For a moment, I was at a loss, but having come this far, I was unwilling to give up.
"Old brother," I called out to him as he retreated, placing the Soul Reaping Token on my chest. "How about this, I'll go back first and discuss with my friends how to handle this properly. You wait for my news, and by tomorrow morning at the latest, I'll give you an explanation! I promise!"
The middle-aged man likely didn't believe me and didn't respond.
But I guessed they wouldn't leave this place. This magnetite deposit was like the last reservation for Native Americans to them. If they left, they might be arrested by other Yin Messengers and sent to the eighteen levels of hell.
Of course, there was an ultimate solution: tell Arabia about the whole situation. They would probably use explosives to blow up the mine pit, making the magnetic field disappear. These ghosts would have nowhere to run and would obediently surrender.
However, it was rare for my old brother to trust me so much, and I couldn't be so heartless. This was different from the situation with the beautiful young woman when dealing with the Cangjing Group, where I had shown mercy. A hundred years ago, during a chaotic era, was not the same as now. In that era, this place was no longer under the rule of Yanxia, and the invaders decided the laws and punishments for the common people.
Eh? Thinking of this, a plan suddenly occurred to me. I quickly turned back and said, "Old brother! Old brother! Come back here!"
The middle-aged man reappeared. "My lord, what is it?"
"What crime did you commit?" I asked.
"Uh..." The middle-aged man looked up at the sky and pondered for a long time. It had likely been so long that he had almost forgotten. "I was convicted of theft."
"Theft of what?" I asked again.
"Sakura country's grain, sentenced to twelve years."
See, it was just as I had deduced!
"Among your group, are there any genuine criminals... I mean, criminals who committed crimes against our own people, not against the Sakura country people?"
"What do you mean, my lord?" the middle-aged man asked, puzzled. Perhaps in his eyes, there was no difference between these two types of crimes, as both were judged and punished by the authorities.
"Let me put it this way, was the manager of your Jade Chamber an official of the Qing Dynasty, or from the Sakura country?"
"Sakura country."
"So all of you criminals entered the Jade Chamber because you infringed upon the interests of the Sakura country people, right?"
"More or less..." the middle-aged man said, not too confidently.
"Here's what I want you to do, old brother. Please gather everyone, and have each person write down their crime, the charge, and their sentence. I will present it to the Yin Messenger's Mansion to see if we can help you get your sentences waived. If the Yin Messenger's Mansion believes you were wrongly accused and can re-examine your cases, at least they can reduce your sentences!"
"Is... is that feasible?" The middle-aged man frowned, his face becoming incredibly clear, indicating he was tempted.
"We have to try to know if it's possible!" I'm a doer. "I haven't encountered this before. Can you write?"
All the ghosts were of red qi, unable to materialize, and thus could not leave marks on solid objects. They couldn't write with a pen.
The middle-aged man gritted his teeth and bit his middle finger, but no blood flowed out. He couldn't write.
I suddenly remembered that at Black Mountain Fort, I had unintentionally unlocked the skill of passing items to ghosts. Back then, because Zhang Xiaomiao had no clothes, I asked her to materialize and gave her the clothes. When she turned back into a ghost, the clothes also became her belongings. Moreover, the cigarettes and lighter in my clothes could also be used by the village chief.
These ghosts in the mine pit, though unable to materialize, could be materialized by Xiaomiao!
With that in mind, I immediately contacted Fox Demon and the others who were staying at the base camp. I asked in the group who was online. When Mengmeng picked up, I sent her my location and asked her to tell Zhang Xiaomiao to come over immediately, and to get a few carbon pens and notebooks on the way.
Xiaomiao's aura level was high enough that she could materialize and wander in the city during the day, as long as the sunlight wasn't too strong. After this period of adaptation, she had also learned some survival skills of modern people, such as "shopping." She might not actually buy things, but she could definitely get them.