Under the sun, upon the wasteland.
At that moment, the gravediggers were surrounding the corpse Du En and Wei Ming had just carried over, staring at one another in bewilderment.
"Cough, cough, cough... Th-this is Luo Heng?"
Staring at the half-shattered head, Ning Caize was somewhat uncertain. He could not help wondering whether his eyes had truly grown dim with age and he was seeing things.
"It's him! It's definitely him!"
"With that ugly mug, it has to be that bastard!"
"Tsk, tsk, tsk! That beast got what he deserved!"
The other three came to their senses and confirmed it. One after another, they felt refreshed and invigorated.
"I wonder which heroic figure struck him down!"
"Exactly! With Luo Heng dead and the trouble gone, we won't have to live on tenterhooks anymore!"
"If we could find out who did it, we'd have to thank him properly!"
"Cough, cough... You people, don't think so simply. The Blood Eagle Gang is still around. It's only Luo Heng—sooner or later, someone will replace him. Besides, his death might even implicate us. After all, those people love killing one to warn a hundred."
Ning Caize's words were not without reason. They immediately tempered the others' high spirits, filling them with unease.
Du En clapped his hands and said, "Regardless, since the Blood Eagle Gang hasn't come rushing over in force to demand an explanation from us, and has only had the corpse transporters deliver the body here, they probably won't target us for now."
Hearing what their leader said, everyone's tangled thoughts settled.
Then, their expressions began to change.
The man had accomplished nothing while alive. Now that he was dead, how could they not vent their frustration?
Thus, during the burial that followed, once they accidentally confirmed that the corpse was free of poison and other hidden dangers, they immediately took turns shoveling, mixing the body with the soil. In the end, they packed it into the ground in clumps, like chopped chives in dumpling filling.
Wow! The seniors really were... tsk, this was too awful to watch!
Wei Ming, who had just shed his newcomer's crown and had never truly been oppressed by Luo Heng, could not help crying out inwardly as he watched the other four's actions.
Then he turned to look at Du En, who remained calm and unruffled, silently doing his work. The contrast was instantly striking!
What did it mean to have the bearing of a great general?
What did it mean for a broad mind to embrace all things?
This was it!
I have to study hard and strive to improve!
Today, as always, Wei Ming continued learning from Du En.
Du En did not mind it either.
Since Luo Heng's death had not drawn any trouble their way for the time being, they ought to seize the moment and make another breakthrough before the Blood Eagle Gang turned its guns on them.
"I hope there's something good hidden in this fellow's belly..."
If there were some additional help, achieving his goal would be easier.
For now, though, they continued working and continued burying corpses.
Perhaps because they had found an outlet for their emotions, everyone's burial efficiency was exceptionally high today. By early evening, they had already finished burying the day's corpses.
With refreshed spirits, they shouldered their shovels and headed home.
"Du En, because of Luo Heng, we couldn't go shopping earlier, and our firewood is almost used up. Now that Luo Heng is dead, and we're returning early today, we can take care of those things."
Ning Caize came over and said this to Du En.
After saying it all in one breath, he began coughing again.
Even while coughing, he kept winking and raising his brows.
Wei Ming spoke frankly. "Senior Ning, is there something else you want to say?"
Du En answered for him. "He's hinting at whether I can conveniently clear away the kitchen scraps piled up by the door. Also, since everyone's happy today, could we not cook Strange Owl?"
"Cough, cough, th-this is mainly because everyone's happy."
Ning Caize immediately grew somewhat embarrassed. He had not expected Du En to spell it out so bluntly.
However, seeing him silently lower the shovel in his hand, it was obvious he did not want to bring back a Strange Owl for dinner.
Then again, with the extra serving of Luo Heng's blood today, none of them was obviously starving enough to come knocking on their door and solve their hunger problem for good.
"For chopping firewood, two people come with me. We'll dump the trash along the way. Finally, for shopping, either of you two can take Wei Ming."
Du En made the arrangements.
They should have familiarized the newcomer with the surroundings long ago, but it had been delayed. Now they could settle everything at once.
Ning Caize nodded when he heard this. "Then I'll cook. Hehe, let you all—cough, cough!"
Seeing Old Ning's performance, the other four's gazes immediately became somewhat peculiar.
However, since Du En had no objections, the assignments were settled just like that.
When they returned to their lodgings, the sun had yet to set.
After hurriedly washing and changing, they split up and got to work.
While felling trees and chopping firewood, Du En split apart the broken tree he had brought down himself, completing the destruction of the evidence.
He separated the chopped wood into dry and wet piles. The dry wood was stored in a corner of the courtyard, while the wet wood was conveniently left to dry on both sides of the courtyard gate after the trash had been cleared away.
Once everything had been arranged and stacked, it would be enough to last for some time.
After finishing all that work, night had fallen.
Ning Caize had finished cooking, while Wei Ming had also finished buying all sorts of things.
The main items were coarse rice, salt, cloth for clothing, and a few foods such as smoked meat and dried fish.
Although they were all ordinary mortal goods, they had to be purchased with Spirit Stones.
What was earned in the border city was spent in the border city. Not a single fraction was to be taken home.
Simply put, that was how things were.
Of course, at least the prices of these mortal goods were not outrageously high. One Low-grade Spirit Stone could buy several hundred jin of rice.
However, the most basic price was one Low-grade Spirit Stone, and there was no change. Therefore, whenever Du En and the others went shopping, they pooled their needs, scraping together here and cutting back there, and bought everything that one Low-grade Spirit Stone could cover.
Since everyone had their own needs and they were pooling their purchases, Du En decided that they would take turns paying the Spirit Stones, with one person paying each time. This time, it was Ning Caize's turn.
After eating, dividing up the goods, and chatting for a while, Wei Ming, who had been rather excited from strolling around town, could not help yawning.
Like a signal, the little courtyard in the night soon fell silent.
Everyone returned to their own rooms.
Du En did not immediately take a short nap. Instead, he took out the small pouch he had obtained from Luo Heng and already washed clean.
He untied the drawstring and peered inside.
Seven Low-grade Spirit Stones, and several sheets of paper.
Another spell?
He took them out and unfolded them for a look.
"Huh? It's not a spell. It's actually about Spirit Food..."
Spirit Food—in other words, spiritual cuisine—used reasonable combinations of ingredients and various cooking techniques to combine and express the ingredients' culinary and medicinal properties, stimulate transformations, and make them easier for the human body to absorb, thereby promoting the growth of the body and cultivation.
It was one of the Hundred Arts of Cultivation!
Who knew where that bastard Luo Heng had gotten it? Although it was only a few short sheets of paper containing several hundred tiny fly-head characters, and only explained some basic principles and a foundational framework, the culinary and medicinal theories contained within were already exceedingly precious.
After reading it thoroughly and committing it all to memory, Du En immediately began pondering.
Although the food he could currently come into contact with consisted mainly of coarse rice and grains, ordinary fruits, vegetables, and meat that required Spirit Stones to purchase, there was also the Strange Owl that would come knocking for free.
Still, in the primeval mountain forests of the Southern Border, if one put their mind to it, they should be able to find some medicinal herbs, right?
He had never paid particular attention to them before. Now that he thought about it, he ought to go look.
After pondering this, he naturally took a short nap to restore his energy before working hard at cultivating his technique again.
Before you continue