Heaven Awaits in Hell

"Come on, Old Chen, you're looting me! I've already paid you ten spirit stones before!" Zi Rui exclaimed.

"Hah? You're really shameless, aren't you? For those ten spirit stones, I've already treated him once.

Now you bring him to me in a much worse state than before and ask me to give you a discount?! Get out of here if you don't have the spirit stones." Old Chen fumed.

Seeing Old Chen's stubbornness, Zi Rui could only grit his teeth in anger and give him the stones.

"Here are your forty spirit stones," Zi Rui said, passing him the spirit stones.

Old Chen took the pouch and counted the stones inside. Satisfied, he finally began with his treatment.

'I'll make sure to extract every spirit stone out of you later,' Zi Rui thought in anger while looking at Zion.

"I'll come tomorrow morning to pick him up." With that said, Zi Rui left in a foul mood.

Old Chen then fully immersed himself in treating Zion. His green Qi entered Zion's body and moved towards all the crushed bones.

The shattered pieces coalesced and soon took back their former appearance. The Qi then entered the bone marrow, increasing the rate of blood production.

Soon, Zion's face regained its earlier complexion and was no longer pale.

Lastly, all the bruises on his exterior body were taken care of. It was an hour past midnight when the procedure was finally complete, and Old Chen's robes were drenched in sweat.

"It's finally over," Old Chen muttered in exhaustion and wiped his forehead with his robes.

He looked at Zion with a trace of pity, "This night will most likely be your last one above the surface."

Zi Rui had mentioned that this man would be sent to the spirit mines the next day. The fate of everyone who was sent there was the same: an early death.

Old Chen lit up his tobacco and went outside to smoke.

Looking at the bright moon above the sky, he thought inwardly, 'I wonder when we'll get the green signal from the higher-ups,'

The next morning.

Zion's consciousness returned, and he pushed himself up the bed.

"Oh, you're awake?" Old Chen said. He was sitting not far from him on a chair right beside a window.

"Who are you?" Zion asked.

"Just an old physician," Old Chen smirked.

By now, Zion's mind had cleared up. Remembering everything that happened the day before, his mood dulled.

"You must be hungry. I'll bring you some food," Old Chen stood up the next moment and went to the inner room.

'Fana…' Zion bit into his lips when he remembered her betrayal. All the emotions he had developed for her welled up in his chest and made him feel heavy.

Tears filled his eyes, and he was on the verge of crying.

'Don't! …Don't waste your tears on someone like her,' Zion thought while clenching his jaws.

The tears were finally brought under control, but Zion still had that stuffy feeling in his chest. It wasn't as easy to counter as tears.

While Zion was dealing with this multitude of emotions, Old Chen finally entered the room. He brought a bowl full of meat soup with him.

"I'm not hungry," Zion said hatefully. He felt that Old Chen was just like the people he saw earlier.

If he wanted, he could have escaped from here earlier when he had the chance, but he didn't.

It was because Zion knew that he was just a mere cripple right now with empty Qi reserves while all the other people here not only had Qi in their bodies but were also much more powerful than he was.

"If I were you, I would have eaten it anyway since they don't serve warm food in the mines," Old Chen commented and placed the bowl on a side table.

Zion's gaze fell on the bowl. Wisps of aromatic steam drifted into the air from it. The smell of the seasoning made saliva collect in his mouth, and he subconsciously gulped.

Finally putting his pride beside him, he grabbed the bowl and started eating.

"Good," Old Chen nodded.

After Zion slurped down the whole bowl, he asked a question that was going on in his mind.

"Will I ever get out of that mine?" He had understood by now that he was going to be used as a slave, so he asked.

"No, you'll be made to work there until your last breath," Old Chen answered.

"I figured…" Zion muttered.

Old Chen took the bowl from Zion's hand and asked, "Where's your home by the way? Your way of speaking is very different compared to the norm."

Old Chen had been wanting to ask this question for a while.

"My home? It's deep inside the-," Before Zion could continue, he was interrupted by a loud voice.

"Old Chen! I'm here!" Zi Rui knocked on the main door.

"Looks like it's time for you to depart," Old Chen sighed and went towards the door.

Zi Rui looked at Zion's body and was satisfied to see his condition.

"I'll be taking him then," Zi Rui told Old Chen.

"Do whatever you want since you've already paid," Old Chen replied in his usual manner.

"Hey bastard, why are you still on the bed? Get up before I break your other leg as well," Zi Rui glared at Zion.

Knowing that his fate was sealed, Zion pushed himself off the bed. To his surprise, his body felt very energetic.

He glanced at Old Chen one last time and nodded in thankfulness.

"What are you dawdling about? Start walking," Zi Rui grabbed Zion's arms and pulled him forward. Zion almost lost his balance and fell, but Zi Rui didn't care at all.

He just commented with annoyance clearly written on his face, "Keep walking forward, I'll tell you the directions when needed."

Old Chen took out his smoking pipe and looked towards the sky. A whiff of smoke escaped his mouth as he thought, 'Try to survive as long as possible. If fate is with you, you'll get to see these blue skies once again.'