Chapter 527: Chapter 510: Like Hell (2)

Lu Jiaguang couldn’t believe his eyes when he saw Lu Jiajie. He rushed over and grabbed Lu Jiajie’s arm, just about to ask what had happened to make him look this way, when he realized something was wrong.

He rolled up Lu Jiajie’s sleeves and saw both arms were like kindling, with blue veins and blood vessels clearly visible. Not only that, but there were also scars all over.

Lu Jiaguang then lifted up his clothes to see ribs that were clearly visible. It is said that men do not easily shed tears, only when their hearts are truly broken. At that moment, Lu Jiaguang’s eyes couldn’t help but redden.

After composing himself, Lu Jiaguang finally asked, “What in the world happened? Weren’t you doing business with Longhair? Why have you returned half a year later looking like a ghost?”

After a silence, Lu Jiajie explained how Leng Wu had knocked him and the people he brought out in a small inn near the border. When he woke up, he found himself in a mining camp. He couldn’t make contact with his family; the place was completely isolated from the outside world.

Lu Jiajie said, “Those foremen and managers at the mine didn’t care about human lives at all. Every day, we had to mine a certain amount of gold. If we finished the task, we could eat enough; if not, we would be brutally beaten and left unfed. What they fed us was hard as rock–wild vegetable buns and vegetable porridge with a strange taste.”

“People died at the mine every day, and when someone died, they were simply dragged out and thrown off the cliff. I was relatively lucky; there were two people from the Forty-Nine City in the mine. They took care of me in secret after knowing my identity, otherwise I wouldn’t have survived until rescue.”

Lu Hongjun asked, “Why didn’t you escape?”

Lu Jiajie gave a bitter smile, “We couldn’t escape. The surrounding area is all grassland, vast and boundless, and the local people benefited from the mine. In my second month there, some tried to escape, but they were caught by the locals and returned. The manager got us all to witness the punishment. Those two were beaten until their flesh burst open, and then they died right in front of us.”

Having lived for thirty years, I had never imagined such hellish places existed, where people are not afraid of falling into the Eighteenth Level of Hell after death.

Lu Jiajie continued, “Last month, some people planned another escape and wanted me to join. But escape was a certain death, while staying might have given a chance for Jiaxin to rescue me.”

He could understand why those people wanted to escape; not escaping was a certain death. He had hope, so he was unwilling to bet on that nonexistent chance to live. Fortunately, Jiaxin and the family never gave up looking for him, which is what ultimately saved his life.

Lu Hongjun sighed, “I had heard that it was chaotic over there, the common people living in unbearable conditions, but I never imagined it was even worse than we knew.”

Lu Jiaguang said, “The important thing is that you are alive and back. By the way, have you called Jiaxin yet? We owe her a lot for your return, not just a huge sum of money but also many favors.”

There was no need to ask, as Jiajie being sold to such a deserted mine–if it were not for great efforts–would have been impossible to both find and rescue.

Lu Jiajie felt moved and guilty, “This time, to rescue me, Jiaxin spent more than two hundred thousand greenbacks.”

Lu Hongjun gasped in shock, “How much? How much did you say she spent?”

“Over two hundred thousand greenbacks. Those involved have blood on their hands; dealing with them is very dangerous, and no one would do it without a substantial reward,” said Lu Jiajie.

He didn’t mention about others being involved in his rescue, not wanting to scare anyone. From Leng Wu’s case, it was clear these were ruthless people. If only he had enough money, he would hire them to take out all those beasts that hurt him.

Lu Jiaguang, recalling how Lu Hongjun had been ranting about Jiaxin’s obsession with money, said, “Jiaxin has always been generous since she was a child, and with Jiajie’s life at stake, she wouldn’t have been stingy.”

Lu Hongjun felt slightly uncomfortable being reminded of this.

Turning his head, Lu Jiaguang said again, “Jiajie, once you’ve made some money, you must repay this debt to Jiaxin.”

The sum of over two hundred thousand greenbacks roughly converted to about eight hundred thousand Hua currency, and it was estimated that it would take Lu Jiajie quite a few years to earn that amount. He wasn’t expected to repay it all at once, but he definitely had to repay it.

Lu Jiajie nodded and said, “I can’t repay the kindness, but I will surely repay the money to Jiaxin.”

Looking at the clothes he was wearing, Lu Jiaguang said, “You’d better take a bath quickly, change your clothes, and then get your hair cut. Otherwise, you’ll scare the children with that look.”

Speaking of the children, Lu Jiaguang couldn’t help but reproach him, “In the future, you should avoid doing such dangerous things. Not just for yourself, you must also think about the children. We’ve been deceiving them, telling them that it’s difficult to make phone calls from Longhair’s place. Unexpectedly, last week, Ma Lili went and told the kids you were dead, causing them to have nightmares these past few nights, screaming in their dreams not to let daddy die. Your sister-in-law and I feel terrible hearing that.”

Lu Jiajie also felt immensely regretful. When he was at the mine, what he worried about the most were his two children. He wasn’t concerned that the Ma family vultures would snatch away the money or the house since he had his older brother and Jiaxin to rely on. But he couldn’t trust the Ma family, Ma Lili, or even his own parents–if something happened to him, his children would surely suffer a lot.

He wiped away his tears and said softly, “Don’t worry, big brother, there won’t be a next time.”

Lu Jiaguang nodded, then went into the house and brought out a set of his own clothes for him, “It just so happens your sister-in-law bought me some new undergarments a couple of days ago. You can wear these for now, if they don’t fit, we’ll buy new ones tomorrow.”

“Okay.”

After school at noon, Qiangqiang and Xiao Fengfeng ran into Big Aunt Li at the entrance of the alley. Then they heard her say their dad was back.

After hearing this, Qiangqiang and Xiao Fengfeng ran with all their might, calling for their dad and searching for him as they reached home. Unable to find him or get a response, the siblings feared Big Aunt Li had lied to them, “Uncle Three, Uncle Three, where’s my dad? Grandma Li said my dad is back, where is he, where is he?”

Xiao Fengfeng started crying outright, calling out amidst her sobs, “Dad, dad, where are you? Don’t you want me and my brother anymore?”

Qiangqiang’s tears also streamed down. He was usually very strong, but recently, he’d been crying often. It was understandable; even the most sensible child is still a ten-year-old.

Seeing their heartfelt sobbing, Lu Hongjun’s eyes reddened uncontrollably.

Lu Jiaguang picked up Xiao Fengfeng and patted Qiangqiang on the head, comforting them, “Don’t cry, your dad is really back. He’s just gone to get a haircut, he’ll be back soon.”

Looking up, Qiangqiang asked, “Uncle, are you telling the truth? You’re not lying to us?”

Fighting back the sourness in his heart, Lu Jiaguang said, “When have I ever lied to you? If you’re anxious, I’ll take you to find him right now.”

“Okay.”

As they stepped out of the door, they saw Lu Jiajie walking towards them. He had gone to the barbershop where the barber found many lice in his hair, so he simply asked the barber to shave it all off.

When Qiangqiang and Xiao Fengfeng saw him, they both rushed over and clung to him. Qiangqiang just shed tears, while Xiao Fengfeng cried loudly, “Dad, dad, you’re back, you’re finally back.”

Hearing this, Lu Jiajie’s tears couldn’t help but fall as well.