Empty Grave: The Corpse Disappearance Incident

Zhuge Xiang would never forget the old Beggar's grave. Right here, beneath a crooked tree, was the very spot where he had buried the old Beggar. But where there used to be a grave mound, now it was just flat ground; the grave was completely gone. (For the latest free chapters of this book, please visit [website address]).

"How is this possible!? Where did the old Beggar's grave go?" Zhuge Xiang, who had just bought offerings to pay his respects to the old Beggar, was shocked to see that the grave was gone. His face changed drastically, and then he was filled with intense anger. The dead should be respected, and no matter who it was, Zhuge Xiang could not forgive anyone for disturbing the old Beggar's grave.

"Gone?" Zhuge Xiang's reaction made Wu Zhao realize what was going on, and his face also showed astonishment. Digging up someone's grave was such a terrible thing to do; it was something that would never be done without a deep-seated hatred.

With the Azure Nether Blade in hand, Zhuge Xiang used the Treasure Artifact- level longsword like a shovel, digging in the ground. It didn't matter if the grave was gone, as long as the old Beggar's bones were still there.

Years ago, the old Beggar was bitten to death by a vicious dog. Zhuge Xiang couldn't afford a coffin, so he stole two tattered cotton quilts, wrapped the old Beggar's body in them, buried it in the ground, and erected a wooden tombstone.

Under Zhuge Xiang's digging, he soon felt as if he had unearthed something.

It was a corner of a piece of wood. As Zhuge Xiang pulled the wood up, it revealed the old Beggar's tombstone. The tombstone had actually fallen to the ground and, over the years, had even been buried by soil.

Since the old Beggar's tombstone was here, it was obvious that the grave was right here. With great effort, and with Zhuge Xiang Wu Zhao's help, they dug three feet into the ground and soon found a cotton quilt, a tattered and worn-out quilt.

Carefully, he dug away the soil. When Zhuge Xiang unfolded the quilt, his face was ashen. The quilt was empty; there was nothing inside. The old Beggar's corpse had vanished without a trace...

"Who is it?! Who is it?!" Looking at the empty, tattered quilt, Zhuge Xiang unleashed a violent aura that suppressed the surrounding grass. The violent aura showed just how furious Zhuge Xiang was.

"Could it be some evil cultivator? Who dug up the corpse?" Looking at the empty grave, Wu Zhao's face showed a thoughtful expression.

Even if someone were to rob a wealthy family's grave, they wouldn't steal the remains, would they? Yet, the remains of this old Beggar were stolen from his grave. Wu Zhao couldn't think of any other possibility besides evil cultivators who exploit corpses.

"An evil cultivator?" Knowing that getting angry without any rash idea would be pointless, Zhuge Xiang suppressed his anger upon hearing Wu Zhao's guess. After thinking for a moment, he took Wu Zhao and Xiao Yue back to Moluo City and arrived at the City Lord's Manor that very night.

"Zhuge Xiang, Squad Leader the Squad Twenty-Nine Inner Sect Group, requests that your City Lord come out to meet me." Upon arriving at the entrance of the City Lord's Manor in Moluo City, Zhuge Xiang revealed his identity directly and spoke with a focused expression. As he spoke, he took the lead and stepped into the City Lord's Manor.

Captain-level are merely subordinates of the City Lord, but Squad Leader leaders hold a slightly higher status than the City Lord of Yanling Commandery. Furthermore, Zhuge Xiang is currently in a hurry, so he doesn't bother with formalities.

"Squad Leader Zhuge!?" Zhuge Xiang's words caused the guards at the City Lord's Manor to change their expressions.

In Yanling Commandery, who doesn't know the name Zhuge Xiang now? Zhuge Xiang, the God of the Innate Realm, God of Slaughter Nascent Deity Transformation Stage Cultivator with his Innate Realm cultivation. On the Ancient Qin Battlefield, he single-handedly turned the tide, leading the Asura Sect to victory and allowing them to allocate more resources. Within the Asura Sect Inner Sect, Zhuge Xiang's reputation is second only to the three Hall Masters.

Zhuge Xiang was in a very bad mood, which naturally made the guards of the City Lord's Manor turn pale with fright. They thought that the City Lord had offended him, the Squad Leader, in some way. The servants of the City Lord's Manor treated him with trepidation, while the guards ran inside as fast as they could to report the incident.

The guards of the City Lord's Manor were also at the Body Tempering Realm. Running at full speed, their speed was naturally not slow. Zhuge Xiang, carrying Xiao Yue on his shoulder, walked into the Great Hall of the City Lord's Manor with Wu Zhao and sat down in the City Lord's seat without any politeness.

In a short while, hurried footsteps sounded, and the City Lord of Moluo City appeared in front of Zhuge Xiang at a jog. His cultivation level of the Seventh Layer of Return to Simplicity Realm was not bad. He looked to be around sixty years old, tall and thin.

"I didn't know Squad Leader Zhuge had arrived. What brings you here?" The City Lord of Moluo City jogged up to Zhuge Xiang and asked cautiously.

Upon hearing from the guards that Zhuge Xiang had arrived and looked very unwell, the City Lord's heart skipped a beat, wondering what he had done to offend Zhuge Xiang.

"There's something I need you to investigate right now. There used to be a Wild Grave three miles south of the Outskirts, that was my grandfather's grave. But when I came today, it was gone, and his remains were gone too. You must find out the truth for me." Zhuge Xiang's face was very grim. Beside him were the sacrificial items he had bought in the city that day.

"Squad Leader Zhuge's grandfather was actually buried on the Moluo City? He was actually from Moluo City?" Zhuge Xiang's words startled the City Lord of Moluo City. Looking at the sacrificial offerings beside Zhuge Xiang, it was clear how angry Zhuge Xiang was. Anyone would be furious if such a problem occurred with a relative's grave, right?

Fortunately, Squad Leader Zhuge's anger wasn't directed at him, and the City Lord of Moluo City secretly breathed a sigh of relief. However, seeing Zhuge Xiang's anger, the City Lord's heart started racing again. If he didn't handle this matter well, he didn't know if this God of Slaughter would take his anger out on him.

"Squad Leader Zhuge, regarding the tomb robbery and the disappearance of remains, I do have some leads," the City Lord of Moluo City said as Zhuge Xiang finished speaking. "In the past year or so, we've frequently received reports of tomb robberies, from ordinary people to high-ranking officials, and..."

At this point, the City Lord looked puzzled and said, "Moreover, these tomb raiders ignore the gold, silver, and other burial goods and instead steal the corpses. I've already investigated this matter, but I haven't found any useful clues."

The words of the City Lord of Moluo City made Zhuge Xiang realize that the theft of corpses was not just a problem for the old Beggar. There were many similar incidents in Moluo City. However, the theft of corpses was not considered a particularly big deal, so Moluo City only conducted a simple investigation and did not even report it to the Inner Sect Headquarters.

For the entire Yanling Commandery, or rather, for the entire Asura Sect Inner Sect, this was indeed not a big deal. But for Zhuge Xiang, the theft of the old Beggar's body was a major event that had to be thoroughly investigated.

"I'll write a letter and send it back to headquarters. I'll also send a few Shadow Hall disciples over. These next few days, you need to cooperate fully and make sure you get to the bottom of this matter," Zhuge Xiang said solemnly, staring intently at the Moluo City before him.

"Definitely," Moluo City nodded, almost patting his chest to assure Zhuge Xiang.

With everything settled, Zhuge Xiang and Wu Zhao settled into the guest rooms of the City Lord's Manor. After having the servants tidy up the rooms, Zhuge Xiang returned to his own room and wrote a letter that very night to Xiao Xiao, the Shadow Hall Master, explaining the situation and expressing his need for the Shadow Hall's assistance.

After finishing writing, Zhuge Xiang opened the Mount Panel, summoned the Phoenix Winged Black Tiger that he hadn't summoned in a long time, handed the letter to the Phoenix Winged Black Tiger, and immediately its black wings fluttered, and the Phoenix Winged Black Tiger took flight, heading towards Ink Martial City...

Zhuge Xiang couldn't sleep all night. Since he couldn't fall asleep, he simply sat cross-legged to meditate, but he still couldn't calm his mind.

As for his parents, Zhuge Xiang had no recollection of them whatsoever. The only jade pendant that was related to his origins was pawned by Zhuge Xiang when the old Beggar was seriously ill. In Zhuge Xiang's heart, the only relative he had in his life was the old Beggar.

The dead should be respected and laid to rest in peace. The fact that the old Beggar's grave had been dug up and his remains had disappeared filled Zhuge Xiang with rage, but he couldn't find the culprit or a place to vent his anger. This feeling made Zhuge Xiang very unhappy.

Although the Phoenix Winged Black Tiger's Fiendish Aura was eliminated by Zhuge Xiang's Heavenly Demon Zen Sound, greatly diminishing its strength, it has recovered somewhat after recuperating in the Mount Panel these past few days. Its strength has now stabilized at the Fairy level, and it can fly at a very fast speed.

As dawn broke in the east, Phoenix Winged Black Tiger returned and told Zhuge Xiang that Hall Master Xiao Xiao valued this matter highly and had already arranged for a lot of the Shadow Hall intelligence to begin monitoring the events in Moluo City. Moreover, intelligence forces near Moluo City were also converging on this area.

With Hall Master Xiao Xiao's guarantee, and with the power of the Asura Sect's Shadow Hall, Zhuge Xiang naturally believed it. Yanling Commandery was completely under the control of the Asura Sect. As long as they investigated diligently, there were very few things in Yanling Commandery that the Asura Sect couldn't find out.

Five days passed in the blink of an eye. During this time, the intelligence network of the Asura Sect's Shadow Hall had already been secretly mobilized. Just as Zhuge Xiang was anxiously waiting in secret, the City Lord of Moluo City soon found him with Zhuge Xiang.

"Squad Leader Zhuge, according to the information from the Shadow Hall disciples, we have made progress regarding the theft of the corpse," the Moluo City reported to Zhuge Xiang in the guest room.

"The stolen remains have one thing in common: all the stolen bodies belong to people who died within the last nine years. One wealthy man, who had been dead for six years, was even seen to have come back to life recently."

"Eighty miles east of Moluo City, there is a remote mountain village. According to the intelligence from the Shadow Hall disciples, those who stole the corpses are hiding in that mountain village, and the resurrected dead have also appeared in that mountain village..." (To be continued.)