Gray reluctantly became the new foreman of the miners of the Jade Hill Mining Company. He didn't expect something like that to happen and was wary of the extra responsibilities. Thankfully, Huzhi and the other council members still handled day-to-day matters and only called him in for meetings. They also did not announce his presence to the rest of the miners as such an act would only endanger him without providing any other benefit.

"Gray, come eat!" Huzhi said enthusiastically as Gray arrived in the usual chamber reserved for the council.

Someone shoved half a loaf of bread into his hand while the others were already occupied with their own meals. He sat down next to Krish and ate silently, listening to the conversion around him.

They chatted about the struggles of the day, about the terrible bandit guards, and how their people were doing. With Gray's contribution of spiritual stones, the weakest among them were now had a chance with the additional food. Two prisoners still perished today but they were from the other independent groups not under their control.

"Can't we take them over now that we have Foreman Gray?" Someone asked.

Gray wanted to disagree but Huzhi beat him to it. The man was shrewd and knowledgeable.

"That won't work." He said, "The others have fallen under the influence of those from the Southern Seas Trading Company. Most of them were captured from trading caravans to begin with. They won't listen to us even if we forced them. They might even betray Gray to the bandits."

There were nods of agreement.

"What do you think the bandits are planning?" Another person asked, "Surely, they can't keep us imprisoned forever!"

The conversation became spirited as people offered their speculations. It varied from being slave miners forever to being held for ransom. Nothing seemed certain but it all hinged on the enmity between the bandits and Jade Hill Town which caught Gray's interest.

"Why do they hate Jade Hill Town?" He asked, "From what you all are saying, it seems like a recent development?"

"I guess you can say that..." Huzhi said.

He explained that the two towns were always fighting in some form or another, even before there were towns. Before explorers arrived from the south and established jade mines, the Duanmu Clan and the Patel family were nomadic tribes of hunters that roamed the plains. The Duanmu Clan was always the largest but the Patel family had the strongest individual fighters. They were the two most powerful tribes among many. They had periods of peace and periods of war but they were always rivals.

This all changed when people from the New Ocean Kingdom arrived seeking jade. The Patel family was the first to embrace the newcomers with the other nomadic tribes following afterward. They set up two towns, Jade Hill Town and Abundance Town, at locations with great deposits of jade. The Patels were a small group and joined together with other smaller tribes in Jade Hill Town while the Duanmu Clan remained separate and on their own.

With this arrangement, there was a long period of peace as both sides competed through mining instead of fighting. The years passed and the Patel family gradually grew more prominent. They steadily improved their relationship with the noble Reddy Clan which was the main force behind developing both towns and the jade mining industry. On the other hand, the Duanmu Clan remained aloof. In their eyes, the Reddy Clan were invaders of their lands from the south. But peace remained due to sheer strength as just a few experts from the Reddy Clan could wipe out all of the tribes by themselves.

A major shift came with the arrival of Anand Patel. He was born a genius that was never before seen in the plains. He caught the Reddy Clan's attention and earned their trust. He was sent south to further cultivate and even managed to join one of the four great sects of the kingdom. This gained the Patel family even more favor while the Duanmu Clan was left as an afterthought.

The difference between the two towns was aggravated by the fact that the lord, a member of the Reddy Clan, maintained Jade Hill Town as their residence and seat of power instead of Abundance Town. They tried their best to produce geniuses but they all also paled in comparison to Anand Patel. They had no chance of studying in the south. The gap between the two towns grew and so did the Duanmu Clan's jealousy and resentment.

"The shift started around fifteen years ago." Huzhi said. His voice was low but everyone heard him. The chamber was silent as they were all enraptured by his story. "It started with this very mine we stand in right now. It was known as the Oasis Mine and it began to run out of jade. They tried searching for new deposits but were unsuccessful. Very quickly, miners in Abundance Town steadily lost their jobs. Businesses that depended on mining shut down. With less jade, without the money that they were used to, the Duanmu Clan had to turn to other methods, the most effective of which was to rob from Jade Hill Town!"

"Wow!"

"So that's how it was..."

"Wait, wait!" Gray said, cutting the others off, "That doesn't make sense. If the Reddy Clan was from the south, then they are really strong. Why couldn't they have just put down the Duanmu Clan's nonsense right there?"

"Ahh, Foreman Gray is sharp! Something else also happened after that, around ten years ago. Nobody knows what happened but the Reddy Clan abandoned Jade Hill Town and pulled back all of their people and resources. This was what allowed the Southern Seas Trading Company to come in and fill the void." Huzhi said.

"But one of them stayed, the current lord!" Gray pointed out.

"Yes, but he never shows his face and hides in the castle all the time. We don't even know if he's a real member of the Reddy Clan or just an unlucky servant. He even allowed the merchants to take control of a large part of town without a fight." Huzhi said.

"He's a useless lord!"

"Yeah!"

"What an idiot!"

The others chimed in energetically to make their opinions heard. Like Gray, they all did not hold the current lord with any regard. They viewed the old families such as the Patels with respect but it was the complete opposite for the timid lord.

Gray rubbed his head, fighting back a headache. He hated complications and the history between the Duanmu Clan, Patel family, and the Reddy Clan was a dangerous mess. He was now in the middle of the brewing storm. Whether he liked it or not, he had to deal with it.

He had a brief thought of simply leaving this place, leaving the Jade Plains, but he quickly put aside the naive idea. He still needed to improve his strength and break through into the next realm. He still wanted to obtain that mother lode of jade in the northern mining field. He also did not want the bandits to succeed, especially Tang.

For now, he would remain Foreman Gray and see how the situation played out.