The Geared Immortal

Chapter 602

(Unedited)

…

A big banquet was held to celebrate the victory of the army against their enemies. However, Shin Jiao requested that he should not be introduced to the people. He likes to keep his privacy and not mingle with the Li'angs.

From inside the palace, he noticed that, just like humans, the Li'angs have their own nobility and statuses. Those who are nobles would speak human language and those who are considered are not could do not have the opportunity to learn such language.

Plus, nobles and royalties in the Under City have longer lives than the normal Li'ang, hence they enjoy their lives more.

As Shin Jiao sat in one corner, he just observes the proceeding and the greeting of the nobles and their families. However, in this world, men truly are being looked down upon and are considered as lower class than females. This is true especially for those who belong to the upper classes.

Unlike men, females are as strong as men, more intelligent, can produce offspring, and have a longer lifespan. And these are the reasons why in this race, men are inferior. Other than their strength, and their usefulness in procreation, they have no other use.

But of course, even in the Li'ang society, handsome men are like beautiful women. They would be ogled at and desired by the many females, even those who already have a bunch of husbands.

Suddenly, a figure appears in front of Shin Jiao.

She was a tall and slender female with beautiful features. Plus her tail, he actually remembers that tail. When Shin Jiao shifted his gaze, he immediately noticed the smiling face of the woman. It was the general whom he first encountered commanding that 30 plus Li'ang who attacked their caravan.

Shin Jiao politely nodded his head as a greeting which made the woman feel a bit flustered.

"Umm… Sir… I'm… I'm General Hlo of the 3rd battalion. I… I would like to thank you for sparing my life back then. I know that it was our fault that you have been dragged to this war… So… sorry and thank you." she said with a bit of hesitation.

Shin Jiao just gave her a cordial smile and lifted the glass in his hand to accept her apology.

As if feeling not contented with what she has said, General Hlo felt uneasy as she showed conflicted emotion in her action and expressions.

"What is it, general? You can tell me directly what you want to say, it's okay, I don't bite…" Shin Jiao said with a bit of teasing in his words.

She smiles upon hearing his words. And her heart feels at ease almost immediately.

Then she took a deep breath and then bit her lower lips. When Shin Jiao saw her expression he felt a little flustered. Though he is not easily attracted by beautiful women, her expression is just too cute to not admire.

"Sir… Do… Do you have a partner? I mean… a mate? I… I don't have a mate yet. Maybe we can…" she said directly as she has regained some kind of courage to tell her feeling.

The directness of the female almost made Shin Jiao slack-jawed. How many men would die to hear those words from such a beautiful woman? How many men would go crazy upon hearing such a confession? Even Shin Jiao was a bit tempted. However, a dainty face suddenly pops from his mind waking him from his dazed feeling.

Shin Jiao didn't reply and showed a polite smile on his handsome face. His smile made the woman feel a bit dazed and didn't react for a while.

Another voice interrupted the two as a dainty figure walked towards them. This time Shin Jiao didn't sit and immediately stood up and greeted the woman.

"My Queen…" general Hlo said as she greeted the Queen feeling a bit nervous.

She knew that the queen has her interest in the young man. However, she could not pass the opportunity to also show her feeling and sincerity towards him.

For the Li'angs, especially for those females in the higher-ups, they would not fight for any men or pressure other women to get the man they like. Instead, they would show sincerity and woo the guy to have his affection.

And of course, after that, if the man performs well, then he would have a higher standing in her household, if not then he would end up as a slave or a toy for the other females in the household.

"Queen…" greeted Shin Jiao politely.

"My Lord, are you enjoying the party so far?" she asked with a polite smile.

"Hmm… I'm okay. But I really would like to see the stones…"

"Ah, yes, yes of course. But we still have to prepare the mines for the Lord. We could not be sloppy with our preparations. Tomorrow morning, I will directly guide you to the tunnels." She promised.

Hearing her words, Shin Jiao smiles and nodded in contentment. He then gestured for her to continue, as he went back to his seat.

"Lord… I… I was a bit rush. I am sorry for being impolite." General Hlo said as she realized how the queen calls the young man.

Although she is a general of the army, she is only a lower rank general. She might be included in the upper echelon, but she is not that high in the ranks so, she is not aware that the queen is already treating the young man as a deity.

When she heard how the queen calls the young man, she was immediately stunned and felt scared. She dare not tarry and immediately apologizes for her mistake and abruptness.

"It's okay. I can understand how you feel. However, I cannot reciprocate your feelings as I already have a partner. I'm sorry."

General Hlo's expression suddenly changes and she felt a bit sad. But she could not deny the fact that this young man is not normal and she could not have him. She can only blame herself for being not on par with his status. She knew that only the queen has the status to be with this guy.

She turns on her heels and walked away.

…

The next day, in a long winding tunnel, going deeper on the ground, a group of people could be seen descending while passing through some workers wearing sackcloth and carrying heavy pickaxes and shovels on their shoulder.

Shin Jiao is being led by a group of soldiers with a female general in the lead. This is because the queen is unavailable as she needed to finish her task due to the result of the battle yesterday. So she has given this task to a female general.

On his their way, Shin Jiao notice that their expression of the people they pass by is one of contentment and satisfaction. It was as if they wanted this heavy and dangerous work and that it would make them happy to toil for the benefit of the city and their own families.

"They seem to be happy about going down here. Aren't' they worried or something?"

"I… I don't know what you mean, sir… the only thing that is important for us is the prosperity of the city. So we do this for the city and the colony." The female general said.

Shin Jiao nodded upon hearing the reason, he expected as such.

The laborers are both male and female Li'angs which seems to look like having the same physique. However, since the lifespan of men are lesser, so there are many males who tend to work in these kinds of the job so that they can be of help to the family.

Soon the group arrives in a well-lit huge cavern and Shin Jiao noticed that the huge cavern is divided into two paths, one on the left and one on the right. Plus this cavern seems to be where the stones being mined are processed.

From the explanation of the female general who came along with him on this visit, he learned that in every quarry they have for the black and white stones which they called as heaven and demon stones, there would always be a distance of 50 meters in between the two areas. And so from the center where they are now, they would travel around 23 to 24 meters to get to either white or black stones. The reason for the existence of the Under City is because of the mines. It seems that mining the black and white stones gives the Li'angs lives their meaning.

From the moment they touch the stones, they can feel its radiance, warmth, and vibrant energy. And through this, they would feel their lives to be complete.

As the group arrives at this point they waited for Shin Jiao to decide where to go.

"Hmm… Let's go to the location of the black stones first." Upon thinking to this point, Shin Jiao decided to go to the black stone first.

This is because he already learned that the white stone could not be formed into anything else. Once you mine it, then try to form it into any shape, it would be destroyed. However, the only thing that's good about the white stone is that they discovered it produces energy, energy for both the Li'angs and their colony.

On the other hand, the black stones are being mined to make weapons and other stuff.

And so, with that decision, the group began marching once again going towards the black stone mining area.

As they drew closer, Shin Jiao suddenly felt something weird with his body. It's like his strength is slowly leaving his body.

"Wait…" he said as he suddenly took out a piece of body armor from his ring and suddenly donned it on his body.

Well, in truth, from the first time he enters this place he has already felt this same sensation which made him feel weird. But he was able to control the rotation of the energy in his dantian and regulate it to conform to the wavelength that's just like those that came from the Li'angs.

However, it seems that it was not enough. Hence he decided to do something.

When the people around him saw what he did they were all shocked. They didn't know where that metal thingy came from and how it suddenly appears.

However, what happened next thoroughly terrified everyone in his surroundings.