Battling at the Mass Grave

Through the deceased's Shadow Play Performance, Qin He saw not only their deaths, but their entire lives.

Their births, aging, illnesses, and deaths; their joys, angers, sorrows, and pleasures; their meetings and partings.

Like that Bazong. He had once been an Elite Soldier in the Border Army, fought both the Rong Tribe and the Di Barbarians, guarded the Great Wall frontier, and accumulated some military merit before being transferred back to the Capital Garrison and promoted to Bazong.

He had also been disciplined and driven, training through the bitterest days of winter and the hottest days of summer, wishing to emulate the great General Cao and lesser General Cao by training troops and serving his country.

Yet the Capital Garrison was ultimately not the Border Army. Beneath the Imperial City, there were too many ties of kinship and patronage, too many factional struggles. Unable to put his ambitions to use, he could only sink into the mire by going with the flow.

When the Refugee Camp rioted, he led his troops into the charge. Yet his soldiers scattered at the first shout, leaving him surrounded. He died in battle filled with fury and unwillingness, and only then did his corpse undergo its vicious mutation.

From this single corpse alone, Qin He gained a basic understanding of Great Li's frontier situation and defensive fortifications.

Qin He also learned quite a bit about matters beyond the passes.

The contributor was Liu Cang, the Snake Immortal. Liu Cang was one of the Spirit Medium Immortals of the northeast. He had followed elders in dealings with the Di Barbarians' upper ranks and traveled through many places in the northeast, gaining a deep understanding of local customs, mountains and rivers, geography, and the distribution of immortal families.

The lives of the dead from different walks of life corroborated one another. Bit by bit, like pieces of a puzzle, the whole eastern land took shape in Qin He's mind.

After returning to the Corpse Burning Facility, Qin He slung a shovel over his shoulder and headed for the Mass Grave again.

There was still quite a bit of firewood left over from yesterday. He would try to burn another two corpses today.

It was getting late, and the time for delivering corpses had already passed. Qin He could only dig up and snatch corpses, racing from one Mass Grave to another.

The packs of dogs had never seen anyone so arrogant, actually chasing after them to snatch food from their jaws. So they rose up in resistance.

Thus, dog barks rang through the Mass Grave all afternoon, leaving the nearby residents all jumpy and suspicious.

"Junior Sister, what's with those dogs? They've been barking for ages."

In a dilapidated temple several miles from the Mass Grave, a beautiful woman in green robes with a sword clasped in both hands asked another woman in white, who held a long tube mirror.

"Wild dogs fighting over food. Ignore them," the woman in white answered casually, slowly adjusting the long tube mirror, her almond eyes opened wide.

If Qin He had been there, he would surely have shouted, "You thief! Give me back my Golden Wound Pill!"

It was none other than Bai Qing'er.

"Senior Sister, this thing from Nanyang is incredible. I can even see the signboard of the Corpse Burning Facility clearly," Bai Qing'er said in amazement.

"It's called a telescope. If you like it, Senior Sister will give it to you," the woman in green said.

"Thank you, Senior Sister." Bai Qing'er beamed.

"Junior Sister, the scouts reported that you were seriously wounded, but you don't look hurt at all."

"Th-that's because the Flying Fish Guard hounds failed to catch me and falsely reported their military merits. I only suffered some superficial wounds. They're almost healed already." Bai Qing'er turned away somewhat unnaturally, avoiding the green-robed woman's gaze.

The woman in green found it a little strange, but did not suspect anything else.

"The mortal world is like a prison, all living beings suffer. The cycle of rebirth never ends, and troubles never cease. Pity the people of this world—for a god has descended from heaven. Mother of Birthlessness, homeland of true emptiness."

At that moment, a chant rang out. Its voice was like clashing gold and iron, neither male nor female, carrying a sonorous force that shook the soul.

The two women shuddered and hurriedly turned toward a shadowed corner of the ruined temple, bowing deeply. "Welcome, Master."

As their words fell, a masked Black-robed figure silently emerged from the temple's shadows. His sharp gaze settled upon the two women, almost tangible.

"Congratulations, Master. Congratulations, Master. With the upheaval at the Refugee Camp, our Holy Cult has gained over a thousand deathsworn. The great undertaking has advanced another step." The green-robed woman stepped forward.

"All thanks to Master's careful strategy, deciding victory in the Capital City," Bai Qing'er added.

The Black-robed figure spoke in a deep voice. "This matter succeeded, first because the imperial court committed evil, and second because all the envoys worked as one. You two also deserve credit."

"Thank you for your praise, Master," the two women said in unison.

"Qing'er, how are your injuries?" The Black-robed figure's gaze remained fixed on Bai Qing'er.

"Reporting to Master, they are merely superficial wounds. The court's hounds falsely reported their military merits and caused you concern," Bai Qing'er hurriedly said.

"Oh?"

For the first time, a trace of doubt entered the Black-robed figure's unruffled voice.

"Master, even the Flying Fish Guard has begun falsely reporting military merits. This dog court won't last many more days," the green-robed woman sneered.

"The more critical the moment, the more careful we must be."

The Black-robed figure shifted his gaze away from Bai Qing'er. She parted her lips and carefully let out a small breath.

"Master, how should Junior Sister and I proceed next?" the green-robed woman asked.

"The plan remains unchanged. Proceed according to it. Also, avoid going near the East City Corpse Burning Facility as much as possible lately."

"What happened at the East City Corpse Burning Facility?" Bai Qing'er raised her head.

"Heh. It is quite strange. One of Liu Cang's little grandsons was actually burned alive there. He has already sent Punishment Slaves south. There will likely be a battle of dragons and tigers there. Watch the situation quietly."

"Yes, Master."

The setting sun painted the clouds red; after snatching corpses at the Mass Grave, he returned to camp.

With a shovel on his shoulder and the swaggering gait of a man who recognized neither kin nor friend, Qin He was in an excellent mood.

Nothing else mattered. He had gained three corpses in a single afternoon. Only after he had burned through all the firewood he had gathered last time did he reluctantly head back.

A man did not grow rich without windfall wealth, and a horse did not grow fat without night grass. Corpses only smelled sweeter when they were snatched.

Thanks to the Street Brawl Technique, Qin He battled the dog pack for three hundred rounds before finally retreating unscathed.

If he worked a little harder and beat the dog pack into submission, he could earn himself a title—the King of the Mass Grave.

"Well, if it isn't Qin He. You're back."

At the entrance to the Corpse Burning Facility, three constables were directing refugees to deliver corpses to the various Corpse Burning Rooms. Ling Zhonghai, the leader, greeted Qin He.

Recently, Qin He had handled several vicious corpses in succession and passed through every time without incident. Gradually, his status had risen a little above that of the other Corpse Burners.

Especially the vicious corpse of that Bazong last night. Even Chang Wen of the Flying Fish Guard had been frightened by it, yet Qin He had still reduced it to ashes.

This treatment had originally belonged to Horse Butcher. After Horse Butcher died, it fell to Qin He following several tests.

No matter what organization it was, it needed a few capable people. Otherwise, when the crucial moment came, everyone would be struck with diarrhea and run for the latrine.

"Greetings, sir."

Qin He grinned.

Ling Zhonghai was the head constable of the Corpse Burning Facility, half a superior to Xu Changshou.

Xu Changshou was absent, so there were only the three of them.

"What have you been doing?" Seeing Qin He carrying a shovel, Ling Zhonghai asked out of curiosity.

Naturally, Qin He could not tell the truth. "Well, I went to plant trees. Mountains of gold and silver are nothing compared to green waters and lush mountains. Planting trees and growing forests is everyone's responsibility."

The three men were left with question marks all over their faces.

"What is that fool talking about? What responsibility? Environmental protection?"

After Qin He walked past them, Ling Zhonghai turned and quietly asked the other two beside him, Li Tie and Gao Linkun.

Li Tie shook his head, indicating that he had not understood either.

"Nothing strange about it. That kid probably has something wrong up here." Gao Linkun pointed at his own head.

Ling Zhonghai and Li Tie suddenly understood. Only then did they recall that Qin He, that fool, really was a little muddle-headed.

Some time ago, after the nephew of Lord Liu, the Minister of War's Deputy, had been killed by a Mutated Corpse and his own body had clearly undergone a vicious mutation, it was this fool who volunteered to burn the corpse.

And sometimes, this fool would even carry off unclaimed ashes to bury them.

"Ah, how pitiful. He drifted to a foreign land and became a refugee, and there's something wrong with his head too. So young—he surely hasn't even taken a wife," Ling Zhonghai said with a look of compassion for all under heaven.

"These are bad times. Nothing can be done. Everyone has it hard," Gao Linkun said, shaking his head.

"With something wrong with his head, he still managed to travel all the way to the Capital City. His life is tough indeed," Li Tie added.

Ling Zhonghai slowly nodded. "How about this? Arrange for him to burn just one corpse tonight. At our Corpse Burning Facility, this fool is about the only one who can still get things done. We should look after him when we can."

Li Tie and Gao Linkun naturally had no objections. Who burned one more corpse and who burned one less was merely a matter of a word.

But at that moment, Qin He, who had already reached the door of Room Seven, suddenly stopped and turned around.