IDWBE -Chapter 206 Heaven Has Eyes

The soldiers’ gunpowder came from the government, so it cost nothing—they could blow things up however they liked.

For the laborers, however, their gunpowder had to be bought from the supplier Mo Shun’s family, so it couldn’t be wasted. This forced them to improve their demolition skills.

Many of them had learned to make explosives using crude, homemade methods. The results were naturally inferior to Mo Shun’s, which tested their skill even more—otherwise, they wouldn’t even raise a speck of dust, let alone blast a pit.

A lifeless ghost city was made alive with the “smoke and fire” of human activity.

Everyone felt a sense of urgency. After all, Shen Chu had only given them two days. Once the time passed, the opportunity would be gone.

They had to make the most of the moment—grab whatever they could. If they lost this chance, it might never come again.

Late at night, many didn’t even sleep, searching the city for basements and secret rooms, tearing down copper and melting iron.

Wei Yishan and Wang Xiaoshuan entered a wealthy household.

In the pitch-black, each carried a copper lamp. When they entered, Wei Yishan nearly jumped out of his skin at a skeleton.

“You coward,” Wang Xiaoshuan kicked the skeleton aside and said irritably, “It’s dead. What are you afraid of?”

Wei Yishan patted his chest, then shone the lamp on the skeleton, sighing. “The ribs are broken… I wonder how painful it must have been when it died. Truly a tragedy.”

Wang Xiaoshuan set the lamp on a dust-covered table and, with skilled hands, began tapping along the walls. Seeing Wei Yishan still crouched there, he scolded, “Hurry up! Stop dawdling. Find any secret rooms quickly.”

Wei Yishan ignored him, clasping his hands in front of the skeleton and murmuring, “Master, I don’t mean any harm. We’re only disturbing you because we’re too poor. Tell us where your money is hidden. If we find it, we may not give you a grand funeral, but we’ll at least bury you properly. The corpses in the front yard will remain your family, together, neat and whole.”

“Ah, you…”

Wang Xiaoshuan rolled his eyes in exasperation. “Talking to the dead?!”

“You don’t get it,” Wei Yishan smiled. “My mother always says heaven has eyes—justice will be served.”

“All you do is talk about your mother,” Wang Xiaoshuan scoffed. “My dad says good people are rewarded, too, but he’s been poor his whole life. Hurry up, or when I find it, you won’t get a share.”

“Fine.”

Wei Yishan shook his head helplessly, stood, and split from Wang Xiaoshuan to enter another room, tapping walls and listening carefully as he went.

When he lifted a portrait from the main hall and tapped behind it, he heard a muffled sound.

He looked up at the portrait, carefully removed it while standing on the table, and kicked the wall. Only some plaster fell off—the wall didn’t budge.

“Forget it,” Wang Xiaoshuan pushed Wei Yishan aside. “Can’t you do it? Let me try.”

He took a step back, yelled, and struck the wall with his fist.

The result was the same. The wall remained intact.

He muttered, “This is cursed!”

He was fifth rank—an ordinary wall shouldn’t withstand a punch from him.

Wei Yishan smiled. “I’ll go get a hammer.”

“What hammer? Watch me!”

Wang Xiaoshuan removed the explosives from his back, set them in place, lit the fuse, and yelled, “Run!”

As they reached the courtyard, BOOM!

When they turned back, the roof had collapsed in a cloud of smoke.

Wang Xiaoshuan frowned. “What do we do now?”

Wei Yishan snorted. “You said you weren’t a professional at demolition—now look at this.”

Wang Xiaoshuan gritted his teeth. “What can we do? Go in!”

With a sigh, Wei Yishan followed him into the dust-filled, smoke-choked ruins.

By instinct, they felt there was valuable loot here—they could make a fortune.

Shen Chu lay back in the dilapidated government office of Xiluo City, sipping tea occasionally.

He glanced at the steadily growing pile of silver on the table and smiled wryly.

He truly wanted to thank these people’s ancestors—they were helping him get rich while thinking of him.

Some gave him one or two taels, others three; in less than a day, he had a thousand taels before him.

For the first time, he felt money coming fast.

Was this considered bribery?

He hadn’t told Prince He!

“Better put it away for now,” Shen Chu said to his guard Jin Bo. “Later, we must report to Prince He—this money, whether we can take it or not, depends on him.”

If he didn’t report it, given Prince He’s temper, he would surely get into trouble.

Jin Bo smiled. “Prince He is considerate of his subordinates. I think it should be fine.”

Shen Chu sighed. “Let’s hope so.”

As commander of the Sanhe garrison, he had prestige, but also many worries.

He was poor.

Half his monthly pay went to Ankang City for his parents, wife, and children. The rest supported his concubine here.

It was barely enough.

Worse, his wife was about to arrive in Sanhe.

He had taken a concubine, and she had borne him a child.

The worst part? His wife didn’t know yet!

If she found out, she might tear the roof off in anger.

He even considered sending the concubine to Bird Island so the two women wouldn’t meet, covering up the matter.

But all of that required money.

During the day, he was busy with the garrison’s chores. The quiet of night brought his worries back to him.

As dawn approached, a strong wind blew, and heavy rain fell.

Both soldiers and laborers leapt for joy.

This wasn’t Sanhe—here, the roads were cemented. Traveling north, roads worsened to muddy, difficult paths.

They could stall another day.

The longer the rain lasted, the better.

Shen Chu stood at the entrance of the government hall, frowning at the pouring rain.

He Jixiang had given him little time. Any further delay might result in consequences he couldn’t bear.

If He Jixiang punished him, Prince He wouldn’t intervene.

Zhang Mian led nearly ten thousand troops slowly northeast of Yuezhou.

Along the way, aside from bandits on hills, they didn’t encounter a single rebel.

Soon, they reached the border with Hongzhou.

Wang Tuozi ran over. “Sir, Huang Sifang’s stronghold is less than a hundred li away.”

Zhang Mian snorted coldly. “Huang Sifang, let’s see where you can run this time.”

He turned to Wang Tuozi. “If I let you lead a team to eliminate all of Huang Sifang’s spies, can you do it?”

Wang Tuozi smiled. “Lord Zhang, watch me.”

With that, he spurred his horse and rode off with his men.