Whispers on the Wind

The less they cared, the better...

Qin Yang hung back among the other Corpse Collectors, looking especially inconspicuous...

His face was slightly pale, as though he had not seen the sun in a long time. He was somewhat gaunt as well, and his spiritual energy fluctuations were weak. He was undoubtedly the weakest among these Corpse Collectors, and none of them paid Qin Yang any attention...

Even the weakest of these Corpse Collectors was at the Qi Nurturing Fourth Layer...

So once Qin Yang joined them, he immediately became invisible.

Qin Yang narrowed his eyes slightly and stayed at the back, silent. He had seen these Corpse Collectors before. He knew them, but they did not know the current him. Whenever he helped others ease their worries, he disguised his face and altered his bones, appearing in a different guise. Ever since he had begun Ground Washing, Big Dumb—the only person who had seen his true appearance—had died a miserable death. Now, no one knew that he was the famed Ground Washing Master of West City...

Even with Big Dumb, there had been no way around it. They had known each other since early on, so there had been no way to conceal it. But now, this was simply perfect.

Qin Yang remained at the back, looking like a complete nobody.

After they had walked for a while, another person joined the group. He was also a Corpse Collector, a pockmarked man at the Qi Nurturing Fourth Layer. Unlike most Corpse Collectors, however, he was not taciturn at all. He had quite a lot to say.

After Pockmarked Face greeted several Corpse Collectors around him, he spotted Qin Yang following at the rear. His eyes rolled, and he sidled up beside Qin Yang, lowering his voice with a furtive look.

"Little brother, you're new here, aren't you?"

"During last year's plague, I carried bodies for a few days. Then I quit..." Qin Yang casually made something up.

Before he could finish, this fellow, who looked like a thief even when he was not stealing, wore an expression that said he understood everything.

"Alright, no need to explain. I get it. I came up from being a newcomer too, so I know how you feel. You're just pretending to be an old hand so nobody bullies you. Don't worry. I'm the warmest-hearted man around; I won't bully you. In our line of work, people avoid us like the plague, and we earn bitter money. We have to look out for each other, or else we might die without ever knowing why. Do you know where we're going this time?"

"I don't..." Qin Yang's heart stirred. He put on an ignorant expression and cupped his hands toward the man.

"I knew you wouldn't. Newcomers don't understand the rules, and their news is slow. That's perfectly normal. Only those who understand the rules and have timely information can make money. Do you know how much I'm getting this time?" Pockmarked Face's eyes shifted as he secretly held up one hand. "This much."

"Big brother, you're amazing. I'm only getting this much." Qin Yang held up three fingers, then held up one finger to Pockmarked Face. "This is for you. Give me a few pointers."

"You've got a promising future ahead of you. So generous!"

Pockmarked Face immediately beamed and patted Qin Yang on the shoulder. "Let me tell you, this is a big job. Ten Thousand Eternity Commerce is paying, and they're rich enough to drown in money. Why do you think North City is the most prosperous area? Do you think it's because leaving the north gate takes you straight to the Three Mountains?

"Wrong. It's because North City has Ten Thousand Eternity Commerce. They have everything there, and the Ten Thousand Eternity Commerce in Green Forest City is only a branch. Their power runs deep—supposedly, they're even stronger than Boundless Dao Academy. Otherwise, why do you think those two inner disciples of Boundless Dao Academy didn't dare go head-to-head with them yesterday?"

Pockmarked Face was boasting away happily when he suddenly remembered that the people involved were right ahead of them. He looked up and saw one of the servants glance back at him with an expression that said, You've got good judgment, kid. The servant even lifted his chin, signaling Pockmarked Face to keep boasting...

Seeing that, the fellow became even more energized.

"Do you know where we're going to collect bodies this time? At the Three Mountains Gang, those bastards grew the Evil King Gall. They actually dared to pull a black-eats-black job. A few days ago, an inner disciple of Boundless Dao Academy—what was his name again? I forgot. They say he was a disciple of Bai Yunfei, the White-Faced Scholar. He wanted to snatch something from Master Tong of Ten Thousand Eternity Commerce. You definitely don't know Master Tong, right? He's a Talismaster from Ten Thousand Eternity Commerce. While traveling here, he was hired as a guest elder for a fortune. Master Tong's level? Sky-high. That disciple tried to steal a chicken and lost the rice he was using to bait it—he was no match for Master Tong at all. Unfortunately, Master Tong was ambushed and seriously injured too. That was how those Three Mountains Gang bastards got to pick up the bargain..."

"Then what bodies are we going there to collect?"

"Are you dumb? Ten Thousand Eternity Commerce is benevolent. Wasn't there a plague last year? They're afraid another plague might break out this time, so they hired us to collect those bastards' bodies, so they don't bring disaster upon others. Once we get there, work hard and don't talk too much. Learn from me. If we do well this time, we might get to work for Ten Thousand Eternity Commerce. Then we'll really make it..." Pockmarked Face wore a look of yearning. Who knew what he was imagining? He secretly chuckled to himself...

Qin Yang gave a dry laugh and did not respond.

But inwardly, he thought this guy was truly foolish and naive. If it were only corpse collection, would they pay each person several hundred First Grade Spirit Stones? And hire so many Corpse Collectors at once?

This was not about cleaning up traces or Ground Washing. It was simply collecting bodies. That was on an entirely different technical level from Qin Yang's worry-solving work. If someone shouted by the roadside that they would pay ten First Grade Spirit Stones, there would be plenty of laborers willing to do this unskilled work.

But Qin Yang could not say that. He could only pretend to be silent while secretly pondering what Ten Thousand Eternity Commerce was looking for that required such a grand display.

Ten Thousand Eternity Commerce was so wealthy that if you grabbed any random servant and squeezed him, you could wring two or three taels of oil from him. They sold countless treasures. Rumor had it that they even sold cultivation methods of the "Dharma" grade directly, while pills for Foundation Establishment cultivators to break through bottlenecks were not even worthy of auction...

For them to value something so highly now, could it be some heavenly treasure?

While he was idly mulling it over, half an hour passed as they walked, and they arrived at the gates of the Three Mountains Gang.

The gates were shattered. Beyond them, chunks of flesh were scattered all over the green Stone Slabs. Further inside, the stench of blood soared into the sky, while resentment and Killing Intent congealed without dispersing. The eyelids of the Corpse Collectors outside the gates twitched wildly at the sight.

They really were all dead...

There had been at least a hundred people in the Three Mountains Gang altogether, yet now all of them had died inside. Just by craning their necks for a look through the gate, they could see more than twenty corpses in the front courtyard. As for deeper inside, there was no need to mention it...

"Alright, get in there and collect the bodies..." a servant called out in a shrill voice.

The Corpse Collectors looked at one another. Then Pockmarked Face was the first to shout and stride into the courtyard.

The others trembled with fear, but Qin Yang knew the situation clearly. There definitely would not be any ghosts inside. If that thing was truly so important, those black-eats-black bastards from the Three Mountains Gang would not have been allowed to become ghosts even if they wanted to...

The group surged inside. Some carried corpses, while others gathered severed limbs. Qin Yang took out his tools and began tidying up Big Dumb's pile of mangled flesh...

Big Dumb had died the most miserably. His body had been torn to pieces, and even his head had been split in two.

Qin Yang used a bag to gather Big Dumb's remains and toss them inside. By then, the others had nearly finished cleaning up the front courtyard as well. Qin Yang followed the crowd deeper in, one hand slipping inconspicuously into the bag as he activated his skill...

In the blink of an eye, a faint ball of light fell into his hand. Qin Yang saw it covered in a white halo. Without thinking much, he turned and casually slapped it onto his forehead.

But in that instant, Qin Yang's steps faltered slightly, and his face showed some astonishment...

Uh, it wasn't a Skill Book?