Action While Injured

Elegant Courtyard, Corpse Affairs Hall, before the loft.

A small pouch flew out from a fifth-floor window.

The moment Du En saw it, he barely needed to think. Its crisp, decisive trajectory alone told him there was definitely a trap inside.

Looking more closely and sensing it carefully, he immediately discovered—thanks to the cultivation technique that had recently broken through again—that a thread of concealed magical power clung to the pouch!

If he didn't catch it, the pouch would hit the ground and the spirit stones inside would surely shatter. Worse, he might not escape the blast.

If he caught it, the impact of that magical power would leave him crippled on the spot even if it didn't kill him!

He really does hate me...

Du En's brows lifted slightly. He wasn't particularly surprised. Then he raised both hands and chose to catch it.

"Hmph..."

With a muffled groan, his legs first bent, his knees creaking as they trembled. Yet he refused to kneel. In the end, he braced himself and began staggering backward step after step.

Blood seeped from the corners of his mouth, staining his clean clothes red. His face turned deathly pale, and the aura throughout his body instantly became chaotic and weak. His magical power was urgently mobilized, meeting the outsider that had injured his internal organs and was still trying to invade his meridians, burning both sides in a mutual destruction.

Even so, only eighty percent was offset by the time his magical power was drained dry. He barely forced the rest out of his meridians. After that, he relied entirely on the body he had forged through cultivation and nourished with spiritual cuisine to directly withstand the damage.

Fortunately, the Yellow Earth Technique had no other particularly outstanding features. Its earth-element foundation was simply tough and resilient—excellent for taking a beating.

Thus, although his actual injuries were quite severe, he hadn't suffered any hidden wounds or lasting damage.

Until he had steadied himself, not a single drop of blood from Du En's side had splashed onto the ground.

He Bo wasn't surprised either. Naturally, he wouldn't let Du En spew blood everywhere and stain the courtyard red.

That would not only dirty his eyes, but also give malicious people an opening to seize upon. If someone secretly reported it, it could damage his standing with the upper-level overseers.

Thus, the Corpse Affairs Steward's target had been Du En's internal organs, meridians, and dantian!

Injuries to those places were difficult to heal and would damage one's foundation!

Not to mention that Du En lacked both doctors and medicine, while his working conditions were extremely harsh. If He Bo's malice truly succeeded, Du En would probably never break through again in this lifetime. He could only bury corpses for the rest of his life—or, should an accident befall him one day, be buried himself!

His vicious intent was plain to see.

"Hmph! This is what happens when you don't know your place!"

He Bo didn't care in the slightest that he had just ruined a person's future prospects.

It was merely an ant he could crush to death with a casual hand. Once it died, he could simply replace it.

His mood might even improve!

Therefore, he didn't bother dwelling on Du En, who had already turned and left.

"Cough..."

On the way back, the surroundings were already deserted. Du En swallowed a mouthful of blood and couldn't help coughing softly.

As he walked, fresh blood began dripping onto the ground.

Clatter, clatter...

The sound of wheels approaching drew near.

Anyone still in the Shack District at a time like this naturally wouldn't be an ordinary person.

Du En turned around and saw the familiar corpse transporter, Xu Ran, whose expression held a trace of bitterness.

"Du En, seeing what happened to you, I knew today wasn't a good day to ask for our wages."

With He Bo as the Corpse Affairs Steward, everyone involved—from collecting corpses upstream, to transporting them midway, to burying them downstream—had suffered from his malicious treatment.

The overseers ignored the matter. Xu Ran had originally wanted to ask for his wages too, but the moment he arrived and saw Du En stumbling out in such a miserable state, he was naturally frightened. After hesitating for a while, he chose to come another day.

That was why he had caught up with Du En now.

"Then you'd better hurry. Today's the twenty-eighth. In two more days, the month will be over."

"Ah, who can say otherwise? Your side is better. There are fewer people, and you take responsibility. On our side, the boss won't step forward at all. All he does every day is curry favor with the overseer."

Xu Ran's face was full of bitterness, leaving him only able to sigh. Then he remembered something and said, "By the way, I heard the Blood Eagle Gang started collecting protection fees again these past few days. I suppose they aren't planning to keep tangling with the Iron Hand Gang. You'd better be careful over there."

They were both people fallen to the ends of the earth, and he couldn't help offering a warning.

Du En nodded lightly, his tone somewhat airy. "You're late with that warning. They already came looking for us this morning."

"Huh? Then you... Ah, fate!"

Xu Ran quickly understood what had happened from beginning to end and let out a heavy sigh of lament.

After that, the two said nothing more. Xu Ran merely motioned for Du En to get on the cart and took him to the road junction. Since he couldn't go any farther, they bid each other farewell and returned to their respective homes.

Some time later, Du En returned to the small courtyard alone.

He pulled out the stove, set a clay pot on it, grabbed some medicinal ingredients, added the brown rice, and began cooking.

Since brown rice porridge didn't need constant watching, he sat cross-legged before the stove and silently circulated his cultivation, using his magical power to heal his injuries.

After completing one Greater Celestial Circuit and stabilizing his internal injuries, he opened his eyes at the sweet fragrance tickling his nose. He lifted the nearly finished Three Talents Porridge, pot and all, and ate it in great mouthfuls.

Ginseng replenished qi, goji berries nourished the body, and wild red dates enriched the blood... The Three Talents Porridge wasn't particularly suitable for cultivation, but it was simply perfect for recuperating the body.

After finishing the pot of porridge, he circulated his cultivation again to promote the absorption of Cuisine Power.

After completing two Greater Celestial Circuits and fully absorbing the Cuisine Power, he also poured in all the magical power he had just refined.

Only then did the wounds on his body recover to the point where they would no longer affect strenuous activity.

"More or less within expectations."

He looked up at the sky. It was currently afternoon.

Du En's expression remained as still as an ancient well. He continued adding ingredients for Three Talents Porridge to the clay pot, then pulled out another clay stove and clay pot. He combined the detoxifying herbs he had recently been deliberately collecting and examining according to the proportions he had tested, added water, and began boiling them.

A bitter, sour medicinal smell rose with the bubbling liquid and spread in every direction, spilling over the courtyard wall.

After finishing this, he quietly left the small courtyard.

A cloudless sunny day—just right for killing!

His movements were swift and stealthy as he arrived outside the Shack District.

Spiritual fields, medicinal gardens, beast pens, fish ponds, and other such places dotted the pristine mountain forests of the Southern Border like stars. Countless cultivators from the Underlying Layer were laboring there day after day.

Lu Xiang was naturally among them, working in a spiritual field.

During his earlier observations of the enemy, Du En had already taken the opportunity to feel out part of the situation among the two gangs. Luo Heng's old acquaintance, Lu Xiang, was naturally included.

Now he came straight there, then paused upon drawing near to observe.

His main target was the overseer.

These overseers were all at least in the Late-stage Qi Refining realm. They had been appointed by the border city, and their strength was passable, so he needed to be careful.

After confirming that the overseer here was idle and absentminded, Du En made his move again. He crept all the way to the edge of the spiritual field, stopping where Lu Xiang could see him.

"This kid... He's pretty efficient. He gathered enough spirit stones so quickly?"

Lu Xiang was playing the part of an old farmer in the spiritual field, with that sharp blade hanging across his back. The moment he looked up and saw Du En in bloodstained clothes, he quickly figured out what had happened.

"Heh heh, serves him right!"

"But now that I think about it, the quota I gave them was a little too low. They actually gathered it all in half a day. Hm, I can't let this go. I'll collect twenty first and make him gather another twenty for me!"

"If he dares disobey, I won't kill him. I'll just beat him up!"

With these thoughts churning in his mind, Lu Xiang grew restless. He immediately raised his head and called toward the overseer, saying that he needed to go relieve himself.

The lax overseer sat in the shade of a tree and merely waved his hand, casually signaling him to go and return quickly. He hadn't paid the slightest attention.

Thus, Du En easily lured Lu Xiang away from the spiritual field.

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