Heaven Awaits in Hell

215 was currently sitting on the other side of the tunnel. Seeing Zion taking out his bread crumbs and nibbling on them, he too took out his own.

Had had never been this hungry before, so instead of eating it little by little, he decided to finish it all in one go.

Beside him, a man with the number 211 imprinted on his chest was sitting. He had a slightly bigger frame compared to others.

Seeing the bread in 215's hands, he gulped down his saliva. He was among the few who didn't listen to 155's advice and ate the bread in the morning when it was given.

After tirelessly working for so many hours, his hunger had only increased rather than lessened. Knowing that 215 was the youngest among them, he decided to threaten him.

"Give it to me!" He grabbed the bread and glared at 215 threateningly.

"No! It's mine!" 215 resisted the man's attempt and caught his hand.

"You!" 211 groaned, and the two tried to remove each other's grip from the bread. However, the bread crumbled the very next moment and fell down on the muddy ground, leaving only a few crumbs in their hands.

"Look at what you did, you bastard!" 211 heavily smacked 215 on his head in frustration.

"You bastard, I'll kill you!" 215 leapt towards 211 and punched his stomach, but the attack was easily dodged by him.

"Piss off, you useless trash!" 211 kicked 215 in his stomach, making him fall and vomit his saliva on the ground.

Looking around him, 211 noticed that everyone was staring at him. A bit pressured, he shouted at them, "What?! You want to get hit as well?!"

Hearing him, people retracted their gazes. 211 sighed internally and turned back to his spot with a snort.

Hngh….hngh…s-sob

Meanwhile, 215 had started crying on the ground.

Anger, resentment, sadness and lastly shame. All wellled up inside him after being openly beaten up like this.

He had been controlling himself all this while. From losing his family overnight to being sent to the spirit mines, he had been trying to stay strong, but the last thread was finally broken.

Tears kept trickling down his face, and he started bawling.

Completely alone and completely hopeless.

Step…step…step

He heard someone's footsteps and slightly raised his head. A person was standing in front of him. He stretched his neck upward and saw a hand stretched towards him.

"Here, grab my hand," Zion said with an encouraging smile.

Still crying and sniffing, he looked at Zion's hand with doubt and confusion.

"Come work on my side. Or you wanna go back there?" Zion said as he glanced at 211.

Following Zion's glance, 215 also looked at 211 and soon turned back.

Sensing their gaze on him, 211 snorted in annoyance, "What? You've got something to say, you bastard?"

Zion ignored him and looked back at 215.

He seemed to have made a decision. The next moment, he grabbed Zion's hand and stood up.

Zion patted his back two times and said, "Don't let this break you, let's go."

With that said, Zion started walking towards his spot.

215 gazed at Zion, who, even with unsteady steps, looked very heroic to him, and a momentary thought entered his mind, 'I want to be like him.'

He followed after him and sat at a spot close to him.

"Take this," Zion broke his already half-eaten bread into two pieces and gave one to 215.

"B-but what about you?" Seeing the small piece of bread in his hand and the other in Zion's hand, which was even slightly smaller than his, he tried to give it back.

"Take it, you're young, so your body needs more food," Zion said as he shoved the small piece of bread back into his pocket.

99's eyes shimmered with interest when he witnessed this exchange.

Itching the mole on his nose, he thought in amusement, 'His kind are rare to find in this place.'

An hour later, the guards returned after having a sumptuous lunch and started whipping the miners to work.

….

Late afternoon.

An extravagant carriage with the word 'Mo' imprinted on it was moving from the inner circles to the common area.

Mo Li was sitting inside it. His right elbow was placed on the windowsill while his face rested on his palm.

His eyes lacked their usual focus as a lot of thoughts were going through his mind.

Thinking of his Second Brother, he clenched his jaws.

'If not for being born so late, do you think I would be so weak?!' Mo Li thought in frustration but soon took a deep breath and calmed down.

The next moment, he thought of Fana as a hint of anticipation flashed in his mind.

"Qi harmonisation…I've finally been rewarded for my patience," A charming smile returned to his face.

The carriage soon stopped at the entrance of Mo Li's manor.

He got out and was greeted by the head servant.

"Good afternoon, Master", the forty-year-old man greeted.

"Yes, how is she doing?" Mo Li asked.

"Miss Fana is in her room right now and is doing well. Should I send someone to call her?" The head servant asked.

"Later, first prepare a bath for me," Mo Li stretched his neck and said.

"Very well, master," the head servant bowed and went to delegated the other servants.

In a room next to Mo Li's chamber, Fana was sitting on the bed with her eyes closed.

An excited expression was present on her face as she went through the knowledge Mo Li had passed on to her with great excitement.

'Martial arts!' She found that a whole new world had opened up for her. A world filled with martial artists who called themselves cultivators. They possessed powers that surpassed all human capabilities!

A world filled with danger and adventure. A world where even someone like her, a woman, could explore fearlessly, provided she took the path of a cultivator.

Like a child tasting sugar for the first time, she went through the basics of cultivation in her mind with immense interest, savouring each and every moment.

Time passed seamlessly, and she was alerted by a knock on her door.

"Miss Fana, I've come with your dinner," a maid's voice came from the door, and she entered her room.

After placing the tray in front of her, the maid informed, "Master has requested your presence in his chambers after dinner."

Fana's breath paused for a second as her heart started beating faster. However, unlike yesterday, along with nervousness, there was also curiosity in her heart.

"Alright," she told the maid, who, after giving her a bow, left the room.