Killing Zhang Lin

The sky brightened.

The New Year also drew ever closer.

Even so, the year-round, never-resting Corpse Buriers still had to do their unchanging work.

Burying bodies.

Moreover, as the year-end approached, their work actually became busier.

Because more people were dying.

The quota for this year hadn't been met yet, so the Foremen naturally wouldn't accept anything less. Even if they had already met it, they wanted to compete for rankings, so they all intensified their efforts, continuously increasing the labor intensity and hours, from dawn till dusk, and through the night.

Thus, those who died from exhaustion, those who couldn't bear it anymore... in short, even the Corpse Buriers themselves became busy, having to bury nearly a hundred bodies every day.

The only thing that gave them some relief was that these corpses generally didn't pose much hidden danger, so they didn't have to worry about ending up lying there themselves while working.

What gave Ning Caize even more relief was that, until now, he hadn't seen any strange or sinister corpses.

It seemed the Evil Cultivator lurking in the shadows had already been caught; in any case, there hadn't been any further incidents.

Du En, their leader, was currently thinking about how to kill people.

With another breakthrough in his strength, his progress was obvious, and he could naturally do more things.

He already had plans in his heart; it was just that now, as the time for implementation drew near, he was refining them further.

Six Corpse Buriers, under the lingering heat of the winter sun, were burying bodies, sweat pouring down their faces.

Soon, it was evening. They finished their work, having put in overtime.

Since it was still relatively early and the Strange Owls hadn't returned to their nests yet, Du En could catch a Great Owl on his way back.

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

Catching Great Owls was now very simple for him. He didn't even need a sharpened wooden stick or firewood. He just needed to select his target, then raise his hand and cast a Sand Raising Technique.

Intentionally controlling the Sand Raising Technique to the Initial Glimpse stage, as soon as it was unleashed, large handfuls of yellow sand flew out, pattering against the Great Owl's face.

"Hoo!"

After a short cry, it flapped powerlessly and fell from its perch high in the branches. Du En just had to walk over, raise his hand, and grab the near-death creature.

Lifting it up, he could see that the Great Owl's face was now covered in dense small holes, embedded with grains of yellow sand, oozing blood, looking quite horrifying.

The others were already used to it, no longer showing the gasps of shock they had at the beginning.

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

Wei Ming even asked this.

Du En merely shook his head slightly, indicating it wasn't necessary.

Then, carrying the Great Owl upside down by its legs, he started leading the way back.

Blood, under the effect of gravity, spilled all the way, which was convenient.

At the same time, other Strange Owls that had just been startled, along with other beasts that were starting to get used to it and were waiting in the bushes, all rushed towards where the blood had fallen to peck and lick.

These bold ones dared to gather here at this time mainly for this meal.

Walking back to the small courtyard, it was still the usual mundane routine.

Until late at night, when everyone else had already fallen asleep.

Du En silently stopped cultivating, walked out of the house, and looked up at the sky.

A dark and windy night.

The perfect time for murder and arson!

He pulled up the hood of his clothes, covered his face again, and moved silently.

Meanwhile.

At this late hour of the night, there were still many unfortunate souls who had just finished their work, dragging their extremely tired bodies along the narrow roads of the shantytown.

Under the light of the torches, their hunched, deep shadows were cast.

At first glance, one might mistake them for a cluster of walking corpses, dragging their rotting bodies as they shuffled along.

However, there were exceptions within such crowds.

"Damn it, dawdling! Get out of my way!"

Zhang Lin cursed, about to raise his hand and sweep away the person blocking his path.

"Sir, sir, no, I'll move, I'll move!"

This person had already sensed his approach and was now wailing and begging. He tried to shift his feet, but they felt as if they were filled with lead, sore and swollen, making it impossible to speed up.

At the Mid-stage Qi Refining realm, Zhang Lin was physically strong. Even after working until now, he wasn't significantly affected. Seeing the slow pace, he showed no pity and directly raised his hand, sweeping it out forcefully, like flicking away trash.

Bang!

The thin figure blocking his path immediately spun, spitting blood, and flew outwards, smashing into the wall of a wooden house on the side of the narrow road, shattering it.

Cracking sounds echoed incessantly, it was unclear whether they were from wood or bone.

After all the sounds subsided, no one was seen getting up; they were clearly dead. All that could be seen were the onlookers, their eyes filled with sorrow and bitterness.

Zhang Lin glanced again, and they were instantly filled with dread. They quickly lowered their heads, gritted their teeth, and moved their tired, heavy bodies to make way.

"Hmph! A bunch of spineless cowards! Don't you know to make way unless you're whipped!"

He was nodding in satisfaction when he suddenly froze again.

Because at the end of this new path, a person had just stopped walking. They hadn't moved aside at all, standing there perfectly straight.

The others, with their heads bowed, caught glimpses of his legs and torso out of the corners of their eyes, and they all stiffened.

"You..."

Zhang Lin sensed something was wrong, frowned, and was about to say something.

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

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

Zhang Lin's vision dimmed for a moment. Before he could utter the second word, he looked up and saw that the person, Du En, had already appeared before him.

Damn it!

Horrified and enraged, Zhang Lin, now completely certain something was amiss, was about to act.

But Du En was faster. His hands shot out like lightning, grabbing Zhang Lin by both arms.

More terrifying than iron clamps, his muscles were crushed in the powerful grip!

Then, with a violent twist and pull backward, crackling and splintering sounds echoed endlessly – bones were breaking and shattering!

He followed up with a kick directly to Zhang Lin's lower abdomen. It was like a giant boulder rolling down a mountain, crashing into him with a roar. With a poof, the area of his lower dantian and sea of qi was smashed into pulp!

"Ah!"

Only then did Zhang Lin's scream escape his throat.

There wasn't even time to mobilize his magic power for defensive reinforcement or to counterattack.

Everything happened in the blink of an eye!

Du En's gaze remained calm. Facing the man who was destined to die before him, he retracted his foot. As it landed, his hands loosened their grip, then he slightly raised them and swept them across.

Slap!

Something was crushed, causing the others present to tremble in horror. Their heads buried themselves even deeper; they didn't dare to lift them even an inch.

They were afraid of seeing the attacker's face and being casually swatted to death themselves!

At the same time, as they glimpsed the headless corpse collapsing to the ground, blood splattering everywhere, they couldn't help but cheer inwardly!

Some even felt the impulse to recognize and thank their savior, believing it would be worth it even if they were silenced afterward!

Of course, Du En had already left swiftly.