Mass Grave

Miao Yongde was slurping half a noodle into his throat when he nearly choked at those words.

"What do you mean, he can't?"

"Looks like he got grass sickness and lost his vigor. Boss, hurry and take a look."

Hearing this, Miao Yongde hastily threw down his chopsticks and headed for the cowshed.

One look left him utterly stunned.

The breeding bull in the cowshed lay on the ground, snorting and foaming at the mouth, taking in little air and letting out much more. The thing between its legs was stretched long, white frost dripping from it like milk, impossible to stop.

"Th-this-this... how did this happen?" Miao Yongde panicked.

This breeding bull was a fine specimen he had bought from beyond the pass at great expense. He had been counting on it to breed calves.

How had it suddenly lost its vigor for no reason?

"Quick... go get Ma Tuozi."

Ma Tuozi was a veterinarian from the Beast Herding Department.

Before long, Ma Tuozi arrived. The little old man was hunched over, and after circling the bull for a few glances, he kept shaking his head. "Boss, this bull's done for. It's lost its vigor. Even if you save its life, it won't be able to breed or plow fields again. Report it to the authorities and have it slaughtered."

"Ah..."

Miao Yongde let out a howl and collapsed onto the ground.

A tethering post had just shattered two days ago, and now he had lost another bull.

What rotten luck.

"Shopkeeper, bring us a basket of steamed buns."

As the sun rose, several boatmen who had come ashore from their vessel shouted at the owner of a steamed-bun shop on a street corner.

The shop owner approached apologetically. "My apologies, gentlemen, but the buns are sold out today."

"What?"

"It's still early, and you're already sold out of buns?"

"Yeah, who are you trying to fool? Don't tell me you're trying to raise the price."

The owner hurriedly waved his hands. "The buns haven't gone up in price. They really are sold out. What kind of business turns away customers? Thank you for your patronage, but there truly aren't any left today."

The boatmen did not believe him and reached out to check the steamers. Finding them genuinely empty, they cursed as they left.

The shop owner wiped the hot sweat from his forehead, returned inside, and approached the shop's sole customer, his face somewhat frightened. "Sir, my buns... there aren't... any left."

"Settle the bill."

Qin He grinned, revealing a mouthful of dazzlingly white teeth, and stuffed the last half of a bun into his mouth.

"Alright, nine... nine qian of silver."

Somewhat reluctant, Qin He took out a small lump of silver for the shop owner to weigh, then added another twenty copper coins before leaving the shop.

Rubbing his stomach as he walked back, Qin He was worried. Another half tael of silver had vanished on breakfast alone—his entire fortune had been cleaned out.

He had originally thought Xu Changshou's treat from the last meal could keep him going another two or three days, but perhaps because he had activated his skill after being poisoned last night, he had woken up so hungry that his chest was pressed against his back.

With no choice, he had to spend money on steamed buns here, and they were even coarse-grain buns.

The shop owner had not sold a single bun to anyone else. Qin He had eaten them all.

Even so, he was only seventy percent full, and the Corpse Eating Immortal Skill had merely added two years of internal strength.

Corpse-burning rewards came in every variety except silver, yet he had learned the Corpse Eating Immortal Skill. Qin He was starting to regret it.

Hunger was miserable.

Still, some rewards could be exchanged for silver, such as that Golden Wound Pill.

It was just a pity that he had not only benefited that female thief for nothing, but had nearly lost his life as well.

What a loss.

He would never do that again.

Just as he was pondering how to get some silver to fill his belly, a Corpse Transport Cart was pushed toward Qin He from the opposite direction.

Seeing it, pedestrians scattered far away, afraid of being tainted by bad luck.

The Corpse Transport Cart was piled full, its wheels grinding heavily. Burial cloth was no longer enough to cover all the bodies, exposing stick-thin limbs one after another. They were all refugees and beggars who had starved to death.

The two corpse transport workers pushing the cart were refugees as well. Like Corpse Burners, they were temporary hands hired by the authorities because the government could not keep up.

Their treatment was far worse than that of Corpse Burners. It was said they received only two bowls of gruel a day, with no wages.

Wave after wave of refugees followed the Grand Canal into the Capital Region, yet the Capital Region's population did not increase. What did increase were the Mass Graves, growing ever more numerous and spreading ever wider.

Watching the Corpse Transport Cart disappear into the distance, Qin He's eyes gradually lit up.

There were not many corpses at the Corpse Burning Facility, but Mass Graves had them in abundance.

What Mass Graves? They were simply mountains of gold and silver.

Qin He returned to the Corpse Burning Facility, took a shovel, and wound his way to the nearest Mass Grave.

Unlike the grim, terrifying, deathly silent place he had imagined, this Mass Grave was bustling beyond belief.

Groups of plump, well-fed wild dogs ran everywhere. Some dug open graves and unearthed corpses; others chased and tore at each other. Every corpse they dug up became a Taotie feast. After the commotion, the ground was left in ruins, and the crows in the trees swooped down in a black swarm to fight over the remaining shattered bones and scraps of flesh.

Nature always followed the principle of wasting not the slightest scrap of energy. The bodies abandoned by the human world had made a paradise here.

A half-grown mangy dog had just swallowed a chunk of skin and flesh. It raised its head, and its scarlet eyes suddenly saw someone approaching in the distance.

Someone carrying a shovel.

The mangy dog tilted its head, puzzled. In its world, it had never seen such a person.

It had only seen people pushing carts, with edible people lying atop them.

"Woof woof woof..."

The mangy dog began barking.

The dog pack noticed this strange uninvited guest as well. The fresh scent made them restless.

The pack leader was a one-eyed large dog. It led three or four others slowly toward the newcomer, savage light gradually appearing in their scarlet eyes.

Woof!

The large dog leaped into the air and pounced at the newcomer.

The newcomer planted his feet and swung the shovel with elegant ease. His body was straight, power surging from his waist, and in that moment, the shovel seemed to transform into a club.

The large dog cried out miserably and flew away.

The dog pack scattered in flight, and even the crows in the trees were startled into flapping away.

The Mass Grave finally fell quiet.

Qin He carried his shovel around to inspect the area, his brows slightly furrowed.

To dig up corpses, he had to find fresh grave mounds. There was no need to check old ones; their bodies would have long since become bones.

Yet as far as the eye could see, let alone fresh grave mounds, even the old ones had been thoroughly destroyed by wild dogs.

He had heard before that Mass Graves had a wild dog problem. It was said the dogs would not bite corpse transport workers, but no one else could approach. The authorities had even launched several extermination campaigns because of it. He had never expected it to be this severe.

White bones unearthed by wild dogs lay everywhere beneath his feet, leaving the place in utter disarray.

Qin He gave up his beautiful fantasy. With the mindset that finding even one corpse meant profit, he began wandering all over the Mass Grave.

He dug at six or seven spots without finding a single corpse fit to burn.

Just then, a Corpse Transport Cart arrived at the foot of the hill.

Qin He's eyes lit up again at once.

Ask and it shall be given—this was the proper way.

Qin He found a place to hide.

The two corpse transport workers were highly alert, constantly looking around. After finding a suitable spot, they began digging a pit.

The pit was very shallow, barely more than a foot deep. They carried down five corpses, and the soil they covered them with could only just conceal the bodies. Clearly, they were seasoned hands, unwilling to waste even the slightest bit of effort.

After they left, Qin He came before the grave mound. Just as he was about to shovel away the dirt, he suddenly froze.

The corpses were here, but what was he supposed to use to burn them?