The middle-aged man and Captain Hu Tong exchanged a distant glance, then casually chatted with the laborers beside them as they queued up.

"Hoo!" Hu Tong fought to maintain his composure, then casually glanced sideways, only to see Commander Bai Qi of the Black Armored Army approaching with a cold expression.

"It's rare to see this Bai Qi, yet he shows up today." Hu Tong was seething inside, but a smile bloomed on his face as he stepped forward to greet him. "My Lord, skipping morning drills today?"

"It's the 28th today, and I know many laborers are due home for visits. Of course, I must see for myself. Hu Tong, watch your men carefully, and make sure they search thoroughly!" Commander Bai Qi ordered icily. Hu Tong immediately bowed and smiled, "Yes, my Lord. My brothers have done this many times; rest assured, there will be absolutely no issues."

"Hmph!" Commander Bai Qi grunted.

Then, Commander Bai Qi stood to the side, scrutinizing the line of laborers being searched one by one. The laborers would occasionally steal a glance upward, instantly shrinking back, terrified to look directly at Commander Bai Qi.

These laborers knew very well that Commander Bai Qi was a figure of considerable authority.

"Search closer!" Hu Tong shouted from the side.

Commander Bai Qi casually surveyed his surroundings, occasionally glancing at the miners.

"Gold is heavy. If someone conceals a lot, it will cause their clothes to look uneven. A spot where gold is hidden will sag!" Bai Qi understood this perfectly, just as placing an iron block in a clothing pocket would cause the pocket to droop, making the garment look misshapen on the body.

Bai Qi swept his gaze over them.

At first glance, nothing seemed particularly out of the ordinary.

"Hmm?" A thought struck Bai Qi. His gaze swept past the footprints left by a middle-aged man who had just passed through the line. The mining area was dusty, with some parts having gravel, and others just dirt and mud, leaving clear impressions where one stepped. Of course, with so many people queuing and stepping in the same area, the footprints were messy.

But what kind of eyes did Bai Qi possess?

He immediately noticed it. The two footprints left by that middle-aged man, although they were immediately obscured by the next laborer stepping over them, Bai Qi remembered them with absolute clarity.

"One foot deeper, one foot shallower!" Bai Qi was inwardly alarmed.

He scrutinized the middle-aged man closely: "Hmm, his clothes are smooth; externally, it seems he isn't concealing anything. However, his legs are not one short and one long; they appear perfectly normal. One foot leaving a deeper print than the other suggests only one possibility: something heavy, like an iron block, must be strapped to one of his legs!"

Bai Qi could become a commander, and despite being narrow-minded, his capability could not be denied.

Being able to master the Nine Spears of the Rising Sun, he was exceptionally astute; noticing the slight discrepancy in those two exposed footprints, he uncovered the core of the problem.

"Heh heh," Commander Bai Qi immediately turned his gaze away from the middle-aged man.

The middle-aged man, feeling guilty, tensed as the distant Bai Qi stared at him for a moment. "Could that Lord of the Black Armored Army have discovered something? Impossible. It can't be seen from the outside. Phew... he’s finally stopped staring at me. That big shot must have been distracted!"

Regardless, the middle-aged man had nowhere left to retreat. If this great undertaking succeeded, he would enjoy wealth for the rest of his life.

"My Lord!"

"My Lord!" Reverent voices echoed from all around as Bai Qi turned.

Teng Qingshan appeared, holding the Reincarnation Spear, walking along the mountain path. Seeing Bai Qi, he cupped his hands in greeting. "Commander Bai Qi, you are here too?"

"Indeed, Qingshan. Where are you headed?" Bai Qi smiled.

"I'm going to meet Brother Tian Dan," Teng Qingshan replied.

"Then hurry along! These trivial body searches are handled by these guards," Commander Bai Qi said with a light smile.

Teng Qingshan glanced at him and smiled before taking his leave. Since that last challenge, Commander Bai Qi’s attitude toward Teng Qingshan had clearly shifted; he even dared not show a cold face to him anymore.

However...

Teng Qingshan felt no particular joy. Bai Qi’s restraint only made him heighten his vigilance.

...

Watching Teng Qingshan walk away, Bai Qi turned back to Hu Tong. "Hu Tong, speed up this body search."

"Yes, my Lord!" Hu Tong secretly rejoiced.

He had originally planned to have one of the searchers step aside while he conducted the search himself, allowing the target to slip away. Now, Bai Qi’s instruction made his job even easier.

"So sluggish! Two people searching—when will this ever finish? Now, three men per batch! You two continue, and I’ll take over the searches myself! You two can learn from me!" Hu Tong strode forward, gesturing to the line of waiting men. "Bring a few over to my station!"

Instantly, the two parallel queues split into three.

"Unfasten your outer garments and do it yourselves," Hu Tong called out.

One by one, the laborers unbuttoned their outer layers. Hu Tong swiftly first patted the outer coat, checking for any hard objects in the lining, then searched the undergarment. After that, he carefully patted down the trousers, checking the lining for gold. Finally, he told the laborers to undo their belts and pull their trousers down to the back of the knee.

He checked to see if gold was hidden near the groin. Lastly, he inspected their shoes and hair.

Hu Tong’s search was indeed fast.

"Next!" Hu Tong called out.

Consecutively, Hu Tong checked three men; none of them were concealing gold.

"Next!" Hu Tong shouted.

Immediately, the middle-aged man stood before Hu Tong. His outer garment was already undone, revealing only a tattered undershirt beneath, clearly hiding nothing. Hu Tong followed the procedure, searching carefully—outerwear, trousers, shoes, hair, under the clothes—examining every inch, and found nothing.

"Next!" Hu Tong stated.

The middle-aged man quickly dressed, put on his shoes, and started walking down the mountain path.

"Hmph," Commander Bai Qi glanced at the middle-aged man, coldly sneering to himself. "It seems Hu Tong must have been bought off. To bribe a City Guard Captain... concealing gold? Impossible. Even smuggling ten pounds of gold is only worth ten thousand taels of silver. It’s not worth bribing a Captain."

Commander Bai Qi grew doubtful. "Could it be Purple Gold?"

Commander Bai Qi pondered, "How could one smuggle Purple Gold? Laborers from the Purple Gold mine and the Gold mine never interact. Perhaps I was mistaken. Perhaps that middle-aged man isn't carrying anything?"

Just then—

"Did you see that? Do it just like I did, quickly. You search now," Hu Tong called out as he moved to the side, ordering a soldier to take over the search for him.

Bai Qi glanced over, a thought sparking in his mind. "Hmm? Hu Tong searched a total of four men from start to finish, and the fourth was that middle-aged man. By the time he reached the fifth man, only halfway through the search, he rested. Hmph, it seems he really was bribed!" Bai Qi then started walking down the mountain.

"My Lord," Hu Tong came up smiling.

"I'm going down the mountain for a stroll. Why are you following me?" Bai Qi barked.

Hu Tong paused, then retreated.

Only then did Bai Qi walk briskly, seemingly strolling, down the mountain. Bai Qi was an expert in Inner Strength; how could he lose track of a simple countryman?

"If my guess is correct, the wealth this man is secretly taking away must be considerable! The possibility of that man smuggling Purple Gold is at least fifty percent!" Bai Qi’s heart quickened. According to the rules of the Guiyuan Sect, the Purple Gold excavated daily was meticulously recorded. Even as a commander, he had no way to skim profits.

Humans are driven by greed. Even in the previous life society where Teng Qingshan originated, some high officials were greedy for wealth. This explained Bai Qi. Despite being a commander in the Black Armored Army with a substantial salary, he was far behind wealthy merchants. Everyone has desires; Bai Qi also wanted to buy beautiful maids, hire servants to make his life more comfortable, or even purchase superior materials to forge better weapons. All of this required cold, hard silver and gleaming gold.

"Hmph, this fortune belongs to me! The Sect doesn't know about it anyway," Bai Qi was already consumed by avarice. Kill the middle-aged man and seize the wealth. If he was wrong, then the man was simply unlucky.

...

At the foot of Mount Tielian, on the official road, five warhorses stood ready. Men stood beside each horse.

One of them, a thin, small man about seven feet tall, was 'Dong Yan'. The three men surrounding him—two were tall and rather plump, and the third was a middle-aged man with silver-white hair.

"Big Brother! You said that Old Third Li brought down Purple Gold? I don't understand. The Purple Gold mine and the Gold mine are separate. How could Old Third Li, working as a laborer in the Gold mine, acquire Purple Gold?" one of the two stout men inquired. "Brother, can you tell us this secret now?"

"Er Pang, I'll tell you," Dong Yan chuckled. "There is a secret passage connecting the Purple Gold mine and the Gold mine!"

"What?" The two stout men were astounded, but the silver-haired middle-aged man remained calm.

"Actually, it was discovered by one of my brothers who was digging deep in the Purple Gold mine and accidentally connected it to a small tunnel in the Gold mine. He sealed that passage. Very few people know this secret," Dong Yan said lightly. "Brother Wang has accumulated about ten pounds of Purple Gold over the past year! He hid it in that location via the secret tunnel, and Old Third Li retrieved it. Once Old Third Li gets that Purple Gold out, we will be rich!"

To Dong Yan, the three men beside him were the ones he trusted most, men he had faced life-and-death situations with. He hadn't told the Big Pang and Er Pang earlier because he worried their careless nature might let the secret slip.

"Ten pounds!" Big Pang and Er Pang were shocked. Er Pang muttered, "Ten pounds of Purple Gold—that’s equivalent to a thousand pounds of gold! That's one million taels of silver! One million taels of silver... we’re set for life!"

One million taels of silver was an astonishing sum. Even a wealthy salt merchant with an asset value of a million taels would be considered quite prosperous.

"Ten pounds of Purple Gold! Hmph, it’s nothing compared to what Guiyuan Sect excavates in a year. But with this money, we won't have to huddle in this small Huafeng City anymore," Dong Yan smiled, suddenly glancing into the distance. "Ah, look, laborers are coming down the mountain! Old Third Li should be close too!"