Kill Zhang Lin

Dawn had broken.

The New Year was drawing ever closer.

Even so, the gravediggers, who worked year-round without a break, still had to keep doing the same old thing.

Burying corpses.

Moreover, as the year-end approached, their workload only grew heavier.

Because more people were dying.

The year's quota had yet to be met. The overseers naturally refused to accept that, and even those who had already met theirs wanted to seize a higher ranking. Thus, they all redoubled their efforts, constantly piling on the intensity and hours of labor, from morning till night, working through until dawn.

As a result, there were those who died from exhaustion and those who couldn't take it anymore... In any case, the gravediggers became busy as well, burying nearly a hundred corpses every day.

The only thing that let them breathe a sigh of relief was that these corpses generally held few hidden dangers. They didn't have to worry about lying down beside one themselves halfway through their work.

What gave Ning Caize even more relief was that, until now, he hadn't seen any more corpses with anything sinister or perverse about them.

The Evil Cultivator lurking in the shadows seemed to have been caught. In any case, no further incidents had occurred one after another.

As the leader, Du En was thinking about something else now—how to kill someone.

With his strength having broken through again and made such clear progress, he could naturally accomplish more.

He had already made his calculations. Now that the time for putting them into action was drawing near, he was merely refining the details further.

The six gravediggers buried corpses under the scorching heat of winter that had yet to disperse, drenched in sweat.

Soon, evening arrived, and they finished their overtime work.

Since it was still fairly early and the Strange Owls had not yet returned to their nests, Du En could catch a great owl on the way back.

That way, he wouldn't have to go far to find a new Strange Owl nest.

Catching great owls was now extremely simple for him. He didn't even need sharpened sticks or firewood. He only had to choose a target, then raise his hand and cast a Sand Raising Technique.

The Sand Raising Technique, deliberately controlled at the Initial Glimpse stage, immediately sent a great handful of yellow sand flying. It smacked into the great owl's face with a crackling roar.

"Goo!"

After a short, startled cry, it fluttered weakly and fell from the treetop heights. Du En only needed to walk over, raise his hand, and grab it to seize the creature that was barely breathing.

When he lifted it for a look, he could see that its face was now covered in densely packed little holes, grains of sand embedded in them as blood seeped out. It looked truly horrifying.

The others had long since grown accustomed to it. None of them sucked in a startled breath as they had at the beginning.

"Boss, do we still have enough medicinal herbs at home? If not, I can help look for some."

Wei Ming even asked that.

Du En merely shook his head slightly to indicate that it wasn't necessary.

Then, holding the great owl upside down, he led the way back.

The blood spilled all along the road under gravity, conveniently draining away.

At the same time, the other Strange Owls that had just been startled into flight, along with various wild beasts that had already grown accustomed to this and were waiting in the brush, all pounced on the places where the blood fell, pecking and licking at it.

The bold ones among them still dared to cluster here at this hour mainly for this evening meal.

They walked all the way back to the little courtyard, where everything was the same as usual.

Only when the night had deepened and everyone else had gone to sleep did Du En silently stop cultivating, leave the room, and look up at the sky.

A moonless night with high winds.

Time to kill and set fires!

He pulled up his hood and covered his face, then silently set his plan into motion.

At the same time.

At this late hour, many other wretched people had only just finished their shifts. Dragging their utterly exhausted bodies, they walked along the narrow roads of the Shack District.

Under the torchlight, they cast one hunched, profound shadow after another.

At first glance, they looked like a cluster of Living Corpses dragging their own rotting bodies along and stumbling about as they learned to walk.

Yet even among this crowd, there were exceptions.

"Fucking hell, quit dragging your feet and get the hell out of my way!"

Zhang Lin cursed as he raised a hand, about to sweep aside the person blocking his path and send him flying.

"My lord, my lord, don't! I'm moving, I'll move!"

The man had noticed his approach long ago. Now he wailed and begged, shuffling his feet, but they felt as though they had been filled with lead—sore, swollen, and utterly unable to move any faster.

At the Mid-stage Qi Refining realm, Zhang Lin was strong and sturdy. Even after working until now, he had suffered little fatigue. Seeing this slow, sluggish pace, he felt not the slightest pity. He simply raised his hand and swept it out viciously, as though flinging away a piece of trash.

Bang!

The thin figure blocking the road immediately spun through the air, spewing blood as he flew sideways and slammed into a wooden shack beside the narrow road, smashing through its wall.

Crack-crack sounds rang out without pause. It was impossible to tell whether they came from wood or bone.

Once all the noise subsided and no one climbed back to their feet, it was obvious the man was dead. Everyone who had witnessed it wore faces full of bleak misery and bitterness.

Zhang Lin swept his gaze over them again. They instantly felt their scalps go numb and hurriedly lowered their heads, gritting their teeth as they shifted their exhausted, heavy bodies aside and made way.

"Hmph! A bunch of cheap bones! You don't know how to move unless someone gives you a beating!"

He nodded in satisfaction, but suddenly froze again.

At the end of this newly opened path, someone had just stopped. He made no effort whatsoever to avoid Zhang Lin and stood there ramrod straight.

The others, heads bowed, caught glimpses of his legs and lower body from the corners of their eyes and all stiffened.

"You..."

Zhang Lin sensed that something was wrong. Frowning, he was just about to say something.

At that moment, the moon was completely covered by dark clouds.

The flames of the torches burning all around suddenly flickered, and the light dimmed.

Zhang Lin's vision darkened for an instant. Before he could utter a second word, he looked up and saw that the man—Du En—had already arrived in front of him.

Fuck!

Horrified and enraged, Zhang Lin finally confirmed that something was wrong and was just about to act.

But Du En was faster. Both hands shot out like lightning and seized his two arms.

More terrifying than iron pincers, the force of the grip crushed his muscles to pulp!

Then he abruptly twisted and yanked backward. Crackling pops rang out without end—the sound of bones breaking and splintering!

He sprang up with a kick, striking Zhang Lin in the lower abdomen. It was like a massive boulder rolling down a mountain, crashing into him with a boom. With a muffled pop, the area of his lower dantian and Sea of Qi shattered into a mess of pulp!

"Ah!"

Only then did Zhang Lin's scream spill from his throat.

There had been no time at all to circulate his magic power for defense, strengthen his body, or launch a counterattack.

Everything had happened in the blink of an eye!

Du En's gaze remained calm throughout. Facing this man who was destined to die, he withdrew his foot and let it fall, while his hands released their hold. Then he raised them slightly and swept them together toward the center.

Slap!

Something was smashed apart. The other people present who heard that sound couldn't help but shudder in terror, burying their heads deeply and not daring to raise them even a fraction.

They feared that if they saw the attacker's face, he might casually slap them to death as well!

At the same time, as they watched the headless corpse crumple to the ground, blood splattering everywhere, they couldn't help cheering inwardly!

Some even felt an urge to get acquainted with and thank their benefactor—if they were silenced afterward, it would still be worth it!

Of course, Du En had already left at top speed.