Ox Riding Technique

Without a doubt, Chen Yutang's entire family had been killed to make an example of the monkey.

Lu Xiang had used the lives of Chen Yutang's family to establish his authority.

Why Chen Yutang?

Simple. Chen Yutang had only just transformed from a small peddler into a wealthy merchant. His foundation was still shallow, and he had yet to integrate himself among the powerful merchants represented by the Donglin Party.

To put it bluntly, he had picked the softest persimmon to squeeze.

Truth be told, Chen Yutang had been a merchant with a conscience. Of the thousand shi of grain Lu Xiang had purchased earlier, two hundred had been sold by Chen Yutang.

But factional struggles only cared about which side you stood on. Who cared whether you had a conscience?

Lu Xiang had extorted the powerful merchants, and they could only swallow their broken teeth along with their blood. But if someone were actually killed, things would become difficult to settle.

The Donglin Party could contend evenly with the eunuch faction because they were no pushovers.

Otherwise, why did Imperial Lord spend every day doing carpentry instead of attending court?

He feared those people. Open their mouths and they spoke of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors; close them and they spoke of benevolence, righteousness, morality, and virtue. The moment Imperial Lord wanted to do anything, they called it competing with the people for profit.

So after picking and choosing, Lu Xiang found Chen Yutang the most suitable target.

He was connected to the Donglin merchants, yet not one of them. Killing him could intimidate those merchants without provoking too great a backlash.

The measure was just right.

Chen Yutang's family had originally been harmonious and happy. His three sons had each excelled in letters, martial arts, and trade. Their family was on the verge of flourishing, ready to soar into the skies.

Yet he watched helplessly as his family members lost their heads one after another, and he vomited blood and died on the spot.

The executioner took one look and thought, well then, the dead belonged under the King of Hell's care. One stroke of the blade saved.

From heaven, he had plunged straight into hell. Chen Yutang's Resentful Energy soared to the heavens, and he became a vicious corpse.

As for how he turned vicious, whether he had taken revenge, and how he arrived from Xuzhou at the capital's Corpse Burning Hall two months later, Qin He had no way of knowing.

Shadow Play Performance recorded only one's life, not what came after death.

The scales of judgment weighed. The Black Robed Man visibly raised his head and declared, "There is no light in Guangming Mansion, no righteous qi in Zhengda Yanei. Amid countless barren mounds, where can one speak of sorrow?"

Reward: Internal force +5 years.

"You've got to be fucking kidding me."

The instant Qin He saw the reward, his delighted expression turned completely black.

Such a vicious corpse had only given him five years of internal force?

It was not that internal force was bad. The gap was simply too vast.

A corpse like this, out there, would reward things on the level of the Corpse Eating Immortal Skill, Qi Gazing Technique, or Merit Golden Body Art.

Internal force +5 years—he could burn any two corpses in the Mass Grave and get no less than that.

If the last time had been a fluctuation in luck, then his luck should have swung back by now.

His instincts told Qin He that something was wrong.

The rewards for burning corpses seemed to have been deliberately downgraded.

Qin He could not make heads or tails of it. Could the Corpse Burning Hall interfere with the rewards?

That was too mystical, wasn't it?

After pondering for a moment, Qin He decided to test it again.

Perhaps he was overthinking things. Maybe he was simply in a low stretch of luck right now.

After all, luck came in highs and lows.

He stopped the furnace and shoveled out the ashes. Then Qin He headed once more to the corpse selection area.

Just as before, he dawdled and dawdled until he reached the edge of a corpse covered with yellow cloth.

When no one was paying attention, he scooped up a corpse bound in iron chains and ran.

Wei Wu saw the scene again, and his mind nearly failed to process it.

What was wrong with this world?

Was there really a Corpse Burner who deliberately sought out vicious corpses?

Was burning one corpse in shackles not enough for him? Did he have to burn one bound in iron chains too?

Wei Wu was beginning to doubt his life. Even as a four-qian Corpse Burning Official, he was not confident he could suppress a corpse tied up in iron chains completely. He was still accumulating cultivation, yet this little Corpse Burner was being far too bold.

Still, he said nothing. Qin He's bizarre behavior had piqued his curiosity.

He would wait. Once the brat could no longer keep it contained, then he would deal with him.

A petty trick like that, and he dared show off before an expert?

Just wait. He would soon be in for a sight.

On Qin He's side, the corpse truly deserved to have been bound in iron chains. It looked even more vicious.

Its Corpse Claws, sharp fangs, and tough hide were nothing worth mentioning. Those were almost mandatory features for a vicious corpse after it rose. This corpse had even grown white fur.

How should he put it? It was like furry stinky tofu, its entire body covered in hair a full inch long.

This was clearly a corpse on the verge of becoming a zombie, vicious beyond measure.

In the Corpse Burner trade, corpses were roughly divided by danger level into: dead corpses, Mutated Corpses, vicious corpses, zombies, and corpse demons.

What Corpse Burning Facilities handled were Mutated Corpses. If a Mutated Corpse attacked someone and was stimulated by fresh blood, or if its Resentful Energy was too heavy, it would become a vicious corpse.

If a vicious corpse evolved further, it would become a zombie, impervious to blades and spears, untouched by water and fire.

As for corpse demons, they were terrifying beings whose corpses had regained intelligence. They existed only in legends.

Without a doubt, this vicious corpse on the verge of becoming a zombie was the highest-quality corpse Qin He had encountered.

The highest quality naturally deserved the highest respect.

Qin He bestowed twenty Corpse Suppressing Nails upon it in one go. As he drove them in, he discovered that the corpse had become as hard as stone. If Qin He's internal force had not been nearing eighty years, even piercing it would have been troublesome.

As usual, he put away the Corpse Suppressing Talisman and set the corpse alight.

The corpse remained quiet and obedient. There was no helping it—Qin He had shown it such tremendous respect.

A dragon had to coil, and a tiger had to lie down.

Besides, there was still the Soul-Capturing Lamp.

This corpse was harder to burn as well. It took a full three hours before it was completely cremated.

The shadow lamp snatched the soul, the Shadow Play Performance unfolded, and the scales of judgment weighed.

Like Chen Yutang before him, the deceased had also been a wronged ghost.

The difference was that Chen Yutang's entire family had been executed by the authorities, while this man had been jointly murdered by his own relatives. There was no need to elaborate on the hatred involved.

In chaotic times, the strong did whatever they pleased, while the weak became fish on the chopping block. Human hearts were blacker than coal briquettes; murder and arson earned golden belts, while building bridges and repairing roads left no bones behind.

After his death, the deceased's Resentful Energy had been profound. Perhaps he had successfully taken revenge after rising, which was why he had evolved further and grown zombie fur.

Reward: Ox Riding Technique.

Ox Riding Technique: Upon learning this art, you will be of one heart and mind with oxen. Crossing mountains and ridges will be as easy as walking on level ground.

The instant Qin He saw the reward, ten thousand bolts of lightning exploded in his heart.

What the hell was an Ox Riding Technique? Were oxen meant to be ridden?

Where was a horse supposed to put its face?

Where was a donkey supposed to put its face?

At that moment, Qin He became completely and utterly certain: the Corpse Burning Hall was absolutely suppressing the rewards. Otherwise, it could not possibly produce such a disgusting skill.

It would have been better to give him five more years of internal force.

This was the most vicious corpse he had ever encountered.

Qin He looked around. As though sensing something, he turned his gaze toward the Soul-Capturing Lamp slowly rotating in the center of the Corpse Burning Hall.

Could it... be because of the Soul-Capturing Lamp?

Did that thing count as... external assistance?

The more Qin He thought about it, the more likely it seemed. The Soul-Capturing Lamp was external assistance. With external assistance added, the reward was downgraded.

At the East City Corpse Burning Facility, he had no external assistance to rely on. The Corpse Suppressing Nails had all been made by himself, so the rewards were normal.

But the Soul-Capturing Lamp here belonged to the Corpse Burning Hall.

Corpse Suppressing Talismans were posted in the Corpse Burning Rooms, and vicious corpses were bound in iron chains, among other things. Yet those were minor factors. The greatest factor was the Soul-Capturing Lamp.

It was the most advanced item among the Nine Corpse Suppressing Artifacts with a detailed method of construction. It could be called a divine artifact.

Qin He's heart instantly went ice-cold. What was he supposed to do now?

If things continued like this, he might as well go to the Mass Grave. The rewards here had been downgraded far too severely.

Destroy the Soul-Capturing Lamp?

Then the Corpse Burning Hall would descend into total chaos. Even if only half these corpses rose, the Corpse Suppressing Nails on him would not be enough.

Especially those lying inside the coffins—who knew how vicious they were.

Besides, the Corpse Burning Officials would never allow him to destroy the Soul-Capturing Lamp.

Unless... the Soul-Capturing Lamp met with an accident?