After witnessing a man heating up the iron and getting ready, there was finally a nervous murmur among the crowd. The piece of hot iron was the size of a house key, it would sure leave a decent mark on the skin. Some of the villagers even started to retrieve despite the whole circumstance, knowing that they were no more than a piece of meat on the cutting board. They had no choice but to be “sliced up by the butcher.”

“What? Slave mark branding? So cruel, just so cruel!”

“I don’t want to be a slave anymore, sir, please let me be a servant for your highness!”

“I can’t take this mark, please have mercy on us!”

The begging got louder and louder. The villagers finally gained the strength to repel against the orders. No one really wanted to get a slave mark, especially with a hot piece of iron. Even disregarding the pain, it was a form of shame that the villagers were not familiar with. Once this mark got branded onto the skin, there was no way of getting rid of it.

It would be a mark that reminded us that we were no longer individuals, but only objects and assets of the kingdom.

One of the guards took the blade out of the scabbard and pointed toward the villagers.

“Quiet down!!”

He shouted so loud and strong that the surrounding air shook a little.

“Anyone disobeying his highness’s order shall be sentenced to death! If I hear another rumble, don’t blame me for being ruthless, you will become nothing but another soul under my blade! ”

Everyone quieted down, and lost a sense of hope. We lined up one by one, and took turns receiving the mark. The piece of iron was burning orange. When it touched the side of the face, there was literally white smoke coming out and you could hear a sizzling sound like frying an egg.

The slave mark was a weird character, not sure what it meant.

Sharp screams filled up the hollow cave. Everyone was shaking in fear. After seeing how painful the process was, one man tried to run away. He did not get far before being grabbed by two guards and dragged back to the site. The branding went three times as long compared to the previous ones. That iron seemed to completely cook the side of his face, the executor did not pull it away when done, but just left it on the spot sizzling to punish the man for running away.

Such a cruel scene was witnessed by the rest of us, and no one ever tried to run away again.

A guard shouted as the villagers were getting branded.

“You guys come from an isolated village, don’t know the rules out here! Never think about escaping, even if you are so lucky to make it out alive, there is not even the slightest fit for your existence in the Land of Ruins, or beyond the mountains. The slave mark has designated your social status, you can never erase your background. No one would accept or even help a running slave. If you ever get caught, there is only death awaiting ahead!”

The slave mark had really diminished the urge to escape, and all the hope to freedom. They wanted us to get the mark, so that we won’t even try.

If it was before, a little pimple on my face was enough for an entire day’s frustration. Now I was about to receive a key size mark, I did not feel sad at all. Maybe it was because the grief inside was so deep that I didn’t care about anything, or maybe everyone else was going through the same thing, so why should I be the lucky one to avoid this?

The process was going with endless groans and screams, until one of them really popped out.

“Sir! I am too young! I don’t want to get disfigured for the rest of my life. You can ask me to do anything, but please don’t brand it on my face! Please! Even somewhere else where it’s not showing! I beg you, sir!”

I looked toward the chaos, and noticed it was actually MeiMei trying to resist the branding. The guard who was grabbing her didn’t even respond, but just dragged her across the floor. She kicked and yanked at the guard with her little arms and legs, but the armored guard was tougher than a stone statue, and didn't seem to hurt even the slightest.

Finally she was thrown hard onto the ground. The guard grabbed her hair and picked up the hot iron handle.

“Please, don’t….Please…….”

MeiMei’s tears rolled down her cheeks while gazing at the piece of hot iron getting closer and closer.

“Ahhh--------------!!”

Her screams penetrated my ears. She was a beautiful girl, so I understood why she was so afraid to have a mark on her face.

Not sure how much time had gone by, but it was finally my turn. The hot iron burned through the skin and the pain was just as I had imagined. Then I remembered how much pain Grandpa Jin and Grandma Sha had gone through, I bit down my tongue and took it all down. After everyone was branded with this strange symbol, we were led into another entrance.

This entrance got wider and deeper, after a long walk leading to another opening. It was like going into the mountain and coming out the other end, except this other end was hundreds or even thousands feet below ground level, and was opened to the sky.

I lifted my head up and stared at the white clouds, and felt as if I had fallen into a super deep well or a sinkhole. There were nothing but straight up cliffs surrounding the wide open space, and no way to climb out. Milky white canvas tents were scattered across the space.

The sunlight was so warm.

The wound on the right side of my face felt as if someone had sprinkle salts on it, or there were a million ants crawling all over.

We were divided into different groups, and went inside various entrances that were under the surrounding cliffs. MeiMei and I got separated, and soon I was left with a completely different group of slaves. They all had the same mark on their faces, but none of them looked familiar. Although I didn’t know all the villagers, at least I would see a familiar face one awhile, but this group of demons were complete strangers.

The mine must be super vast. There was no way to imagine how many slaves were in all these mountains, just right in front of me were hundreds of people.

A guard left me a bamboo basket, a hammer, and a chisel, then went away.

I stood there and looked around the mine. Everyone was busy chipping away rocks, and putting purple amethyst coins into their baskets. Their clothes and faces were full of dirt and dust. There were constant chopping and clanging sounds in this space. No one cared to pay attention to a newbie like me.

“Hurry and work, there is only one meal per day. If you don’t make it to a hundred pounds, then you won’t get any food tonight.”

Someone reminded me coldly as he walked by, and then continued chiseling away one of the big rocks. It wasn’t like I was lazy, I was just so drained both physically and emotionally.

I put the tools in my bamboo basket, and carried it on my back, and then found a dark corner to sit down.

The slave mark on my face was burning like fire.

After dazing for a couple minutes, thinking of what really happened and all the injustice involved, my stomach completely turned around and I threw up hard. I hadn’t eaten for days, therefore there wasn’t much to throw up for, but I was gagging as if there was more to come out.

Mentally I was battered, but after throwing up everything, my survival instinct finally kicked in.

I was just so hungry.

I got up to join the group. I observed what everyone was doing. They basically cracked open rocks to see if they have amethyst-like crystals in them, if there were, then they put them into the basket.

Oh, free labor. All the demons here were being taken advantage of, only given one meal per day, just to help produce wealth for a kingdom.

“Hey, there is a newbie over there, looks quite weak, hehe, probably not going to last long!”

“Too ugly for a girl, not the best material to make a blanket.”

“We are in such a place, don’t be so picky! Keep an eye on her, it’s better to have an ugly blanket than nothing!”