Heaven Awaits in Hell

"Take the next right," Zi Rui casually said while following Zion. His casual attitude would make one think that he wasn't serious about his job.

However, if one carefully looked, they would see a string made of Qi coming out from his index finger.

The other end of this Qi string was tightly wound around Zion's neck as if he were his dog.

Zi Rui pulled the string in irritation and said, "Walk faster, I don't have the whole day to babysit you."

Zion's head was almost pulled back, and he started coughing nonstop.

"Did I tell you to stop?" Zi Rui kicked Zion's forward and forced him to keep walking.

'If I ever get out of there, I'll definitely teach you a lesson,' Zion thought in anger as he kept walking.

The Blood Firmament Sect was enormous. It was divided by four concentric circles of different radii.

Out of these four, the greatest one was the outermost region known as the common area.

Zion was currently walking in this region. Walking past several markets, they soon reached the outside of a building.

Atop it, on a wooden board, a name was engraved: Mining Hall.

There were several people in reddish black robes standing outside it, and beside them was a cart on which seven people were sitting.

Their hands were all cuffed, and a small plank hung around their neck with a number on it.

Zi Rui nodded at the few familiar faces wearing the robes and made his way in, not forgetting to pull Zion, who was busy staring at the seven people.

Inside the building, Zi Rui approached a table and said to the clerk, "Register a mining slave under Ninth Young Master, Mo Li's name."

The clerk looked up at the familiar face and said, "Zi Rui! It's been a while since I last time I saw you here," The clerk's gaze then went towards Zion, and he asked, "So what crime did this one commit?"

"Master wanted a two-winged tiger's pelt. This guy, wanting to impress a girl, fought it and destroyed its face. You know what's even funnier? That girl chose a master instead of him yesterday and became his bedmaid." Zi Rui snickered as he narrated the tale and ended up laughing at the end.

The clerk also shared a good laugh with him.

"That's not how it happened!" Zion roared at Zi Rui, filled with indignance.

"Did I tell you to bark?" Zi Rui pulled the string in his hand, and Zion was once again gasping for air while coughing out saliva.

The clerk has stopped laughing by now. He didn't care about Zion's state and said, "That's the funniest thing I've heard within a week! As a thanks, I'll register him quickly"

"Thanks, I'll buy you a drink as thanks," Zi Rui said.

"Haha, I'll gratefully accept that," The clerk chuckled. He dipped his brush in ink and started noting down the details on a parchment.

It was a contract which stated that half the earnings made by Zion in the mine would go to the sect while the other half would go to Mo Li.

A while later, he took Zi Rui's signature as a witness and stamped the parchment.

Handing one copy to Zu Rui, he said, "His number is 216, give this parchment to the enforcement hall people outside."

"Got it," Zu Rui nodded and took the parchment.

After the enforcement hall members verified the particulars, Zion's hands were cuffed and a plank with the number '216' was hung around his neck.

"Be a good dog there and work hard, I'll come a few times to check whether you're alive or not, alright?" Zi Rui patted Zion's shoulder mockingly and left.

"Get on the cart," ordered an enforcement hall member.

Unaware of what awaited him, Zion stepped up on the cart and took an empty seat beside the other seven.

Seeing that no one was talking, Zion too decided to keep his mouth shut lest he attract unwanted trouble.

Like this, they sat in silence.

During this period, Zion observed the faces of everyone in the cart. Dread and despair were all that he could see. This gave him somewhat of some idea of what awaited him.

When the sun was reaching its peak and everyone's robes were drenched in sweat, the tenth person finally filled up the cart, and the two horses started moving.

The cart moved through the marketplace as many people glanced at them with either scorn or pity.

It seemed that many would have even thrown stones or other things at them if not for the enforcement hall's people guarding the cart.

Soon, the buildings disappeared, and flora and fauna started to grow. On a dirt-paved path, the cart kept moving at a slow pace.

Zion kept observing the surroundings the whole period. The constant stream of new information prevented the negative thoughts from invading his mind.

Two hours later, the cart finally stopped.

The area didn't have any trees or such, and a lot of dwellings were concentrated at a certain spot.

A tall man in his early forties soon welcomed them and said to the leader of the enforcement hall team, "Thank you for your work, I'll be taking them from here."

The leader nodded, and they soon left.

After sending them off, the man focused his attention on his men who by now were standing beside Zion and the rest.

"Mark them all and get them to the worksite," The man said without a hint of emotion and went back to his dwelling.

The men grinned sadistically and pushed Zion and the rest to the ground and tore their robes.

The next moment, red Qi condensed on their fingers, and they violently imprinted the numbers on the planks on their back.

Screams of pain and misery spread all around making those men smile and laugh in relish.

Zion gritted his teeth from the agonising pain, not wanting to shout. He didn't want these people to enjoy his suffering.

"Oh, we have a strong one here, I just love your kind." The man behind Zion licked his lips in excitement.

He turned Zion around the next moment and imprinted the same number on his chest as well. This time however, he made sure that his fingers grated his rib bones while he was at it.

AHHHHH!

Zion finally couldn't hold himself and cried out in torment.

"Now that's more like it, shout, scream and beg. How else will we be entertained?" The man said in excitement.