Old Corpse Poisonous Insect

This dedicated wasteland for burying bodies was divided into eight sections according to direction.

Du En and the others buried bodies in a clockwise rotation. By the time it was their turn again, the bodies buried previously would have long since decomposed into scattered remnants of sinister, dark soil.

At this time, Wei Ming's absentmindedness was something Du En could naturally see, and the others could tell as well. Therefore, no one had any objections to his arrangements.

In fact, they were even glad for it, lest Wei Ming drag them down.

And so, they paired up, two by two, and officially began their work.

Today was another cloudless day. Relatively speaking, the humidity was lower than yesterday, so the actual feeling was slightly better.

The sun climbed rapidly, soon becoming scorching hot.

Wei Ming already had many problems, and being exposed to the sun made him even more dazed. He mechanically performed the tasks, only listening to Du En's short, clipped instructions.

Digging the pit, carrying the body, burying the body.

Everything went smoothly and peacefully until noon.

Du En and the others were preparing to bury the ninth body.

It was the corpse of an old man, his face covered in age spots, and the exposed skin had various pustules filled with strange liquid that sloshed slightly within. It was obvious that breaking them would be disgusting.

Even dangerous!

This could be seen from the fact that the old corpse's clothes were still neat and tidy, showing no signs of being ransacked for valuables by those who handled it in rotation.

Clearly, this old corpse had a notorious reputation or a significant deterrent during his life, enough to make others dare not touch or search him randomly.

Or rather, to live to such an old age outside this border town was itself proof of considerable skill!

"Be careful."

Du En reminded the absentminded and mechanically stiff Wei Ming.

The other party was quite obedient this time, being careful as instructed. Du En felt that he was even more suited for this job than usual.

Supporting the shoulders and lifting the feet, they carefully placed the body into the freshly dug shallow pit, ensuring that the strange pustules on its body did not rupture.

Seeing this, the others couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

Because this old corpse was too eye-catching, they had noticed it as soon as they arrived and remained vigilant.

According to the rules, burying bodies was done without delay, and it was whoever's turn it was.

Even if it was Du En's turn, they were still watching closely, so that if any accident occurred, they could quickly dodge and escape, avoiding collateral damage.

Until now, the body had been successfully placed in the pit without any issues...

Just as they let out a sigh of relief, thinking this, an accident suddenly occurred!

They saw that on the old corpse's chest and abdomen, a fist-sized foreign object suddenly bulged out. As if stimulated violently, it writhed rapidly and then tore through the skin and clothes.

A strange worm!

Its appearance was colorful, resembling a slug. As its mouthparts opened, they revealed multiple rings of teeth like those of a lamprey. With a flick, it shot directly towards Wei Ming, who was completely caught off guard.

Only when the poisonous worm was inches away did he startle and snap back to his senses.

But it was too late!

Trying to dodge now, or to resist it with magic power, were things he could not do.

The former was because he had lost the initiative, and the latter was because he had only just begun to adapt to the existence of magic power in these past few days. He hadn't even figured out the cultivation technique yet, making it inherently difficult.

It's over!

Am I going to die?

Wei Ming's heart filled with panic, and his past flashed before his eyes like a montage.

His carefree childhood, living in the countryside, playing around, completely unaware of the expectant yet worried looks from his elders.

As he gradually grew up, he entered a specialized academy and began to study. He slowly understood his situation and knew that he would be relocated in the future.

Later, at the academy, he met that girl. They fell in love and decided to spend their lives together... then they were separated, sent to different places. He came to the southern border town, underwent consecration to refine qi, and started the lowly and dirty work of burying bodies.

In the days before being assigned work, he had thought that he would cultivate diligently, achieve success, find his beloved again, and rekindle their romance before returning home in glory.

After officially starting work, he began to feel uneasy and fearful, worried that his distant lover might have already met a tragic end and been casually buried by colleagues from afar, without even a tombstone.

But now, it seemed he was the one going first?

In Wei Ming's wide, staring eyes, everything seemed to slow down. He could clearly see the air being corroded into wisps of green smoke wherever the colorful poisonous worm passed.

It was writhing its body, opening its mouthparts, about to bring an end to a life!

No!

I can't die!

He roared inwardly, filled with intense unwillingness. His expression turned ferocious, but the poisonous worm was already upon him.

It was truly too late...

Splat!

A black shadow, moving faster than expected, suddenly streaked across Wei Ming's vision, covering the poisonous worm. It landed heavily on the ground with a thick, splattering sound.

Screech~

A corrosive sound rose, curling into the air.

Before Wei Ming could even react, he was pushed down, and then his pants were unceremoniously pulled off.

"Ah? Ah?"

He was like a fool, only managing short, clipped sounds. The ferocity on his face froze mid-development. He was in a situation where he couldn't advance or retreat.

It wasn't until the others ran over and dragged him away that he gradually came back to his senses.

"Damn it! You scared the hell out of me!"

"Didn't the guys in the previous stage check things carefully? They actually let a lively poisonous insect hide inside the corpse like that!"

"Cough, cough, cough, anyway, it's good that no one died."

"Yeah, thanks to Boss Du's quick reaction, we managed to get through this without any danger. You kid, stop standing there like an idiot, hurry up and say thank you!"

The other four people's rapid-fire words made Wei Ming understand the situation.

Just now, at the critical moment, Du En had grabbed his shovel, stepped forward, and swung it with a fierce sweep. With the boost of his magic power, he was able to strike first and kill the poisonous insect on the ground.

He had also moved with exceptional speed, leaping through multiple afterimages, completely dodging the splattering poisonous insect fluids. Then, he had pounced on Wei Ming and pulled off the pants that had been contaminated with the venom.

Just looking at it now, both the shovel that served as a weapon and those stinky pants were being corroded at a visible speed with a screeching sound.

Only when the corrosion quietly ceased and was absorbed by the barren land, gradually calming down, did Du En finally shift his gaze and turn to Wei Ming.

"Are you okay?"

"N-no, I'm fine, th-thank you, thank you..."

Wei Ming, having narrowly escaped death, stammered his reply. A multitude of emotions surged within him, and he couldn't help but shed tears. "Thank you so much. If it weren't for you, I, I would never see Qiao'er again. Thank you."

Seeing him like this, the others couldn't help but shake their heads, each with their own sigh.