Chapter 105 - The Mines

Mafan thought of digging these boulders out but he needed people to do this. He pondered for a moment then looked at his hypnotized slave. He then ordered Qinfen to bring male servants to the area. 

Qinfen brought the workers who were rebuilding Anjing Pavilion to the cave's vicinity. There were a hundred of them and followed him. 

After they arrived, Mafan stayed hidden and let Qinfen order them to clear the area and pull out the rocks. The workers did as told, but they looked at each other, wondering why their task's area changed. Yet, no one could complain because it was the governor's brother who gave the commands.

Clearing the place didn't take long. Mafan could clearly see the three covered caves external view. Rubbles of various sizes piled randomly at the entrances. The caves were yards away apart from each other. 

He saw the remains of tumbled and broken wooden carts with steel wheels near the entrances. There were also steel rails on the ground. Mafan presumed these were where the carts ran through and it seemed connected somewhere in the middle of the forest.

While surveying the place, his foot hit something hard. It was a rusty, thinned down, holed, and fragmented two-sided ax. These axes were partly buried in the soil. "Hmm, who left this place like this?"

He also saw scattered aged pickaxes. His steps were with care after he almost stepped on rusty blades lying everywhere. 

*Tang!* Dull sounds rang as the workers' sickles and long steel knives struck the protruding steels while cutting the waist-length grasses and shrubs. They picked them up with utmost care as they didn't want any of their companions stepping on them. After all, their location was far from any medical camp. 

After clearing the way, the sweating men began picking and carrying the stones disrupting the cave entrances. They used tools to loosen and lift the big rocks. 

No one from the Lei noticed Qinfen's absence nor did they even notice the missing workers in the Anjing Pavilion. Lifen was too busy following General Lofey and Anghus to look for Mafan inside the area. Lei An took care of the casualties in the clinic. Zhai was in the training grounds. And everyone expected Qinfen to be with his friends to plan some stuff.

The whole Goding army was too busy turning the place upside down. They searched everywhere but no one, not even the great General Lofey suspected anything from within the Governor's place. 

---- o ----

General Lofey doubted Anghus' statements and wished to torture the guy until he'd spill the truth but he couldn't do so with Lifen following them around. The day ended with no progress of Mafan's whereabouts. 

Ming, Xinyi, and the human Nianshi came back through the city gate. They didn't fly over the city to attract attention or pass around the mountains to avoid the gate, to avoid revealing the lion-dragon to the Goding army. For now, Ming had some hesitations on whether to tell General Lofey about Xinyi's true identity and of her mount. But he thought of asking for help from the general to protect her. 

It was a hectic and tiresome day for everybody. Ming thought of skipping on inviting General Lofey for dinner but after missing the city tour, he changed his mind.  

During dinner, Qinfen and Mafan was not around but Ming didn't want to mention or ask about them. His guest was his priority at the moment. The feast prepared by the kitchen staff was perfect but the atmosphere didn't jibe with the occasion. 

General Lofey wished to talk with the governor about Mafan. Although Zang Wei gave his permission for the foreign army to search the city, they didn't join the search teams. This frustrated the general, but he also knew he had breached the country's code of ethics when he made the order without asking the governor first. 

Fortunately, Zang Wei didn't stop him after listening to the governor's mother's intervention and explanation concerning the urgent matter. He also assumed the latter did it out of goodwill, for the new friendship and trust given by Governor Lei Ming. Little did he know, Zang Wei did it for Lifen.

Thus, General Lofey was careful not to stir the still fragile relationship. He tried to enjoy the meal and even made some funny comments about the differences of food for every country to lighten the mood with a bit of banter. In this way, waiting to be alone with Ming would not be tiresome. 

Ming felt the big man's hesitations and patiently waited for the general to open the issue. He heard about the search when he saw the report on his table but the written reason was only about the missing Godingan adviser. It stated no name on the paper. He bided his time to let the general speak about the incident and give the man a chance to explain. 

At the end of the evening, the people had left aside from Governor Lei Ming and the Goding general.

---- o ----

Before dusk, Mafan hypnotized the workers one by one, planting in their consciousness to hush up about the digging and to return the next day discreetly. The workers went home with this mindset.

Mafan wondered what to do after they left but after seeing the moon was full that night, he continued digging on the first cave with Qinfen, who was still in a trance.  He had no time to spare. His excitement was boiling within but he was also in a rush because of the search party that the general had sent out for him.

Alas, Mafan grew tired late in the evening and headed back to rest. The maids saw them coming home late looking different. However, being dirty or covered with shades of red from brothels or looking bedraggled was Qinfen's usual look at night. Hence, the maids didn't bother to report anything to Lifen or to Ming. 

Mafan slept beside the sound asleep Qinfen. Although his mind was under control, his physical body would still need some rest, so Mafan let him be.

Mafan massaged his aching shoulders and sighed. "I still haven't made much progress. I need to hurry tomorrow or else everything will be too late for me." 

At this moment within the misty forest at the east, Xionmao went out from his cave and stared at the far west side of the estate, looking worried. The panda shook his head, hoping the humans would notice the silent work over there before it was too late.

Xionmao did not want to intervene and leave his post at this drastic time. He thought of telling Xinyi but that could wait for tomorrow.