Burying the Corpse

Qingzhu Village, Gualin Mountain

"Phew, phew, phew, Brother Zhou, this corpse is really heavy!" Ling Liang said, panting heavily.

"Phew, hang on a little longer. We'll be at the burial ground soon," Zhou Yi replied, also gasping for breath.

After a while, the two finally carried the corpse to a patch of flat ground. Small graves dotted the area all around them. The trees were lush and dense, their towering canopies blocking most of the sunlight and making the place eerily still.

"I'm exhausted to death," Ling Liang said, wiping the sweat from his forehead. He showed no fear toward the surroundings.

"Enough. Let's dig."

As he spoke, Zhou Yi and Ling Liang began digging a pit.

Before long, an earthen pit gradually took shape before them.

Working together, they lowered the corpse into the pit, then began filling it in.

Just as they finished covering it with soil, a cloud of red mist rose from the mound. Zhou Yi's head swam, and the world before his eyes seemed to turn crimson. A violent, savage emotion surged through his mind, filling him with the urge to destroy everything in sight.

But the mist came swiftly and vanished just as swiftly. As it dispersed, Zhou Yi's consciousness gradually cleared.

From the memories of the body's previous owner, he knew this was a sign that the corpse harbored resentment. If it combined with Yin Energy, the corpse would inevitably transform. Then the fates of Ling Liang and himself were easy to imagine. Luckily, his modifier had absorbed the Yin Energy.

Thinking of this, Zhou Yi felt a lingering chill of fear. The modifier had saved his life the moment it arrived.

He glanced at Ling Liang beside him.

Ling Liang was also gradually recovering from the mist's effects. His face was deathly pale, his brows tightly furrowed. It was clear that he knew what that thing had been as well. The two of them had only heard of such things from others before and had never encountered one themselves—or rather, anyone who had encountered one had already been killed by the mutated corpse!

"Brother Zhou, let's get down the mountain quickly. That corpse's resentment is too strong. I'm afraid it's about to transform into a corpse monster."

As Ling Liang spoke, he followed Zhou Yi in running down the mountain.

Although Zhou Yi knew the corpse could no longer transform, since all its Yin Energy had already been absorbed clean by his modifier, he could not tell Ling Liang this openly. There was no way to explain it to anyone else, and the modifier was his greatest secret!

When they returned to the village, the sun hung high in the sky. Yet its warm rays failed to dispel the chill in their hearts.

Zhou Yi and Ling Liang found Steward Wu and told him where they had buried the corpse. They also mentioned the Killing Intent contained within it. Steward Wu merely nodded calmly. Zhou Yi began to feel puzzled by Steward Wu's attitude, but then remembered that the Patrol Team usually patrolled that area. He did not think too much about it.

After bidding Steward Wu farewell, the two had originally planned to go to the Bamboo Forest that afternoon to cut bamboo. But after what had happened that morning, neither had any energy left. They hastily bought some food and went home separately.

Back in his wooden hut, Zhou Yi shut the door, sat on a stool, and eagerly opened his modifier.

Name: Zhou Yi

Race: Human

Strength: 0.5

Speed: 0.6

Physique: 0.7

Spirit: 1.2

Cultivation Method: None

Martial Arts: None

Yin Energy: 5

The Yin Energy had been absorbed from the corpse. There were only five points for now. There were no plus signs after Strength and the others, so it seemed he could not directly raise his basic attributes. Just as he had expected, it was like in a game—he could only improve his basic attributes by adding points through martial arts.

And if he wanted to learn martial arts, the only path available in the village was to join the Patrol Team.

To be honest, Zhou Yi did not want to join the Patrol Team. The death rate was far too high. But if he wanted the strength to protect himself in this world, he had no choice. At least for the current Zhou Yi, it was the only known way to learn martial arts.

Thinking about what had happened while burying the corpse today, if that corpse's Yin Energy had not been absorbed by the panel, he might already be dead. No, he would definitely be dead. This time, he had luckily encountered a strange creature before it transformed, allowing him to absorb its Yin Energy. But what if next time he encountered one that had already transformed?

Zhou Yi had never wanted to entrust his fate to illusory luck. That had been true in his previous life, and it had to remain true in this life.

With that thought, Zhou Yi's mind gradually opened up, and he decided that tomorrow he would go to Steward Wu to claim a spot.

Once Zhou Yi made up his mind, he stopped dwelling on it. He raised his head and looked out the window. Blackness was gradually swallowing the sky.

"It's already night. The mist is coming."

No one knew where the mist came from. Zhou Yi only knew that this grayish-white fog gradually spread at night and dispersed during the day. When the mist descended, it was best to pray that one was somewhere protected by a Treasure Image, or possessed enough strength to deal with strange creatures. Otherwise, the strange creatures roaming through the mist would devour every human they encountered until not even a scrap remained.

To humans, the mist was like a prison, turning them into frail white sheep trapped among a pack of wolves.

To strange creatures, the mist was like a banquet. Powerful strange creatures stood at the top of the food chain, holding a gluttonous feast within the mist.

The exhaustion in Zhou Yi's mind and body made him fall asleep early.

Above Qingzhu Village, the Treasure Image radiated a soft silver-white glow, sheltering the small mountain village amid the dark forest like an umbrella held aloft by light.