Xu's voice. He could even see under the disheveled hair, that determined face with a hint of faint smile.

  "He's still alive! He's still alive!" Pu Junxi was overjoyed and cried out loudly.

  Zhou Da, Gao Yi and Lu Ming all rushed over in grief, and after a moment, they were all tearfully exclaiming: "He's still alive!"

  Everyone on the construction site was stunned. He didn't die? Still alive? Weren't they saying he would definitely die in four days? Only three hours short of five days, and he's still alive? That's right, only to see Pu Jun and four others carrying a wooden board, with a blindfolded sculpture on it, hastily running towards the worker's shed. No, that's not a sculpture, that's a living person, the living Yin Xu.

  "What? People are still alive?" He Kun was shocked and stunned when he heard the news.

  One of the soldiers under him replied: "Many people have seen it, the man is not dead and can still speak. They have already carried him back to the shed for treatment."

  He Kui's butt hit the ground, and he muttered: "How is it possible? No one has ever lasted four days, how is it possible..." He was Wu Zhong, the husband of Ma Shi's natal family's cousin, who had been asked by his cousin to help with something a few days ago. She had sent someone with a few pieces of gold and asked him to take care of Dong Lai, but in the end, he couldn't let him live.

  He took the gold and, being a relative, He Kun didn't ask many questions. It was an easy task to agree to. That day, he secretly instructed five thugs to provoke Yin Xu, but they mistakenly targeted Lu Ming instead and injured him. Fortunately, Yin Xu arrived in time and also joined the fight. He Kun was very satisfied - this was exactly the excuse he wanted.

  It's just a fight, and it's not good to punish too severely. After all, there's still a long way to go! So, lock them up in the "earth mouse cave" for two days. The time won't kill anyone, but it will be very torturous, causing great harm to their bodies. For those with weak willpower, death is also possible. This way, it's not excessive, and can be justified on the surface.

  Who would have thought that Yin Xu would take it upon himself, wasn't eight days in the "earth mouse cave" a death sentence? It turned out to be a blessing in disguise for him. Later, Gao Yi tried to persuade him with good and bad words, hinting that he wouldn't punish those five thugs, so he reduced the sentence to five days. In his opinion, five days or eight days made no difference, both were certain death. But Yin Xu unexpectedly survived, making it hard for him to believe. Therefore, he had to come up with another plan to complete his cousin's request.

  No matter whether He Kun believed it or not, the fact that Yin Xu was alive was right there. Lu Ming and others massaged him for a long time before Yin Xu's muscles gradually regained sensation. Gao Yi thought of a way to invite a doctor to treat him, and Pu Jun thought of a way to hunt deer to nourish his body.

  The supervisor was very easy-going, and the laborer's work or not was up to him. As long as there were no fights or escapes, Supervisor He Kun couldn't interfere, so everything was very convenient. In this way, Yin Xu was able to walk on his own within four or five days, and after more than half a month of recuperation, he recovered.

  After this incident, Yin Xu's mysteriousness spread throughout the construction site, and the news of Xiangxi Town also became known to people. As a result, there were all sorts of rumors circulating, such as catching ghosts and descending gods. In everyone's heart, Yin Xu had already become a god-like existence.