The Corpse in the Woods

Several more days passed.

After the blow dealt by their last failure, Wei Ming and the others had learned their lesson. They no longer dared to attempt things recklessly.

They switched to catching one every other day, enduring the stench around the furnace. Even Ning Caize pinched his nose and joined them, pooling their efforts to puzzle out how to practice.

Even so, a certain situation was rapidly getting worse.

—The little courtyard on the Corpse Burial Wasteland side was now filled with a thick, rotting stench that continued to spread outward.

"Damn! Those bastards are actually doing this again!"

"Bastards, cough, cough, cough..."

"That old geezer actually didn't die. Tsk!"

"Fuck, if I weren't afraid of being jinxed by touching them, I'd have beaten them up long ago!"

The neighbors on either side of the little courtyard displayed their usual contempt and disgust.

That was also why Du En's group had never cared about their feelings.

Yet amid all the hurried footsteps and frantic avoidance, one person was going against the tide.

Liu Qixiang.

He had come to collect protection fees again.

"Fuck! I'd heard about this, but I never thought it would be this bad—or this stinky! No wonder that early-dead bastard Luo Heng couldn't collect any spirit stones. Who'd be willing to come to a place this foul?"

Forcing his way through the barrier of stench, he didn't dare open his mouth at all, cursing furiously inwardly.

Then he saw the little courtyard's gate open. The corpse buriers were shouldering their tools and heading out to work.

He hurried up and intercepted them.

"Cough, cough. Hurry up and hand over this month's protection fee!"

At those words, Du En's expression did not change. He merely shook his head.

Liu Qixiang's heart sank.

To tell the truth, the moment he smelled the stench, he had begun to feel that something was wrong.

But now, did that bad feeling seem about to become reality?

"We're not paying the protection fee anymore."

"What? You're not paying?"

He said it. He really said it!

Liu Qixiang felt a headache coming on. He struggled to look intimidating through the stench, viciously trying to speak, only to choke when he took a deep breath.

He coughed dryly and couldn't get a word out for a moment.

Du En quietly waited for him to recover before saying, "Yes. Because we don't have any spirit stones left."

"Then go ask the steward for some!"

Liu Qixiang's voice was hoarse, and his eyes were webbed with red veins.

"I don't dare."

"Uh..."

Faced with Du En's perfectly justified answer, he was suddenly speechless.

Because if he were in Du En's place, he wouldn't dare, either!

There was no need to specifically inquire about the conduct of He Bo, the Corpse Affairs Steward. Just seeing the trouble Du En had faced last time was enough to scare most people away.

"Fuck!"

Liu Qixiang scratched his head and rubbed his ears, wanting to say something threatening, but in the end, all he managed to spit out was that one word.

Faced with Du En, who was impervious to reason, he truly had no way to deal with him, so he could only leave in dejection.

Of course, the main reason was still Zhang Lin's death. His subordinates had all been on tenterhooks lately and had no desire to attract any attention.

This was exactly what Du En had expected.

The reason he had killed Zhang Lin was to bring about this situation.

He couldn't remain passive forever. Now that he had the ability, he naturally had to take the initiative!

"At this rate, things should quiet down again for a while..."

Thinking this, he left with the others.

Seeing how things had developed, the other corpse buriers all breathed a sigh of relief. Then they straightened their backs, feeling quite vindicated.

The boss really was the most reliable!

On the road.

Wei Ming began to lose himself in thought, mulling something over.

However, even after they reached the corpse-transport path, he still couldn't figure it out, so he asked Du En for guidance. "Boss, how exactly should we practice this Sand Raising Technique to make it as powerful as yours?"

The Sand Raising Technique of the few of them was still only at the level of Beginner's Practice, or perhaps even worse. The sand was so fine and light that when it struck the face, it was like a thin layer of flour being sprinkled over it. Even obscuring their vision was difficult.

That was why, when they took the initiative to catch owls, they could only catch old and weak ones.

Du En did not begrudge them his guidance. He asked about the specific crux of their problems.

Through Liver Training, he had practiced until skill came with familiarity and success followed naturally. He had long since thoroughly grasped and engraved every key point and subtlety in his heart.

Thus, when faced with their requests for instruction, he was naturally able to guide them with ease.

Seeing this, the others also asked for guidance one after another, bringing up the difficulties they had encountered.

Ning Caize included.

As he answered their questions and cleared up their doubts, they reached the Corpse Burial Wasteland, and only then did he stop.

There were just as few corpses today, and before evening, they had already finished burying them.

However, Du En had noticed the scavenger beasts' unusual movements along the way.

It had not begun today. Rather, it had gradually developed over the past several days.

Simply put, as the other corpse buriers began catching owls as well, these beasts that coveted rotten flesh and blood finally realized that the corpse buriers were all their natural enemies!

So today, when they saw Du En's group finish early and realized there was no trace of those delicious corpses left, they all scattered swiftly, whether they were bold or timid, flying or running away without daring to linger.

"This situation's become a little troublesome..."

Du En thought silently.

But it was only a little troublesome.

The stench left behind by these scavenger beasts along the way alone was enough for him to track them easily and find both their old and new lairs.

Besides, with the continual harvesting and gathering of medicinal ingredients, the yield around the wasteland was inevitably decreasing. They needed to expand their search radius for that reason as well.

It happened to be along the way.

"Boss, should I go catch them for you?"

Wei Ming looked eager. He volunteered, wanting to put the Sand Raising Technique Du En had taught him that morning into practical use.

In response, Du En merely shook his head lightly. "No need. That would waste too much time."

Who knew how long it would take Wei Ming? Time was precious. If it took too long, it might affect tonight's cultivation.

He might as well go himself.

Faced with Du En's blunt and direct words, Wei Ming felt somewhat awkward and dejected, but then he turned to another matter. "Then I'll help you find some medicinal ingredients!"

The others wanted to help as well and chimed in one after another.

Although Du En would still need to examine everything again in the end, this could indeed save some time, so he nodded lightly to show that it was acceptable.

The others immediately brimmed with energy, earnest and eager.

The six split into two groups.

Du En tracked the large owls that were still visible to the naked eye.

"Hm?"

Along the way, he noticed that something was strange and immediately grew alert.

The Strange Owl flock, which had originally been returning to its nest, had suddenly changed direction in midair.

Du En cautiously approached, and a familiar stench soon burrowed into his nostrils.

The smell of a corpse.

Pushing aside the bushes and weeds before him, he saw a dead body lying in the mountain forest. A large flock of Strange Owls jostled to reach it, squeezing through the branches and weeds to pounce on it and feast on this unexpected banquet.

The corpse's clothes had already been torn to shreds by sharp beaks and talons, and its face had been pecked and bitten beyond recognition. However, some parts still remained intact, and the Strange Owls instinctively avoided them.

There were bite marks and claw marks on them, apparently left by some kind of demon beast. That was why the large owls did not dare touch them.

Seeing that there were no other abnormalities around him, Du En finally emerged from the bushes.

He strode forward and brought a shovel down squarely.

Clang!

One of the large owls that had been feasting happily dropped into a deep sleep at the sound, its face utterly peaceful.

The other Strange Owls took fright and flew up. Faced with this inescapable natural enemy—the corpse buriers—they cried out indignantly, but in the end, they slipped through the gaps between the branches and scattered away.

Du En paid little attention to the birds. After watching them leave, he lowered his head. His gaze pierced the gloom and examined the horribly mangled dead man.

"An escapee?"

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