Heaven Awaits in Hell

"Just what is it that he wants from me? And why are these maids treating me so well since the morning?' Fana muttered in her spacious room while biting her fingers.

She had been brought here by the maids yesterday evening. Throughout the night, she waited in despair to be called by Mo Li, but no such calls came.

It was only in the morning when a maid came to deliver Fana her breakfast that she got to know that Mo Li was out throughout the night and had only returned in the morning.

Now, it was evening already evening, and Fana was growing more and more worried. Mo Li had not visited her since the morning, and the maids, too, were acting weird.

They helped her wash herself in the morning and also provided her with a fresh pair of clothes.

'Aren't I just a bedmaid? Are all bedmaids treated like this? Even though she was being treated so well, the doubts in her mind were only increasing.

"I'm coming in." Suddenly, a voice came, and the door to Fana's room was opened.

Fana sprang up from her bed the moment she heard the familiar voice and turned towards the door.

Mo Li stood there, dressed in his usual golden black robes. Fana immediately lowered her gaze.

Seeing this, he walked towards Fana until he was just a few feet away from her.

Fana's heart started beating rapidly as she stopped breathing from fright. She didn't dare to meet his eye and stared at the floor.

"Look at me," Mo Li said.

To Fana, it sounded like a command which she couldn't refuse, and she slowly but dreadfully lifted her gaze.

When their eyes met, Mo Li once again momentarily lost control of his Qi like yesterday. A bright smile formed on his face the next moment.

"Did you sleep well yesterday?" He raised his hand and asked while tracing Fana's cheeks with the back of his fingers.

Fana's whole body shuddered when she felt Mo Li's touch, but she didn't dare to move.

"Do you hate me?" Mo Li asked with a subtle frown.

"I-I don't dare to master," Fana immediately responded, and her gaze lowered once again in fright.

"It's okay for you to hate me, though. I was the one who severely injured your partner and also sent him to be a slave in the mines. After all that, isn't it only right for you to forever hold a grudge against me?" Mo Li asked with squinted eyes.

Fana's breath quickened the next moment. She felt as if she was being eyed by a predator, and if she answered wrongly, then what awaited her was her death.

"No!" Fana gathered all her courage and looked up at Mo Li, "he wasn't my partner, but only a friend. He had helped me escape from the forest. Therefore, I felt indebted to him and wanted to save him.

However, now that he is no longer a part of my life, how could I dare to hold a grudge against my master to whom I've sworn my loyalty and life?"

'She's quick on the uptake,' Mo Li thought, and a satisfied smile formed on his face.

"I'm satisfied with your answer," Mo Li said and continued, "I'll be waiting for you in my chambers tonight, come there after dinner, understand?"

"Y-yes master…I understand," Fana answered in both relief and anxiety.

"Good, I'll reward you for this sincerity tonight," Mo Li smirked and soon left her room.

Now that she was all alone, Fana sat on her bed lifelessly and tried to placate her beating heart.

"It's alright, Fana, it truly is alright. Your body is just a small price to pay if it means you can survive here," she said under her breath while her hands tightly clutched the bedsheet.

…...

After Zion and the rest were marked with their numbers, they were made to form a line and follow one of those men in brown robes. Another man followed them from behind.

They first passed through a lot of dwellings which housed these people. Soon, the dwellings disappeared, and the area around them was lined with wooden crates on both sides.

There were a few men who were dressed in similar robes to the men who were guiding them.

They carried a parchment in their hands and were watching the area and surveying the cart's contents for verification.

A little later, the carts disappeared, and what Zion saw in front of him was a huge wooden crane.

Its arm was horizontally stretched far ahead, and from its pulley a thick rope went down several kilometres into a deep, dark abyss, the depth of which could not be ascertained from above.

"Don't dawdle and keep moving!" One of the men shouted and kicked number 218 from behind.

Their daze was broken. Gulping down their saliva, they continued to follow after that man who went to the edge of the abyss.

 A descending circular path was carved on the inner edges of the abyss. It was large enough for five people to stand shoulder to shoulder.

"Hurry, we don't have all day! If any of you stop one more time, then I'll throw him down," The man behind shouted in annoyance.

Going down the abyss during his surface duty didn't sit well with him.

Hearing him, they all tensed and kept moving. This time, making sure not to glance at the dark, endless bottom.

Time passed.

They had been walking for more than an hour now, and there was still no end to their descent.

The mouth of the abyss looked the size of a coin from down here, and if not for the red luminous stones embedded on the walls every fifty meters, they would be unable to even see each other.

The next moment, sounds of metallic clangs could be heard from far below. Knowing that this unending descent was coming to an end, Zion sighed in relief.

They continued their descent for another half an hour and finally reached the bottom.