A One-Coin Corpse Burning Official

When Qin He returned to the Corpse Burning Facility, the Corpse Burners ran about spreading the news, cheering his return.

The deathly silent Corpse Burning Facility suddenly came alive, leaving Qin He somewhat flattered and embarrassed.

The four constables on duty also came out. Xu Changshou stepped forward and asked, "Why did you only just get back? We've been waiting ages for you."

"How did you know I was coming back?"

Qin He found it strange. The Factory agents delivering corpses haven't even arrived yet. Who spread the word?

Liu Sanjin rushed to say, "Someone from the Corpse Burning Hall came after noon. They said you did a fine job, Brother Qin, and sent you a Gold Coin Token."

"And five taels of reward silver."

Crippled Li added, his eyes having already recovered.

"Yes, yes, and reward silver too."

"Brother Qin got promoted—he's a Corpse Burning Official now."

"Our East City Corpse Burning Facility has become famous this time."

Everyone chimed in at once. Beaming with delight, Xu Changshou pulled two items from his pocket and handed them to Qin He: a gleaming yellow bronze coin, round on the outside and marked with the Eight Trigrams within, flames inlaid upon it, and an official silver ingot.

The moment Qin He saw them, he had the urge to curse.

Damn it!

Well, that did it. Now even if he wanted to stay unnoticed, he couldn't.

A Corpse Burner from the Corpse Burning Facility had gone to the Corpse Burning Hall and emerged transformed into a Corpse Burning Official.

How was he supposed to keep a low profile after this?

Those lunatics at the Corpse Burning Hall hadn't given it to him when he was leaving the Imperial Prison, yet chased after him to deliver it once he was gone.

But Qin He naturally couldn't show that now. He could only accept the items and tuck them into his pocket.

"Brother Qin, how's the Corpse Burning Hall compared to this place?"

"Is the food better there?"

"What nonsense? They've got all those Factory agents and officials there. How could the food be bad?"

"The corpses must be fiercer too."

"What the hell do you know?"

"..."

A group of Corpse Burners surrounded Qin He, firing questions from every direction. Qin He casually dealt with them for a while, then took out the buns he had secretly brought back and handed one to each person. Only then did their chatter finally subside.

"They're meat buns!"

Liu Sanjin took a bite, and his eyes immediately lit up like a dog's.

The Corpse Burners were in an uproar.

White flour alone was already a luxury, yet there were even bits of meat inside.

Everyone was beside themselves with excitement.

Liu Sanjin loved meat most. In three or four bites, he stuffed the whole bun into his mouth, choking so badly his eyes rolled white.

"You fool, good food should be eaten slowly. You swallowed it like an ox swallowing a scale weight—you didn't even taste it." Old Liangtou slapped Liu Sanjin across the back of the head and scolded him.

Only then did Liu Sanjin come to his senses, but it was too late. With a gulp, the bun went down his throat. Looking at the people around him, he saw them all happily savoring theirs in tiny bites.

"Oh, damn, I..."

Liu Sanjin immediately regretted it so much that he slapped his thigh. He looked at Qin He with pleading eyes, too embarrassed to ask.

Qin He smiled and handed him another one. Liu Sanjin was so excited he was practically ready to call Qin He grandfather.

Only then did Xu Changshou find a chance to pull Qin He aside and ask, "When the Corpse Burning Facility used to send people to help, the Corpse Burning Hall would usually give some silver and a Corpse Suppressing Talisman. It's really rare for them to directly promote someone in rank. Did something happen?"

Naturally, Qin He would not admit anything. But after thinking it over, he knew the matter at the Corpse Burning Hall could not be concealed, so he still recounted what had happened there, naturally covering up whatever should and should not be said.

Xu Changshou was deeply shocked after hearing it, but he was an outsider and could not make heads or tails of it. He only told Qin He to safeguard the coin carefully, saying it could suppress corpses and was even more effective than a Corpse Suppressing Talisman.

Qin He naturally understood and agreed.

What came later could wait until later. He would cross that bridge when he came to it.

At that moment, the villainous trio—Ling Zhonghai, Li Tie, and Gao Linkun—also came over and clasped their hands in congratulations.

A one-coin Corpse Burning Official might still do the work of a Corpse Burner, but this was a rank "certified" by the Corpse Burning Hall. Forget this tiny Corpse Burning Facility—anywhere under heaven, Qin He could wear that coin and be considered a man of "status."

His status had changed, and naturally the etiquette around him changed as well. Who knew? Perhaps Qin He would be transferred to the Corpse Burning Hall one day. By then, he would be eating the Emperor's grain.

Qin He had never held much prejudice against them to begin with, and with their smiling faces greeting him, the atmosphere was unusually harmonious.

Yet that atmosphere lasted less than the time it took to burn an incense stick.

Why?

Flying Fish Guard agents had delivered corpses—nineteen in total.

Ling Zhonghai once again revealed his woefully lacking "villainous awareness" and generously said, "Brother Qin just got back. Sit this one out today and get some proper rest."

Even Xu Changshou said, "Yes, yes, you should rest for a day. You've been exhausted for two days already."

Qin He immediately felt as though someone had snatched the things from his arms, and his face darkened.

Their awareness had not improved at all. It was enough to worry him to death.

But he couldn't exactly tell them, The hell do you mean, sit this one out? Bring me three every day. If there's even one less, I'll burn you instead.

What would that make him?

A lunatic!

By the next day, everyone at the Corpse Burning Facility would think he had gone mad. If word spread further, the Flying Fish Guard and Di Barbarians would immediately list him as a suspect.

Thinking it over, forget it.

He would sit this one out.

It was a good chance to recover anyway. There were still two corpses at the Corpse Burning Hall that had not been burned away. Who knew when they would finally be cremated.

It was enough to drive him mad with impatience.

Qin He turned and left, slamming the door shut with a bang.

The villainous trio was instantly left with question marks all over their faces, unable to understand why he had suddenly seemed angry when everything had been fine.

The three looked at one another, shook their heads, and left. A fool is still a fool. Even if he becomes a one-coin Corpse Burning Official, it won't fix what's wrong with his brain.

Xu Changshou did not think much of it. Qin He's train of thought had always been strange; he was used to it.

After the corpses were assigned, night had already fallen, and the Corpse Burning Rooms shut and locked their doors.

The day's work began.

With nothing to do, Qin He took the Marrow Cleansing Pill and the unfinished Strength Fruit from his pocket and tossed them all into his mouth.

Qin He's concerns proved correct. That "certification coin" brought trouble far faster than he had imagined.

So fast it did not even wait for the night to pass.

Liu Residence.

Listening to the spy's report, Liu Changan's expression shifted unpredictably.

Through certain special methods, he had roughly confirmed that An Baogu had vanished near the docks. Although the exact location remained unclear, it was enough for him to fix his sights once more on the East City Corpse Burning Facility.

An Baogu might have been a reckless brute, but his instincts had not been wrong. That East City Corpse Burning Facility, which looked like nothing at first glance, had hidden depths within.

Moreover, the spy had just reported that a Corpse Burner from the East City Corpse Burning Facility had received a coin representing status and rank after spending two days at the Corpse Burning Hall of the Imperial Prison. That was far too rare.

Most importantly, Liu Changan had met that Corpse Burner before—Qin He of Corpse Burning Room No. 7.

Corpse Burning Room No. 7 was the very room that had cremated Liu Cang.

The coincidence could not have been more perfect. It was practically pointing out the road for him.

"Send Gantuji in."

Liu Changan narrowed his eyes, having reached a decision.

Two or three days had passed. An Baogu had surely kicked the bucket by now.

Before Aquina's fury descended, he had to probe out the true state of the East City Corpse Burning Facility.

Not long after, Gantuji entered. He stood ramrod straight, neither giving a formal salute nor offering greetings, and asked only one question. "What is it?"

As a proud Di Barbarian Bayala warrior, he looked down on soft-boned traitors like Liu Changan who had betrayed their own people.

Even though he needed Liu Changan right now.

Liu Changan was furious inside, but showed nothing on his face. "Tonight, send two men to the East City Corpse Burning Facility. One will observe, and the other will act. I want to startle the grass and frighten the snake."

"What do you intend to do?" A fierce gleam flashed through Gantuji's eyes.

Liu Changan turned to face him, and killing intent finally appeared in his eyes. "Kill everyone inside the East City Corpse Burning Facility. Leave not a single scrap of armor behind. The bigger the commotion, the better."