Chapter 475: Have Eyes But Cannot See

Ye Zhen felt that since he had seen through the disguise, there was no need to control her voice anymore. "For the convenience of the road, I had no choice but to disguise myself. Who knew that I would meet you."

"Qiu Yuan, take them to the guest room and have them wash their faces before coming back," the man in white said calmly.

"Yes, Master." Qiu Yuan glared coldly at the two and personally led them to the guest room. He even had his underlings keep an eye on them as they removed the disguise from their faces.

When Ye Zhen and Huangfu Chen reappeared in front of him, Qiu Yuan was stunned for a moment. Especially when he saw Ye Zhen's peerlessly beautiful face, he finally understood what this woman meant when she said it was for the convenience of traveling.

With such looks, she would be sure to get snatched if seen in public.

Huangfu Chen looked at Qiu Yuan coldly. "Still not leading the way?"

Qiu Yuan snorted coldly. He was wary of Huangfu Chen's tall and noble temperament. I’m afraid this master and apprentice pair probably has some history.

The man in white had already returned to his room. Qiu Yuan led Huangfu Chen and the others into the hall.

When the man in white who was sitting in the middle saw them, his eyes flashed with surprise. Finally, he slowly looked at Huangfu Chen's face and suddenly revealed a smile. "Huangfu Chen, it's you."

Huangfu Chen held Ye Zhen's hand and sat down. He looked like he was taking the initiative*. "Zhao Tianji, I didn't expect you to still be alive."

[反客为主 fǎn kè wéi zhǔ – lit. the guest acts as host (idiom); fig. to turn from passive to active behavior]

Zhao Tianji smiled. “Where have you been these years?"

"Healing in seclusion.” Huangfu Chen said indifferently, “Then what do you plan to do now?"

Ye Zhen really didn't expect Huangfu Chen to know this white-clothed man who had poor legs. However, it seemed that their relationship wasn't very good.

Zhao Tianji smiled faintly. “What do you think I'm doing? Isn't it just a private mine? There are quite a few people in the world who have private mines. Don't tell me you want to take care of this?"

"It's just a private mine, so why take others by force?" Huang Fuchen asked in a cold voice, sounding like he was reprimanding Zhao Tianji.

"Force?" Zhao Tianji looked at Qiu Yuan beside him. He was under the impression that the people who went to the iron mine were from the nearby villages. In order not to let the secret leak out, he ordered the people who went to the iron mine not to leave. In the future, when they finish, they would naturally be allowed to leave along with wealth to last them a lifetime. “You were captured?"

Qiu Yuan had already stilled after Zhao Tianji called out Huangfu Chen's name. How could there be such a coincidence in this world? They actually caught Huangfu Chen? If he knew that he was Huangfu Chen, he wouldn't have dared to take him to the iron mine. What should I do now? Could Huangfu Chen keep it a secret for us or should I kill him first?

Huangfu Chen glanced at Zhao Tianji. "What do you think?"

Zhao Tianji said with a smile, "It seems that some people have eyes but cannot see*, dared to capture Mr.Huangfu. It's useless to live."

[T/N*means someone is super incapable of perceiving something; usually in relation to other people. Here it is: not recognizing that the person they just offended is super important/powerful]

"Master?" Qiu Yuan's expression changed slightly.

"Whoever caught them, gouge their eyes out." Zhao Tianji ordered with a smile on his face.

Qiu Yuan's voice trembled as he answered in affirmative, and at his master's gesture, he retreated with his head bowed.

Huangfu Chen looked at Zhao Tianji, unmoved as if he knew how cruel he was. “The people from Gujia Village were all captured by your people?"

"Ah Chen, you're mistaken. I never catch people, nor would I force others to come to the iron mine to help. The people who work there are from several nearby villages. I pay them generously, ten times what they used to fetch in the fields working like cattle and horses* for others," Zhao Tianji said.

[* meaning working very hard]

So, was this the reason neither the imperial court nor the government discovered the existence of this private mine? Those who worked there could be hiding its existence. As Ye Zhen mused, she couldn't help but shake her head inwardly. How will he explain the matter of the innkeeper?

"The innkeeper of Gujia Village… Is he your people?" Huangfu Chen and Ye Zhen both thought of the Innkeeper Liu. According to his methods, it was clearly not the first time. It was possible that in other places, they would also use the same method to capture people to work in the iron mines and not let them leave.

Zhao Tianji's slender fingers gently tapped the handle of the wheelchair. “I haven't been back for half a year."

"Aren’t you aware your people are out there trying to catch people to go to the iron mine? Even if you knew, you wouldn't stop it," Huangfu Chen said lightly.

"It's probably because the iron mine is lacking manpower. I didn't expect to catch you." Zhao Tianji seemed to find it funny, but he was not surprised at all. He did not seem to want to stop it.

Ye Zhen frowned as she looked at him. She always felt that this person's smile looked very feminine and terrifying. Although he was smiling as he spoke to Huangfu Chen, it still made people feel that he was inadvertently showing hostility and indifference. Presumably, a person who could easily gouge out other people's eyeballs, couldn’t care about the life and death of others?

"What happened to your legs?" Huangfu Chen asked. It was probably impossible for Zhao Tianji to let those people go. After many years of not meeting someone, there were bound to be changes in them.

Zhao Tianji smiled and said, "I'm not a doctor, how can I know what's going on?"

Huangfu Chen looked up at him and said, "Let them go. I'll stay."

"Huangfu Chen, you think I'm stupid?" Zhao Tianji smiled gently and coldly. He looked at Ye Zhen and asked with a smile, "This is your apprentice?"

"What do you want to do?" Huangfu Chen frowned.

Zhao Tianji said indifferently, "I didn't expect, I haven't heard from you for so many years and you’re more romantic than before and you have such a beautiful apprentice beside you. I'm afraid you've forgotten what Mu Qing looks like, right?"

Huangfu Chen's eyes turned cold.