Hearing Shen Li say this, Hanyue was taken aback. Unconsciously, she thought of her life in the Night Ghost Division. If she had had a choice back then, she wouldn't have wanted to be a killing machine either! Fortunately, it wasn't too late.
Hanyue didn't stop Shen Li anymore. Together with her, they dragged the man into the grass. To prevent Li San from waking up early and ruining things, Hanyue even tied him up and gagged him with a rope.
After Shen Li and Hanyue changed into Li San and Wang Li's clothes, they heard the sound of footsteps not far away. They didn't dare to delay. They poured the soil beside the mound and then pushed the cart back.
Just then, two other men were pushing a cart of soil over. Seeing the two of them coming back, one of them reminded, "Hey? Why are you two so slow? Be careful or you'll get scolded when you get back!"
Hanyue deliberately deepened her voice to sound like a man's. "Okay! We're going back now!"
The man who had just spoken didn't suspect a thing. He just whispered to his companion, "Those two boys must have been hiding to slack off!"
Shen Li and Hanyue pushed the cart in silence all the way. Following the path in their memory, they successfully reached the outside of that room.
The two men guarding the door were holding torches in one hand. They stared at Shen Li and Hanyue unhappily. "Where have you been? Don't you know that if you're late, your pay will be deducted?"
Hanyue lowered her head and said without hesitation, "We went to pee!"
The guard at the door looked at them with disbelief. "Peeing takes this long! You're not lying to me, are you?"
Hearing this, Hanyue unconsciously clenched her fists. Her legs were tensed up, gathering strength.
"I think you two just went to slack off! Tell me! What are your names!"
Hearing this, Shen Li first let out a sigh of relief. She stood slightly in front of Hanyue. Hearing the question, she said, "Wang Li!"
Hanyue immediately followed up and said, "Li San!"
"Alright!" The guard smiled proudly. "In our stronghold, no one can slack off while working without being caught by me! You two are just unlucky to meet me on duty today!"
The guard saw that Shen Li and Hanyue both had their heads down, just nodding without saying a word, looking honest and dull. He felt bored. The smile on his face immediately turned into a business - like expression. "The password for tonight! Speak!"
"Under the bright moon, the stars are sparse!" Shen Li said without hesitation.
"Okay! Go in!" The guard stepped aside. "Next time, be quicker! Don't be so slow like a woman!"
Shen Li and Hanyue both nodded and pushed the cart in.
Once inside, it was a different scene. The room used to be a storage room. There were still some broken chairs and benches piled up against the wall. The soil just dug out was scattered on the ground. There was also a square pit near the north wall, big enough for a strong man to pass through easily.
"Hey! What are you standing there for? Are you addicted to having your pay deducted?" The guard who was standing at the door saw that Shen Li and Hanyue didn't move after entering. He walked in and saw the two of them standing there stupidly.
"You two be quicker! Put the cart over there! You don't need to push the soil today. Take the shovels and go down! Let's see if you can still slack off inside!"
Shen Li glanced at a few shovels placed under the wall on one side. She went over and picked up two. After giving one to Hanyue, she took the shovel and led the way into the secret tunnel.
The secret tunnel was simply built. It was just a long underground passage that could only accommodate two or three people side by side. There was a torch every few meters, and the light was very dim.
"Hanyue, stay close to me!" Shen Li tightened her grip on the shovel in her hand. She couldn't hear any sounds coming from the secret tunnel now.
"Miss, let me walk in front!" Hanyue wanted to walk in front of Shen Li to protect her from the unknown dangers.
Shen Li immediately stopped her. "We're just here to check the situation today. As long as we're careful, we won't be discovered. Don't worry. There's no danger."
Hanyue knew that once Shen Li made a decision, it was hard to change. So she didn't dwell on this issue anymore. She just watched her surroundings more vigilantly.
The whole secret tunnel was long and stuffy. There was a damp smell all around. As Shen Li and Hanyue walked, they occasionally met people pushing carts to carry the soil out.
Since entering the secret tunnel, Shen Li had been counting her steps. When she counted more than 700 steps, there was a fork in the tunnel, equally deep and invisible at the end.
"Miss, which way should we go?" Hanyue looked at the two paths in front of her and asked Shen Li for advice.
Without hesitation, Shen Li took a step forward and said, "Go straight!"
After that, as they went straight, Shen Li and Hanyue had encountered seven or eight forks on the way. Every time, Shen Li insisted on going forward.
When Shen Li got tired of counting, she also heard the sound of shovels hitting the soil and people talking in the distance. There were more than a dozen strong men in front, using shovels to dig the tunnel forward.
Shen Li and Hanyue both lowered their heads and hunched their backs. They walked over and joined those people. The people who were originally working just glanced at them and then continued with their own work.
Maybe this job was too boring and exhausting. After a long time, these people were obviously a bit listless.
At this time, a strong, bare - chested man stuck his shovel into the ground and boosted the morale, saying, "Brothers, work harder! Our secret tunnel will be completed in no time! The higher - ups said that if we can finish it by tomorrow night, each of us will get an extra 50 taels of silver!"
"Brother Ma, 50 taels of silver? Really?" As soon as they heard about the silver, there was an immediate response in the crowd. A bare - chested man with dark skin asked in surprise.
The man called Brother Ma patted his chest. "I can guarantee this. It's absolutely true! The third leader said it himself at the meeting! 50 taels for each of us. No one will be left out!"
"Wow! That's great! Our leaders are really generous. They treat us like real brothers!" The dark - skinned man said with a happy face.
After he said this, the people around him all agreed.
"That's right. Our leaders have never treated us badly! Since I came to the stronghold five years ago, I've not only married a wife, but now I even have two sons!"
"Exactly! Our leaders are good people. We brothers also benefit from them!"
"After I get the silver this time, I'll also go and arrange to marry a wife to carry on our family line."
...
After chatting like this for a long time, these people's spirits lifted.