Demanding Wages

October had arrived, but the oppressive heat remained.

In the shantytown outside the city, the area where Du En and the others lived had become tense in recent days.

This was because members of the Blood Eagle Gang, in addition to their normal labor during the day, had begun unusual troop movements at night.

This situation quickly put the rival Iron Hand Gang on alert. As time passed, the two sides began to confront each other, each side sticking to their own story, clearly itching for a fight, the air thick with tension.

The other unrelated lower-class individuals became uneasy about this, fearing the conflict might spill over onto them.

However, overall, because these gang members and Hall Masters also needed to work during the day, the situation had so far only been in a state of prelude and brewing.

Du En paid attention, going out to observe for a while every night, but he didn't overdo it.

His daily rhythm remained the same: working and burying bodies by day, foraging for herbs and cooking meals in the evening, and diligently cultivating his liver at night.

[Age: 18/91]
[Spiritual Root: Low-grade]
[Cultivation Level: Early Qi Refining (15/100)]
[Cultivation Technique: Yellow Earth Technique (Initial Glimpse 7/20)]
[Spell: Earth Bullet Technique (Initial Glimpse 1/20)]
[Divine Ability: None]
[Arts: Appraisal (Beginner's Practice 4/10), Cooking (Beginner's Practice 1/10)]

Ten days had passed since he began cooking Spirit Cuisine.

Du En made an effort every day to catch a Strange Owl, identify three types of medicinal herbs, and cook a Spirit Cuisine to promote the cultivation of his technique.

While observing the Blood Eagle Gang's movements each night, he would also practice his spells, not wasting a moment.

Seeing Du En completely addicted to cooking Strange Owls, actively hunting them and treating them as a regular meal, the other Corpse Buriers couldn't help but whisper.

Wei Ming even started to wonder if Du En had really figured something out.

At the very least, the finished product smelled much better than before.

Du En wasn't stingy about it. Seeing Wei Ming's interest, he asked if he wanted to try some.

The result? Wei Ming didn't dare to tempt fate again, shaking his head like a rattle drum.

Ultimately, the others just thought that Du En could no longer stand the rotten stench of the Strange Owls and was trying to improve the situation.

After all, those ordinary medicinal herbs did have some effect, but only a little.

Some could be picked, dried, and stored. On rainy days, they could be boiled to drink, to ward off dampness.

Beyond that, they truly hadn't experienced any other benefits.

It couldn't be that adding a slimy, smelly, and foul-tasting Strange Owl would turn it into some kind of miraculous elixir, right?

Du En didn't bother to explain further.

And today, during the usual early start to work, Ning Caize brought up a topic shortly after they left.

"Du En, when do you plan to go collect our wages this month?"

Collect our wages.

These four words instantly made the atmosphere heavy.

Wei Ming beside him found it strange, and looking at the other Seniors, he saw their peculiar expressions, their words caught in their throats, their eyes flickering.

What was going on?

Du En had already considered this and calmly replied, "After the fifteenth. I'll combine it with Wei Ming's. Considering Steward He's temperament, it's best to wait until the end of the month."

"Is that so? That makes sense. Otherwise, Little Wei would have worked last month for nothing. Besides, we have enough on hand right now to get through this period."

Ning Caize analyzed.

He had brought up the topic intentionally, actually considering Du En's situation.

Although the other three had some other thoughts, seeing that Du En had already made up his mind and the most senior among them had spoken, they all nodded in agreement without objection.

It was only then that Wei Ming finally reacted.

"Huh? We're talking about wages? Do we have to go and ask for our wages ourselves?"

He was very confused.

Weren't they supposed to be paid on time?

The Luoyu Immortal Sect was one of the overlords of the world. Even if the conditions in this border town in the Southern Border were far inferior to the sect's core area, they shouldn't be so stingy and undignified over a few Low-grade Spirit Stones, should they?

"Little Wei, you're still too young!"

Seeing Wei Ming's visible astonishment, someone immediately couldn't help but vent their frustrations. "Indeed, the Steward won't outright steal our Low-grade Spirit Stones. However, he never issues them proactively. We need to send someone to demand them, and then face his deliberate, whether light or heavy, malicious obstruction!"

"Ah?"

Wei Ming was greatly shocked and couldn't help but exclaim, "How can this be?"

"Cough... How can it not be? Look, don't these stewards and overseers indulge those gangs in their wickedness? So, isn't it only natural for things to be this way?"

Ning Caize explained with a sigh, his eyes filled with bitterness.

He had worked as a Corpse Burier for a year, and at most, he had only received half a year's wages.

Many newcomers could endure the first month, but because they didn't receive their wages, they were in dire straits. They had to continue working and ultimately met a tragic end!

"This, this, it makes sense."

Wei Ming hadn't been entirely unaware, but he couldn't believe it would really happen. He still held onto a sliver of hope, thinking that the powerful figures wouldn't be so cruel.

"Then, what should we do? The steward is a powerful cultivator at the Foundation Establishment stage..."

Such malicious obstruction from the steward was visibly difficult for those at the Early Qi Refining stage in the lower ranks!

However, seeing Du En's continued composure, he felt a glimmer of hope. "Boss, speaking of which, you managed to get yours last month. Could it be that there's a trick to this?"

Upon hearing this, even the other veterans couldn't help but glance over at Du En.

If there was a trick, they wanted to learn it too!

Naturally, they hoped their hard work would be rewarded. The past month had been a period of relative ease for them.

Everyone received their wages, which weren't immediately seized by the Blood Eagle Gang. They could pool their resources to purchase necessities and take turns paying with Spirit Stones.

Du En's rule was acceptable to them, and they wished to continue this arrangement.

But this meant they needed to receive Spirit Stones every month. Thus, they hoped Du En, their leader, would step forward again.

And the sooner, the better.

Yet, it was their hard-earned wages, which they were rightfully entitled to, and to face such a situation was truly infuriating and left them feeling powerless to change it.

Thinking of this, Ning Caize's eyes dimmed.

Du En shook his head slightly and spoke frankly, "There's no trick. The steward always does this. The first time, they seem relatively gentle. Then, when you start to let your guard down, they'll suddenly play dirty."

Among the Corpse Buriers, the leader was responsible for demanding wages.

The previous leader had always procrastinated because he feared this task.

After all, even if they received Spirit Stones, they would still be exploited by the Blood Eagle Gang, so there was no need to take the risk.

Unless the group was starving or the Blood Eagle Gang was putting too much pressure on them.

Du En had investigated the situation last month and, after demanding their wages, the leadership position had been automatically passed to him.

Then, the former leader met with an accident while burying corpses and died.

Wei Ming had come to fill his vacancy.