Starting as a dockworker

Chapter 8: Watching the fire with eyes closed, people are filled with unease!

The ten dockworkers from Huang's Rice Shop who had finished their work that day enjoyed a sumptuous meal in the afternoon.

As instructed by the supervisor, those who ate well had to stay behind to keep watch overnight.

However, Liu Kai said he was going to learn martial arts at the "Zhongyi Martial Arts School" and didn't stay.

It was rumored that he had some connections with the docks, and although the others were dissatisfied, they didn't say much.

The remaining nine people stayed at the rice warehouse to keep watch.

With Lao Gang, a veteran with extensive experience, he gave Li Xiao his best opportunity.

Li Xiao took the lead and kept watch for two hours, using the "flashlight" given to him by the supervisor to patrol between the warehouses. If there was any situation, he would beat the drum and gong.

After patrolling for two hours, we found nothing.

Li Xiao then had someone change shifts and went to take a nap.

The remaining people abandoned their bamboo mats in one of the granaries and slept on the ground.

That night, Li Xiao had a strange dream.

In my dream, I was in a daze, as if I were floating on water or walking in a thick fog.

It was pitch black all around, with only a faint light in the distance.

It was an indescribable color, hazy and indistinct, drawing people in that direction.

But no matter how hard they tried, they could never reach the end.

We walked and walked, and it felt like we walked for ten days and ten nights.

In the blink of an eye, it seemed like I was waking up from the dream.

He stood on the narrow path paved with bluestone slabs, with tall, thick-leaved plants on both sides, standing quietly in the windless environment, their dark green color almost black.

At the end of the path, the outline of a pavilion overlooking the water can be vaguely seen, its eaves upturned, making it difficult to make out clearly.

What attracted him most was a figure standing quietly on a smooth blue stone overlooking the water in front of the pavilion.

It's a woman.

She had her back to Li Xiao; she was tall and slender, wearing an extremely loose, floor-length dress.

The color of the dress was difficult to discern in the dim light of the dream.

It appears to be an extremely serene deep blue, or perhaps a dark green with a faint glow. The fabric is thick and has a strong drape, embroidered with large, intricate patterns in dark gold or silver thread, resembling intertwined peonies.

Her hair cascaded down to her waist like a waterfall, as black as clouds, without a single blemish.

She stood there, facing a vast expanse of calm, still water with no visible edges.

The water reflected the shimmering light and her serene silhouette, symmetrical and seamless, exuding a solitude and grace frozen in time...

"Ah Si, Ah Si, wake up..."

Li Xiao wanted to see the woman clearly, but a sudden sway shattered his dream.

Before I even opened my eyes, I felt eight red flames floating and flickering in the darkness before me...

As soon as he opened his eyes, the flames vanished.

What came into view were the other eight dockworkers, Old Gang, Kai Zi... surrounding him.

"What's wrong?"

Li Xiao sensed something was wrong and sat up from the mat.

"Did you see Wang Sheng last night?" asked Li Gong Haigen.

Li Xiao thought for a moment and said, "I saw him. When I came back to sleep last night, Wang Sheng was sleeping on that mat... Wait, where is Wang Sheng?"

"He's gone," Liu Kai said. "I rushed over early this morning, while you were all still sound asleep. I was the first to notice someone was missing, and after counting, I realized Wang Sheng wasn't there."

After he finished speaking, everyone's expression turned grim.

They had searched all around but couldn't find Wang Sheng.

Haigen's face showed a look of horror: "Oh no, oh no, this Huang family rice shop is really strange. Could it really be haunted and have harmed Wang Sheng...?"

Upon hearing this, everyone reflected on the situation and realized that it was indeed strange, causing a sense of unease to set in.

Just then, the foreman's voice came from outside the rice warehouse: "Are you all awake? Hurry up and eat breakfast, we still have to go to the dock warehouse to move goods today."

Everyone hurriedly walked out of the warehouse, with Li Xiao following closely behind.

Once outside, the carriage team was already ready.

Old Gang was the first to walk over and said, "Manager Zhang, don't rush to work. Some of our people are missing. You need to explain what happened."

"Oh, it's that person."

Manager Zhang said with a smile, "Someone left this morning. He mentioned to me that he had something to do at home and had to go back first. He won't be coming for the next few days."

"You're talking nonsense."

Old Gang cursed, "Even if Wang Sheng wanted to leave, he would have told us first. He disappeared without a word, so he must have been harmed. What kind of work is he doing? If we don't see Wang Sheng, we're going to call the police."

After the dynasty fell, the city's security was changed from the constables of the yamen to the police of the police department.

"Yes, call the police!"

The laborers all agreed.

"Call the police?"

Manager Zhang seemed to have heard a joke, and his smiling face immediately turned cold.

He dusted off his clothes and said with a disdainful look, "Do you think the police department cares about Huang's Rice Shop? Do you think they'll believe my master Huang, or you bunch of laborers?"

After he finished speaking, the laborers fell silent.

The previous government was inactive, and the new police department is also corrupt with businessmen; all crows are black.

Those police officers definitely won't get involved in this; they'll just give them some money and send them on their way.

Besides, they have no evidence to prove that this matter is related to the Huang family.

Although the laborers were all from the lower class, they had spent years working at the docks and could see things clearly.

As the saying goes, "If it doesn't concern you, don't bother with it."

Soon, no one thought of standing up for Wang Sheng.

The thing to do now is to prevent this from happening to me...

"We're not doing this job anymore. Let whoever wants to do it do it. Let's go back to the dock."

"Yes, I quit. This place is cursed."

"Such a grown man, gone just like that, can't do it..."

Old Gang waved and shouted, and the other laborers responded in unison.

"hehe..."

Manager Zhang sneered twice, then said, "Do you think Huang's Rice Shop is a vegetable garden where you can come and go as you please? Today's job is yours to do, whether you like it or not."

Old Gang, hands on hips, said, "What, you're not going to tie us up here, are you?"

Manager Zhang laughed and said, "That's not necessarily true. However, our boss has already made arrangements at the docks. We paid a hefty sum to hire you. If you were to abandon your post, do you think you could ever return to the docks?"

After he finished speaking, the room fell silent.

The manager of the Huang family directly threatened them with the jobs at the dock.

As long as they don't work here, they can't work on the other side of the dock either.

There are plenty of people waiting to enter the city from outside; even without them, there are plenty of people to do the work.

For these laborers, it was a life of uncertainty, with no guarantee of where their next meal would come from, and no certainty of tomorrow after working today.

If I lose this job, I'll starve to death in less than half a month.

"That's right. Behave yourselves and don't cause trouble. It'll only take three or four days to finish this job, and the master will let you go, plus a reward."

"tips?"

"Yes, a reward, ten silver dollars."

The laborers swallowed hard, their eyes brightening slightly.

Although this money is a hot potato, do we have any other options right now?

How could a bunch of laborers possibly compete with these wealthy gentlemen?

The silence of the crowd indicated that they had tacitly agreed.

"Let's go, the food is ready. Eat your fill so you can get to work."

Manager Zhang grinned, reverting to his usual slick demeanor, and led the laborers to the shed for their meal. The food was still of high standard, with a table full of fish and meat, and a bowl of white steamed buns.

However, everyone ate the meal without any appetite, their minds preoccupied.

Only Li Xiao was there, eating and drinking heartily, completely unaffected.

"Ah Si, you can still eat?..."

Liu Kai sighed repeatedly, looking as if he were facing a major disaster.

Although he wasn't there last night, it's a fact that Wang Sheng is gone.

"Why can't you eat? How can you work if you don't eat your fill?"

Li Xiao said this while chewing his food.

"Good, well said."

Old Gang also picked up a white steamed bun and stuffed it into his mouth: "Everyone, eat as much as you can. You need to be full to have energy. Didn't Granny Ming say that being able to eat is a blessing? Ah Si is so lucky to be able to eat so much."

Tonight, we'll sleep together, with someone keeping watch. Nine grown men gathered together—our yang energy is strong! Let's see what that filthy thing can do to us!

Haigen echoed, "Old Gang is right, there really is a ghost. Last night, that ghost only dared to harm Wang Sheng, which means it wasn't powerful enough and was afraid of people. If we stay together, we'll be fine."

With this encouragement, everyone felt much more at ease.

They all started eating the food on the table.

Then, Lao Gang suggested that Liu Kai shouldn't leave that night. Everyone's here; what would happen if he left alone? If he leaves, everyone else will have to run. If this gets into trouble, we'll all have to shoulder the burden together.

Liu Kai remained silent, though unwilling, he had no other choice.

After eating and drinking their fill, everyone boarded the carriages and headed to the dock warehouse to unload today's goods.

On the way, they secretly discussed among themselves that from now on, everyone should stop slacking off and work hard to move the goods as quickly as possible, so that the Huang family would have no reason to keep them...

Li Xiao listened from the side the whole time, without saying much.

These people are quite cunning, and their methods are reliable.

"Huh, what's this...."

Just as Li Xiao was observing the panel, he suddenly noticed something different!

At the very bottom of the panel properties, a new line of small text has been added displaying the 【Spiritual Arts】 section.

Name: Li Xiao

Age: 16

[1 equipment slot unlocked]

[Equipment Slot: Ragged Shoes]

[Spiritual Technique: Observing Fire with Eyes Closed]

[Observe the fire with eyes closed: Close your eyes and concentrate, and you will see the life-giving fire of living beings flickering. Light and darkness reveal good and bad fortune, color distinguishes between humans and ghosts, and evil spirits have nowhere to hide.]

Upon seeing the spiritual power he finally possessed, Li Xiao was greatly shocked!

That blind old woman wasn't joking; she had actually learned magic!

No, but I clearly haven't done anything, nor have I learned a single spell or anything...

How did this spiritual power come about?