Striking It Rich

Under the cover of night, the chaotic battle continued.

Suddenly, a voice rang out, echoing in the ears of those present.

"Stop."

Flat and indifferent, leaving no room for doubt.

As if a pause button had been pressed, the commotion between the two villainous gangs ceased abruptly.

A steward, annoyed by the noise, had spoken.

With just a single word spoken from a distance, two notorious gangs, accustomed to causing trouble, sheepishly stopped fighting and quickly retreated.

Due to the chaotic terrain, the gang leaders, momentarily unable to control the situation, first breathed a sigh of relief, then tensed up again. They paid no attention to the scene, instead scrambling away to beg for forgiveness outside the Elegant Courtyard.

No one dared to touch the corpses littering the ground.

The night deepened, and then dawn began to break.

It was only then that the Corpse Transporters arrived in a hurry. Without daring to delay, they loaded the bodies onto carts and headed towards the barren land, heads bowed.

The Corpse થઈ Buriers, naturally, had long since lowered their guard, packed up, and returned to their rooms, each carrying their own thoughts, some to sleep, others to cultivate.

Before dawn, Du En emerged from his cultivation state and got up to knock on doors.

Because there was a lot of work today, they couldn't afford to be leisurely; they had to arrive at the burial grounds on time.

"Boss, why don't you rest for another day?"

"No need, there's a lot of work."

Concise and to the point, making everyone subtly relieved.

It wasn't that the others didn't respect Du En, but it was the reality of the situation. Today's workload was heavy, and they couldn't afford to lose even Wei Ming, let alone Du En, the absolute main force.

The six of them set off early, arriving at the barren land just in time to cross paths with the Corpse Transporters' convoy.

There was no conversation between them; their movements were hurried, with only Wei Ming casting a few curious glances.

It was his first time seeing this convoy.

The corpses piled up in the barren land now matched the scale of this operation.

A total of one hundred and sixty-eight bodies!

Among them, at least one hundred and twenty were from the two gangs. They had truly suffered heavy losses, a testament to the ferocity of last night's battle. It was no wonder the leaders of the two gangs couldn't control the situation at one point.

However, even though they had been blinded by the killing, when the steward's voice stopped them, both sides immediately retreated and ceased fighting, without the slightest hesitation or delay.

The steward's authority was evident!

Du En stopped before the pile of corpses, his face wrapped, only his eyebrows visible, and he narrowed them slightly.

"Everyone, this time, it's finally our turn to get rich."

"Huh?"

The others were stunned.

If Du En hadn't said anything, they wouldn't have realized it. But now, hearing his words and looking at the corpses, they suddenly understood that these bodies had not been looted.

Indeed, no one had plundered their belongings.

The members of the two gangs now just wanted to stay far away. Other irrelevant people didn't dare to step closer. Even the Corpse Transporters treated these bodies like hot potatoes, dumping them in the barren land and running off without looking back.

This was all due to the steward's authority!

Ning Caize's heart was pounding, his vision blurring slightly. He stammered, "Du En, you're not... joking, are you?"

"Why would I joke?"

Du En looked at the others. They were also intimidated by the steward's authority and just wanted to bury the bodies as quickly as possible.

"Opportunity knocks but once. It's a rare chance to get rich, and it's by profiting from these dead men. If we miss this, who knows when we'll get another chance!"

"But, but..."

"I know what you're worried about. However, we Corpse Buriers live on the edge of danger every day. Besides, once this blows over, the Blood Eagle Gang will still come to collect protection fees. Luo Heng is gone, but there's still Lu Xiang. Even without Lu Xiang, there are others. Relying solely on the steward for wages won't be enough to withstand their bone-sucking greed."

Hearing Du En's words, everyone felt they made sense. Their minds, previously numbed by fear, began to work again.

In their opinion, Du En couldn't possibly go and ask for wages every month.

Their bodies, at the Early Qi Refining stage, couldn't withstand Steward He Bo's bullying more than a few times.

Therefore, if they wanted to maintain their current livelihood and deal with the Blood Eagle Gang's oppression and extortion, they indeed needed to make some illicit fortune!

"Damn it! Boss is right. Our lives are cheap. If we don't get rich now, when will we?"

"The barefoot aren't afraid of the shod! If we're caught, if we're despised, it can't get any worse than this!"

"Haha! They used to extort us, now it's our turn to take from them. This is what they call the turn of the wheel!"

"The stewards won't come to dig up the bodies to check... cough cough... I mean, this old body of mine is going all out this time!"

"Boss is mighty! I'll listen to the boss!"

Seeing that everyone had reached a consensus, Du En took the lead and began to carefully search the bodies.

Even if others didn't want to participate, he would have acted anyway, but this way was clearly the best.

If everyone pitched in and took some Spirit Stones, then no leaks would come out afterward.

Although the Stewards probably wouldn't care about such a small matter, it was hard to avoid unexpected trouble if it somehow reached their ears.

Especially since He Bo's side harbored a particular dislike for Du En.

"Whoa! Spirit Stones!"

"Good heavens, everyone's carrying a bunch. How many are they hiding at home?"

"These damn people, how many have they oppressed?"

"Huh? What's this... hiss! A spell!"

"Boss, there are also hidden weapons... Ah? Don't take them, it's such a shame."

The crowd rummaged through the corpses with their shovels, tossing them around haphazardly, and then shouted loudly, as if they had never seen the world before. In truth, they hadn't.

By the time the sun had fully risen, a pile of Low-grade Spirit Stones gleamed under the sunlight.

One thousand two hundred and twenty-five pieces!

Such a colossal sum made their heads spin, feeling utterly unreal.

"Boss, why don't you... pinch me... Ouch! You actually pinched me..."

"Cough, Du En, how should we divide this?"

"Each of you takes a hundred, I'll take seven hundred. The remaining twenty-five pieces, I'll hold onto for now. When they come to collect protection fees or for purchasing later, this portion will be prioritized."

"Boss is brilliant!"

No one objected. After all, if it weren't for Du En, they would have buried the corpses in a daze and missed out on this windfall.

"There's also a spell, what a shame, it's only a low-grade Sand Raising Technique."

"Mm, everyone memorize the contents, learn it. If anyone asks later, just say you were lucky and found a rare opportunity on a corpse."

Du En made further arrangements, then took out six bags he had prepared earlier.

You truly are something else!

While we were dazed and terrified, you had already made plans and preparations.

Brilliant!

Truly brilliant!

The crowd quickly took the bags and put in their shares. They were heavy, and they never imagined they would possess so many Spirit Stones in their lifetime!

Even if these were "hot goods" and couldn't be spent directly, just counting them every night before sleeping was enough to bring solace to their hearts, making them feel like life had hope.

Du En watched them like this, but said nothing. He lowered his head and silently looked at the blood-stained, but still relatively clear, paper in his hand.

Low-grade spell, Sand Raising Technique.

As the name suggests, it uses Magic Power to conjure a gust of light sand.

Its primary function is to obscure vision and attack the field of view. If cultivated to a high level, it can also possess considerable power.

Having memorized the content, he handed the paper to the others.

Their excitement began to subside.

While memorizing the spell, they felt a sense of unease.

With so many Spirit Stones on them, they felt insecure!

What if the Corpse Transporters came again to dump more bodies and discovered them?

What if some bold individuals from the two gangs decided to try their luck and steal from the dead?

What if, what if the Stewards actually cared and decided to investigate?

Fueled by this anxiety, the five men erupted with indescribable strength in the following period.

They dug and buried the corpses like madmen!

As long as the corpses were buried and evidence destroyed, there wouldn't be so many "what ifs"!

As long as they buried the corpses quickly and returned to their lodgings to hide the Spirit Stones, they could finally feel a little at ease!

Driven by this mindset, the efficiency of the Corpse Buriers skyrocketed. They feared no hardship or fatigue, and by dusk, they had managed to bury over a hundred corpses.

They were almost completely exhausted!